The competition grounds hummed with tension. The duels had continued relentlessly for six days, each battle forging warriors through the crucible of celestial combat.
Dawn, however, had spent those days studying, adapting, and losing—more than he cared to admit. His losses had been painful, but they had given him something far more valuable than victory. Insight.
And now, it was his turn.
For the last time since the competition began, Dawn stepped forward as the challenger. This time however, will be different aince he was stronger and especially more spirited today!
---
His first opponent was a towering student—broad-shouldered, with arms thick as tree trunks. The same one who had overpowered him with sheer force days before.
The brute smirked, rolling his shoulders. "Didn't get enough last time, huh? You barely lasted a minute."
Dawn ignored the taunt, stepping forward with his rapier in hand. It was a battle of attrition lasting over 30 minutes, though I wouldn't argue with a brute, especially not when I lost.
The match began.
The warhammer came down with a thunderous crash, but Dawn wasn't there. His body flowed like water, guided by Silver Tide, his movements smooth and unshakable.
A second strike followed, then a third—each one narrowly missing as Dawn weaved between the attacks.
His opponent snarled. "Stop dodging and fight!"
Dawn didn't reply. His Astral Eyes flickered, reading the shift in his opponent's weight before he even swung.
He moved first.
His rapier hummed, vibrating at a near-imperceptible frequency as it struck in rapid succession.
A normal thrust wouldn't have done much against his opponent's heavy armor. But this wasn't a normal thrust.
By applying celestial energy in a controlled way, he induced Vibration, controlled Vibration at hogh frequency. As such, Each strike landed like a hundred at once. Shockwaves rippled through the metal, destabilizing his opponent's balance.
The brute staggered, trying to recover—
Dawn struck one final time, aiming at the warhammer's shaft. The weapon snapped in half.
His opponent fell to his knees, stunned.
Dawn exhaled.
One down.
---
His next opponent—a lean, quick-footed student wielding a halberd—grinned. "You caught me off guard last time, but that won't happen again."
Dawn simply raised his rapier. Weaver's Threads had already been set.
As soon as the fight began, his opponent moved with swift, practiced arcs. The halberd's reach kept Dawn from getting close.
But that was fine. He wasn't planning to get close.
The earlier battle had given him enough time to spread his web of perception. The celestial threads spread through the air, clinging to the ground and walls, giving Dawn real-time feedback. He could feel every vibration, every shift in stance.
His opponent lunged.
Dawn dodged a fraction of a second early. "Too slow."
The halberd missed.
A flicker of frustration crossed his opponent's face. "Tch."
Another swing—this time, feinting left but striking right.
Dawn already knew. Because the celestial threads reacted differently. Through them he could find out if an opponent had put enough weight behind their attacks. This one clearly didn't put enough.
He sidestepped effortlessly, using his threads to adjust his position at the perfect moment.
Before his opponent could recover, Dawn's vibrating rapier struck the halberd's shaft.
This was no normal strike. The rapier vibrated intensely, stacking a hundred strikes into one, each one with similar strength to back up. As such, the strike which looked disproportionate due to a clash between a thin rapuer and a wide halberd ended in a way that defied imagination of those looking, except for the instructors who nodded approvingly.
The halberd shattered.
His opponent's eyes widened in disbelief as the broken weapon clattered to the ground.
Dawn simply stepped back. Another win.
---
Now came the real challenge.
The noble student stepped forward, his uniform pristine, his expression unreadable. He did not underestimate Dawn.
Instead, he smiled. "You've improved."
Dawn said nothing, gripping his rapier.
The noble drew his sword. "Shall we?"
The duel began.
The noble moved first.
His blade flashed—precise, relentless. Dawn barely blocked the first strike.
A second followed. Then a third. Each one faster than the last.
Dawn barely kept up.
With the enhancement of Silver Tide, his movement let him flow out of immediate danger, but even so—he was constantly on the defensive. He dodging attacks dangerously.
He tried to counter, but his rapier lacked the refinement of his opponent's swordplay. He counterattacked. A swift thrust of rapier at the opponents shoulder was dodged with a twist of his opponents body. The noble continued his attack, Dawn tried to block on with his handguard while attacking at the same time. The noble simply moved his sword with such elegance that he somehow manged to redirect his sword to intercept the blow, albeit barely.
Slowly but surely, Dawn was getting overwhelmed.
The noble pressed forward. "Come on, is that all?"
Dawn gritted his teeth. Astral Eyes flickered.
His opponent was flawless. His swordplay had no openings. His footwork had no wasted movements.
His opponent didn't make a mistake, Dawn thought. So he would create one.
Dawn took a step back—an obvious retreat. The noble lunged forward to capitalize on it.
That was the mistake.
Dawn's Weaver's Threads had already been set. The threads which were too weak to stop even a fly in the beginning, was now rapidly solidifying into a sharp but strong thread with the generous infusion of Celestial energy over a long time.
The moment the noble stepped in, his foot caught on an invisible thread.
He faltered.
It was only for an instant—but Dawn didn't need more than that.
He lunged, his vibrating rapier striking with the full force of stacked impacts.
The noble barely blocked—but his stance was broken.
Dawn didn't let up. He twisted, sweeping his blade low—shattering his opponent's balance completely.
The noble stumbled.
Dawn's final strike landed—a shallow pierce to the shoulder.
The noble's sword clattered to the ground.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then, the noble laughed softly.
"You set a trap for me," he murmured. "That was clever."
Dawn exhaled heavily, trying to steady his breath. "You were too clean," he admitted. "I had to make you messy."
The noble chuckled, shaking his head. "I see. Then I suppose I should learn from this loss."
The crowd erupted into a noisy chatter. Whispers, shouts and many more noise erupted simultaneously. Disbelief was the prominent reaction amidst all noise, the only constant.
Dawn barely heard them.
His body ached, his mind reeled, and yet—
For the first time, he wasn't just surviving.
He had truly won.