The reinforced chamber had grown quieter as the evening deepened. The light filtering in from the narrow slits high in the walls had shifted from pale gold to muted blue, barely touching the stone before fading. The air felt heavier, still carrying the faint residue of earlier spatial distortions and failed gravitational adjustments.
Noel stood at the center of the room with Revenant Fang resting naturally in his right hand.
In front of him waited the advanced mechanical dummy, its frame reinforced, joints responsive, blade already raised in guard. It was not a passive target. It reacted. It adapted. It punished mistakes.
Noel did not intend to make any.
The dummy lunged first, a direct thrust aimed at his chest.
Noel's wrist rotated just enough to redirect the blade. Steel slid against steel in a clean line, the force guided away instead of stopped. He did not step back. He did not need to.
The dummy pivoted instantly, blade cutting toward his exposed flank.
