The week passed quickly as Ayla trained with Kareem. She had not seen Kenji after their encounter, even at dinner. He seemed to be avoiding her, not that she cared, though his rudeness ruined her mood.

This morning, Ayla arrived for training with renewed excitement because today she would finally defeat Kareem. Kareem raised a brow, catching the sneaky grin on her lips.

Having trained her for six days, he had learned to read most of her expressions. Unlike any student he had taught before, this girl was an open book.

A simple look on her face revealed what was in her mind. Perhaps that was the secret to her talent, because in merely six days of training, she had mastered the Path of Six Gates.

Today he would test her to see what level of strength she had reached. The Mayoress had already told him the girl would depart for the Spire tomorrow.

Kareem was reluctant to watch his now-favorite student leave so early, and the only thing he could hope for was that she would survive the Spire.

Ayla did not know what her instructor was thinking. She was in too good a mood to finally show him that she was powerful.

The training hall was the same as always. Dust motes danced in the shafts of morning light that cut through the high windows.

Kareem stood in the center, his massive frame casting a long shadow. He began wrapping his hands with methodical precision.

"You look like a cat that found a bowl of food," Kareem rumbled, his voice echoing off the walls. "I hope that confidence is built on something more than just six days of study. The Path is a lifetime’s journey. You have only just stepped onto the road."

Ayla did not respond with words. She simply dropped into a low, balanced stance. Her eyes, usually wide with innocent curiosity, narrowed.

She felt the weight of her human shell. It was a vessel she had worked hard to perfect, and today, she would push it to its absolute mechanical limit.

The Gate of Balance: Open.

Inside Ayla, the chaotic, fluid nature of her slime core suddenly went still. It was as if a gyroscope had been installed in her center.

The slight, natural wobbles of a bipedal body vanished. She felt perfectly rooted, her weight distributed with a precision that no ordinary human could achieve.

She was not just standing on the floor; she was part of it.

"Come," Kareem commanded.

He did not wait. He moved with a speed that belied his bulk, closing the distance in two thunderous strides. He threw a straight lead, a punch designed to test her reactions.

The Gate of Flow: Open.

Ayla did not retreat. She did not even lean back. Instead, she stepped forward and to the side. Her body moved like silk caught in a breeze. She let the punch whistle past her ear, her skin feeling the heat of the friction.

As Kareem’s arm extended, Ayla rotated her hips, using his momentum to pivot behind him. She lashed out with a palm strike aimed at his kidney.

Kareem grunted, twisting his torso just enough to take the hit on his thick lats. He swung a massive back-fist that should have sent her flying.

The Gate of Hardening: Open.

Ayla did not dodge this time. She raised her forearm to meet his. Upon contact, her internal structure underwent a rapid phase shift.

Her slime core compressed, turning her arm into something with the density of reinforced concrete.

While training the third gate, Ayla had found something interesting. She could copy some of the features of her saved forms.

This changed her entire fighting style. Imagine a human body receiving the fluidness of a slime or the hardness of a hobgoblin.

The collision sounded like two boulders slamming together. Kareem’s eyes widened. He felt the shock go all the way up to his shoulder. It was like hitting a mountain.

"Is that all, Teacher?" Ayla chirped, her face splitting into a wide, cheeky grin.

Kareem’s competitive spirit flared. He unleashed a flurry of strikes—hooks, jabs, and low kicks that came with the rhythmic violence of a storm. Ayla met them all.

The Gate of Perception: Open.

The world around her slowed. She could see the individual beads of sweat flying off Kareem’s forehead. She could hear the way his lungs expanded for air.

Every movement he made felt telegraphed. She saw the minute shift in his toes before he launched a roundhouse. She ducked under it, the wind of the kick ruffling her hair.

She began to counter. Her strikes were simple and unadorned by magic, but they were devastatingly efficient.

She was a blur of motion, her small frame darting in and out of Kareem’s reach like a predatory insect.

"Enough playing!" Kareem roared. He stomped the floor, and the stone tiles cracked under the force of his Silver-rank exertion.

He lunged with a dual-palm strike, a move meant to end the spar.

The Gate of Surge: Open.

Ayla’s heart rate tripled. Her body temperature spiked, and a faint steam rose from her shoulders as her physical limits were pushed into the red zone. She did not back down. She met his dual-palm strike with her own.

The air between them exploded in a physical shockwave. The force sent Ayla sliding back, her boots carving shallow grooves into the stone.

But Kareem, the veteran, was the one who stumbled. He looked at his hands, his fingers trembling from the impact.

"You’re not human," he breathed, mostly to himself.

"I’m Ayla!" she shouted, her voice full of joy.

She decided to end it. She gathered every bit of her physical energy, focusing it into a single point.

The Gate of Unity: Release.

She sprinted with her own raw leg strength. She was a streak of light across the hall. Kareem braced himself, crossing his arms in a defensive guard.

Ayla did not hit his arms. She dropped low at the last second, sliding between his legs and popping up behind him. Before he could turn, she delivered a jumping knee to the center of his back.

CRACK.

The sound of the impact echoed like a gunshot. Kareem was propelled forward. He flew across the hall, his feet leaving the ground entirely.

He slammed into the heavy, reinforced training post at the far end of the room. The thick wood snapped in half. Kareem tumbled to the ground, surrounded by splinters and dust.

Ayla landed softly on her feet. The Surge heat was still fading from her skin, leaving a rosy glow on her cheeks. She stood there, panting, her hands balled into fists. Then, the tension broke.

"I won!" she squealed, jumping up and down. "I won! I won! I won!"

She did a clumsy victory lap around the center of the hall, her arms raised high. She looked incredibly cute, her hair a mess and a smudge of dust on her nose.

She eventually skipped over to where Kareem was slowly pushing himself up.

"Teacher! Did you see? I was like a fast bird! And then I was like a big hammer!" she said, her eyes shining with pure happiness.

Kareem groaned, clutching his side. He sat against the broken post, looking up at her. His ribs ached and his pride was bruised, but he could not keep the stern mask on any longer.

"Hmph," he grumbled, though a small smile finally tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You were sloppy. Your footwork in the third gate was a mess. And that knee? Entirely too much wasted energy. If I were an actual enemy, I would have stabbed you while you were jumping."

He reached out and patted her head, his large hand ruffling her hair. "But you did well, little monster. You did well."

Ayla beamed. She did not care about the criticism. She had seen the look in his eyes. She leaned into his hand like a contented pet.

"I’m going to be the strongest in the Spire! I’ll eat all the bad things and come back to show you!"

Kareem’s smile faded into a look of quiet, somber pride. "Just make sure you come back. The Path of Six Gates is useless if the user is dead. Go on. Get out of here. The Mayor is waiting."

Ayla gave him one last, bright wave before spinning around and running toward the exit. Her laughter echoed in the hallway long after she was gone.

The warmth of the training hall did not reach the private quarters of the Hayashi manor. The air here was stagnant and heavy with a different kind of tension.

Damien stood by the window of his study, his silhouette framed against the darkening sky. The sun was dipping below the horizon, bleeding red and orange across the city of Old York.

Behind him, Alex stood in the shadows, his head bowed.

"Is Kenji still ignoring his sister?" Damien asked. His voice was a soft, cold rasp that felt like a blade against the skin.

"Yes, Master Damien," Alex replied. "He has remained in his room or the archives. He refused to attend the final meal. He claims he is preparing for the Spire, but it is clear he is avoiding any contact with her."

Damien turned away from the window. He picked up a heavy training sword from a rack nearby.

"The girl is leaving tomorrow," Damien said, his eyes flashing with a frigid light. He stepped toward the door, the training sword held loosely at his side. "Kenji has forgotten his place. He has forgotten that in this world, and in this house, there is a hierarchy of respect."

Damien stopped at the threshold, his voice dropping to a whisper that carried a terrifying weight. "I think it is time for me to convey a little teaching to him. If he wants to act like a stranger to his sister, I will teach him how a stranger is treated when they overstay their welcome."

"Shall I prepare the medicinal salts, Master?" Alex asked, knowing exactly what was coming. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Yes," Damien said, his voice cold and final. "He will need them by the time I am finished with his lesson."

NB: Please check authors note.