—
🎙️ "MATCH COMPLETE —
Fan Yumei, victorious.
Total Score: 29/40."
———
A sharp drop from my previous 35.
The crowd murmured.
Commander Qian Shiyan folded his arms.
Principal Renshu leaned forward slightly on his cane.
No smile this time.
—
Mystic landed beside me, her tail flicking low.
I didn't speak.
Didn't move.
I just stared ahead.
"I don't want a partner who wins when she feels like it," I said.
Her voice rumbled softly, hesitant. « I thought it'd be easy. I didn't mean to— »
"I don't care what you meant." I kept my voice soft. Controlled. "You don't get to gamble on your pride and put both of us at risk."
She fell silent.
I turned and started walking across the floating ramp toward the back platform. My boots clicked with each step.
"I wanted to believe we could grow together. But if I have to drag you behind me like some cloud toy…" I said quietly, sharp. "Then I'll put you in the sanctuary. I'll train you there until you listen."
Behind me, her presence dimmed. No thunder. No wind.
Just silence.
I paused mid-step. Let my shoulders drop a little. Let the pain show, just once.
"I don't want to lose you."
I looked up—toward the dome, where the rankings flickered above.
"But I can't protect you if you won't listen. And I won't lose because you think it's funny to play games."
Then, almost under my breath:
"I hope there's someone out there with a leviathan strong enough to slap the arrogance out of you."
I didn't wait for her reply.
—
She stayed on the cloud field, curled fins and dim aura.
Alone.
For the first time, the storm inside her didn't surge.
It trembled.
—
🎙️ "ALL ELIMINATED COMBATANTS — VACATE AIRBORNE ARENAS IMMEDIATELY. NEXT DUEL INITIATING."
—-
⚡ The dome pulsed again, sweeping away debris and lingering qi. I stood beneath the scorched sky platform, hands loose at my sides. Mystic drifted slowly toward the staging ring.
—-
🎙️ "NEXT MATCH: FAN YUMEI versus KELAN SHU — Sky-Class High-Elevation Combatant. Opponent incoming."
—-
The wind shifted.
From the far gate, a dark blue silhouette rose with spears of ice and an expression colder than the clouds.
I narrowed my eyes.
Mystic didn't speak.
Not this time.
She'd learned something—at least, I hoped she had. Her power wasn't enough on its own. We needed discipline. Unity. Or we'd break.
And if we broke, that was it.
I wouldn't survive a second failure.
Not in this life.
I'd only been given one more chance—and I was going to do it right this time.
——
🎙️ "NEXT MATCH: Fan Yumei versus Kelan Shu — Sky-Class High-Elevation Combatant. Opponent incoming."
——
The upper dome flared with stormlight, glyphs warping air pressure in spirals. Temperature dropped four degrees almost instantly.
Across the way, Kelan Shu came into view—calm, deadly, ice-armored. His spears gleamed under the clouds, and his Ice-Piercer Roc hovered like a bladed phantom behind him.
I stayed still.
Mystic hovered beside me, quiet—but not right. Her fins tensed, not in readiness. In shame.
No resonance.
No games.
Just tension.
I kept my stance neutral. Lips tight.
She had to improve this round. She had to prove she wanted this too.
—
I launched forward as the arena ignited.
Mystic moved.
But it was off.
Hesitation in the air—half a beat too long. Her storm wake curved unevenly. She wasn't being lazy or arrogant this time.
She was unsure.
I didn't have time to fix her.
"Mystic—Cloud Veil, now!"
She triggered it late.
Kelan's second spear clipped her tail and slammed her back.
I moved on instinct—jumping off her back mid-air, boots flaring with cloud qi. I hit the edge platform, rolled into a crouch, and drew my twin blades.
Red and black.
Chaos qi flared up the moment I gripped them.
I dashed in low—spinning both blades—flames and bent light cutting arcs around my body.
He blocked the red one with a reverse sweep, but the black blade shaved a clean slice from his ice-armored wrist.
Mystic circled overhead—too slow again—but watching.
I didn't look at her. Didn't need to.
"Kelan's waiting for me to stall," I murmured. "Then I won't."
I smashed both blades together—chaos energy detonating between them—and hurled the sphere at his feet.
The ground shook.
I dove low, reversed blades again, then leapt onto a wind ribbon just under the cloud line.
"Mystic! Move now or don't come back!"
I meant it.
She launched—sloppy, fast, committed.
Slapped into Kelan's back mid-recovery.
I didn't waste it.
I jumped back up, blades reversed—cut down in a spinning arc, chaos blasting across both spears.
One snapped in half.
Then the round ended.
—-
🎙️ "ROUND ONE:
Kelan Shu — 21 pts.
Fan Yumei — 17 pts."
—-
A loss.
Not a big one.
But a waste.
I landed beside Mystic, breathing hard—not from effort.
From frustration.
"That," I said flatly, "should've been ours."
It wasn't about winning. I didn't care about tallies or applause.
I cared about the score. The metrics. The performance grade.
Because I'd died once already.
This was my second life.
And I couldn't afford to mess this one up. Not again. Not if I wanted to stay alive long enough to make it matter.
Mystic lowered her head.
Quiet.
No resistance.
—
🌀 ROUND TWO — Beast-Only Combat
—
This time, she didn't pause.
She flew sharp, eyes locked.
Cloud veils spiraled tight, defensive arcs curling into my old footwork patterns. She saw the second spear before it formed—struck before it extended.
No grace. Just fury.
But finally—focus.
She mirrored everything I'd drilled into her—feints, reversals, pressure shifts.
Kelan's roc dove from behind.
She twisted mid-spin, dove, and shot thunder straight into its chest.
CRACK.
It spiraled away.
🎙️ "BEAST ROUND COMPLETE — Fan Yumei wins Round Two."
—
——
Final score blinked above:
—
🎖️ Fan Yumei: 31/40
——
Not my best.
But enough.
Just enough.
—
In the staging zone, I stood beside Mystic while we floated toward the off-ramp. I didn't speak.
Didn't need to.
Commander Qian still hadn't unfolded his arms.
Principal Renshu's gaze hadn't softened either.
I kept my jaw tight.
"Mystic," I finally said.
She turned toward me.
I didn't meet her gaze.
"You've got ten minutes before the next match."
I let the words hang.
"Figure out if you're my partner or my problem."
The wind howled across the dome.
But nothing stirred between us.
Not yet.
Nine minutes. That's all the time we had left to get this right.