He slammed his blade down. The floor cracked for fifty meters.
Leon responded with Shell Reverb: Absolute Return, striking back with an echo that caused the floor beneath Riven to tremble.
"You lost your crown because you forgot why you wore it," Leon said through gritted teeth.
Riven laughed, and the entire hall shook.
"No. I lost it… because I remembered who I was before I wore it."
The fight dragged on.
Each strike pushed Leon closer to the edge. Not just physically—but mentally.
Riven wasn't trying to win.
He was trying to make Leon question everything.
"You'll climb. You'll bleed. You'll lose them. And in the end… you'll sit on the same throne."
Riven slashed again, carving a deep wound across Leon's arm.
"And you'll wonder… was it worth it?"
Leon dropped to one knee.
But then…
Kael's voice echoed behind him. "You're not alone."
Roselia's blade blocked a follow-up strike.
Milim dropped a sigil ward to slow the next blow.
