The Oracle Paths

Chapter 1226: Still the Same Girl

Esya, who’d just narrowly dodged death by a hair’s breadth, was gasping for air, her breathing shallow and erratic. A thin film of sweat coated her face, while the clothes beneath her armor clung to her back, soaked with perspiration.

She’d come that close... Just one split second of distraction and she would’ve been done for.

The very thought triggered another surge from every sweat gland in her body, droplets pouring down in waves. But it wasn’t fear that came next—it was shame. And fury. Her bold declaration of confidence to Jake only moments earlier now felt like a joke.

’So in the end... I haven’t changed one damn bit.’ Her lips curled into a bitter, self-deprecating smirk, a stab of despair she thought long since conquered piercing through her resolve like a rusty dagger.

Unfortunately for her, her opponent had no intention of giving her a breather. On the contrary—seeing her freeze after dodging, the expressionless Light Warrior launched straight into another relentless assault.

At their level, even with Twyluxia’s crushing gravity trying to pin them to the ground, their movements looked like teleportation to the average viewer. Esya’s mind hadn’t even finished processing the shame before the armored titan was already behind her, warhammer raised for another skull-shattering strike.

Still stunned, she instinctively conjured a wall of flames behind her and flung herself awkwardly to the right, catching herself with one hand to launch a desperate spinning kick to the head.

Or rather, that was the plan—if her opponent had been human-sized. Instead, her foot barely reached the midpoint of his forearm.

But just before impact, her leg ignited in crimson flames, glowing with molten intensity. She funneled all her power into it—Force Aether, Agility Aether, Constitution Aether—all of it.

BANG!

The deafening blast of fire and shockwave erupted exactly as expected... except the satisfying crunch of shattered bone never came. At best, her opponent’s arm budged a few degrees off course before the massive warhammer still came crashing down onto the ground with seismic force. That was the explosion the crowd heard—not her kick. That had fizzled like a damp firecracker.

”This warrior...” Jake muttered, shaking his head. ”Even his base stats outclass Esya’s. I’m afraid this fight won’t end well.”

His words were casual—too casual. But only Xi truly understood how deeply she dreaded what they implied. This fight... it was the last thing she wanted to see unfold like this.

Still, Jake’s friends weren’t fools. The calm in his voice, the way his eyes looked away as if commenting on the weather... it rattled them. Jake was disappointed. Worse—he was sad.

”L-let’s not give up just yet,” Will piped up with forced enthusiasm. ”The match just started, right?”

”...” Enya, who should’ve been the first to speak up for her little sister, said nothing. Her clenched fists and ghost-pale face said it all.

She knew exactly what was going on inside Esya’s heart—especially when it came to Jake. This duel was her chance to prove she’d changed, that she’d become someone strong, someone Jake could rely on.

And ironically... she had. She just picked the worst possible opponent to prove it against.

Hang in there, sis... Praying for her sister’s victory—that was all she could do now.

Back in the arena, the carnage continued.

The Light Warrior’s hammer strikes rained down like divine punishment, giving Esya no chance to catch her breath. The duel had barely begun, and already the battlefield looked like the surface of the moon, cratered and broken.

After narrowly dodging the first two strikes, she finally pulled herself together and started putting up a respectable fight: flame shields, fire jets used for offense, defense, or propulsion, focused heat blasts, and even mental attacks meant to scramble his focus.

All useless.

The giant clad in bone-white wood armor was like a walking fortress. He tanked every attack without flinching. And whenever her sword or fire managed to graze him, his Lumyst Core’s bottomless vitality regenerated the damage in an instant.

Worse still—this guy fought like a fucking monster. To call him a battle-hardened veteran was an insult. He was a combat prodigy, probably on par with a martial arts grandmaster even among the Players.

At first, Esya could still dodge. But that window closed fast. The hammer blows, once powerful but predictable, evolved—became faster, weirder, smarter.

To the crowd, it looked like there were afterimages with every strike. Then, even the air itself began to ripple around his weapon. Shockwaves collided and merged midair, then exploded with a delay... in exactly the spot Esya had just moved to.

BOOM!

The hammer struck the ground fifteen meters to her right—she barely managed to dodge again—but before she could even land, the earth beneath her erupted. Shockwaves converged on her from every angle, trapping her in a web of unavoidable death.

Electrified by the sheer terror, she roared back in fury.

”AAARRGH! I’m not fucking losing!”

The Lumyst Aura she’d been building since the start of this Ordeal finally burst into existence—and Jake and the others felt it, clear as day: Aura of Worth.

Different from his Fate Slayer Aura, this one wasn’t about vengeance or destiny. Esya was fighting not to change the world, but to prove something to herself. Every kill, every victory was a step toward proving she deserved her place—that she wasn’t a fraud, that she belonged here.

Jake pegged her Aura at level 2 or 3, same as his own. But strength-wise? The gap between them was oceans wide. Their Soul Power, their Spirit Force—worlds apart.

Still, even if it was wobbly and new, it gave her a significant power-up. Her messy pink hair lifted as if caught in an unseen whirlwind. Then, slamming her fists outward, she unleashed an explosion of crimson fire from her core—hotter, fiercer than anything she’d ever released.

This time, she held nothing back. If technique and finesse weren’t enough to beat this bastard, then brute force would have to do.

With Twyluxia’s shackles loosening slightly, she could finally tap into her full potential.

And it was more than enough.

Her pink irises ignited with crimson flame. Coughing up blood, Esya muttered under her breath,

”...Not the way I wanted to win, but it’s still better than losing. So sorry—but do me a favor and just die already.”

Whether he heard her or not didn’t matter. She raised her hands toward the giant still reeling from the last explosion, and without a single chant or motion, unleashed everything: Aether, Mana, Lumyst.

By the third Ordeal, anyone with a Grade 6 Aether Core or higher could theoretically cast spells on par with small-scale nukes. Weaponizing it externally was regulated, of course—but if it came from your own body? All bets were off.

Now a fifth Ordeal Player with four years of experience fighting Digestors, Esya more than qualified.

The flames of Clan Velseyel came in two flavors by default: red—pure fire; and white—a sacred flame for healing, protection, and banishment of evil.

But a third flame existed. The pink one—the color of their bloodline, of their eyes and hair—was the fusion of both. A flame that could heal or destroy, that burned not just the physical, but the spiritual. The Oracle System called it: Soul Fire.

Naturally, this was the element Esya had chosen for her first Lumyst Cores.

So when that blinding pink blaze surged from her palms before the eyes of two stunned armies—it was already too late.

From her delicate hands, a laser-like torrent of pink fire shot forth, dazzling and impossibly bright. In the blink of an eye, a flash scorched the retinas of everyone watching, rendering the front lines momentarily blind.

As for the Light Warrior who’d been dominating the fight—he was swallowed whole. Body. Mind. Soul. Incinerated.

The flames kept going, surging straight toward her own side of the battlefield.

Esya hadn’t aimed. Blinded by rage and humiliation, she’d lost control. Her army was in the line of fire.

Naturally, the one best equipped to counter her power was her big sister.

Enya stepped in without hesitation, blocking the laser head-on.

Just when it looked like she’d be burned alive as well, the pink flames—unstoppable until now—suddenly curled inward and were sucked into her hands, drawn back into her own Lumyst Core, identical in essence to Esya’s.

The fight was over.

Esya had won.

And for a fleeting moment, euphoria erupted among the spectators.

Until they saw her.

And realized some victories... feel a hell of a lot like defeat.