"Come and prove it."
Lira tightened her grip on her blade, her knuckles whitening as her breathing quickened. Lucavion's taunting words echoed in her mind, and for the first time in her life, they struck something deeper than rage—they struck fear. A fear she couldn't place, one she couldn't control. She had always been the strongest in her sect, her "talent" eclipsing those around her. But now, that very foundation felt like it was crumbling beneath her feet.
She forced her thoughts back to her training, to the countless lessons drilled into her by her mother and the elders of the sect. The Cloud Heavens Sect had molded her into what she was—a warrior of unparalleled rank among her peers, the prodigy who climbed higher than anyone else in half the time. While others struggled for every step forward, she ascended effortlessly, her body devouring mana at a rate no one else could match.
