"True strength is when your enemy gives you everything… and you still get back up."
The mirrored palace trembled.
Not from attack — but from pressure. The arrival of something heavier, more complete. As if the world itself recognized someone who truly belonged.
Yuichi stood still, breathing shallowly, as the final figure emerged from the far end of the chamber.
It was him.
And yet, not.
The image of Yuichi that made his entrance was taller. Not only that he walked with slow, deliberate confidence. His uniform was altered — sleeker, reinforced with flame-inscribed detailing. His hair was slightly longer, a streak of deep red burned through the tips. The blade he carried — Kagami no Jotei — shimmered with heat, as if alive.
Power rolled off of him like pressure from the sun. His reiryoku curled in waves, each breath radiating strength so refined it made Yuichi's skin prickle.
"Intimidating, isn't it?" the future self said with a grin.
Yuichi swallowed hard. "You're—"
"You. But not bound by fear." The future self raised his blade and pointed it lazily. "I'm what you could become should you keep walking forward — without hesitation. Without excuses."
Yuichi drew his sword. "Then I'll walk faster."
The future self vanished.
Yuichi raised his blade just in time to block the downward strike, but the impact sent him crashing into the floor, shattering the mirrored tiles beneath.
He coughed — blood in his mouth already.
The future self stood above him.
"Still hesitating," he said. "Still thinking too much."
"You feel that?" Future Yuichi asked, not lifting his blade. "That heaviness? That's what it's like when you're strong and your power stops being theoretical."
His reiryoku pulsed outward, shaking the floor beneath them with each breath. The glassy walls of the palace rippled as though reacting to his will.
"You use your strength like it's a crutch. My strength is just a part of me."
Yuichi said nothing. He dropped low, kicked off the ground with a Mirage Step, and appeared behind his future self.
Blade raised, intent sharp—
Clang.
Steel met steel.
The counter came so fast it barely registered. His future self hadn't even turned fully — just parried without looking.
"You're still trying to surprise me," Future Yuichi said. "But I'm already past surprise."
Yuichi's feet slid backward from the force of the block.
He followed with a sweep, spinning low—
Blocked.
Yuichi vanished with Shunpo, reappearing behind — but his blade met only an afterimage.
Mirage Step.
The future self used it flawlessly.
Before Yuichi could track the real one, a flaming fist struck his side — enhanced with Shunkō: Enkai. Heat seared through his ribs as he slammed into a pillar.
"You use Mirage Step as a trick," the future self said, appearing again beside him. "I made it part of my rhythm. It's no longer a technique I use but simply how I move. You act. I flow."
A burst of Hadō #11: Tsuzuri Raiden surged through the blade, crackling with lightning—
His future self absorbed it without flinching.
"Improvised kidō application," he said coolly. "Smart. But you cast it too close. The moment of contact is too long."
Before Yuichi could retreat, a glowing barrier appeared mid-swing—
"Bakudō #81: Dankū."
His own attack dispersed harmlessly into the air.
The next instant, Future Yuichi struck him clean in the chest with a Shunkō-enhanced palm strike.
Heat detonated like a volcano beneath his ribs. Yuichi flew back, tumbling across the mirrored floor.
He coughed violently, tasting blood.
"You're using too many techniques. Be conscious of the amout of reiryoku you have left," his future self said, walking forward. "Another weakness of yours is that you layer kidō spells instead of blending them."
Yuichi forced himself up.
"Good," the future self murmured. "Still standing."
Yuichi roared and raised his blade.
"Kyōyū sa reta itami!"
He activated Shared Pain and surged forward, engaging in a flurry of tight, efficient swings.
Each one was met by identical movements — mirrored perfectly, effortlessly.
Yuichi ducked, Mirage Step flickering around his frame. His image appeared to the right, then to the left—
The future self followed the real one without hesitation.
"Hadō #58: Tenran."
A violent tornado erupted from Future Yuichi's off-hand, blowing away both Yuichi and his clone like dry leaves.
Before he landed, Future Yuichi was already there.
"You've never used that spell, correct? Your reiryoku control is still quite lacking although you've learned all the incantations. Let's test something," he muttered.
"Sutoraiki o kaesu."
Yuichi slashed with his blade, only to have the attack touched and reversed in midair — his own force turned against him.
The counter blow cracked through his defense, rattling bone.
He landed hard, coughing.
Pain exploded in his chest — but he pushed through it. Instinct took over.
"Phantom Pain."
A single shimmering clone appeared, moving beside him like a twin. They attacked in tandem — fast, unpredictable.
One struck high.
The other swept low.
Future Yuichi deflected one, let the clone hit — and let it shatter.
The pain hit him.
But he smiled.
"I can take more than you," he said — and slammed a palm across Yuichi's face, sending him skidding again.
The impact disoriented him. He rolled, planted a hand to the floor, and forced himself upright again.
"You're holding back," Yuichi said, panting.
The future self raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Does it feel like I am? I'm pretty sure I'm beating you in a relaxed manner is all."
Yuichi launched a chain of incantation-less kidō:
"Bakudō #9: Geki."
"Hadō #31: Shakkahō."
"Hadō #33: Sōkatsui."
Red, blue, and searing white light filled the air as a layered barrage tore across the field.
The future self stepped through it.
Untouched.
"I've built resistances," he said. "Not just defenses. There's a difference."
He dashed forward, using Mirage Step — not just flickering, but using reishi platforms mid-air.
Yuichi couldn't track it.
He raised his sword—
But it was knocked from his hands.
Then came the strikes.
One.
Two.
Three.
Pressure points. Precision cuts. Not meant to kill — just to overwhelm.
Yuichi fell to one knee.
The future self stepped back and kicked over Yuichi blade. "Come on get up."
Yuichi grit his teeth, raised his hand—
"Bakudō #63: Sajō Sabaku!"
Golden ropes surged forward — but his opponent raised one hand:
"Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi."
It didn't manifest fully — just a partial cast, yet enough to break the ropes with a crack of gravitational pressure.
Yuichi staggered again, vision swimming.
"I know what you're thinking," Future Yuichi said. "You're wondering if you'll ever catch up. If all your effort means anything."
He knelt slightly, locking eyes.
"Here's your answer: It does."
Yuichi blinked in surprise.
The future self grinned.
"But only if you keep moving forward."
Another blast of heat.
"Enjō Kasumi."
The battlefield around them ignited with flickering haze — a thermal mist that blurred energy perception. The air warped.
Yuichi could barely see.
Yuichi snarled and raised his hand.
"Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"
Lightning exploded blowing away the mist — only to be met with a reverse incantation Raikōhō, doubled in strength.
The two blasts collided — and Yuichi's was swallowed whole. He was flung backward again, crashing hard.
"I mastered it," the future self said. "Refined the incantation layers. Rewrote the output sigils. You still burn your hands when you cast that, don't you?"
Yuichi coughed, dragging himself up. "I'm not done."
"Good," the other replied. "Because we're just getting started. It'd be a shame if that was all it took to take you down."
Yuichi activated Phantom Pain. A clone shimmered into existence beside him.
He flanked left.
The clone flanked right.
The future self didn't even blink. His clone emerged behind him — perfectly timed. When Yuichi slashed, the clone intercepted and shattered.
The echo of pain hit both fighters — but the future self didn't flinch. He invited it.
Yuichi dropped low, switching to melee. He locked blades and twisted.
"Return the Strike!" he shouted, attempting to reverse the blade impact.
But the future self let go of the blade entirely — vanished — and reappeared behind him.
"Too slow."
A flaming boot slammed into Yuichi's spine, sending him skidding across the floor.
He didn't even need to counter. He just… adjusted.
Yuichi's body screamed with pain. He rose again, blood dripping from his mouth.
"Bakudō #9: Geki!"
Red light surged forward, freezing his opponent for a heartbeat.
He charged — slashing with every ounce of strength.
It connected.
Or so he thought.
The next moment, he realized it had struck a clone.
The real one was already behind him again.
"Karyū no Tekken."
A flame dragon burst from the future self's fist — smashing into Yuichi point-blank and hurling him across the battlefield.
Yuichi rolled, barely conscious, body smoking.
'Why won't he finish me? If he's this strong he could finish me off in one blow. I don't think I would grow to be someone so arrogant enough to toy with an opponent so there must be a lesson in what he saying. If I figure it out I may win.' he thought.
As if reading the thought, the future self appeared again, blade resting against his shoulder.
"Good job figuring out that winning isn't the point here. You losing? That's the default. I'm here… to show you how much further you need to go. You much further you can go."
He pointed his sword.
"I am your mirror. Not to flatter — but to pressure and temper. Don't worry I'll forge you into something worthy of becoming me."
Yuichi pulled himself up with trembling arms. "Then keep pressuring."
The future self gave a faint, cold smile.
"Don't worry. I will."
He raised his blade.