Primordial Heir: Nine Stars

The match between Nero and Elreth ended in his victory. The princess’s expression darkened; her pride stung more than her body. She wanted a rematch. She had always known Nero was strong, but not to this degree. Her goal had been clear from the beginning—win decisively, overwhelm him, and use that triumph to draw him to her side. Yet her plan had crumbled before her eyes, leaving only bitter frustration in its place.

Nero, however, paid her mood no mind. He turned, ready to leave the stage and return to his seat, when he noticed Khione watching him. Her ice-blue eyes gleamed—not with disdain, but with the unmistakable hunger for battle. Cold and sharp, yet alight with fireless passion.

He had expected as much. A low chuckle escaped him.

”You want to spar with me too, don’t you?” he asked, his crimson gaze meeting hers.

The Ice Queen did not hesitate, her voice calm and firm.

”I do.”

Nero smirked. ”I thought so.”

He looked toward Lux, who merely shrugged, the faintest curve of a smile tugging at his lips, as if to say: I knew this would happen. ℴ

”Lux,” Nero said, ”do you have a special training ground? One that can withstand... serious damage?”

Lux nodded without a hint of hesitation. ”Yes. Follow me.”

The group began to move. Behind them, Elreth’s mood soured further. Nero hadn’t asked for such a battleground when fighting her. He had held back. Yet for Khione, he wanted to go all out. The thought gnawed at her, frustration burning hotter than any flame she had conjured during their duel.

Lux led the group into another training chamber, guiding them toward a portal shimmering with faint light. Stepping through, they emerged into a vast pocket world—an artificial dimension crafted long ago by Adam’s father, a mage of unparalleled strength. The place was encased within a regenerative barrier, a protection so absolute that any destruction would swiftly mend itself. Only attacks of unimaginable force, strong enough to shatter the very fabric of the pocket world, could cause lasting damage. It was here that Adam’s father, along with other titans of their bloodline, once tested their limits.

Lux would serve as referee, while Adam, Blake, Azalea, and Elreth found their seats at the edge of the field. The arena itself shifted at Lux’s command, morphing into a wide, open clearing within a dense forest—perfect for the clash to come.

The two combatants stepped forward. A Knight against a Mage. Fire against Ice. Nero and Khione locked eyes, their gazes sharp, neither willing to give an inch.

Nero broke the silence first, his crimson eyes glinting with mischief.

”If I win, I want a kiss... and a date.”

The declaration caused a ripple among the spectators. Elreth and Azalea’s eyes widened in shock, while Blake raised an eyebrow but dismissed it with his usual indifference, too lazy to care. Adam and Lux, on the other hand, chuckled knowingly, exchanging a look that said, as expected of our brother.

Khione’s expression remained calm. For a moment, her lips curved into the faintest of smiles as she answered.

”I accept. But if I win... you’ll be in for a good surprise.”

She left her intentions veiled, offering no clue as to what her demand might be. Nero’s grin widened regardless. He nodded without hesitation, excitement flickering like fire in his eyes.

The stage was set. The forest clearing grew quiet, as though the very pocket world itself held its breath, awaiting the clash between flame and frost.

Nero lowered his stance, fingers tightening around the hilt of his longsword. He guided the flow of prana within his core, compressing it until it burst outward in a violent surge, the pressure rippling across the field like a shockwave. Flames roared to life, coiling around his blade in a living blaze. With the Law of Fire thrumming through him, his body sharpened, ready to move faster, strike harder, burn brighter.

Across from him, Khione raised her slender wand, her ice-blue eyes calm yet unyielding. A frigid aura enveloped her, the Law of Ice spilling forth as prana crystallized in the air around her. When the two forces touched, fire and frost snarled against one another, their clashing resonance echoing like a phantom boom that made the air itself tremble.

Lux raised his hand, then dropped it.

”Begin!”

Nero vanished in a burst of speed, the ground cracking under his step. In the next heartbeat, he was before her, his flaming sword slicing down in a merciless arc. But Khione had already responded—an ethereal ice shield bloomed in front of her, translucent yet unbreakable, the strike sparking against its surface.

Using her unique ice movement technique, her form shimmered like mist, sliding back across the field as if carried by the winter wind. The distance opened in an instant, and with a flick of her wand she retaliated. Jagged spikes of ice erupted forward, sharp enough to pierce steel.

Nero twisted his body, flames flaring, and slipped past them with precise movements, the fire trailing in his wake like afterimages in the air.

The two circled one another, the open field vibrating with the sheer density of their clashing Laws. Fire crackled and hissed at Nero’s feet, each step leaving embers behind, while faint frost spread beneath Khione, the grass freezing into brittle shards of ice wherever she moved. Neither rushed in recklessly this time. Both understood—this was not just a spar, it was a test of strength, of will, of who could dominate the other’s world of flame and frost.

Nero lunged first, his longsword flashing in a sharp, precise cut aimed at her midsection. The flames wreathing his blade trailed like a comet’s tail, heat distorting the air around it. Khione’s wand flicked, a wall of ice rising instantly to intercept. Steel met ice with a ringing crack, sparks and frost scattering into the wind. Nero pulled back smoothly, already spinning his sword into another strike, this time a horizontal slash.

Khione was ready. She raised her palm, a thin layer of frost spreading across the shield as she reinforced it, then dissolved it at the last second. The blade cut only through mist, Nero stumbling forward slightly before a barrage of crystalline arrows formed in the air above her. They rained down with lethal precision.

With a grin tugging at his lips, Nero raised his sword, flames bursting outward. He spun once, a fiery wave erupting to incinerate the arrows mid-air. Shards of half-melted ice rained down, sizzling as they touched the fiery aura surrounding him.

”Not bad,” he muttered under his breath, tightening his grip.

Khione’s lips curved faintly into a smile.

”You’ll need more than sparks to reach me.”

Once again, Nero charged, his movements faster now, his blade striking again and again. Each blow was fluid, each angle deadly, but Khione was like flowing ice—shields rose and melted in seamless succession, her wand weaving between his attacks as if dancing to an unseen rhythm. Still, with every clash, her gaze sharpened. He was faster than before. Stronger too.

She countered by stabbing her wand forward, channeling a stream of frigid air. A frost beam surged, intending to freeze him solid. Nero roared, flames bursting from his core to coat his entire body, meeting the frost head-on. Steam erupted, enveloping the stage in a cloud that hissed and swirled violently.

The audience leaned forward. Adam’s eyes narrowed, Elreth’s fists tightened on her knees, and Lux’s expression remained calm, though his prana senses tracked every movement within the mist.

Within the veil of steam, Nero darted forward, sword raised, but Khione anticipated him. A jagged ice blade extended from her wand, parrying his strike with a metallic screech. The clash reverberated, shaking the ground beneath their feet.

They broke apart again, breathing heavier, the earth scorched and frozen in patches. Neither had unleashed their full power yet, but both were testing, pushing, probing weaknesses.

Nero exhaled sharply, his eyes gleaming red as flames intensified around him. He shot forward, his movements blurring as the Law of Fire enhanced every fiber of his body. His strikes came faster, fiercer—diagonal slashes, sudden thrusts, sweeping arcs—forcing Khione to retreat. She responded with elegance, each retreating step leaving behind traps of ice—spikes jutting from the ground, shards exploding upward.

Nero smashed through them with brute force, his flaming sword shattering the ice into glittering fragments.

”Persistent as ever,” Khione murmured, her wand flicking in a graceful circle. In response, a dome of ice formed around her, shimmering under the firelight. Nero didn’t hesitate; he brought his sword down in a blazing overhead strike. Fire met ice in a thunderous explosion, cracks spiderwebbing across the dome before it shattered in a storm of glittering shards.

Khione emerged from the collapse, her blue eyes glowing with icy determination. She thrust her wand, and countless ice lances burst forth in every direction, converging toward Nero like a blizzard.

He planted his feet, drew in his breath, and flames surged violently around him. With a roar, he unleashed a fiery shockwave, incinerating the barrage before it reached him. The ground trembled, half the field charred black, half frozen white—a battlefield split between fire and ice.

The pace shifted.

No longer were they simply testing. Their movements grew sharper, faster, more ruthless. Khione’s steps glided with icy grace, while Nero’s presence burned like a living inferno. Their Laws weren’t just clashing anymore—they were devouring, consuming, tearing at each other for dominance.

The sound of steel striking frost, the hiss of melting ice, the roar of fire—it all blended into a symphony of destruction. Craters opened where Nero’s sword struck, and frozen spires rose where Khione countered. The forest around them shook under the strain, only to be restored by the regenerative barrier seconds later.

From the sidelines, Blake sighed, resting his chin on his palm. ”They’re insane... destroying everything just for fun.”

Elreth’s expression tightened, orange eyes smoldering. ”No... this isn’t fun. They’re dead serious.”

Azalea’s gaze softened slightly. ”They look... alive.”

In the middle of it all, Nero and Khione met each other’s eyes through the haze of fire and frost. And despite the intensity, despite the destruction, both were smiling.

This was exactly what they wanted—an opponent who could stand against them without faltering, someone who could push them to their very limits.

And the fight had only just begun.