Chapter 43: The Distance Between Then and Now
The courtyard behind the Emberlight Pavilion was quiet — a rare moment of stillness after the storm of the Inter-Disciplinary Tournament.
Ren stepped onto the polished stone first, stretching his shoulder, bruised from the final bout. Hinara followed a step behind before politely excusing herself — sensing something in the air.
Then Vale arrived, hands in her sleeves, gaze sharp.
The third figure was already waiting.
He stood at the edge of the bamboo grove, back turned, arms relaxed, robes flowing in still wind.
Ren slowed to a stop.
The figure turned.
Ren's breath caught.
"…Kai?"
The face was the same. But the expression, the posture — the weight in the air — none of it was. There was no swagger now, no hint of the reckless orphan who'd charged headfirst into his fate.
What stood before them was polished steel wrapped in silence.
Kai stepped forward. "You got stronger."
Ren tried to smile, but the lump in his throat stopped him. "Not like you did."
Vale crossed her arms. "So. You're alive."
Kai tilted his head. "You sound disappointed."
She didn't answer — just looked him up and down, studying the quiet ripple of KI coiling beneath his skin.
Ren exhaled. "I don't even know what to say."
Kai looked him dead in the eyes. "Then don't say anything. Just fight me."
⸻
The Sparring Ground
The three stood within the sun-drenched ring. Leaves rustled high above.
Ren took his stance, breath steady. Vale cracked her neck, removing her cloak to reveal the scarred and honed body of a Martial Semi-Saint — her limiter off.
Kai didn't move.
Then—
Ren lunged, fists blazing with controlled ki. Vale followed half a heartbeat behind, striking low and fast. Their teamwork was flawless — the result of months of trust, training, and shared pain.
Kai raised a single hand.
Ren's punch stopped an inch short.
Not because he missed.
Because the air didn't let him through.
A ring of fractured space shimmered out from Kai like a dropped stone in still water. Vale's kick connected — but with something beneath the surface of his skin that absorbed the blow like it was breath on glass.
He looked at her.
She vanished, blinking away through step-dash technique — reappearing above.
"Balance Reaper!"
Kai didn't dodge.
His hand shifted slightly.
Reality twisted.
Her technique unraveled mid-swing, momentum sapped, foot landing inches off the mark.
She skidded backward, boots carving small trenches into the arena stone.
Ren came from behind — twin strikes aimed at pressure points. Kai turned, and for a moment—
He was gone.
Not vanished.
Just not there anymore.
A single step, a ripple, and he stood behind Ren, gently placing a hand on his back.
"Too linear," Kai whispered.
Ren fell forward, tumbling across the ground as if pushed by a hurricane made of silence.
Vale touched the ground with her palm, forcing her ki to surge outward like a net.
"This is cheating," she muttered.
Kai gave the faintest smirk. "Then catch me cheating."
For a brief, glorious moment, she almost did.
Her strike broke through the sub-realm pressure field — her KI matching his with raw, martial will.
Their fists clashed.
The ground cracked.
A nearby tree curved as the force displaced its roots.
Then Kai stepped back. "Enough."
Silence.
Ren groaned, sitting up. "That wasn't sparring. That was getting humbled by a mountain pretending to be a man."
Vale slowly stood. Her eyes never left Kai.
"You're close," she said, voice low. "You're not at the peak yet. But you're close."
Kai exhaled, letting the world settle around him again. "I didn't come back to show off."
Ren coughed. "Could've fooled me."
"I came back," Kai said, looking toward the Sect Core, "because something's moving. Something wrong. And if I'm not ready when it hits… none of us will be."
Vale's expression darkened slightly.
Ren stood beside him again, slower this time. "Then what now?"
Kai looked to the sky.
"Now… we catch up."