Lira knelt on the cold, unyielding ground of the arena, her blade lying useless at her side. Her body trembled, wracked with exhaustion, the forbidden pill's toll gnawing at her strength. The crowd's jeers, the weight of their disbelief, pressed down on her like a suffocating wave.
'Where did it go all wrong?' she thought, her vision swimming as her gaze flicked from the dirt beneath her knees to Lucavion, standing above her with that infuriating smirk. 'Why is this happening? How dare he…?'
Her thoughts spiraled, latching onto the one unshakable truth she had believed all her life: she was superior. She was chosen. The world had always bent to her will. The Cloud Heavens Sect had always stood above the rest. Her talent, her rank, her strength—none of it had ever been questioned. Not until now.
