Flow reduced cost.
Pressure revealed weakness.
Ethan stood alone, his Ten active, his body calm and aligned. His breathing had slowed beyond effort. Even in stillness, his body remained ready—not tense, not rigid, but prepared.
The door opened.
The fighter entered.
This time, he did not walk.
He appeared in front of Ethan.
Fast.
Faster than before.
No warning.
No distance.
Strike.
Ethan reacted instantly.
His body moved with the strike, not away from it. He shifted just enough to avoid the center of force.
The strike grazed him.
Not clean.
Not complete.
But closer than before.
The man did not stop.
Another strike followed immediately.
No pause.
No reset.
Pressure.
Ethan activated Silent Authority.
"Slow."
The hesitation came.
Barely.
Enough.
He stepped aside.
The strike passed.
But the next one came sooner.
Faster.
The man was reducing Ethan's time.
Reducing his options.
Increasing pressure.
Strike.
Strike.
Strike.
No pattern.
No rhythm.
Only force applied through precision.
Ethan's body responded.
Not perfectly.
Not easily.
But correctly.
His Ten reinforced his structure.
His Ren defined his authority.
His movement preserved distance.
Still—
One strike landed.
His shoulder absorbed it.
Pain followed.
Brief.
Sharp.
Real.
Ethan did not fall.
He did not retreat.
He adjusted.
Pressure exposed delay.
Delay exposed weakness.
The man struck again.
Ethan moved sooner.
Not after.
Before.
His body aligned with the motion before impact.
The strike missed.
The man stopped.
Silence filled the room.
He observed Ethan carefully.
"Pressure removes illusion," he said.
Not praise.
Truth.
"It reveals what remains."
He stepped closer.
"When pressure increases…"
He paused.
"…false structure collapses."
He turned toward the door.
"True structure survives."
Then he left.
The door closed.
Ethan remained standing.
His Ten active.
His shoulder is aching.
His breathing is steady.
Pressure had reached him.
But it had not broken him.
He understood now.
The Flow was not enough.
Authority was not enough.
Timing was not enough.
All of it had to remain intact—
Even under pressure.
He activated Ren slightly.
Contained.
Defined.
Stable.
And for the first time—
Pressure did not feel like a threat.
It felt like refinement.