2025-02-12 09:08:18Suddenly, A collective gasp rippled through the crowd as a group of figures in pristine white garments and suits entered the stadium's VIP section.
"The Church," someone whispered, the words spreading through the crowd like wildfire. "Oh, you don't know who they are?" A female student spoke up excitedly from the stands, addressing the confused faces around her. "Those people are from the church." "What makes them so special?" another student asked, eyes fixed on the white-clad figures. "The Church controls everything about healing magic and swordsmen," she explained hurriedly. "They regulate dungeons, monitor mage activities, even decide who gets to be trained as a knight. Those white garments? They're worn by people who have direct authority under the priest." "I thought the church were just religious figures?" "No, no," she shook her head vigorously. "They control everything that should be public knowledge. Especially about dungeons. Nobody really knows how dungeons work or why they appear after Abyssal portals close, and the Church wants to keep it that way." ** The heat of the battle was unmistakable. Miko’s fire swirled around him as he dodged, blocked, and countered Luna and Jace’s attacks. His speed and agility leaving everyone in awe. Fire danced at his fingertips as he leaped into the air, his body twisting mid-flight to avoid another powerful gust of wind. His fireball shot through the air, narrowly missing Jace as he spun to deflect it with his sword. “Just like the mysterious man in the abyss did,” Miko thought to himself as he moved like a blur, his body like a comet streaking across the battlefield, leaving flames in his wake. The commentators were barely able to keep up with the action. “Unbelievable speed! Miko of Clan Dusk has shown the agility of a seasoned fighter. He’s truly a force to be reckoned with!” the commentator shouted, the excitement in his voice clear as day. “How is he moving like that?!” one of the spectators gasped, their eyes wide with disbelief. Miko didn’t respond to the gasps. His only focus was Luna and Jace. “I’m running out of strength,” Miko said as he breathed heavily. Jace’s face was red with anger, his sword raised as he lunged forward to strike. “You’re nothing, trash!” he shouted, his voice filled with frustration. “You can’t win against me!” Miko, however, was unbothered. His eyes were sharp, calculating every movement. “You talk too much for a captain, I’ll show you just how wrong you are,” Miko muttered to himself as he deftly avoided Jace’s strike, launching a fireball straight at his chest. Luna quickly intervened, using her Wind magic to redirect the fireball, but Miko was already on the move again, his feet never touching the ground for long. He was quick, and dangerous. And just as the tension built to its peak, the commentator’s voice rang out across the stadium followed by a loud beeeeeeepp!!! “A-A-And in a shocking turn of events, Clan Dusk has captured both the flags of Clan Solace and Clan Aegis! Can you believe it, folks? Clan Dusk, the underdog, is leading the charge!” The announcement sent shockwaves through the arena. “What?!” Luna gasped, her eyes darting around. “How did they—?” “No way...” Jace muttered under his breath, his frustration growing. “We’ve been so focused on Miko, we didn’t even realize what his team was doing.” The realization hit them both like a ton of bricks. Miko hadn’t just been standing there; he’d been a distraction. While they were focused on him, his team had been running around, claiming the flags they needed. He had been drawing their attention so his team could strike. “Damn it...” Jace growled, slamming his fist into the ground in frustration. “I knew it. I should’ve known. I’ve been so focused on him that I didn’t even realize his team was going for the flags. That’s why he was able to hold us off. He was never trying to win this fight alone.” Jace said with anger. “Next time, I won’t make the same mistake,” he muttered. “I won’t let his team get away again.” Miko didn’t even flinch. He wasn’t concerned with Jace’s anger. He had more important things to focus on. Like the next round. ** As Miko reunited with his teammates, their faces flushed with excitement. They had done it—they had the flags. While Miko had been busy fending off Luna and Jace, his team had swept in, taking both flags from Clan Solace and Clan Aegis. Liam was practically bouncing with excitement. “We did it!” he grinned, high-fiving Akiya. “Who would've thought that the ‘trash’ could pull it off like that?” Anna laughed. “We knew he had it in him. I always said there was more to Miko than anyone realized.” Akiya nodded, her eyes scanning the battlefield, still alert. “He did his job,” she said, her voice calm but pleased. “Now we just have to keep at it. This isn’t over yet.” She grinned and turned her head. “Now, they have no choice but to respect him.” ** As the announcement broke the fight, the representative from Clan Aegis had arrived on the scene, his eyes narrowed as he took in the situation. “Miko, you’ve caused enough trouble,” Zack’s voice rang out, cold and authoritative. “You’ve had your fun, but you’re not winning this. We know you’ve been using some kind of artifact to make yourself use two elements.” Miko’s gaze flickered toward Zack. His fiery confidence didn’t falter. “Artifact?” he scoffed. “You think this is an artifact?” Zack’s lips curled into a smirk. “Of course. There’s no way someone with your ‘trash’ Ash ability could suddenly wield fire. You’re hiding something. And I’m going to make sure I expose it for everyone to see.” “Not today,” Miko muttered under his breath, his eyes cold as he stared at Zack. Zack wasn’t alone, though. His assistant, a tall, imposing figure, stepped forward, his eyes locked on Miko with an expression had the was as cold as Zack’s. “You’ve really made this difficult for everyone, Miko,” the assistant said. “If you’d just stood down, we could’ve avoided all this. But now?” He shook his head. “Now, you’ve made it personal.” Miko didn’t flinch. He knew Zack was strong, but he wasn’t afraid. “Do your worst,” he muttered. “I’m not backing down.” Zack’s smile widened. “Oh, I intend to. Just don’t cry when you’re left standing in the dust.” Miko had barely finished processing Zack’s words when the arena erupted into chaos once again.
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Somewhere in the team training rooms. The tension was through the roof as the members of Clan Zenith gathered around their table. The previously bustling atmosphere of the arena was now far behind them, replaced by a stifling quiet. They had been watching the final moments of the battle, and it didn’t take long for them to realize what had happened: Clan Dusk had secured the lead. Elena sat in the center, trying her best to project calmness to her team. Her usual composure, however, was strained. Even though she had experienced Miko’s sudden rise to power, nothing could have prepared her for how quickly the tide had turned. Clan Zenith, always the frontrunner, was now sitting in second place. A position they hadn’t been in for years. The team was in disarray, their faces twisted in frustration. They had always been the best, and now they were forced to swallow the bitter pill of second place. “Everyone, calm down,” Elena said firmly, her voice betraying a hint of frustra
Sovereign of The Abyss Chapter 14
The arena was electric, the crowd's excitement buzzing in the air as the final battles loomed on the horizon. Clan Zenith’s representative, stood across the battlefield from Clan Solace, and there was an air of anticipation as Elena from Clan Zenith took her position.The bell rang, and just like that, Elena was in motion. Her fiery hair flashed like a burst of power as she flung herself into the battle.Without hesitation, Elena raised her hand, and the flames around her surged to life. "Let's see how strong you really are," she murmured under her breath, her fiery energy crackling like thunder.Luna, from Clan Solace, attempted to summon her wind, the air swirling around her to form a defensive barrier. "You won’t beat me that easily!" she shouted, her voice full of determination.But Elena wasn’t playing games. She released a massive ball of fire straight at Luna, who barely managed to deflect it with her wind barrier. The explosion that followed sent Luna hurtling backwards, her w
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The arena fell silent as Ian stepped forward, his footsteps echoing across the battlefield where Elena had just fallen."Well, well," Ian's voice dripped with disdain. "The ash user who thinks he can play with double elements."Miko wiped the sweat from his brow, trying to catch his breath from his fight with Elena. "What do you want, Ian?""Want?" Ian's laugh was sharp. "I want to know how someone like you suddenly has this power. Do you know how many of us have trained for years trying to get where we are? How many nights have we spent perfecting our techniques?"In the stands, a professor leaned toward his colleague. "This should be interesting. Ian's never lost his composure like this before.""He's jealous," another professor whispered back. "Can you blame him? He's spent years trying to gain a second element.""Let's make this simple," Ian called out, raising his hands. "Show everyone what a fraud you are!"The ground erupted beneath Miko's feet, but he was already moving, slidi
Sovereign of The Abyss Chapter 16
For a moment, all that could be heard was heavy breathing and the tension in the air. The silence stretched until—Clap... Clap... Clap...A lone figure stood in the upper stands, their slow applause echoing through the arena."Did you see that?" a voice called out. "Did you all see what he just did?"Another person stood, joining the applause. "He beat Ian! He actually beat him!"The applause spread like wildfire, until the entire stadium was on their feet."Miko! Miko! Miko!""The ash user did it!""This is incredible!"A student leaned over the railing, shouting, "Hey, Ian! How's it feel to have your perfect technique read like a children's book?"Ian pushed himself to his feet, his voice tight. "You... you planned this from the start?""No," Miko replied, keeping his voice level. "I just learned to watch. Something you never had to do."The Principal rose from his seat, raising his hands. The crowd gradually fell silent."Well," he said, his voice carrying across the arena, "it
Sovereign of The Abyss Chapter 17
"What is that?" someone coughed.Clang. Clang. Clang.More canisters followed, thrown to cover every corner of the arena."Tear gas!" Elena shouted, already creating a barrier of fire around her team members. "Everyone, cover your faces!"Chaos erupted as students pushed toward the exits. Through streaming eyes, Miko spotted a figure walking calmly through the growing smoke toward the arena's center."Look," he grabbed Akiya's arm, pointing. "Their movements...""Too controlled," she agreed, wiping her eyes. "Shit! This was planned."The figure reached the center, and Miko's breath caught in his throat. In their hands was a mirror, its surface seeming to drink in what little light remained."No," he whispered. "Not here. Not now.""Miko?" Liam appeared through the smoke, coughing. "What's wrong? What are they—""Everyone back!" Miko's voice cut through the panic. "Get away from the center!"But it was too late. The figure had already knelt, placing the mirror on the ground.On the mir
Sovereign of The Abyss Chapter 18
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Sovereign of The Abyss Chapter 19
The walk back to the dorms was quiet, each student processing the Church's display of power. Moonlight cut sharp shadows across their path through the ancient trees."You know," Miko said suddenly, a hint of amusement in his voice, "for all the fighting I've done, I realize I don't know shit about how this world really works."Akiya glanced at him, her usual fiery demeanor surfacing. "That reminds me - how the hell did you beat Elena and Ian without a magic circle? That shouldn't even be possible!""Magic circle?" Miko raised an eyebrow. "The hell is that?""Wait, seriously?" Liam yawned, stretching lazily against a tree. "Man, that's like... basic stuff. Every mage manifests their circle after they’ve grown strong enough—" he said "—and when you’ve gone past a certain level you can use appraisal to see the mana circle of others.""Been too busy getting bullied to learn the theory," Miko shrugged, his tone casual but with an edge. "Or getting 'disciplined' for embarrassing the Valen
Sovereign of The Abyss Chapter 20
They crested the final hill beyond the academy gates, and Lunaris sprawled before them. Magic lights dotted the cityscape, from the bright noble district towers to the dim flickers of the lower quarters."So this is Lunaris," Miko said, taking in the view. The city was nothing like the rigid walls of the Valen mansion.Akiya bounced on her toes, pointing excitedly. "See those tall towers? Those are the magic scientist’s tower’s Each one tries to outshine the others with their light shows.""Waste of magic if you ask me," Liam said, hands in his pockets. He'd found a patch of grass and was already settling down."Liam, we just got here," Akiya protested."Just resting my eyes."Anna stood slightly apart from the group, her hands clasped together. "Maybe we should head back? The city's different at night..."Miko turned to her, his usual sharp expression softening. "Hey, it'll be fine. We'll stick together, and I promise we won't do anything too crazy." He grinned. "Just crazy enough to
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The silence after the ash shockwave was absolute. Trees that had groaned under the weight of mist now stood eerily still, leaves unmoving, the air cold with a kind of supernatural stillness.Akiya was the first to move."That light—" she began, already pushing through the trees. "That was Miko. I know it.""How do you know?" Liam asked, falling in beside her."Because I felt it," she said, eyes locked forward. "That pulse. It was him. I don’t know how, but it was him."The others hesitated only a second before following.Branches snapped beneath their boots. The forest was slowly returning to normal, but the air still held a heaviness—as if mourning something invisible that had passed. The path twisted, trees now parted in ways they hadn’t been before, and the ground showed signs of disruption: scorched patches, cracked stone, and a strange black residue that clung to roots and bark like soot.Then they saw him.Miko stood at the edge of a collapsed ridge, where the forest met a steep
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As he prepared to find a way back to the surface, Miko couldn't help wondering about the facility's original purpose. Who had built it? Why create weapons of such destructive potential? And most puzzling of all, why design them specifically for users with his exact elemental affinity—a combination so rare it had apparently vanished from the world until his own emergence?The questions would have to wait. His priority now was finding a way out of this underground vault and reuniting with his team. With the fog entity still active above, they were likely facing their own challenges, possibly in danger.Miko located what appeared to be a maintenance shaft in one corner of the facility, its ladder leading upward toward the surface. Before climbing, he took one last look at the activated lantern, its potential both fascinating and terrifying."I'll be back for you," he promised the device. "Once this mission is over."**While Miko explored the ancient facility below, the other groups cont
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Miko returned to the central chamber of the underground facility, still puzzling over the crumbling lanterns. The place was vast, stretching further than he'd managed to explore so far, but one section had caught his attention—a room that appeared to be an office or study, its walls lined with what might generously be called books, though they were unlike any he'd seen before."If I'm going to figure this place out, might as well start with the records," he decided, entering the study.The "books" were actually thin metal plates bound together with some kind of flexible alloy, their surfaces covered with the same symbols he'd seen throughout the facility. Most were incomprehensible to him, but some contained diagrams he could interpret—schematics for equipment, illustrations of elemental energy flows, and most interestingly, drawings of the lanterns he'd found."So these were important," he murmured, carefully turning the delicate metal pages of one volume.The diagrams showed the lan
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Miko didn't have time to scream as the ground collapsed beneath him. One moment he was standing in the fog-shrouded forest, the next he was plummeting through darkness, his stomach lurching from the sudden drop. His Ash element swirled around him instinctively, trying to slow his descent but finding nothing solid to grip.The fall lasted only seconds before he crashed through some kind of membrane—a sensation like breaking through thin ice—and then hit solid ground with bone-jarring force. He rolled automatically, distributing the impact as he'd been taught in Academy training."Ugh," he groaned, lying on his back and taking inventory of his body. Nothing seemed broken, though he'd definitely have bruises tomorrow. If there was a tomorrow.After a moment to catch his breath, Miko sat up and summoned his Ash element to provide illumination. The shadows gathered around his hand, creating a dim glow that pushed back the absolute darkness."What the hell...?" he muttered, looking around.
Chapter 115
"There it is again," Akiya whispered, her flame briefly flaring brighter. "Did you see it?"Liam and Lyra followed her gaze into the swirling fog, where a faint ripple of movement had disturbed the otherwise uniform mist."Probably just air currents," Lyra replied, though her tone lacked conviction. She'd been saying similar things for the past hour as they wandered through the endless fog, but even her professional skepticism was wearing thin."No," Akiya insisted, taking a step closer to the disturbance. "It's reacting to us. Watch."She extended her free hand toward the fog, not quite touching it. The mist immediately withdrew from her approach, creating a small pocket of clear air around her fingers."See? It's avoiding direct contact. That's not how normal fog behaves."Liam moved beside her, cautiously extending his own hand. The fog retreated from him as well, though less dramatically."She's right," he said, looking back at Lyra. "This isn't just some corruption manifestation.
Chapter 114
Shadows swirled around Miko's fingers as he navigated through the impenetrable fog. Without his Ash element, he would have been completely blind in the shifting mists that erased all sense of direction."Come on," he muttered to himself, extending his awareness through the shadows. "Give me something to work with."His Ash element responded, spreading outward like tendrils searching for solid references in the chaotic environment.Most of what the shadows found was just more fog, but occasionally they detected something solid—massive tree trunks, root structures, the occasional corrupted vegetation. Not enough to create a map, but sufficient to avoid walking into obstacles."Akiya!" he called out, more from habit than expectation. "Liam! Anna!"His voice seemed to travel only a few meters before the fog swallowed it completely. The neural link remained silent except for occasional bursts of static that made him wince.Miko closed his eyes, focusing on his connection to the void. If no
Chapter 113
"What is that?" Liam asked, pointing at the strange haze that had appeared on the horizon as they continued their journey through the massive forest.The fog wasn't like anything they'd seen before in the Abyss. it shimmered with an oily iridescence, neither solid nor gas, spreading across their path like a living curtain.Elena stepped forward, her expression grave as she studied the phenomenon. "It's an illusion barrier," she said. "A defense mechanism that typically appears near the core. The Church has documented these, but few who enter ever return to report what they experienced.""What exactly does it do?" Anna asked, moving closer to examine the strange fog from a safer distance."It distorts reality," Elena explained. "Makes you see things that aren't there, hide things that are. Some say it can even separate groups by making each person experience a different version of reality."Gregor snorted dismissively. "Church superstition. It's just another corruption manifestation."
Chapter 112
Twilight cast long shadows through the massive forest as Miko and Akiya sat on the edge of a giant leaf, dangling their legs over a drop that would have been fatal back in the normal world. The rest of their small group, Liam and the two remaining junior cadets—had fallen into an exhausted sleep after their narrow escape from the bee hive.Gregor's team hadn't yet caught up, leaving the younger members to recover while watching for signs of more corrupted creatures."You think they'll find a safer path forward?" Akiya asked, gesturing vaguely toward the direction Gregor and his team had disappeared an hour earlier."I think 'safer' is relative in the Abyss," Miko replied, rotating his shoulder to work out the stiffness from their earlier flight. "But maybe one with fewer giant insects."Akiya snorted, then grew quiet, her gaze fixed on the bizarre landscape stretching below them. Massive fruits glowed with bioluminescence as darkness gathered, creating constellation-like patterns thro
Chapter 111
They sprinted upward, Akiya taking point with her fire element creating a protective barrier ahead of them. As they neared the battle, Miko could see Gregor unleashing torrents of flame against the swarming insects while Damien created earth barriers to protect the less combat-oriented team members. Anna crouched behind one such barrier, her healing element active around Darin, who appeared to have taken a stinger hit to his shoulder."Incoming friendlies!" Miko shouted to prevent friendly fire as they approached. "Eastern ascent!"Gregor spared them a split-second glance before returning his attention to the swarm. "About time! We need to clear an exit path!"The combined teams formed a defensive circle, elements blazing as they fought to create an opening through the angry swarm. Liam's wind cut swathes through the air, disrupting the bees' flight patterns enough to make them vulnerable to Gregor and Akiya's coordinated fire attacks."The opening!" Elena pointed to a gap in the hive
