Chapter 26 Aug 18, 2025 The sky was endless, burning gold at the edges, clouds whipped into wild shapes as if the wind itself sensed the duel about to begin. Mira sat tall on Liorith's back, fingers curled around her sword, every muscle locked in quiet readiness. Tessan hovered opposite, obsidian armor catching the light, her dragon snarling like it had something to prove. Below, the arena had disappeared into mist. Above, the silence stretched like a taut wire, one wrong move away from snapping. Mira didn't breathe. Liorith didn't wait for a signal - neither dragon did. They simply moved. The clash hit like thunder. Tessan's blade came fast, brutal, no warning, no grace. Mira twisted hard, parrying just in time, the clang of steel near deafening against the open air. Liorith dove sideways, wings folding, then snapping back out in one smooth ripple of silver force. "You always duck," Tessan called, circling. "Cute. Predictable." Mira didn't answer. Her body had learned the rhythm of flight, of combat, of Tessan's anger. Every beat of her wings, every flicker of her sword - they weren't random. They were read, timed, mirrored. Tessan lunged again, aiming for her ribs this time, but Mira spun cleanly out of reach. "Thought so," Tessan sneered. "You never strike first. That's why you'll lose." "Keep talking," Mira muttered under her breath. "Maybe you'll finally convince yourself." "Come on," Tessan snarled, louder now. "Show me the magic bond. Or is that just for show too?" Liorith spun midair, narrowly avoiding a flame burst from Tessan's mount. The heat singed Mira's cheek, but she didn't flinch. Instead, she let Liorith climb higher. Tessan followed, too fast, too hard, already burning out. The blades met again, sparks flying, both riders growling now. It wasn't elegant. It wasn't rehearsed. It was instinct, fury, control. The air between them cracked with every swing. The wind roared around them like a third voice, wild and watching. "You don't belong up here," Tessan hissed, twisting her sword down toward Mira's shoulder. But Mira caught it - not the sword, but the pattern. Tessan always struck from the left when angry. Always followed up with a slash beneath. Always tried to drive downward. Mira let her think it was working. Then broke the pattern. At the last second, instead of diving, Mira yanked hard on Liorith's reins. The silver dragon surged upward with a roar, wings flaring wide. Tessan was caught mid-lunge, off-balance. "Wait-" she snapped, but Mira had already moved. Her blade swept fast - not at Tessan's body, but at her grip. The strike hit home. Tessan's sword went spinning into the void. "Got you," Mira said quietly, pressing her blade to Tessan's throat. Not breaking skin, but close. Close enough to end it. Tessan froze, breath heaving. "You wanted a fight," Mira said, voice even now. "You got one." "You think you're better than me?" Tessan spat. "You think one lucky bond makes you worthy of this?" "No," Mira replied, calm and low. "I know I am worthy." The crowd below was silent. Even the dragons circled slower now, wind no longer screaming but whispering. The instructors had stopped moving. One raised a hand to his chest, stunned. Another just stared, lips parted. "Go ahead," Tessan growled. "Finish it. You want to prove you're better? Do it." Mira's gaze didn't waver. Her hand didn't tremble. But something inside her shifted - not pity, not fear. Something clearer. "No," she said, stepping back. Tessan blinked, confused. "I don't need to win by making you small," Mira said. "You do that all by yourself." She held her opponent's gaze, steady and unflinching. Her blade gleamed in the sunlight, but her fingers moved - slow, deliberate - and she let it fall. One simple gesture. She lifted her arm. And threw the sword down. The metal clanged against the skyforge stone far below. A gasp rolled through the crowd like wind over water. Even Tessan's dragon faltered mid-flight, its wings missing a beat. "You... you're bluffing," Tessan whispered. "No one walks away from this." "I'm not leaving," Mira said quietly. "You just don't know what it looks like when someone actually stands their ground." Tessan stumbled - not from a hit. Not from force. But from shame.