Noah pushed himself up, his breath unsteady as a dull pain lingered in his ribs.
Riku hadn't moved. He stood there, hands relaxed, posture unshaken—as if he hadn't even been trying.
Noah clenched his fists, trying to make sense of what was happening.
His body ached in places it shouldn't.
He had been blocking correctly.
Dodging correctly.
Attacking correctly.
And yet, he was the one getting pummeled.
He ran through the fight in his head.
The first hit—he had blocked it.
Then why had he felt another impact immediately after?
Maybe Riku was just insanely fast? Faster than his eyes could track?
No. That didn't add up.
Every counter had landed with unnatural precision.
Every block he made had failed.
If Riku was just fast, Noah would have at least seen some hint of movement. But there was nothing. No flicker of extra motion, no blur, no afterimage.