FISTBOUND. I Ascend With Every New Upgrade.

The training hall was colder than before, a cavern of metal and echoing silence. Fluorescent lights flickered overhead, casting spectral shadows on the arena floor. Arcane circuits pulsed faintly beneath the transparent tiles, glowing like veins under skin. It wasn't just a training chamber it was a crucible.

[Duel Simulation: ACTIVE]

Combatants: Levi Lupin — Juggernaut Class vs. Aera Lin — Nerveweaver Class

Performance Stakes: Rating Adjustments. Non-lethal parameters: OFF.

Aera stood with her arms loosely at her sides, breathing slow and controlled. No smirk. No mockery. Just focused intensity.

"Ready, Juggernaut?"

Levi's knuckles cracked. His muscles ached from last night's drills, and a dull throb pulsed along his ribs, but something within him, his Core, shuddered awake.

"Always."

BEGIN.

A blink and Aera vanished.

Levi's instincts screamed. He twisted, just in time to feel the sting of her fist graze his shoulder. Not a full hit but fast. Too fast. He swung wide with a retaliatory strike, only to punch empty air.

She darted again, now to the right then feinted and drove her knee into his side.

[Pain Registered — Focus +1]

He absorbed it, gritting his teeth. He managed a glancing forearm block as her second jab came. Not enough to stop it. Enough to slow it.

"You're faster," he growled, circling.

"You're slower," she countered.

Then she came in hard. Fists blurred. Levi roared and charged through her next feint, arms open like a battering ram. He caught her barely—twisting her elbow and dragging her downward in a controlled slam.

[Juggernaut Trait: Momentum Lock – Active]

Aera responded instantly, driving her elbow into his ribs. He felt another crack—or maybe the same rib again. Still, he didn't let go.

She dropped to the floor, coiled like a spring, and exploded backward. Levi stumbled, shaking off the pain.

"You could've ended it," she said, breath quickening.

"So could you."

They circled again. A thin sheen of sweat lined their brows. Neither looked away.

The lights in the chamber flickered.

[Simulation Update: Observation Mode – Arkan Activated]

High above the chamber, in the glass control room, Arkan stood watching. His arms folded behind his back, expression as hard as forged iron.

"Continue," he ordered.

Aera struck first this time, and Levi felt the difference. Her blows weren't just fast—they were surgical. Designed to test nerves, confuse rhythm, break focus.

He blocked the first, rolled with the second, and then finally landed a brutal body hook that sent her skidding back.

[Surge Point Achieved – Strength +1]

She grinned, despite the bruise forming across her ribs.

"Nice hit, Juggernaut."

"Still standing, Nerveweaver?"

"Barely."

Then they clashed again.

This time, Levi went low, feinted a shoulder bash, and drove upward with a rising elbow. Aera twisted midair, using the momentum to counter-spin—her foot grazed his jaw as she flipped over.

He staggered.

She didn't follow. Not yet.

"You've improved," she said, pacing.

"So have you."

"No. You're not listening. You've adapted. That wasn't brute force back there. That was instinct. That was Core sync."

Levi frowned, then nodded slowly.

"Yeah," he admitted. "Something clicked."

They both stood silently, the weight of the moment sinking in.

Then the system chimed:

[Simulation Suspended – Duel Inconclusive]

[Respect Tag Unlocked]

Aera stepped back, wiping her brow. "You were holding back."

"So were you."

They exited the chamber side by side. Outside, Arkan waited.

"That was passable," he said. "Barely."

"Was it the test?" Levi asked.

Arkan's one red eye glinted.

"That? That was warm-up."

The hallway lights dimmed, and a new ping echoed in Levi's mind:

[Directive Update: 'The Reign Protocol']

Ronan Reign has issued a formal challenge. Countdown: 72 Hours.

The observation deck buzzed with muted tension. Other initiates watched Levi with a new measure of caution. Not awe yet but wariness. Respect.

Aera sat beside him on the sparring platform, silence thick between them.

"I thought you'd end it with that elbow," she said quietly.

"Thought I would too," he replied. "Guess you twist like a damn snake."

She smiled faintly. "You'd be dead if I didn't."

Levi looked at his hands. They still trembled faintly from the adrenaline, the rush of synchronized combat.

"Three days," he said. "Until Ronan."

She nodded. "Then train with me."

He turned toward her, surprised.

"You're offering?"

"I'm offering survival," she said. "For both of us."

He hesitated.

"I'll take it."

Before another word could be exchanged, Levi's Core shimmered. An alert pulsed softly in the back of his mind:

[Core Trait Suggestion – Hybrid Synchronization Detected]

Path Integration Option Available: Juggernaut/Phantom — Proto Sync. Initiate?

His breath caught. Hybridization? Already?

Aera noticed his pause. "System showing you something?"

He nodded.

"Then we start at dawn," she said. "No breaks. No excuses."

Levi nodded, fists curling.

Hours later, in the dorm chamber, Levi stood under the cold shower, letting the water numb the burn in his muscles. His mind replayed every step of the duel.

But more than that it played Ronan's face. That brutal grin. That overwhelming pressure.

"Seventy-two hours," Levi whispered.

He exited the shower, dried off quickly, and dressed in silence. A message waited on his bunk:

FROM: Viktor

Subject: He's Ready. Are You?

He didn't reply.

Instead, he tapped his Core screen, activating the Hybrid Sync suggestion.

[Juggernaut/Phantom – Proto Sync Activated] Trait Unlocked: Phantom Weight Transfer – Momentum Redirection +25% New Move: Displacement Drive – Tactical Step + Counterflow Punch

His Core burned like fire and ice. His veins pulsed with recalibrated rhythm.

He collapsed to his knees.

[Pain Echo Registered – Train to Adapt or Suffer Debilitation]

He gritted his teeth, breathing through it.

"I'll adapt."

Then, after a long silence, he whispered:

"I have to."

Because in seventy-two hours, Ronan Reign wasn't coming to spar.

He was coming to end him.

And Levi Lupin wasn't going down again.

Not now. Not ever.

Outside the dormitory, the moon cast a pale glow across the academy's upper towers. Somewhere below, Arkan met with Viktor in the shadowed corridor beneath the archive chamber.

"He's syncing faster than we predicted," Arkan said, voice low.

Viktor lit a cigar, smoke curling from his lips like a serpent. "Because he was never supposed to survive. That kind of desperation makes you... creative."

"You're playing a dangerous game."

Viktor exhaled, eyes glowing faintly. "I always do."

They turned back toward the corridor, unaware that Levi—half-dressed, Core still glowing—stood just around the corner.

He had heard every word.

And he wasn't going to forget.