From the far side of the platform, Lilia narrowed her eyes.
The flickering sigils that hovered around Irina weren't fire-based. She recognized that instantly. No heat distortion. No mana flare matching elemental alignment. They were clean, geometric—refined.
And the moment they formed, the feel of the battlefield shifted.
Lilia adjusted her stance, sliding half a step back, not out of fear but calibration. Her fingers hovered above her quiver, her bow still pulsing with the residual mana of her last volley. She was already preparing a new technique, ready to dismantle Irina's flame paths once again—until she felt the tension in the air twist.
'That's not flame.'
It had been months since she last sparred with Irina—perhaps longer. Half a year, maybe more. But in her mind, Lilia had never stopped updating the Irina-model she fought against.
