The land they chose for combat training was quiet.
Too quiet.
A wide basin of pale stone stretched beneath a cloudless sky, its surface scarred by weeks of relentless speed training. Cracks spiderwebbed across the ground like frozen lightning, each one a reminder of how far they had pushed themselves.
Lunaria stood at the center.
Hands empty.
No blade. No knife. No ribbon tied today—his silver hair loose, brushing his shoulders as the wind passed through it. His posture was relaxed, almost careless, as if this wasn't training at all.
"Juno," he said calmly. "You're first."
Juno stepped forward, rolling his shoulders once. His expression was serious now—no jokes, no teasing grin. He felt the weight of this moment settle into his bones.
Ash, Kael, and Riven moved back without being told, forming a loose arc around the basin. They sat on broken stone and fractured pillars, eyes sharp, instincts alert.
Lunaria turned to Juno.
"I won't attack," he said. "I won't counter. I won't use any weapon."
Juno blinked. "You're joking."
"I'm not," Lunaria replied evenly. "I will only dodge."
Kael whistled low. "That's disrespectful."
"No," Ash said quietly, eyes fixed on Lunaria. "That's confidence."
Lunaria met Juno's gaze. "You can use any weapon. Any skill. Any technique. Go all out."
Juno inhaled slowly.
"…Alright."
He reached behind his back and drew his twin short-blades, their edges humming faintly as mana wrapped around them. The air thickened immediately, pressure building as his aura flared outward.
Lunaria didn't move.
"Begin," he said.
Juno vanished.
Not sprinted.
Vanished.
The stone beneath his feet shattered as he reappeared behind Lunaria, blades crossing toward Lunaria's neck in a killing arc—fast, precise, merciless.
Lunaria stepped aside.
Just one step.
The blades cut nothing but air.
Juno didn't stop. He twisted mid-motion, spinning low, sweeping for Lunaria's legs while releasing a burst of compressed mana that detonated outward like a mine.
The ground exploded.
Dust and debris swallowed the basin.
Ash leaned forward. "He won't be there."
He was right.
Lunaria emerged from the dust unharmed, already several meters away, expression unchanged. His movement hadn't been fast—it had been exact.
Juno's eyes narrowed.
He adjusted.
Mana surged as he activated a speed-enhancement skill, his body blurring as he attacked again and again—slashes from every angle, feints layered over real strikes, pressure waves tearing trenches into the stone.
Lunaria moved like water.
A tilt of the head.
A half-step back.
A turn of the shoulder.
Attacks passed so close they disturbed his hair—but never touched him.
Minutes passed.
Juno's breathing grew heavier. Sweat slid down his face. His strikes grew sharper, more desperate, faster.
He switched tactics.
A hand slammed into the ground.
"—Domain Break!"
The basin trembled as jagged pillars of stone erupted upward, collapsing inward toward Lunaria from all directions, leaving no visible escape.
Ash stood abruptly. "That should—"
Lunaria stepped forward.
Not back.
He walked between collapsing stone, timing each step perfectly, passing through gaps no wider than his shoulders. When the dust settled, he stood directly in front of Juno.
Close.
Too close.
Juno froze, blades hovering mid-air.
Lunaria leaned in slightly. "You're predicting where I will be," he said softly. "Instead of reacting to where I am."
Juno's breath hitched.
Then Lunaria stepped away again.
"Continue."
Juno roared.
He unleashed everything.
Every skill. Every technique. Every ounce of refined speed he had gained over weeks of hellish training. The air screamed as his movements broke sound barriers repeatedly, shockwaves tearing the basin apart.
Still—
He couldn't touch him.
Lunaria didn't dodge with speed anymore.
He dodged with understanding.
He read muscle tension. Shifted before intent became action. Moved not after attacks—but before they were fully formed.
Finally, Juno's blades slipped from numb fingers.
He dropped to one knee, chest heaving, eyes wide.
"…I couldn't land a single hit."
Lunaria walked toward him and extended a hand.
"That's because you were fighting me," he said. "Not the space around me."
Juno took the hand and stood.
Ash exhaled slowly. Kael and Riven were silent—genuinely silent—for once.
Lunaria turned to the others.
"You see now," he said calmly. "Speed is meaningless without awareness. Power is useless without control."
His gaze settled on Ash next.
"Who's ready?"
The ground beneath them seemed to tense.
As if it knew what was coming next.