The morning air in the woods was crisp and cool, but the clearing echoed with the sharp csh of steel. Birds had long since fled, startled by the relentless ringing of two bdes meeting again and again in rapid succession.

  Kurai moved like a shadow come alive, her silver and bck Shadow Sovereign keybde cshing violently against Sephiroth’s towering Masamune. Her new armor pulsed faintly with deep violet lines as she pushed herself to match the former SOLDIER’s impossible speed.

  Sephiroth’s expression was calm, almost bored, as his long bde whipped in elegant arcs, each strike perfectly pced to expose her weaknesses. “Your movements are quite underwhelming,” he said in that cold, detached tone of his, “maybe you should get Helios to fight you. I’m sure he’d hold back.”

  Kurai’s eyes narrowed behind her helmet’s obsidian visor. “Keep talking, and I’ll carve the smugness out of you.”

  She lunged forward, her bde slicing upward in a deadly arc. Sephiroth twisted effortlessly, deflecting the attack with a flick of Masamune’s bde. The sheer force sent Kurai sliding back across the grass, her boots gouging shallow lines in the earth.

  The csh had reverberated through the woods like a bell tolling war. Sparks had erupted when Sephiroth’s Masamune met Kurai’s Shadow Sovereign with a force that sent leaves scattering in all directions. The air seemed to still, holding its breath, as two bdes carved invisible arcs through the morning light.

  Kurai darted forward, her armored boots digging into the earth as she unleashed a vicious horizontal ssh. Sephiroth shifted his weight lightly, the impossibly long Masamune turning her momentum aside with surgical precision. His counterattack came fast—too fast for untrained eyes to follow—an elegant overhead cut aimed to split her helmet.

  Kurai pivoted sharply, raising Shadow Sovereign to intercept. The blow sent a shockwave through her armor, rattling her bones, but the bck ptes held firm. The glowing amethyst lines pulsed faintly as they absorbed the impact, dispersing it like ripples on water.

  She slid back, her cape fring out behind her. Before she could reset her stance, Sephiroth was already in motion, gliding forward with inhuman grace. His bde struck in a blur: high, low, then an upward thrust so fast it whistled.

  Kurai deflected the first two and twisted away from the third, but even with her reflexes enhanced by the armor, she felt the edge of Masamune’s bde nick her side.

  The sting of failure burned hotter than the cut.

  She dropped low, her keybde fshing in a tight arc at his knees, but Sephiroth leapt into the air, flipping over her head. As he descended, his bde spun in a deadly vertical slice.

  Kurai rolled sideways just in time, the strike smming into the ground with enough force to split the earth beneath it.

  He’s too fast.

  Her mind raced as she adjusted her grip, letting Shadow Sovereign flow around her like liquid steel. She switched to a looser stance, her feet gliding rather than stomping, her bde sweeping in controlled, circling patterns.

  Sephiroth’s eyes narrowed.

  She advanced again, her keybde whirling in a storm of feints and probing strikes. Sephiroth countered each one with minimal effort, his Masamune flicking aside her bde in smooth, economical motions.

  But she wasn’t trying to nd a hit—she was testing him.

  Her strikes grew sharper, more deliberate. She transitioned from horizontal sshes to vertical chops, then to quick, darting thrusts, her footwork growing lighter with each exchange. The armor allowed her to absorb minor hits without faltering, so she took risks she wouldn’t have dared before.

  Sephiroth lunged.

  Kurai sidestepped cleanly, letting his bde slice through empty air, and retaliated with an upward ssh that grazed his shoulder.

  A single spark hissed from his coat.

  For the first time in the fight, Sephiroth smiled faintly.

  His movements changed. No longer content to defend, he began pressing forward, his Masamune cutting in elegant, arcing patterns. Kurai blocked three strikes in rapid succession before the fourth smmed into her chestpte with bone-jarring force.

  The armor held, but the sheer impact sent her skidding backward across the grass.

  Sephiroth didn’t let up. He closed the gap instantly, bde fshing in a brutal, rising diagonal ssh. Kurai met it head-on, her boots digging furrows into the earth as their weapons cshed in a shower of sparks.

  The force of his strike bent her knees, but she held firm.

  Masamune slid free, and Sephiroth spun, using the momentum to unch a devastating sweep at her legs.

  Kurai jumped, the bde slicing just beneath her feet. She nded and instantly countered with a rapid series of sshes, her keybde whistling through the air in a deadly dance.

  Sephiroth flowed around each one, his motions graceful, untouchable.

  Then he struck back, faster than before.

  His bde came down in a sudden, overhead chop that she blocked—but the raw strength behind it sent her to one knee.

  Before she could recover, his boot smmed into her chest, unching her backward. She flipped midair, nded hard, and rolled to her feet just in time to deflect a thrust aimed at her visor.

  Every muscle in her body burned. Her breaths came faster, hotter, but the armor’s quiet hum steadied her.

  She advanced again, her strikes tighter, sharper. Her keybde began to move more fluidly, its path less predictable. She pivoted, feinted, and slipped past Sephiroth’s guard just long enough to drag the edge of Shadow Sovereign across his side.

  A shallow scratch, but a victory nonetheless.

  Sephiroth’s expression didn’t change. If anything, his eyes gleamed with faint approval.

  Then he vanished.

  A gust of wind swept past Kurai’s face as he reappeared behind her. Instinct screamed, and she twisted around just in time to intercept a strike aimed at her neck. The force reverberated through her arms like a thundercp, but she held her ground.

  They broke apart, circling each other like predators.

  Their weapons cshed again—once, twice, three times—each meeting ringing louder than the st. Kurai ducked under a high ssh, her keybde shing out in a horizontal sweep.

  Sephiroth caught it on Masamune’s length and pushed her back with an effortless shove.

  Again they cshed, and again she was forced to adapt.

  Her strikes slowed slightly, but they carried more weight now. Each move was deliberate, calcuted, a test of will against skill.

  Sephiroth’s superiority was undeniable. His footwork, his reach, his timing—everything was sharper.

  But Kurai’s armor narrowed the gap. It let her absorb blows that should have ended her fight, and with every exchange, she read more of his patterns, adjusting her approach.

  Still, she knew he wasn’t using his full strength.

  Their bdes locked in a final csh, the force of it cracking the earth beneath their feet.

  Then, a voice cut through the air.

  “Breakfast is ready!”

  Helios’ cheerful tone felt out of pce in the tension-filled clearing.

  Sephiroth eased back, lowering Masamune in one fluid motion. Kurai straightened, her armor dissipating into a swirl of violet mist that reformed into her choker.

  The two warriors stared at each other coldly for a long moment, breathing hard.

  “Next time,” Kurai said simply.

  Sephiroth gave a faint nod, his silver hair swaying in the breeze.

  “Next time,” he agreed.

  Helios appeared at the treeline, smirking faintly. “Gd you two didn’t level the forest around the house. Now come eat before I have to drag you both back.”

  Kurai turned first, her boots crunching softly on the grass. Sephiroth followed silently, Masamune resting at his side.

  Their fight wasn’t finished—not by a long shot.