After their walk through the empire, Kael Veyris changed direction without warning.
Wukong noticed immediately.
Where now?
Kael answered simply:
Training room.
Wukong's golden eyes lit up.
Now we're talking.
Kael led him through a corridor behind the main castle.
No guards.
No doors.
Only a shift in reality.
Then they entered.
The room was vast beyond logic.
Its floor stretched like an endless battlefield.
Its walls moved with adaptive geometry.
The air itself tested strength.
Wukong whistled.
"…Nice place."
Ignisia, who had followed out of curiosity, crossed her arms.
"…Try not to break it."
Wukong grinned.
"…No promises."Across the chamber, giant armored puppets rose from the ground.
Constructs built for combat training.
Each one radiated absurd force.
Cosmyra's voice echoed through the room.
"…Baseline strength rating: six hundred thousand, five hundred seventy-three."
Wukong blinked.
"…That specific?"
Kael nodded.
"…Yes."
The puppets moved.
Fast.
Heavy.
Perfect coordination.
Wukong laughed softly.
"…Good."One puppet swung a massive fist.
Wukong jumped, spinning over it.
Another launched spears of compressed force.
He landed on one spear, balanced casually, then sprang forward.
His staff expanded mid-air.
CRASH.
One puppet shattered backward.
More rose.
Dozens now.
Wukong cracked his neck.
"…Guess we're warming up."Wukong plucked hairs from his arm and blew them into the air.
Thousands of golden sparks scattered.
Then
they became clones.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Each armed.
Each grinning.
Each carrying the same wild confidence.
Ignisia smirked.
"…Okay. That's useful."
The clones charged.
Some became beasts.
Some transformed into spears.
Some became giant versions of Wukong himself.
Chaos filled the chamber.
But controlled chaos.The puppets were powerful.
They could crush mountains, split dimensions, and hit with six hundred thousand five hundred seventy-three units of force "like nothing."
But now they faced thousands of Monkey Kings.
One clone distracted.
Another struck.
Ten more piled on laughing.
Some turned into chains.
Others into birds pecking at sensors.
One simply sat on a puppet's head yelling insults.
Wukong himself leapt through the center, staff spinning.
CRASH.
CRACK.
BOOM.
Within minutes
every puppet was down.The chamber reset itself calmly.
Broken puppets rebuilt from the floor.
Dust vanished.
Geometry corrected.
Wukong rested the staff on his shoulder.
That was fun.
Kael looked at the restored arena.
You adapted quickly.
Wukong grinned.
…Your toys are decent.
Ignisia scoffed.
"…Decent?"
Wukong laughed.
"…Alright, very decent."Wukong looked at Kael.
"…Now show me why you need a room like this."
Kael walked toward the center.
The chamber reacted instantly.
Every puppet in the room activated at once.
Thousands.
Then tens of thousands.
Then more beyond visible count.
Wukong's grin widened.
"…Now this I want to see."Kael stood alone in the middle of the endless chamber.
The puppet legion surrounded him from every direction.
Wukong leaned on his staff, watching closely.
For the first time since arriving
he wanted to measure not myth, not reputation…
but Kael Veyris directly.
Kael raised one hand.
The room went silent.