Chapter 33: Unraveled Edges

The simulation room pulsed with ambient light—walls of shifting energy mimicking corrupted terrain. Sand fused with steel, and flickers of unstable Will shimmered through the artificial battlefield. The floor beneath Kael's boots felt too real, too alive.

The training had started like usual. Ryuu, Tetsu, and Kael had formed a triangle formation, darting between cover while hostile AI proxies attacked from every direction. Hana assisted from a distance, launching pinpoint Will bursts to clear their flanks.

Kael's breath was steady. He moved like water—dodging, flipping, striking with Voidstep precision. The ground beneath him cracked with each motion, black energy leaking out with every hit he landed.

But then… something shifted.

A pulse. From within.

Kael froze mid-dash, clutching his chest as a jagged current shot through his limbs. A rush of cold spread under his skin, his fingers twitching as purple and black lightning laced across his arms.

Tetsu called out, "Kael? You good?"

Kael staggered forward. "I don't… something's wrong."

The air changed. The training room darkened, the simulated sky twisting into an eclipse. The ground fractured beneath Kael, a swirl of shadow spiraling from his feet outward in a ten-meter radius.

Void energy bled from him in waves—raw, unstable, and violent.

Tetsu barely dodged a spike of black energy that shot from Kael's side, narrowly avoiding impalement. Ryuu moved to cover, his eyes narrowed. "He's losing control. That's not training mode anymore!"

Kael's eyes glowed with unstable power—purple iris rimmed with red veins. His Will flared on its own, tendrils lashing out at random. "I can't stop it!" he shouted, his voice distorted, echoing like two tones layered.

Hana had rushed forward, unaware.

"Kael!"

She reached out just as one of the tendrils snapped toward her—more instinct than aim. It grazed her cheek, slicing a thin line across her face. Blood beaded instantly.

Kael's eyes widened in horror. "Hana—NO!"

But before he could do anything, Kaede appeared behind him in a blur of motion.

With one swift strike, Kaede slammed the hilt of his blade against the base of Kael's neck, cutting his Will flow instantly.

The shadows collapsed. Kael dropped.

Silence.

Hana touched her cheek, staring at the small cut. "I'm… I'm fine," she said, though her voice shook slightly.

Tetsu rushed to Kael's side. "He's out cold."

Kaede lowered his sword, his brow tense. "His Will is evolving faster than his control. If we don't help him stabilize soon, next time… someone won't walk away with just a scratch."

Ryuu looked at Kael's unconscious body. "You saw that power. He's not even close to his limit yet… and it already did that."

Hana stood up, quietly walking toward the exit. "I'll go to the infirmary. It's nothing serious."

Kaede gave a nod. "Let the medics clean it up anyway. He won't forgive himself otherwise."

As Hana left the room, one hand on her cheek, she glanced back.

Kael lay still, his face peaceful—but troubled. Even unconscious, his hand was clenched.

She sighed. "Idiot," she whispered. "Still trying to carry it all on your own."