The Gauntlet of Beasts raged on.
Students fell.
Monsters roared.
Magic painted the air in colors of death.
And at the center of it all, Kaelen Drayce carved a path — silver blade flashing, cracked-crown sigil burning faintly against his battered cloak.
The Pathbreakers fought beside him.
Not perfectly.
Not flawlessly.
But together.
Then came the real test.
From the far side of the arena, a figure approached — moving against the tide of monsters with effortless grace.
Tall.
Clad in white and gold armor, trimmed with Astralis blue.
A gleaming spear resting casually against his shoulder.
The arena seemed to quiet as he advanced.
Even the beasts instinctively shifted away from him.
Kaelen's eyes narrowed.
The crowd surged into a roar of approval:
"That's Lucan Damaris!"
"Astralis' shining star!"
"Royal blood! Blessed by the Light Guild itself!"
Lucan Damaris.
First heir of House Damaris, one of the High Five Noble Houses.
Blessed with a rare Light Affinity Talent — Sunfire Lance.
Already ranked B+ among young awakeners.
Already destined for knighthood under the King's Banner.
And he had locked his sharp, golden eyes on Kaelen.
Lucan stopped ten paces away, planting his spear into the cracked ground with a ringing echo.
He smiled — the slow, cold smile of a man used to standing above others.
"Kaelen Drayce," Lucan said, his voice carrying easily across the battlefield.
"Commoner. Survivor. Pretender."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
Lucan pointed his spear at Kaelen like issuing a royal decree.
"I claim you now. Here. Before the world."
"Kneel and surrender your Sovereignblade — or be broken."
Kaelen didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Didn't lower his sword.
He only spoke one word.
A quiet word.
A final word.
"No."
The Duel Begins.
Lucan struck first.
A flash of white-hot light exploded from his spear as he lunged forward — a beam of sunfire magic carving a molten path through the earth.
Kaelen pivoted aside — fast, but the heat still scorched his cloak.
Lucan was no fool.
He was faster than Kaelen expected.
Stronger than most young nobles.
Deadly with both magic and martial skill.
But not invincible.
Kaelen moved — weaving between blows, retaliating with sharp, surgical strikes.
Arcane Step blinked him past thrusts that would have skewered lesser men.
Blink Shot blasted counter-attacks from impossible angles.
But Lucan adapted quickly, driving Kaelen back with relentless pressure.
In the stands, whispers rose:
"He's holding his own against Lucan!"
"That commoner… he's not normal."
"Is that… Sovereign energy?"
High above, even the Royal Council leaned forward.
Then it happened.
Lucan gathered a massive ball of light at the tip of his spear — magic boiling the air itself.
"Sun Lance!" Lucan roared.
He thrust the spear forward, unleashing a pillar of condensed sunfire directly at Kaelen.
Too fast.
Too much power.
Even Kaelen's Arcane Step couldn't fully dodge it.
The blast struck.
The ground exploded.
Dust and smoke billowed.
The crowd gasped.
Silence.
Lucan lowered his spear, already turning away.
"Broken already," he murmured.
But from the heart of the smoke —
A silver light flared.
A steady, burning light.
Kaelen stepped forward, battered but unbroken, Sovereignblade Astryn burning in his hands.
The cracked crown symbol on his chest blazed like a newborn sun.
System Chime:
[Sovereignblade Evolution: Stage One Initiated!]
[New Skill: Astryn's Shardblade — Partial Manifestation of True Sovereign Power.]
Kaelen's blade split into three shimmering afterimages — each one humming with deadly potential.
He raised his sword — not in defense.
In defiance.
And then he moved.
Second Engagement
Kaelen blurred forward.
The world seemed to slow around him.
Three strikes landed in one heartbeat:
First strike: broke Lucan's guard.
Second strike: shattered his defensive magic.
Third strike: sent Lucan flying backward, crashing into a broken pillar with bone-cracking force.
The arena froze.
Lucan, darling of Astralis, heir of Damaris, lay groaning in the dirt.
Kaelen stood over him — breathing hard, blood dripping from his lip — but still standing.
Still rising.
In the stands — silence.
No cheers.
No boos.
Just stunned, disbelieving awe.
A commoner had not only survived against Astralis' best —
he had crushed him.
High above, the Royal Council exchanged sharp glances.
And far in the shadowed balcony, the ancient figures of the Legacy Families narrowed their eyes.
"The Sovereign blood… it awakens faster than expected."
They would not allow this anomaly to continue unchecked.
But for today, Kaelen Drayce had claimed the field.
And the world would not forget his name.