The room thrummed with energy. From the observation deck, the crowd leaned forward in disbelief as the faint golden glow around Rei intensified. His right and left eyes now burned in harmony, gold and white threads spiraling like twin suns.

  Lysander was the first to break the silence. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me! This guy’s a cheat!” He gestured wildly at the arena below. “I haven’t even hit my first enlightenment yet, and he’s already at his second!”

  Caleb chuckled from beside him, arms crossed. “Guess you’ll have to train harder, pretty boy.”

  “Oh shut up,” Lysander snapped, though there was no real bite behind his words. “This is absurd. That’s not normal progress!”

  Across the row, Luna tilted her head thoughtfully. “It’s not,” she admitted, her purple eyes gleaming. “Most of us spent training camp pushing our bodies. building stamina, learning control. Rei…” she looked down at him with quiet awe, “he grew inward. His grace evolved, not his muscles.”

  Victor laughed lightly, nudging Violet with an elbow. “Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”

  Violet arched an eyebrow. “Don’t start.”

  “You both obsessed over grace refinement instead of sparring. I’d say he’s your spiritual successor.”

  Vi scoffed. “Please. At least my grace wasn’t built for combat. Makes sense he’s advancing fast. He’s compensating for lost time.”

  Victor grinned. “And yet he’s *still* catching up.”

  “Shut up, Vic.”

  Their playful bickering was drowned by the eruption of cheers as the fight resumed below.

  Rei and Nikolai stood locked in a slow circle, weapons lowered slightly. The air shimmered faintly between them. Gold clashing with iridescent color, two opposing wavelengths vibrating in sync.

  Inside Rei’s mind, thoughts churned like an endless tide.

  What will you do in the present?

  Ariel’s words echoed once more, grounding him.

  He didn’t solve the riddle entirely. He didn’t need to. Instead, he focused on that last part. The present.

  The present isn’t linear

  It branches.

  Every choice, every second, was a fork. A decision could ripple forward or collapse on itself, building infinite paths.

  The present wasn’t one moment. It was all of them happening at once. And he was standing at the center.

  “The past teaches,” Rei murmured under his breath, feeling the world slow. “The future waits. But the present…” He raised his sword slightly, “...is where everything changes.”

  Light shimmered.

  And then, his eyes locked onto the battlefield again.

  The golden spot in his left vision multiplied. One became three, then five, then a network of shimmering outlines across the arena. Each a possibility, each a potential motion waiting for him to choose.

  Niko lunged first. Rei didn’t react to the first line that appeared. Nor the second. He waited, choosing which branch to follow. His blade snapped up, intercepting Niko’s strike at the perfect moment, the sound sharp like a bell.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Niko grinned. “Now we’re talking!”

  They traded blows, fast and furious. The clatter of weapons filled the room, echoing like thunder. Rei shifted seamlessly between predictions. His right eye reading Niko’s movements, his left revealing the best response. It was a dance of intent and reaction, calculation and intuition.

  But Niko wasn’t standing idle. Mutatio pulsed within him, rainbow hues shifting violently. He tried to read Rei’s thoughts but now there were too many possible outcomes. Too many mirrored intentions. The overload fractured his focus.

  “What—?” Niko grunted as Rei’s blade grazed his shoulder.

  Rei didn’t stop. Another strike followed, then a feint, then a kick to the ribs that sent Niko stumbling back. The crowd roared.

  Oliver shot to his feet, gripping the railing. “He’s doing it! He’s actually winning!”

  Elisa’s eyes sparkled. “Go, Rei!”

  Daisy cupped her hands and shouted, “You got this, pinkhead!”

  Even Lena looked up from her data pad, blinking in mild surprise. “Huh. Didn’t expect that.”

  Their cheers echoed, but Raphael stayed silent, arms folded as he watched intently. His eyes narrowed slightly as the fight grew fiercer. The floor below trembled from the sheer force of their strikes.

  Finally, he stepped forward, resting his hands on the railing. “Let’s make this interesting,” he said, his deep voice carrying through the chamber.

  Heads turned. Even Carmen glanced over, her expression instantly suspicious. “Raphael. Don’t—”

  “If Rei wins,” Raphael interrupted with a faint grin, “there’ll be a gift waiting for him in the Armory.”

  A ripple of murmurs spread among the Espers.

  “And if he loses,” Raphael added, voice calm but commanding, “Nikolai gets it.”

  Down below, Niko froze mid-motion. He looked up, blinking in disbelief. “You’re serious?”

  Raphael smiled. “Dead serious.”

  For a heartbeat, silence. Then Niko broke into a laugh, the sound echoing across the chamber. “You son of a—fine!” His grin widened, eyes blazing with color. “Don’t regret it!”

  He turned back to Rei, energy spiking like wildfire. “Alright, pinkhead! Looks like we’ve got stakes!”

  Carmen exhaled sharply and facepalmed. “He just *had* to open his mouth.”

  Beside her, Victor leaned on the rail with a smirk. “A custom weapon by Raphael himself? No wonder everyone’s losing it.”

  Indeed, chaos spread across the observation deck. The Espers erupted with excited shouts, some cheering for Rei, others for Niko. The entire upper platform shook with noise.

  “Go Rei!”

  “Kick his ass, Niko!”

  “Don’t break the floor this time!”

  Carmen rubbed her temples. “This is going to be a paperwork nightmare.”

  Back below, both combatants reset their stances. The air pulsed with light gold against rainbow.

  They charged.

  The impact sent shockwaves across the floor, the sound of wood and metal screaming together. Each hit splintered the tiles beneath their feet. Rei ducked under a horizontal slash, pivoting around, his sword tracing a glowing arc that clashed with Niko’s defense. Sparks burst between them.

  Niko laughed through gritted teeth. “Now this is a fight!”

  Rei exhaled sharply. “Glad you’re enjoying yourself.”

  Their weapons collided again, force pushing both back several steps. Neither gave ground. Gold and rainbow swirled wildly around them, energy distorting the air.

  “C’mon, Rei!” Zane yelled from the stands, gripping the rail. “Don’t lose focus!”

  “Beat him!” Caleb shouted.

  Even Aiden, arms crossed and composed, gave a faint nod of encouragement. “Show him what you’ve learned.”

  The fight continued, relentless.

  Rei’s movements were sharp and fluid his body in perfect sync with his perception. Each decision, each counter, felt natural now. He switched between both halves of his foresight, letting the right eye read, the left choose.

  Niko, for all his talent, was starting to feel the weight of exhaustion. Sweat ran down his jawline, his breaths uneven. Yet his grin never faded.

  “You’re not half bad, Rei Moutsuki,” he said between strikes. “Most people crumble before this point. You’ve got my respect.”

  “Save it,” Rei replied, blocking another blow. “You’re still in my way.”

  Niko laughed, delighted. “That’s the spirit!”

  Their blades locked once more. Both pushed, muscles straining, neither yielding an inch. Then an explosion of force threw them apart, both staggering.

  The room went silent again.

  Niko straightened slowly, raising his worn-out blade. “Let’s finish this,” he said, voice calm despite the tremor in his hands.

  Rei nodded, wiping sweat from his brow. “Yeah.”

  They knew. This next clash would decide it.

  Both steadied their breathing, the world narrowing down to each other.

  And then, they moved.

  A blur of color. A flash of light.

  Niko leapt, twisting midair, his sword coming down in a perfect overhead strike. Rei’s body tensed, his golden sight flaring. Every possible branch of the present converged into one point. He waited until the last heartbeat, then stepped aside.

  The blade missed by inches, slicing through the air.

  Rei pivoted, spinning behind him. His sword arced downward in a clean, powerful motion.

  Their weapons met and Niko’s blade snapped clean in two.

  For a split second, both stood frozen. Then realization dawned in Niko’s eyes.

  He looked down at the broken weapon, then at Rei’s steady stance. A laugh bubbled from his throat. “So that’s it… all those hits you aimed earlier… you were wearing it down.”

  Rei exhaled through his nose, silent but steady.

  Niko chuckled again, shaking his head. “You outsmarted me.”

  Rei raised his sword for the final strike—

  —but before he could move, a single word rang through the chamber.

  “Stop.”

  The command hit like a pulse. Rei’s body froze, every muscle locking in place. His blade hovered mere inches from Niko’s neck.

  All eyes turned upward. Carmen stood by the railing, hand raised, her expression calm but firm.

  “Rei Moutsuki,” she said clearly, “is the winner of this match.”

  A beat of silence. Then cheers erupted.

  Rei blinked, lowering his sword as the adrenaline began to fade. His vision wavered, the glow fading from his eyes. The world tilted slightly.

  Daisy, Oliver, Elisa, and half the crowd leaned forward, cheering wildly.

  “Rei won!”

  “That was insane!”

  “Holy crap, did you see that?!”

  Carmen sighed, lowering her hand. “Everyone, clear the arena. Now.”

  The command was enough to scatter most of them, though a few lingered, buzzing with excitement.

  Down below, Rei’s breathing grew shallow. He staggered a step forward, the exhaustion hitting all at once.

  “Hey,” came a voice.

  He looked up weakly just as his knees gave out. Before he could hit the floor, a hand caught his collar.

  Niko stood over him, smiling despite the bruise darkening his jaw. “Nice match,” he said simply.

  Rei tried to answer, but his words came out as a tired laugh before darkness took over.

  Nikolai sighed softly, supporting the unconscious Rei before he hit the ground completely. “Guess I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  He looked up toward the observation deck, where Raphael grinned and Carmen massaged her temples in frustration.

  “Guess I won’t be getting that gift,” Niko muttered under his breath, still smiling.

  And with that, the duel of light and color came to an end.

  [End of chapter]