Author's Note: Do Not Unlock.
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Pain came first.
A deep, grinding pain that felt like gravity itself had left fingerprints on Aleman's bones.
He lay still for a moment, staring at the fractured ceiling above the Oni facility, dust drifting down like ash. His ears rang. His chest rose and fell in heavy, uneven breaths.
Kurogane…
The name burned.
Aleman forced his fingers to move. They obeyed — slowly, painfully — but they moved. That alone told him enough.
He wasn't done.
As his vision steadied, translucent system prompts flickered into existence at the edge of his sight — the faint, familiar overlay that only he could see.
He didn't look at his health.
He didn't look at his stamina.
His gaze snapped straight to his spell interface.
Thunder Spear — active.
Shadow Step — locked (real-world restriction).
Phantom Blitz — active.
Telekinetic Grip —
He froze.
The icon was no longer dimmed.
No warning symbol.
No restriction mark.
