The clash reverberated like a thunderclap inside the simulated chamber. Veilfang scraped against one of Virex's twin blades, and the resulting shockwave cracked the stone beneath Taesung's feet. Sparks danced in the air as if the weapons themselves were rejecting each other, their energies volatile and raw.
Virex's clone smiled behind his mask, calm and brutal, his glowing blue eyes narrowing with something between challenge and recognition.
"Still alive? Then let's see what the Rift has truly made of you."
He moved first.
Taesung barely had time to react. Virex blurred forward with terrifying speed—less a man and more a force. Twin blades arced in an X, slashing horizontally at neck-height. Taesung teleported behind him with a flash, feet skimming across the floor. He twisted and slashed—but the Virex clone rotated mid-air, one blade cutting down.
Taesung's shoulder exploded with pain.
Blood sprayed.
[Simulation Pain Dampening at 45%]
The message flickered in the corner of his vision, but he ignored it. Pain was real enough. Too real.
Veilfang vibrated violently in his hand as he parried the next blow. It wasn't just reacting to impact. It was remembering.
Virex had wielded it once. This sword had belonged to him before.
And now it was like trying to tame lightning with a leather strap.
Taesung gritted his teeth and fell back, sliding across the cracked floor, vision blurred by sweat and blood. His clone skill activated—two illusions of himself bursting outward, each mimicking his movements. The real Taesung dove to the left, the others darting forward.
Virex didn't fall for it. He moved like he could see through lies. He bisected one clone in an instant, kicked the other aside, and hurtled toward the real Taesung again.
Taesung raised Veilfang.
The impact nearly disarmed him.
The blade screamed. A pulse of black mist erupted from the clash—Veilfang's Spectral Edge flaring, trying to cut through the clone's Rift-imbued flesh. But Virex held, eyes gleaming, muscles flexing under that pale, inhuman skin.
Their faces were inches apart now.
"You're stronger than before," Virex said. "But still hesitating."
Taesung's teeth clenched.
"Then let me show you how far I've come."
Shadow Meld.
He vanished. Dissolved into smoke. Virex's blade sliced through empty air.
Taesung emerged from the wall behind him and drove Veilfang straight at the clone's spine.
But Virex was gone.
The clone had already moved. Anticipated. Adapted.
A blade cut upward in a brutal arc, and Taesung barely leaned back. The edge grazed his chin—drew blood. His heartbeat roared in his ears.
Echo Step.
A phantom peeled from his skin and exploded mid-air, forcing Virex to dodge with a single sharp movement.
Taesung blinked sweat from his eyes, gasping. His limbs felt heavier now. His mind fogged at the edges.
It's not enough.
The Rift Mark on his chest burned like molten steel.
Why? Why now?
[WARNING: Neural Strain Approaching 80%]
[Reduce Activity or Risk System Lockout]
But the clone wasn't slowing down. If anything, Virex was getting faster. Stronger. He was learning Taesung's patterns—anticipating cooldowns, exploiting weaknesses between skills.
That's what makes him dangerous. He learns mid-fight.
He's not a simulation. He's a memory. A ghost wearing my death.
Veilfang pulsed again.
And yet… he's not unbeatable.
Taesung took a shaky breath. Dropped low. Dug his heel into the stone.
"Let's try something else."
He surged forward—this time without teleportation, without deception. Pure speed. Veilfang carved through the air, trailing light. He threw a feint to the left, then spun low, cutting upward with Soul Drain activated.
The blade struck.
The simulation flickered. The Virex clone reeled slightly, and a burst of Rift energy surged into Taesung's veins. It hit like fire—but the burn cleared the fog from his mind. His muscles tightened. Vision sharpened.
Then came the next attack.
Virex's foot collided with his ribs—he flew backward like a ragdoll, smashed into a wall of jagged stone. Cracks spiderwebbed out from the impact.
Taesung coughed blood.
[Warning: Neural Feedback at 91%]
He barely registered it.
Because something was changing.
His Rift Mark was pulsing in time with Veilfang.
The sword no longer fought him. It began to breathe with him.
A hum filled the air—low, mournful, deep.
Veilfang was remembering. But now it was listening.
He rose slowly, blood dripping from his jaw.
A strange wind stirred the simulated air, though there was no breeze. The shadows deepened around him.
Something is awakening.
Taesung raised the sword. His fingers curled tighter around the hilt.
A black mist coiled along the blade like a living thing. Not the Spectral Edge. Something… else.
Veilfang's color changed—its edge glowing faint green, echoing Taesung's eyes.
And in that moment, he understood.
Veilfang didn't want to obey.
It wanted to fight.
Not beside him.
With him.
He lunged.
Virex responded instantly, blades sweeping to block—but this time, Veilfang phased partially through them. The collision still rang out, but Taesung twisted his body mid-motion, kicked off the ground, and spun behind Virex in a fluid, impossible movement.
Veil Step.
Not a skill. Not yet. But an instinct. Born of Riftlight, memory, and madness.
His blade raked down Virex's back.
The clone let out a grunt and staggered for the first time.
Taesung didn't stop.
He triggered Teleport again—into the air. Reversed gravity. Slammed down from above like a meteor. Veilfang screamed with him, both hunter and weapon howling through the void.
Virex crossed his swords—blocked—
But it was too late.
Taesung broke through.
The impact cratered the stone floor. A geyser of shadow and light exploded outward. Everything flickered—walls, torches, even the system UI.
And when the dust settled…
Virex was on one knee, mask cracked.
Breathing hard.
His eyes met Taesung's.
"That sword… finally answers to someone else."
Taesung raised it one last time.
And Virex didn't resist.
"Good," the clone said. "Then I can rest."
Veilfang pierced through his chest, clean and final.
The clone dissolved into smoke. No explosion. No burst of light. Just silence.
—
[Simulation Complete]
[Combat Performance: 98.1%]
[Skill Synchronization Achieved: 6/7]
[Warning: Experimental Technique Detected — Cataloging as "Veil Step" (Unregistered)]
[Neural Load Exceeded Safety Threshold. Emergency Ejection Initiated]
—
The chamber hissed as the pod opened.
Taesung collapsed to his knees, gasping like he'd been underwater for hours. His shirt was soaked through with sweat. Blood dripped from his nose.
But his hands… they were steady.
His reflection in the dark alloy wall stared back at him. Hair wild. Eyes glowing faint green. A faint curl of black smoke still clinging to Veilfang.
He was no longer just a hunter.
Something else was waking inside him.
Above, in the observation deck, Seong Jinhwan stood frozen in place.
One of the technicians whispered, "He beat Virex's full memory clone… with a new skill the system couldn't even recognize."
Jinhwan's voice was quiet, almost reverent.
"He's beginning to change the rules."
But someone else had been watching.
Far above. From another monitor. Behind another locked door.
A man in a dark coat.
Choi Daehyun.
The Apex Sovereign.
He leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing.
And smiled.