This wasn't a duel.
It was a lesson in futility.
Quinlan gritted his teeth and unleashed a wide circular flame burst with a stomp, making a wind-fueled shockwave that tore outward.
The air cracked.
But when the flames cleared… Nalai was already above him.
She flipped downward like a falling stream, twisting midair into a liquid sweep that knocked his leg out from under him.
He hit the ground again.
Before he could rise, her palm hovered an inch from his throat, water condensing into a crystalline dagger of pressure.
He froze.
"…Do you yield?" she asked, still as calm as morning mist.
Quinlan glared up at her, then exhaled defeatedly and nodded.
"I do."
Nalai smiled and lowered her hand. The water dispersed into droplets that fell and vanished.
"You did well," she said, extending a hand to help him up. "Serika taught you to burn hotter. But to walk the path of the Avatar… you must also learn how to endure. And bend. And adapt."
Quinlan took her hand, rising to his feet.
