The hidden courtyard sat beneath the veil of a shifting temporal dome, a space Kiyoto had created using the Infinity Crown. The sky above shimmered like liquid gold, and soft light filtered through the swirling clouds, casting moving shadows across the arena.
"Focus on your Soulflux, Mitsui," Kiyoto instructed, his voice calm yet commanding. "Feel every thread of probability. Your mind is the key—your body will follow."
Mitsui clenched her fists, taking a deep breath. "I… I'll try, Kiyoto." Her eyes glimmered with determination, but her hands trembled slightly as she sensed the immense energy swirling around her.
With a swift motion, Kiyoto's hand sliced through the air, and the courtyard erupted into a looping time-field. Infinite versions of him attacked simultaneously, each strike a different permutation, testing every angle of Mitsui's reflexes.
She ducked, dodged, and rolled. For every attack she evaded, another formed—a chain of endless possibilities. Sweat dripped down her brow, and her chest heaved, but she kept moving, her senses stretching to perceive probability itself.
"You're reacting too slowly," Kiyoto said, materializing a glowing sword mid-air. He swung it in a slow arc, and Mitsui felt her Soulflux vibrate in resonance with the blade. "Predict before it happens. Anticipate the next move as if it's already occurred."
Mitsui focused harder, letting her Soulflux ripple through her body. Time seemed to slow for her. She could see the afterimages of attacks before they came. She rolled under one strike and instinctively pushed herself into another, flipping over a glowing sword that had split into three separate strikes.
"You… are improving," Kiyoto said, his eyes faintly glowing. "Much better. But now—let's push further."
The ground beneath them began to shift, creating a labyrinth of floating platforms and shifting walls. Kiyoto's aura flared, and the time-loop accelerated. Mitsui's heart raced as she ran through the ever-changing arena, her Soulflux adjusting to each new hazard.
Her movements became fluid, instinctive, and she felt a surge of power within her. Threads of probability danced before her eyes, revealing paths that weren't obvious at first glance. She was no longer just reacting; she was predicting, adapting, controlling—if only slightly.
Kiyoto nodded approvingly. "Good. You're learning to bend reality to your will, Mitsui. This is only the beginning. The Abyss Order and others will come, and you must be ready—not just to survive, but to fight alongside me."
Mitsui's chest heaved, her golden-brown eyes burning with newfound determination. "I… I understand. I won't let you fight alone."
The training session continued long into the day, the time-field looping endlessly. By the end, Mitsui's Soulflux had grown stronger and more precise. For the first time, she felt the faintest resonance with Kiyoto's Pulse Mode Ascendant, a hint of the extraordinary bond that would come to define their strength together.
> In the hidden courtyard, under the watchful eye of the heir of Mushu Justin, Mitsui took her first step toward becoming a force that could influence probability itself. The road ahead would be dangerous, but for the first time, she felt ready.
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