## Liam''s Perspective


    Golden light radiated from every pore of my body. Power surged through me like nothing I''d ever experienced before. Each breath felt electric, each heartbeat thunderous.


    The courtyard fell silent.


    All eyes were on me—the man who should have been dead but instead stood glowing with otherworldly power.


    "Impossible," Emerson Holmes whispered, his voice carrying in the silence. "He''s reached... Marquis level?"


    Murmurs erupted among the spectators. Several backed away instinctively.


    "The chaotic body," someone hissed. "The legends were true. At Marquis level, he bes unstoppable."


    I didn''t care about their theories. I only knew that everything had changed. My vision was sharper. My thoughts clearer. My body hummed with energy that demanded release.


    Dashiell stared at me, his face drained of color. The borrowed power still flickered around him, butpared to my golden radiance, it looked like a dying candle next to the sun.


    "What''s wrong, Dashiell?" I asked, my voice carrying a new edge of confidence. "You look like you''ve seen a ghost."


    "This isn''t possible," he stammered. "No one survives the Extinction Wave. No one!"


    I smiled. The expression felt foreign on my face—cold, predatory. "Seems like today''s full of firsts."


    I took a step forward. Dashiell flinched backward.


    The crowd parted as I approached him. I could feel their fear—not just of me, but of what I represented. Amoner defying destiny. An outsider breaking their rules.


    "Your borrowed power is already fading," I observed. "The technique is eating you alive."


    Desperation shed in Dashiell''s eyes. Heunched himself at me with a primal scream, dark energy swirling around his fist.


    I didn''t even move to dodge. His fist connected with my chest—and shattered against my golden aura.


    The crack of breaking bones echoed across the courtyard. Dashiell howled in agony, cradling his mangled hand. <i ss="frag-4f4d81">Read<i ss="node-sep"></i>ahead<i ss="node-sep"></i>and<i ss="node-sep"></i>get<i ss="node-sep"></i>updates<i ss="node-sep"></i>by<i ss="node-sep"></i>visiting<i ss="node-sep"></i>*.</i>


    "My turn," I said.


    My fist moved with blinding speed, connecting with his sternum. The impact lifted him off his feet. He flew backward twenty feet before crashing into the ground, sliding through dirt and stone.


    "Get up," Imanded. "You wanted this fight. Now finish it."


    In the crowd, I spotted Roderick ckthorne''s face twisted with fury. Beside him, Corbin Ashworth looked equally livid. I''d forced their hand—they''d cheated with the Blood Sacrifice Technique, and I''d still survived.


    Dashiell struggled to his feet, blood streaming from his nose and mouth. "I am... a ckthorne," he gasped. "I won''t be humiliated by—"


    "By what? Amoner?" I was suddenly behind him, moving faster than the eye could track. "Toote."


    I grabbed the back of his head and mmed his face into my rising knee. The crack of his jaw breaking was sickeningly loud. More blood sprayed from his mouth as he copsed.


    "You borrowed power that wasn''t yours," I said, circling him as he writhed on the ground. "But this power? This is mine. All mine."


    Dashiell tried to speak, but only managed a bloody gurgle. His eyes darted desperately to his father in the crowd.


    Roderick ckthorne stepped forward. "Enough! This has gone too far!"


    "Has it?" I asked mildly. "Your son was ready to kill me moments ago. The crowd was cheering for my death. Where was your concern then?"


    Roderick''s face darkened. "You will regret this insolence."


    "No," I said, my voice hard. "You will regret thinking you could treat me like dirt and face no consequences."


    I turned my attention back to Dashiell, who was attempting to crawl away. With one foot, I pinned him to the ground.


    "Where are you going? We''re not finished."


    With deliberate slowness, I bent down and picked him up by his ornate cor. His feet dangled above the ground as I held him aloft with one hand.


    "Look at him," I announced to the crowd. "The great Dashiell ckthorne, pride of his family, reduced to this."


    I turned so everyone could see his bloody, broken face. Some of the spectators looked away, unable to bear the sight of their champion so thoroughly defeated.


    "Your fancy techniques failed you," I told him. "Your family name couldn''t save you. Your borrowed power wasn''t enough."


    I brought his face close to mine. "Remember this moment, Dashiell. Remember what it feels like to be powerless."


    With casual ease, I tossed him aside. Hended in a crumpled heap at his father''s feet.


    Roderick immediately knelt beside his son. "Get the healers!" he barked at his attendants.


    I stood in the center of the courtyard, golden light still pulsing around me. I could feel it beginning to fade, the borrowed time running out. But it had been enough.


    The crowd watched in fearful silence. No one moved against me. Not even the Martial Marquises present dared to challenge what they''d just witnessed.


    I locked eyes with Isabelle across the courtyard. Her expression wasplex—shock, relief, and something else I couldn''t quite identify.


    "The terms of the duel were clear," I announced loudly. "Victory means Isabelle Ashworth''s freedom from this forced marriage."


    Corbin Ashworth stepped forward, his face purple with rage. "This changes nothing! The alliance between our families—"


    "Is broken," I interrupted. "Just like your champion."


    Several Martial Marquises moved to surround me, including Emerson Holmes. Their auras red in warning.


    "You''ve made powerful enemies today, Knight," Holmes growled. "Very powerful enemies."


    I didn''t flinch. The golden light around me pulsed brighter in response to their threats.


    "I''ve been making enemies since the day I refused to stay in my ce," I replied calmly. "What''s a few more?"


    Michael Ashworth stepped forward, his expression unreadable. "The duel has been decided ording to ancient custom. Neither the ckthorne family nor the Ashworth family can contest the oue without losing face."


    He turned to Corbin. "The marriage alliance is dissolved."


    Corbin''s face contorted with fury, but he remained silent. Even he wouldn''t publicly challenge the elder''s deration.


    I felt the borrowed power beginning to slip away more rapidly now. I needed to end this quickly.


    With deliberate steps, I walked toward Isabelle. The crowd parted before me, no one willing to stand in my path.


    When I reached her, I extended my hand. "It''s over."


    She hesitated only briefly before cing her hand in mine. The contact sent a jolt through me that had nothing to do with my temporary power.


    I turned to face the assembled crowd—the nobles, the masters, the elders who had looked down on me for so long.


    "I''ve won," I dered coldly. "As promised, I''m taking Isabelle with me today."