Chapter 73 – Pheonix flames
The obsidian platform beneath Ignis glowed faintly with ancient runes, pulsing to the beat of his heart. As he stepped forward, the realm shifted. The air turned hot and sharp, like the breath before a wildfire. A screen shimmered above, showing his match-up.
Ignis of the Blazing Phoenix Sect vs. ???(Rank 13)
No sect. No history. Just 3 question marks.
He exhaled slowly, fire whispering around his arms. The other matches had already begun. Jin clashed with Ravon in a storm of blades and elemental fury. Thorne faced Vael, the ice king. Ignis could see fragments of their duels reflected on suspended mirrors of light around the central platform. But his focus was solely forward.
The mist thickened, then parted.
His opponent emerged.
A man in black robes, lean and pale, eyes like empty sockets filled with swirling gray light. His aura was... wrong. It didn't rise like essence. It leaked. Crawled. The runes beneath his feet flickered unnaturally.
"You," Ignis said, flames already crackling along his shoulders, "aren't from any sect, are you?"
The man tilted his head. His voice came like dead winds through hollow trees.
"Names are for the dead. I come for purpose."
Ignis narrowed his eyes. "Then I'll make sure yours is remembered after I burn it into ash."
The remnant will's voice echoed, signaling the start.
"Begin."
The platform shattered.
Ignis launched forward, a cyclone of fire exploding behind him. His twin blades burst into existence, one red-hot like molten rock, the other wreathed in white phoenix flame.
The dark horse raised one hand.
Shadow exploded from beneath his feet, coiling like serpents, forming jagged blades that clashed with Ignis' charge.
Clang! Clang!
Metal sang. Sparks flew. Ignis spun, fire tracing arcs around him. He ducked low, struck upward, feinted, then swept his leg in a fiery arc. The man bent impossibly backward, floating on a cushion of void mist.
He countered with a shriek of sound—a compressed sonic blade wrapped in dark qi.
Ignis blocked with his left sword, but the impact sent shockwaves up his arm. His bones rang.
"What element is that?" Ignis hissed, leaping back, his feet skidding against the heated stone.
"Null. The absence of all things."
He raised both hands. Black and white orbs formed, then collided, creating a pulse of colorless energy that swept across the field.
Ignis flared his wings—flame-forged, phoenix-born—and took to the sky. The blast passed below, erasing half the platform in a soundless ripple.
He hovered.
"If you're null," Ignis growled, "then I'm the fire that refuses to be extinguished."
He dove.
The heavens screamed. Twin trails of fire split the sky as he spun into a descending strike. His blade met the dark horse's summoned weapon—a jagged halberd forged of unknown essence.
The clash split the air.
Both were blown back, Ignis flipping mid-air to land on his feet. His opponent landed silently, cloak billowing.
They charged again.
Flame met null. Heat battled silence. Every strike tore apart the arena further. Lava bubbled from the cracks. Darkness pooled in the shadows.
Ignis roared, calling upon his phoenix spirit.
A massive projection of a burning bird erupted behind him, its cry igniting the sky. The temperature soared. His skin cracked with glowing lines.
The man responded by reaching into his chest.
He pulled free a shard of something ancient—a broken chain, steaming with null energy.
"I was bound once," he said. "But this realm gave me freedom."
He swallowed the shard.
His body twisted. Grew.
Wings of gray flame exploded from his back. His limbs elongated. Eyes burned silver.
"Now burn with me."
They met again.
The platform couldn't contain them. Firestorms and null pulses surged, colliding mid-air. Spectators from the waiting realm gasped as their screens flickered under the intensity.
Lyra clutched her hands. Jin was the most anticipating towards the battle.
Ignis bled. His shoulder was torn. But he kept moving. Faster. Brighter.
He used his Ash Step, vanishing into flame, appearing behind the dark horse, landing a direct blow.
The man screamed.
But struck back with a null chain, wrapping it around Ignis' waist.
"Fall with me," he said.
Ignis grinned. "No. You fall into me."
His body erupted. Phoenix Rebirth Flame ignited from within, consuming the chain made of null. His essence flared beyond its limit.
Boom!
A final explosion.
Silence.
When the light faded, Ignis stood, panting, smoke rising from his fire armor. Bruised and battered
The man lay unconscious, unmoving, his body disintegrating into motes of black light.
"Victory: Ignis."
The realm spirit's voice faded.
Ignis dropped to one knee, exhausted but triumphant.
"One more step," he whispered. "Then the peak."
Above him, the sky split open, revealing the final platform—where only three would ascend, plus the lucky contestant.
Jin.
Thorne.
And him.
The flame had not gone out.