Location: Solace Tower — Duel Pit Behind the Training Wing
The sky overhead was a wash of indigo, stars beginning to prick through the veil of dusk. A cold breeze teased through the academy grounds as students gathered like moths to a flame—because someone had lit a very entertaining one.
Sparks stood in the center of the pit, hands behind her back, hair flowing like a waterfall of emberglow.
Across from her, Lys cracked her knuckles, ice mist curling around her fists.
"Let me get this straight," Sparks said, head tilted. "You… want to duel me… for fun?"
"It's not fun," Lys muttered, eyes narrowing. "It's for clarification. You're too close to Grim."
Sparks blinked. "So we're fighting over a boy?"
"No," Lys snapped. "We're fighting because of a boy."
Sparks grinned. "Totally different. Got it."
Max leaned on the balcony nearby, sipping tea.
"She's gonna die," he muttered.
"She's gonna ascend," Hadi corrected, stuffing popcorn in her mouth.
Ayesha chuckled, "I give it two minutes before someone calls down a meteor."
Tristan placed a bet with a third year.
Back in the pit, Grim tried to speak.
"Lys, Sparks just got her body"
"I know," Lys said, without looking at him.
"She hasn't fully calibrated her
"I know."
"Her energy constructs still explode if she
Lys cracked her neck. "Perfect."
Sparks gave Grim a wink.
"Hold my metaphysical tea."
Round One: Sass vs. Ice
Lys struck first—a pillar of frozen air slamming toward Sparks like a battering ram.
Sparks blinked—literally—and the ice passed right through a copy of her.
A mirage?
No—an afterimage. A fragment of thought and light.
Sparks appeared behind Lys, casually perched on a conjured lightning serpent.
"Hello, queen of frostbite."
Lys spun, palm out—an orb of absolute zero fired off—but Sparks flipped sideways midair, her new body moving like liquid storm.
The orb collided with her summoned lion construct instead—and exploded in a dome of frozen shards.
Sparks whistled. "Yikes. You kiss Grim with that mouth?"
Lys growled.
Round Two: A Bit More Serious
Now it got faster.
Lys summoned twin blades of cryometal, etched with runes only the highland clans used. Sparks answered with twin whips of lightning, snapping with stormsong.
The clash lit the pit—blue against red, frost against fury.
Each time Sparks struck, Lys deflected.
Each time Lys countered, Sparks danced backward, laughing.
They weren't trying to kill each other—but they were trying to win.
And something else lingered in Lys' eyes—something that had nothing to do with rivalry and everything to do with fear.
Because Sparks wasn't human.
And she wasn't backing down.
Lys skated forward on a patch of summoned ice, blade slicing for Sparks' shoulder—only for Sparks to bend like smoke, slam her palm to the ground, and summon a phoenixshaped bolt of energy beneath Lys' feet.
Boom.
Lys flipped back, singed and grinning.
"Not bad."
Sparks landed, panting slightly, her eyes glowing hot.
"Not done."
Final Clash: Sparks Earns Her Place
Lys rushed again, blade humming.
Sparks raised her hand.
"Bad idea."
The air thickened.
Crackled.
And then—thunder. A dome of compressed sound and light formed around her.
Sparks pulled it in—one last pulse.
And when she released it?
The blast sent Lys flying into the far wall of the pit.
It cracked.
Dust settled.
Everyone stared.
Even Zariya dropped her tea.
Lys coughed, pulled herself out of the rubble, and limped toward Sparks with a grin.
"You're terrifying."
Sparks helped her up. "Thank you. I work very hard at it."
Lys looked at Grim, then at Sparks.
Then at Grim again.
"You're still mine. But if she kills me, you can cry later."
Grim sighed. "Thanks for the permission."
Later that night, the group sat in the tower—quiet, bruised, a little scorched.
Lys lay on the couch, ice pack to her ribs.
Sparks offered her hot chocolate.
They didn't speak for a long time.
But they sat near each other.
Close enough for everyone to notice.
Even Grim.
Even Zariya.
And especially the soul whispering inside Sparks' core…
She passed. She belongs now.