The floating chamber shifted violently, platforms grinding and slamming into each other like the gears of some enormous machine. The entire realm seemed alive, testing them harder with every step.
Janae crouched low, her aura flaring brighter, glowing golden-amber. Energy snapped off her skin like static. Her eyes burned with light as she scanned the moving battlefield. Every vibration, every shift of the realm flowed into her senses like a map.
Sezzle clung to the nearest platform, her voice trembling. "Girl, this place wants us dead!"
Janae smirked, the energy coursing through her veins too strong to ignore. "Then we'll show it we're not easy prey."
A roar shook the chamber as a new monster appeared—towering, insectoid, with a skeletal frame and jagged wings that scraped the ceiling. Its body shimmered with violet veins, and every movement rattled the air like thunder.
Sezzle's eyes widened. "Nope. Uh-uh. Absolutely not. That thing is built different!"
Janae didn't hesitate. She launched forward, her body moving faster than before, flipping across the collapsing platforms with effortless precision. She ran up a wall, kicked off into the air, and slammed into the creature's chest with enough force to make the chamber quake.
The beast shrieked, swiping its blade-like arms. Janae ducked, twisted, then grabbed its limb and swung herself around, landing a knee strike directly into its head. Her movements were fluid, precise, almost too fast for Sezzle's eyes to follow.
"Holy sh—" Sezzle's jaw dropped. "You're fighting like some kinda anime superhero!"
Janae's aura flared brighter as she landed, cracks of golden light spiderwebbing across the ground. "I told you, Sezzle. I can feel everything in here. It's like the realm itself is boosting me!"
The monster roared and lunged again. Janae countered with a backflip, landing behind it, then snapped her fingers. Energy surged through her arms, and she delivered a final, brutal strike to its spine—crack! The creature crumpled, hissing before dissolving into smoke.
But even as it vanished, the platforms shifted violently again. One collapsed beneath Sezzle's feet. She screamed, tumbling into open air.
"SEZZLE!" Janae shouted. Without thinking, she leapt after her, aura blazing as she dove through the void.
Sezzle reached out, eyes wide with terror. Janae grabbed her hand and pulled hard, flipping midair to land on a rising platform. Energy blasted out from her feet as she stabilized their landing.
Sezzle's heart pounded. "You… you caught me mid-fall. That's… impossible."
Janae squeezed her hand, smiling through her exhaustion. "Not impossible. Just us."
But then Sezzle froze. She felt it—something humming in her chest, faint but undeniable. Her fingertips sparked with tiny streaks of violet light, so faint Janae almost didn't notice.
"Wait," Janae whispered. "Sezzle… your hands."
Sezzle stared down, her breath hitching. "What the—? I—I don't know what this is!"
The sparks flickered, then fizzled out, but the glow remained in her veins, like something waiting to break free.
Janae's smile widened despite the danger. "It's starting. You feel it, don't you? Your power."
Sezzle shook her head, half terrified, half exhilarated. "If this is what you've been dealing with, girl, then… damn. I'm in for a ride."
The chamber groaned, platforms shifting again, and a low growl echoed from the shadows. Another test was coming. But this time, Janae wasn't alone.
"Then let's see what you can do," Janae said, tightening her stance as her aura flared again.
And together, for the first time, they prepared to fight side by side.