I moved first.
The instant my foot left the ground—
Azharyon disappeared.
BOOM!
Our fists collided.
The impact tore across the chamber.
The floor beneath us cracked.
Neither of us moved.
For one heartbeat, we stood locked against each other.
Then Azharyon twisted his wrist.
I felt the shift.
My body moved before I finished thinking.
I slipped sideways.
His fist passed my shoulder.
I stepped forward.
Palm.
He blocked.
Elbow.
He tilted his head.
Knee.
I withdrew my leg.
His hand swept toward my throat.
I ducked.
Everything happened in an instant.
Yet—
It felt slow.
Not because time had changed.
Because I was beginning to see more.
The movement before the movement.
The intention before the strike.
The shift of weight.
The flow of energy.
Azharyon attacked again.
I moved.
He changed direction.
I followed.
He accelerated.
So did I.
BAM!
Our shoulders collided.
We separated.
I planted my foot.
The 2,500-fold gravity tried to drag me downward.
I allowed it.
Instead of resisting, I used the pressure.
My body dipped with the force.
Then—
I pushed.
BOOM!
I shot forward.
Azharyon's eyes widened.
My fist came toward his chest.
He blocked.
The impact pushed him backward.
One step.
Two.
He stopped himself.
I didn't give him time to recover.
I attacked.
Punch.
He blocked.
Low kick.
He jumped.
I followed.
Elbow.
He caught my arm.
I rotated.
His grip slipped.
I struck again.
THUD!
My palm connected with his shoulder.
Azharyon twisted away.
His counter came instantly.
I ducked.
His fist passed above my head.
I stepped behind him.
He turned.
We exchanged another series of strikes.
BAM!
BOOM!
CRACK!
The chamber shook with every collision.
But something had changed.
I wasn't struggling to keep up anymore.
I was moving with him.
Azharyon noticed it too.
His expression became serious.
He increased his speed.
I matched it.
He changed his rhythm.
I adapted.
He attacked from an unexpected angle.
My body shifted before I consciously understood why.
The strike missed.
My fist followed.
BAM!
It struck his side.
Azharyon slid backward.
His boots carved lines into the alloy floor.
He looked down.
Then back at me.
For the first time since the trial began—
He looked genuinely surprised.
I didn't feel stronger.
That was the strange part.
My body was exhausted.
My ribs still hurt.
My muscles trembled beneath the pressure.
Yet my movements had become cleaner.
I wasn't spending energy on unnecessary reactions.
Every movement had a purpose.
Every step took me somewhere.
Every breath supported the next action.
The system appeared.
> [Adaptive Response: Accelerating]
[Energy Distribution: Optimizing]
**[Accessible Power: 0.5%]
Still the same.
0.5%.
I almost smiled.
No new power.
No increase.
Nothing had been unlocked.
I was simply learning how to use what I already possessed.
Azharyon lowered his stance.
Then—
His aura changed.
The pressure around him compressed.
Not outward.
Inward.
His energy wrapped tightly around his body.
His muscles hardened.
His presence became heavier.
My instincts immediately reacted.
Danger.
Azharyon vanished.
BOOOOOOM!
His fist struck my guard.
My arms exploded with pain.
I was pushed backward.
Before I could regain balance—
Another strike.
I moved.
Another.
I shifted.
Another.
I barely escaped.
He was faster.
Much faster.
I couldn't read every movement anymore.
The first attack was a feint.
The second changed direction.
The third was the real strike.
BAM!
His fist caught my ribs.
Pain ripped through my side.
My body flew across the chamber.
I crashed into the floor.
BOOM!
The alloy beneath me shattered.
For several seconds—
I couldn't move.
My vision blurred.
My lungs refused to cooperate.
I heard footsteps approaching.
Azharyon.
I forced my fingers against the floor.
Pushed.
Nothing.
My arm trembled.
I pushed again.
My elbow locked.
Then my knee.
Slowly—
I rose.
Azharyon stopped.
"You're at your limit."
I wiped blood from my mouth.
"No."
His eyes narrowed.
"You are."
"Then I'll move the limit."
Azharyon smiled.
"That's the answer I wanted."
He attacked.
I didn't think.
I moved.
His fist came toward my face.
My head shifted.
The strike missed.
His elbow followed.
My body bent.
The elbow passed.
Knee.
My leg moved.
Kick.
I rotated.
The attack missed by inches.
Then—
Silence.
Not outside.
Inside me.
For a brief moment, my thoughts stopped.
I wasn't calculating.
I wasn't analyzing.
I wasn't telling my body what to do.
It simply—
moved.
Azharyon's fist came.
I slipped.
His shoulder turned.
I stepped.
His weight shifted.
I pivoted.
His knee rose.
I was already gone.
I countered.
THUD!
My fist struck his abdomen.
Azharyon's body folded slightly.
His eyes widened.
I followed with another strike.
He blocked.
I turned.
Low kick.
He caught it.
I used his grip.
Pulled myself forward.
Elbow.
CRACK!
It struck his shoulder.
He released my leg.
I landed.
We separated.
My breathing was calm.
Too calm.
The chamber was still crushing me.
My muscles were still screaming.
But the pressure no longer controlled my movement.
It had become information.
Direction.
Weight.
Force.
I could feel where it pushed.
Where it pulled.
Where my body resisted unnecessarily.
Then I felt something else.
A pulse.
Deep inside me.
I froze.
Not from fear.
From recognition.
The seal.
It pulsed once.
THUMP.
Then again.
THUMP.
My bloodline hadn't opened.
I knew that.
The system confirmed it.
> [Bloodline: 100% — SEALED]
Yet something beneath the seal had noticed.
I could feel it.
Watching.
Not awakening.
Not escaping.
Simply—
observing.
The system flashed again.
> [Threshold Condition Detected]
My pupils narrowed.
Azharyon stared at me.
"Velzahar?"
I didn't answer.
I could hear my heartbeat.
Thump.
Thump.
Everything around me seemed distant.
The chamber.
The gravity.
The others.
Azharyon.
All of it faded slightly.
Not because I had lost awareness.
Because my awareness had expanded.
I could see his breathing.
The slight rise of his chest.
The movement of his shoulders.
The shift of his weight.
The energy moving beneath his skin.
The pressure around his body.
Everything connected.
Everything had rhythm.
Azharyon attacked.
My body moved.
He attacked again.
I moved.
Faster.
Cleaner.
No hesitation.
No unnecessary motion.
He threw a combination.
I slipped between every strike.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
His final punch came directly toward my chest.
I turned.
His fist missed.
I caught his wrist.
Used his momentum.
Turned my hips.
Redirected.
BOOM!
Azharyon was thrown sideways.
He landed several meters away.
He stopped himself before hitting the wall.
Silence.
He slowly straightened.
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
Then he laughed.
A real laugh.
"You finally stopped fighting me."
I frowned.
"What?"
"You were trying to beat me."
He raised his fists again.
"Now you're just moving."
My eyes narrowed.
He was right.
I hadn't realized it.
I wasn't trying to prove I was stronger.
I wasn't trying to overpower him.
I wasn't even thinking about winning.
I was simply responding to what was happening.
The difference was enormous.
Azharyon came again.
This time—
I didn't meet him.
I moved around him.
His fist passed.
I shifted.
His elbow came.
I stepped.
His knee followed.
I turned.
Then—
I struck.
BOOM!
My palm slammed into his chest.
Azharyon flew backward.
He landed hard.
The chamber went silent.
I stared at my hand.
There was no explosion of energy.
No overwhelming aura.
No sudden increase in power.
Only a faint light-blue shimmer beneath my skin.
Small.
Controlled.
Almost invisible.
The system appeared.
> [Combat State Stabilizing]
[Adaptive Response: Accelerated]
[Energy Waste: Decreasing]
My breathing slowed.
I understood.
This wasn't about becoming stronger.
It was about becoming less wasteful.
Every ounce of energy mattered.
Every movement mattered.
Every breath mattered.
Azharyon rose again.
He looked at me for several seconds.
Then his expression softened.
Not like a brother looking at a younger sibling.
Not like a warrior looking at an opponent.
Something between the two.
Respect.
"Again."
I smiled.
"Again."
He disappeared.
I moved.
Our fists collided.
BOOOOOOM—!!
The shockwave tore across the chamber.
But this time—
I didn't fly.
My feet remained planted.
The pressure pushed down.
I accepted it.
Azharyon pushed harder.
I adjusted.
He changed direction.
I followed.
He attacked.
I responded.
The movements became seamless.
For several seconds, there was no clear difference between attack and defense.
Only movement.
Only rhythm.
Only control.
Then Azharyon suddenly stopped.
I stopped too.
He stared at me.
Neither of us spoke.
The chamber hummed quietly around us.
The gravity finally began to decrease.
MMMMMMMM—
The crushing pressure weakened.
My body immediately felt the cost.
Every injury I'd ignored returned at once.
My knees weakened.
My breathing became heavier.
I nearly fell.
Azharyon caught my shoulder.
"Easy."
I steadied myself.
"I can stand."
"I know."
He released me.
The chamber doors opened.
The others remained silent.
No cheers.
No celebration.
Just looks.
They had watched the entire thing.
And now they were looking at me differently.
I glanced toward the system.
> [Bloodline: 100% — SEALED]
[Accessible Power: 0.5%]
Exactly the same.
Yet I knew I wasn't the same.
I looked inward.
The seal remained untouched.
Whatever was beneath it had not awakened.
But it had reacted.
Once.
Twice.
As if something deep inside had felt my change.
I closed my eyes.
For a moment, I remembered the figure from the previous night.
That distant silhouette.
Those unseen eyes.
The feeling of being watched.
Then I felt another pulse beneath the seal.
THUMP.
My eyes opened.
Someone had been watching me yesterday.
And now—
something beneath my sealed bloodline had noticed them too.