Raizō hit stone hard enough to drive the breath from his lungs. He rolled once on instinct, boots scraping against uneven ground, and came up in a crouch as fragments of broken masonry rained down around him. Dust filled the air, thick and dry, clinging to his skin and the inside of his mouth. He ignored it, eyes already tracking the space. They had fallen deeper than he expected. This wasn’t a subfloor or service level. The chamber beneath the Church opened wide, its ceiling lost in shadow, supported by massive pillars carved with worn sigils that spoke of age and permanence. The stone here was older, denser, built to endure weight. Raizō straightened slowly. The pressure arrived before the sound. It pressed down on his shoulders, his chest, his spine. Not a sudden force, not an impact, but a steady, unyielding presence, as if the air itself had decided he should kneel. His muscles tensed automatically, lightning whispering faintly along his skin, contained and cold.

  Then the Paladin-Legate landed. The man struck the ground a short distance away, stone cracking beneath his boots, but he didn’t stagger. He didn’t even bend his knees. He simply stood, sword angled downward, posture relaxed in a way that made Raizō’s instincts scream. Raizō and the Paladin-Legate stood several paces apart in the center of the chamber. They began to circle. The space between them felt wrong from the start. The Legate’s Kaijin pressed outward in every direction, steady and unchanging. It didn’t surge or flare when Raizō moved. It was already settled, already complete. Raizō felt it against his skin and in his chest at the same time, like standing inside someone else’s reach. He adjusted his shoulders and slowed his breathing on purpose. The feeling didn’t change.

  They circled once more. The Legate’s steps were quiet and controlled. There was no tension in his posture, no visible effort. Raizō felt the pressure follow him even when the Legate didn’t advance. It wasn’t pushing him down. It was enforcing presence. The space didn’t feel neutral. It felt claimed. Raizō stepped in first. The Legate moved at the same time. The distance closed quickly. The Legate’s blade came straight toward Raizō’s side, fast enough that Raizō barely brought his guard up in time. Steel struck glove and the impact forced him back half a step. The Legate didn’t slow down. He stepped forward again, maintaining that same speed. Raizō tried to answer with a burst of acceleration, pushing off hard to regain control of the exchange. The moment he forced that speed, his thigh tightened mid-step. His movement dragged just enough to make him late. The Legate avoided his strike without difficulty and answered with another controlled attack that forced Raizō to defend again. Raizō steadied himself and moved forward at a normal pace. At that speed, his body responded cleanly. He could block. He could react. He could barely keep up. Then he tried to explode again. His shoulder stiffened before the punch reached full extension. The strike lost its snap. The Legate slipped past it and clipped Raizō’s side with a short counter.

  Raizō stepped back, frustration rising. The oppressive force in the chamber hadn’t changed. It was constant, like a rule being enforced without effort. Raizō let lightning rise along his arms and pushed forward again. The current snapped across the narrow space between them. The Legate felt it. Raizō saw the slight tightening in his jaw when the discharge connected. But it didn’t slow him in the same way. The Legate stepped in at full speed again, moving just as fast as Raizō normally would. Raizō tried to match that pace, but the moment he forced himself beyond a controlled rhythm, his muscles tightened against him. His hip resisted the turn. His elbow dragged.

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  He blocked again, barely in time. The Legate fought freely. His movements were sharp and direct. Raizō felt the weight of his own Kaijin press back slightly against the Legate, but it only added a small burden. It didn’t restrict him. Another exchange followed. Raizō tried to overwhelm him with repeated strikes. Each time he pushed harder, his body stiffened in response. The resistance came from within. His movements lost precision before they reached their target. The Legate remained untouched. Raizō realized explosive power was a problem. The more he tried to dominate with speed and force, the more his own body betrayed him. The Legate didn’t have that problem. He moved as fast as he wished, as hard as he wished, without restriction. And the oppression never eased. Raizō blocked another strike and stepped back before the follow-up reached him. The Legate stayed on him. His pace didn’t slow. His movements were still fast and direct. Raizō couldn’t match that speed without his body tightening against him, so he stopped trying.

  Instead, he watched. His Kaijin sharpened his awareness. His mind moved faster inside it. He began noticing small things. The shift in the Legate’s hips before a forward cut. The way his shoulder dipped before a thrust. The pattern of his recovery after every strike. The Legate stepped in again. Raizō moved early this time. Earlier. The blade passed through the space he had already left. Raizō redirected it lightly and stepped to the side instead of trying to force a counter. He kept his movements tight and short. No wide swings, no explosive bursts. Another exchange followed. The Legate pressed at full speed. Raizō moved before the attacks fully formed. He blocked closer to the source instead of at the end of the motion. His counters stayed short, controlled, and immediate. For the first time, the gap felt smaller. Raizō slipped inside the guard and placed a quick strike against the Legate’s chest plate before pulling back. It wasn’t heavy, but it landed clean. The Legate paused half a second. A faint smile crossed his face.

  “Incredible. You’re adapting abnormally fast,” he said.

  Raizō circled once, keeping his breathing steady.

  “You talk too much,” he replied.

  The Legate let out a short laugh.

  “We’ve barely spoken.”

  He stepped in again. He wasn’t trying to outrun the pressure anymore. He was reading it. The Legate attacked high. Raizō shifted before the shoulder fully turned. The Legate adjusted low. Raizō was already moving. Another exchange tightened between them. The Legate was still faster in raw speed, but Raizō was no longer reacting late. He was acting early. The Legate’s blade came down in a clean arc. Raizō stepped inside and redirected at the base. His counter followed immediately, short and direct. The strike hit solid against armor. The Legate gave ground this time. The smile didn’t fade. The pressure in the chamber remained constant, but the balance had shifted. He was beginning to move before the Legate did. And that was enough to keep him alive.