## Liam''s Perspective


    My fist stopped just inches from Julian''s face.


    Not by my choice. Something had caught my arm—a strange, dark tendril of energy wrapped around my wrist. It pulsed with an eerie ckness that seemed to swallow the golden light emanating from my skin.


    "I''ll handle this, Captain Radford."


    Dudley Lowell stepped forward, his body radiating with that same unnatural ck energy. His eyes, once familiar, now looked hollow and cold.


    Julian smirked, stepping back with an approving nod. "Very well, Lowell. Show Knight the consequences of his impotent fury."


    I wrenched my arm free, the dark tendril dissolving as I pulled away. "Dudley? What the hell is this?"


    Dudley smiled, but there was nothing of the man I''d known in that expression. "This is power, Knight. Real power." The ck energy swirled around him like living smoke. "I''ve been... upgraded."


    "You mean corrupted," I spat.


    Julianughed. "Such righteous indignation! Lowell simply made the smart choice. Unlike you, he knows opportunity when he sees it."


    Dudley''s gaze never left mine. "I want to test my new abilities, Captain. Let me fight Knight."


    "By all means," Julian waved his hand dismissively. "Consider it your graduation exam."


    The crowd of participants formed a loose circle around us, eager for blood sport after the day''s tensions. I saw fear in some eyes, excitement in others. Frederick pushed through, trying to reach me.


    "Knight, don''t do this!" he called out. "It''s exactly what they want!" <var ss="meta-ref-static">Love this story? Show support at *.</var>


    Julian''s finger hovered over the control device. "Step back, Cohen. Unless you want another lesson in obedience."


    Frederick''s face twisted with rage, but he stopped advancing. Instead, he called out, "I''ll take Knight''s ce! Let me fight Lowell instead!"


    Dudley didn''t even look at him. "No. It has to be Knight."


    Before anyone could react, Frederick charged at Dudley, fist raised. "Enough of this!"


    Dudley didn''t even turn. The ck energy simply shifted, forming a shield that caught Frederick''s punch. Instead of deflecting, it seemed to absorb the impact, then pushed back, sending Frederick stumbling backward.


    "What the hell?" Frederick stared at his fist in confusion.


    Dudley finally nced at him. "Don''t interfere again. This is between me and Knight."


    I helped Frederick regain his bnce. "What is that energy?"


    "I don''t know," Frederick muttered. "But it felt... wrong. Like hitting cotton filled with nails."


    Julian pped his hands, drawing everyone''s attention. "The rules are simple. Fight until one of you yields or can no longer continue. Begin whenever you''re ready."


    I turned to face Dudley fully. "Why are you doing this? We don''t have to be enemies."


    "We were never friends," Dudley replied. "You were always looking down on me, weren''t you? The mighty Liam Knight, with his mysterious golden power."


    "That''s not true."


    "It doesn''t matter now." Dark energy gathered around Dudley''s hands. "What matters is that after today, I''ll have proven myself. I''ll move up in rank. No more scraps from the Guild''s table."


    I shook my head. "And you''re willing to be Julian''s puppet for that?"


    Dudley''s expression hardened. "Better a living puppet than a dead hero."


    He attacked without further warning, the ck energy extending from his hands like whips. I dodged the first strike, but the second caught me across the shoulder. It felt bizarre—not solid like a punch, not cutting like a de, but something in between that sent a chill through my body.


    I countered with a direct attack, golden light ring around my fist. Dudley didn''t dodge. Instead, he let the ck energy form a shield before him. My punch connected, and for a moment, I thought I''d broken through.


    Then I felt it—the strange absorption effect Frederick had mentioned. My fist sank into the darkness as if punching a pit of tar, before being pushed back with equal force.


    "Surprised?" Dudleyughed. "This energy adapts. It''s both hard and softbined."


    I jumped back, reassessing. "What did they do to you, Dudley?"


    "They made me better." He flexed his fingers, the ck energy dancing between them. "Stronger. More valuable."


    He attacked again, this time forming the energy into spikes that shot toward me from multiple angles. I managed to dodge most, but one grazed my side, sending that same unnatural chill through my body.


    "You can''t win against this," Dudley called, confidence growing with each exchange. "My energy absorbs your attacks and returns them. The harder you hit, the worse it hurts you."


    To demonstrate, he formed a shield and beckoned me forward. "Try again. See for yourself."


    I obliged, focusing golden light into my fist before driving it directly into his shield. Again, that strange resistance, like punching through thick mud, before my own force rebounded and sent me staggering backward.


    The crowd murmured in appreciation. Julian watched with undisguised satisfaction.


    "What''s wrong, Knight?" Dudley taunted. "Not so easy when you can''t simply overpower your opponent, is it?"


    He was right. Every direct attack was being nullified or returned. I needed a different approach.


    I circled him slowly, gathering my thoughts. "That energy... it''s not natural. It''s hurting you, isn''t it?"


    A flicker of something—doubt?—crossed Dudley''s face. "You''re stalling."


    "I can see it in your eyes," I pressed. "This isn''t you, Dudley. Whatever they''ve done—"


    "Enough!" Heunched a massive wave of ck energy that forced me to dive aside. The ground where I''d stood cracked and sizzled.


    Dudley followed up immediately, not giving me time to recover. The dark tendrils wrapped around my ankle and yanked, sending me crashing to the ground. Before I could roll away, more tendrils bound my arms and legs.


    "The principle is called ''softness oveing hardness,''" Dudley exined, standing over me. "Your brute strength means nothing against this technique."


    He tightened the bindings, and I felt my breath being squeezed out. Golden light red reflexively around my body, but the ck energy simply absorbed it, growing darker and stronger.


    "Submit," Dudley demanded. "Acknowledge my superiority, and I might show mercy."


    Julian''s smug face appeared behind Dudley''s shoulder. "Yes, Knight. Submit. It''s what you do best, isn''t it? Surrendering when things get difficult? Just like you surrendered Isabelle to us."


    Rage flooded through me at his words. Not the blind fury from before, but something colder and more focused. I stopped struggling against the bindings and instead concentrated on my core, where the golden energy originated.


    "What''s this?" Julian mocked. "Giving up already?"


    I ignored him, focusing inward. The golden light dimmed around my body but intensified within. I felt my cultivated energy circting faster, hotter.


    Dudley frowned, sensing something changing. "What are you doing?"


    I didn''t answer. Instead, I let the energy build until my entire being felt like apressed spring.


    "Whatever you''re nning won''t work," Dudley said, but I heard uncertainty in his voice. "My energy counters force with—"


    I released everything at once—not as a punch or a directed attack, but as a pure explosion of power radiating outward from every pore. The golden light erupted like a miniature sun.


    The ck bindings disintegrated. Dudley was thrown backward, crashing into several onlookers before rolling to a stop. His ck energy flickered erratically around him.


    I rose slowly to my feet, golden light still zing. "You''re right about one thing, Dudley. Softness can ovee hardness."


    I stalked toward him as he struggled to stand. "But there''s a limit. When the force is overwhelming enough..."


    Dudley managed to get upright, ck energy gathering frantically around his hands. His eyes now showed fear. "Stay back!"


    Heunched another attack, dark tendrils shooting toward me with desperate speed. I didn''t dodge. Instead, I let my golden energy re brighter, meeting his darkness head-on.


    This time, there was no absorption. The golden light cut through the ck tendrils like a torch through cobwebs.


    Dudley''s eyes widened in disbelief. He backed away, gathering more darkness around himself. "Impossible! This technique is supposed to counter any direct force!"


    "What softness oveing hardness?" I roared, my whole body burning with vitality and exuding overwhelming spiritual fire. "As long as the power is strong enough, it can break anything!"