Chapter 583: Samuel Sky
Alaric had never done it before. Not once. He had never been outmatched in any exchange he had chosen to enter against an opponent of similar strength.
Ace had done both today.
He had matched Alaric evenly for over half an hour. And now, through the bubble, he was ascending to something Alaric would never catch up to in time.
Alaric raised his eyes to the sky above the arena.
His voice came out cold and tired.
"Old man. I don’t know how long you’re planning to watch. But I’m leaving."
For a long moment, nothing happened.
Then a terrifying aura spread across the venue.
It didn’t crash down like the master’s had. It descended slowly, layering itself onto the atmosphere like frost forming on glass in a cold, stormy night.
Every fighter in the arena felt the difference immediately.
A figure appeared in the sky above the arena.
He descended slowly, his feet not quite touching the floor as he lowered himself down.
He wore a slate-grey haori draped over a black under-robe, both garments tied with a wide obi at the waist. Loose hakama billowed around his legs as he descended.
His hair was drawn back into a tight knot at the base of his skull. A single sheathed sword hung at his left hip, its scabbard dark lacquered wood inlaid with silver banding.
His eyes were dark and unreadable.
Samuel Sky.
Alaric’s father. Selene’s father.
Samuel’s gaze swept across the arena slowly.
His eyes moved over the bubble, before his gaze returned to Alaric.
"You called for me. Son."
Samuel’s voice carried no warmth, or coldness, it was neutral.
Alaric’s eyes met his.
They were colder than Samuel’s had been.
"I never called for you. I was informing you. I knew you were here. I knew you had been here from the beginning."
He paused.
"I’m leaving now."
Without hesitation, he turned and moved.
Alaric’s Radiant Step activated in a burst of light. His body streaked across the arena floor toward Moon’s retreating figure at the eastern perimeter, closing the distance quickly. He didn’t look back at Samuel or wait for a reply.
His team followed him without needing instructions.
Emma fell into stride beside him. So did the remaining members of Alaric’s squad, forming a moving formation between Alaric and Moon.
Samuel watched them leave.
"Running away from an opponent. You’ve stooped very low, Alaric. I never thought I’d live to see the day. Never, in all the years I raised you, did I imagine watching my own son turn his back on a fight.
"I’ve watched you face impossible odds. I’ve watched you force breakthroughs in battles that should have killed anyone else. I’ve watched you stand against opponents two ranks above your own and refuse to yield.
"And now..."
He stopped talking for a brief moment.
"...you run."
Though his voice never rose above a calm murmur, every word struck Alaric’s ears as though his father were shouting them from only a feet away.
"But apparently, today, my son turns his back and runs. Truly. What a moment for the family."
Alaric’s stride hitched by a fraction.
"It’s all because of the failed product you’ve been protecting." Samuel said, his voice coated in disgust.
"She is the reason behind your downfall. You’ve spent so many years wasting your talent on her. Coddling her. Protecting her from the world she was never meant to survive in. Every hour you spent building her up was an hour you could have used to advance yourself.
And now, at the moment your growth mattered most, you find yourself outmatched by an enemy you should have been ready for. Because you weren’t ready. Because you gave her your time instead of investing in your own future."
Alaric’s stride stopped completely.
His head turned slowly toward Samuel.
The composure that had held throughout the entire fight cracked. His eyes were bright with something that hadn’t been there before. His hand had drifted toward the hilt of his sword without his conscious decision.
"Stop it."
Samuel’s expression didn’t change. His silence carried the same taunt his words had.
Alaric took a step toward him.
Emma moved.
Her hand closed around his forearm before he could take a second step. Her grip was firm and steady, without alarming him.
She whispered calmly in his ears, "Alaric. It’s not the time..."
Alaric didn’t respond immediately.
Emma pressed closer, her voice softening but not weakening.
"You know what he’s doing. You leave now, you go with Moon, we get out of this arena alive. You engage with him and every second you waste on this fight is a second closer to whatever comes out of that bubble reaching us."
Alaric’s eyes stayed locked on Samuel for a long moment.
Samuel didn’t blink.
Then Alaric exhaled slowly. His shoulders lowered by a fraction. His hand moved away from the hilt of his sword.
He turned back toward Moon’s retreating figure who was glancing back at them.
"Let’s move."
Emma nodded once and released his arm. The two of them accelerated across the rubble together, Emma’s team closing in around them as they moved.
Samuel watched them go without saying another word.
His gaze drifted back to the bubble.
He hadn’t moved from the position he had descended into. His hand still hadn’t touched his sword. His expression still hadn’t changed.
Tom, Sierra, and Farid moved into formation behind Samuel.
They did not have enough time in their day-to-day lives to create group tactics with every Ascender in the kingdom. But when they did coordinate, protocol was clear. The strongest, most experienced Ascender took the front.
Everyone else fell in behind.
And Samuel was undisputedly the strongest.
There were no ego contests among Ascenders who had lived long enough to understand where the actual rankings sat. Samuel Sky was one of the top figures in New Avalon’s Ascender roster, and had been for longer than most of the current generation had been alive. He was ahead of Sierra by a comfortable margin. He was ahead of Farid by a larger one. He was ahead of Tom by a chasm.