Dawn never truly reached the basin.
Light bent as it entered, fading into a dull gray under constant pressure.
Kael moved first.
Not fast.
Certain.
Each step was measured to avoid pulling too much pressure back into his core. The basin followed him reluctantly, like a tether stretched thin.
Seris stayed close, silent.
They felt it together—
eyes.
Not one.
Many.
The first trap triggered without warning.
The ground ahead collapsed inward, pressure folding into a narrow choke point designed to crush anything passing through.
Kael stopped.
"Step back," he told Seris.
He raised his hand.
Not to block—
to guide.
The pressure shifted sideways, sliding the collapse past him like a redirected current.
Stone screamed.
The trap failed.
[Ambush Pattern Detected:]
— Type: Pressure Lattice
— Builder: Multiple Elites
— Purpose: Immobilization
A voice echoed from above.
"Impressive control."
Rovan stepped into view on a fractured ledge, armor repaired, pressure rings brighter than before.
"You learned fast," he said. "So did we."
Four more figures appeared.
Different styles.
Same weight.
Elite hunters.
Independent.
Sects didn't move openly—
but they paid well.
Seris tensed. "Five…"
Kael nodded. "Enough."
The basin reacted violently.
Pressure surged, confused by multiple anchors.
Kael felt the pull intensify, trying to lock him in place to stabilize itself.
The choice sharpened.
Anchor now—
or move and lose ground.
Kael exhaled.
He chose movement.
Kael slammed his foot down.
The basin cracked open along a fault line.
Pressure vented upward violently, throwing three hunters off balance.
Kael grabbed Seris and moved.
Fast.
The pressure screamed as the tether stretched.
[Domain Bond:]
— Status: Strained
— Anchor Formation: Delayed
— Consequence: Core Instability Increasing
A hunter intercepted them.
Thin.
Fast.
Pressure blades formed around his arms.
Kael didn't meet the blades.
He stepped inside the strike.
Pressure collapsed inward.
The hunter's arms imploded.
He fell without a sound.
Two more closed in.
Rovan stayed back, watching.
Learning.
Kael felt his core shudder.
Blood ran freely now.
His breathing faltered.
Seris shouted, "Kael—!"
He raised a hand.
"Not yet."
He slammed his palm into the ground again.
The basin answered with a roar.
Pressure spiked unpredictably, turning the terrain hostile to everyone.
Screams echoed as hunters misstepped and were crushed by their own traps.
Chaos.
[Domain Overload:]
— Stability: Failing
— All Entities: Hostile Conditions
Rovan cursed. "You're burning the domain!"
Kael met his gaze through the distortion.
"Then stop hunting in it."
Rovan leapt away as the ground split beneath him.
Kael seized the opening.
He ran.
Not away—
through.
They burst out of the basin's boundary as pressure collapsed behind them like a closing maw.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Final.
Outside, Kael fell to one knee.
The pressure core inside him screamed—
then went quiet.
Too quiet.
[Pressure Core:]
— Status: Dormant
— Integrity: Unknown
— Warning: Temporary Loss of Authority
Seris caught him as he sagged.
They didn't look back.
Behind them, the basin stabilized slowly.
Unclaimed.
Unhappy.
Rovan stood at the edge, watching them disappear.
"This isn't finished," he said softly.
Kael's vision dimmed as they moved into open land.
He whispered, barely audible, "I chose to move."
Seris tightened her grip.
"And you lived."
Kael didn't smile.
The world ahead felt light.
Dangerously light.
The silence outside the basin was wrong.
Too open.
Too light.
Kael felt it immediately.
The pressure that had once wrapped around his bones like a second skeleton was gone. Not reduced—absent. His steps felt hollow, as if the ground no longer acknowledged his weight.
His legs trembled.
Seris tightened her hold just in time to keep him from falling flat.
"Easy," she said. "You're overcompensating."
Kael nodded faintly. "My body expects resistance."
Every breath felt thin. His muscles moved too freely, lacking the constant opposition they had adapted to. The sensation was disorienting—like swinging a blade through air after striking stone for too long.
[Condition Update:]
— Pressure Authority: Inactive
— Environmental Resistance: Minimal
— Risk: Structural Misalignment
Kael forced himself to slow down.
He shortened his stride, lowered his center of gravity, and deliberately tensed his muscles to recreate internal resistance. It wasn't pressure—but it was discipline.
Pain flared immediately.
Good.
Pain meant feedback.
They reached a line of broken hills and took shelter behind a jagged outcrop. Seris helped Kael sit, her expression tight with concern.
"You're shaking," she said.
Kael looked at his hands.
They were steady.
But only because he forced them to be.
"The domain trained my body," he said quietly. "Then it let go."
Seris frowned. "So now?"
"So now I retrain myself."
He closed his eyes.
Instead of reaching outward, Kael turned inward.
He remembered the basin—not its power, but its rhythm. The way pressure rose and fell. The way resistance answered movement honestly.
He began to breathe in measured cycles, compressing his muscles deliberately at the end of each inhale, releasing slowly on the exhale.
Not pressure.
Density.
The trembling eased slightly.
[Self-Regulation Detected:]
— Method: Internal Load Simulation
— Efficiency: Low
— Stability: Improving
Seris watched silently as Kael worked through the pain.
"You're building a substitute," she said.
Kael opened his eyes. "Until I earn the real thing back."
Far behind them, the horizon shimmered faintly.
Not the basin—
another pressure zone.
Weaker.
Farther.
But present.
Kael felt a dull pull in his chest.
Not authority.
Attraction.
"They'll keep coming," Seris said. "Hunters. Domains."
Kael nodded. "Because I left unfinished business."
She hesitated. "With the basin?"
"With myself."
Night fell.
Without pressure, the cold felt sharper. Kael wrapped himself in his torn cloak, muscles aching from maintaining constant tension.
He didn't sleep.
Not fully.
Every time his body relaxed too much, he jolted awake, instinctively searching for resistance that wasn't there.
By dawn, his eyes were clear—but heavy.
[Adaptation Progress:]
— Internal Load Control: 12%
— Dependency Reduction: Initiated
— Long-Term Path: Dual Adaptation (With / Without Domain)
Seris packed up quietly.
"Where to now?" she asked.
Kael stood.
Slowly.
Carefully.
"The next pressure zone," he said. "But not to anchor."
She raised an eyebrow.
"To visit?"
"To train," Kael replied. "On my terms."
He looked back once, toward where the basin lay hidden beyond the hills.
It did not call him.
Not yet.
Kael turned away.
The world felt light.
But for the first time—
he knew how to make his own weight.