After seeing the names of three of the other witches scratched out, Esme worried for them. Was she to be the only one representing the Onyx Peak now? It felt like a lot riding on her shoulders but it wouldn’t be the first time in her life she’d had to step up. Esme still believed she’d been doing the right thing entering instead of other witches who were less equipped, but she also had her own stakes in this, deep down a need for release and the wish...if such a thing was to be believed.
She stepped out onto the field, looking at the cheering crowd, the stains of blood in the sand from other fighters before her, then shifted her gaze to her opponent. Dayanara looked like a woman who knew what she was doing, Esme wouldn’t underestimate her. She gripped her sword in one hand tightly, the other free to cast should she need it, but Esme was still trying to fight to stay on the light path, even if she could feel that fiery hunger for destruction flickering like an ember. “May the best woman win.”