The simulation chamber sealed shut with a low hum.
A vast, empty battlefield stretched around them—an artificial wasteland designed for nothing but combat. There were no spectators, no outside eyes. Just two warriors standing in absolute silence.
Seinna exhaled slowly. The very space around her seemed to bend, as if reality itself struggled to contain her presence. The floor beneath her feet cracked, gravity pulling toward her like an invisible tide.
Across from her, Lyra crouched, loose-limbed, coiled like a predator ready to strike. Unlike Seinna, she left no marks on the environment—because she wasn't meant to be caught.
The Overseer AI's voice crackled to life, its tone devoid of care, dripping with mechanical amusement.
"One combatant is an unshakable force. The other is the embodiment of speed. The question is… can the unmovable hold down the unstoppable?"
The moment the words ended—the fight began.
---
First Exchange: Gravity's Grip vs. Speed's Evasion
Lyra was gone in an instant.
No blur. No sound. Just absence.
Seinna didn't flinch. She didn't rely on sight—she felt the shifts in gravity, the subtle pulls of mass.
Lyra's kick came from behind. Seinna pivoted, raising an arm—but the attack never landed.
Instead, Lyra was already at her side.
A flash of movement—a punch.
Seinna twisted, barely deflecting it. But Lyra was already gone, her next attack coming from another angle.
A strike. A dodge. Another. And another.
Seinna barely kept up.
"Observation: Seinna is at risk of being reduced to a glorified punching bag. Probability of countering—2.3% and falling."
Seinna exhaled.
Then—she dropped the field.
---
Seinna's Counter: The Warping Battlefield
A pulse of energy expanded outward.
Suddenly, Lyra's movements weren't as smooth. Her footfalls became heavier. Each step took slightly more effort.
Lyra's speed—her very advantage—was being stolen.
"You can't run forever," Seinna murmured.
The battlefield bent. The ground itself tilted, gravity shifting mid-fight. What was once a flat arena had become an incline, pulling everything toward Seinna's center of mass.
Lyra staggered for half a second—and that was all Seinna needed.
A gravitational pulse exploded outward. Lyra was caught in it, yanked toward the center.
Seinna swung.
The air howled as her punch shot toward Lyra's chest—but the moment before impact, Lyra did something absurd.
---
Lyra's Answer: The Speed Paradox
She stopped moving.
No blur. No streak of light. Just an absolute, dead halt.
The sudden lack of motion made Seinna's gravity pull her past her target, the sheer weight of her own power disrupting her stance.
Then—Lyra moved again.
A kick slammed into Seinna's ribs.
A second strike cracked against her shoulder.
A third one snapped her chin upward.
Seinna staggered back, blinking.
"Analysis: Speed is adapting. Prediction models failing. Recalculating—"
Lyra wasn't just fast.
She was breaking the rules of acceleration.
Stopping. Starting. Slipping between moments like a ghost.
Seinna clenched her fists. This wasn't just movement—this was control.
Then she smiled.
"…Fine," she muttered. "I'll just stop time around you."
---
Final Clash: The Event Horizon
The entire battlefield shifted.
Lyra froze—not because she wanted to, but because she had no choice.
Gravity compressed.
The air itself warped. The ground beneath their feet cracked and sunk inward, space bending into an invisible singularity.
Lyra gritted her teeth. A trap.
Her speed meant nothing if space itself was rejecting motion.
Seinna exhaled, voice calm. "Checkmate."
Lyra chuckled. "You sure?"
Then she broke reality.
A flash of light.
A soundless instant—Lyra was no longer bound by space.
Seinna's expression flickered. What—
A final strike landed.
A high-speed impact to Seinna's core.
The singularity shattered.
Seinna collapsed to one knee, breathing heavily. Lyra stood, victorious, a faint smirk playing on her lips.
"Combat concluded. Winner: Lyra."
The Overseer AI's voice droned lazily.
Seinna wiped her lip, staring at Lyra. Then, unexpectedly, she smiled. Just a little.
"...That was fun," she admitted.
Lyra stretched, rolling her shoulders. "It was. Next time, try and actually catch me."
Seinna chuckled, shaking her head. "Next time, I'll crush you."
END OF CHAPTER 50