Raid 4

The shadows exploded toward us.

Varian's form twisted, merging with the darkness itself. A wave of black tendrils lashed out, sharp as blades. I barely dodged, rolling to the side as one cut through the stone where I had just stood.

Damon wasn't as lucky—one grazed his arm, slicing through his sleeve and drawing blood. He gritted his teeth. "That's getting annoying."

I had fought strong enemies before, but this wasn't normal.

[DING!]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

▶ [Warning! Unidentified Energy Detected]

▶ Analyzing…

▶ …Error. Unable to process target's power source.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

I froze. What?

The system… couldn't identify Varian's power?

Varian smirked. "Something wrong, prince?"

Before I could answer, he vanished.

I barely had time to react before he reappeared behind me, his dagger already descending toward my back.

[DING!] [Skill Activated: Reflex Boost (F)]

I twisted at the last second—his blade missed my spine but still sank into my shoulder.

Pain shot through my body.

[Health -15]

I gritted my teeth and countered, slashing upward. He dodged effortlessly, flipping back into the shadows.

Damon lunged at him, but his sword passed through nothing but air.

"That's not normal shadow magic," Damon muttered.

He was right. Something was off. I had fought assassins before, but Varian's abilities felt… different. Too refined. Too calculated.

Like he knew exactly how we would fight.

Then it hit me.

"He's like me," I whispered.

Damon glanced at me. "What?"

I clenched my jaw. Varian wasn't just strong. He knew our movements, our strategies—just like I knew the future.

Because he had already lived this before.

"Varian is a regressor."

The moment I said it, Varian's smirk widened. His yellow eyes glowed in the dim light.

"Ah," he said softly. "So, you finally figured it out."