The stadium no longer resembled anything they had seen before. The stands gaped empty, the noise of the fleeing crowd slowly fading toward the exits, and only the roar of battle filled the space.
Kael guided Iron Blaze, which struck down at one of the shadow warriors with its usual momentum. Behind him, as always, the titan appeared — its cracked, glowing armor looking as though veins of lava ran through it, its massive wings scattering sparks with every movement, its eyes burning deep, like the inside of a furnace.
"Flame Rush!"
The explosion scattered three shadow warriors at once.
Not far away, Shiro worked with Frost Phantom. The icy wolf let out a howl behind him once again, its eyes glowing blue, as it froze one of the shadow figures' legs with long, chilling streaks before it could even attack.
"Frost Phantom, Absolute Zero!"
The ice spread out, and an entire group of shadow warriors froze in place.
Beside him, Ren spun in place, Crimson Tornado trailing a blazing vortex behind it, sweeping away everything in its path.
Akira fought standing at the edge of the stands, aiming her top toward the ground as the many-eyed, shadowy entity behind her struck another blow against an approaching dark figure.
"That's the tenth wave already," she panted. "Do they ever run out?"
"Not until Aurelion stops," Orion replied, deflecting an attack with Titan Chronos. The blue light slowed the opponent for a moment with every strike, as if time itself obeyed him.
Zerath fought at the far edge of the field, his movements measured, almost bored, as Apollyon Genesis scattered one of the waves with cosmic light.
"I could go home with this much power to spare," he remarked to no one in particular, launching another strike.
Ryujiro continued fighting on his own front, Dragon Vortex drawing a red vortex around itself. He didn't look at the others, didn't speak to them — he just fought, as though this were an entirely separate match for him.
At the edge of the stands, more and more shadow warriors kept emerging from the cracks, one after another. One of them suddenly turned toward Akira, its top already aimed.
Akira didn't hesitate. She aimed her top at once, and the many-eyed entity scattered the attacker with a single strike.
"There won't be enough of you," she muttered, continuing to fight her way toward the others.
But something was starting to change in Kael.
Iron Blaze spun faster and faster, striking harder with each blow, and the fire titan seemed to grow larger every time it appeared. Kael felt his hand trembling around the launcher, not from exhaustion — but because the top seemed to be seeking out new targets almost on its own.
"Kael!" Shiro called out. "Slow down a little!"
"I can't," Kael gritted through his teeth. "I'm not the one controlling this."
The fire titan let out a massive roar then, not waiting for Kael's signal — it simply charged at the nearest group of shadow warriors, dragging Iron Blaze along with it.
"Kael!" Orion turned toward him, his eyes widening. "Let go of its impatience! Don't fight against it, but don't let it take control either!"
Kael tried to hold back the momentum, but the titan's power kept growing, flames now flaring up around the top itself, as though the very air were burning.
"It won't listen to me!" Kael shouted, dropping to his knees from the strain.
Above the stadium, Aurelion's projected form watched the scene, his smile slowly fading from his face. His eyes narrowed for a moment as they fixed on Kael.
"Interesting," he murmured quietly, mostly to himself.
The fire titan rose into the air then, its wings unfurling, and for a moment it seemed to have completely broken away from Kael — moving with a will of its own, no longer waiting for its master's command.
Orion rushed over immediately.
"Kael, look at me! Don't try to control its power — control yourself!"
Kael looked up, gasping, drenched in sweat. The words slowly found their way to him through the chaos.
He closed his eyes.
The fire titan's roar fell silent in his mind for a moment. Only his own heartbeat remained.
When he opened his eyes again, something had changed in his gaze.
"Enough," he said quietly, but his voice was calmer now.
Iron Blaze slowly, reluctantly returned to its previous rhythm. The fire titan still hovered behind him, but it no longer charged forward on its own — it stopped, waiting.
Kael pulled himself up, gasping.
"I thought I was going to lose it," he whispered.
"You nearly did," Orion replied seriously. "That's what I was talking about."
Above the stadium, Aurelion watched the scene for a long moment before speaking again.
"That's enough for today," he finally said, his voice sounding more tired now than it ever had before.
The shadow warriors all halted at once, then slowly seeped back into the cracks in the ground, as though they had never been there. The black smoke dispersed into the air.
"You've shown me what I was curious about," Aurelion continued, his form beginning to fade slowly. "The trial officially begins tomorrow. This… was only a taste."
"Wait!" Orion shouted after him, but the projected form had already vanished, as though it had never existed.
Silence settled over the stadium. The smoke slowly cleared from the air, the cracks in the ground still lying dark like scars.
Kael held Iron Blaze in his palm, now glowing calmly, steadily.
"This was only the beginning, wasn't it?" he asked quietly.
Orion didn't answer right away. He only nodded.
Zerath watched them from the far end of the field, his expression unreadable. Then, without a word, he turned and walked out of the ruined stadium.
Ryujiro watched him go, then glanced at Kael.
"This isn't just a tournament anymore," he said, almost approvingly. "Get ready."
With that, he left as well, without looking back.
Kael stood in the middle of the stadium, surrounded by the marks of battle, and he knew — whatever awaited them tomorrow, this evening had shown just how close they had come to losing themselves.
To be continued in Chapter 17…