Far away from Kamaskh—

  On a cracked road bordering the forest, a man stood silently.

  The leader of the Breakers.

  A rough map was spread across the hood of a rusted vehicle. Several militia members stood around him, pointing, arguing, whispering.

  “The forest’s too dense here,” one said.

  “This path loops,” another added.

  “We’ll need to split,” a third muttered.

  The leader said nothing.

  His eyes traced the forest edge slowly, deliberately — like a predator studying unfamiliar prey.

  “People don’t vanish for no reason,” he finally said.

  “Find the entrance. Someone is hiding something inside that forest.”

  He folded the map.

  “We move soon.”

  The crowd fell silent as the first match was announced.

  “First Trial — Water Wielder versus Fire Wielder!”

  Cheers erupted instantly.

  Samye leaned forward slightly, eyes sharp.

  Two fighters stepped into the arena.

  One radiated heat — flames dancing calmly around his arms, controlled, disciplined.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  The other stood cool and composed, water circling his body like an obedient current.

  The horn sounded.

  The fight began.

  Fire surged first — a sweeping arc of flame slicing through the air. The water wielder answered instantly, raising a spinning wall of water that absorbed the heat with a violent hiss.

  Steam exploded upward.

  The crowd gasped.

  Flames twisted.

  Water struck back.

  Jets of water crashed into waves of fire, each impact shaking the ground. Neither fighter wasted movement. No excessive displays. No reckless power.

  Control, Samye realized.

  They weren’t throwing abilities.

  They were using them.

  Like limbs.

  Like breath.

  Like instinct.

  “They use power like it’s part of their body,” Samye murmured.

  “So precise… so natural.”

  The fight escalated.

  Fire pillars rose.

  Water blades sliced through heat.

  As the battle continued, the temperature shifted violently — hot, cold, hot again — until the sky itself responded.

  Clouds gathered.

  Rain began to fall.

  Not summoned deliberately — but born from the imbalance of elemental force.

  The arena turned slick.

  The water wielder adapted instantly, pulling strength from the rain itself. The fire wielder countered by compressing his flames inward, increasing temperature to burn even through the storm.

  Equal power.

  Equal skill.

  The crowd watched in breathless silence.

  Then the water wielder changed tactics.

  He drew everything inward.

  Rain.

  Moisture.

  Humidity.

  The air twisted.

  A water tornado formed — spinning violently, swallowing flames whole. The fire wielder struggled, trying to burn his way free, but the vortex tightened.

  Oxygen vanished.

  Flames flickered… then weakened.

  The fire wielder gasped.

  He tried to escape.

  Too late.

  His body went limp.

  The tornado collapsed instantly as the water wielder released control, letting the opponent fall safely to the ground.

  Unconscious — but alive.

  The horn blared.

  “Winner — the Water Wielder!”

  The arena erupted.

  Samye exhaled slowly.

  Not in fear.

  In understanding.

  This is what true mastery looks like, he thought.

  Not power without limits… but limits obeying power.

  As the medics rushed in, Samye’s grip tightened around his spear.

  He didn’t feel intimidated.

  He felt challenged.

  And somewhere deep inside him—

  Time listened.