The next stage did not feel like training.
It felt like removal.
Not of space.
Not of opponents.
But of certainty itself.
When Karna stepped into the ground that morning, the first thing he noticed was not the environment—it was the absence of feedback. The air did not respond to him. The flow did not present itself clearly. Even the subtle distortions he had begun adapting to in the previous phase were now… muted.
Not chaotic.
Not unstable.
Just—
Unreadable.
Duryodhana walked in beside him, his usual confidence still present, but quieter now, more focused than before. He had learned enough to recognize when something was different.
"…This again?"
Karna shook his head slightly.
"No."
A pause.
"This is deeper."
The instructor stood ahead, silent as always, but today his presence carried something heavier. Not pressure. Not threat. But intent.
"You have learned to move without certainty," he said.
A brief pause.
"Now move without sight."
