BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!
A catastrophic explosion devoured the battlefield.
Red lightning screamed across the valley like enraged dragons tearing through the heavens.
The ground folded inward.
Mountains cracked.
Entire sections of the black battlefield collapsed beneath the sheer pressure of the blast.
Yet despite the destruction—
the explosion itself was strangely calm.
Controlled.
Focused.
Not wasted.
Every fragment of power had purpose.
Every spark carried intent.
And that terrified me more than the explosion itself.
SWISH —!!!!!!!!!
My body appeared hundreds of meters away.
Sliding violently across the black earth.
My feet dug trenches through the ground before I finally stopped.
My entire body trembled.
Not from fear.
From instinct.
No—
from trauma.
My muscles twitched violently as flashes of the previous attack replayed through my mind.
That crimson sphere...
That compressed Authority...
The moment it exploded—
it had felt like my soul itself was being ripped apart.
Not just my body.
Not flesh.
Not bones.
Something deeper.
Something primal.
I had survived only because I poured nearly half my remaining energy into healing.
And now—
I was running dangerously low.
Blue lightning flickered weakly around my body like a dying flame struggling against a storm.
My breathing turned uneven.
Heavy.
Painful.
The smell of burnt flesh filled the air.
My flesh.
My eyes slowly lifted—
instantly locking onto him.
Standing in the distance.
Watching me.
Smiling.
Cruel me...
Poor soul...
His voice drifted through the battlefield softly.
Almost gently.
Like a caring teacher disappointed in a student.
That tone alone made my instincts scream louder.
Am getting tired of you making the same mistake...
Over...
and over...
and over again...
His final words turned cold.
Sharp enough to cut through flesh.
The atmosphere itself seemed to darken.
Instinct is for beasts...
DANGER!!!!!
DANGER!!!!!
DANGER!!!!!
Every fiber of my existence exploded into warning.
Without hesitation I twisted sideways—
BOOM!!!!!
A hand landed on my shoulder from behind.
Too late.
My pupils shrank violently.
Impossible—
His red hair drifted slowly in the wind behind me.
His eyes glowed like crimson stars.
He stood directly at my back.
No sound.
No presence.
No killing intent.
Nothing.
Like he had simply appeared there because reality allowed it.
Beast Ascension — Form I: The Awakening of the Roar!
The transformation thought barely formed—
BAMMMMMMM!!!!!!!
A devastating fist buried itself into my stomach.
My body folded instantly.
The impact alone nearly made my spine bend backward.
Pain exploded through my insides.
Not sharp.
Heavy.
Like my organs had just been crushed by a mountain.
The figure behind me dissolved slowly into red particles—
Scattering like ash.
A fake.
The real him stood before me.
Fist buried deep inside my gut.
Blue blood spilled from my lips—
before slowly turning crimson red.
His smile widened.
Predatory.
Cruel.
Satisfied.
His glowing red eyes stared directly into mine.
Instinct is for beasts...
That makes them predictable...
His voice was calm.
Teaching.
Mocking.
Intelligent beings fight with instinct...
AND thought.
Old patterns die hard...
You are improving...
but only along the same broken path...
His fist twisted deeper inside my stomach.
Agony detonated through my nerves.
My eyes widened.
My body convulsed violently.
You trust your instincts too much...
You react.
You don't think.
You fight like a beast pretending to be intelligent.
A pause.
His eyes narrowed.
Sure...
it works sometimes...
Travelling the wrong direction...
doesn't lead you to the destination.
BOOM!!!!!
He pushed his fist even deeper one final time—
forcing the lesson into both my body and soul.
Then—
he released me.
My body staggered backward.
Lightning around me flickered chaotically.
Weakly.
Like it was dying together with me.
The crimson aura around him slowly vanished.
His transformation dissolved.
Returning calmly to base form.
Like none of this had required effort.
I stared at him.
Breathing heavily.
Blood poured from my mouth uncontrollably.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
The warm liquid splashed onto the cracked black ground beneath me.
A bitter smile formed on my face.
I lost again.
Not because he was stronger.
Not because he was faster.
But because he understood me better than I understood myself.
Fear.
Pressure.
Pain.
Every time—
I relied on instinct.
And every single time—
he used it against me.
My knees weakened.
My vision blurred.
Lightning around my body dimmed further.
I tried healing—
but my energy reserves barely responded.
Nothing left.
Not enough.
Even if I healed...
what then?
Get beaten again?
No.
Worse.
Learn nothing again.
That would be true defeat.
My body slowly tilted backward.
Falling.
Falling.
The red sky rotated above me slowly.
My ears rang violently.
Sound became distorted.
Distant.
Muffled.
Blood flooded upward through my throat.
Cough—
Blood spilled from my lips again.
Warm.
Heavy.
My fingers twitched weakly.
Then even that strength began disappearing.
The battlefield faded slowly from focus.
My evil twin stared down at me emotionlessly.
Not attacking.
Not finishing me.
Watching.
Waiting.
Like a predator observing prey too weak to escape.
No...
Worse.
Like a teacher waiting for a student to understand.
My vision darkened further.
Darkness swallowed the edges of my sight.
Coldness crept through my body.
Then—
Darkness.
Complete darkness.
No battlefield.
No sky.
No pain.
Nothing.
I floated in endless emptiness.
Silent.
Still.
I couldn't tell whether I was conscious or unconscious.
Alive or dead.
Thought itself became slow.
Distant.
Then—
a voice echoed.
Not his.
Mine.
Why do you keep losing?
I frowned weakly.
Because he's smarter...
No.
The voice replied instantly.
Because you're fighting yourself incorrectly.
The darkness shifted.
Suddenly—
images appeared around me.
Fragments of every battle.
Every movement.
Every decision.
Every instinctive reaction.
I watched myself dodge before attacks arrived.
Counter instantly.
Retreat when pressured.
Explode forward aggressively when cornered.
Predictable.
Every single choice—
predictable.
Because they were all reactions.
Never decisions.
The voice echoed again.
Instinct is survival.
Thought is domination.
A predator that only reacts...
eventually dies.
Images shifted again.
I saw beasts hunting.
Ferocious.
Powerful.
Fast.
Then I saw hunters.
Calm.
Patient.
Manipulating the battlefield itself.
Leading prey exactly where they wanted.
One relied on instinct.
The other used instinct—
and intelligence.
Then—
I saw him.
The Nameless Sovereign.
Standing beneath endless stars.
Watching universes spin around him like dust.
Those ancient blue eyes slowly opened.
Power without control is destruction.
Instinct without thought is weakness.
You inherited power...
but not mastery.
The scene shattered.
Darkness returned.
Then suddenly—
my own red-eyed twin appeared before me within the void.
Walking slowly toward me.
Hands in pockets.
Calm.
Mocking.
Do you know why you really disgust me?
He asked softly.
I said nothing.
Because you keep pretending.
His red eyes glowed brighter.
Pretending you're a predator—
when you're still prey.
My eyes narrowed.
He stopped directly before me.
Close enough for me to feel his breath.
You think aggression is dominance.
You think power is pressure.
You think instinct is battle sense.
Pathetic.
His voice sharpened.
A true predator controls the pace of battle.
A true predator controls fear.
A true predator controls information.
He leaned closer.
You enter every exchange emotionally.
That is why I can read you.
My fists clenched slowly.
The darkness around us trembled violently.
Then his grin widened.
Finally...
anger.
Good.
But don't explode with it.
Use it.
BOOM!!!!!
The void shattered instantly.
My eyes snapped open.
GASP!!!!!
I inhaled violently.
Back on the battlefield.
Still lying in the crater.
My body screamed in agony.
But something had changed.
Silence.
My thoughts were quieter now.
Sharper.
Focused.
Across the battlefield—
my evil twin smiled.
This time—
genuinely.
Not mocking.
Interested.
The red lightning around him crackled softly.
Looks like...
you finally stopped panicking.
I slowly rose to my feet.
Blood still dripping from my lips.
Body damaged.
Energy nearly empty.
Yet my eyes—
remained calm.
Blue lightning flickered quietly around my body.
Controlled.
Focused.
Not explosive.
Not wild.
The battlefield became silent again.
The wind howled softly between us.
This time—
I wasn't looking at him emotionally.
I was observing.
His posture.
Breathing.
Foot placement.
Eye movement.
Tiny habits.
Tiny patterns.
For the first time since entering this floor—
I stopped seeing him as an enemy.
And started seeing him as information.
The smile on his face widened slowly.
Predatory.
Dangerous.
Now...
he whispered.
Show me you learned something.
BOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!