The fights continued day after day, with the twins standing with Master Xia on the main platform looking below, and the audience rooting for their favorite contestants.
The event was an eye-opener for Elias and Eryn.
Through this, they'd seen people with weaker spirits defeat their stronger opponents with their brains, they'd seen people who put use to normal spells to boost their performance and to battle.
Indeed, they have learned so much just by watching, exactly as the two dragons had claimed.
'It's the sixth day,' said Drachnai. 'You really don't want to participate?'
Elias glanced behind his shoulder at Ying, who's expression held the same question.
She had been dropping them hints here and there for the past couple of days, trying to convince them to join in.
'It'll be fun,' she had said.
Elias glanced up at the evening sky, the pink and purple mashing.
He glanced over at Eryn.
Should they?
Blood was spilled, lives were taken just as Master Xia informed.
Well, there was still tomorrow...the day when anyone can challenge the last few standing.
Down in the arena, the last battles of the day were being fought.
In total, Elias counted eight semi-finalists.
Half should be gone by the end of the day.
Amongst the eight stood Wayne, who Elias caught look up at them expectantly.
He'd noticed the signs a few days earlier...clearly, he was trying to attract Eryn, who still showed no indication of special interest towards him in any way.
Elias smiled, amused.
He knew Eryn knew as well, but he didn't want to bring up such an awkward topic.
Beside Wayne stood Whitney, and it seems this pair of siblings do live up to the people's expectations as future leaders of the city.
They both seem completely fine and barely scratched, unlike some others who were extremely exhausted and knocked out with blood smeared across their clothes.
The duels started once more; to the right was a lion versus a crane, to the left seemed to be a sphinx against the white tiger.
Only the ones with strength or brains were left.
The sphinx and tiger collided, and the impact could be felt even in the air, shaking the audience.
Cracks ran through the grounds and up the walls of the arena.
Meanwhile, in the other battle, the crane has given flight to its human, who was busy activating a spell.
The woman flapped the majestic wings on her back, and suddenly, her eyes glowed, magic spiraling around her body.
The lion was stuck in the ground, though ready to pounce.
The beam of light struck dangerously towards the other woman, and she and her lion tumbled out of the way before they were directly hit.
They immediately returned fire with their own advanced, element summoning spell.
The stadium was filled with loud booms and cracks and explosions continuously until the other opponent dropped, which seemed to be a long time.
The girl who had the lion spirit appeared from the rising dust, limping off the fighting grounds to be healed as blood flowed down her arm.
And...the battle between the tiger and the sphinx was awfully quiet, and it wasn't until the dust settled that Elias saw the lifeless body of the man with the sphinx.
The girl who killed him only turned and walked off the stage.
Elias pursed his lips.
Another dead, and he was very strong.
Two were down, the white tiger and the crane were victorious.
In the next matching, Wayne came up on the stage and somehow his opponent was...
Whitney?
"What?" Elias asked, alarmed. "They won't possibly fight each other, will they?"
Master Xia shook his head. "You cannot switch opponents...but-"
Whitney raised her arm after sharing a long moment of exchanging silent looks with her brother.
"I surrender," she declared, backing off from the grounds. Her expression was more contented than disappointed.
Wayne nodded and he watched his sister go.
They didn't have go fight.
Elias frowned. "That easy? There's no consequence of anything?"
Master Xia rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, if she surrendered, it is the same as losing. So she is now disqualified for the trials."
"Wayne and Whitney, they fought each other a lot before and knows the other's technique like their own. If they fight it will be a stalemate..."
"Okay..." Elias mumbled.
On the other side of the grounds, the boy and his gray wolf won, and then his opponent was taken away on a stretcher.
Seeing the wolf, Elias remembered when he San Jing on the battlegrounds as well. Her spirit was also a wolf.
The sixteen-year-old had fought fiercely and defeated multiple opponents, rising in the ranks.
Too bad later on she was paired with Whitney, who didn't seem to hold back when she realized who her opponent was...
Did the two girls hate each other?
San Jing's eyes were still burning with resentment even after a whole day from her defeat.
Eryn glanced down at the four remaining contestants. There were Wayne and his griffin, the girl with her crane, another girl with her white tiger, and a boy with a gray wolf.
Whoever left standing tomorrow was to take a prize of five thousand gold pieces.
'Your brother is thinking hard about whether or not to challenge someone tomorrow...what about you?' Aragnes asked.
Eryn shook her head. "I'm not sure..."
'You have plenty of experience of when had you and your brother fight each other daily in the woods. You know your power...'
"Yeah, but, Elias is Elias. Here is different, there are so many people watching as well..."
'Hmm...just give it a thought, maybe at least one of you guys will participate tomorrow?'
_______________
Elias and Eryn sat down on the table outdoors in the guest courtyard, glancing up at the starry night sky.
They just finished their dinner with Master Xia and his children, and they quickly escaped after the long conversation they had with him.
Not that he was annoying or anything...but almost everything he said was pointed towards his son, like he was trying to get him to speak up and say something to a specific person.
"I want to," Elias suddenly said, breaking the silence.
Eryn shifted her gaze to him. "Want what?"
"To challenge, tomorrow," he said. "Drachnai already said, dragons must rise...and I'm already feeling it. I'm itching from the lack of action."
Eryn released a breath, smiling. She couldn't relate more, but she was unsure about all the attention they would attract.
"Are you positive?" she asked, leaning forward to rest her chin in her palm.
Elias grinned. "Yep. Just tell Master Xia and the others that I'm feeling unwell and that I can't watch the final trials tomorrow."
"What are you going to do?"
Elias winked. "You'll see."
_______________
The next morning as they arrived at the arena and got on their platforms, Eryn did as Elias said and told the others that he won't be coming today.
She overheard a snort from Evelyn Bai.
"He probably didn't come because he chickened out after seeing so much blood spilled...what can you expect from a loser who doesn't even have a spirit animal?"
Eryn sniffed and turned away.
She caught Ying's smile of approval as she turned to face the audience on the rising platform.
'My mother and I wish your brother luck.'
Eryn flinched as she realized Ying had just transmitted a message through her head, just as how she would hear Aragnes talking to her.
'Ah, don't worry, I can only do this, I can't tamper with your memory...'
Eryn peeked a glance behind her shoulder at the Pheonix as an acknowledgment, though chills ran down her spine after hearing her voice in her head.
She turned back around and focused on the fighting grounds.
The winners from yesterday, the wolf and the tiger opted to fight each other, as they were eager to see who would win between them.
But what was different in this fight was they were doing it out of respect, not for the prize. They had no intention to go too far and destroy their opponent.
This left Wayne and the girl with the crane waiting for challengers to take them on.
Murmurs passed through the stadium in waves as they waited, and waited, and waited.
No one came to challenge them.
Then, a man came onto the grounds and bowed before the judges and pointing at the girl with the crane.
The judge nodded.
This man was going to challenge the crane...but who will challenge Wayne?
Wayne stood there with a triumphant look on his face, his eyes searching for Eryn's.
Eryn ignored him, instead, searching for her brother.
She finally spotted him.
He came out of the front gates completely dressed in black robes; a dark mask shielded his eyes and most of his face.
She giggled.
So he decided to result to disguise..., she thought.
She watched as he went to the judge and pointed out Wayne, who seemed utterly surprised.
The audience was surprised as well, buzzing with remarks.
"But this Wayne Xia has a griffin. He is very powerful!"
"Who can defeat him except for the City Heads?"
Eryn turned a deaf ear to the murmurings in the crowd.
All she wanted was to see Elias' performance, and Wayne's expression when he is defeated in front of her.