“End it?”
Imora froze at Nora’s words. What did she mean by that? Was Nora resigning herself to death, or was something else at play? Imora’s sword had pierced through Nora’s chest—a strike that should have ended the Battle for Dominance.
Yet, Imora couldn’t shake the unease building in her mind. Was Nora truly accepting her fate, or did she have one final trick up her sleeve?
As Imora stared at Nora’s seemingly lifeless body on the ground, victory should have filled her heart.
She had won.
She had risen as the champion of the Battle for Dominance and cemented her place as a star in Dragonscale Bank’s ranks.
In doing so, her sister Elise, once the pride of their family, had become irrelevant—a shadow of her former self.
Their roles had completely reversed.
For years, Imora had lived in Elise’s shadow.
Her sister had been the dazzling steward of Dragonscale Bank, while Imora had been a nobody.
Quietly and persistently, Imora had trained, yearning to catch up.
Now, she had done it.
She stood at the pinnacle, while Elise was relegated to the sidelines.
But there was no joy in her triumph.
Instead, a profound emptiness settled over her. Victory hadn’t brought fulfillment.
To fill the void, Imora had devoted herself to mastering magic, immersing herself in its mysteries.
Her ascent continued—relentlessly, almost obsessively—driven by an invisible force that seemed to chase her.
With her win in the Battle for Dominance, Dragonscale Bank’s plans surged forward, and its influence expanded across the continent.
Years later, when Imora was on the cusp of becoming a tier-sage, she received the devastating news of Elise’s death.
She had cried that day, her tears mingling with a mix of regret and longing.
That moment marked a turning point.
Then the world began to crumble.
The continent fractured into chaos, and the entire realm seemed to teeter on the brink of apocalypse.
Even after reaching the peak of her powers as a tier-sage, Imora found herself powerless against the tide of destruction.
In the face of the world’s collapse, she was nothing more than a grain of sand, swept away and insignificant.
“Am I… dead?”
Suddenly, Imora’s eyes snapped open, her gaze hollow and filled with despair. She appeared on the verge of death, her vitality drained to the point that even speaking was a monumental effort.
Back at Dragonscale Bank, excitement reached its peak as Imora’s final strike closed in on Nora. To the grand steward, Reno, and Elise, the outcome seemed certain. After severing the red mana threads, Imora had left Nora with no options.
Or so it appeared.
When Imora’s sword neared Nora, however, something inexplicable happened.
Imora stopped.
Her sword hung in the air, motionless. Imora herself seemed frozen in place, as if someone had pressed a pause button.
The three spectators stared in disbelief.
“What’s happening?!” Reno shouted.
“She had her! Why stop now?!” the grand steward bellowed.
Even Elise, who had desperately hoped for Nora’s defeat, was dumbfounded.
Just moments ago, victory had seemed inevitable.
Yet now, Imora was immobilized, unable to land the killing blow.
The camera feeds from the battleground only deepened the mystery.
Imora had been poised to kill Nora, but now she stood still, inexplicably halted.
Elise’s heart pounded wildly.
Despite her loyalty to Dragonscale Bank, she couldn’t deny the fear creeping into her thoughts.
From the moment Imora and Nora began their fight, Elise had believed there was a limit to Nora’s capabilities.
After all, Imora had received years of elite training under the Bank’s tutelage.
While Nora was undeniably talented, how could she match Imora’s refined skills and experience?
But now…
The longer Elise watched, the greater her unease grew.
Was there something about Nora that no one had seen yet? Could she be harboring an untapped power?
Desperate for answers, Elise rushed to find Daniel.
Perhaps he could intervene and spare Imora.
As Elise searched frantically, Imora’s eyes slowly opened.
Her expression had changed.
Though her youthful appearance remained, her energy and vitality seemed utterly drained. She no longer radiated the confidence of a young warrior in her prime.
Instead, she seemed like an aged elder on the brink of death.
At House Ponton, Hayes’s anxiety had reached its peak. His palms were slick with sweat as he watched the events unfold.
Initially, Hayes had thought the fight was over.
Imora’s final strike appeared unstoppable.
Yet to his astonishment, Nora had survived—her red mana threads pulling Imora into that strange, otherworldly space.
Hayes knew this wasn’t the first time Nora had used the mini-world.
It was the same technique she had used to eliminate other students from A-level academies earlier in the competition. Each time, her victims had fallen one by one.
Now, it seemed Imora was trapped in the same fate.
Or was she?
Imora’s sword, still radiating its powerful rule, cut through the mana threads with ease. She shattered the mini-world and unleashed her strongest strike yet.
The sheer force of Imora’s attack was palpable, even through the projection.
Hayes felt a pang of despair.
Surely this time, Nora wouldn’t survive.
But just as the blade was about to connect, Imora froze mid-attack.
“What’s happening now?” Hayes muttered, his voice a mix of frustration and confusion.
The back-and-forth twists in the battle had him on edge.
Victory and defeat seemed to hang in perpetual limbo, each outcome tantalizingly close yet just out of reach.
“Why won’t this just end?!” he groaned.
As the audience debated furiously over who had won, a horrifying scene played out.
Imora’s life force began draining rapidly, far faster than anyone could have anticipated.
To most, life was like water in a reservoir—gradually flowing out until it ran dry.
For someone as young and powerful as Imora, her reservoir should have been immense, with water trickling out at an almost imperceptible rate.
But now, it was as though the dam had been breached.
Her life force poured out uncontrollably, like a torrent unleashed.
Within moments, her breathing became labored, her body trembling with weakness.
Imora’s mind raced, trying to understand what was happening.
She remembered her mission: to kill Nora.
She was in the Battle for Dominance, and victory had been within her grasp.
Yet now, she could only lie helplessly on the ground, watching as her own death approached.
Imora fell, her body hitting the ground with a lifeless thud.
No one understood what had just transpired.
How had Imora died so suddenly, so inexplicably?
“No! No!” Elise screamed, tears streaming down her face.
Her grief was palpable, but there was nothing she could do to save her sister.
The Battle for Dominance had ended with Imora’s death.
The Fire Abyss—or the five-field secret realm—would remain intact, but access to it would now be limited to a select few who knew its true entrance.
Nora returned to her quarters through a portal that had appeared upon her victory.
She stepped through, her face pale and drawn.
Though victorious, Nora was visibly fatigued.
The extended use of her mana threads to construct the mini-world, combined with the final spell that had defeated Imora, had taken an enormous toll on her.
Her magic, though effective, was still far from perfect.
Nora knew she had pushed herself to the brink.
For now, all she could do was rest and prepare for the challenges to come.