(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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The last hour had been quiet — deceptively so.

Orion and Margaret had moved through the dense forest in near silence, their footsteps light, rhythm matching unconsciously. Protocol outlined everything: branches, mana residue, faint pressure trails from other participants. The earlier contractions had squeezed the field tighter; every encounter came faster now.

They'd fought six times in the past hour — four groups, two individuals. None had lasted long.

Margaret handled herself better than expected. Her strikes were strong and clean when her emotions aligned, but her instability remained. Her power spiked and fell unpredictably; one moment she was overwhelming, the next she was barely keeping balance. Orion didn't mind — she was adapting, learning to recognise her own rhythm.

He, on the other hand, had found near-perfect synchronisation with Protocol. The instability Margaret once caused no longer disrupted his threads. It adjusted automatically, weaving around her fluctuations.

Each encounter became another data point.

Now, an hour later, they stood in the shadow of a half-collapsed, across from him stood a boy about his age, tall, sharp-eyed, silver hair cropped short. His stance was low and balanced, his breathing steady. His uniform bore faint rips didn't falter.

"You're the one at the top," the boy said simply.

Orion didn't answer, just smirked.

The boy smiled faintly. "Good. Then I'll know where I stand."

He moved first, his form blurring

Orion met it halfway.

The first strike clashed mid-air, soundless. Orion's palm intercepted a blow meant for his jaw, redirecting it with minimal effort. The second came from below; he turned his wrist, shifting balance. His expression didn't change.

Margaret watched from the side, her fists clenched. She could barely follow their motion — two figures crossing and recrossing the ruin, dust rising around them.

Each time the boy struck, Orion's responses shortened. Protocol predicted, analyzed, and countered.

The boy tried a feint, stepping through two parallel motions of Kairos Step — one real, one illusion from speed. Orion ignored both, his body sliding into the only angle that mattered. His counter struck the shoulder cleanly, stopping the boy's next attack before it began.

The impact pushed him back three steps.

"You read me," he said, voice steady.

"I read everything," Orion replied.

The boy chuckled despite the pain.

"You sound like you believe that." The boy said amused.

Orion's silence was the only answer.

He advanced again, this time reinforcing his limbs with more mana. Each blow came heavier, sharper. Orion matched them without strain, movements small, perfection through precision.

The rhythm shifted.

Orion's strikes weren't forceful, but they landed exactly where they needed to. A twist of the wrist, a flick of pressure — the boy's guard opened inch by inch.

Within a minute, Orion had broken through his defense completely.

A final hit to the ribs, and the boy dropped to one knee, gasping.

It wasn't a knockout. Orion didn't intend to eliminate him immediately.

"You're not bad," Orion said, tone neutral.

The boy looked up, still catching his breath.

"Not good enough, either." He replied with a frown.

Margaret stepped closer, cautious but impressed. She'd seen Orion fight before, but never like this, his opponent this time was even more formidable.

The boy reached for his sigil stone and placed it on the ground. "Take it."

Orion shook his head. "Keep it."

The boy frowned, confused.

"You're strong. You'll be more useful later," Orion said, turning away.

Margaret exhaled slowly.

"You really enjoy making people owe you." She commented.

"Favor holds more value than points," Orion replied.

"Besides, I'm still first. I really shouldn't take more than I need." He finished.

They left the ruin together, moving west. The forest was quieter now, fewer mana signatures in range. Most of the weaker participants were already gone.

Margaret broke the silence first. "You don't talk much during fights."

"There's no need to."

"You could at least say something after you win."

"I just did."

She sighed. "You're impossible."

Orion didn't reply, though a faint smile flickered across his face.

The next clearing opened into a wide plain of flattened grass. Dozens had fought here earlier — faint scuff marks still lingered, traces of mana mixed into the air. Protocol picked up residual signs— evidence of at least four eliminations within the last ten minutes.

"We're getting close to the centre," Margaret said.

He nodded. "Which means the stronger ones are nearby."

The sky pulsed faintly above — the fifth compression beginning. Orion's awareness expanded instinctively, registering mana signatures flickering across the field. Fewer than two hundred remained active now.

One signature stood out. Familiar. Sharp. Controlled. Seris.

Another close to it — Caelum.

He smiled.

"Something up?" Margaret asked.

"I guess."

Before she could ask more, the air shifted again. A sudden ripple of force struck from the left — fast, precise, imbued with intent. Orion reacted instantly, Kairos Step triggering mid-pulse. He appeared three meters back, the ground where he'd stood collapsing inward from the strike.

A figure stepped from the shadows — a tall boy with dark eyes and confident bearing, faint spatial distortion flickering around his hands.

He smiled lightly. "I was hoping to meet you."

Orion adjusted his stance. "You just did."

The boy grinned. "Let's see what the top rank feels like."

Before Margaret could move, they collided.

The impact cracked the ground, air splitting from the force. Orion's counter came instantly — a short strike to the chest, parried by a twist of space.

Margaret could barely track them now — the exchange was faster than anything she'd seen all day. The boy's style was pure aggression; Orion's, pure control.

"Name?" Orion asked mid-exchange.

"Kaelen," he replied, swinging again.

The name registered.

Orion's expression barely shifted, but inside, his focus sharpened.

This wasn't a random opponent. This was the one who'd held third place before him — and if Seris and Caelum had already fought him, that meant this was no coincidence.

Margaret stood frozen at the edge of the field, unsure whether to intervene..

Kaelen smirked. "You're faster than I expected."

"You're slower than I hoped." Orion commented with a chuckle.

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