The night after the first trial of the Astral Sovereign Championship should have been one of quiet reflection, of silent recalibration and preparation. Instead, it burned with humiliation.
The grand dining hall of the Celestial Convergence Arena shimmered beneath a vaulted dome of living starlight, constellations drifting slowly across the ceiling like watching eyes. Long crystalline tables were arranged in layered circles, each academy placed according to their ranking from the first trial. The higher the points, the closer the center.
And Heavenly Blade Academy—once so proud—sat near the outer ring.
Not the lowest. But close enough to sting.
The weight of representing an entire legacy pressed heavily on every shoulder. Around them, laughter echoed from the higher tables. Controlled voices, polished arrogance, and barely restrained mockery drifted through the air.
Zeref sat quietly between Lin Yuexin and Ren Huoran. Across from them sat Mei Lian, her hands folded neatly in her lap, her gentle eyes betraying worry. Darius Huang leaned back in his chair with forced indifference, one leg draped loosely over the other, eyes sharp with irritation.
From the central tables, voices carried.
"So that's Heavenly Blade now?" someone from Crimson Ember scoffed loudly. "All fire and no edge."
Another voice from Skyforge followed with a lazy chuckle. "They looked like scattered stars out there. No formation. No trust."
Jade Serpent's representatives whispered behind their sleeves, eyes sliding toward Zeref with thinly veiled curiosity.
Yuexin's fingers tightened around her chopsticks. Ren's expression darkened, jaw setting hard. Mei Lian lowered her gaze, as though the words themselves had wounded her.
Zeref said nothing.
The food before them was exquisite—astral grains soaked in radiant nectar, meats infused with star essence, fruits harvested from cosmic groves—but none of it tasted like anything.
Their loss replayed endlessly in Zeref's mind. The shifting constellations. The broken formation. Darius charging ahead. The fractured rhythm of their team.
They had been pulled apart like loose threads in a storm.
And they had paid for it in points.
The dinner ended in an undercurrent of restrained tension. No official insults. No open challenges. Just quiet laughter that cut deeper than shouts ever could.
When they exited the dining hall, the night sky beyond the arena opened into a garden of floating stone paths, glowing rivers of astral light winding through celestial trees with translucent leaves. The air was cool and sweet with starlit fragrance.
Zeref walked ahead in silence.
He didn't notice at first when Darius followed.
"Enjoy being the reason we're a laughingstock?"
The words struck like sudden thunder.
Zeref stopped.
Yuexin turned sharply. Ren's eyes narrowed. Mei Lian halted a step behind them, unease flickering across her face.
Zeref slowly turned.
Darius stood a few paces away beneath a glowing tree, arms folded, his expression hard and accusing. "You froze when the constellation lines collapsed. You hesitated. That delay cost us."
Yuexin stepped forward instantly. "That's not true! You broke formation first!"
Ren followed beside her. "You ignored the signal pattern and charged straight into the illusion zone. You caused the split."
Darius scoffed. "I moved because someone had to. While he—" his gaze cut sharply to Zeref, "—was standing there trying to be a hero."
Silence fell.
The starlit river beside them shimmered.
Zeref felt something inside him crack.
For the first time since the championship began, anger burned hot and unrestrained in his chest.
He stepped forward.
"You're wrong," he said quietly.
Darius smirked. "Oh?"
Zeref's voice rose, sharp with fury.
"We didn't lose because I hesitated. We lost because you couldn't separate your pride from the team. You rushed ahead to prove something—to me, to yourself, I don't care—but when you did that, you stopped fighting for Heavenly Blade."
His fists clenched at his sides.
"We are five people standing here for our academy. Not rivals. Not enemies. A team. And if you can't keep your personal hatred away from the battlefield—then don't bring us down with you."
The words echoed in the garden.
Darius's expression stiffened. His jaw tightened, eyes darkening with something unreadable. "You think you understand what this means? You think you belong with us after a few wins and one lucky selection?"
Zeref didn't flinch.
"I don't care if you accept me or not," he said firmly. "But on that battlefield, your choices affect all of us."
The air between them trembled with tension.
For a moment, it seemed like Darius might strike him.
Then, suddenly, he scoffed sharply and turned away, his cloak snapping behind him. "Dream on, Zeref Ying."
He walked off into the starlit paths without another word.
No one spoke for several seconds.
Yuexin let out the breath she'd been holding. Ren glanced at Zeref with quiet approval. Mei Lian stepped closer, her voice soft. "You were right to say it."
Zeref didn't respond. His gaze remained on the path where Darius had vanished.
And somewhere deep within Darius's retreating silhouette, guilt stirred—quiet, heavy, and unwanted.
Morning came swiftly.
The second day of the Astral Sovereign Championship arrived beneath blazing skies streaked with cosmic gold. The floating arena shifted once more, reshaping its terrain into vast circular platforms of fused starlight and forged astral stone.
This was the Starforge Duel Arena.
Each of the thirty-five participants stood in isolated platforms suspended above a void of glowing abyss, spaced evenly across the colossal ring. The crowd filled the surrounding stands—teachers, elders, and unselected disciples from every academy watching in breathless anticipation.
Miss Lin stood among the Heavenly Blade instructors, her gaze fixed on Zeref with quiet intensity. She said nothing, but the tension in her expression did not go unnoticed.
Elder Shufen's voice rolled across the arena like thunder wrapped in silk as she announced the rules once more.
One by one, pillars of radiant light descended before each participant.
Inside each pillar hovered raw astral metal—shapeless, unstable, alive with violent cosmic energy.
Sixty seconds.
No more.
The forging began.
Zeref closed his eyes as the astral metal responded to his presence. Unlike the others, his pillar trembled faintly before stabilizing, its glow shifting into a deeper, steadier hue as though recognizing him.
He did not summon Eclipsera.
Instead, he reached inward—quietly—and guided the metal with controlled resonance rather than dominance. The liquid starlight obeyed his will, stretching, refining, condensing.
A blade took form.
Not broad. Not heavy.
A slender astral short-sword with black-silver edges and a soft inner glow like sleeping starlight. Runes pulsed faintly along its spine like a heartbeat.
A companion blade to Eclipsera—not a replacement.
Beside him, Ren Huoran forged with sharp precision. His astral metal hardened into twin crescent sabers, sleek and balanced, designed for speed and fluidity.
Lin Yuexin shaped hers into a radiant spear of compressed light, its shaft translucent and humming with clean resonance, built for both reach and control.
Mei Lian's forging took a gentler path. Her astral metal formed into a ringed staff crowned with a floating lotus of crystal light—clearly a weapon designed not for offense, but for restoration and protection.
Darius worked last.
His astral metal responded with violent intensity, sparks erupting outward as he forced it into a brutal longblade—heavy, jagged, and radiating raw destructive energy. The weapon throbbed with barely contained power.
Across the arena, other teams completed their weapons—meteor spears, comet bows, void chains, gravity hammers, astral claws, star-thread whips—each weapon reflecting the temperament of its wielder.
The sixty seconds ended.
The pillars vanished.
Weapons remained.
Elder Shufen's voice returned once more, announcing the upcoming match pairings as massive astral sigils ignited between platforms.
Heavenly Blade Academy vs Jade Serpent Pavilion
Cloudsong sect vs Skyforge Academy
Moonshadow Temple vs Iron Phoenix Fortress
Since Crimson Ember Institute scored the highest points in Day 1, they receive a direct exemption from The Starforge battle round they observe and analyze all teams first
All other teams fight in 5 vs 5 squad battles.
After those initial battles the team with the lowest performance in Day 2 will be forced to fight Crimson Ember next this can be a punishment or a chance to turn the tables.
The crowd erupted.
Enemies were set.
Rivalry sharpened into steel.
Zeref lifted his newly forged blade and exhaled slowly, eyes burning with quiet resolve.
The Starforge Duels were about to begin.
---
To be continued...