“Bow down to your new Uncrowned King.”

Northstrider landed in a blast of blood madra, glaring at Miara.

“No.”

Miara stared up at him defiantly. Her royal madra began to creep outwards.

“You were not to unveil yourself. There will be a rematch.”

Eithan reappeared behind her, looking around in surprise.

“Ah, so you are the queen. I see, I see. Lindon was right after all.”

Miara knew she could take on Northstrider. If she could figure out his techniques, she could shut them down before his strength would overpower her.

But she knew it would not be without casualties. She felt a sense of shame as she looked around.

She should not have lost her temper.

Turning back to Northstrider, she nodded.

“Agreed. I accept the rematch. I will restrict myself to Underlady only.”

“Wait.”

Reigan Shen appeared, looking nervous.

“She won, Northstrider. It hardly seems fair I know, but the Abidan have already decreed there will be no interferences.”

Eithan glared at him.

“Don’t worry, my king. I’ll make this quick.”

Then I’m coming after you, Eithan added in his thoughts.

Reigan Shen turned to him with a look of rage.

He looked back at Northstrider, opened his mouth, but shut it and teleported back to his tower.

Miara smirked, having read Eithan’s mind as well. She closed her eyes, and her power decreased to a spark of what it had once been, her soulfire sealed away. Her hair grew shorter, she sank a few inches, looking a little younger.

She blazed with the power of an Underlady, still burning fierce and dangerous.

Miara was still the strongest Underlady in all of Cradle.

Northstrider turned to Eithan. “Next time you try that technique, I won’t be keeping you alive.”

Eithan nodded, his eyes on Miara. He had used The Reaper’s Gift in his fight with Miara, using the forbidden technique taught to him by Tiberian Arelius. It was a hunger madra technique that allowed him to steal the madra of any sacred artist and use it like his own.

But since he wasn’t a Sage or Herald, he only had a couple seconds to use it before he would die. Northstrider had kept him alive with Authority, but only because Sha Miara had broken the rules when she had unveiled herself to Overlady. And then to Monarch.

Eithan cracked his fingers.

“Well that was not very fair.”

Miara blushed. “Just shut up. I’m still not letting you win.”

She had taken the fight lightly before, too cocky. This time, she would take this fight seriously.

Her opponent was worthy of that.

Eithan crouched, his eyes dangerous.

“Prepare yourself, my queen.”

Miara tied back her long red hair into a ponytail long enough to touch her waist, letting out a deep breathe as she stretched her limbs, her bones cracking. When she was ready, she bumped her fists together, making a loud smack that send wind aura blasting outwards. It rustled Eithan’s blond hair back.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” called the Ninecloud Soul, “After that exciting turn of events, we’re getting a REEEEEMAAAAAATCHH!”

The crowd roared, some unruly people firing their techniques into the air

Northstrider spoke from his tower, wind aura from Miara reaching him and swirling his hair and beard.

“Begin.”

***

Miara flipped upwards as hundreds of Forged stars blasted underneath her. The Overlord pure madra blazed with gray soulfire, almost silver, trailing behind like wisps of gas. They turned up and followed her in the air.

She scooped his stars up with her Royal madra, knowing it would not be effective in controlling due to royal madra being so like pure madra, having originated as a mutation from pure madra in the Sha bloodline.

The stars pierced her madra, rushing towards her.

Miara wasn’t the strongest Underlady for nothing.

Soulfire exploded out of her in silver waves, controlling the wind aura around the Forged stars as the wind tore the Forged stars apart, dispersing it to essence.

On the Path of the Celestial Radiance, she had no Ruler technique. So, the Sha were trained to have higher levels of soulfire control than was normal for their advancement level, effectively able to control aura not of their own. Miara happened to specialize in manipulating wind aura.

She Forged a platform of rainbow-colored, wind aura layering her movements to allow her to float through the air, gliding gracefully and flipping acrobatically to avoid the streams of pure madra Eithan was shooting.

She didn’t know how Eithan was going to activate The Reaper’s Gift. The last time he had, he had caught the broom she had held. It was possible that he had to touch her at least once to form a connection, or maybe he had to integrate hunger madra into his pure madra. Even if he did, it was clearly too much for him to take as an Overlord. He would die in seconds, Northstrider no longer keeping him alive.

Whatever the case, Miara wanted to end the fight without getting close to Eithan.

Eithan didn’t waste any time.

Miara felt danger everywhere, her senses screaming.

Eithan appeared behind her in midair, his icy eyes drilling holes as his bloodline ability enveloped her, revealing itself as hunger madra tendrils.

The Aurelius bloodline came from hunger madra, feeding off information in the world and bringing it to Eithan.

As the hunger madra encircled Miara, she felt Eithan activated the Reaper’s Gift.

Miara raised her hand to block Eithan’s kick. She shot wind at her back to keep her sturdy, but Eithan overpowered her. She shot into the ground; her arm was broken.

She landed on her feet, Forging a wall of royal madra around her, aiming to make the most solid defense she could make. She called on her soulfire, flames shooting out of her barrier to send spikes of wind aura blasting out in a hurricane. As she did, she called wind aura to nurse her broken arm, snapping it into place.

Eithan burst through the ceiling behind her as the roof above them shattered.

Miara turned around slowly, her eyes widening.

Eithan looked up from his crouch, debris of Royal madra shattering across his pure armor. Royal madra coursed through his channels as well, reinforcing himself.

Now that Eithan’s secret was out, he had no need to hold back.

Eithan had activated the Reaper’s Gift and had created a second core of royal madra. His body began to disintegrate immediately, but Eithan wanted to finish the fight in the seconds it took before his body broke down.

Eithan stood up slowly, his hair turning white and the white of his eyes turning black, shoving a wall of royal madra from on top of him and letting it slide off.

He blasted forward.

Miara ducked his punch, shooting herself backwards with soulfire-aided wind aura in a burst of silver flames.

Eithan caught her by her ponytail, his feet sliding on watery white blue madra that let out droplets into the air. It was the madra made from combining royal and pure madra together.

Miara tried to inject her royal madra into him, but his royal madra spirit fought back, overpowering her.

The clash of royal madra exploded inside of her, and she screamed as rainbow madra burst from her mouth, her channels ravaged from the explosion.

Eithan slid on the tile floor as he pulled her by her hair, royal madra mixing with his pure madra. It made his pure madra look like liquid blue-white water, flowing from his feet as he skidded underneath her. She Forged a sword of royal madra, slashing her ponytail off and allowing her to escape Eithan’s hold.

Eithan Forged his own royal madra sword, flipping it into the air before throwing it like a javelin.

Miara groaned as it stabbed into her stomach, pinning her to the Forged royal madra behind her and shattering through.

She landed on her feet as she pulled the sword out, changing its shape into a royal madra scythe. Eithan flowed forward on watery pure madra. It flew back as he shot forward, creating an echo version of himself made of madra before it dissipated.

Miara used soulfire to channel wind aura around her punches, increasing her speed and strength as she traded blows with Eithan.

He kicked her punches asides, smacking the wind aura aside with his own soulfire. As she flailed in the air, his fists smashed into her stomach.

Miara was thrust into the air, Eithan climbing up to her on Forged royal madra steps as he pummeled her body upwards, climbing higher and higher.

Miara shot a blast of wind aura, her soulfire lighting up the sky in a silver haze.

Eithan’s own soulfire fought back, and the explosion of wind aura sent Miara flying back into the arena floor.

Before she landed, Eithan was waiting for her. As she fell, she saw a look of his disintegrating face, bone showing around his lips and revealing his skeletal teeth.

His fist exploded with madra and soulfire as he punched her.

Miara knew even if she turned into an Overlady, she would only buy herself seconds before Eithan won. Eithan was too much of a monster for her to beat.

She lost the will to fight. He deserved to win.

She closed her eyes, admitting defeat.

Eithan punched her in the side.

One second, she was in front of Eithan.

The next, she was crashing through the wall, tiles shattering where she had flown.

Miara looked up from the debris, her body broken.

Eithan was in front of her, pulling back his fist again as his skin burned off, revealing a skeleton fist underneath. His body crumbled apart as he punched her, his madra detonating in an explosion that engulfed the entire arena.

Northstrider was forced to construct a wall of blood madra to protect the crowds, the pure madra blast shooting up into the sky and piercing the heavens.

The fight had ended before the madra techniques thrown into the air by the unruly spectators had completed vanishing.

***

“Holy moly! That fight took less than seven seconds! And the winner of the Uncrowned King Tournament is Eithan Arelius!”

Eithan reappeared in the center of the arena, fireworks exploding, and confetti being thrown onto him. The Ninecloud Soul placed the crown on his head.

He ignored it all, staring at Reigan Shen’s tower.

Inside his tower, the Monarch began to shake.

“And now…for the grand prize of the tournament. Ladies and gentlemen, the most powerful weapon in the world is now in the hands of this Overlord!”

Above the sky, a bolt of blue light shot down. It stopped in front of Eithan, revealing a black silver-edged arrow, bigger than his hands.

Reigan Shen shot out of his tower, roaring as she activated his Path of the King’s Key. His body burst in a blast of soulfire, silver-white and its presence enough to kill an Underlord. He was now a giant white lion, his mouth opening wide to swallow Eithan whole.

But Eithan was no Underlord.

He activated Penance, his face cold and his eyes flashing like lightning.

“Goodbye, false king.”

The heavens exploded in blue light as Reigan Shen ceased to exist.

As he died, all his contents in his vault were released. All around Cradle, stolen items began to reappear. His hoarded techniques died with him, and his enemies he had stored were released.

Tiberian Arelius landed on the floor, lightning madra swirling around him.

The young Monarch had Eithan’s features, but his hair was shorter. His robes were white and dirty. H

He looked at Eithan, his tired face cracking a smile.

“Guess who’s not dead.”

Eithan fell to his knees.

“My king, I am sorry for not saving you earlier.”

Tiberian rested his hand on his son’s shoulder.

“Get up, you’re going to get your robes dirty.”

As Eithan stood up, the Monarchs began to react to the Arelius Monarch’s presence.

“WOW!” Cried out the Ninecloud Soul. “First we thought Northstrider was dead. Now it turns out the Arelius Monarch is also alive! Heck, who else is coming back to life? Sha Leiala?”

“Congratulations on winning the Uncrowned King Tournament,” Tiberian said to Eithan.

Eithan bowed his head. “Good to have you back.”

As the crowds went crazy, Tiberian began to stretch.

“I’ve been cooped up for too long in that old lion’s dimension. We’ve fallen back on your training.”

Eithan rubbed his head. “Father, I have a request…I have picked up a couple of disciples.”

Tiberian laughed.

“Poor them.”

“Well, for one of them, I’m trying to set up a duel. Against one of the Overlady gold dragons.”

Tiberian rolled his eyes. “Let me guess, he’s still an Underlord? You’re training methods were always cruel. Indeed, you’ve learned from the best.”

As he walked with his son to reunite with the rest of Arelius clan, Tiberian rubbed his hands together.

“Let’s get training then. I want you and your disciples all slapping Monarchs and juggling Dreadgods by the end of this year.”