The echo of steel reverberated through the Cathedral, mixing with the cries of battle and the rumble of the collapsing structure. Ryker's breathing was ragged as he pressed his back against a fractured pillar. Sweat dripped down his brow, stinging his eyes but he didn't dare lower his guard.
Boom!!!
Chunks of marble crashed down behind him, sending a tremor through the ground. The Cathedral was slowly giving way. Cracks spiderwebbed along the floor, and the ornate ceiling groaned with strain.
But that wasn't what made his heart pound.
It was the simulant, his simulant standing at the far end of the hall. The radiant blade it wielded pulsed with divine fury, eyes locked on him like a predator studying prey. The moment's reprieve wouldn't last.
"Come on..." Ryker muttered under his breath. "Think, think..."
He wasn't just fighting an enemy.
He was fighting himself.
Not as he was but as he could be. Perfected. Untouched by doubt.
Clang!!!
The simulant vanished in a flash of golden light.
Whoosh!!!
Ryker barely rolled aside as the radiant blade cleaved into the spot he'd just occupied, sending sparks flying across the floor.
"Sanctuary Veil!" Ryker shouted, thrusting his arms up.
Boom!!!
A dome of pure light burst outward, throwing the simulant back with a pulse that cracked the nearby stone wall. The impact sent tremors through Ryker's arms, but he remained standing this time.
'That's three casts back to back already…'
'I can't keep spamming them. Sanctuary Veil eats too much mana.'
He glanced toward the others through the flickering light.
Arthur was still engaged in a vicious duel, his voidfire flaring with each strike. Lia fought fiercely, flames roaring in defiance. Sasha darted between shadows. And Lucas
Lucas stood amidst a field of shattered tile and burnt stone, his spear crackling with electricity.
Lucas?
Something flickered in Ryker's chest. A moment of tension. Of curiosity.
But,
Boom!!!
The simulant surged forward again.
Clang!!!
Their weapons collided radiant blade against a hastily summoned Luminous Barrier.
Crack!!!
The barrier fractured under the weight of the strike and Ryker was hurled backward, tumbling across the ground.
Ugh!!!
He coughed, blood in his mouth, and scrambled to his feet.
'It's adapting. Learning. Just like I am.'
It wasn't a boss fight.
It was a duel.
A challenge.
To become more than what he thought he could be.
"Radiant Mend," he whispered, placing a hand over his ribs.
Soft light surged through his chest, numbing the pain, sealing minor wounds.
Not perfect but enough.
The simulant walked toward him with that same unwavering stride. Calm. Powerful. Righteous.
"You are just a shadow," Ryker hissed, raising his hand. "Let's see how you handle this."
He drew from his core again, calling upon the light. A familiar warmth bloomed in his palm but this time, he focused it into a swirling ball again, compressing it into a bolt.
It pulsed. Unstable. But sharp.
He hurled it.
Crack!!!
The bolt struck the simulant dead center, dispersing into a brilliant flash.
"Did it…."
Slash!!!
The simulant emerged from the glow, blade swinging downward.
Ryker crossed his arms instinctively,
Clang!!!
"Luminous Barrier"
The shield flared to life, deflecting the blow, though cracks splintered across its surface like shattered glass.
This wasn't working. Ryker wasn't strong enough yet. Not fast enough. Not trained. He just started learning offensively,
But something stirred inside him.
Not strength.
Not rage.
Conviction.
These weren't enemies.
They were truths.
Boom!!!
A stray blast from Lia's battle exploded to the side, sending debris flying. Ryker ducked behind a broken slab of stone, panting.
'That simulant... it fights like it's been doing this for years. Like it knows everything I could be. But it doesn't know everything I am. Not yet.'
His gaze swept the battlefield.
Arthur had driven his blade through his simulant's shoulder. Lia's flames were changing white at the edges. Sasha's movements had grown sharper. Lucas,
Lightning burst around Lucas as he dashed forward, striking with precision.
But more than that… there was something beneath it.
Ryker's breath caught.
He is changing too.
And not in a normal way.
Like something inside him was… waking up.
Crack!!!
A streak of radiant energy seared past Ryker's face, and he barely ducked in time.
Focus.
The simulant was already closing in again.
He couldn't rely on brute force.
He wasn't a warrior.
He was a healer.
A Sanctorum.
But maybe just maybe that didn't mean what he thought it did.
"Sacrificial Restoration," he whispered, feeling the tug in his chest.
His skin dimmed. His limbs ached. But light burst from his body and lanced toward Arthur, mending a wound across his arm.
Arthur blinked, surprised but nodded in thanks.
Slash!!!
The simulant took advantage of the distraction and slashed at Ryker's side. He screamed as the blade tore through his coat, searing flesh.
Argh!!!
Clang!!!
He blocked the follow up strike with a glowing brace of light, stumbling backward.
'It's going to kill me at this rate… I need to shift the fight.'
He narrowed his eyes.
This simulant wasn't expecting a strategy.
He ran.
Not away.
But around.
Zigzagging between debris, dodging the radiant bolts the simulant hurled after him.
Whoosh!!!
Crack!!!
He dove behind a broken statue, then dropped to one knee, panting.
It followed. Predictably.
And that was his chance.
He reached down and focused.
This was risky.
"Sanctuary Veil."
Boom!!!
The dome expanded right as the simulant rounded the corner, catching it off guard. The pulse smashed it into a cracked wall.
Ryker didn't wait.
He surged forward, both hands alight with energy.
The simulant recovered mid-air but Ryker was already there, slamming a radiant pulse into its chest.
Boom!!!
The simulant crashed back.
Ryker stood over it, gasping.
"I may not be a fighter... but I learn fast."
Clang!!!
It slashed upward. Ryker jumped back but not fast enough. Blood streaked down his arm.
Still, he was smiling.
Because for the first time…
He was winning.
Not through power.
But, Sheer will.
He raised both hands again, gathering light.
The simulant did the same.
Two identical orbs swirled, pulsing with intensity.
Then they fired.
Boom!!!
Twin beams collided mid air, a blinding burst of energy exploding outward.
Ryker grit his teeth, digging his heels in, holding on.
His beam faltered.
The simulant's pushed forward.
"No you don't.."
He funneled everything into one last push.
Crack!!!
The light shattered between them, and the backlash hurled them apart.
Ryker slammed into the floor, gasping.
But the simulant didn't rise.
Not immediately.
Smoke curled around it.
Ryker rose, trembling.
His legs felt like jelly.
His vision blurred.
But he was alive.
And he'd stood his ground.
He turned, watching the others.
Arthur roared, voidfire surging around his blade.
Sasha danced like a phantom.
Lia's fire took a new hue.
Lucas stood in the middle of a storm of lightning, his eyes glowing faintly.
Ryker's breath hitched.
Something's changing in him.
Something big.
And it's not the simulation doing it.
It's him.
But Ryker didn't say a word.
Because deep down, he knew…
He was changing too.
And the real battle had only just begun.