The training grounds of the Hollow Nexus shimmered with unstable reality—freshly rewritten, still adjusting to Minwoo's impossible choice. Cracked mythstone had reformed itself into smooth obsidian platforms, each one inscribed with glyphs of potential.
Minwoo stood in the center, Nexusblade resting across his back like a dormant storm.
He hadn't summoned it.He hadn't drawn it.
It came when he willed—and disappeared just the same. Not forged to be wielded.
Meant to answer.
Jin approached first.
Guild warrior. Chrono-Lancer. Survivor of three timelines.His armor bore scars from Xereth's collapse, but his stance was solid—casual, yet ready.
"You sure about this?" Jin asked, cracking his neck. "We still haven't figured out the limits of that thing."
"That's the point," Minwoo replied.
From the far edge of the platform, Lira stepped out of a flickering gate. Slim, angular, her cloak layered with relic glyphs. Arcweaver. Illusionist. Strategist.
"If we're doing this," Lira said, conjuring a prism of frozen time in one hand, "we're not holding back."
Minwoo smiled—genuinely.
"I wouldn't expect anything less."
[Combat Simulation Initiated – Nonlethal Parameters: Engaged]Opponents: Jin (Chrono-Lancer) & Lira (Arcweaver)Player: Minwoo – Nexusblade Wielder
First Movement: The Blink Clash
Jin dashed, spearhead splitting the air with a sonic ripple—standard opener, amplified by a temporal double-step. Lira layered illusions behind him, weaving shifting terrain and false Minwoos with each flick of her fingers.
Minwoo didn't parry.
He whispered.
And Nexusblade answered.
Reality bent.
One version of Jin froze mid-strike. Another stumbled, caught in a fragment of time he hadn't yet lived. The real Jin barely dodged the counter—a single diagonal slash that cut through not just his assault, but the illusion of success itself.
Skill Triggered: Fracture Reversal
Undo the cause, not the effect.
Lira gasped. Her prism shattered. Minwoo hadn't just dodged her magic—he'd made it so it was never cast.
Second Movement: The Spiral Bind
Lira switched tactics, summoning an Arcbind Spiral—a web of quantum chains. Meanwhile, Jin hurled his chrono-spear through the Nexus itself, trying to hit Minwoo from every timeline at once.
Smart.
Minwoo closed his eyes.
And Nexusblade sang.
He stepped left.
Just once.
Every version of the spear missed.
Then he raised the blade—not to strike, but to draw.
A single arc in the air.
A glyph that didn't belong to any language they'd ever seen.
The Spiral Bind collapsed. Time around it... gave up.
Skill Unlocked: Willscript Slash
Write your own rule into the fabric of combat. One rule per conflict.
Rule Applied: "Nothing touches the flame unless invited."
Jin dropped to one knee, spear humming, sweat dripping. "Okay. This is insane."
Lira clutched her shoulder where residual mythlight had burned her robes. "He's not fighting us. He's rewriting the concept of fighting."
Minwoo let the Nexusblade vanish into emberlight.
He exhaled—slowly. Tension uncoiling from his bones.
"I didn't win," he said.
"You didn't lose either," Lira countered, brushing ash from her fingers.
"You ended the fight before it could begin," Jin said, half impressed, half unnerved. "That thing doesn't obey combat logic. It obeys you."
Minwoo looked at his hands.
For a moment, they glowed—etched with soft, living script.
"Then I have to be careful what I believe," he whispered.
Post-Simulation Summary:
Nexusblade Efficiency: 12%
Harmonic Sync: Incomplete
Combat Designation: Rulebreaker-Class Artifact
Observation Note: Subject Minwoo continues to define the weapon's nature through choice, not command.
That night, Minwoo stood alone at the edge of the Nexus cliffs, the sky still rebuilding itself in new colors.
Lira joined him.
"You're scared," she said softly.
He nodded.
"It's not the power that scares me," Minwoo said. "It's how easy it is to use it without asking who I'm becoming."
Lira looked toward the stars. "Then promise me one thing."
He turned to her.
"Whatever world you build next… make sure you still belong in it."