The Registry called it "sparring." Cairn called it "survival."
Evan called it "a beating that bled lessons."
By the third morning, the depot yard had been rebuilt twice, pipes rewired three times, and volunteers learned to cover their ears whenever Cairn and Evan squared off. Because sparring between speedsters wasn't a fight. It was thunder trying to teach thunder manners.
The yard stank of ozone. Arcs crawled over every beam. Scribes packed the rafters like vultures waiting for proof. Aelira stood with her slate lit and her jaw locked tight enough to crack teeth.
"Captain Ghost," she called, "this drill is control priority. Registry wants numbers, not corpses. Keep Overflow stable."
Cairn rolled his shoulders until iron sang down his arms. His arcs glowed a thick, molten yellow—denser than Evan's storm, heavier, slower, but packed with the weight of anvils. "No Ascension. No mercy. If you don't bleed, you didn't learn."
Evan cracked his neck. His storm licked violet across his chest, ribs still aching but steadier every day. The ground hummed faint in his rhythm; pipes rattled like they'd caught the idea already.
"I'll take mercy off the list too," Evan said, and the smirk he managed bought him courage he didn't have yet.
The panel chimed.
[Training Drill Engaged: Cairn — Tier 3 Ironstrider]Directive: Survive full-contact spar 10 minutes, maintain Domain sync above 30%, avoid critical system strain.Reward: Vector Compression cap increase (+2%).
The whistle blew.
Cairn moved first—no blur, no smoke, just presence. His arcs slammed into the ground like a smith's hammer. The yard tilted toward him.
Evan blurred left.
[Echo Step] — Engaged (Count: 6, Duration: 2.6s).
Ghosts sprinted with him, arcs trailing. Cairn didn't blink. He slammed his heel down. Yellow arcs detonated like a forge explosion, shockwave turning three Echos to smoke instantly.
HP: 98% → 93% (impact strain)Stability: 31% → 26%
"Sloppy," Cairn said. "Echos don't win fights. Decisions do."
Evan gritted teeth. "Then watch a decision."
He compressed arcs into his fists, storm howling tight.
[Vector Compression] — 19%Force Redirect: Active
He sprinted across Cairn's flank, Echos fanning to draw eyes. Cairn shifted weight—just that, just enough. Evan hammered his ribs with a compressed cleave.
Yellow arcs caught it. Cairn rolled with the hit, redirected momentum, and slammed an elbow into Evan's sternum.
HP: 93% → 79% (fracture risk).Conduction strain: +11%.Stability: 26% → 22%.
Evan spat blood. "Thanks. Needed that reminder."
"Of what?" Cairn asked.
"That I can still get faster."
He thunderstepped off Cairn's knee, shockwave rippling up the man's spine. Cairn staggered half a step. The scribes gasped like children seeing a god sneeze.
Vector Cleave — Effective. Damage: Minor.
Cairn grinned, teeth iron-bright. "Good. Again."
They clashed like storms colliding. Evan sprinted tight arcs, compressing strikes into bone-cracking bursts. Cairn turned every hit sideways, every blow into another hammer.
Echoes fractured. Cleaves screamed. Pipes rattled and volunteers dropped to their knees with hands over ears.
HP: 79% → 61%.Stability: 22% → 29% (forced anchor).Overflow: 18% → 22%.
Evan's storm shifted white at the edges. Control slipped. His panel screamed warnings.
Warning: Neural strain 72%.Advisory: Terminate drill.
"Not yet," Evan hissed. He slammed his heel.
[Lane Override] — Overextended.Domains: Hook + Slums + Foundry.Stability: 22% → 36% (anchored).
The yard sang louder, three notes braided into his ribs. The city held him up when his bones wanted to quit. His arcs flared white-violet, brighter than they had in weeks.
Cairn raised brows. "Finally. You're hearing it."
Evan didn't answer. He split eight Echos at once, each dragging a fragment of the Domain rhythm, and hurled himself down Cairn's centerline.
Cairn's arcs met him head-on.
The impact cracked beams. Shook walls. Blew volunteers into barricades. Aelira's slate shattered from the overload.
For a second, two storms tried to own the same yard.
Then Cairn's arcs bent. Just a fraction. Just enough.
Vector Compression cap increased (19% → 21%).Overflow: 22% → 25%.Drill Result: Passed (Control priority maintained).
Evan staggered, ribs screaming, blood running. Cairn stood over him, one hand on his shoulder like a mountain settling.
"You're still soft," Cairn said. "But you're sharp. Keep sharpening."
Evan coughed, half laugh, half blood. "Guess that makes me… Sharp."
Cairn stared. "Never say that again."
The volunteers laughed anyway, the kind of laugh people need more than bread. The pipes knocked three–two–three in approval.
Above it all, flakes of ash drifted through the depot roof where no fire burned. The panel twitched.
[System Warning] — Residue Detected. Source: Unclassified. Probability: Divine.
Evan's storm hissed high. His chest burned. But for once, his smile held.
"Tomorrow," he said. "Bigger. Uglier."
And the city hummed yes.