Zenith Affinity

Zaria found herself against a Monk in her first-ever 1v1 PvP match in this new world. He was a player in the guise of an old man, who looks like he has spent a considerable time on a mountain top, contemplating the growth of a tree or something. The name above his head read ‘Humble Lotus, Monk,' and he had the easy smile of someone who knew the answer. To what question, Zaria wasn’t sure, but the old man still came forward, touched his palms together, and offered her a bow.

“Namaste, Zaria of the Valkyrie. Respect overcomes pride. I wish you great fortune in this fight.”

Zaria was surprised by the gesture, even as the announcer started the fight. She wasn’t sure what to do, so she just bowed back, offering the best that a gamer could: “Good luck, have fun!”

His smile widened a noticeable amount, but it was slight. His comfortable robes, which were colored somewhere between ochre and brown, easily moved with him, and his bald head reflected the noon sun.

As the fight was supposed to start, the monk did nothing but stand still. Zaria decided that she would take the initiative, using [Flame Dash] to close the gap between them. There was still no reaction until she was right up in his face. Humble Lotus took a single step and leaned out of her way, as if that was all it took to dodge the flaming spear.

It was.

Zaria followed up with [Flame Slash], just as she empowered her spear with the Valkyrie ability, [Will of the Valkyrie]. The first was a wide slashing attack that sent a wave of fire in the direction of the slash, while the second ability was a buff to damage, speed, and it magically increased the reach of her basic attacks with an ethereal extension to her spear.

Humble Lotus was able to dodge the slash, a diagonal swipe of flame that he spun around. Zaria followed up with several basic spear thrusts, which were extended outward in the form of golden light in the shape of her spear. The first strike found purchase in Humble Lotus’ shoulder, but even then, it was only a glancing blow. Zaria continued, allowing her advantage in reach to lead the fight.

Humble Lotus stepped back, putting space in front of Zaria’s strikes. He finally activated his first ability, speaking it out loud, while still maintaining a small smile.

“[Seven Steps].”

The movement ability left seven glowing footprints in the sand, just as he appeared at Zaria’s side.

“[Spirit Palm Strike],” the weight of the attack seemed to make his hand move slowly, but it firmly struck Zaria before she could react. It stopped before it physically touched her, hitting her aura and spirit instead. The strike left no visible damage on her body, as she stumbled back, pain visible on her face.

Humble Lotus moved to attack the dazed Valkyrie, but she was able to recover. She used another ability, this time yelling it out loud, “[Flame Burst]!”

Something akin to an explosion burst out from her, breaking her stun and forcing Humble Lotus to hesitate.

Zaria took advantage as her ability broke the stun, and she rushed him again, this time claiming several strikes at maximum range, courtesy of [Will of the Valkyrie]. She focused on keeping the range, not letting him move away or close the gap. The moment he appeared to activate a skill, Zaria responded with her most powerful ability.

“[Neri’s Vengeance]!” Zaria’s spear ignited in golden fire, and both she and the spear launched forward and into the chest of Humble Lotus.

It did nearly 50% of his total life damage, taking him down to 15% HP.

She was going to continue striking the monk, only for his demeanor to change. It caught her off guard, and he was able to bow to her before she could continue her attack chain.

“Your flames reflect your passion. I concede.”

Zaria looked confused, even as she stared at the smiling monk. His robes were burnt, and he had a nasty wound in his chest from her spear, but he was still smiling.

The announcer spoke up, “That is it, folks! A very humble finish by Humble Lotus! You gotta give it to the monk, he has class!”

Humble Lotus turned and walked back to his exit, only for Zaria to call out to him.

“Hey, old man!”

The monk turned to look at her.

“Good fight!”

He genuinely smiled beyond the constant one he wore. He gave her another bow, “Good fight, to you as well, Valkyrie.”

≪ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ≫

“So, why aren’t we fighting next?” Sky asked Zedra.

“There are 4 brackets of 8 fighters. Instead of having the brackets fight themselves, they are pitting bracket vs bracket for some reason… I think? That or I have the grouping wrong,” Zedra said, looking at something on his HUD that Sky couldn’t see. He had been forming his own bracket on a note screen since the Association hadn’t released one.

“Wouldn’t that just mean that the bracket isn’t what we thought it was? Like, are they just pulling different fights from each bracket as we go?”

“Hmmm, maybe?”

“I wish they just let us know who we were fighting," Sky said.

“I actually like the slight deception, keeps us on our toes.”

Tia and Asheera brought home victories in the first round, both against NPC’s. Helga lost her fight against a player whom most of Zenith Star Recognized. It was an extremely close start, but she couldn’t keep up with the speed and flow of Ren Tidecrest. The Blade Dancer pushed forward into the second round.

Mia had won against a Wizard from the Corinthian Guild. Her ability to close gaps and evade spells with clouds of darkness made it so the Wizard had difficulty even targeting her. He had to rely on massive AoE [Fireball] spells, and by then it was too late. She appeared behind him and ended the fight in a few precise strikes.

Zedra was up first once again at the start of the second round. He faced an NPC in the Fighter class, which specialized in melee weaponless combat. The fight was in Zedra’s favor from the start, as the Fighter had to constantly close in on the Rogue, only for him to cast out his blinding [Shadow Powder]. He engaged [Opportunity Strike], dealing insane damage before backing off and kiting the fighter around the arena.

It was three exchanges, and the Fighter surrendered as his health dropped below 10%, having done zero damage to Zedra.

Sky was up next, unaware that she was about to find an old friend across from her.

≪ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ≫

“This is a good one, ladies and gentlemen! We have Solara Sky, Sun Mage of proven capability and devastating tactics, facing Salazar Dread! A Nothdren Barbarian that has been dual-wielding axes! His man is a force of nature! But can he prevail against the sun? Or will the Guild Master claim another victory!”

Sky walked out onto the battlefield with a confident smile on her face, her eyes landing on the squinting Barbarian across from her. He was staring at her, trying to discern whether or not she was someone he recognized.

When they were 10 meters apart, Salazar Dread spoke up. His voice’s tone and cadence were immediately familiar to Sky.

“So, uhh, are you Azure Sky by chance?” Salazar asked in his 'surfer dude' accent.

Sky’s eyes widened, “Dread!? No way!”

“Sky?! NO WAAYYY!”

They ran at each other, not to fight but both immediately yelling, “Slap hands!”

Both jumped up and high-fived right there in the middle of the arena.

“Duuude! You made it! That’s so fricken awesome!” Dread said.

“Yeah! My whole party did! Speaking of which, join us!” Sky sent a guild invite to his party.

_______________________________________________________

Would you like to invite [Century] to the Zenith Star Guild [★]? Y/N.

_______________________________________________________

“Yes!”

Salazar read his pop-up window and immediately accepted.

“Ahem, fighters? You are supposed to be…fighting. Not, whatever that is.” The announcer said.

Salazar's name changed to ‘Salazar Dread, Barbarian [★]’, no longer displaying his party name as the guild tag took priority.

“Oh yeah! Uh, hey Sky, ready to get a match in?”

“I am! Welcome to the guild, by the way!”

“Thanks!”

They backed up and counted down before Sky started launching [Flare Shots] at the Barbarian. He called out,”[Leap Strike]!” An ability that launched him forward with both of his axes raised, ready to do a devastating slashing attack.

Unfortunately for the Barbarian, Sky had fought against Dread before and expected the straightforward and aggro style he favored. She left a [Sun Bringer] on his path as she dodged away, which built up more stacks of [Searing Light] as he landed on it.

She sprinted away, launching more [Flare Shots] as she ran, immediately activating [Searing Blast] the second she hit 5 stacks.

The first damage she took came from a thrown axe, adding the [Bleeding] affliction and slowing her movement speed. Dread recalled his weapon as Sky used [Flare Step] at a decent angle to get her up and away from the attack. She launched a star at him, but allowed her basic attacks to whittle him down.

The final engagement came with another [Weapon Throw] from Dread, this time clipping Sky in the leg, doing less damage but slowing her more. He combo-ed it with a [Leap Strike], but was instantly met with a [Sun Bringer] in the air. It blasted on his chest, instantly putting him at 5 stacks.

Just before he landed, Sky hit him with [Searing Blast] once again, taking him out of the fight.

After they were healed, Salazar held out his huge fist.

Sky bumped hers against it, “Good fight!”

“Great fight!” He shook his head, “Friggin’ mages! I’m telling you! We need to get some duos going!”

“Yeah, we do! Is there a team tourney?”

“Not anytime soon! It’s a terrible thing, not having enough PvP.”

“That's the truth!”

≪ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ≫

The second round continued, as Tia was successful against Baron Vane, eliminating the Duelist from the [Sword Souls] with a lucky critical strike. They were both down to less than 10% health remaining, and as they both struck each other, Tia’s attack hit critically, while Baron Vane’s did not. It was enough to end the fight in her favor.

Zaria faced off with Ren Tidecrest, and the difference in PvP experience was made clear. Ren’s [Flowing Blade] was almost a perfect counter for her fiery attacks. Between dodging and deflecting her basic attacks with pure sword play, and the enhanced damage of his [Flowing Blade], she nearly melted as he easily slashed her. The end came when he cast [Wall of Water], which perfectly deflected her strongest attack, allowing him to push through the wall unhindered and sink his glowing blue saber into her torso.

Asheera lost against an NPC Paladin that was able to counter her burning afflictions just as they built up. Not only that, but he had two abilities dedicated to closing the gap between them, and he did this while constantly cleansing his debuffs. His swordplay wasn’t half bad either, allowing him to claim the win over the Bard.

Mia’s second fight was against ‘Katarina Lovelace, Blade Dancer [🕭]’. Fully inspecting the guild tag let her see the guild name: Grandbell [🕭], which was definitely a player guild, but she had never seen them while in Ostbury. Either way, Katarina was a wind attuned Blade Dancer, which made her a fast and high-damaging opponent.

It was a much harder fight than against the Wizard, as the speed of Katarina made things difficult. Mia had to rely on her darkness attunement, constantly having to enter stealth to break the eye line of the Blade Dancer. It worked out in the end, as Katarina had a very low defense, and Mia was able to out-trade her. She was fast, but Mia had a teleport and perhaps a bit too much stealth for the Blade Dancer to handle. Katarina used most of her abilities trying to close in on the Ninja, but she was unable to finish, and Mia took her down.

The third round started, and it was down to 8 contestants. Zedra drew Tia as his opponent, both entering the field with a smile.

Tia was an incredible fighter, fantastic even. Her sister was the more acrobatic of the two, but Tia was fast-paced and direct, forgoing dodges only to parry with her off-hand basketed dagger. She had gone 1v1 against both Zedra and Sky before, and while she didn’t win after their harrowing experience when all of the [Flamesouls] had experienced their first death in this new world, she had still learned a lot about how they fought. Tia and her sister both loved to fight. From the moment they entered this new world with incredible and powerful new bodies, they had a specific love for engaging in combat.

The fight started, and both Zedra and Tia sprinted at one another, having an idea of what to expect. Perhaps they were both thinking three steps ahead as Zedra offered his dagger to be parried with Tia’s main-gauche; both expected it, and still both of them went in with a feint. Tia pulled her parrying dagger across her body as Zedra recoiled his main arm, allowing for his other dagger to push forward and into her parry.

Zedra spun around her, forcing the Ninja to turn towards her main hand, which held her ninjato sword. It made her parrying dagger worthless unless she followed him. She did so and decided to flip her sword in a reverse grip and go for a swipe. The blade didn’t find purchase as Zedra used his off-hand dagger to parry. It was a quick move, but he followed up immediately with a single thrust at Tia’s ribs.

Tia held her breath as she spun, allowing the dagger to move past her. She tried to turn away from Zedra’s off hand, which had fully pushed her main sword hand away, but she wasn’t able to. Zedra followed her, thrusting forward again as he bent to the side, dodging a swipe.

By some unspoken agreement, both of them decided against using any skills or abilities, allowing for a clean fight. The first swipe of a dagger landed on Tia’s shoulder, the second on Zedra’s wrist, while the third and fourth scored marks against Tia’s legs. Tia returned the favor with the first slash on Zedra’s torso.

They separated, both wearing huge smiles as their cuts bled.

The announcer finally got involved, “This is what we call a skill fight, ladies and gentlemen. When no abilities or spells are used, it all comes down to skill. These two seemed to have agreed that only skill will be the deciding factor of this fight, and I gotta tell you, I am all for it!”

They circled for exactly 5 seconds.

Then they reengaged. Tia pulled a move from her sister's acrobatic fighting style, barrel rolling over Zedra’s swipe. They passed each other, Tia landing on a foot and spinning as Zedra planted and sprinted back at her. Tia swiped across her chest, attempting to block his strike, but it was a double feint, pulling back his strike and launching himself into her guard.

The first devastating strike was Zedra sinking his off-hand dagger in her side, even though it only pierced a couple of inches, there were plenty of vitals that took damage. The [Bleeding] debuff appeared over her head, but she swiped the pommel of her main-guache across Zedra’s face, hitting his cheek.

It split the skin and nearly dazed him, but he was luckily able to parry the ninjato coming for his throat. This time, Zedra was on his heels, Tia’s blades attacking anything and everything she could. It wasn’t a desperate charge, but a deliberate press, forcing Zedra to parry or be stabbed.

She wasn’t prepared, though.

Zedra followed Tia in one of her crazy attacks. Something that should have been impossible without an actual skill activation, but he did it all the same. A quick parry to the left, then a deflection of her ninjato to the right, and Zedra’s back foot planted firmly in the dirt. He quickly reversed his momentum, jumping up and into Tia, his knee connecting with her nose.

Tia hit the dirt, back first, her main-gauche falling from her grip. Zedra landed on top and rested his blade against her neck as she grimaced in pain. Her broken nose was already releasing a mess of blood.

“I give up,” Tia said, her voice turning nasal as she spoke.

Zedra held his hand out, helping his fellow guildmate to her feet. “Good fight.”

She smiled, “Good fight, Zed.”

≪ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ≫

It was Sky’s turn to face the Paladin that defeated Asheera. ‘Agor Richards, Paladin’ was above his head in the standard grey color, denoting an NPC. He nodded and bowed to Sky, who smiled and returned the bow.

“Good luck, have fun!”

He seemed confused for a moment, but must have assumed it to be a form of greeting in Sky’s culture. “To you as well, Guild Master.”

The announcer started the fight, and the differences between a person who fought normally and a person who analyzed everything an opponent would bring to the table became clear. Sky had been silently casting a [Sun Bringer] the moment the fight started, and she knew that Agor here would immediately move to close the gap on her.

He thought that because she was a Mage, she would use her evasion or movement ability to run away when pressed. He was wrong.

Sky moved the tip of her staff the moment the Paladin called out, “[Judgement Strike]!”

Agor disappeared and reappeared on Sky’s left, where he sent his broad sword down in a slashing pattern, the blade glowing fiercely in holy light. It was perfectly stopped by Sky’s staff, which was aimed at his face.

The small star exploded forward, engulfing the warrior of light’s helmet in fire and light. He stumbled backward, screaming in pain as he quickly activated his affliction removal and healing spell, the first of two such spells. Sky allowed a [Flare Shot] to follow him, instantly adding more and more stacks of [Searing Light]. It was an affliction in that it applied the same-titled condition to the target, but it didn’t do damage over time, instead acting as a debuff that increased Sky’s solar damage to the target.

Two [Flare Shots]. Three. Four. FIve.

Sky snapped her fingers, activating [Searing Blast] before the fifth [Flare Shot] could hit. He used his last affliction cleanse, finding that only one stack had been cleansed as the rest had engulfed him in horrible burning light. He had another gap closer, and now that he had regained control of his staggered retreat.

“[Holy Charge]!” Agor yelled. The ability wasn’t a teleport, but it still closed the gap as he rushed forward at superhuman speeds.

Sky activated [Sun Flash] the moment he closed into melee with her. The blind allowed her to put another [Sun Bringer] right in his path, this time connecting with his breastplate. The [Searing Light] hit five stacks again, but Sky didn’t burst it until she took his health down to 15% with more basic attacks. He fell with a final scream of pain.

≪ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ≫

The other half of the bracket started with an NPC and the final remaining member of the Corinthians Guild [𖤍]. The player was a surprisingly talented Arcane attuned Mage, who was able to do quite a bit of stacking damage and put his opponent out of combat in just 40 seconds. It moved him forward to fight against the winner between Ren Tidecrest and Mia Hyabusa.

Ren and Mia’s fight started with the activation of Ren’s [Flowing Blade]. He seemed to flow toward her like a river going down the fall line of a mountain. His blade curled and warped, moving in a tight circle as he entered her space, only for Mia to vault around it, going intangible with [Evasive Vault], an ability she shared with Zedra.

Mia could control the tempo of a fight, something she usually used to her advantage, but this time the blue-glowing sword of Ren constantly tailed her, pushing her to move into his pace. It was one of the longest fights of the night as Ren constantly forced Mia into his pace with movement denial, footwork, and interspersed teleportation. She was able to vault in close, scoring a strike with her kunai, only for his blade to swipe across her, activating his [Crashing Wave] strike. It was as if the force and length of time that his blade had been moving generated force. It swiped through her, dealing nearly 60% of her HP in one strike.

He followed up with a spin around her as she tried to respond. Ren was too fast for her response to the damage, allowing his saber to slash through her several more times. It was enough that the fight ended after almost 4 minutes of chasing one another around the arena.

Ren followed up his victory against Mia and the Zenith Star Guild with a victory against the arcane Mage from the Corinthians. It was less of a fight than expected. The Mage was unable to keep ahead of the watery blade, and his stacking damage wasn’t landing.

The final fight of the semi-finals was next: Zedra versus Sky.

Guild Master versus Vice Guild Master.

≪ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ≫

“Fight!”

Sky smiled at her friend, guildmate, and fellow leader of Zenith Star. They hadn’t actually faced each other in single combat since the world was a game, and standing across from one another almost felt nostalgic.

Neither Sky nor Zedra moved at the fight's start, both staring with anticipation filling their auras. Sky had luminous rays of light flickering around her at a slow pace, like the light was breathing, while tendrils of darkness flowed off of Zedra, reaching out to claim the light for the other side, as both of them allowed their auras to showcase their attunements.

Eye to eye, they stood and stared, though Sky allowed a small [Sun Bringer] to start forming on her staff, which she held in her right hand. But that wasn’t all she did, as if breaking the rules of the game was part of her existence in this new world, she formed a second sun in her left hand, which she had slightly hidden behind her back.

Zedra shook his head, “What are you planning?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Sky said, mockingly.

“I guess…I have to find out!” He ran forward.

Sky didn’t move.

His daggers led the way.

Sky didn’t move.

He stepped forward to attack her.

Sky didn’t move.

Zedra faked the attack, spinning and tossing [Shadow Powder] right into Sky’s face. He quickly activated [Opportunity Strike], teleporting behind her and stabbing forward.

He found two stars blasting in his face just as [Sun Flash] removed the [Blindness] on Sky, simultaneously applying it to Zedra. It eliminated the better part of his damage with such perfect timing that most of the watching crowd didn’t realise the significance of what she did. Sky spun, allowing the butt of her staff to slam into Zedra’s stomach.

He blindly activated [Evasive Vault], but Sky had enough time to launch a [Sun Bringer] at his ending point. When he landed, the [Blindness] was gone, and he still could only see the light of a star. [Flare Shots] crashed into him next, as Sky wasted no time in activating [Searing Blast], which hit four stacks before she went on the offensive.

Another [Sun Bringer] began to form on her staff, and she flew forward with [Flare Step], but it had more distance than needed to contact Zedra. She crashed into him with a slam of her staff, a star acting like an explosive hammer head as she brought it down on his guard. He tried to go invisible with [Veil of Shadows] after taking the hit, but he was ignited with [Searing Light], making it plainly obvious where he was standing.

If this were still a game, Sky wouldn’t be able to target him, but this was real life.

Silent [Flare Shots] pierced through Zedra, forcing him to make a decision. He could either run and try to break out of her range or move in and try to finish her with daggers. The problem was that she was at around 65% health after her perfectly timed [Sun Flash], and he had no readily available abilities to counter her damage. His health was dangerously low, nearly to the point that a fully stacked [Searing Blast] would finish him.

He desperately ran, spinning and throwing a dagger at Sky. It wasn’t an ability or anything that he had put skill points into, just a desperate throw to get the Mage to stop attacking him.

It didn’t help.

She quickly side-stepped the dagger, moving into a sprint after the Rogue, and a final [Flare Shot] put him at 5 stacks of [Searing Light].

Sky smiled, allowing her fingers to snap like Thanos wiping out half the population of the universe. Except Zedra was the only victim.

Sky won.

≪ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ≫

Zedra got a pat on the back from Dark Hero, ”Nice fight, man. She had you on the ropes there.”

“Why didn’t your pocket sand work on her?” Kesa asked.

“You mean my [Shadow Powder]?”

Kesa nodded.

“It did work,” he said, drawing the attention of most of the guild in the stands. “She just timed the CC removal spell so perfectly that it broke her [Blindness] while adding it to me at the same time. Honestly, it was so brilliant that I am just shocked it worked. She had less than a second to time it, and she did.”

“That’s crazy, but that’s our Guild Master, isn’t it?” Zaria asked. She was slightly bitter at her loss to Ren and was hoping for his demise at the hands of said Guild Master in the next fight.

“I guess it is. But it won’t work again,” Zedra said, a smile finding his lips.

“It doesn’t need to!” Dark said.

“Yeah, yeah…”

A couple of seconds went by until a booming voice spoke up, “Fellow Guildies! What’s crackin '!?”

Dark laughed, turning to see the party of 5 that had found them in the stands.

“Oh! You are Dread Sloth, right?”

“Hey, you ‘member me! I am, but call me Sal or Dread. Sky invited us to the guild, and we wanted to come say hello. Saw ya’ll on the map.”

“Well, have a seat! Sky is about to go toe to toe with Ren Tidecrest,” Zedra invited.

Before he did so, he introduced his party, “Oh yeah! This is my girlfriend, Lyssa. She’s a real solid enhancer, but needs to spend more time in PvP. The rest were part of her guild in the last server, the Golden Barrels-”

He was interrupted with a slap to his shoulder, “Golden Laurels!”

“That’s what I said! This is Immortal Jack, don’t know the reference, and we got Heals OnMe and Jace TheMighty as well. Fighter, Cleric, Mage,” Dread finished.

Dark Hero laughed, “Great to meet you!”

He took the liberty of introducing the rest of Zenith Star, and just as they finished, finding seats of their own, Sky’s match started.

Ren spun his blade, something that seemed more like he was trying to turn it into a habit than something he needed to do. Just as it spun, he silently cast [Flowing Blade], causing his sword to glow blue like there were orcs around.

Sky seemed more wary of engaging Ren as he ran after her. She dodged once, parried a strike with her staff, and spun as she [Flare Stepped] into the air.

“Whoa! I am telling you guys, Sky is the most natural PvP’er that I have ever seen. But she is totally wasted as a mage,” Dread said.

“What? Why?” Kesa asked, not sure if she had to defend her friend or not.

“She’s too tactical. She wants to be in the grit, looking for someone to hit. Fighting back like this, keeping people at a distance, is not what she enjoys, at least not in PvP. Works great against the endless mobs, though,” Dread said.

“What does that mean?” Alisha from [Pink Lotus] asked. She had shaken hands with the Nothdren Barbarian as he found the guild, but she wasn’t able to get a reading on his persona yet.

“Hmm? Mobs? Or the rest?”

“Uhh, both?”

“Mobs are just enemies that aren’t players. They like to stick together, for people like Sky and Jace here to nuke. As far as the rest, well, just look at her. She let Ren close the gap, hoping to try out how her staff fares against his blade. And that dude is straight up talented,” Dread said.

“My money is still on Sky, though. I think she has been reading him from the start,” Zedra said.

“Same. She will take it in less than a minute from now, watch,” Dread replied.

Kesa didn’t get it either. “How can you know that?”

“Hmmm, a few things. Number one, a Blade Dancer can’t do shit without his ability, I don’t care what they tell you. They aren’t doing shit for damage, and won’t be able to close in on a Mage like Sky unless it’s up.”

Alisha looked down at her hip. As a fellow Blade Dancer, she searched her memories for what Salazar had just said…and to her shock, he was right. All of her abilities weren’t worth a damn without [Arcane Blade], or they didn’t do nearly as much damage. “So, she will just keep out of his range, then kill him with spells?” Alisha asked.

“Maybe. I don’t know. But right now, that little engagement is clear. Sky can box, and she can do so with a six-foot staff in hand. Ren is crazy talented, but she is a Mage and has no business-”

He was cut off as Sky slammed a star-infused staff head into the triton’s gut.

“Ah, yup! See what I mean. It’s like she is waiting for him to screw up, and he knows it. Now he can only engage, and I bet Sky backs off, forcing the distance.”

Zedra spoke up, “I don’t think Ren has the distance on her. The reach.”

“He doesn’t,” Dark Hero said, as he had watched all of Ren’s fights.

Sky did just as they predicted, using a [Flare Step] while launching basic ranged attacks at her opponent. He dodge rolled forward, under the first of the [Flare Shots] and immediately used his [River Walker] ability to teleport next to Sky, who in turn spun away. She launched a [Sun Bringer] at him, only for Ren to panickingly cast “[Wall of Water]!”

It reflected her sun, and Sky didn’t seem to care as the gnarly star closed in on her; the attack usurped from her control. She activated a seldom-used ability, [Solar Shell], which negates all projectiles for a few seconds. The [Sun Bringer] hit her barrier and fizzled.

Ren looked shocked, but had to quickly dodge again, as Sky ran while casting another [Sun Bringer]. She cast it off to the side of the wall while circling in the same direction, forcing Ren to either go through it or all the way around it. He chose the long way, but doubled back and got out of range as his [Flowing Blade] ability faded.

Sky smiled, snapping her fingers to activate [Searing Blast].

“Oof, that one hurt!” Dread said.

They continued to watch the fight as Sky drained Ren of mana and health, and it finally came down to a rushing [Flare Step] + [Sun Bringer] combination that she had used against Zedra, but Ren was in the tunnels of the stadium and hadn’t seen it.

Sky broke through his defense and blasted him with the light from the sun.

“Yeahhh! Let’s go, Sky!” Dread yelled out as the crowd went wild.

Sky was the tier 2 tournament winner.