Lior Snow vs. Ravien Lance
The arena brimmed with an eerie tension, a silence too heavy to be casual. Whispers died in throats, and the crowd leaned in, hearts pounding with anticipation. The frost-etched banners of Gallus Blade Academy swayed softly, as though even the wind dared not disturb what was to come.
"What strategy will be used in this next battle?" a student murmured.
Eyes turned to the two figures walking toward the battlefield. One, a short-statured youth with thick, dark hair and a sturdy build, moved quickly—but his short legs betrayed his haste. He was unmistakably a dwarf, though his confident air made him seem far taller. This was Ravien Lance, the quiet but unyielding initiate from the frostlands.
From behind, a taller figure swaggered into view. A lean, middle-height young man, sleek silver hair tied loosely behind his head, approached with a blade already hanging from his hip. Without warning, he pushed Ravien forward with a smirk and a mocking glint in his eyes.
"Try to keep up, loser," Lior Snow scoffed.
A chuckle rippled through the initiates' seats. Ravien stumbled but caught himself smoothly, brushing frost from his coat.
"Don't judge a book by its cover," he muttered, steel in his voice despite his calm exterior.
Both combatants stood at opposite ends of the icy arena, and the swirling air between them seemed to respond to their auras. The referee stepped in between, raised both arms high, and then vanished with a leap, signaling the start of the duel.
Lior was quick. With a dramatic sweep, he drew his gleaming silver blade and raised it high, voice proud and rich with authority.
"Read the silence... Korukazan, freeze and ignite!"
The ground around him pulsed. Black snow burst into the sky, twisting like smoke as it danced around his figure. His cloak turned gray, so did his hair and eyebrows. A vicious aura of frost exploded from him, forming black ice in his grip. It compressed, twisted, and morphed into a jagged dark sword. Somewhere within the icy roar, the ghostly growl of a leopard echoed—the spirit of his blade awakening for blood.
With a cruel grin, Lior took his stance.
"I'll give you a baby's head start, my child. Activate your blade and have one free strike at me. That is, if you wouldn't miss."
Ravien said nothing. He simply nodded, and his lips curled into something that wasn't quite a smile—more a look of solemn pity. Then he lifted his axe forward in one hand, and in a whisper, he invoked the power within.
"Shatter the pulse, Glaciem Rendrix... Cryo-Crest Awakening."
The arena's temperature plummeted. Frost cracked beneath every foot in the stands. Breath froze midair. A wave of cryo-energy pulsed outward like a blast from another realm. Ravien's small frame expanded—grew—until he stood at twelve feet tall, a towering frost giant of muscle and magic.
His armor reformed with each pulse of power, frost-forged and glimmering like glacier stone. The axe in his hand surged in size and weight, now a titanic platinum war-axe that extended well beyond the boundary of the arena, humming with ancient energy. The very air fractured around it, solidifying like glass and shattering with each movement.
Lior's expression flickered—mockery melted to alarm. Then to fear.
Ravien hoisted the axe onto his shoulder with one hand, a motion that cracked the frost-solid air behind him like thunder.
"How about that first free strike you promised?" Ravien asked, voice deeper, resonant like glacier groans beneath the earth.
The crowd was stunned into silence. Then a murmur rose at the noble seats. Lord Gundrick, leaned forward, eyes wide.
"That's no ordinary dwarf," Gundrick said. "That's a true Frost Breed... the Korikazan's bloodline. Clan of the frost giants. Its a pity to have underestimated your opponent".
Back on the battlefield, Lior knew he had to commit. Pride wouldn't let him back down now.
"Fine!" he barked, taking a deep breath. "Let's see what a mountain of ice does when it's shattered!"
He surged forward with blinding speed, his blade trailing arcs of explosive dark ice behind him. With one agile leap, he struck downward at Ravien's chest.
A boom echoed as the blade connected—but it barely cracked Ravien's armor. The backlash from the hit sent Lior stumbling backward, smoke rising from his hands as if he had struck a wall of frozen steel reinforced by magic.
Ravien hadn't moved.
"Strike given," Ravien rumbled. "Now my turn."
He stepped forward, each stride shaking the arena floor. Lior barely dodged as the gigantic axe swung low, carving a trench in the ice and sending shards flying.
Lior flipped to the side and pointed his blade.
"Don't think size means you win! Korukazan Split!"
With a swing, dark ice bombs launched from his sword. The moment they struck the ground around Ravien, they exploded in clouds of black frostfire, spiraling up in chaotic bursts.
For a moment, Ravien vanished into the black mist.
Then—
CRACK!
A massive shockwave burst from the center. The mist cleared in a flash of blue light as Ravien emerged unharmed, his massive axe embedded in the ground like a glacier fang. Frost crept along the blast zone, freezing Lior's explosives before they could detonate.
Ravien's glowing blue eyes narrowed.
"You play with snowflakes... I wield glaciers."
Lior gritted his teeth. "Then let's see if glaciers bleed!"
He darted left, circling Ravien with blinding footwork. He threw feints, slashes, then leapt into the air with his sword igniting again. A spiral of dark frost flame encased his blade as he spun like a drill toward Ravien's head.
This time, Ravien moved.
With unnatural speed, he raised Glaciem Rendrix, deflecting the strike with the flat of the axe. The rebound sent Lior spiraling mid-air. Ravien followed, slamming the back of his axe into the ground—sending pillars of ice erupting beneath Lior's path.
One connected—BOOM! Lior was sent flying across the battlefield, slamming into the far wall. He coughed, frost trailing from his mouth as he stood, bruised but not broken.
"I'm not done... not yet..." Lior growled.
"Good," Ravien replied. "Because neither am I."
The giant warrior gripped his axe in both hands and began spinning it in wide arcs, generating vortexes of freezing wind that surged across the arena like blizzards. Lior dashed, dodging left and right, throwing exploding frost shurikens and detonating spikes of shadow-ice underfoot.
But the overwhelming aura from Ravien's Cryo Crest slowed Lior's movement. His breath turned to ice. His limbs began to tremble. The temperature was falling below survivable thresholds now—only Ravien remained unaffected.
With one final charge, Lior let out a roar and aimed for Ravien's unguarded back. He poured every ounce of explosive ice into his blade, which now pulsed with unstable magic.
Ravien didn't turn.
Instead, he raised Glaciem Rendrix in one hand, and whispered:
"Frost technique, freeze the world."
He struck the ground.
A massive dome of ice erupted, sealing the arena in a sphere of absolute cold. Lior's blade struck the wall—and froze on contact. The shock stunned him.
Then Ravien moved inside the dome.
With a blur of speed, Ravien appeared behind him and struck—not to kill, but with the flat side of his axe. The hit collapsed Lior into the snow, eyes wide, frost layering over his arms as he lay defeated.
The crowd was silent.
Then, as the dome shattered into crystal dust, Gundrick applauded,
"Behold the cryo giant—blood of the Korikazan! A true son of the Frost Breed!"
Cheers erupted from the audience.
Ravien turned away, axe on his shoulder, his gaze distant but calm.
Lior, from the ground, grinned through bloodied lips. "You're... not half-bad, giant."
Ravien glanced back. "And you're not half-dumb for picking a fight."
Both smirked.
The battle was done—but legends had only just begun. Ravien bowed to the audience, both hands pressed together in a symbol of respect. He placed his axe beside its sheath, and as it began to shrink, so did he—returning to his original dwarf form. With the same steady steps, he walked out of the arena, no longer just a timid initiate, but a warrior who had earned their respect.
To Be Continued!!.