The afternoon sun bathed the Velandor stadium in a golden glow as the crowd roared with excitement. Cheers rang out, mingling with the sound of party poppers, honkers, and the shimmer of confetti raining down. The Arcane Arena tournament had concluded, and the reward ceremony was in full swing. Arion stood off to the side, in a corner of the stadium with the other winners, his medal and trophy already in hand. His expression remained stoic, betraying no pride or excitement, as if the achievement held little meaning for him. A gatekeeper approached Arion and said curtly, "You can go now." Without a word or expression, Arion slipped out through the corner gate, moving silently along the pathway. From the crowd, a young boy's excited voice rang out, "Mom, look! That's Arion, the flame guy! He was so cool!" Hearing this, Arion glanced at the boy and offered a faint, amused smirk before turning his gaze away. Continuing his stride, he muttered under his breath, his face returning to its usual blank expression, "Calling a fire-user 'cool' is some creative irony." As he made his way into the section of audience seats where his classmates were gathered, he spotted Kade sitting nearby. Noticing Arion, Kade lit up and waved enthusiastically. With a grin, he leapt to his feet, sprinting over with visible excitement before plopping down beside him. As soon as Arion sat down, he grabbed Kade's bag without hesitation and started rummaging through it. "Man, I haven't eaten a thing since I woke up. Let's see if you've got something in here." Kade raised an eyebrow. "For real? You didn't eat anything?" "Maybe a glass of milk, that's all," Arion replied, pulling out a single piece of bread. His expression soured. "What's this? Just bread?" "Yeah," Kade said with a shrug. "I already finished all my snacks during the ceremony. I was hungry too." Arion let out a resigned sigh but wasted no time devouring the dry bread. Kade grinned and said in a teasing tone, "Honestly, I shouldn't have even given you that bread. Not after the betrayal you pulled on us. You went and snagged the third prize all on your own while we couldn't even make it into the top 10!" With the bread still in his mouth, Arion mumbled, "Mhmrmrmrmmmrmhm!" "What?" Kade asked, leaning closer. Arion swallowed the bread and shot him a pointed look. "Don't even start with me. I told you all a thousand times that evening to practice more with me, but no, you guys wanted to hang out at Felix's house instead!" Kade nodded thoughtfully. "Oh yeah, I'll give you that. Felix's parents barely ever leave him alone, so we didn't want to miss the chance. Besides, I don't think anyone would've trained properly without Zar around. He's still not here... where is he?" Arion shrugged, his tone neutral. "I don't know. He's probably unwell. Remember how he looked on the practice day?" Kade shivered slightly. "Yeah, I remember. He looked... so scary." Arion's expression remained unreadable, but his thoughts were far from calm.*I know exactly where you are, Zar. Your book is no longer a secret to me. As soon as the audience and my classmates get absorbed in the theater act, I'll slip out of the stadium and head toward Valtheris*Arion resolved silently, his gaze fixed ahead, betraying nothing. Unbeknownst to him, Selene was seated just behind Arion and Kade, quietly listening to their conversation. Her thoughts stirred as she leaned back*I almost believed Zar didn't care about me anymore. That must be why he rejected my request for extra lessons that day. I hope he gets better soon.* Meanwhile, in the otherworldly realm, Zar struggled to process the chaotic events that had unfolded in mere moments. His steps were slow and uneven, his battered body limping toward his equipment bag. Each movement sent fresh waves of pain through his injuries, but he pushed forward. Reaching the bag, he dropped to one knee and began rummaging through it. After a moment, he muttered with a faint, tired smirk, "It's a miracle this backpack made it through all of that without so much as a scratch." With a slow, deliberate motion, he zipped the bag shut and sank back onto the ground, sprawled out as exhaustion washed over him like a tidal wave. His voice, though quiet and hoarse, carried the weight of his fatigue as he began to reflect aloud. "I don't know if absorbing that orb was a brilliant idea… or a death sentence." He let out a shaky breath, staring blankly at the alien sky above. "That orb… it was used in the ancient wars by warriors when they knew their deaths were inevitable. A final push to take their enemies with them." His eyelids fluttered as the fatigue deepened, his words coming slower. "Because after that… the aftereffects left them so weak, they could never fight again. I don't even know what it's gonna do to me… in the next few minutes…" Zar's voice trailed off, his breathing uneven as his battered body teetered on the edge of unconsciousness. Zar let out a soft, almost delirious giggle, his voice laced with fatigue and irony. "That idiot Orestes… his biggest mistake was playing around instead of just finishing me off with one strike." He paused, the faint hint of a grin crossing his battered face. "No one—not even me—could've guessed that a tiny chunk of rock would come flying out of nowhere and send him packing. The guy's a third-tier shard manipulator… and yet he never once used his third-tier shards. Even the daggers he summoned were second-tier at best. Like he was holding back on purpose. He made me feel so… unworthy." "Can I stand up? Let's try..." Zar muttered to himself, gritting his teeth as he placed his palms flat against the ground. With all the energy he could muster, he pushed himself upward, his arms trembling under the strain. Miraculously, he managed to stand—barely. His shoulders sagged, his breathing heavy, but he was upright.The moment he slung his bag over his shoulder, a searing pain shot through his calf where the shard spike had pierced him earlier.Zar's eyes shot wide open, his breath catching in his throat as he screamed silently. "Aghhh—!" He staggered, his legs wobbling like a newborn fawn as he desperately fought to regain his balance. And then, out of nowhere, Gorath leapt onto Zar's bag with the enthusiasm of a child. "What the—?!" Zar yelped as the added weight tugged him backward. His arms flailed uselessly in the air, and for a split second, he seemed to hang there, suspended between stability and chaos. Thud! Zar landed flat on his back with a loud crash, his breath knocked clean out of him. His bag tumbled to the side, and Gorath—completely unbothered—went flying through the air like a rock from a catapult, landing with an audible clunk. But before he could sit up, a new sound drew his attention. Zar turned his head just in time to see Gorath—now a scattered heap of stones and limbs—lying in a ridiculous pile. "WHAT?!" Zar shouted, his voice echoing through the silent realm. In less than ten seconds, Gorath's pieces began to vibrate. One by one, they reassembled, clicking into place with mechanical precision until the little golem stood once again—perfectly whole, as if nothing had happened. "So... this thing's immortal too?" He wiped his face with a hand, exhaling sharply as he pushed himself to a sitting position. Gorath busied himself brushing dirt off his shoulder, smacking it repeatedly with his hand—an awkward, fingerless stump—his rocky face twisted into an exaggerated, irritated scowl. Zar glared at it, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Don't tell me you're still the weakest creature to exist in this realm."