The arena was quiet except for the low hum of the runes embedded in the floor and walls. Dust motes danced lazily in the faint light, but the energy in the air was heavy — charged with anticipation.
Kaelen wiped the sweat from his brow, still seated from the last spar, and looked up at Tessandra with narrowed eyes.
"I… want another round," he said, voice calm but determined. "No holding back this time."
Tessandra tilted her head, lips curving into a rare, soft laugh that carried authority and amusement all at once.
"You want it?" she said, rising gracefully to her feet. "Very well… then show me what your mind and body are truly capable of, Kaelen Veystrum."
Kaelen pushed himself up, feeling the familiar hum of his circuits pulsing through him — Gravity and Chrono, intertwined and ready. His white hair with a sky-blue streak shimmered faintly as his aura ignited.
The arena seemed to warp subtly as gravity fluctuated, a prelude to his first strike.
Tessandra relaxed, her stance loose, deceptively casual. But her eyes — sharp and calculating — followed every quiver of his muscles, every twitch of his fingers. She wasn't preparing to block… she was preparing to predict.
Kaelen lunged first.
Gravity surged outward from him, slamming Tessandra with invisible forcewaves that pushed her backward. Yet she didn't stumble. With a flick of her wrist, she adjusted her own weight, her body twisting midair with a fluidity that made her motion almost imperceptible. She countered with a spinning kick aimed at his chest — precise, fast, and sharp.
Kaelen activated his Chrono Circuit. Time slowed. Every millisecond stretched into what felt like seconds. He pivoted midair, avoiding the kick, and retaliated with a gravity-infused punch. The force compressed the air, forming a concussive shockwave that shattered part of the arena floor.
The battle escalated instantly.
Kaelen moved like a storm — gravity bending around him, allowing him to launch, glide, and redirect with impossible precision. Each strike was calculated, each movement anticipating her counters. He flowed from one combination to another: spinning kicks, elbow strikes, punches that carried the weight of miniature meteors.
Tessandra's eyes glimmered, unshaken.
She leaped, twisting her body in a perfect arc, evading a gravity-boosted sweep. In a single motion, she executed a double palm strike — a combination of pure physical force and circuit resonance. The shockwave rippled outward, forcing Kaelen back. He twisted midair, landing with grace, but the impact pushed him several meters away, leaving small craters where he had landed.
He adjusted. Focused. Adapted.
Gravity pulsed around him, compressing and stretching space as he moved. Time slowed further, but Tessandra was already anticipating him. She read the subtle tension in his shoulders, the way he exhaled, the micro-shifts in his weight.
Kaelen feinted left — then spun right, delivering a gravity-assisted roundhouse kick that cracked the arena's outer walls. Tessandra barely moved, twisting her body just enough to redirect his force harmlessly.
"Impressive," she murmured, her voice low, almost a whisper. "But your adaptation has limits."
She launched herself forward in a blur — not through movement, but through perfect anticipation. Her arms became a series of strikes, a flurry of martial precision: elbows, knees, palm strikes, and subtle joint manipulations. Kaelen blocked and dodged, but the force was relentless. Each block compressed his arms and legs to the limit, each dodge chipped away at his stamina.
Kaelen's gravity circuits flared. He launched an orbital assault — multiple gravity zones overlapping and twisting around her. Every strike he made was layered with time manipulation, making him appear in multiple positions simultaneously.
Tessandra only smiled faintly.
With one step, she became a pivot point of perfect balance. Every strike met a counter, every angle he exploited was neutralized by a combination of her martial skill and circuit control. Gravity pulled at her, time slowed around her, yet she flowed like water — precise, unshakable, lethal.
Kaelen realized — she wasn't just fast. She wasn't just strong. She read the battlefield itself.
He adapted midair, channeling both circuits into a spinning assault designed to overwhelm her defenses. The arena trembled; dust and debris whipped around in violent eddies. But Tessandra met him — not with brute force, but with finesse. Each of his strikes was deflected, redirected, absorbed in motion.
Finally, she stepped forward, aura flaring faintly gold. She pressed her palm against his chest again.
Time snapped back to normal. Gravity equalized. Kaelen hit the ground, knees buckling, breath leaving him in sharp gasps.
He looked up. Tessandra's eyes held no malice, only calm authority.
"You pushed further than I expected," she said. "Your adaptation is extraordinary. But remember this — skill without experience is like a blade without a hand to wield it."
Kaelen took the water she handed him, gulping it down. His heart raced, his mind burning with exhilaration.
"I… I'll get stronger," he said, a smirk tugging at his lips despite his exhaustion.
"I know," she replied softly. "And I will see that you do. But every victory comes with understanding, not just force. You must learn to predict the world, not just move faster than it."
Kaelen nodded, the spark in his eyes brighter than ever.
"By the way," she added, handing him a small device glowing faintly violet, "my real name is Tessandra Liones. You know it already, I see… but now, you have it officially. Remember it well."
Kaelen's eyes widened slightly, recognition and respect mingling with the thrill of the fight.
"I won't forget," he said.
Tessandra smiled faintly. "Good. Now rest. Tomorrow, we begin your real training. Not just against me… but against the Era itself."
Kaelen exhaled deeply, feeling the weight of her words and the thrill of the battle. For the first time, he realized that no matter how far his Gravity and Chrono circuits pushed him, there was always a next level, always a teacher who could surpass him — and Tessandra Liones was exactly that.
Arata's POV-
Above the arena, hidden behind a shimmering projection, I watched.
A faint smirk touched my lips.
"Good," I murmured. "Let the era of true prodigies unfold. And let Kaelen begin learning what it truly means to stand among kings and queens of the hidden world."