The ground beneath him collapsed into darkness.
A portal.
Perfect. Controlled. Absolute.
It struck.
A chain exploded out of the void.
Fast. Too fast-
Miata moved too slow. Zoe blurred forward-
CLANG.
The chain deflected inches from Miata's chest. The sound rang in her skull.
"Again" Jaxson said. Another portal opened from the left side. Chain came closer amd closer.
Miata tried to block. Her spear came up but at the wrong angle. Too late.
She fall back on the dirt when it tore her arm.
Zoe intercepted again. Metal screamed against impact.
Miata's breath sharpened. Her muscles tensed too tight. Her mind raced too fast.
Move.
She lunged forward. A thrust aimed at Jaxson's chest-
Clean. Direct. Desperate.
When everything seemed perfect, a portal opened infront of him. Her spear vanished into it and brust out behind her, striking her back. Hard.
The hit was brutal and her body slammed into the ground-again. Air ripped from her lungs.
"Predictable".
She cought harshly. Dust filled her mouth. Her ribs screamed as she forced herself up.
Another chain. No pause. No mercy.
Zoe blocked it.
Another.
Blocked.
Another-
Blocked-
Miata grabbed her spear again. Her hands were already shaking.
Too early. Too soon
Why can't i keep up? She thought.
She moved again. This time faster, angirer.
Thrust. Step. Turn.
A chain slipped past her ground-
Wrapped around her spear-
Yanked-
It flew from her hands again. Her heart stuttered.
"Weapon lost", Jaxson said camly.
"What now?".
Another portal opened. Closer. Too close.
The chain shot toward her throat-
Zoe slammed into it mid-air. Deflecting it with force.
Miata staggered back from the impact.
Breathing hard now. Too hard. Too loud.
Time began to warp. Not slow. Just... overwhelming.
Attacks came faster. More precise. More relentless.
Zoe kept moving. Always first. Always perfect. Always-
Between Miata and Death.
Miata tried to match it. Tried to keep up. Tried to fight. But every moment lagged. Every reaction failed.
She wasn't fighting. She was surving. Barely...
And not by her own strength.
"The training you have done before is totally different from this" Jaxson said. pointing his spear towards her. "Here, you don't fight to survive. You fight to protect others. You fight to kill the darkness".
Minutes blurred into impact after impact. Pain layered over pain. Chain cutting from every angle.
Her arms felt heavier. Her lags slower. Her vision-less stable.
A misstep. Her foot slipped into a trench. Her balance broke. A chain struck her side.
The impact tore a cry from her throat.
She dropped to her knees.
Zoe was there instantly. In front. Breathing hard. She was also wounded but still guarding. Unmoving.
"Stand".
Miata tried but couldn't.
"I said stand" Jaxson's voice rang this time.
She pushed herself up. Her body resisted. Her strength... thinning.
Another attack. Blocked. Another. Blocked.
Another-Blocked.
It didn't stop.
Why...? She thought.
Her eyes flickered to Zoe-
again-
and again-
and again-
Zoe wasn't attacking, wasn't following, wasn't waiting for her.
She was... protecting her.
The realization didn't came gently. It hit like a blade sliding between ribs.
She is doing everything. And i...nothing.
A portal opened beneath her feet. Too late.
A chain shut upward, wrapped around her leg. Pulled.
She slammed onto her back. The impact rattled her bones.
Her spear slipped from her fingers. Gone Again.
Another chain came from above. Straight down. Aimed at her thorat.
Miata tried to move. Her body didn't listen. There was only pain and only pain like her body has been laying on thousands of nails.
Her fingers twitched. That was all.
Move. She thought.
Nothing. The chain descended closer amd closer-
And in that moment, her mind broke away.
Another field. Another fight.
Maria.
Bleeding.
Standing.
Fighting alone.
Miata-
On the ground. Broken. Useless. Only watching.
Why am I always the one who needs saving...?
The chain reached her neck-
And suddenly stopped.
A breath away from ending everything. Silence collapsed over the field.
Miata's chest heaved violently. Her vision shook. Her heartbeat roared in her ears.
Jaxson stepped closer. Each step heavier than the last.
"You see it now".
She didn't answer. Couldn't
Zoe stepped beside her again.
Quiet. Still. Waiting.
Are you... are you all right? Zoe asked with heavy breath.
"I... i don't know anymore". Miata whispered.
"Thanks..."
"You are not fighting". His voice cut deeper than any weapon.
"You are being kept alive".
Her fingers dug into the dirt.
Hard enough to hurt.
"You rely on her"
Her breath cracked.
"But she doesn't rely on you".
Something inside her snapped. Not loudly. Not dramatically.
But completely.
He stood over her now. Unmoved. Unshaken.
"If this were real-"
He lowered his spear toward her throat.
"You would have already be dead".
Silence.
Thick.
Suffocating.
"Your creature cannot fight your battles for you forever. Trust it, yes... but do not hide behind it" Jaxson said softly but his voice was steady.
"If you cannot stand with it, move with it ir bleed with it... then oneday when she fails for even a moment, you will fall".
Then he added slowly.
"Stand beside your creature. Learn her rhythm. Grow strong enough to protect her as she protects you... or one day you will both fall".
Miata closed her eyes. For one second. Just one. Then opened them again.
She reached for her spear. Her arm trembled violently. Pain screamed through her muscles.
She grabbed it anyway. Forced herself up. Step by step. Breath by breath.
Her grip tightened.
"Again".
Her legs trembled.
Her fingers tightened around the spear like it is the last thing anchoring her to existence. Her breathing was uneven-too fast, too shallow.
Jaxson tilted his head slightly.
"Are you sure you want to continue?"
Miata wiped the blood from her lips.
"Yeah".
Liam shifted behind them. The ground itself seemed to tense.
Jaxson watched. And this time, he has no mind to hold back.
"Don't die".