Regns stood in front of his six students—Leah, Mira, Kiro, Seouk, Renji, and Diago. The dark realm was quiet. Everyone was still, except for Leah, who lay weak on the ground, and Mira, standing nearby, drained from her earlier fight.
Regns was healing Leah with glowing dark energy flowing from his hands. As he worked, he looked up at the others.
His voice was calm, but strong.
"Power is something that comes at ease. But if you can't control it, then it becomes a waste."
Everyone listened quietly. No one dared interrupt him.
"Mira, Kiro, Seouk, Renji, Diago… and you too, Leah," he said, glancing down at her. "You've all received your powers. That's good. But don't let it get to your heads. You must still train harder."
Regns' eyes glowed slightly, his face serious.
"My goal is to make you strong enough to fight even the greatest Vessel ever."
Suddenly, a wave of dark aura burst from his body. It was so powerful that the pressure pushed everyone to the ground. Their knees hit the floor. Even the strongest of them couldn't stand straight. Renji clenched his teeth. Mira gasped. Kiro struggled to lift his head.
It felt like the god of darkness himself had awakened.
Regns smiled as they trembled.
"I'll train you until your battle forms are strong enough to rival even some gods."
Then the aura vanished, as if it was never there. The pressure lifted. Everyone slowly stood again, breathing heavily.
Regns crossed his arms and smirked.
"My bad. I was just excited thinking about what you all will become soon."
Then he turned his head toward the training field and said,
"The next match is Kiro vs Seouk."
Seouk chuckled. Then he laughed loud and proud.
"So I'm fighting little Kiro? That's too bad for him," he said, grinning and shaking his head.
Kiro didn't smile. His face was cold. His fists were clenched. His eyes were sharp with quiet anger.
He looked straight at Seouk.
"You think you're something great," Kiro said in a low voice. "Today I'll show you something else."
He was still upset about how badly Mira had hurt Leah earlier. That fire in his heart hadn't gone away.
Regns looked at him.
"Only the weak gets beaten, like Leah," he said, watching Kiro closely.
Kiro's anger boiled hotter. He said nothing, but his hands shook slightly. His body was tense. The others stepped back, giving the fighters space. Even Mira looked at Kiro, surprised by his serious expression.
Then, Leah opened her eyes. Weak, but conscious.
She raised her hand slowly and said, "Kiro... win."
Kiro didn't turn to her. But he heard her. And that was enough.
Regns raised his hand and called out, "Begin."
Seouk's face changed in a second. He was no longer smiling. His eyes turned sharp. He clenched his fists tightly, his arms glowing with purple and sky blue energy.
He shouted, "God Form: Form 1! Presence Sound Wave!"
A loud hum filled the air. Powerful rings of sound energy formed in his hands. They twisted and spun like drills, aimed straight at Kiro.
The wind howled.
But Kiro didn't flinch. His eyes were cold. He raised his left arm slowly to the side.
Purple energy gathered around him—darker, denser than Seouk's. It surged from his body in sharp waves.
Then, Kiro spoke.
"Case Form: Form 1. Gravity Blocks."
Suddenly, a chunk of the earth around him rose up. It rolled itself into a thick, solid ball—like a shell—and pulled Kiro inside just as Seouk launched his sound wave attack.
The sound rings crashed into the earth ball.
BOOM!
The ground shook. Dust flew everywhere.
Seouk smiled. "Too easy," he said, brushing his hair back.
But when the dust cleared... Kiro stood behind the shattered earth ball. Not a scratch on him.
Seouk's smile disappeared.
"What…?"
Before he could react, Kiro moved.
He raised both hands, and a wave of purple gravity energy rushed forward. Seouk tried to jump back—but the energy grabbed his legs, locking them in place.
Kiro dashed forward—fast.
He appeared in front of Seouk in one blink and drove a strong punch into Seouk's gut.
Seouk's eyes widened. Spit flew from his mouth. His body bent forward, but Kiro wasn't done.
"Gravity Push!" Kiro yelled.
An invisible force blasted Seouk backward. He slammed into a boulder behind him. The rock cracked and broke around him.
"Argh!" Seouk groaned.
The boulder shattered. Rocks fell. Seouk's body rolled out onto the ground, broken and bruised.
He tried to get up, shaking and coughing.
He looked up at Kiro with blood at the corner of his lips.
"How… how did you..? I'm a Vessel. You're just someone who got power from another Vessel," he said weakly.
Kiro didn't say anything. His face was blank.
Regns stepped forward. His boots crunched the dirt as he walked up to Seouk.
He looked down at him with no pity.
Then, without warning, he stepped on Seouk's chest and pushed him flat to the ground again.
"Being a Vessel doesn't mean you can't be beaten by someone else. Especially someone with more heart," Regns said sharply.
Seouk groaned under his foot.
"I won't heal you," Regns said. "This is your punishment for looking down on others."
The others stood in silence, stunned by what they just saw.
Regns turned to Kiro.
"And Kiro… I only said those things to make you angry. To push you harder toward victory."
Kiro looked at him, eyes still cold.
Then he let out a slow breath… and smiled just a little.