Pain lingered long after the Enforcers left.
It wasn't the sharp, screaming pain of broken bones or burned flesh. This was worse—structural. As if something fundamental inside Ben had been wrapped in chains and tightened until it barely functioned.
He sat on the floor of the shack, back against the wall, sweat soaking through his clothes. The Omnitrix glowed weakly, its usual confident pulse reduced to a strained, uneven flicker.
Ten breaths.
That was all.
Ten breaths of transformation before the limiter slammed shut.
Lin Yue knelt in front of him, fingers hovering uncertainly over the glowing brand on his chest. The talisman mark had faded from visible light, but its presence lingered like a phantom limb.
"It's still burning," she said quietly.
Ben forced a breath out. "Yeah. Feels like my watch just got grounded."
Old Liang stood near the entrance, arms folded, watching Ben with an expression that was far too calm for the situation.
"You should thank them," Liang said.
Ben shot him a look. "I'm sorry, was I supposed to send a gift basket?"
Liang ignored the sarcasm. "They didn't cripple you," he continued. "They didn't confiscate the artifact. They didn't kill you."
"They threatened to take my arm," Ben snapped.
"And yet you still have it," Liang replied. "Which means Blackstone Valley is still undecided about you."
Ben clenched his jaw. "Lucky me."
Liang stepped closer. "This limiter is not meant to stop you," he said. "It is meant to measure you."
Ben frowned. "Measure what?"
"How dangerous you are without overwhelming force."
The Omnitrix pulsed faintly, as if in agreement.
Ben looked down at it. "Ten breaths," he muttered. "That's nothing."
"Then don't waste them," Liang said simply.
The first test came sooner than Ben expected.
That night, Blackstone Valley shifted.
It wasn't obvious. No alarms. No horns.
Just… movement.
Ben felt it while sitting on the shack's roof, staring out at the valley lights. People walked differently. Stopped talking when he passed. Groups clustered more tightly than before.
Predators assessing risk.
"Someone's going to try something," Lin Yue said quietly beside him.
Ben nodded. "Yeah. They always do."
"Are you ready?" she asked.
He flexed his fingers slowly. "Not really."
Below them, a shadow detached itself from the alley.
Then another.
Then another.
Ben counted six figures approaching from different directions—spread out, cautious, coordinated.
"Six," he murmured. "Maybe seven."
Lin Yue's eyes widened. "How—"
"Smell," Ben said. "And footsteps."
She stared at him.
"Partial instincts linger," he added. "Turns out getting hunted rewires you."
The figures stopped just outside the shack.
A voice called out, calm and confident. "Ben Tennyson."
Ben exhaled. "That's my cue."
He stood and dropped down lightly from the roof, landing in front of the shack with his hands visible.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
Six people stepped into the firelight.
Not Enforcers.
Mercenaries.
Each wore mismatched armor and carried different weapons, but their Qi levels were tightly controlled and disciplined. These weren't thugs.
They were professionals.
The leader—a man with a scar running from temple to jaw—inclined his head politely.
"No hostility intended," he said. "We're here to test something."
Ben raised an eyebrow. "You guys always open with honesty, or am I special?"
The man smiled. "You're special."
Lin Yue shifted behind Ben. "Leave," she warned.
The man glanced at her dismissively. "This doesn't concern you."
Ben took a slow breath.
"One rule," he said. "You don't touch her."
The man chuckled. "That depends on how you perform."
The Omnitrix pulsed.
Ben's heart rate spiked.
Ten breaths, he reminded himself. Don't panic.
The mercenaries attacked.
Two rushed in from the front, blades flashing. Another circled left. A fourth vanished entirely—stealth technique.
Ben didn't transform.
Not yet.
He ducked under the first blade, grabbed the attacker's wrist, and twisted hard. Bone cracked. He shoved the man into the second attacker, disrupting their formation.
A blade grazed his shoulder.
Pain flared.
Ben gritted his teeth.
Now.
The Omnitrix flared.
Green light enveloped him as Diamondhead manifested—clean, sharp, precise.
One breath.
Ben slammed his crystalline fist into the ground, jagged spikes erupting outward in a controlled arc. Two mercenaries leapt back; one wasn't fast enough and was impaled through the leg, screaming.
Two breaths.
Ben pivoted, blocking a blade with his forearm, crystal ringing like a bell. He countered with a knee strike that sent the attacker flying.
Three breaths.
Heat surged.
Ben switched mid-motion—Heatblast, flames condensing tightly around his limbs.
Four breaths.
A jet of fire blasted downward, propelling Ben upward as he flipped over an incoming strike, landing behind the stealth attacker.
Five breaths.
A focused burst of flame slammed into the man's back, hurling him into a wall.
Ben felt it.
The limiter tightening.
His chest burned.
Six breaths.
He disengaged immediately, rolling backward as the Omnitrix's glow flickered violently.
Cooldown imminent.
Ben skidded to a stop, gasping as the transformation snapped off hard, backlash ripping through his body.
He dropped to one knee.
The mercenaries froze.
The leader stared, eyes narrowed. "Six breaths," he murmured. "You stopped early."
Ben panted, wiping blood from his mouth. "Yeah. I like leaving before the bill comes due."
The mercenaries exchanged glances.
Two were down. One badly injured. One unconscious.
The leader exhaled slowly.
"Withdraw," he ordered.
"What?" one protested. "We haven't—"
"Withdraw," the leader repeated sharply.
They stepped back, melting into the shadows.
The leader lingered a moment longer, meeting Ben's gaze.
"You fight like someone who knows when to stop," he said. "That makes you more dangerous than someone who doesn't."
He turned away.
When they were gone, Ben collapsed backward, chest heaving.
Lin Yue rushed to his side. "Ben!"
"I'm okay," he gasped. "I think. Mostly."
She helped him sit up, eyes scanning him anxiously. "You could've died."
Ben laughed weakly. "Welcome to my life."
Old Liang emerged from the shadows, clapping slowly.
"Well done," he said. "You used six breaths to defeat six enemies."
Ben glared up at him. "That's not a compliment."
"It is," Liang replied. "You left four breaths unused."
Ben frowned.
Liang continued, "Murim teaches excess. You practiced restraint."
He crouched in front of Ben. "Now the valley knows something important."
"What?" Ben asked.
Liang smiled thinly. "That the leash does not make you harmless."
The Omnitrix pulsed faintly.
Limiter Stress RecordedAdaptive Pathway DetectedCondition: Repeated Constraint
Ben swallowed. "That doesn't sound comforting."
"It isn't," Liang said. "It means the watch is learning how to fight against the leash."
Ben stared down at it.
For the first time since arriving in Murim, he felt something dangerous stirring—not power, not fear.
Adaptation.
Somewhere in Blackstone Valley, people whispered.
The anomaly had fought under restriction.
And won.
Far away, sect elders received updated reports.
The prey was no longer running.
It was calculating.