I Was Born With A Bloodline That Ended The World-Chapter 120: Terms of Power

"How did you do that?"

Rhian didn’t hide his confusion. Controlling shadows was second nature to him now. Few people ever noticed it happening, and even fewer could resist it.

The only person who had ever given him consistent trouble was Miss Liane, and even then, it was more because of who she was than what she could do.

But this was different.

This was the first time someone had broken his control mid-use. Not passively resisted, not dodged or blocked, but shut it down. Directly.

Nia didn’t look worried. She just smirked.

"How about a bet?"

Rhian raised an eyebrow. "A bet?"

"If you beat me," she said, pointing a thumb at her chest, "I’ll tell you what you want to know."

"And if you win?" he asked, already suspicious.

Her grin widened. "Then you owe me a favor. Anything I ask, within reason."

Rhian crossed his arms, thinking it over. She was serious. Confident, too. Whatever had changed her, it had pushed her to a new level.

Still, he wasn’t one to back down.

"Fine," he said. "You’re on."

Rhian looked at her for a moment longer, then stepped inside. As he did, he reached back and closed the door behind him. The room dimmed slightly, the sounds from the hallway sealed off.

"So," he asked, rolling his shoulders, "any conditions?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Nia gave a small shrug, her smirk still in place.

"Nope," she said. "Just go all out."

Rhian shook his head, half amused. "You’re really not going to make this easy, are you?"

She didn’t answer. Just raised her hands and slid one foot back into stance.

The match had already started.

Rhian shrugged off the tension in his shoulders and stepped forward, thinking this wouldn’t be too difficult. He’d fought stronger opponents before.

Sure, she ranked up, but she had only just done it. There was no way she’d already made a massive leap.

He moved first.

Nia waited, hands low, relaxed. Rhian closed the space and threw a quick strike toward her arm, not to hurt her, just to test her response.

She leaned just enough to avoid it and tapped his chest with her palm in return.

He staggered back.

There wasn’t much force behind the touch, but a faint spark jumped through the contact, sharp enough to sting. It wasn’t painful, just unexpected.

Still, he ignored it and rushed back in, aiming a faster follow-up. He ducked low, swung at her legs, and rose with a short strike aimed at her ribs.

This time she jumped, barely needing to leave the ground. Her leg dropped toward his collarbone. Rhian caught it with his forearm.

The moment they touched, a burst of static surged through him.

His arm locked for a second. His fingers twitched involuntarily.

She landed gracefully and stepped back, her face calm.

Rhian flexed his hand, forcing control back. That spark had been focused, not just natural energy leaking out. She had aimed it through her foot.

He darted in again, this time more serious. He moved fast, changing directions mid-step.

Behind her, a shimmer of light flickered for a second, a distraction meant to split her focus.

She didn’t even look. Her elbow came up and struck through the air behind her, hitting nothing. But it was exactly where the fake image had appeared.

Then, without turning, she twisted her body and grabbed his wrist mid-swing. She didn’t throw him. She just held him long enough for a sudden jolt to shoot into his side.

Rhian grunted and pulled back, shaking off the hit.

He could already feel his body responding, adjusting, toughening. His muscles braced themselves better, and his movements grew more stable. He went in again, sharper now, mixing pace and angle.

He caught her arm once, and felt it instantly, she wasn’t just faster; she was heavier. Every movement carried purpose.

Rhian tried to disrupt her rhythm, darting to the side and reaching for her shadow.

For a second, it worked. Her legs paused mid-step.

Then the pressure hit.

A pulse of lightning expanded around her like a wave. It wasn’t loud or bright, just enough to short out his control over the ground beneath her.

He felt it cut through the space like a wire snapping. The connection vanished. Her shadow moved again.

His hand tingled from the backlash. She stood with a faint spark dancing over her fingertips.

Rhian was breathing harder now, not from exhaustion, but from thinking.

That move? That wasn’t something Physicals could do. It was a controlled burst, the kind Mysticals used when discharging external energy.

People like Nia weren’t supposed to project energy like that, let alone shape it to disrupt other abilities.

He tried again.

Rhian weaved in close, throwing a rapid combination of strikes. She blocked some, dodged others, and took one clean hit to the shoulder, but even then, she didn’t flinch.

Then she pushed forward, and with a flick of her hand, a thin arc of electricity shot toward his leg.

He jumped back too late.

It hit just above the knee and crawled up his thigh before fading. His leg stiffened, then relaxed again. His body adapted fast, he could feel the resistance building.

But Nia didn’t stop.

She stepped forward, both hands now glowing faintly. She twisted her fingers in a tight motion and then thrust her palms outward.

Three separate streaks of lightning jumped forward in tight spirals. Not wide beams, not raw bolts, controlled streams. Each one moved with intent, aimed to trap rather than destroy.

Rhian barely dodged them, landing low and rolling across the mat. He came up to his feet again, eyes locked on her.

That had been real Mystical technique.

She wasn’t just throwing sparks anymore. She was shaping it, casting it in separate forms, and aiming each one deliberately. There was no tool, no staff or stone, just her hands and focus.

He watched her carefully now.

Her breathing was steady. Her stance hadn’t changed. But the air around her carried weight, like the static didn’t want to settle.

Lightning danced over her arms, climbed up her neck, and flickered in her hair. It moved with her. Not randomly, it was like it belonged there.

Nia smiled. "Still with me?"

Rhian didn’t answer. He wasn’t thinking about winning anymore. He was trying to figure out what she had become.

This wasn’t just a rank-up.

Something had changed. And it wasn’t normal.