Distance gave him survival.
Reaction gave him control.
Ethan stood in the center of the room, his Ten active, his body still. The memory of the knife remained clear in his mind—not the weapon itself, but the moment before it moved.
That moment mattered most.
The door opened.
The fighter entered.
No weapon this time.
Only himself.
He stepped inside and stopped.
No explanation.
No instruction.
He moved.
Fast.
No warning.
Strike.
Ethan did not speak.
He did not activate Silent Authority.
He moved.
His body shifted instinctively, stepping just outside the strike's path. The man's arm passed through empty space.
Not by prediction.
By reaction.
The man struck again.
Faster.
Closer.
Ethan raised his guard.
The impact landed against his arm.
He did not fall.
He did not lose balance.
His Ten absorbed part of the force.
His body absorbed the rest.
He endured.
The man stepped back.
Then forward again.
Strike.
Ethan activated Silent Authority.
"Slow."
The man's motion hesitated.
Not stopped.
Delayed.
Ethan moved immediately.
Not after.
Not late.
During.
He stepped inside the strike's path.
Closer.
Safer.
The man stopped.
The test paused.
Silence filled the room.
"You begin to combine them," the man said.
Not praise.
Recognition.
"Body."
He raised his hand slightly.
"Nen."
He lowered it.
"Reaction."
He stepped closer.
"Most rely on one."
He paused.
"You use all."
He stepped back.
"Again."
He struck.
Faster than before.
Ethan reacted.
No hesitation.
No delay.
His body moved before his thoughts formed.
Silent Authority existed within him—not spoken, not activated loudly—but defined.
The man's motion slowed.
Barely.
Enough.
Ethan avoided the strike completely.
Clean.
Controlled.
Correct.
The man stopped.
The lesson ended.
He turned toward the door.
"Reaction defines survival," he said.
He paused.
"Authority defines outcome."
Then he left.
The door closed.
Ethan remained standing.
His Ten active.
His breathing steady.
His body no longer resisted movement.
It responded.
Naturally.
And for the first time—
His reaction did not follow the attack.
It met it.