Phantom Limb

Sweat and blood mixed on the underground arena floor, illuminated only by flickering cold lights. Niran could hear Yoru's heavy breathing in front of him. The Drilling Fang had pierced through his defense, but the Iron Beast still hadn't fallen.

Yoru rolled his shoulder, a sinister crack echoing from his joints. He was still in fighting condition. His rigid muscles flexed like steel cables, ready to push forward.

Niran clenched his fists.

He couldn't let this fight drag on.

He stepped forward, ready to finish it, but suddenly, something changed.

It wasn't exhaustion. It wasn't fear. It was something deeper, something primal.

The iron ring Kao had brought him heated up against his finger.

Then, time stopped.

The arena vanished.

Niran found himself in a vast, undefined space, surrounded by dim shadows.

And in front of him stood a mutated monkey.

It was massive, its muscles sculpted by survival itself. But more than its size, its movements caught Niran's attention.

Its arms… stretched.

Not like elastic, not like an illusion, but with precise, controlled intent.

A deep breath.

Then, a snap.

The joints dislocated smoothly, allowing the arms to extend far beyond their natural limit.

A combat technique.

Phantom Limb.

Niran could feel the mechanics behind it.

The monkey wasn't simply stretching, it was using a controlled combination of joint dislocation and a specialized breathing technique to momentarily extend its reach:

Joints loosened, taking advantage of deep muscular relaxation.

Tendons stretched beyond normal limits, enhanced by increased oxygenation of the tissue.

The limb snapped back into place instantly, creating a whip-like effect, fast, unpredictable strikes from impossible angles.

It was brutal. It was precise.

And now, it was his.

Time resumed.

Yoru was still standing, still prepared to strike.

But now, Niran was different.

He took a slow, deep breath. His body relaxed.

Then, he moved.

His fist struck Yoru… from an impossible distance.

The crowd fell silent for a split second.

Then, a murmur swept through the spectators.

"The hell was that?!" someone shouted.

"Did his arm just, stretch?"

Some fighters in the audience leaned forward, eyes wide. They understood what had just happened.

"That wasn't magic," one whispered. "That was, control."

On the sidelines, Suda narrowed her eyes, a smirk tugging at her lips.

She had just found something truly special.

Niran didn't give Yoru a chance to recover.

Another feint, another whip-like punch from outside normal range.

Yoru staggered, unable to predict the attacks. He was losing control.

Yoru spat blood onto the ground, his stance wobbling. He was on the back foot now, but he refused to go down without a fight.

With a roar, he lunged forward, swinging his massive fist in a wild arc. Niran barely avoided it, twisting his body to slip past the attack.

But Yoru wasn't finished. He threw another punch, then another, relentless and violent.

Niran felt the pressure.

Even though Yoru was slower than before, his strikes were heavy, each one aiming to end the fight with a single hit. Niran dodged again, weaving through the assault, but one glancing blow brushed his ribs, and even that was enough to make his bones rattle.

He couldn't afford to let Yoru land a clean hit.

The Iron Beast gritted his teeth and charged forward again, attempting to smother Niran in close quarters.

But that was a mistake.

Niran took a shallow breath, Phantom Limb activated again.

His arm whipped forward, extending just enough to snap Yoru's head back. Another strike, this time to his ribs.

A deep, dull crack.

Yoru coughed violently, staggering.

Now, he was truly beginning to break.

Every time he tried to close the distance, another strike repelled him.

For the first time in this fight, he was on the defensive.

After a precise flurry of blows, Yoru's knees buckled.

The Iron Beast knelt, breath ragged.

Niran knew this was it.

One final strike and he'd put him down for good.

He stepped forward.

And then, a chill ran down his spine.

Something felt wrong.

Slowly, Yoru lifted his head.

But he was no longer the same man.

His eyes gleamed with a feral light, something more beast than human.

The air around him thickened. His body trembled, as though something primal was surfacing.

Then, with a deep, guttural growl, he stood up.

The final round was about to begin.