[A Few Weeks Later]


    The wastnd stretched endlessly in all directions, a deste expanse of cracked earth and jagged rocks under an oppressive sky.


    Neron stood at its center, his robes fluttering lightly in the arid wind, his breathing steady. Across from him, Lilith stood rxed, her confident smirk unwavering as she surveyed him.


    "You ready, King of Dragons?" she teased, her crimson eyes glinting with mischief.


    Neron rolled his shoulders, gripping his staff tightly. He could feel the hum of power coursing through him, the culmination of weeks of relentless training.


    "Don''t go easy on me this time," he replied, a determined edge in his voice.


    Lilithughed, a sound both amused and slightly mocking. "Oh, I wasn''t going easy before. You were just


    that bad.


    But sure, I''ll crank it up a notch. Try not to embarrass yourself."


    With a flick of her wrist, a circle of glowing runes ignited around her, the air crackling with raw energy. Neron braced himself as the ground beneath him trembled, signaling the start of their duel.


    ~BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!~


    The fight began in a sh, Lilith disappearing from sight only to reappear behind Neron.


    A sharp wave of energyshed out toward him, slicing through the air. Neron ducked instinctively, pivoting on his heel to counter with a st of temporal magic.


    His [Original Magic: All the Time in the World] created shimmering distortions in the air, pockets where time warped and bent.


    Lilith dodged effortlessly, leaping high into the air as the distortion rippled below her.


    She retaliated with a barrage of crimson fireballs, each one streaking toward Neron like falling stars. Neron raised his staff, muttering an incantation. A translucent barrier formed around him, the fireballs exploding harmlessly against it.


    "Not bad," Lilith remarked,nding gracefully. "But blocking won''t win you this."


    "Who said I was just blocking?" Neron shot back.


    The barrier shattered outward, fragments of glowing energy shooting toward Lilith like shards of ss. She swirled her hand, summoning a vortex of wind that deflected the attack. But Neron was already moving, using the distraction to cast another spell.


    The ground beneath her feet erupted, jagged spikes of stone shooting upward in a chaotic burst.


    ~BWUUUUUUUMMMMM!!!~


    Lilith jumped back, her eyes narrowing as she muttered, "Clever."


    The wastnd became a battlefield of chaos and destruction.


    Lilith''s long-range spells painted the horizon in streaks of fire and lightning, her movements fluid and precise.


    Neron countered with a mix of temporal magic and elemental maniption, each spell crafted with careful strategy. Time slowed in pockets around them, allowing Neron tond strikes that would have otherwise missed.


    His mastery over timing and cement kept Lilith on her toes, forcing her to adjust her attacks.


    But despite his improvement, Lilith''s experience and raw power shone through.


    When Neron conjured a field of dense mist to obscure her vision, she dispersed it with a single sweep of her arm, the air clearing instantly. When he manipted time to create a momentary duplicate of himself to attack her from two directions, she saw through the trick and sted both away with an explosion of energy.


    "Getting cocky, are we?" she taunted, her grin widening as she summoned a massive wave of fire that surged toward him.


    Neron nted his staff firmly in the ground, chanting quickly. The fire split apart just before reaching him, diverted by a rift in time he had created. The mes scorched the surrounding ground, but Neron remained unscathed.


    "Not cocky," he replied, his voice calm but strained. "Just better."


    **********


    The battle raged on, neither holding back. Lilith''s attacks grew more ferocious, her movements faster and sharper. Neron adapted, his strategic mind analyzing her patterns and exploiting small openings.


    His use of [


    All the Time in the World]


    became more seamless, each temporal distortion perfectly timed to offset her attacks or enhance his own.


    At one point, he managed to catch her off guard, encasing her in a bubble of slowed time. For a brief moment, she was frozen mid-attack, her fireball hovering inches from her palm.


    Neron lunged forward, casting a spell that sent a shockwave directly at her.


    But Lilith shattered the bubble with sheer force, the shockwave dissipating harmlessly. She appeared in front of him in an instant, her hand glowing with energy as she struck him in the chest.


    The impact sent him flying, skidding across the cracked earth.


    ~BAM!~


    "Nice try," she said, dusting her hands. "But you''re still not there yet."


    Neron groaned, pushing himself up. His robes were singed, and his body ached, but his eyes burned with determination. "I''m not done."


    Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Still got some fight left in you? Alright, then. Let''s finish this."


    The final exchange was a spectacle of raw power and skill.


    Lilith summoned a massive storm of fire and lightning, her magic filling the sky with roiling clouds and crackling energy.


    Neron responded with a spell that warped thendscape itself, creating a maze of jagged rocks and swirling temporal distortions. The wastnd trembled under the weight of their sh, the ground cracking and splitting as their magic collided.


    ~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!~


    Neron pushed himself to his limit,bining his mastery of spells with his strategic mind.


    He used the environment to his advantage, luring Lilith into traps and countering her attacks with precise timing.


    For a moment, it seemed like he might actually gain the upper hand.


    But Lilith was not to be outdone. With a final surge of power, she broke through his defenses, her attacknding squarely on his chest.


    Neron copsed to the ground, exhausted and defeated.


    "Urghh…"


    As the dust settled, Lilith approached him, her expression one of approval rather than mockery.


    "You''ve gotten better," she said, offering him a hand. "Much better."


    Neron took her hand, pulling himself up with a weary smile. "Not good enough, though."


    "Not yet," she admitted. "But you''re getting there. And I wasn''t even going all out."


    He chuckled, shaking his head.


    "Of course you weren''t."


    Lilith studied him for a moment, her expression thoughtful. "You''re ready for the next step."


    Neron''s eyes lit up with curiosity. "Next step?"


    She smiled, a glint of excitement in her eyes. "We''re going to search for the Great Sage, Lewis Griffith''s treasures… also known as


    The Arcanas.


    "


    Neron stared at her, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten. The name stirred something deep within him—something he couldn''t quite exin.


    "What''s that?" He asked.


    "Let''s get moving," Lilith said, turning toward the horizon.


    "I''ll tell you on the road."