Her armor can protect her from the physical damage that will be inflicted by the phantom spears used against her but Litori's spirit attacks will surely bypass the defenses of her armor and deal a deadly blow to her. So her phantom attacks are not a threat despite looking like so. They are just the visible attacks. The invisible attacks are the deadly ones.
She was contemplating ignoring her phantom attacks to focus on a means to retaliate when she saw something in her future vision that made her eyes widen. She turned and ran immediately. Her phantom weapons hit her back over and over again but she ignored them. She focused on running away and dodging the spirit attacks that came her way.
She let her armor do its job and protect her from the physical attacks while she dedicated most of her attention to the spirit attacks. It was until she ran away from the 1st ring and entered the 2nd ring that she finally stopped running. She looked back at Litori who calmly went to stay in the Zeroth ring.
"Fuck." She cursed. "The first challenger and I caved."
She used to be in the Zeroth ring just a few moments ago but that changed immediately the first challenger came. She didn't see what she escaped from but she saw what would have happened to her had she stayed anywhere in the 1st ring and that was enough for her to retreat. She saw it as clear as day. She would have started burning from the inside out until she died. Her death would have occurred moments after being hit. All she could do to avoid that fate was to escape from Litori as fast as possible.
"It seems my good luck has ended. I faced an ephemeral flame wielder and survived. That is enough to drain whatever luck I have. I better not tempt fate anymore. I should go and hunt for more feats." Salvin said to herself.
She shook her head at the Zeroth ring and decided to hunt for more feats. She knew becoming the last man standing is almost impossible but the quick defeat stung. Her speculation about her inability to be the last man standing was confirmed but it did not give her the pleasure it ought to do since her conjecture was confirmed at the hands of Soverick's littermate.
She already lost to Soverick once so losing to his littermate too is not encouraging at all. It doesn't help that Litori is an ephemeral flame wielder. Wielders of the ephemeral flames are very dangerous and difficult to deal with but that doesn't excuse her loss. It doesn't change the fact that she has lost to Soverick's sister. So she would rather shore up her future in the competition by hunting for more feats than think about her defeat.
Litori's attacks were soundless, traceless, and unblockable. Salvini could track them based on what will happen to her if she stayed in her course of action. She would have died if not for her ability to predict the future. Someone that couldn't see the future would have died without knowing what killed them. Ephemeral flame wielders are that dangerous. They are incredibly rare because of the Soul affinity needed for them. Even those with the affinity of the soul might not be able to wield their powers so well.
Litori did more than master her abilities. She excelled at it. The domain that she set up covered the entire 1st ring. It would have killed Salvini had she continued to stay around. Litori took the Zeroth ring and is using her domain to prevent other challengers from even getting close to her. The entire 1st ring turned into a death zone.
The first unsuspecting challenger that approached her nearly died after having their emotions turned into fuel for her flames. Only a quick immediate retreat saved the person only for them to be killed after Litori fired a concentrated spiritual attack at the weakened person. Even Salvini with foresight wouldn't have been able to dodge the spiritual attack because of the weakness caused by being in her domain. The unsuspecting fool stood no chance.
The display warned others. No one approached the 1st ring any further. If no one can enter the 1st ring, then no one can fight her to claim the Zeroth ring at the very center of the Arena. If this continues, then Litori will be the last man standing.
Ghaster's POV.
Litori is not the only sibling of Soverick enjoying success. Ghaster is too. He defeated Amegle. It was a narrow victory. She put up a good fight. Her natural armor and weapons gave her an advantage in a place where no one had weapons. She was also a very skilled fighter with highly precise battle Instincts. Unfortunately for her, lightning was his weapon. He was faster than her and he could hit harder too.
His victory might have been a close one but the rewards of that battle were massive. He can still feel the changes even now. It was subtle at first. He stepped easier and moved smoother. It was the easy things, easily overlooked, that showed the first signs of improvement.
Things became obvious when he suddenly had an epiphany and comprehended more of the law of lightning. He somehow became synchronized with the world enough to reach the third step of mastery.
The changes didn't end with acquiring one with the world. He became sensitive to danger and he became able to differentiate between fortune and traps. His luck soared to the sky. He became able to always find his way around to acquire what he needs.
If he needs a weapon, he found it in a loot box. If he needs a place to hide because of the people chasing him to get his new shiny weapon, he finds it very quickly. If he needs people to kill without much trouble, he finds them too. While in his hiding place no less. Everything seems to be working well for him.