The grains of sand in the training dimension screamed under the sheer pressure of "Blayde's" energy blade. Blayde didn't fight with a human style; he was a mass of exploding rage, tearing through the fabric of existence with every swing of his giant sword. Eiji was panting, the Eternal Mark in his left eye pulsing a sharp purple—a warning of energy depletion.
**Blayde (voice like clashing metal):** "The rhythm must end! The light you carry is nothing but a delay of the inevitable void!"
**Eiji (with intense focus):** "Nothing ends today except your existence, you cursed Echo!"
Eiji summoned his grandfather Taiso's philosophy: "Rock, Paper, Scissors." As Blayde's heavy sword (Rock) descended toward his head, Eiji didn't try to block it with force. Instead, he detonated his Pulse energy, transforming his body and the surrounding sand into the **"Dust State"** (Paper). The red blade passed through Eiji's dust like a knife through smoke. In a fraction of a second, Eiji reformed his body behind Blayde using a **"Temporal Leap"** spell.
**Taiso (shouting from a distance):** "Now, Eiji! Change it to Scissors!"
In a flash, Eiji pumped massive energy into the ground beneath Blayde's feet, instantly turning the sand into the **"Liquid State"** (Scissors). Blayde sank to his waist in a viscous sand vortex that cut his movement and robbed him of balance. At that moment, Eiji concentrated all Pulse energy into his right fist, hardening the sand coating his hand into the **"Solid State"** (Rock) with terrifying metallic density. He delivered a crushing blow toward the heart of Blayde's energy sword—the exact point Yukari had precisely analyzed.
**Yukari (deploying "Protective Mirror" barriers):** "Target confirmed! Do it now!"
A thunderous explosion rang out. Blayde's sword shattered into thousands of dark fragments that vanished into the air, followed by the Echo's body dissolving like black ash beneath Eiji's victorious feet.
---
A brief silence followed, broken only by Eiji's rapid breathing and the pride shining in Taiso's eyes.
**Taiso:** "Well done, my grandson... You've mastered the blend of states and Temporal Leaps faster than I expected. You are building your own rhythm—unpredictable and unique."
**Yukari (closing her system screens):** "A noticeable improvement. However, you consumed 60% of your Pulse reserves. In a real war, that risk could be fatal."
Before Eiji could smile, Yukari felt a cold shiver, and the pages of the magical book shook violently. Space tore open behind them, a rift glowing a deep crimson like clotted blood. From it emerged a figure that wasn't an Echo—it was the embodiment of dark majesty: **The High Commander of Echoes.**
**High Commander:** "An acceptable victory for a beginner... but you, Eiji, are far too weak to face a Commander who reads time like an open book."
**Eiji (taking a defensive stance with an exhausted body):** "Who are you? Your aura... it's not like the other Echoes. You possess a complete consciousness!"
The High Commander moved slowly. His shadow stretched across the crystal floor in a distorted, unnaturally long shape—as if it were a separate entity watching everyone.
**High Commander:** "I am the one who sets the rules, and I am the one who ends the game. You are a natural fighter, Eiji, but you are **predictable**. You rely on your emotions to power your Pulse, and that will be your undoing."
Eiji rushed forward in a rage, trying to use a "Time Slow" spell, but the High Commander moved with precise, minimal motions, as if he knew exactly where Eiji would step seconds before he did. The Commander was analyzing every move; he watched how Eiji squinted his left eye when focusing and how he left his heart exposed to protect the wrist carrying the ring.
**High Commander (Internal Thought - Analysis):** *He fights with his heart... every pulse of energy is charged with his fear and anger. His defense around the mark extending to his heart is brittle. Breaking his spirit will be far easier than breaking his armor.*
The Commander directed a light tap with his finger toward Eiji's chest. It sent a shockwave of Void energy that sent Eiji flying, hitting the ground with immense force. Taiso intervened violently, activating a massive sand wall to separate the Commander from his grandson.
**Taiso (shouting):** "Stay away from him! Your power is not for direct confrontation; you are just a cold analyst who feeds on the wounds of others!"
**High Commander (smiling behind his dark mask):** "You're still strong, Taiso, despite your broken rhythm. But your grandson carries a weakness you don't possess... he loves too deeply. And that love is the rope I will use to hang him."
The High Commander vanished into the red portal, leaving a whirlpool of doubt in Eiji's heart.
**Eiji (rising with difficulty, clutching his heart):** "He said I was emotionally weak... how did he know? It was like I was an open book to him."
**Yukari (worried):** "He didn't come to kill you... he came to gather your 'emotional data.' The next attack won't be here. It will be very personal."
---
Eiji returned to the real world through the ring. Night had fallen over his home. A strange heaviness hung in the air, as if the house itself had become a stranger to him. He headed to the kitchen to find his mother, Miyoko, standing by the stove. She was staring into the void, her eyes appearing vacant.
**Eiji (concerned):** "Mom? Are you okay? Is dinner ready?"
Miyoko turned to him, but her gaze was shaky, as if she didn't recognize him at first.
**Miyoko (in a faint voice):** "Dinner? We had that hours ago, Taiso... didn't we? And... where did I put my father's coat? We must go to the museum to meet Akira."
Eiji froze. She had called him by his grandfather's name, "Taiso," and spoke of meeting Akira at the museum late at night, as if her memories were overlapping with other times. At that moment, Eiji noticed a long shadow stretching from behind the living room door. His father, **Akira**, was standing there in the darkness. His shadow on the wall appeared distorted, unnaturally long—mirroring the exact silhouette of the High Commander Eiji had just seen in the training dimension.
**Akira (in a calm, cold voice):** "Your mother is a bit tired, Eiji. She's starting to forget simple things... or perhaps she's remembering things that haven't happened yet. Time tends to play tricks on weak minds."
A horrific realization dawned on Eiji. His father wasn't just watching him; he had begun to manipulate his mother's "Rhythm of Consciousness." He was breaking Eiji's rhythm from the inside through the person he loved most.
Suddenly, Eiji's phone vibrated in his pocket. A cryptic message appeared on the Time Gate interface from Yukari:
*(Eiji, watch out! A 'Void Portal' has opened in the Forgotten Forest behind your house. Akira's energy is flowing there to link your mother's consciousness to the Void. Move now! Miyoko's stability depends on closing that portal!)*
Eiji looked at his father, who was smiling coldly in the shadows, as if challenging him to make a move. Akira was no longer just a strict father; he had become the jailer holding the keys to his mother's mind.
**Eiji (with a voice full of determination and suppressed rage):** "You won't touch her again. This game you started, 'Akira'... I will end it with my own hands."
Eiji rushed out of the house toward the Forgotten Forest, leaving behind his father's shadows, which seemed to laugh silently in the dark. He realized now that the training was over. Every grain of sand he controlled from now on would be fueled by the desperate need to save his family from the clutches of the Void.