The air in the training hall rippled.

  Not from power—but presence.

  Two Reibakus were drawn, their glow reflecting in the polished floor like twin stars awaiting ignition.

  Ren stood on the left, Tsukuyomi humming low with restrained force.

  Ryuko stood on the right, Erebus coiled in shadow—tame, but only for now.

  Masaki watched them both from across the room, his posture rexed, one hand on the hilt of his bde, the other resting loosely behind his back.

  “Do you remember when you two first came here a year ago? ”

  Ren gnced at Ryuko.

  Ryuko looked back.

  They both chuckled.

  “Yeah… we remember.”

  Masaki’s lips quirked.

  “Imagine my surprise. Captain Haruka tells me he has two recruits… that he has nothing left to teach.”

  He let the words hang. There was something between admiration and disbelief in his tone.

  “That’s not something Haruka usually says.”

  Ryuko shrugged. “We could tell he has a lot to teach. He just doesn’t wanna teach it.”

  Masaki gave a short ugh. “Hmph. I’m guessing Captain Koharu told you all.”

  Ren nodded.

  Masaki turned slightly, letting the light hit the insignia etched on his shinsei gai.

  “Haruka is a very capable man… even if he still can’t beat me.”

  Silence.

  Eyes widened.

  Even Watari’s mouth dropped a little from the sideline.

  Masaki chuckled.

  “Ah, I see you all share a common misconception.”

  He traced a finger across the insignia—a small seal etched near the colrbone, faint but glowing with locked resonance.

  “The gates are ordered by strength—First to Tenth. Weakest to strongest. But captains? We are not ranked. We are chosen.”

  He gestured to the seal.

  “Every captain bears this. So do the lieutenants. A mark from the Elders. It restrains our full resonance unless released by direct permission.”

  The room fell still.

  Masaki continued, voice calm.

  “Even with the Elders recently granting us full reign…”

  “This seal remains.”

  Watari raised a hand. “So… what happens if you guys do release it?”

  Masaki nodded toward him.

  “If all of us walked around with our Tamashkii fully unleashed, the air of the Chūkan would colpse.”

  “Souls lingering in transition would simply… dissipate. Unable to handle our pressure. The Chūkan relies on circution, resonance, rebirth.”

  “Unchecked force breaks the cycle.”

  Ryuko’s mouth twitched upward.

  “Then maybe you should’ve asked the Elders for permission today.”

  Masaki smirked.

  “Even with this seal on…”

  “Even if my Tamashkii were at zero percent…”

  He stepped forward.

  “I’d still win against the two of you.”

  “Combined.”

  Ryuko didn’t wait.

  “SECOND STATE!”

  The shadows exploded.

  His Reibaku twisted, chains shing out with razor sharp sshes, his aura spiking as Nemean surged in from behind. The armored state enveloped him, dark cws emerging over his forearms, his fangs fshing behind a cracked grin.

  “NEMEAN!”

  Masaki blocked the first chain casually. Then the second. Then the third.

  He ducked the fourth with ease.

  Ryuko was everywhere—sshing, lunging, pivoting through shadows like an assassin born in combat.

  Masaki held his ground, each deflection smoother than the st.

  Until—

  CLANG!

  Ren appeared.

  “FULL MOON.”

  The temperature dropped.

  Tamashkii slowed the field—time dited. Masaki’s movement hesitated. His guard slipped. For just a second, he was mortal.

  Ren’s bde streaked forward like a beam of moonlight—precision, momentum, execution.

  Masaki’s eyes sharpened.

  He dropped low, using Ryuko’s previous strike as a unch point. His foot pivoted, bde catching Ren’s arc just in time—

  CRACK—!

  The ground trembled.

  Masaki skidded, feet dragging for the first time.

  He looked up.

  Both of them were serious now.

  And both had already transformed.

  Ren’s aura fred—Tsukuyomi’s veil melting away into a brilliant white state. Ethereal mist curled around his limbs. The mark of the moon god flickered on his back.

  “Tsukuyomi—Second State.”

  Masaki blinked once.

  Then smiled.

  “Impressive.”

  Ryuko and Ren moved together now—one in shadow, one in silence.

  They attacked as one. Twin strikes. Chain and bde. The ground beneath Masaki cracked from the pressure of their coordination.

  Masaki blocked Ryuko’s swipe—ducked Ren’s cleave—slid between them with one hand grazing the floor for bance.

  “Your synergy’s improved.”

  Erebus smmed downward—

  Masaki pivoted.

  Tsukuyomi swung—

  Masaki parried.

  But they were adapting.

  They were getting closer.

  Ryuko’s chains coiled like a trap.

  Ren’s mist froze the edges of Masaki’s vision.

  The dodge window was closing.

  One second left.

  A half-second.

  Then—

  “Tenkai no Shingi No. 31 – Nerve Still.”

  Tamashkii expanded outward like a pressure wave—targeted, invisible.

  And everything—

  Stopped.

  Ryuko froze mid-lunge, cws extended.

  Ren hung mid-air, eyes wide, bde drawn.

  Even the mist halted.

  Masaki exhaled. His body rexed.

  He sheathed his bde and stepped between them, tapping the ft of his hand gently against both their shoulders.

  “You two truly have improved.”

  “Hmph. Maybe you really were worth the trouble.”

  “I’m proud.”

  There was silence.

  Then—

  “For a guy who’s proud of us…” Ryuko grunted, his lips barely moving, “why can’t I move?”

  Masaki cracked a grin.

  “It helps for training.”

  He turned and walked toward the others. “I think you two deserve to stay there for a few more moments…”

  “For trying to kill a Captain of the Chūkan.”

  Ren groaned. “…This is humiliating.”

  Ryuko smirked. “Once this ends, I am trying again.”

  Masaki looked back over his shoulder.

  “Good. That’s the spirit.”