The crack split open.
Not slowly.
Not carefully.
It tore apart.
A deep rupture across the darkness above the Arena, stretching wider than before. The space itself bent outward, unable to contain what was coming through.
The ground trembled violently.
This wasn't like before.
This was worse.
Much worse.
"…this is insane," Ishaan muttered.
Even Raghav didn't speak this time.
That said everything.
Something massive began to emerge.
Not falling.
Not forming.
Forcing its way through.
A limb appeared first—
No.
Multiple.
Twisting.
Overlapping.
Like several bodies trying to exist in the same space.
Then—
The rest followed.
A giant, distorted entity crashed into the Arena.
The impact shook everything.
Souls were thrown back.
Cracks spread across the ground instantly.
I stood still.
Watching.
My Perception activated—
Limited, but enough.
And what I saw—
Didn't make sense.
"This thing…" I whispered.
"…it doesn't have a single pattern."
Kavya stepped beside me.
"What does that mean?"
"It means," I said slowly,
"it's not one thing."
Silence.
Then Ishaan spoke—
"…it's multiple."
Exactly.
The creature moved.
Its body shifting constantly.
Limbs forming.
Breaking.
Reforming again.
Faces appearing—
Then vanishing.
Voices overlapping—
All speaking at once.
"An… shu…"
"…same…"
"…break…"
"…finish…"
My chest tightened.
It wasn't just targeting me.
It was reacting to me.
To Lily.
To everything.
"Positions," I said.
Instantly.
Kavya moved left.
Ishaan disappeared to the right.
Raghav stayed behind me.
Ready.
Waiting.
The creature attacked.
Not with precision.
With chaos.
A massive limb swung downward.
Ishaan moved first.
Fast.
Drawing its attention.
"Hey! Over here!"
The creature reacted.
Part of it shifted toward him.
But not all.
That was the problem.
"It's splitting focus!" he shouted.
"I know!"
Another limb came from the side.
Kavya moved in.
Sharp.
Precise.
She struck—
Right where the form flickered most.
The creature recoiled slightly.
"…that worked!" she said.
"Keep hitting instability points!" I shouted.
My Perception strained.
The patterns weren't stable.
They changed constantly.
I had to keep adjusting.
"Raghav—now!"
He moved instantly.
No hesitation.
A powerful strike—
Direct impact.
The creature staggered.
For the first time—
It reacted.
Not randomly.
In pain.
"Again!" I shouted.
But—
It changed.
Faster this time.
The unstable points shifted.
My vision blurred.
"…too fast…"
The creature adapted.
Learning.
Ishaan barely dodged another strike.
"This thing's getting faster!"
"I know!"
My breathing grew heavier.
The limitation.
The restriction.
I couldn't track everything.
Not like before.
Then—
The creature stopped.
Suddenly.
All movement froze.
A silence fell.
Wrong.
Very wrong.
"…why did it stop?" Kavya asked.
I felt it.
Before it happened.
"…move."
Too late.
The creature split.
Three parts.
All attacking at once.
Ishaan got hit.
Thrown across the Arena.
Kavya barely avoided another.
Raghav blocked—
But got pushed back hard.
I stepped back.
My Perception struggling to keep up.
"This isn't working…" I muttered.
Then—
A voice.
From above.
Calm.
Uninterested.
"You're slow."
My head snapped up.
Rudra.
Standing at a distance.
Watching.
Of course.
"You could end this faster," he said.
I clenched my fists.
"Then why don't you?"
He smiled faintly.
"Because this isn't my fight."
A pause.
"…yet."
The creature attacked again.
Faster.
Stronger.
I moved—
Barely dodging.
"Your sister would've already broken it," Rudra continued.
His voice carried across the Arena.
Clear.
Sharp.
"She wouldn't be struggling like this."
My chest tightened.
"Shut up."
"Or maybe…" he said calmly,
"…you're not like her at all."
That hit.
Hard.
My focus slipped.
For a second—
And that was enough.
The creature struck.
I couldn't fully dodge.
The impact sent me crashing back.
Pain exploded through my body.
I hit the ground hard.
My vision blurred.
"…Anshu!" Kavya shouted.
I tried to stand—
My body resisted.
Too slow.
Too heavy.
The creature moved toward me.
All three parts.
At once.
This was it.
Then—
Something shifted.
Not outside.
Inside.
My breathing slowed.
My mind cleared.
Don't follow it.
Guide it.
His voice.
The man.
My Perception stabilized.
Not stronger.
Clearer.
I looked at the creature again.
Not at everything.
Just one part.
One pattern.
The core instability.
"…there."
I moved.
Not fast.
Not powerful.
But exact.
The attack passed beside me.
I stepped in.
"Raghav—left!"
He reacted instantly.
"Now!"
Kavya struck—
Same point.
Ishaan recovered—
Moved in from behind.
Everything aligned.
For a moment—
Perfectly.
The creature collapsed inward.
But—
Before it broke—
Something else happened.
A pause.
Then—
A voice.
Close.
Behind me.
"You learned fast."
My eyes widened.
I turned—
Raghav.
Standing right behind me.
Too close.
Too still.
"…what?"
Then—
Pain.
Sharp.
Sudden.
His hand—
Through my side.
My breath stopped.
"…why…?" I whispered.
He leaned closer.
Calm.
Cold.
"Because you're the center."
A pause.
"And I'd rather stand where you fall."
My vision blurred.
The creature reformed.
Faster.
Stronger.
The balance—
Broken.
Kavya shouted—
"Raghav—what are you doing?!"
Ishaan froze.
"…you idiot…"
Raghav stepped back.
Pulling his hand out.
Blood hit the ground.
"I was never on your side," he said.
Then—
He smiled.
"Rudra was right."
My head snapped slightly toward him.
"…Rudra…?"
Rudra watched.
Silent.
But—
Not surprised.
Of course.
This was planned.
Or at least—
Expected.
My body weakened.
The creature moved again.
Now—
Everything was collapsing.
The fight.
The team.
Me.
But inside—
Something remained.
Not strength.
Not anger.
Clarity.
I looked at Raghav.
Then at the creature.
Then—
At the crack above.
"…this isn't over," I whispered.
Even as I fell—
My Perception stayed.
Focused.
Locked.
Waiting.