I knew something strange was going to happen the moment the headmasters all stood together. They looked way too serious. Like they were about to cancel lunch.
Then Headmaster Graymoor of Cyran stepped forward.
"We will skip the rest of the matches," he said. "The final round… is a battle royale."
The whole stadium gasped. My fruit slice dropped out of my mouth.
Battle royale?
"That means we all fight at once, doesn't it?" I whispered.
Before anyone could answer, a flash of light covered everything. The ground shook under my feet.
We were being teleported.
A strange pulling feeling grabbed my chest. I felt like I was being yanked through the sky. When I blinked again, I wasn't on the ground anymore.
We were in the sky.
The new arena was floating, high above the land. Clouds drifted below us. Wind blew strong and cold. The arena was twice as big as the last one, made of stone platforms, floating rocks, and narrow bridges that swayed in the wind. Everything looked like it could fall apart any second.
This was a battlefield. A real one.
All four teams were there—Cyran, Nysira, Gravesend, and Elaris.
We stood on one side.
Gravesend stood far across from us, looking scary as always. Vex Umbra stood still like a shadow with swords ready. Brutus cracked his neck and smiled like someone told him this was his birthday party.
Nysira stood quietly. Meira and Solace looked calm but focused. Ashen Ryel's hands were already glowing with fire. Lina looked up at the sky like she was listening to ghosts again. (Still creepy.)
Elaris stood near the edge. Korin Aetherhold floated a few inches off the ground. Zeon held his staff, staring at everyone like he already knew how the match would end. Velra flicked lightning between her fingers.
Gravesend was in the lead now—40 points.
We had 33.
Still close enough to win. Still close enough to lose badly.
Then the horn blew.
"BEGIN!"
And just like that, everything exploded into madness.
I did the smart thing. I ducked behind a rock.
While everyone else charged forward, I got low and crawled to the biggest floating boulder I could find.
"Let them throw spells at each other first," I muttered. "I'll just... stay alive."
Aeron jumped forward first. His sword glowed bright with fire and light. He leapt onto a floating bridge and started slashing through magic barriers like he was in a play. I swear, that guy thinks he's the main character.
Selene followed behind him, sending water spells toward Elaris. Her magic moved like ribbons, cutting clean through Velra's lightning. It looked pretty, but it was also terrifying.
Kara and Ren charged toward Nysira. Meira blocked Kara with her gauntlets, then punched the ground, sending blue waves through the floor. Kara flew backward like a ragdoll.
Ashen shot fire at Ren. Ren blocked with lightning. Both of them were shouting and glowing like walking lanterns. Fire met lightning—again—and again—and again.
Liora faced Tariq Fen. He raised stone walls, but Liora's dark magic smashed through them like glass. She wasn't using black flames like me, just regular dark magic. Shadows followed her like a silent army.
"NOAH!" she shouted.
I peeked out. "Still alive!"
"Then help!"
"I'm helping... with silence."
She groaned and fired another shadow spear at Velra, who dodged with a flip and kept smiling.
Up in the sky, Faelith from Elaris created a windstorm. The wind howled, blowing away small rocks and almost knocking some students off the edge. Zeon raised glowing symbols in the air. I had no idea what they did, but I ducked anyway.
Solace from Nysira was cutting through illusions left and right. Mirrors floated all around her as she broke through Lina's tricks like it was nothing.
Brutus stomped across the arena. I mean actually stomped. Each step shook the ground. He ran straight at Elaris, knocking Korin off a floating platform. The poor guy fell into the barrier net, rolling like a bag of laundry.
Vex appeared behind Ashen. Ashen turned just in time, throwing a flame wave that pushed her back, but barely. Vex moved like a shadow that didn't follow the rules.
Halek Groar let out a loud laugh and smashed a floating platform with his hammer. Meira jumped to another before it crumbled. It was like he was playing a game where the floor was lava, except the lava was death.
Draska Twin-Blood stood still. She hadn't even moved yet. She was watching. Waiting. Like a wolf.
Meanwhile, I hid.
Yes, I was hiding.
Yes, I had magic.
No, I was not ready to fight a group of crazy magic warriors who trained in mountains, fought demons for breakfast, and could bend time.
I watched the battlefield from behind my rock.
Lina Myrr floated on mirrors again, sending illusion copies across the sky. Selene sent water arrows to pop them all. Her magic was smooth, fast, and clean.
Aeron blocked a strike from Solace. They clashed, blade to blade. Light vs wind. The air shook with their battle. Then Aeron raised his hand and cast a blinding flash of light. Solace winced and stepped back. Aeron didn't chase. He waited.
Zeon pointed at Kara and created a ring of stars above her. She rolled out just before it exploded. That guy was serious.
Tariq tried to trap Liora in stone again. She lifted her hand and made the shadows around her turn into a wall. His rocks hit the shadows and vanished like dust.
Then lightning flashed again—Velra fired at Selene. Selene ducked, sent a wave of water forward, and knocked Velra back. She landed hard but didn't give up.
I looked around.
So much noise. So many spells.
Some kids were already falling into the net below. I counted six. Brutus had knocked out two of them. Solace knocked one off a bridge. Liora blasted another into the air and out of the ring.
Even though I wasn't fighting, I was remembering everything.
Who used what spell.
Who dodged how.
How people reacted.
I was learning. I was waiting. I was... still hiding behind a rock.
That's when Vex appeared on the rock beside me.
I froze.
She looked at me.
I looked at her.
"Are you hiding?" she asked.
"No," I said. "I'm... meditating."
She stared at me. I stared at her.
Then she turned and vanished.
I really, really didn't want to fight today.
That was the deal. Let the strong people beat each other up while I stand quietly in the back, maybe pretend to faint if someone looks at me too hard. Easy plan.
But noooo.
Somewhere between "Battle Royale begins!" and "half the arena exploded," everything fell apart. People were flying everywhere, spells going wild, pillars crashing down. I had found a nice rock to hide behind.
And that's when I heard her voice.
Liora.
She was out there, standing alone. Facing Draska Twin-Blood—the girl who looked like she ate metal for breakfast and probably chewed axes for fun.
"Chains of night—bind!" Liora shouted. Her Drakopoulos chains shot out, wrapping around Draska's legs.
For a second, it looked like she was winning. Then I heard metal slam. Liora hit a wall—hard.
I peeked over my rock. "Oh no. Oh no no no."
I grabbed my thin black sword. It felt heavier than usual. Or maybe my arms were just noodles again.
Draska stood tall with two axes spinning—no, turning—in her hands. One had blood on it.
"Okay," I whispered, "you're a noble. You can do this. Or… at least trip and be useful."
I ran out.
Bad idea.
Draska turned to me like I'd just kicked her puppy. "Who the hell are you?"
"Noah Drakopoulos," I said. "Future ghost."
She blinked.
Liora groaned behind a rock. "Noah, do something!"
I pointed my sword, and black flames lit along the blade—crooked and weak at first, then steady. "Please work, please work," I muttered.
Draska grinned. "You're the sick one, right?"
"Technically yes. Emotionally also yes."
She came at me fast. I dodged left, then tripped and fell right. Her axe missed me by inches. I rolled, pushed off the ground, and blindly swung my sword. A burst of black fire shot out—not straight. More like a limp zigzag.
It hit her in the leg.
"Ow!" she shouted. "You little—!"
Before she could finish the sentence, Liora's chains burst from the ground again, this time wrapping around Draska's arms.
"You okay?" Liora asked me, getting up.
"Everything hurts," I wheezed. "And I might be crying."
We stood side by side.
Draska roared and broke one of the chains, but Liora sent more flying in. I tried to slash with my sword, but I hit air and nearly fell over.
"Seriously?" I muttered.
Still, I forced the black flame again. It lit across the sword in a wave and caught Draska's axe just before it could swing.
Liora grunted, yanked her hand back, and the chains pulled Draska down.
She crashed to the ground, growling.
She didn't get back up.
Liora and I both dropped to our knees, panting.
"That was horrible," I said. "Let's never do that again."
"We're not done," Liora whispered.
"What?"
That's when I looked up.
Cain Virell was walking toward us, dragging his red-glowing blade through the dirt. His eyes were glowing too—of course they were.
And next to him…
Brutus the Black Warden. Massive. Quiet.
They didn't say a word.
They just turned toward us.
Liora stood up again. So did I, barely.
Five people remained on the battlefield now:
Me.
Liora.
Cain.
Brutus.
Aeron
I whispered, "So… can we go home now?"
Liora cracked her neck. "Not yet."
"Great," I said. "Just great."