Darkness swallowed Kaede whole.
Not the kind of darkness that felt like night or shadow. This was different—digital, coded, absolute. The kind that stripped away your senses and left only thoughts behind.
Then came the sound: a single, slow beat.
Thump… thump…
Heartbeat?
No. It was the rhythm of something else.
A spotlight snapped on.
Kaede stood in a circular arena—empty, silent, with pixelated fog swirling at its edges. The ground was glass-like, reflecting everything… including him.
[Trial Initiated: Frame Analysis Engaged]
[Subject: KAEDE_TACHIBANA]
[Constructing Adversary…]
From the other side of the arena, the fog thickened… then parted.
Out stepped himself.
Same avatar. Same armor. Same weapons. But something was off. The reflection's eyes glowed red. Its posture was sharper, more feral. And it smiled.
[Trial Boss: MIRROR_KAEDE // "The Ghost in the Input"]
Level: Adaptive | Sync Rate: 100%
Kaede instinctively drew his blade.
"Cute," he muttered. "A doppelgänger fight. Classic."
His mirror twin didn't respond. It blurred forward with impossible speed, faster than any enemy Kaede had fought. He barely deflected the first strike.
Clang!
The sound rang in his bones.
Kaede flipped back, grinding to a halt across the smooth floor. He could feel the weight of the attack in his wrists. The Mirror's speed… was his own, pushed to the limit.
"Alright," he whispered. "Let's dance."
He activated Edge Step.
His body blinked sideways, a light-speed dash—reappearing behind his twin with a wide arc slash. The Mirror parried without even turning, countering with a spinning strike that clipped Kaede's shoulder.
[WARNING: Armor Integrity -8%]
Pain flashed. Real pain. Not unbearable—but real enough to fuel his blood.
The fight intensified.
Slashes. Parries. Feints. Movement so fast it blurred time itself. The Mirror anticipated every pattern Kaede had ever used—because it was him. Every habit. Every combo. Every exploit.
But it lacked one thing.
Creativity.
Kaede switched up his rhythm. Purposefully delayed a strike. Cancelled a combo midway to throw off timing. Then—he feigned vulnerability.
The Mirror lunged for the kill.
Too predictable.
Kaede dropped low, spun, and drove his blade through the Mirror's exposed core.
CRITICAL HIT.
The twin gasped silently, data breaking apart like glass under pressure.
[Trial Complete]
[Sync Tolerance Increased]
[New Ability Unlocked: Phantom Cancel]
[Level Up: 3]
The arena dissolved into white.
Kaede stood alone once more, breathing hard but victorious.
Then a voice echoed—one he hadn't heard in years.
"Impressive… Kaede."
He turned sharply.
A new figure stood at the edge of the light—older, calm, confident.
It was his brother.
But… that couldn't be.