After the battle between Zael and Zuko ended—
Nobody challenged Platform One again.
Not a single person.
The arena remained eerily quiet whenever anyone's gaze drifted toward the shattered remains of Zael's platform.
Because after witnessing that final clash—
Most people no longer viewed Zael as simply talented.
He felt unreachable.
Like a monster wearing human skin.
Even the instructors watching from above looked shaken by the sheer scale of power he displayed.
Meanwhile, after being dragged out of the crater by medical staff, Zuko casually waved them away before pulling out a high-grade healing potion from his spatial ring.
The moment he drank it, rich blue mana surged throughout his body while his injuries visibly healed at rapid speed.
Auralis blinked from Platform Two.
"…Rich people are annoying."
"That potion probably costs more than your weapon," Lily replied calmly.
Auralis looked personally attacked.
A few minutes later—
Zuko calmly stepped toward Platform Five.
The original occupant immediately stiffened.
Truthfully, the man wasn't weak.
Anyone capable of holding a top ten platform this long was unquestionably powerful.
But after watching Zuko battle Zael nearly equally for so long—
The challenger honestly didn't even know if he wanted to continue being an awakened anymore.
Zuko stopped in front of the platform calmly.
"You planning to fight?"
The young man looked at him.
Then looked at Zael's destroyed battlefield nearby.
Then back at Zuko.
"…No."
Without hesitation, he raised both hands immediately.
"I surrender."
The crowd burst into laughter instantly.
Yet nobody really blamed him.
Because everyone understood.
Zuko could probably claim higher ranks if he truly wanted to.
But the issue was—
Platforms One through Four belonged to Zael's group.
And challenging any of them would inevitably attract Zael's attention again.
Zuko clearly had no intention of experiencing another Void Thunder Dragon Descent today.
He stepped onto Platform Five calmly afterward before sitting down cross-legged like nothing happened.
Meanwhile, several platforms away—
Cassian sighed helplessly before walking toward Platform Six.
The current holder there looked visibly nervous already.
Unlike before, nobody underestimated Cassian anymore after seeing him compared directly against Zael.
Because while Zael made him look weaker—
The reality was that Cassian was still monstrously strong.
The current Platform Six holder swallowed nervously.
"…Please don't hit me with that last spear move."
Cassian laughed lightly.
"No promises."
Three minutes later—
Cassian officially claimed Platform Six.
And just like Zuko—
Nobody challenged him afterward.
Not because they lacked courage entirely.
But because the rankings had become awkward now.
The top positions were effectively monopolized by monsters.
Zael held Platform One absolutely.
Auralis occupied Platform Two through sheer overwhelming destructive power.
Lily's spatial abilities made Platform Three feel untouchable.
And Aurelia…
Well.
Most people still weren't entirely sure how strong Aurelia actually was.
Which honestly made her scarier.
As for whether Cassian could truly defeat Lily, Auralis, or Aurelia—
That remained uncertain.
Even Cassian himself probably wasn't confident anymore after witnessing what Zael's group was actually capable of.
Especially Aurelia.
Because despite everything—
She still felt like the one hiding the most.
—————
From the very beginning—
Aurelia knew Zael would win.
The only uncertainty was how much strength he would need to reveal before doing so.
So while the rest of the arena watched the battle between Zael and Zuko with excitement, awe, or disbelief—
Aurelia watched quietly.
Carefully.
Her silver eyes reflected the endless collisions occurring above the arena as abyssal lightning and blue dragon flames tore across the battlefield repeatedly.
He's growing faster again, she thought silently.
Too fast.
Even compared to her expectations.
And that was saying something.
BOOOOOOM!!
Another violent shockwave spread across the arena as Zael's Void Thunder Dragon Descent overwhelmed Zuko's final attack completely.
The crimson-black draconic phantom descending from the heavens caused countless awakened to freeze instinctively from fear alone.
Meanwhile Aurelia simply watched silently.
Her gaze particularly lingered on the draconic aura surrounding Zael afterward.
The bloodline assimilation succeeded more perfectly than expected.
That realization should have worried her more.
After all—
The stronger Zael became, the more variables he introduced into the future.
And variables were dangerous.
Especially for someone like her.
Yet strangely—
A faint smile appeared on her lips instead.
Because for the first time in a very long time—
The future she remembered no longer felt absolute.
Maybe…
Maybe there really was a chance now.
A chance to change the cataclysmic future she saw.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened slightly at the thought.
Because the memories remained vivid even now.
The burning skies.
Collapsing dimensions.
Worlds consumed by abyssal corruption.
Countless powerful awakeners dying desperately one after another.
And at the center of it all—
Something far worse than death itself.
Aurelia slowly lowered her eyes afterward.
Then silently opened her status panel where no one else could see.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Name: Aurelia Vale
Level: 90
Class: Celestial Arcanist
Exp: 9000000/9000000 (locked)
Status: Second Class Change (peak)
Titles:
[Primordial Seer]
[Celestial Prophetess]
[Calamity Bearer]
Talents:
????
????
????
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Silence.
If anyone saw this panel—
True panic would erupt instantly.
Not because of her level.
Though hiding a level comparable to Zael's while pretending to remain around the sixties was already absurd enough.
No—
The truly terrifying thing was the titles.
Titles should not exist yet.
At least not here.
Not at this stage.
The title system only unlocked after level 1000.
And even among higher worlds, obtaining titles was considered unbelievably difficult.
Many legendary awakeners ascended beyond mortal worlds without obtaining even one their entire lives.
Because titles weren't simply rewards.
They were acknowledgements from reality itself.
Proof that someone had fulfilled conditions so abnormal that the system recognized them separately from ordinary existence.
And Aurelia possessed three.
Three titles before level 100.
If any awakened above level 1000 saw her status panel—
They would either think it was fake…
Or lose their minds entirely.
Especially because of one title in particular.
[Calamity Bearer]
Just the existence of that title alone implied horrifying things.
Aurelia quietly closed the panel afterward.
Her expression remained calm.
But internally—
Her thoughts churned heavily.
Zael was changing too many things already.
Originally, the Blood Thunder Dragon should have evolved completely and massacred nearly everyone inside the dungeon.
It should have become the first major catastrophe of this generation.
Instead—
Zael killed it.
And assimilated its bloodline.
Even Damien and Zuko weren't supposed to appear this early in her memories.
Everything was shifting.
Fast.
And while part of her felt relieved—
Another part felt increasingly uneasy.
Because whenever fate changed violently—
It usually meant something else was moving behind the scenes too.
Her gaze slowly drifted toward Zael again.
He stood atop the ruined battlefield calmly while the arena stared at him with awe and fear.
A monster growing beyond prediction.
A variable even she could no longer fully see through.
And somehow—
That uncertainty felt strangely comforting.