*Ayawamat*

Chao and Hiro turned their attention to me as I reached the bottom of the battlefield.

"Finally you showed yourself!" Hiro yelled.

I snickered. "Yeah.

"I don't need your help," Chao said, sighing. "I am perfectly capable of dealing with this loudmouth by myself."

"Who are you calling loudmouth?" Hiro snapped, his flames turning bluish.

I scoffed. "Well, I'm not here to help either of you. I'll be wiping the floor with both of you!"

"I'll love to see you try!" Hiro said, throwing his axe at me. I ducked and watched as it cut the crystal floor behind me, melting bits here and there.

"Try harder, shorty."

Hiro's knuckles turned white. "You... should... be... careful... with... what... you... wish... for!" he yelled, his flames turning completely blue.

"You've made him angrier," Chao said, rubbing his ears. He seemed disoriented as if suffering from gradually worsening head ache. Was fatigue starting to catch up to him? Or maybe it was dealing with this loudmouth's constant screams?

"Don't worry, I'll just this noisy guy down, then we can spar," I said, avoiding Hiro's flames.

"You're underestimating me, Wahkanian! I might've lost to those twins, but I won't lose again! Not to you!" he said. He stepped back, slammed his weapons against the ground, and took a deep breath. The flames around him tampered down.

What could he have been up to?

"He's internalizing his flames," Chao said, dashing forward.

"What does that do?" I asked.

The Xianian threw a sword at Hiro but the kid side stepped it even though he had his eyes closed.

"You aren't aware?" Chao asked as he threw three more. "It means he's refining his flames to strengthen them. Though it could be that he's trying to tap into his inner flame. The center of a candle is where it burns hottest."

Hiro opened his eyes. "You're well versed when it comes to fire magic. Is it because of your leader?"

"Fire is an element with strong ties to the priestesshood, so of course I would know," Chao said, raising his hand into the air. Several white swords manifested over Hiro.

The Xianian boy raised his own hand, palm face-up, and burned the swords away with blue flame. He picked up his axe with his other hand. His feet kicked the ground, propelling him toward us.

Chao formed a barrier of pure prana over him, while I summoned a giant red scorpion.

The blazing axe cut through Chao's barrier like a hot knife on butter. Using the yari Kuga had given him, Hiro slammed Chao's stomach, sending him reeling away.

Chao pushed himself up.

"Stand down," Hiro said.

"No... Lady Adela needs me. I need to finish you off here for her sake." He glanced up and watched as Adela, Nyima, and Kuga exchanged blows with one another in midair. "If I can't defeat you, then I truly have no right to join the elite guard."

The goldenrod-haired boy stabbed the ground with the yari, sending flames in all directions.

I jumped on top of my scorpion. Its tail raised and slammed the ground, shattering the melting crystal.

Hiro winced as burning shards embedded on his left arm.

"Finish them both, Sa!" I yelled.

Chao jumped out of the way as the tip of my scorpion's tail rose from below.

"It can extend?" Hiro said before taking a deep breath. "Kasei!" Countless balls of red flame rained down from above.

"Adela!" Chao yelled, jumping into the air. The High Priestess began to panic once more.

Nyima tried to shield herself but the flames evaporated her barrier.

"Was this what Kagu was planning?" I asked.

"You got it," Kagu said, appearing behind me.

"When did you get here?"

She took her yari from Chao. "I teleported here. Now, let's finish this," she responded, raising her hand. With a single snap, everything came to a near standstill.

"Ayawamat!" Nyima yelled, racing down from me.

Hiro stepped forward. His movements were like the speed of light in comparison to how I was moving. The side of his axe slammed me and my scorpion into the air. Panel after panel of crystal shattered. They stuck to my skin, but pain was slow to register.

Nyima grabbed a hold of me, triggering a rush of pain as time return to normal for me. With her free hand held out, she unleashed a torrent of water on Hiro and Kagu.

Hiro raised his giant axe and spun it around, evaporating the heavy downpour. What did manage to reach him was a cloud of vapor.

Nyima clenched her free hand together, reverting the vapor into torrential rain. It was like the rain that poured on the day we fought Mayu and her crew. Nothing could stand against it.

"I trust you to finish this," she whispered, wincing.

I grabbed a hold of her and set her down on Sa's back.

"No worries, I will."

My scorpion, whose skin had turned black from the water, reached out for Kagu, but the girl thrusted her yari at it. The tip of her weapon penetrated its exoskeleton.

Sa roared as it pulled its tail back.

"Tsk," I said.

"Above!" Nyima yelled.

A barrage of leaves rained down on us.

The three of us hit the ground with a loud thud.

Adela rushed down and slammed Hiro who was on his knees after being hit by Nyima's torrential rain. He tried to form flames but none manifested.

The priestess slammed him into the barrier and turned her attention toward Kagu.

Kagu was dodging the leaves and swords. Chao appeared behind her and grabbed her hands tightly, preventing her from snapping them.

Adela punched Kagu in the stomach and grabbed a hold of the collar of her black latex suit. Chao let go of the Toran, allowing the priestess to send her flying toward the ceiling of the barrier.

Kagu spread her arms out to slow down her ascent but Adela wasn't going to have any of it. The pink haired Xianian appeared in front of the pink haired Toran.

"Seems I underestimated you after all," the Toran whispered, crossing her arms over the center of her body to guard.

"Bye," Adela said, punching her once more. The force sent Kagu out of bounds.

"She snapped again," Nyima said, gulping.

My eyes turned toward the descending Chao. He could barely keep his eyes open. Sa's healing tail struck his back, throwing him to the floor.

"Nyima, defeat Adela again," I said as we reached the ground.

Adela appeared above us. Nyima blocked her hit with her arm.

"You're running out of energy," Adela said as the golden glow around Nyima diminished to the point it was barely even there. "Give up now."

"You wouldn't give up against Kagu, so why should I surrender to you?" Nyima said, wincing.

"Right! We won't back down!" I yelled. Sa's tail stabbed Adela's back.

Adela spun around and sliced the tail off with her wooden sword with obsidian bits for a blade.

Adela yanked the part of the tail stuck to her. Green light bathed her back, closing the wound. She was lucky that Sa's stings weren't poisonous.

I closed my eyes and pressed my hands together. Sa vanished, but in turn, a golden bee appeared in my cupped hands. "Heal Nyima," I whispered. The tiny thing flew over toward Nyima while Adela made room between us.

My partner yelped. "What was that?" she asked, turning around.

I snickered. "A little gift." I fell to my knees. "Hopefully it'll be enough to finish her off."

"Wait, what about you?" she asked.

I tried my best to smile. "I'll best resting a bit. Try to keep me safe."

She huffed. "Alright. But don't make such moves without consulting me next time."

Adela dusted herself off. "You're working together better than I'd imagined. If I had known, I would've eliminated you first before Tora."

I grinned. "You should've, but it's too late for regrets now."

"Indeed," Adela said. Her figure vanished.

"An after image?" Nyima said.

I gasped as something hit my neck. Everything went dark...

*Nyima*

My eyes widened. "Ayawamat!" I yelled.

Adela vanished again. I spun around, blocking her attack on time. The golden aura around me blazed to its full glory, blinding her.

I brought out my talisman. "Third Release!" I yelled.

Adela gasped as a beam of water struck her. She tried to use plants to stop it, but they dried up as soon as they touched the beam.

"N-not again," she said as she tried to push back against it. She closed her eyes. "I didn't want it to end like this again..." A silver aura blazed around the priestess. "No... I can still... win!"

I smiled. She sure was persistent. Then again, she nearly died trying to win against me during our first battle together.

A metallic beam formed in her hands, pushing my water back.

"I'll win here!" Adela cried out.

I snickered. "I didn't expect to have you on the ropes."

"What do you mean?" she asked. "You're stronger than you think, Nyima. You should stop doubting yourself."

"I know... but doubt is persistent. It keeps nipping on one's heart, soul, and mind. Sometimes it makes one wonder if anything is worth it."

Adela smiled. "I think it is. Even if we may fall, we rise back up. We have to be like the phoenix," she said, pushing back on me.

A phoenix... Lei and she exemplified that, but not me.

I winced as my beam was pushed back.

"Nyima!" I heard a distant voice call out. I glanced at the audience and saw Iah.

Why was he cheering me on? Last time we spoke, he seemed mad at me. Mad at me... the other time he was made was when I paid more attention to Yuto rather than him. Wait, was he jealous? Of who? Ayawamat? Or Lei? W-wait, did he overheard what I told Ciji?

"Don't give up!" he yelled.

I glanced at the unconscious Ayawamat. He had given me part of his remaining prana. My gaze fell on Lei who seemed nervous.

Taking a deep breath, I channeled all my energy into my beam and pushed back against Adela. She did the same. The center of the beams went back and forth, creating an unstable energy influx.

A shockwave ruptured the air. My hearing left me momentarily until it returned a few seconds later to a cascade of gasps. The barrier had shattered.

Adela was flung out toward the audience while I was sent falling toward my teammates.

A pair of arms wrapped around me followed by a gust.

"Wonder who won that," Lei said, staring at me. He grinned and laughed. "Good job out there!" He raised his eyes toward where Adela had flown off to.

"Is she alright?" I asked. There wasn't much commotion, so she must've stopped herself."

"She's fine!" a voice called out. It was Iah.

"Nice catch!" Lei yelled.

"So who won?" Iah asked, floating over with Adela in tow.

All eyes fell on Lei's uncle. In turn, he was staring at a black tablet. "The barrier exploded before either one hit it. In cases like this, it's a tie."

"A tie?" Adela and I asked.

Lei laughed. "You two sure are amazing. Iah and I passed out after our battle."

My face reddened. It felt weird to be in his arms... though nice at the same time. I mentally slapped myself for thinking that.

"Nice!" Iah said, grinning. "Wish I could've joined you in the final."

"Maybe in two years," Lei said, grinning. "Though I'll be defeating you for real, not by technicality!"

The blonde prince snickered. "You better work hard. Like I said before, I won't lose."

Sirius sighed. "That sure was scary."

"Sure was," Astra said, sniffing.

"Aww, thanks for worrying about me," I said, jumping out of Lei's arms. I ran over and patted her head. Since Astra was a Hoshi, she could one day be able to use space or time magic. Though it was hard to believe the little girl in front of me could one day possess such terrifying power.

"Little Astra has a strong teacher," Stella said, smiling.

I smiled back. "I'm not that strong! I couldn't have done it without Ayawamat and the support of my friends." My eyes turned toward the unconscious participants.

"Chao," Adela said.

"He's fine," Elliot called out as he jumped out of the shattered ring. "He's just resting! Ona is healing his wounds. Thankfully the influx of energy from the colliding beams was distributed more horizontally than vertically."

"Aya's fine too!" Sowk yelled as she and Orion helped carry their friend back.

"That's... good," I said, closing my eyes.

"You're sleepy?" Astra asked.

"Yeah..."

"Well, this isn't a good place to sleep," Iah said.

"Let's get you back to the hotel to rest," Yen said. "If you would do the honors, Kun?"

"Sure! Uh, but first the medals!"

Someone put a medal over me. "Congrats, Nyima, Adela!" Lei said. Clapping filled the air. I wished I had more strength to enjoy it... but it was still heartwarming. Hopefully, next time I'd be able to celebrate too.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter :). Only twelve 'episodes' and the epilogue left to go!**