Power of Runes

Standing on the arena, facing each other, dressed in full bodysuits, both Elysia and Ray stared at one another with unwavering eyes, the atmosphere between them tense and silent... as if the world had paused for this moment alone.

The arena was abuzz with murmurs, voices rising and falling like waves. Most of the students were either admirers of Ray or Elysia, both of whom were well-known among the academy circles.

Others had simply gathered to watch, hoping for some fiery entertainment and drama that only a public duel could offer.

"What do you think... who’s going to win?" Lyra finally asked, glancing sideways at Amelia and Grace, her voice laced with curiosity and a bit of unease.

There was a long pause between them, before Grace sighed and replied, her tone calm yet certain, "Obviously Ray is going to win. You’ve seen how fast he’s grown these past few weeks. The gap between him and Elysia isn’t something that can be ignored... She’s still at a lower rank than him."

Lyra frowned slightly, her brows tightening as her concern grew clearer. "That’s exactly why I don’t understand. Why is Elysia so determined to fight... when she knows she’s going to lose? And in front of all these people too? Wouldn’t it just affect her negatively... and even more than that, what about Ash? It would affect him too."

There was no answer to her question, because no one could really make sense of it. No one knew what was going through Elysia’s mind. No one could guess what she truly wanted from this fight.

Only Amelia’s gaze turned somber upon hearing that question. Even though she didn’t know every detail of what was about to happen... she had seen just enough to understand what needed to be prevented. What people didn’t realize was that Instructor Leonard’s sudden appearance had already changed something important.

She had seen it in her vision — both Ray and Elysia, fighting without restraint, right then and there, without any supervision and safety. Although no one was hurt in the vision, she still took no risk, after all if something was not going to happen, then the vision should not have come.

And many might wonder why she hadn’t tried to stop the duel completely... why she only informed Instructor Leonard instead of preventing it altogether. But the truth was something else, something she had learned the hard way.

The future shown in her visions could not be changed completely... not with her current powers. The path of fate was far too strong for her to rewrite entirely.

However, what she could do... was influence it. Not by erasing the events, but by softening the impact. She didn’t prevent the duel — but she made sure it happened here, now, in the arena, under the eyes of the academy and the instructors.