The air in the training hall was heavy with silence. The only sound was the quiet creak of floorboards as Daniel stood still, fists clenched, his body trembling—not from exhaustion, but frustration.
Jay Leno, leaning lazily against the wall with his hands in the pocket, raised an eyebrow.
"You've been quiet since the fight. What's eating you?"
Daniel looked up, eyes shadowed by fatigue and disappointment.
"I'm not getting stronger," he said. "I mean, I am... stronger than when I first came here. But it's not enough. I'm still far from ascending."
Jay studied him. "You're close, though. You've made progress."
"But I've hit a wall," Daniel growled. "It's like… everything I do isn't enough. Like there's a ceiling I just can't break."
Jay didn't answer immediately. He stepped away from the wall, walking slowly in a circle around Daniel.
"To awaken, to truly ascend," Jay said, "depends on the person. It's not just about training harder or fighting better."
Daniel narrowed his eyes.
"Then what is it?"
Jay stopped in front of him.
"You need ego. Real ego. The kind that shakes your bones and bleeds into your soul. Ascendancy isn't a reward for strength. It's a response to obsession."
Daniel stayed quiet.
Jay continued, voice low and deliberate. "What do you want power for, Daniel?"
Daniel didn't answer.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then—
A flash.
A memory.
Laughter. Cruel words. Fake smiles. Rejection.
Faces of the ones who called him brother, friend—now twisted in disgust and betrayal. Hands that once helped him now pushed him away.
He remembered the pain. The emptiness. The hatred.
He clenched his fists tighter, nails digging into his palms until they bled.
"I want to destroy them," he whispered. "Everyone who betrayed me."
Jay scoffed. "That kind of ego is pathetic."
Daniel's eyes snapped up in fury, but Jay stared him down with eyes that had seen a hundred fighters rise and fall.
"You think revenge makes you worthy? No. It makes you blind. Vicious, sure—but still lost."
Jay stepped closer, looking him dead in the eye.
"Get beaten. Get humiliated. Get broken. And in that pain, find your real ego. Find the reason you have to rise. Then, and only then… you'll awaken."
The words hit harder than any punch Daniel had taken.
He stood there, jaw tight, the fire inside him no longer chaotic rage—but something deeper. Something older. Something forming.
Then the system appeared.
[Ascendency Progress: 90%]