He sat back again, one arm draped lazily across the rock behind him, the same amused glint still dancing in his eyes. He wasn't done—not even close.
And his gaze?
Drifted.
Right to Yuxin.
Who had gone back to laying down, hands behind her head, eyes half-lidded like none of this was her problem anymore.
"Hey. You."
Yuxin didn't move.
"...Brave Girl."
Still nothing.
Kael scratched his jaw, trying to remember.
"Yuzi? Yuma? …Yogurt?"
Yuxin finally turned her head just enough to glare sideways at him.
"Yuxin."
Kael snapped his fingers.
"Knew it."
She groaned.
"What do you want now?"
Kael leaned forward slightly, voice casual—but with just enough curiosity behind it to show he meant the question.
"Have you ever been to the Pit?"
That got her attention.
Her eyes narrowed a little—not cautious, just… measuring.
"Once."
Kael raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah."
"And?"
Yuxin shrugged.
"Loud. Smelled like sweat, rust, and testosterone. One guy offered to bite me mid-fight."
Kael laughed, loud and unbothered.
"Classic."
He tilted his head.
"Did you fight while you were there?"
Yuxin shook her head.
"Nope. Just watched. Stayed for fifteen minutes, left when someone got punched through a wall."
"Sounds like one of our qualifiers."
He rubbed his hands together once, visibly more interested now.
"Well, if you ever do come back, how 'bout a spar? Me and you. No audience. Just fists, Pacta, and one hell of a bruise count."
Yuxin blinked.
Then sat up a bit straighter—just enough to look him in the eye with that deadpan stare she weaponized better than most people swung swords.
"Hard pass."
Kael blinked.
"Why?"
"Because I'm not dumb."
"Come on—"
"No offense, but you'd wipe the floor with me. Then put me through the floor. Then probably punch the floor again just to prove a point."
Kael grinned wider, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I mean… yeah. That sounds about right."
"Exactly."
She flopped back down.
"I'm not suicidal."
Kael shrugged.
"Fair. But hey—door's open. If you ever feel like bleeding a little for fun, you know where to find us."
"Tempting," she muttered flatly. "Maybe right after I jump into a volcano."
Kael stood, stretching once with a loud crack of his shoulder.
"That's the spirit."
Then, with a short wave and no further announcement, he turned and strolled back toward his own crew, still whistling low under his breath like he hadn't just tried to recruit one of the most sarcastic girls in the tournament.
Rea leaned sideways toward Yuxin from her spot beside the fire.
"I ship it."
"Shut up."
"Pit Princess x Battle Gorilla. Think about it."
"I will suffocate you in your sleep."
Ruka, sitting between them, sighed.
"...I'm surrounded by problems."
Vila, overhead in a branch, took a slow bite of dried fruit.
"You'll get used to it."
The fire had died down.
The moss-stained stones that marked Checkpoint 30 were quiet again, save for the soft sound of boots on soil and the occasional whisper of Pacta residue dissolving into the wind.
It was Kael's crew who moved first.
No goodbyes. No warnings. No interest in sticking around longer than necessary.
Kael just stood, cracked his neck like someone clocking into a shift, and motioned for his team with a lazy jerk of his chin.
"Let's take the cliffside route. More room to punch things."
One of his guys snorted.
The other already had knives out before they'd even left the perimeter.
Without waiting for acknowledgment, Kael veered left—into the denser, darker side of the ridge, where the rocks turned jagged and the trees leaned close like they wanted to listen. His silhouette disappeared quickly, swallowed by overgrowth.
And just like that, the chaotic gravity of Kael Dymont was gone.
What remained was quieter.
More human.
More… tired.
Team Silas, on the other hand, took their time.
Silas hadn't moved for a while, just standing near the edge of the checkpoint with arms folded, eyes watching the fading trail of Kael like he was measuring the future in footsteps.
Then he spoke, mostly to himself.
"No point rushing."
Blanche overheard.
"Strategic stalling?"
Silas nodded once.
"And preservation. The next section drains more than stamina."
Rea immediately groaned.
"Ugh. Emotional terrain? Are we about to walk through feelings?"
"Illusions," Silas corrected.
"So yes. Feelings. Worst element."
Rea flopped backward dramatically, already complaining before they moved. Silas waited. No rush. No tension. Just intent.
Which left only Team Blanche.
The last to move.
Blanche stood, adjusting her gloves again—not because they needed tightening, but because it kept her hands steady. She looked toward the trail Kael didn't take. The central route. Narrow. Winding. Covered in light mist and twisting like it couldn't decide where it was going.
"We're moving."
Yuxin cracked her neck and stood, shadows curling slightly at her feet.
"No more babysitters, huh."
"Just us," Blanche said.
Ruka nodded, hugging her plushie close.
Vila didn't say anything. She was already three steps ahead, quiet, observant, her pace light on the trail.
They ran.
No words.
Just the sound of four synchronized heartbeats, and the low, distant echo of the wilderness ahead of them.
This was the first time in hours—maybe the whole trial—that no other team was in view.
No Silas. No Kael. No Rea. No Seryn.
Just them.
Alone.
Exposed.
Unseen.
And that was either a blessing…
Or the start of something worse.
Their feet hit the trail in rhythm.
Leaves parted. Roots dodged under instinct. No words had been exchanged for the last few minutes. Just the consistent pulse of effort, the sound of boots on damp ground, and the dull hum of Pacta signatures embedded into the earth.
Then, finally—Ruka spoke.
Her voice was soft, hesitant, bouncing lightly through the air between gasps of breath.
"Um… I know it's kinda late to ask this, but…"
Yuxin glanced sideways mid-run, eyebrow twitching.
"You're about to ask something obvious, aren't you."
"I'm curious, okay?!"
"Of course you are."
Blanche didn't look back. She just kept her pace steady, voice cutting through the forest like a command.
"Ask, Ruka."
"What kind of powers do Silas and Rea really have? I mean—I've seen some of it but... not clearly. They act like they don't need anyone else on their team and no one questions it."
There was a brief silence.
Then Blanche answered—without hesitation, but with clarity.
"Silas is a rare triple Pacta wielder."
Ruka blinked.
"Wait. Triple?"
"Enhancement. Perception. Channeling," Blanche listed off, each word landing with weight. "He's trained in martial application, but not just brawling. Every movement he makes is calculated. The Caelumotris family trains their successors to be walking fortresses with a brain sharper than their sword."
Yuxin scoffed slightly.
"Yeah, that tracks."
Blanche continued, voice as precise as ever.
"His Channeling Pacta—Judicara—lets him draw cards from an Arc Loop, each tied to a Major Arcana. Every card grants him a new technique, a new law of combat. Some affect momentum, some control the battlefield, some act like judgments—rendering enemy Pacta unstable for a moment."
Ruka blinked in awe.
"Like... reverse engineering your ability mid-fight?"
"Exactly. He can strip an enemy of control for seconds—and seconds are fatal in combat."
Blanche's tone shifted, just slightly.
"He's not flashy. He's not loud. But you'd be dead before you realized he moved."
Vila, quiet until now, chimed in softly.
"He reads everything. I've never seen him miss a beat."
Blanche nodded.
"Now Rea... is the opposite."
"Yeah, that I noticed," Yuxin muttered.
Blanche allowed the corner of her mouth to lift for a breath.
"She uses Perception, Hexing, and Possession. But her strongest asset isn't her power—it's her unpredictability."
She took a breath mid-run.
"Rea's brain works like a constantly shifting probability map. Her Slipfield Locus passively maps likely outcomes during battle. She doesn't just guess your next move—she sees it. Even if it changes."
"So she reacts before it even happens?"
"Yes. And her Possession Pacta lets her amplify her reflexes in bursts. Enough to dodge attacks most of us wouldn't even register. Her Hexing abilities are... less combat-heavy. More disruptive. Stasis Cage, Paranoia Motes, vision distortion, and mood manipulation."
"Mood manipulation?!" Ruka squeaked.
"Emotion-based debuffs. She can heighten fear, suppress confidence. It messes with decision-making."
Yuxin made a face.
"She's a chaos engine."
"Correct. And together, the two of them cover almost every strategic angle. Offense, defense, tempo, perception, utility, suppression..."
Blanche's voice grew heavier.
"That's why they don't need a third member. They are a complete team."
The group fell silent.
Only the sound of the wind and their footsteps filled the trail.
Then Yuxin muttered—
"Still not sparring either of them."
"Same," Vila said.
"Yeah," Ruka whispered. "Me too."
"You weren't invited," Yuxin added.
"I know," Ruka replied sadly.
Blanche inhaled deeply, her eyes locked forward.
"We're not them. But that doesn't mean we're lesser. We play differently. We have our own rhythm. And if we learn to sync as tightly as they do—"
She glanced back.
Eyes sharp.
"—then no one can touch us either."
And with that, they pushed forward.
Faster now.
Because now… they knew what they were chasing.
And more importantly—why they couldn't afford to fall behind.