Night fell over Virelith.
But the city did not sleep.
Energy bridges glowed softly between towers, and defensive formations rotated silently in the sky. From above, the Dominion looked flawless.
Order perfected.
Below that surface—
Something was wrong.
Kael felt it first.
Not pressure.
Not killing intent.
Absence.
A hollow distortion beneath the spiritual flow of the city.
He stopped walking mid-bridge.
Lyra halted beside him instantly.
"You sensed it."
"Yes."
Her eyes shifted slightly as her system began active analysis.
[Optimization Protocol: Environmental Deviation Detected]
[Probability of Artificial Energy Manipulation: 64%]
Kael leaned on the railing casually.
"They're already here."
Lyra didn't deny it.
Instead, she asked:
"How deep?"
Before he could answer—
A scream echoed from a lower platform.
Sharp. Brief.
Cut off instantly.
Both of them moved.
They landed silently in an alleyway between crystal towers.
Three Dominion enforcers stood frozen mid-motion.
Eyes open.
Bodies intact.
But lifeless.
No wounds.
No spiritual backlash.
Just… stopped.
Kael stepped closer.
His system pulsed.
[Alert: Hunter Signature Residue Confirmed]
Lyra's voice was quiet.
"Extraction method. They are testing containment efficiency."
Kael crouched slightly, studying the faint distortion lines in the air.
"Not random."
"No," she agreed. "This is data collection."
Suddenly—
One of the frozen bodies cracked.
Not from impact.
From within.
Thin fractures of silver light spread across the enforcer's skin.
Kael's eyes sharpened.
"Move."
They both leapt back.
The body collapsed into particles of white dust.
No blood.
No remains.
Erased.
Silence returned.
Lyra spoke first.
"They're studying reaction speed."
Kael exhaled slowly.
"And escalation threshold."
A faint ripple passed across the sky above the city.
Subtle.
Almost imperceptible.
But Kael saw it.
A thin geometric pattern forming high above Virelith.
A net.
He smiled faintly.
"They're building a cage."
Lyra turned toward him sharply.
"For you."
He didn't deny it.
Footsteps approached.
Dominion guards flooded the area.
One commander stepped forward.
"Stand down!"
Kael straightened slowly.
"You're late."
The commander's expression darkened as he saw the dust remains.
"Another one…"
Lyra stepped forward calmly.
"You've known for how long?"
The commander hesitated.
That was answer enough.
Kael's tone cooled.
"You're letting them operate inside your city."
The commander clenched his jaw.
"We are tracking them."
"No," Lyra corrected softly. "You are being measured."
The commander looked at her sharply.
"What do you suggest?"
Kael answered before she could.
"Stop reacting."
Silence.
The guards looked confused.
Kael continued calmly:
"They want to see how your formation network responds. So stop responding."
The commander frowned.
"That makes no sense."
"It makes perfect sense," Lyra said.
"If you show defensive escalation patterns, they optimize countermeasures."
The commander's eyes widened slightly.
They understood.
Too late.
Above the city—
The geometric net shimmered more clearly now.
Most citizens couldn't see it.
But system hosts could.
Kael felt his Infinite Ascension System humming—not violently.
Adapting.
[Analysis: Dimensional Suppression Grid Constructing]
He closed his eyes briefly.
Not resisting.
Observing.
Lyra studied him carefully.
"You're not increasing output."
"No."
"You're letting it form."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Kael opened his eyes.
"Because I want to see how they think."
That answer made something flicker behind her calm expression.
He wasn't reckless.
He was learning the predator.
Suddenly—
The sky split.
Not visibly to ordinary cultivators.
But to those attuned—
A tear opened.
And something descended.
Not a full Hunter.
A fragment.
Humanoid in outline.
Faceless.
Silver.
It hovered silently above the city center.
The Dominion's defensive arrays activated automatically.
Energy cannons charged.
Kael whispered:
"Don't."
Too late.
The cannons fired.
The beams passed through the silver figure harmlessly.
Then—
The defensive towers flickered.
One by one.
Disabled.
The net above tightened.
Citizens began panicking as formations destabilized.
Lyra's system spiked.
[Optimization Alert: City Collapse Probability Rising]
Kael stepped forward slowly.
Finally—
He allowed his power to rise.
But not explosively.
Not recklessly.
Controlled.
Measured.
The Infinite Ascension System adjusted output in precise increments.
The suppression grid pressed down—
And Kael pushed back just enough to resist without shattering it.
The silver fragment turned its faceless head toward him.
Target acquired.
Lyra moved beside him.
"You cannot overpower this construct directly."
"I'm not going to."
He looked upward calmly.
"I'm going to teach it."
Then—
He did something unexpected.
He lowered his energy slightly.
The grid recalibrated.
Adjusted.
Lyra's eyes widened subtly.
"He's mapping its response intervals…"
Kael smiled faintly.
He increased output again—slightly higher than before.
The grid adapted again.
Data flowing both ways.
The silver fragment tilted its head further.
Processing.
Studying.
But now—
Kael was studying back.
This wasn't a fight.
It was a negotiation of physics.
The Dominion commander stared in disbelief.
"He's synchronizing with it…"
Lyra watched Kael carefully.
He wasn't escalating emotionally.
He wasn't furious.
He wasn't proving dominance.
He was becoming strategic.
And that realization…
Stayed with her.
Because one day—
If survival required it—
A strategic Kael would be far harder to predict than a reckless one.
Above them—
The silver fragment flickered.
For the first time—
It hesitated.
Then—
It withdrew.
The net dissolved.
The fracture in the sky sealed.
Silence fell across Virelith.
Kael exhaled slowly.
[System Notification: Dimensional Grid Pattern Acquired]
[Control Parameter Increased]
Lyra looked at him.
"You gained something."
"Yes."
"What?"
He glanced at her briefly.
"Options."
High above the world—
A distant voice spoke within the void.
"Subject has begun adaptive reasoning."
Pause.
"Escalate complexity."