The light from the explosion had long faded.
But something remained.
Not in the air.
Not in the arena.
Inside them.
They were brought back again.
No ceremony.
No explanation.
A needle pressed into Levi's arm.
Cold liquid flowed in.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Nothing.
Levi stared at his hand.
No warmth.
No reaction.
No healing.
His chest tightened.
A cough broke out.
Light at first.
Then deeper.
Fragments fell again.
Smaller this time.
Sharper.
Mixed with blood.
Velkar noticed immediately.
"…Still not working."
Nyxara didn't move.
But her surface flickered faintly.
She understood.
The Axian leader was already watching.
Not the team.
Levi.
"…Take them."
They were led away.
Not to recovery.
Not to another trial.
A different chamber.
Empty.
Closed.
The air inside felt… heavier.
Levi wiped his mouth.
"…What is this place?"
No one answered.
The Axian finally stepped forward.
"You."
Levi looked up.
"Your name."
A pause.
"…Levi."
Another breath.
"Levi Dijorio."
"Levi is enough."
The Axian nodded once.
"…As expected."
Silence settled.
Then—
"Only you… do not understand."
Levi frowned slightly.
"…Understand what?"
The Axian's gaze didn't shift.
"Dimensional energy."
The word lingered.
Levi didn't respond.
But his breathing slowed.
"You are not questioning why the injections failed?"
"…I was."
The Axian stepped closer.
"The one you fought."
"He released everything."
A brief pause.
"All remaining dimensional energy in his body."
Velkar spoke quietly.
"…Life energy."
The Axian glanced at her.
"…Correct."
He continued.
"When dimensional energy is depleted—"
"the body cannot recover."
His eyes returned to Levi.
"Because the damage…"
"is not physical."
Levi's fingers tightened slightly.
"It exists in the link."
A beat.
"The connection between you… and your system."
Levi's eyes sharpened.
"So if that breaks…"
The Axian finished for him.
"…you do not heal."
Silence.
Then—
"Dimensional damage…"
"…can only be repaired by dimensional energy."
Levi felt it.
That sentence landed heavier than anything before.
"And every time you repair it…"
A slight pause.
"You burn what remains of yourself."
Velkar's gaze lowered.
Nyxara didn't react.
But Kraith clicked his tongue.
"…So we're just spending our lives to fight."
The Axian didn't deny it.
"You do not die from wounds."
His voice remained calm.
"You die when there is nothing left… to maintain your existence."
Levi exhaled slowly.
That explained it.
The coughing.
The fragments.
Not damage.
Consumption.
Then the Axian raised his hand slightly.
"There are systems."
The air shifted.
"Basic."
"Wind. Water. Fire. Earth."
"Stable."
"Predictable."
"Special."
"Metal. Wood."
"Dependent on environment."
Levi's eyes moved slightly.
Metal.
He understood that part.
"External."
"Speed. Sound. Gravity."
"These do not create."
"They alter."
A brief pause.
"Abstract."
The word itself felt heavier.
"Emotion."
"Safety."
"Time."
The Axian's gaze darkened slightly.
"These… are unstable."
Levi didn't speak.
But he listened.
Carefully.
"Every system requires a link."
The Axian looked directly at him.
"A connection."
"Without it…"
"You cannot control anything."
Levi narrowed his eyes.
"…Then why can I?"
Silence.
For the first time the Axian didn't answer immediately.
"…Because yours…"
A pause.
"…is not normal."
Levi's breathing slowed.
"You are not using a core."
"Yet you are activating response."
Another step forward.
"You are not forming power."
"You are pulling from it."
Levi's pupils shifted slightly.
The cave.
The hollow ground.
"…Not creating."
"…Pulling."
The Axian nodded faintly.
"Which means—"
A slight pause.
"You are directly linked to the source."
The room felt colder.
"That is why…"
His gaze sharpened.
"…you are breaking."
Levi didn't move.
Didn't deny it.
Then another Axian entered.
He stepped forward.
Drew a circle on the ground.
"Stand inside."
No one questioned it.
Levi.
Kraith.
Nyxara.
Velkar.
They stepped in.
A faint glow appeared.
Subtle.
Barely visible.
Then their bodies reacted.
Velkar's breathing stabilized.
Nyxara's flickering slowed.
Kraith's stance steadied.
Levi froze.
The pressure inside him shifted.
Not gone.
But… controlled.
"…This…"
The Axian spoke again.
"Combat systems are common."
A pause.
"But restoration…"
His eyes dimmed slightly.
"…is rare."
Levi looked down at his hand again.
The fragments had stopped.
For now.
But he could still feel it.
Inside.
Moving.
Changing.
Not stable.
Never stable.
Levi clenched his fist slowly.
So this is it.
Not power.
Not growth.
A balance.
And he was already on the edge of losing it.