The Rift didn't feel like it opened anymore.
It felt like it noticed them.
Kael stepped forward first.
Not because he was confident.
Because stopping here meant thinking too much.
And thinking too much in a place like this usually meant dying slower.
Behind him, Liora followed at a careful distance. She didn't speak. The air inside the Rift was already doing enough talking on its own.
Heavy. Thick. Wrong.
Like the space itself had weight.
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly as he moved deeper.
The ground underfoot wasn't stable anymore. It shifted in subtle, uncomfortable ways—like walking on something that remembered being solid but wasn't anymore.
Then he stopped.
"…there."
Liora froze behind him.
"What?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
His gaze stayed forward.
Focused.
Something was there.
Not moving yet.
But present.
Like pressure before lightning.
Then it stepped out.
No roar.
No dramatic entrance.
Just movement.
A figure emerged from the distortion.
Smaller than what Kael had fought before.
But not weaker.
Not even close.
Its body was structured—too structured. Like it had been designed instead of born. Every step it took was controlled, efficient, deliberate.
No wasted motion.
No hesitation.
Kael's grip tightened slightly.
"…C-rank."
He didn't say it loudly.
He didn't need to.
Behind him, Liora whispered.
"…that's it?"
Kael's expression didn't change.
But his voice dropped slightly.
"…don't underestimate it."
The creature tilted its head.
Like it heard him.
Like it understood.
And then—
it moved.
Fast.
Not explosive.
Clean.
Kael reacted instantly.
Step—
Burst Step activated—
The world shifted as Kael repositioned, the attack slicing through where he had been a moment before.
The ground cracked behind him.
He didn't pause.
Second movement immediately followed.
Phase Step—
shorter.
tighter.
He closed distance.
Dagger formed in his hand.
Strike.
Pulse—
The impact landed cleanly on the creature's side.
Kael felt it connect.
And then—
nothing.
No stagger.
No reaction.
Just a slight turn of its head toward him.
"…seriously?"
Kael pulled back immediately.
The response came instantly.
Too fast.
The creature's arm snapped forward.
Kael barely twisted out of range, the force grazing past his ribs and sending a sharp sting through his side.
Not deep.
But enough.
Kael stepped back once.
Reset.
Breathing slightly heavier now.
"…so that's how it is."
The creature took one step forward.
Only one.
But it felt like it had already closed half the distance.
Behind Kael, Liora shifted.
"…Kael—"
"Stay back."
His voice cut her off immediately.
Not loud.
But final.
The creature moved again.
This time, Kael didn't rush in.
He watched.
Its shoulder.
Its weight shift.
Its timing.
"…slow…"
Not slow.
Predictable.
That was different.
Kael stepped in—
Strike—
The dagger moved again.
This time aiming for a cleaner angle.
Pulse—
It hit.
A flicker.
Finally.
A reaction.
The creature's movement broke for half a second.
Kael saw it.
"…there."
He moved to follow up—
But the air shifted violently.
The creature adjusted.
Instantly.
Counterstrike came from a blind angle.
Too fast.
Kael reacted late.
Impact hit his side.
Not full force—but enough to send him sliding back across fractured ground.
His breath caught for a moment.
"…tch."
He steadied himself quickly.
But the difference was already clear.
He wasn't winning exchanges.
He was surviving them.
Barely.
The creature stepped forward again.
Same calm pace.
Same inevitability.
Kael exhaled slowly.
His grip tightened.
Not panic.
Not fear.
Recognition.
"…so I'm below it."
No emotion in the words.
Just fact.
Behind him, Liora's voice came quieter now.
"…you can still leave."
Kael didn't turn.
"…no."
A pause.
"…I can't."
The creature moved again.
Kael lifted his blade.
This time—
not to win.
To learn.
And the second exchange began.