*****
Eugene sat in the observation room, his sharp gaze locked onto the floating holographic screen displaying the battle unfolding within the VR combat simulation.
His arms were crossed, his fingers tapping against his bicep impatiently.
"Lyrium Blackwood… let’s see if you truly deserve that number one spot."
He had been the one who voted for Lyrium to take the top rank, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t skeptical.
Strength was only one part of the equation—strategy, adaptability, and willpower mattered just as much.
And right now, facing off against Nox Sillon, Lyrium had the perfect chance to prove himself.
The battlefield inside the VR world was a dense forest, sunlight barely piercing through the thick canopy above.
The air was thick with tension as Lyrium and Nox stood across from each other, their gazes locked like two predators assessing their prey.
Nox’s grip tightened around his sword.
His dark eyes were cold and calculating, scanning Lyrium’s every move.
"You talk big,"
Nox muttered, shifting his stance, his blade angled slightly downward.
"Let’s see if you can back it up."
Lyrium smirked.
"I was about to say the same thing."
Then, they moved.
A single breath was all it took for the battle to erupt.
Nox lunged forward first, his sword cutting through the air like a silver streak.
Lyrium sidestepped effortlessly, his body moving with unnatural fluidity.
He twisted just enough to avoid the blade, feeling the wind pressure graze his cheek before countering with a sharp kick aimed at Nox’s ribs.
Nox barely managed to raise his arm in time to block, but the force sent him skidding backward, his boots digging into the dirt.
"Tch. He’s fast."
Eugene leaned forward slightly, analyzing every movement.
"Lyrium’s fighting style is unpredictable. It’s not just brute force—he’s baiting Nox into overcommitting."
Nox didn’t waste time.
He adjusted his stance and pressed forward, launching a series of rapid, precise strikes.
His sword flickered through the air, each slash carrying deadly intent.
Lyrium, however, remained composed.
His body twisted and weaved between the strikes, his instincts guiding him as if he could see into the future.
Clang—!
Clank—!
The sound of clashing steel echoed through the forest as Lyrium parried a blow with his bare hand, redirecting the force away from his body before stepping in close.
His fist shot forward like a bullet, aimed at Nox’s gut.
Boom—!
Nox gasped as the punch landed, sending him stumbling backward.
"Damn it… He’s not just strong—he’s reading my every move."
Despite the pain blooming in his stomach, Nox steadied himself and exhaled.
"I see,"
He muttered.
"You’re fast, and you’re strong… but let’s see how well you handle this."
Eugene’s eyes narrowed.
Then—
Something shifted.
The air around Nox darkened, and his presence became suffocating.
A violent surge of mana erupted from his body, causing the very ground beneath him to crack.
His muscles tensed, his breathing grew steadier, and his eyes... they weren’t the same anymore.
For a brief moment, Eugene saw something behind those eyes.
Pain.
Rage.
Desperation.
And then—
A flash of memory.
—A dimly lit alley, the scent of blood thick in the air.
A young boy clutching his sword with trembling hands, standing over a pile of bodies.
His own body was covered in wounds, his mind screaming at him to stop.
But he couldn’t stop.
Because if he stopped—
He would die too.
Back in the present, Nox’s grip on his sword tightened until his knuckles turned white.
The surge of power around him became overwhelming, and in the blink of an eye—
He disappeared.
Lyrium’s instincts screamed.
Clang—!
Lyrium barely managed to raise his arm in time as Nox’s sword came crashing down with the force of a falling meteor.
The sheer impact sent a shockwave through the forest, uprooting trees and sending debris flying in all directions.
"What the hell—?!"
Lyrium was thrown backward, his body crashing against a thick tree trunk.
His vision blurred for a split second before he forced himself to stand.
"That wasn’t just a boost… His entire fighting style changed."
Eugene’s grip on his armrest tightened.
"This is getting interesting."
Nox didn’t give Lyrium time to breathe.
He was already there.
A flash of steel.
A blur of movement.
Lyrium twisted his body just in time to avoid a decapitating slash, feeling the wind pressure cut across his cheek.
But before he could counter—
Bang—!
A crushing kick to his ribs sent him flying once more.
Lyrium rolled across the ground, coughing as pain flared through his body.
"Shit. That actually hurt."
He wiped the blood from his lips, then exhaled.
Slowly—his lips curled into a smirk.
"I see,"
Lyrium muttered, cracking his neck.
"So that’s how it is."
Nox didn’t respond.
He didn’t need to.
His body spoke for him.
This wasn’t just a fight anymore.
This was survival.
And Nox had spent his entire life surviving.
But Lyrium—
He wasn’t going to lose.
Not here.
Not now.
His mana surged.
The ground beneath his feet cracked as power flooded his veins.
His deep crimson eyes glowed ominously, and a suffocating pressure filled the air.
A notification appeared in his vision.
[Sword Art Currently using in Combat Fist Mode: Activated]
’I don’t know how is the sword art is working like this but if it is giving me a boost then so be it..."
For a brief second, silence filled the battlefield.
Then—
Lyrium vanished.
Boom—!
A deafening explosion erupted as Lyrium reappeared right in front of Nox, his fist already moving.
Nox barely managed to react.
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Bang—!
The punch landed squarely against his chest, sending him hurtling backward like a ragdoll.
He barely had time to recover before—
Lyrium was already there.
Another punch.
Another impact.
Each blow carried the weight of destruction itself.
Nox tried to counter, but Lyrium was faster. Stronger.
His movements were no longer just instinctive.
They were absolute.
Eugene’s heart pounded as he watched the scene unfold.
"What the hell is this?"
Nox, for all his strength, could no longer keep up.
His mind screamed at him to move, but his body refused.
Then—
The final strike.
Lyrium’s palm struck Nox’s chest.
A surge of mana exploded outward.
BOOM—!
Nox’s vision blurred.
Then—
Darkness.
Silence.
When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on the ground, staring up at the artificial sky.
His sword was gone.
His strength had faded.
And Lyrium stood over him.
"I win,"
Lyrium said simply.
Back in the observation room, Eugene leaned back, exhaling slowly.
A grin tugged at his lips.
"I made the right choice."
Lyrium Blackwood…
He wasn’t just strong.
He was a monster.
*****
"Instructor! His body temperature is rising rapidly—brain synchronization levels are skyrocketing!"
A panicked voice cut through the tense atmosphere of the observation room.
The speaker, a man in a lab coat, hurriedly adjusted the controls of the monitoring device, his eyes glued to the fluctuating data.
Numbers on the holographic display spiked dangerously high, the readings flashing red.
Alicia, standing at the center of the control station, narrowed her eyes.
"How high?"
"He’s already at 87% synchronization and climbing—this rate of acceleration is beyond normal!"
The scientist’s fingers trembled as he tapped frantically at the console.
"If this keeps up, his neural pathways or even his mana pool could overload!"
Alicia’s gaze snapped toward the VR pod where Lyrium lay motionless, the device on his head pulsing with unstable energy.
Inside the simulation, Lyrium had just secured his victory over Nox, his breathing heavy, body thrumming with residual power.
But something was wrong.
The simlated environment had not yet faded.
The world around him distorted.
The air crackled.
A strange pressure pressed down on Lyrium’s chest like an unseen force was weighing him down.
His limbs felt heavier. His vision blurred.
"What… is this…?"
[Warning: Unstable Synchronization Detected]
The system notification rang inside his head, but before he could make sense of it—
A piercing pain shot through his skull.
"Gh—!"
He clutched his head as static filled his ears.
His mind felt like it was splitting apart, memories not his own flashing across his consciousness—
A battlefield drenched in blood.
A familier face staring back at him in a shattered mirror.
A throne made of shadows, looming over a city in ruins.
"Lyrium!"
Alicia’s voice rang through the comms.
"Can you hear me? Your vitals are unstable—we’re forcefully ejecting you!"
No response.
"Shit,"
She muttered, turning to the scientist.
"Initiate emergency override—pull him out now!"
The scientist hesitated.
"But his brainwaves are still—"
"NOW!"
With a few swift keystrokes, the emergency protocol engaged.
*****
The sky shattered.
The ground cracked open.
And then—
Everything went black.
A violent gasp echoed in the room as Lyrium’s body jolted upright, the VR device detaching from his head with a loud hiss.
His chest heaved, sweat dripping down his face as his unfocused eyes darted around.
His mind was still catching up, his breath ragged.
His hands trembled slightly, as if they still remembered something his consciousness had already begun to forget.
Alicia exhaled.
"You’re back."
The scientist quickly checked the readings.
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"His vitals are stabilizing… brain synchronization is dropping back to safe levels."
A tense silence filled the room.
Then, Alicia crossed her arms and looked directly at Lyrium.
"What the hell happened in there?"
Lyrium took a shaky breath. He had no answer.
Only one thing was certain.
Something had changed.
But how is he going to explain what he just saw?
*****
Earlier in the simulation.
The Reflection of Ruin
Lyrium stood frozen, his breath shallow as he gazed into the cracked mirror before him.
The air around him was thick with smoke and the distant scent of burning.
Ruins stretched endlessly across the cityscape—broken buildings, shattered roads, and a sky void of warmth.
But none of it compared to the eerie sight before him.
A man—no, himself—stood on the other side of the fractured mirror.
The Lyrium Blackwood staring back at him was older, far older.
His once youthful features had withered into something gaunt and hollow.
His long, unkempt white hair swayed in the stagnant air, strands falling over his sickly pale face.
Dark shadows circled his sunken eyes, like a man who had long abandoned sleep.
But it was the eyes that unnerved Lyrium the most.
His counterpart’s irises were an unnatural, reversed shade—deep crimson engulfing where white should be, and his pupils glowing an unnatural, icy blue.
"What… the hell…?"
The reflection tilted its head slightly, as if analyzing him in return.
Then—
"Lyrium?"
The voice was his own, yet it was laced with exhaustion, with something heavier.
Regret.
Despair.
"Who... are you?"
Lyrium’s voice was barely above a whisper. His throat was dry.
His own heartbeat pounded in his ears.
The other Lyrium didn’t answer immediately. He simply raised a hand, pressing his palm against the glass.
The cracks in the mirror spread outward, distorting both their reflections.
"You already know,"
The older Lyrium finally spoke, his voice quieter this time.
Lyrium clenched his fists.
His nails dug into his palms.
No—he didn’t know.
He didn’t understand any of this.
But one thing was certain, he remembers this city... This place.. this town.. he has seen it before, when he was in Black Market with victor.
But why… why was he seeing himself that looked as if he had crawled out of a grave?
The silence stretched between them.
The other Lyrium lowered his hand, his lifeless gaze piercing straight into him.
Then, he whispered.
"Turn back."
A shiver ran down Lyrium’s spine.
"What…?"
The mirror suddenly shattered—splinters of glass bursting outward as a surge of pain tore through his mind.
And then—
Darkness.
****
Lyrium jolted awake, gasping for breath as the VR headset disconnected from his head with a sharp hiss.
His body convulsed slightly, drenched in cold sweat, his heartbeat erratic.
"Lyrium!"
Alicia’s voice rang in his ears, but it felt distant.
Everything felt distant.
The ruins.
The mirror.
His reflection.
That voice.
"Turn back."
He pressed a hand against his temple, his head pounding as though something had been forcefully ripped from his mind.
His vision swam, flickers of that eerie city flashing in and out.
Something was very, very wrong.
Alicia’s voice turned sharper.
"What the hell happened in there?"
Lyrium took a shaky breath.
How was he supposed to explain what he just saw?
*****