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Mienfoo's eyes were completely blank as it stared up the slope.
Just moments ago, that black-skinned Machop had been standing right beside it.
Now?
Kael was already a distant speck halfway up Blazing Peak a place where the gravity became so overwhelming that even Mienfoo couldn't stand for more than a second.
"H–How… how is that possible?"
Its voice trembled.
"He's walking through that pressure like it's nothing…?"
Up on that ridge, the gravitational force was brutal far beyond anything a normal Machop should endure.
If Mienfoo tried to stand there, it would be slammed flat instantly.
But Kael?
He wasn't just standing.
He was climbing.
Steady.
Focused.
Unshaken.
Mienfoo's fists loosened. Its posture slumped.
It looked like someone had just hit it with a ten-ton iron hammer right in the confidence.
If this were a cartoon, its face would've turned pale while dark, scribbled stress lines appeared across its forehead.
"…Forget it. What am I even training for?"
"I'm going back to my room… maybe taking a nap…"
As it dragged itself away, it muttered defeated lines like "The gap between Pokémon… impossible to catch up… hopeless…"
---
Meanwhile — halfway up Blazing Peak
Sweat poured off Kael in continuous streams.
The pressure was crushing his shoulders, his spine, even the air in his lungs.
Every breath scraped through his throat like sandpaper.
Every step felt like he was dragging a mountain behind him.
He wasn't as fine as he looked from afar.
"Damn… this is heavy."
His muscles trembled.
His bones ached.
The veins on his arms bulged under the strain.
Even with his genetically modified body and all three lifetimes of experience, the gravity here hit like a rampaging Machamp.
But instead of fear…
Kael grinned.
"This is just like the gravity rooms in those old anime back on Earth… Didn't expect I'd get to train in one for real."
He puffed a laugh through clenched teeth.
"If I keep going, what's next? A random old man mentor? A fiancée breaking off the engagement? Some destiny bloodline awakening?"
He nearly snorted at his own thoughts.
But the humor died the second the weight suddenly increased again.
"—!"
His leg buckled.
He staggered sideways, nearly collapsing.
"Focus!"
Kael forced himself upright, controlling every fiber of muscle to stabilize his stance.
On Blazing Peak, falling meant never getting up again.
Not without help.
He tightened his fists, drew in a long, shaky breath—
And pushed forward.
---
The slope steepened.
The gravity multiplied.
Kael's vision blurred.
His heartbeat pounded against his ribs like it was trying to escape.
"Almost… there…"
A crooked set of stone steps appeared ahead leading to the summit.
They weren't tall.
Under normal circumstances, he could hop over them with ease.
But under Blazing Peak's crushing gravity?
They felt like climbing out of a collapsing cavern.
Kael braced his trembling legs.
Lift.
Step.
The moment his foot touched the first step, dust scattered then snapped back to the ground as if magnetized.
"One step…"
His heart hammered violently.
His brain throbbed.
His lungs burned.
Oxygen felt like a luxury he couldn't afford.
But he refused to stop.
His world narrowed to nothing but stone, sweat, and the struggle for survival.
Another step.
"Come on… just a bit more…"
Another.
His muscles screamed in protest.
His arms twitched uncontrollably.
His consciousness flickered like a dying ember.
But he kept climbing.
Step by agonizing step.
Until—
Just one more remained.
One last step separates him from the summit.
From his next mentor.
From victory.
Kael reached for it—
And reality shattered.
His body gave out.
The world went black.
He collapsed face-first onto the final step with a dull, heavy thud.
---
Just Before Darkness Took Him
Through the haze, Kael's blurring eyes caught sight of two white, fur-covered legs stopping in front of him legs marked with swirling yellow plates at the knees.
A tall figure stood over him, voice carrying a hint of shock… and something like respect.
"Well now…"
"Didn't think anyone would actually make it up here."
Kael's consciousness finally slipped away.
Darkness claimed him.
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