The air was heavy with ash.
Kael's boots sank into crimson dust as the simulated wasteland stretched endlessly around them. Jagged rocks, distant roars, and that same red mist — thick enough to blur the line between sky and ground.
Aria stepped forward first, scanning their surroundings with sharp precision. Her hair fluttered like silver flame in the heat. "Stay alert. These illusions aren't random. They adapt."
Kael's eyes darted from shadow to shadow. "Adapt?"
"Yeah," she said, her tone clipped. "They read your fears."
A shiver ran down his spine. He tried to focus on his breathing, counting each inhale like an anchor. It's not real. It's a test.
Then the first attack came.
A roar split the silence, followed by a blur of motion. A beast burst from the fog — four-legged, obsidian-skinned, eyes burning white. Kael barely raised his blade in time. The impact rattled his arms, throwing him backward.
Aria moved in a flash. Her weapon — a crescent-shaped glaive — sliced through the air, cutting the creature's shoulder. Black smoke spilled from the wound instead of blood.
"Focus!" she snapped, spinning to strike again.
Kael pushed himself up, the world spinning. He gritted his teeth, forcing his mind to calm. The creature lunged again, jaws wide — and for a heartbeat, time seemed to slow.
He saw its movement before it happened.
A flicker — a pulse in his eyes.
He sidestepped, driving his blade upward in one clean motion. The strike hit true. The illusion shattered, the beast dissolving into smoke.
Aria froze. "What was that?"
Kael blinked rapidly, panting. "I… don't know."
Her gaze lingered on him longer than before — cautious, curious. "Your eyes… flashed red for a second."
Kael's heartbeat quickened. He turned away. "Probably just the light."
But she didn't look convinced.
A second later, the mist thickened. Dozens of new shapes appeared — larger, faster. The ground trembled beneath them.
"Multiple signatures," Aria muttered, adjusting her stance. "Stage One just evolved."
Kael readied his blade, muscles tense. "Together?"
She nodded once. "Together."
They moved in sync this time — Aria dancing through the air, each swing clean and precise; Kael fighting with raw instinct, unpredictable but powerful. The contrast between them created something dangerous — chaotic harmony.
Beasts after beasts fell, each vanishing into red mist. But Kael's vision was starting to blur. The flashes were growing — brighter, stronger, harder to control.
And then he saw it — a figure far off in the haze, watching.
A tall man in a long coat, his eyes glowing faintly crimson.
When Kael blinked, the figure vanished.
"Kael!" Aria's voice broke through the trance. "Stay with me!"
He gasped, grounding himself. The last illusion dissolved, the air stilling again.
Then — silence.
A faint chime echoed through the arena system:
> Stage One Complete. Pair 27 — Success.
Aria lowered her glaive, exhaling hard. "Not bad, newbie."
Kael smiled faintly. "You weren't too bad yourself."
She rolled her eyes but didn't argue.
As the simulation faded and the arena returned to view, Kael couldn't shake the image of the man in the mist — or the faint, burning ache behind his eyes.
Something was awakening.
And whatever it was… it wasn't done yet.