The word slipped out on its own.
“…Again.”
His own voice sounded foreign to his ears.
Hoarse.
Unsteady.
But firm.
An unusual silence weighed over the ring.
Not the mocking silence from before.
A different one.
More… attentive.
Across from him, Kellan Dross stood still for one second.
Then two.
His brows furrowed slightly.
…
Ren’s vision was blurred.
His breathing uneven.
Every inhale burned his chest.
His legs were already trembling dangerously.
He knew it.
His whole body knew it.
He was at his limit.
Maybe even beyond it.
[Warning: high physical fatigue.]
[Echo instability detected.]
The system window pulsed faintly.
Like a cold heartbeat.
But this time…
It didn’t intervene.
It observed.
Again.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
As always.
Kellan exhaled through his nose.
“…You’re seriously annoying.”
But his voice no longer carried the same lightness.
He raised his guard again.
Cleaner.
More serious.
The message was clear.
He was going to end this.
Ren’s heart raced.
Bad…
Very bad.
But his feet refused to move back.
Because if he fell now—
Then everything he had endured until this point would mean nothing.
The instructor’s voice echoed calmly from the edge of the ring.
“Continue.”
No intervention.
No mercy.
Just Astraeus.
Relentless.
Kellan moved.
Faster than before.
His step slid.
His shoulder turned.
Ren tried to follow.
Really.
He forced his body to reproduce that sensation.
That foreign logic slowly imprinting itself into his nerves.
His foot pivoted.
His torso shifted—
A fraction too late.
The strike slipped past his guard.
Impact.
Pain exploded in his shoulder.
— Gh—!
His body lurched violently.
His legs gave out.
This time—
He fell.
Hard.
Heavy.
Final.
The ring vibrated under the impact.
A brief silence fell.
Then—
“…That’s enough.”
The instructor’s voice cut cleanly through the tension.
“Victory: Kellan Dross.”
The air seemed to release across the room.
The murmurs returned.
But…
Not quite the same as before.
— He lasted longer than expected…
— Yeah…
— Still weak, but…
— …weird.
Ren remained on the ground for a few seconds.
His vision still swam.
His chest rose and fell with difficulty.
[Echo session — stabilizing.]
[Compatibility: 2.1%]
…It had risen again.
His fingers tightened slightly against the ring.
Then he forced himself.
Again.
As always.
His arm trembled.
His knee protested.
But—
He stood up.
Slowly.
Under the watching eyes.
This time…
No one was openly laughing.
Kellan watched him get back up.
For a long moment.
Then he exhaled softly.
…
The corner of his mouth moved.
Not a smile.
More like… irritated acknowledgment.
“You’re seriously not normal.”
Then he turned away.
Fight over.
But something had changed.
Subtly.
Dangerously.
Ren stepped down from the ring, his legs still unstable.
Each step cost him.
But he kept walking.
Still.
As he crossed the hall—
He felt it.
Before he even looked up.
That cold presence.
Stable.
Sharp.
Ren almost stopped despite himself.
Then he looked.
On the observation walkway…
The dark-haired prodigy was still there.
Motionless.
Her eyes fixed on him.
Directly.
Not like before.
Not a passing glance.
Not a dismissive look.
A gaze that evaluated.
Ren’s heart skipped violently.
For a fraction of a second—
Their eyes fully met.
Hers were calm.
Too calm.
Then—
She spoke.
A single sentence.
Flat voice.
Precise.
“You’re adapting.”
Ren’s breath caught.
Not a question.
A statement.
Then she looked away.
As if the observation had been… recorded.
Completed.
His heart was beating far too fast.
[External observation — interest confirmed.]
The system window pulsed.
More clearly than usual.
As if—
For the first time—
The data were becoming truly interesting.
Ren slowly lowered his eyes.
His fingers tightened.
Very slightly.
…He was still weak.
Still far behind.
Still crushed by the gap.
But now—
He had been seen.
And at Astraeus…
…that was the beginning of all problems.
[Subject Ren Aster — status updated: under watch.]
