Mars, donning her lab coat, stepped onto the stage, her deep brown orbs lingering on the elderly woman's face for a moment.

  Something twisted in Ennis' gut as Mars scrutinized her.

  The old witch felt a strange sense of recognition at the sight of the scientist, but pushed it to the side as she lifted an eyebrow at the woman.

  "You must be Mars." Her voice was cool, showing no sign of the strange emotion swirling in her gut. "Here to try your hand?”

  Mars gave a small, slow nod, eyes still fixed on Ennis. "Yep, that's me."

  She stepped closer to the microphone on her stand. "I suppose you'd like me to begin my argument then?" she asked, her voice a mix of eagerness and confidence. "It has to do with your view on Void Magic.”

  Ennis folded her arms, a faint smirk playing on her lips. "Oh? I'm dying to hear this."

  Mars cleared her throat before launching into it:

  "Now, you claim that Void Magic is about 'choosing' your ability. While it may seem like that on the surface, considering some Void Mages have some truly unique and even bizarre abilities, I propose that learning Void Magic is not simply 'choosing' an ability, but rather 'awakening' it. You see, my Void Magic abilities revolve around manipulating space and harnessing the properties of celestial bodies. I didn't necessarily 'choose' to be able to do those things. I'm just a major astronomy nerd that loves learning about space and its boundless mysteries, and that became my calling for my future Void Magic skills.”

  "Hm." Ennis' smirk grew.

  She had to admit, this was a more interesting argument than most and it was definitely less naive. Mars seemed to know her stuff about Void Magic at least.

  But that didn't mean she was going to give up her stance so easily.

  "So you're saying Void Magic is connected to each user's personality, then?" she clarified, her arms still folded.

  Mars nodded. "Precisely."

  She then proceeded to explain her theory in great detail, referencing several cases of Void Mages whose abilities reflected their personalities or interests.

  "The connection is clear," she concluded, crossing her arms with a small smirk of her own. "Void Magic isn't just about 'choosing' an ability—it's about awakening the potential that was already there.”

  Ennis took silent note of how well prepared Mars was. The old witch was impressed and…a bit unnerved.

  For the first time in a long while, doubt started to trickle into Ennis' mind. Could she really win this debate if Mars was this good?

  But, being the stubborn old witch she was, she hid this doubt from her face and replied coldly: "Interesting. Very interesting. And...how does this 'awakening' work, exactly?”

  Mars grinned, her confidence unwavering. "Great question! Let me explain it with an example."

  She held up a hand and summoned a small orb of glowing blue energy—her Void Magic at work.

  "This isn't just any ability," she said, voice laced with excitement as the orb pulsed in her palm. "It's tied to my fascination with stars—specifically supernovas and their explosive power." She squeezed the orb slightly, making it flare brighter before dispersing into harmless light particles.

  "Now imagine if someone else picked this same 'ability' out of nowhere? They wouldn't have that connection, that passion behind it—they'd just be mimicking something they didn’t truly understand or care about."

  Her smirk deepened as she locked eyes with Ennis again: "So tell me…doesn’t that make your argument weaker?"

  Ennis' composed demeanor finally cracked.

  For the first time in what felt like centuries, the old witch was caught off guard—her carefully constructed logic unraveling under Mars’ sharp reasoning.

  She opened her mouth to retort…then closed it again, realizing she had no counterargument left.

  Mars didn’t gloat over this small victory; instead, she simply tilted her head and asked: "So? Any thoughts?"

  Silence.

  The entire crowd was completely silent, all of them stunned by the fact that Mars had actually gotten one over Ennis.

  Ennis kept her expression neutral as her mind raced, trying to come up with some way—any way at all—to counter Mars’ argument. At last, she thought of another angle to take:

  "I appreciate your breakdown of Void Magic being a personal endeavor and not merely a supernatural force to take advantage of. However, I'd like you to imagine a hypothetical Void Mage. An Emulator who is skilled in the Interaction class as well. What if that Void Mage wanted to make their body achieve the temperature of the Sun, or even become the Sun itself, and burn all of us into a crisp?”

  Mars' eyes widened. It was an excellent counterargument that she hadn't considered.

  For a moment, she said nothing, just standing there processing the possible consequences if a Void Mage tried to do something that drastic.

  Then, just as Ennis thought she had won again, Mars gave a small smile.

  "Well then," she said lightly, her tone almost…mocking. "Let's look at that scenario. Why does that Void Mage even want to become the literal Sun in the first place? I don't think anyone here ever woke up thinking 'Know what? I wanna be the friggin' Sun!', am I right, everyone?!"

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The crowd clapped while laughing in response to Mars' rhetorical question, enjoying the injection of humor in such a heated debate.

  Ennis felt her face flush slightly in irritation.

  She hated when people tried to use humor as a way of getting out of answering the question properly, and she hated that Mars had just done it so effortlessly.

  Still, there was no denying that Mars' point was valid—no sane Void Mage would ever think like this unless they were either insane or looking for an excuse to destroy things.

  Mars let the uproar of the crowd die down before continuing: "But to answer your question directly... No one knows if it is even possible for an Emulator to transform into something THAT big or THAT far away, even if that Emulator studies the Sun day in and day out, or stares at it for hours everyday. I don't think we'd have to worry about such an extreme hypothetical.”

  That was another solid counterargument.

  Ennis was getting frustrated now—how did Mars keep doing this so damn easily? The old witch's resolve to win was finally slipping away, replaced with an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

  But she wasn't gonna give up that goddamn quickly.

  Ennis had one more question up her sleeve, and she was hoping this one would knock Mars' argument down.

  "Okay," she said, her voice firm, "Let's get to the final question.”

  The crowd immediately fell silent, sensing that the final question had arrived.

  The tension was once again in the air, and they all waited anxiously to see if Mars would rise or fall one more time.

  In contrast, Mars just smirked, raising an eyebrow in anticipation, as if she were saying:

  'Okay. Hit me with your best shot.'

  The corner of Ennis' mouth twitched.

  Oh, how she wanted to shut that smart-mouthed woman up.

  And now, the old witch couldn't wait to wipe that smirk right off Mars's face.

  Ennis took a deep breath, mustered all her remaining resolve, and said slowly:

  "I'll get straight to the point: you say that Void Magic is about awakening abilities tied to human personality, yes?”

  The crowd held its breath, knowing that this was the moment the entire argument had been leading up to.

  Even Mars looked focused now, although the hint of a smirk still lingered at the corner of her mouth.

  "Correct," she confirmed, her voice clear as day. "Void Magic is about tapping into something that's already there within each of us.”

  Mars' smirk vanished instantly.

  For a split second, her confidence cracked—just like Chelsea’s had earlier.

  Ennis saw it—the flicker of hesitation in Mars’ eyes as the old witch pressed forward:

  "So then, explain this." Her voice was razor-sharp now. "Why do humans have abilities that violate the very laws of reality? Like Quantum Rend or Absolute Zero?" She leaned in slightly, seizing her chance to finally dismantle Mars' argument piece by piece: "If Void Magic is about 'awakening' natural potential…then how does one explain abilities that defy reality itself?"

  The crowd gasped collectively; even they knew this was a killer point.

  And for once...Mars had no immediate answer ready at hand, stroking her chin in deep thought. However, an eager person in the crowd raised a hand and shouted: "Hey! I have an answer for that if you let me step in!”

  Ennis' eyes snapped to the source of the interruption, and her face darkened when she saw who had raised their hand.

  This was almost too perfect.

  Ennis wasn't particularly fond of being interrupted anyway, and the fact that some random person was trying to take over Mars's debate was downright annoying.

  Still, Ennis held back her irritation and reluctantly replied: "And who exactly are you?”

  It was Louise of the Fairylyl Alliance’s Ace Operatives. Ennis studied Louise for a moment, her expression unreadable.

  This girl had nerve—interrupting like this in front of everyone—and yet...she didn't seem intimidated at all.

  The old witch folded her arms and gave a curt nod. "Fine," she said coldly, though there was the faintest hint of amusement in her voice now—almost as if she were curious to see where this would lead.

  Mars remained silent but intrigued by what Louise might say next.

  And so…Louise stepped forward with confidence into the center stage: "Void Magic isn’t about breaking reality." Her voice carried an unexpected weight behind it—a quiet authority that made even Ennis pause slightly before listening more intently than intended…

  Then came the punchline:

  “It’s about rewriting it.”

  Ennis's breath hitched just for a second.

  Louise had just turned the entire debate on its head with one sentence.

  The crowd erupted into murmurs, some whispering in awe while others looked utterly dumbfounded by the sheer audacity of Louise’s claim. Even Mars was frozen in place, her usual smirk completely gone as she processed what she'd just heard.

  And then…Ennis laughed. Not mockingly but genuinely surprised and even slightly impressed.

  "Now that," she said slowly, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as if reconsidering everything from scratch…

  “That might actually be worth discussing.”

  The crowd fell completely silent.

  Everyone was stunned by how easily Louise had completely upended the entire argument with one bold statement.

  Mars was even more floored than before. The entire foundation of her own argument had just been shattered by some ordinary-looking girl—how the hell did she come up with a counter to that so quickly?

  But just as the shocked silence seemed like it was going to last forever, Ennis spoke again.

  "So." Her voice was cool and measured now. "Tell me how that theory is even possible."

  Louise didn't even hesitate.

  She straightened her posture, locked eyes with Ennis, and began:

  "Think about it—if Void Magic only worked by 'choosing' an ability or 'awakening' something already inside us... then how do we explain Emulators who can literally become things they’ve never been before? Like a human turning into a dragon?" She took a step forward for emphasis. "Or better yet—how does one explain abilities that shouldn’t exist at all under natural magic laws? Like teleportation that defies spatial physics."

  The crowd stirred uneasily as Louise's logic sank in—they were starting to see the holes in their own assumptions.

  Then came the final blow: "Void Magic isn’t just breaking reality’s rules…it rewrites them on its own terms." Her gaze shifted briefly toward Mars before returning to Ennis with quiet intensity. “And maybe…that makes it more than just ‘magic.’”

  Everyone in the audience was hanging onto every word.

  Even Ennis, who'd had a lifetime of experience debating, found herself at a loss for words. How was it possible for this random girl to not only know as much about Void Magic as Mars, but also be able to construct arguments just as solid—if not stronger—than hers?

  But the most shocking thing yet…?

  Ennis actually looked impressed.

  Mars's expression shifted from surprise to something resembling... respect. She crossed her arms, nodding slowly as Louise’s words settled in.

  "Huh." Her voice was quieter now—less performative, more genuine. "That actually makes a lot of sense."

  The crowd murmured in agreement; even the most stubborn skeptics couldn’t deny the logic behind Louise’s argument anymore.

  And then Ennis did something unexpected—she smirked and clapped once, sharply:

  “Well debated.” Her tone carried grudging approval before she turned toward Mars with a raised brow: “Guess you just got out-argued by an amateur.”

  Mars didn’t even try to hide her grin this time as she shot back dryly: “Yeahhhh… I think I might need some coffee after that one.”

  The audience laughed and clapped at Mars' quip about coffee, while Louise tried and failed to hide her own grin.

  In that brief moment, there was a strange sense of kinship between the three participants—even if they had just been debating their own beliefs. There were no hard feelings here—just mutual respect and a hint of admiration for the other.

  Ennis, in her own way, seemed almost proud of the newcomer who'd just managed to outwit her.

  But the old witch still had an ace up her sleeve…

  "Actually…there’s just one problem with all of this."

  Her sudden observation cut through the brief moment of lightheartedness like a knife, immediately catching everyone's attention.

  Mars and Louise both raised a suspicious eyebrow at what Ennis was hinting at, and the crowd held its breath once more to hear what the woman would say next.