The ground beneath Aurora shook with unrelenting fury. Yet, she didn't pause her steps. Just like Kael and Zoey, she knew, only the Apexes could cause this much commotion.
But Aurora was far from afraid.
A little cautious? Yes.
But she had been with someone far scarier than them.
Aurora wasn't afraid of Atticus. Far from it. But she had witnessed his wrath more times than she could count.
Each time, it was as though the boy had become something else entirely. A devil incarnate. When that side of him reared its head, Atticus would stop at nothing until his target regretted every life choice they had ever made.
It was a side of him that Aurora had grown used to.
To her, if she could get used to that, nothing else was worth mentioning.
'Where is he?'
Since the Apexes were here, it was only right for Atticus to be here too. Yet, despite the moments passing, she couldn't sense him.
As Aurora moved through the quaking mountain, her gaze suddenly sharpened.
'Who?'
Movement. Not just one. Multiple.
Her eyes darted around, trying to pinpoint where she had felt it, only to come to a sickening realization.
'I'm surrounded. An ambush.'
Aurora came to an abrupt stop, her guard raised to its peak as she prepared to receive her ambushers.
Her senses sharpened as movement flickered through the trees, silent, predatory.
'Dimensari.'
Aurora's eyes turned colder as her body tensed.
The Dimensari youths emerged, perched on branches, crouched atop jagged rocks, stepping into the open with weapons drawn.
No hesitation. No words.
It was clear.
They weren't here for fun.
They were here for her.
Aurora's mind spun.
'Why?'
The entire situation felt off. This wasn't just a chance encounter. It was targeted. They had gathered together just for her.
But why would the Dimensari attack her?
She had only just been introduced to the world of the other races.
Her eyes widened.
'Atticus.'
He had defeated their Apex during the Nexus.
And it was no secret that she was family to Atticus.
'They're trying to get back at him.'
Everything made sense now.
They were here for revenge.
Aurora's fists clenched so hard that her knuckles turned white. If there was anything she hated, it was being a liability.
'Never.'
They were going to use her to get back at Atticus.
There was no way in hell Aurora was going to allow that.
She was at the Expert+ rank, just like many of the youths surrounding her.
Yet, her aura exploded as she got into a stance, her fiery eyes turning intense.
Because of the mana negation zone, the Dimensari only had their bodily strength, just like her.
She had painstakingly trained for years just to avoid being a burden, to be able to help him somehow.
She wouldn't fall here.
Her Expert+ rank aura bled into the air as her gauntlet clamped tightly around her fists.
Suddenly, across all the floating islands, one screen among the myriad of screens flickered, then, the situation appeared for all to see.
The humans across the camps erupted.
"Cowards!"
"A whole army against one?!"
"Fight her one-on-one, you spineless rats!"
Despite all the remarks from the humans, whom they considered nothing more than ants, the Dimensari youths watching didn't react.
No taunts. No smirks.
Just silence.
Cold. Indifferent.
The world slowed.
Then—
They attacked.
Three came first.
Fast. Coordinated.
Aurora's eyes tracked their movements, her mind working fast as she analyzed.
'Force me to dodge. Break my stance. Finish me while I'm off balance.'
'Not happening.'
The moment their blades flashed forward, she surged in.
The first strike carved empty air, she was already inside his range.
Her shoulder slammed into his chest.
BOOM.
The impact sent him flying, blood spraying from his mouth.
The second lunged, spear thrusting for her ribs.
Her hand snapped out, catching the shaft mid-strike.
A yank.
A stumble.
Her fist rocketed up in an uppercut.
CRACK.
His head snapped back as he collapsed.
The third hesitated for just a second.
Aurora saw it.
Closing in, her leg shot out, a brutal sidekick to his ribs.
The force sent him crashing into a tree with a sickening crunch.
Three down.
But she had no time to breathe.
More youths descended.
Swords from above. Daggers from the sides. Spears aiming for her legs.
Her fists tightened, gauntlets straining.
CLANG!
A blade met her block, sparks flying as she twisted, weaving between strikes, countering every gap.
An elbow to the gut.
A spinning fist to the jaw.
A stomp to the knee.
She was too fast. Too sharp. Too precise.
Her mind worked quickly, analyzing, remembering everything she had learned from Atticus and on her own.
But they weren't slowing down.
Her eyes flicked up.
'Arrows.'
Bolts whistled through the air.
She twisted. Dodged. Deflected.
But more rained down.
Her mind spun.
'They're closing in. Controlling the space. Driving me upward.'
They weren't just attacking.
They were trying to corner her.
Her foot slammed into the ground.
She moved.
Racing up the mountain, dodging, countering, striking when she could.
The humans cheered and roared at the top of their lungs.
"She's insane!"
"In your face, you space bastards!"
But then—
More Dimensari.
More attacks.
Faster. Heavier. Smarter.
The cheers stopped.
The crowds grew silent.
At the end of the day… she was just one person.
She was getting overwhelmed.
Aurora's breath came in sharp, ragged bursts. Sweat dripped down her face, but she barely noticed.
Her arms burned. Her muscles screamed.
But she couldn't stop moving.
The attacks were too many. Too fast. Too relentless.
Her movements became tighter, more desperate.
Every block. Every counter.
Drained her.
There was no mana. No recovery.
The Dimensari youths saw it.
Their strikes grew sharper. More aggressive.
Like predators circling wounded prey.
Aurora clenched her teeth, her fiery gaze locked onto them.
She wasn't giving in.
But reality was merciless.
Her steps slowed.
Her breathing grew heavier.
She was falling behind.
And the humans watching knew it.
The roars, the cheers, gone.
A suffocating silence took their place.
Aurora exhaled, raising her fists once more.
And then—
A screen flickered.
The cameras zoomed in.
Tracking a small airship slicing through the sky, heading straight for the mountain.
The hatch opened.
Silence.
Not just in the camp.
Not just among the humans.
Everyone.
From the lowest soldier to the highest-ranking colonel watching, felt it.
A single step echoed across the camp.
Then—
Another.
Another.
A sound so crisp, so sharp, it cut through the chaos like a blade.
The ongoing Apex battle, the most intense fight in the entire competition, paused.
Because every single person felt it.
A shiver.
A primal instinct screaming at them to turn and look.
And when they did—
A figure emerged.
He walked so calmly, it was unnatural.
Snow-white hair flowed like silk behind him, framing a face so inhumanly sharp, so perfectly sculpted that it should be impossible.
Tall. Towering.
Unshaken.
Then—
His aura spread.
A wave of domination.
Crushing. Overwhelming. Absolute.
The entire floating islands and camp became so silent, a pin drop would have sounded like a bomb.
Every single person, Dimensari, humans, soldiers, apexes, generals, they all remembered.
This feeling. This suffocating power. They had felt it when they saw him fight in the nexus.
The pressure. The dread.
He was here.
The name burned into their minds.
Atticus Ravenstein.
And in the next instant—
Humanity roared.