(A/N Big thanks to everyone for the Power stones and Golden tickets, they mean a lot. As usual, please don't hesitate to comment or drop a review. ENJOY)

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Caelum and Seris had been moving together for over fifteen minutes now. Their pace was steady, neither slow nor rushed, cutting through the forest with quiet rhythm. The atmosphere between them was surprisingly comfortable — or at least, comfortable for Seris.

"So," she began, sidestepping a root,

"How many eliminations so far?" She asked.

Caelum gave a short glance.

"Enough to reach eighth." He replied.

"That's not an answer," she said, smiling.

"I didn't think you wanted specifics."

"I do. I'm comparing progress."

"Then we're not competing."

Seris sighed. "You really don't make conversations easy."

"I thought I was doing fine." He said with a chuckle.

"You're not," she said, half-laughing.

Caelum didn't bother denying it.

She just smiled, shaking her head.

"You're lucky you're good at fighting, otherwise people would think you're boring." She said.

He didn't respond. She counted that as a win.

The forest opened slightly as they moved deeper — fewer trees, more open clearings marked by uneven stones and short grass.

Caelum slowed. "Stop."

Seris did instantly. Her eyes narrowed, mana flowing subtly as she extended her mana sense.

"Three hundred meters," she murmured.

"Five of them." She finished.

Caelum nodded, already lowering his stance.

"Formation?" He asked.

"Clustered. Moving north," she said.

"Leaders in the middle." She said.

Caelum's mind processed quickly. "That should be Kaelen's group."

"You're sure?"

"Rank three. High activity in this zone since the last compression. Fits his movement pattern." He clarified.

Seris smiled faintly.

"So you've been tracking people." She asked.

"I observe."

"Right. Observing." She rolled her eyes, then grinned. "Think we can take them?"

"Why not" He said with a small smile.

She smiled back.

"Anchor range?" He asked.

"Ten meters, maybe twelve if I stretch it."

"Good," he said. "We stay inside that."

They didn't need to discuss much else. Since they'd met, they'd exchanged brief details about their innate skills, just enough to understand what the other could do. It wasn't rehearsed synergy, but it would have to do.

Knowing they were about to face someone very strong, they'd decided not to hold anything back.

Seris brushed her hand against the ground, a faint shimmer spreading in a subtle ring.

"Ready?" She asked.

Caelum exhaled once.

"Go."

They broke from cover.

Caelum's Kairos Step carried him between two of Kaelen's scouts before they even registered his presence. His compressed motion folded the distance in half — a blur of controlled movement. His hand found the first attacker's shoulder, pivoted, and sent him crashing into another. The impact was dull but effective.

Seris moved in right behind him. Her Anchor pulsed faintly beneath her steps, stabilising the area in an unseen ripple. She ducked under a wide strike, her palm brushing the ground before she snapped her leg upward, hitting her opponent's chin squarely.

Kaelen's voice cut through the noise. "Formation two."

The group adjusted instantly, three breaking off toward Caelum, two toward Seris. Kaelen remained in the centre, unmoving, watching.

Caelum's pace slowed.

'They're coordinated.' He thought.

The first came at him from the left, the second from the right, the third waiting just behind. He compressed the air around his steps, shrinking the space slightly. It threw their timing off — one swung too soon, the other too late. Caelum slipped between them, landing a clean strike to the stomach of the closest and pivoting to elbow the next.

Seris wasn't faring much better. Her opponents were heavier and less predictable. She felt the anchor pulling against her feet as she absorbed each impact, countering with quick kicks and sharp bursts of movement. Her Kairos Step let her slip through tight openings, but she could tell she was burning energy faster than planned.

"Hold steady," Caelum called, not looking her way, his eyes tracking his opponents and keeping an eye on Kaelen.

"Working on it," she replied between breaths.

Kaelen finally moved. His mana flared lightly, a subtle distortion spreading through the clearing.

Caelum noticed the shimmer before it hit. The space ahead of him rippled; his next step landed slightly off-target, like the ground had shifted a few inches sideways.

'Spatial interference.' He thought, his eyes narrowed.

Seris saw it too.

A sudden pull caught Caelum's balance; one of Kaelen's teammates seized the opening and aimed a low strike for his leg. Caelum twisted mid-step, deflecting the blow but losing footing. He regained it quickly, but the warning was clear; this wasn't a fight he could take lightly.

Seris pushed forward, trying to pressure Kaelen directly. Her Anchor surged outward as she shifted it mid-fight, snapping her fingers as the air solidified around him. He didn't even flinch.

The ground shimmered again — her anchor line distorted and bent.

Seris blinked in surprise.

'He just reflected the anchoring itself.' She thought, bewildered.

Kaelen smiled faintly.

The tension in the clearing rose sharply. His innate skill wasn't just a passive defence — he could bounce spatial interference, redirecting force, position, even anchor pressure if timed right.

Caelum's expression tightened. "Stay low. Don't trigger reflections directly."

Seris nodded, circling around. Her movements turned lighter, her steps smaller, never staying on one axis long enough for Kaelen to read her. She was getting used to it, the rhythm, the spacing, the push and pull of his field.

But the fight wasn't in their favour yet. Kaelen's teammates adjusted again, splitting to draw Seris and Caelum apart. Two advanced on Seris with blunt wooden weapons, one feinting high while the other lunged low. She blocked the first, rolled away from the second, and barely reset her anchor before the next strike landed.

Caelum parried another blow, his wrist aching slightly. His compression skill wasn't meant for prolonged use — each micro-fold strained his mana channels. Still, he kept his steps tight, efficient, waiting for the smallest misstep from his opponents.

Kaelen watched them both closely. "You're holding up better than I expected."

Seris grinned despite the sweat on her brow.

"And you talk more than I thought." She replied.

"Gives you time to breathe," Kaelen said evenly.

She snorted.

The next second, his reflection pulsed again — a burst that forced both of them back several paces. Caelum landed hard, dust rising around his boots.

Kaelen raised his hand again, his remaining four teammates closing in.

The clearing lit with faint distortion, the air thickening as ripples crawled across the ground.

Seris dropped her stance, resetting her anchor. "Ready?"

Caelum exhaled slowly, flexing his hands once. "I'll draw them in. You find the gap."

She smiled.

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