A low hum built in the air, rising into a deep, vibrating force that crashed down on everyone present, including , forcing us to our knees.
The pressure was overwhelming, so intense that I could feel my form unraveling, like I was on the verge of fading completely.
“Bear the pressure. If you fade, you fail. Hurry… soon the next phase will begin.”
The floating overseer’s final decree echoed through the space before he simply vanished, leaving us to fend for ourselves.
I gritted my teeth, body trembling under the crushing weight.
“L—Luna, are you okay?” I managed to think through the suffocating force.
“Hm? Yeah, I’m fine. How are you?”
Her chipper response hit so hard that I face-planted straight into the shimring sky pool.
“HOW?!”
“How what?” she huffed. “I’ve just been gathering energy while you listened to that horrible man.”
I twitched.
Cultivation.
That’s it. That’s what I had to do.
If I didn’t adapt, this new body was going to break apart under the force.
I forced my consciousness inward, ignoring the outside world.
Inside was a delicate, intricate web. A thin, vein-like system of energy circuits, completely different from my old Grand Channel, which had been more like a massive pipeline running through my body.
It was fragile, but it was what I had now.
Even without Precursor Sense, my control had improved, enough that I could at least use techniques like Swift Stride, sothing that would have been close to impossible before.
I just needed to focus.
The Nexus was the sa as before, but unlike my Grand Channel, the energy didn’t flow naturally. It just sat there, motionless.
I had to guide it manually.
I clenched my fist, forcing the energy to move, threading it through the delicate web of circuits inside . I started small, forming a loop in the largest path, gradually increasing the flow.
Little by little, the energy spilled into the smaller capillaries, and as it did, they began to respond on their own.
It was working.
The pressure lifted as my internal strength diffused through , reinforcing my form.
Just as relief washed over , the impact slamd into my ribs.
A pulse of raw energy, cold and unrelenting, ripped through my side, shattering my focus and yanking out of my trance. My balance wavered, the crushing pressure of the trial rushing back in full force.
Pain blood in my torso. A searing, phantom ache.
I staggered, vision flickering. Sabotage.
My gaze snapped to the culprit. One of Dain’s little lapdogs, standing with his hand still raised, fingers twitching from the aftershock of the blast.
The bastard was already charging another one.
“Are you insane?!” I snapped, my breath ragged.
No answer. Instead, a scream tore through the air.
Across the battlefield, another group had turned on itself. A young girl let out a strangled cry as her leader shattered her form with ruthless efficiency.
I barely had ti to process it before Luna’s voice spiked in my mind.
“Peter, dodge!”
I threw myself to the side just as a colorless bolt of energy detonated where I had stood, sending a violent shockwave rippling through the shimring sky pool.
I hit the ground hard, rolling into a crouch.
“Hurry up and return!” Dain’s voice barked from the chaos.
I barely glanced at him, but I could see Callum already locked in battle, his strikes clashing hard against Dain’s. The rest of their groups were desperately fighting to break through. A full-scale war erupting across the battlefield while I was busy.
anwhile, the guy in front of just nodded to himself, as if confirming that he’d take out personally.
“You bastards.” I exhaled sharply, dropping into a stance.
I was done trying to reason with the people here in this world. If they wanted a fight, fine. I’d give them one.
Swift Stride was too unstable to use mid-circulation, but Air Lance? That was easier to manage.
I bolted forward, closing the distance between us in a flash. My opponent didn’t flinch. If anything, he welcod the aggression. His stance lowered, his lips curling into an arrogant grin.
He thinks I’ll fight him head-on.
Good.
Just before we were an arm’s length apart, he moved, snapping his leg up for a kick. At the sa ti, I threw out my palm, Air Lance firing straight from my hand.
His grin twisted into wide-eyed shock.
He must’ve felt the shift in the air, because he tried to pull his leg back.
Too late.
The spear of pressurized force punched clean through his leg.
“AGHHH!” His scream cracked through the battlefield. His body lurched, balance completely wrecked, and he started to fall.
I dived after him, slamming into his falling form, pinning him hard against the energy-woven floor.
He thrashed beneath , rage and panic in his eyes. “GET OFF, YOU WOR—”
Didn’t let him finish.
My fist drove into his jaw.
Then again.
And again.
It was unnatural.
No crack of bone. No tearing flesh. Just a dull thud, followed by a spray of flickering purple light bursting from his shifting form.
He was fading.
Fear flashed in his eyes.
“ST—”
I punched him again.
His body flickered violently, the edges of his form unraveling like smoke. He wouldn’t last much longer.
I lifted my fist for the final blow...
“MOVE!”
Luna’s voice scread in my head.
It must have been difficult with all the energy around here because she had seen it too late.
And by the ti my body reacted it was already there.
A polearm slamd into my back like a wrecking force, sending hurtling off my victim.
My mind fractured under the impact. My vision warped, too blurry to make out anything but the fading trails of light leaking from my form.
I didn’t know what would happen if I faded.
But the fear clawing at my throat from instinct hinted to the truth.
I gritted my teeth, trying to regain control, but sothing was wrong with that strike.
It wasn’t a bolt of energy or so weird, hardened limb.
It was a staff.
A weapon.
Doesn’t matter.
I needed to move, to stabilize, but my circuits were freezing up, the energy inside them locking down.
I just wanted to forget about all of this. Honestly a nap would help. Just laying beside Thea comfo—
“No! I won’t let you!”
Luna’s voice pierced through my fading consciousness, vibrating through my mind.
If I disappeared, she probably wouldn't stand much of a chance alone.
“Sorry,” I tried, forcing my will to push the energy forward.
Nothing.
It wouldn’t follow my command.
“Sorry isn’t go—oh. Oh!”
Luna’s tone shifted, suddenly bright, almost amused.
“You’re fine. Stop being dramatic and get up.”
…What?
But she was right.
Just like that, my senses snapped back, circuits flowing without my effort, my body solidifying instantly.
I blinked. "Luna?"
“I don’t know, maybe it’s because we’re in these forms.” A pause. Then, matter-of-factly, “Anyway, I’ll circulate for you. Just focus on keeping us alive.”
A breath. Then I laughed.
A quiet chuckle at first, but it grew as I took in the stunned expressions of my attackers as I doubled over.
My previous victim barely holding himself together and the other mystery ambusher, a girl, gripping a polearm, which contained the sa appearance and energy as her body.
It hardly seed fair. Sohow she must've been able to create a solid weapon from her own energy.
Then again…
I had Luna now.
With her controlling my circulation, I could recover my full speed.
I diffused power into my feet and sprang forward, closing the distance before they could react.
“Ho—”
The half-dead lackey barely choked out a sound before my foot slamd into his head.
A muffled groan, his translucent form flickering, turning even more transparent.
The girl’s breath hitched as she raised her staff, preparing to fight.
“Uh-uh.”
I pressed harder, feeling the lackey shudder beneath my foot.
She hesitated.
Her hands trembled slightly as she lowered her weapon, deep concern etched into her face.
“…Stop. Please.”
Her pleading shocked .
She wasn’t asking... she was begging.
But her voice was just a distant hum, drowned out by the humming already echoing in my ears.
He attacked . He deserved to be crushed like an insect. One more ounce of effort. Just a little more weight.
She couldn’t stop . I could just run. Or I could take her o—
“Would you get over it?! Why don’t you ask so questions? And don’t use too many skills at once. Moving energy around your body is harder than I thought.”
Luna’s voice cut through the haze, slicing straight through my tangled thoughts.
I exhaled slowly, forcing the fire in my veins to settle.
She was right. There were more important things to handle.
I loosened my stance slightly. “What happens if I crush him?”
My voice was calm, though the adrenaline still simred beneath it.
The lackey gritted his teeth, eyes burning. “I die, you son of a—”
“And you think now is the ti to mouth off?!”
Man, these people were seriously nuts. I could respect the dignity, but what was the point of having any if I crushed his skull like a rotten fruit?
A voice barked through the battlefield, sharp and demanding.
“Synthia, what are you doing?! Kill hi—!”
Dain.
I didn’t glance over, but the fact that he didn’t finish his sentence told everything I needed to know.
He was still locked in battle.
I watched Synthia carefully, searching for any sign of movent.
But she didn’t budge.
She was still, but not out of fear.
Her focus was entirely on the man beneath . Soone important to her.
Family? Or sothing more intimate?
I studied her for another second, then asked, “Alright, Synthia. Can you leave this place?”
She nodded, her eyes never leaving the lackey beneath my foot.
“After each round, you can leave or stay. But if you’re forced out…”
She trailed off.
I gave a slight nod, then looked down at my unfortunate victim.
“I’m assuming Dain asked you to kill ?”
He looked like he was about to say sothing stupid, but Synthia spoke first.
“Yes.”
I let the word hang for a second, then sighed making my decision. “Well… I guess you won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
While we’d been talking, I had been gathering power in my hands, slowly charging two blasting waves just in case things went differently.
His eyes flickered in confusion. “What?”
Synthia stiffened, but I was already done with them.
I turned, spotting Dain, still too consud in his fight to notice slipping behind him.
His back was wide open.
I lifted my hands, both palms glowing.
And grabbed his skull with both hands.
“How dar—”
I was so sick of this arrogant, drawn-out way of speaking.
An explosion of light burst through the battlefield, swallowing him whole before he could finish his words.
The entire realm fell silent.
All eyes turned toward .
Whispers shimred across the pool, hushed, uncertain.
Glances were exchanged.
And finally.
“P—Peter. You don’t know what you just did.”
Callum’s voice cut through the silence, his words ringing in the air like a funeral bell.
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