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"The Waif's Hidden Power Revealed at the Grand Arena " / Chapter 17 / 20

Chapter 17 - The Ultimate Sacrifice

With a final, earth-shattering burst of willpower, Elara channeled every ounce of the city’s foundational magic through her body, pushing past her physical limits. The blue tattoos across her skin flared so brightly she looked like a creature forged from pure starlight.

"This ends now, Malakor!" she cried out.

She slammed her free hand directly against the dark-iron breastplate of the general.

A shockwave of pure, blinding azure light erupted from her palm, piercing straight through Malakor’s armor and flooding his dark core with overwhelming, purifying energy. The shadow-wings disintegrating into mist, the ancient general let out a deafening, spectral scream as the primordial darkness within him was unraveled thread by thread.

"No... impossible... a waif... from nowhere..." Malakor choked out before his physical form shattered into a million glowing fragments of starlight, dissolving completely into the abyss.

The sphere of absolute darkness shuddered, turned a brilliant shade of silver, and imploded peacefully into a warm, gentle breeze that swept through the cavern, melting the frost from the stone walls and carrying away the lingering chill of centuries.

Elara hung suspended in the air for a brief moment, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The immense strain of channeling the full power of the realm drained her reserves completely. As the glowing runes on her skin faded back into invisibility, her eyes returned to their natural hazel, and gravity reclaimed her.

She plummeted toward the stone floor of the cavern.

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"YOUR MAJESTY!" Kaelen’s frantic voice echoed through the vast space as he sprinted across the trembling platform.

Before she hit the stone, a warm, golden barrier caught her gently, lowering her safely into Kaelen’s outstretched arms.

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Chapter 18 - The Return of the Sovereign
Chapter 19 - Foundations of a New Era
Chapter 20 - The Eternal Spark

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