Shadow Over the Heavenly Throne-Chapter 59: Girl... you’re playing with death

What...?

Calista’s thoughts couldn’t keep up with what had just happened to her body. Moments ago, she had been standing firm, controlling the rhythm of the fight, ready to counter. And now... the world spun. The taste of blood burned her throat, her temples throbbed, and her neck refused to move. Every attempt to rise ended in a sharp hiss of pain.

But it wasn’t pain that stopped her.

What tore through her came in a heartbeat — a familiar gesture, a familiar shadow, one that couldn’t belong to anyone else. Her own technique, twisted, brutally replayed through his body. The air had thickened, time seemed to freeze. Every fiber of her being screamed that this was impossible — and yet her senses didn’t lie.

That move...

It was hers. Distorted, but unmistakable. Executed by Kaelis.

"Oo..." Elder Fenthar murmured, leaning forward over the railing. His face tensed, as if he’d just seen something fascinating.

Elder Yllara watched in silence, eyes narrowed.

Elder Maerion tilted his head, his brow twitching. "That’s not mimicry. That’s instinct. Combat intuition at a level I haven’t seen in a decade. Maybe two," he sighed. "A shame he awakened such a weak cultivation root."

Former King Theron, who had remained still with closed eyes, opened them slowly. His gaze was sharp, piercing through illusion. "With talent like that, he’ll never be a frontline pillar," he said coolly. "But if he were to become an instructor at the Royal Academy and pass on what he does instinctively... he’d be an invaluable asset to our family."

Three elders nodded in unison. Their eyes, once indifferent, shifted back to Kaelis — now laced with a flicker of interest, as if they’d glimpsed something beyond mere mediocrity.

Sylphia stood frozen, staring at Calista’s body sprawled on the stone floor, unable to speak.

"Is she okay...?" she whispered, voice trembling. Her eyes didn’t leave Calista’s unmoving form.

But when she looked around, she noticed something strange. The expressions — on the crowd, the elders, even Kaen — weren’t worried. They were... startled. Marked by something hard to name.

"Mother...? What’s happening?"

Veynessa didn’t respond at first. She stared at Kaelis with intense focus, as if trying to hear the whisper of his soul.

"He repeated her move," she said at last. "Almost perfectly."

"But... is that so unusual?" Sylphia asked, frowning. She didn’t understand why everyone was so tense. Calista was the one lying bloodied on the ground — shouldn’t she be the one everyone worried about?

Veynessa smiled faintly, like hearing something naïve but endearing.

"It’s nearly impossible. You don’t just copy a technique by watching it. You need years of practice, perfect Qi alignment, resonance with movement... and he did it after one strike. Because he felt it."

Sylphia’s brow furrowed. She was starting to connect the dots, but didn’t yet have the words.

Veynessa glanced at her, reading the confusion on her daughter’s face.

"Imagine watching someone play an instrument they’ve never seen before," she said quietly. "And after one song, they play it back from memory — almost flawlessly."

Sylphia swallowed hard. This time, she understood.

"He’s always had it..." Veynessa added softly, almost to herself. "That ability to grasp movement like it was his own from the start. We told him to hide it... until today. This was the perfect moment to reveal it — in front of Kaen, in front of the elders." She exhaled, heavy with a weight she rarely showed. "I only regret that he awakened such a weak cultivation root. If things were different... he could have become one of the strongest cultivators in this world."

Sylphia turned to her mother, eyes wide, as if she was just now understanding the scale of what had been lost.

Yet, despite herself, Sylphia puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms with a huff.

"Maybe he’s got talent," she muttered. "But I still don’t like him. Who attacks an injured opponent like that? What a cheap move."

Veynessa saw her daughter’s expression and heard the bitterness in her words. A faint smile crossed her lips, but she didn’t respond. Instead, she slowly rose and stretched her arms — not as a mere observer, but as someone preparing for something far more involved.

"What are you doing...?" Sylphia asked cautiously, surprised by the sudden motion.

"I may need to save him," Veynessa replied, her eyes never leaving Kaelis. "I won’t let him die."

Sylphia glanced toward the arena. The sight of Calista — bloodied and unmoving — clenched something cold in her chest. Her heart pounded, and the thought flickered through her mind: maybe this fight really was over.

"But... Calista looks like she already lost..." she whispered.

Veynessa cast her a sideways glance.

"Kaelis stepped on the dragon’s reverse scale."

"The dragon’s scale?"

"She has very dark memories. What she just felt... it wasn’t just pain. It was the echo of something she never forgot." Veynessa paused, then shook her head with a quiet sigh. Inside, she felt a stab of guilt — as if every word she spoke was a wound aimed not at reality, but at her friend. She could only hope Calista would forgive her... and not be too furious. Because this — this was the best way she knew to help her son.

Sylphia frowned, clearly thrown off.

"I don’t understand... are you saying Calista could still win? That Kaelis never had a chance?"

Veynessa didn’t answer right away. A faint smile curved her lips, and her gaze stayed locked on the arena.

"Yes," she said softly.

Sylphia looked at her mother with unease, seeing something in her eyes she couldn’t name — something too calm.

"Then... if you knew this might happen... why did you let Kaelis fight?"

Veynessa gave a small shrug, as if the answer was obvious.

"Because it’s for his own good. From the outside, he seems calm — even humble. But inside... there’s pride. He believes his technical talent can beat anyone, even with a weak root."

She looked at Calista, and her face took on a bittersweet smile.

"This will be a powerful lesson for him. But it will also cost me dearly."

***

Darkness had no beginning. It slid beneath Calista’s eyelids, pulsing with a cold she knew too well. There was no image. No voice. Only a smell — metallic, sticky, like iron mixed with sweat and dust. She didn’t see much back then. Her mind had shut out the images. But her body... her body remembered.

The shadow in front of her had mirrored her move. Just like now — exactly the same. It was the moment everything fell apart.

The move.

Her move. The one meant to be her triumph. The one she’d hoped would end the battle. Stolen, mimicked, used against her.

And then — that cursed man — pinned her to the ground, immobilized her, and then...

The memory burst like a wound — no warning. Just silence, heavy and suffocating, as if the world forgot how to breathe.

Her heart sped up — not from fear.

From fury.

It wasn’t the first time someone had stolen her strength. Mocked it. Used it against her. But it would be the last.

A voice from years ago returned — whispered, gloating.

"You thought you made something? You? Just pretty moves. They belong to me now."

And now Kaelis had done the same.

It sounded like a curse.

Her eyes snapped open. The air around her pulsed with an unnatural rhythm. The sigil on her hand blazed — not with light, but with rage. Deep, nameless, rooted in her soul.

Her breath quivered — like something struggling to rise from deep within.

Slowly, she lifted her head, locking her gaze on Kaelis. Her eyes were cold as ice. Emotionless.

"You’re the son of my friend," she said quietly — no warmth, no anger. Just stillness. "And I really... really tried to understand. That you’re fighting me while I’m at my limit. That you’re using everything, even dirty tricks. I truly tried to see your side."

A brief silence.

Then her gaze darkened.

"But now... now everything’s changed." freewёbnoνel.com

Her fingers trembled. The sigil on her hand burned white-hot.

"Crimson Lotus."

The words were nearly a whisper.

Kaen, sitting upon his throne, hadn’t taken his eyes off the arena. He had remained motionless, absorbing every shift in aura, every gesture. Not even Kaelis’s mimicry had stirred his pulse.

But now... now a faint smile touched his lips. His mouth barely moved, but the words rang clear:

"Girl... you’re playing with death."

In the next instant, an explosion of energy erupted on the arena floor. Not a technique — pure aura. Wild and sharp, it tore through the air, slamming into Kaelis like a hurricane. He staggered back several steps, barely keeping his balance.

His eyes widened in fear.

Calista hadn’t moved an inch. Still hunched, bloodied — but now wrapped in something no one in the audience had ever seen before. Her hair slowly lifted, drifting in waves under the pull of an invisible force, as if the very world was exhaling her rage. Her eyes blazed with a terrible light — almost white, almost inhuman. Her expression remained frozen, cold as ice, drained of all emotion.

In one breath, she vanished from where she stood — and reappeared right in front of Kaelis.

Surprise didn’t even have time to reach his face.

"Die," she whispered.

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