"Aaalriiight! Let's begin the teeest!"
Announcer's voice echoed throughout the arena, followed by loud cheers and applause.
Lirayn looked around the arena, her expression getting tense as her eyes twitched slightly.
She drew a deep breath, then lowered her eyes and gazed at Miralyth.
['Hey, Mira, you ready for this?'] Lirayn thought, clenching her fingers tightly.
[('Of course! We're definitely getting that Rank!')] a voice brimming with confidence whispered in Lirayn's mind.
A gentle smile crossed Lirayn's face.
['Yeah! We're absolutely getting that Rank!']
Suddenly, Lirayn's surroundings grew dense, applying a surging pressure on her slim body and making every inhale a quiet struggle.
'Okay, I've got this... I'll definitely get that Rank.'
Lirayn drew another deep, pained breath, her appearance starting to subtly experience mystical changes.
Lirayn's eyes started glowing in a greyish hue as her long hair turned light-grey, flowing faintly in the pressing water.
A few strands of her hair began constantly shifting colours and glowing gently, giving her a surreal and otherworldly look.
A lance slowly emerged in her hand.
The lance had a jet-black handle, and a sharp, grey-coloured tip. Its body constantly shifted colours, glowing in different hues, mirroring Miralyth.
A cold but nervous expression formed on Lirayn's face as her eyes locked onto Averin, standing straight ahead on the other side of the dome.
The surroundings rapidly grew dense, constantly applying a crushing pressure on everyone inside the transparent dome.
But everyone inside the dome appeared to be unaffected, as if the pressure didn't exist at all.
The pressure kept rising sharply.
A few moments slipped by.
Then, a pained expression formed on Lirayn's face.
'This should be equal to the pressure at the depths of Twilight Reach... It should start decreasing at any moment now...'
But the pressure kept rising, constantly aggravating Lirayn's condition as she struggled to stay upright.
Lirayn clenched her teeth, the pained expression on her face worsening as she stared at Averin with wide eyes.
'How's he still fine? Isn't he a Depth-Stage Twilight-Bonded?'
Lirayn watched Averin's smiling face as he stood motionlessly on the bulky Seakin, with no sign of pain or struggle visible on his face.
The pressure surged again.
Lirayn's legs gave out, and she collapsed onto Miralyth, gasping for air as she struggled to rise, her gaze fixed on the back of Miralyth's head.
Miralyth also trembled uncontrollably, barely preventing herself from collapsing.
['You okay?']
...
[('...Yeah.')] a pained whisper entered Lirayn's mind.
Lirayn stared at Miralyth's shaking body.
A slight giggle escaped her mouth as she slowly pushed herself to her feet, huffing loudly.
After a moment, Lirayn was standing upright, her body shaking violently.
But she had a small smile on her face as she met Averin's gaze.
Averin looked at her, his smile slowly widening.
Then, the pressure slowly started subsiding.
Lirayn's trembling eased as the pressure decreased, now matching that of the depths of Twilight Reach.
A small, pained chuckle escaped Lirayn's mouth as she hastily turned her gaze to Miralyth, still huffing loudly.
['We did it! We passed the Pressure Test!'] Lirayn gently wiped her forehead, a wide, cheerful smile now hanging on her face.
A soft squeak left Miralyth's small mouth as she shook her head gently, then stared at the bulky Seakin, a large grin forming on her face.
[('...Easy! Couldn't even feel anything, should've made it harder.')] Miralyth's voice echoed in Lirayn's head.
"Haha... Yeah."
Lirayn sighed, then turned to look at the crowd.
The people had shocked, surprised expressions on their faces, seeming to cheer and shout, but no voices could be heard inside the dome.
'They seem... quite shocked!' Lirayn giggled cheerfully.
Lirayn slowly turned to Averin, and in an instant, her smile disappeared as a realization struck her.
She slowly scanned Averin's body.
"Where's his Ocealic?" She murmured softly,
drifting her gaze around Averin as if
searching for something.
Then Lirayn spun her gaze towards the bulky Seakin, staring at it for a moment.
The Seakin's entire body was sheathed in thick, dark-green scales, granting it a fearsome look.
Light-green, vein-like patterns ran across its body, a faint glow steadily pulsing through them.
Two thick, bulky fins extended from each side, drifting gently in the water.
Its face was fully green, covered in overlapping scales, with wide green eyes and a broad mouth.
Its thick, elongated tail slowly shifted behind it.
All the Stremoras in the dome stretched towards the Seakin, as if drawn to it.
'Mr. Averin's Link is a Vardanth...'
Lirayn clutched the black handle of her Ocealic, swallowing nervously.
Some moments passed by, Lirayn continued staring at Averin.
Then, Miralyth's whisper echoed in her mind.
[('Hey! Don't daydream, we haven't gotten that Rank yet!')]
Lirayn snapped out of her trance and took a look around the arena, taking in the Stremoras growing within the transparent dome.
She glanced at the spherical Reverics floating in the arena.
For a moment, everything was silent — then the announcer's voice echoed through the dome.
"Okkkaayyy! Nowww! time for the Ascendent's Trial!!!"
The crowd roared, its muffled cheers finally reaching Lirayn's ears.
The announcer's voice echoed again.
"The trial begins in three...!!!"
Lirayn's eyes glowed faintly, her grip on the Ocealic tightening even further.
"In twoooo...!!!"
Lirayn glanced around the cheering crowd, her gaze sharpening as it settled on Averin.
"In oneeee...!!!"
Averin's smile slowly vanished, and a green-coloured Ocealic, shaped like a staff, materialised in his hand.
"Let the trial beginnnn!!!!"
The moment the announcer's voice stopped reverberating, Lirayn and Miralyth vanished, leaving only an after-image behind.
They appeared directly above Averin, their gaze cold and unwavering, fixed on the Vardanth's head.
The surroundings seemed to freeze, bracing for something massive.
In an instant, Miralyth's tail slammed down, cutting through the water towards the Vardanth's massive head.
'Crash!'
A deafening sound reverberated throughout the transparent dome.
Miralyth's tail had struck something solid, but couldn't move past it.
Something had blocked the blow...
Lirayn's gaze darted to where the tail had landed.
There, she saw an exposed vein of the Vardanth had burst, and a thick, green root had sprung from the wound, blocking the blow…
Lirayn's gaze quickly shifted from the root to the Vardanth, then to Averin.
Both wore serious expressions, as if the exchange had barely fazed them.
Then, Averin's eyes began glowing in a green hue, so did the Vardanth's.
Lirayn gasped, her face growing pale.
['Mira! Move back!']
Miralyth glanced at the Vardanth's head, then spun around, trying to escape Averin's Seakin, but failed.
Something was holding her in place...
Lirayn whipped around, only to see that another vein of the Vardanth had burst, a thick root latching onto Miralyth's tail.
'Shit!'
Lirayn lunged towards the root that gripped Miralyth.
But before she could reach it, another root came crashing down, slamming Miralyth into the ground.
'Thud!'
The impact echoed through the dome.
Miralyth now lay motionless, a grey liquid splashing around the spot where she had fallen…
Loud squeaks escaped Miralyth's mouth.
A ribbon-like fin lay detached on the ground, and a large wound now marred her seemingly scaleless body.
Lirayn's gaze snapped to Miralyth, and she coughed up blood.
Lirayn looked down hastily.
There, a severe wound had opened on her waist, blood slowly dripping from it.
She clenched the wound with a trembling hand.
"Ahh…"
Lirayn turned her gaze back towards the trapped Miralyth.
The root that had just struck her writhed upwards, slowly wrapping itself in a green, glowing substance, preparing for another blow…
'No… Mira…'
For a split second, Lirayn stared at the root.
Then, ignoring her own wound, she gripped her Ocealic tightly with both hands.
She surged towards the root holding Miralyth, leaving an after-image behind, her Ocealic glowing faintly white.
She reached the root and delivered a clean, decisive cut.
...
The surroundings fell utterly still… nothing stirred for a moment.
Then, the section of the root holding Miralyth snapped apart, freeing her from the Vardanth's grasp.
"Mira, now! Move!" Lirayn shouted, clutching her wound once again.
Miralyth glanced at Lirayn for a split second, then hastily darted away from the Vardanth.
Lirayn exhaled, watching her escape, but her brief relief quickly faded, her expression darkening.
'Okay, attacking wasn't a good idea, we should've —'
Lirayn's thought never finished.
Averin surged towards Lirayn, his Ocealic Staff glowing green as he swung.
Lirayn spun around, a shocked expression flashing across her face as she barely blocked the strike with her Ocealic.
But the force of the blow slammed her onto the ground, her body landing near Miralyth.
Miralyth's eyes locked on Lirayn for a moment before instinctively rushing to her side.
She lifted up Lirayn's limp form and hurried towards the edge of the transparent dome.
•••
Lirayn coughed up blood again, her body trembling violently as she knelt on top of Miralyth's head, her Ocealic lying a short distance away.
[('Hey! are you okay?')] A worried whisper entered her mind.
Lirayn wiped the blood from her mouth, picked up her Ocealic, and slowly pushed herself upright, her legs still shaking.
['Yeah... I'm fine']
Lirayn slowly shifted her gaze to the Vardanth, then to Averin, her vision noticeably blurry.
Averin met her eyes with a cold expression.
Both the Vardanth and Averin floated calmly on the other side of the transparent dome, their bodies unmarked by any visible injuries.
Two thick, elongated roots fluttered around the Vardanth's form...
'Damn it… we messed up.'
Lirayn's eyes dropped to Miralyth's injury.
A grey-colored liquid seeped from the wound.
She gritted her teeth.
'I knew we couldn't win against a Warden-Class Seakin head-on… and yet I still attacked Mr. Averin... Stupid idiot.'
Lirayn clenched the handle of her Ocealic.
'I should've used Corrup—'
A thick root, sharpened like a blade, tore through the water towards Lirayn and Miralyth.
Miralyth reacted instantly, dodging aside.
The blade-like root slammed into the transparent dome, unleashing a thunderous impact.
Lirayn lost her footing and fell onto Miralyth's head.
['Lirayn! Focus, stop thinking about stupid crap!'] a nagging voice snapped inside her mind.
Lirayn forced her gaze to the blade-like root… then to Averin.
Fury twisted his expression, his cold stare fixed on Lirayn's limp body.
['Lirayn… what do we do?'] Another voice echoed in her mind, trembling with fear and fragile hope.
Lirayn looked at Miralyth.
She was trembling too, just like her... yet her gaze remained locked on Averin and the Vardanth.
Lirayn slowly picked up the Ocealic and rose to her feet once more, her eyes locking onto Averin.
She closed her eyes for a split second and took a deep breath.
'Okay, it's fine... for now, we can still fight.'
Lirayn opened her eyes, her grip tightening around the Ocealic.
Her attention shifted to the floating Stremoras.
In the next instant, one of them snapped into her hand, wrapped tightly around the Ocealic, binding it to her body.
Lirayn's gaze returned to Averin.
['Mira… we can't win this fight head-on.']
She drew another breath.
['But that doesn't mean we can't win at all.']
A faint greyish glow bloomed in Lirayn's eyes.
['We have to fight like a Lurer would. We aren't built for direct combat.'] she thought, watching every subtle movement of Averin's body.
Lirayn glanced at Miralyth, a pained yet genuine smile forming on her face.
['We're going to win. So trust me… and use Corrupted Gleam.']
Miralyth turned to her, a spark returning to her eyes.
[('Okay…')]
Her eyes began to glow with the same faint grey hue — and in an instant, the entire dome darkened, as if every trace of light had been devoured.
The Vardanth flinched, staring at its surroundings as the dome was suddenly swallowed by darkness.
Complete silence...
It felt as though Lirayn and Miralyth no longer existed within the dome at all.
Then, the vanished light returned... converging from every direction and crashing down upon the Verdanth's eyes and body.
The Vardanth moved frantically, thrashing as it tried to escape the relentless illumination.
But it couldn't.
The light followed.
A shape faintly resembling Miralyth flickered into view.
The Vardanth lunged towards it, swinging one of its roots, but it cut through nothing but water.
The root slammed into the ground.
In the next instant, Miralyth surged forward, smashing her tail into the Vardanth's head before vanishing back into the darkness.
The Vardanth jerked, scanning its surroundings wildly as panic crept into its movements.
"Selis, calm down. It was just a single strike. We won't let them get another one, okay?"
Averin's calm voice echoed through Selis' mind.
She nodded slowly, turning back towards the darkness.
Another distant shape appeared.
Selis fired a thick root towards it, only for the figure to dissolve upon impact.
No sound...
No squeaks...
No shrieks...
Another Miralyth appeared.
A vein burst along Selis' body, forming a longer, sharper roo, but before she could attack, the figure vanished once more.
Then, the darkness lifted.
Light flooded the dome.
Selis and Averin stared around in confusion, until they noticed Lirayn and Miralyth on the opposite side of the dome, panting heavily.
They looked utterly spent, their bodies no longer capable of continuing the fight...
Averin rubbed his forehead and sighed.
"Selis… just do it," he said quietly.
Selis turned to Averin, then raised the sharpened root and hurled it towards Miralyth.
The root blurred towards her, but just before impact, a faint grin crossed Lirayn's face.
"Mira… use Echoic Glint."
Darkness devoured the light once more.
'Crash!'
Averin gazed in the roots direction, frozen.
'That wasn't the sound of hitting flesh...'
His eyes widened as he turned to Selis.
Selis took a glance at him and tried to move, but the root was already rushing back towards her.
Before she could escape, it pierced her scales, green blood spraying around her as a loud shriek escaped her mouth.
Averin coughed, clutching his chest.
He looked up — only to find Lirayn and Miralyth directly above Selis...
Miralyth struck her bulky head.
...
Selis collapsed onto the ground, roots bursting wildly from her body, but before they could reach anything, Miralyth was gone, swallowed once more by the darkness.
***
This continued for some time.
Miralyth kept forming vivid illusions using light, slowly closing in on Selis whenever an opening appeared, striking her body with her jet-black tail.
At times, her attacks failed, forcing Miralyth to expend large amounts of energy just to land a single blow.
As the fight dragged on, both Miralyth's and Lirayn's conditions steadily worsened.
Though neither of them had suffered fresh wounds, the constant use of Corrupted Gleam and Echoic Glint rapidly depleted their Auralis.
Soon, the surrounding darkness began to weaken, making Lirayn and Miralyth faintly visible.
The illusions resembling Miralyth slowly lost their vividness, no longer forming a clear, streamlined Seakin, but instead dissolving into unstable streaks of colour.
Lirayn stood atop Miralyth's head, huffing loudly as she scanned the surroundings while the darkness continued to fade.
Then, her legs gave out.
She fell to her knees and began coughing violently.
Lirayn slowly turned her gaze towards Miralyth, her vision reduced to little more than a blur.
Miralyth's body drifted downwards, sinking towards the ground as she struggled to remain afloat.
'This is not good… We're almost out of Auralis…'
Lirayn scanned Miralyth's body, tapping her own head with the handle of her Ocealic to clear her vision.
Miralyth's injury had worsened, blood now poured freely from the wound.
Lirayn turned her gaze to the surroundings.
The darkness had almost completely vanished.
'This is bad… it can't end like this… I won't let it end like this.'
She tried to tighten her grip on the Ocealic — but failed.
Her wrist was broken...
The weapon now hung loosely near her hand, bound to her body by a red-coloured Stremora.
Lirayn slowly turned to Averin, now clearly visible across the dome.
She drew a deep, ragged breath.
Then, she looked at Miralyth.
['Hey… you think you can manage one last strike?']
Miralyth didn't respond immediately.
Then, she bumped her head against the transparent dome and shook it lightly.
[('Of course! Not just one... I can manage a thousand more!')]
A pained yet confident whisper echoed in Lirayn's mind.
Lirayn tried to giggle, but instead, blood spilled from her mouth.
She wiped it away gently.
Then she closed her eyes, gripping the black handle of her Ocealic with both hands.
['Okay, Mira… focus. We have to put everything into this final strike, because if this doesn't work… we'll fail the Trial.']
The blade of Lirayn's Ocealic slowly began to glow.
Soon, it was completely engulfed in brilliant white light.
Miralyth followed suit, her jet-black tail flaring with the same white glow.
As the light intensified, the remaining darkness receded rapidly.
Within moments, it had vanished entirely.
Lirayn opened her eyes and locked her gaze onto Averin and Selis.
Both were covered in numerous wounds, yet their eyes remained sharp, fixed directly on her and Miralyth.
Dozens of thick, sharpened roots protruded from Selis' body, all aimed squarely at Miralyth.
Selis launched one.
The root blurred through the water, surging straight towards Miralyth.
Lirayn watched it approach, but her expression didn't change.
Her cold gaze remained fixed ahead.
['Mira… let's go. Use Luminous Lash.']
Everything slowed.
Lirayn and Miralyth vanished in an instant.
The incoming root was sliced cleanly in half before Selis could even blink.
Startled, Selis hurled every remaining root towards the vague silhouette of Miralyth.
But that figure wasn't an illusion.
It was Miralyth herself — moving at blurring speed, charging straight towards Selis.
The roots were severed mid-flight, splitting apart before they could even react.
In the next instant, Miralyth was directly above her.
Selis snapped her gaze upwards, but her eyes were far too slow to follow Miralyth's movements.
Miralyth twisted her body mid-air, her cold gaze locking onto Selis and brought her glowing white tail crashing down upon her.
…