Chapter 31 (End): Ren Enters the Battlefield (Part 2)
Kael forced himself to his knees, spitting blood.
"You… filthy Nullborn..." he hissed, magic flaring recklessly around him.
Ren didn't even hesitate.
A second pulse of Void energy shattered the magic forming around Kael's hands, snuffing it out like a candle in a hurricane.
Ren's boot slammed into Kael's chest, pinning him to the cracked stone.
"Yield," Ren said, voice as cold as iron.
Kael snarled, trying to summon another spell.
Ren's hand lowered—two fingers brushing Kael's forehead—and a black glyph etched itself into Kael's skin for a heartbeat.
Silence.
Kael's eyes widened in horror as all magic left his body, leaving him powerless.
"I said... yield."
Kael Veylor, heir to House Veylor, champion of countless duels, could only choke out a hoarse, furious whisper:
"I yield."
The Faction War judges—professors clad in ceremonial armor—declared it with booming voices:
"House Veylor... defeated!"
Shock rippled across the arena.
The first major House had fallen—crushed—not by numbers, but by a single Nullborn.
Ren stepped back calmly as Kael collapsed unconscious, the void glyph fading from his brow.
From the stands, House Solmere's leader, a pale girl with silver hair and burning violet eyes, rose slowly.
Selvara Solmere.
She watched Ren like a chessmaster spotting a dangerous new piece on the board.
Behind her, whispers spread like wildfire.
"The Nullborn are rising…"
"The Faction War's balance is shattered."
A soft, slow smile touched Ren's lips as he turned away from Kael's broken form.
This was only the beginning.