"If I say I just want to spar with you, will you believe it?"

Cael’s voice was light, almost playful, as if he had asked about the weather rather than a fight.

Hearing Cael’s question, Elara let out a chuckle. The sound was dry, skeptical.

"Well... it is very hard to believe."

Cael nodded.

"Yeah, I think so too. But it’s the truth. Unless you want to fight for real."

Elara stood up slowly, brushing dirt from her knees. Her golden flames flickered around her wrists, responding to her rising pulse.

"Fine. I’ll play with you."

Cael tilted his head slightly, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Be my guest."

Elara no longer hesitated to attack.

Golden flames covered her wrists as she punched forward. Instantly, a golden fire fist shot out from Elara’s arm, tearing through the air with a hungry roar.

Cael’s eyes widened as the fire fist hit his body and pushed him back. His boots scraped against the earth, leaving shallow grooves in the soil.

Elara’s teammates sighed in relief. One of them muttered,

"It seems he wasn’t a big deal after all."

But Elara felt something amiss.

She watched as Cael started to dissipate into the air, his form breaking apart like mist under sunlight. Her eyes widened as she realized the truth.

An afterimage. Or an illusion.

"Ah, my badge?"

One of Elara’s teammates cried out in panic, his hand flying to his arm where the badge had been moments ago.

Elara turned and frowned. Her gaze swept across the clearing, searching for any sign of the silver-haired boy.

"What are you planning, Caelir?"

Just then, a voice answered her from the edge of the trees.

"Nothing much."

Elara turned back and saw Cael leaning his back against a tree, his posture casual, his expression calm. He looked as if he had been standing there for hours.

Cael smiled and lifted his hand, holding a badge between his fingers. The metal caught the filtered sunlight, glinting softly.

"Are you looking for this?"

The boy who lost his badge was shocked.

"How did you...?"

Under the watchful eyes of Elara and her team, Cael tossed the badge into the air and caught it with practiced ease.

"Fight me with all you’ve got. Otherwise, you don’t stand a chance."

...

On the other side of the stadium, as the darling of Arhal City, a screen always kept track of Elara Grace.

The moment Cael and Elara engaged in battle, the crowd erupted like a raging volcano.

The sound was deafening, a wall of noise that bounced off the stadium walls and echoed through the stands.

They saw Elara take out her weapon, a spear, as she thrusted at the silver-haired boy. The spear tip glowed with golden flames, leaving trails of heat in the air.

But the boy was not outdone. As the spear reached him, the silver-haired boy became three, his form splitting like light through a prism.

The spear pierced a fake one, which dissolved into nothing.

"Is that an illusion?"

Someone in the crowd muttered, leaning forward in their seat.

"Maybe."

The person beside him answered, eyes locked on the big screen.

The silver-haired boy took out his weapon, a sword. The blade was dark, unremarkable, but the white energy that coated it was anything but.

Spear and sword clashed violently as Elara was pushed back in a single exchange. Her boots dug into the earth as she struggled to maintain her balance.

"Damn, that guy is strong," a spectator said.

"But what is that white light he’s using?" another asked.

"No clue," came the reply.

On the screen, white colored energy covered the silver-haired boy’s sword as he cut a golden fire fist in two.

The two halves sailed past him, exploding harmlessly against the trees behind.

"Whoa, he’s strong. Who is he? Which academy is he from?"

As more and more people noticed the battle between Elara Grace and the unknown silver-haired boy, the crowd started cheering.

Names were called out. Fists were raised.

Of course, almost everyone was shouting Elara’s name.

But as the fight continued, people started to notice one thing.

The silver-haired boy was not attacking. He was only dodging and defending himself.

His sword moved only to block, never to strike. His feet carried him away from danger, never toward it.

But that did not put him in a passive state.

In fact, he was very calm and was not struggling at all. His breathing was steady. His expression was relaxed.

His eyes tracked Elara’s every move with an almost lazy confidence.

Meaning the boy was not giving his all.

Just then, Elara slashed her spear and thrust multiple times, sending many golden flame attacks at the silver-haired boy.

The air grew heavy with heat. The grass beneath the flames blackened and curled.

But the silver-haired boy smiled as he jumped up, avoiding all the attacks, and landed on a nearby tree branch.

The branch swayed under his weight but did not break.

Then the boy softly said something. The words did not reach the cameras, but Elara heard them. Her expression shifted. Her jaw tightened.

Elara’s spear erupted with insane heat as she moved forward and slashed at the boy.

The ground beneath her cracked.

The boy jumped off the tree, but Elara’s attack was so concentrated that the whole tree instantly exploded.

Splinters flew in every direction. Leaves rained down like green snow.

The crowd erupted as they started to chant Elara’s name.

"ELARA GRACE!"

"ELARA GRACE!"

"DAWN FLAME GRACE!"

No one knew who came up with the nickname or title. It might have been a commentator. It might have been a fan.

But once the crowd heard it, they started to chant it.

It started slowly, a few voices here and there. But as seconds passed, the whole stadium roared as one.

"DAWN FLAME GRACE!"

"DAWN FLAME GRACE!"

"DAWN FLAME GRACE!"

Clearly, the home ground did not give any chance for others to cheer.

Meanwhile, Seraphina, who was watching the battle between Elara and Cael, slightly frowned. Her amber eyes narrowed.

Then she muttered under her breath,

"Why is he playing around?"

Elsewhere, Junior stood among the crowd as he stared at the screen.

His blind eyes saw nothing, but his ears captured everything. The cheers. The chants. The roaring of the stadium.

Although he could not see the screen and did not know what was happening in the arena, he knew one thing.

This was the day the wraiths attacked Golden Scale.

If he recalled correctly, people would also start cheering for Caelir Vayne.

Junior turned around and was about to leave when he heard someone shouting behind him.

"S-Silver Moon Prince."