Impact could be endured.
But endurance was not victory.
Ethan stood across from the man, his breathing steady, his Ten active, his body still carrying the memory of every strike that had reached him. The pain was no longer a distraction. It was information.
The man did not move immediately.
He waited.
Watching.
Measuring.
Ethan understood.
This was no longer about surviving the strike.
It was about avoiding it.
The man stepped forward.
Fast.
Faster than before.
His shoulder shifted first—a small motion, almost invisible. Then his weight followed. Then his arm.
Strike.
Ethan saw it.
Not clearly.
Not completely.
But enough.
He moved.
Not backward.
Not blindly.
Slightly to the side.
The strike passed him.
Not by much.
But it passed.
The man stopped.
Silence followed.
Not approval.
Recognition.
"Again," the man said.
He moved once more.
Strike.
Ethan activated Silent Authority.
"Slow."
The word left his mouth without hesitation.
The man's motion hesitated.
Not stopped.
Not controlled.
But delayed.
That delay—
Was everything.
Ethan stepped aside cleanly this time.
No impact.
No pain.
No failure.
The man's arm passed through empty space.
For the first time—
Ethan had not been hit.
The man stepped back.
His expression did not change.
But his attention sharpened.
Ethan understood the truth now.
Silent Authority was not meant to win the fight.
It was meant to create the moment that allowed him to win.
The man moved again.
Faster.
Testing.
Strike.
Ethan did not speak.
He activated Ren silently.
Defined the rule.
Not spoken.
Intended.
The man's motion slowed.
Barely.
Enough.
Ethan moved inside the strike.
Closer.
Safer.
His hand reached forward.
Not striking.
Positioning.
Controlling distance.
The man stopped immediately.
The test was over.
Silence filled the room.
"You understand timing," the man said.
Not praise.
Confirmation.
"Control creates opportunity."
He paused.
"Timing decides outcome."
He turned away.
"Strength is not required."
He stopped at the door.
"Precision is."
Then he left.
The door closed.
Ethan remained standing in the center of the room.
His Ten remained active.
His body remained stable.
Silent Authority remained defined.
He had not become stronger.
He had become earlier.
And in combat—
Earlier meant inevitable.