The shift did not announce itself.
There was no command, no signal, no formal beginning to what came next.
And that—
Was the first sign.
Karna entered the training ground expecting resistance, distortion, and uncertainty, but what he found instead was something far more difficult to grasp.
Absence.
Not emptiness of space.
But absence of pattern.
No structured stance.
No synchronized breathing from opponents.
No rhythm in movement.
Even the air itself felt inconsistent, as if the environment refused to settle into any recognizable flow.
Duryodhana stepped in behind him, his grip tightening slightly around his mace as his eyes scanned the area with visible irritation.
"…This feels wrong."
Karna did not respond immediately.
Because "wrong" implied deviation from something known.
This—
Had no reference point.
The instructor stood at a distance, arms behind his back, watching without intention of interference.
"You have learned structure," he said calmly.
