Neto gasped.
Air rushed into his lungs like he'd just surfaced from deep underwater. His eyes flew open, wide, searching, like the void was still clinging to him. His chest heaved. Sweat clung to his skin. His hands trembled slightly, as if they remembered the weight of a sword no longer there.
For a second, the world felt wrong. Too quiet. Too still. But then—he saw her.
Zuri.
She was sitting beside the bed, head tilted forward slightly, arms crossed, dozing in a chair that looked far too uncomfortable for sleep. Her hair was a soft curtain around her face, and her breathing was calm. Steady.
A blanket had been draped over her shoulders—maybe someone else's, maybe something she grabbed while staying with him. She hadn't left his side.
The tension in Neto's body slowly unwound. Not entirely. But enough.
He stared at her, the ghost of the dream still flickering behind his eyes. The storm. The other him. The sword. That name.
"Adam…" he whispered, the name lingering like a taste he couldn't swallow.
Zuri stirred, eyes fluttering open. She blinked once, then locked eyes with him instantly, her alertness kicking in like instinct.
"You're awake," she said, softly.
He nodded, still catching his breath.
For a moment, neither of them said anything. The silence wasn't heavy. It was safe.
Then Neto glanced at his hand. It wasn't glowing. There was no tremor, no sign of energy flaring out of control. He was here. Now. Real.
He looked at her again.
"You stayed," he murmured.
Zuri gave a small smile. "You scared the hell out of me. Of course I stayed."
He looked past her, at the faint glow of early morning beginning to bleed into the window. The world outside felt distant. But Zuri didn't.
His voice dropped to a whisper. Almost like a secret.
"I see you."
Zuri tilted her head slightly, confused but quiet. She didn't ask what he meant. Maybe she didn't need to.
Neto leaned back into the pillow, gaze still fixed on her like an anchor in the shifting tides of whatever storm had followed him here.
Zuri stood and stretched, the sunlight casting a faint glow along her arms.
"You've been out for a while," she said, glancing at him. "Didn't try to kill anything though. That's new."
Neto managed a faint smile.
She moved toward the door but paused. "Come on. The others are already waiting at the training ground.
Neo Said something about 'not letting the near-dead skip out on training.'"
She gave him a side glance, smirking. "Apparently, your dramatic collapse made you a bit of a legend."
Neto groaned softly, sitting up with effort. "Can't even faint in peace."
Zuri chuckled as she opened the door, the hallway beyond buzzing faintly with life.
"Let's go, Mr. Legend. Before they start placing bets on whether you're a clone."
●●●●●
The training ground hummed with energy, the sounds of combat filling the air. Zuri and Neto walked in, and their presence quickly caught the attention of the others.
Aniyah, ever the tease, grinned slyly. "So, are you two dating already?"
Neto, looking genuinely confused, blinked a few times. "Dating?" he repeated, scratching his head. "What do you mean by that?"
Before he could ask more, Neo jumped in with a laugh. "It's barely been a day, man," he teased, shaking his head.
Zuri rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress a small smile. "Don't listen to her, Neto. She's just stirring things up."
"Oh? I'm just curious!" Aniyah shot back, playfully nudging Zuri. "I mean, you two look so cozy together. Gotta keep track of these things."
Zuri crossed her arms, grinning back at Aniyah. "Cozy, huh? What's it to you?"
"Nothing, nothing," Aniyah said with a wink. "Just making sure the gossip mill's in working order."
Neto, still completely lost, glanced between them. "I... don't get it."
Zuri chuckled softly, nudging Neto. "You don't need to. Just ignore her," she said with a lighthearted shrug, clearly enjoying the playful back-and-forth.
As the banter died down, Neo walked toward Neto with a confident grin, his steps light and casual.
"How about a spar?" Neo said, a playful spark in his eyes. "We haven't really tested each other out fully."
Zuri raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "You really want to go up against him already? Be careful,you know him fighting is a bit dangerous. "
Neto blinked, still processing the previous conversation but nodded. "A spar? Means we are to fight,without trying to kill?."
"Yea man ,just a bit of flare." Neo said with a grin, "It's not about winning, just seeing what you've got. It'll be fun."
Neto hesitated for a moment, still unsure but curious. "Alright, I can try."
Zuri chuckled, giving Neto a nod of encouragement. "You've got this."
"Yeah, don't break anything," Zuri added with a teasing smile toward Neo. "Just don't make him regret it."
Neo grinned wider, already getting into position. "No promises!"
●●●●
Standing in the center of the training ground were Neto and Neo.
"Where's Danso?" Neto asked, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the area.
"He went to take a dump," Neo said flatly, arms crossed. "Dude eats like the gorilla he is."
"Oh," Neto muttered with a shrug. "Alright then. Let's begin."
"You two better try not to kill each other, you hear me?!" Aniyah called out from the sidelines, her voice sharp with concern.
Neo opened his hand—frost began curling in the air around him. The temperature dropped instantly. A wave of jagged ice spikes erupted from the ground, rushing toward Neto like hungry fangs.
Neto's grin deepened.
He raised his palm.
Boom—
The spikes shattered against an invisible field, broken shards scattering across the ground.
Neo clapped his hands together, frost solidifying around them, shaping into thick gauntlets that pulsed with chill.
Not to be outdone, Neto mirrored him—constructing similar energy gauntlets with a confident smirk.
Neo exhaled, the air he released chilling.
Then—snap.
In an instant, Neo vanished and reappeared where one of the broken ice shards had landed. A flash of movement—his fist barreled toward Neto's head.
But Neto twisted, just barely. Neo's frost-covered fist missed by inches, grazing Neto's cheek with a trail of cold air.
"Nice trick," Neto said, twisting his body with a dancer's grace, energy crackling around his gauntlets. "But you're not the only one who plays smart."
Without hesitation, Neto dropped low, sweeping at Neo's legs with a burst of repulsive force underfoot—bam!—a small shockwave ruptured the ground as Neo was thrown off balance.
Neo backflipped midair, using a thin sheet of conjured ice as a springboard to launch himself higher. The platform shattered beneath him, creating a misty veil.
Snap.
He swapped again—this time with a floating chunk of ice behind Neto.
"I'm behind you," Neo grinned.
"I know," Neto replied before thrusting his elbow backward, his energy gauntlet flaring.
Clang!
Neo blocked the hit with his gauntlet, but the force sent him skidding backward, his boots carving lines through the dirt.
"Damn, that strength—" Neo muttered, shaking his arm out.
Neto cracked his neck. "You sure you can keep up?"
Neo grinned. "Keep up? I'm merely playing with you."
He slammed both fists into the ground—massive ice pillars burst upward, encasing the area around Neto in a circular prison of frost. Each spike curved inward like the teeth of a beast.
Neto looked around, unimpressed. "Pretty. But do you really think that's enough?"
He opened his hands, and with a hum, energy spun outward in a dome—cracks slithered across the ice structures as Neto's gravitational repulsion pulsed outward.
Boom!
The ice exploded outward in shards.
Neo crossed his arms in front of him just in time to shield himself with a layer of hardened frost—he slid back, breath fogging in the cold air.
Aniyah stood up now, arms crossed.
"I told you not to kill each other," she muttered. "But nooo, let's just wreck the whole field instead."
Neto and Neo glanced at her.
Then at each other.
Then grinned in sync.
"Round two?" Neo asked.
"You read my mind," Neto replied, energy coiling around his arms again.
Neo didn't wait. He rushed forward, ice gauntlets reforging mid-stride, his feet freezing the ground beneath with each step.
He swung a wide right hook—Neto caught it, but his boots dug trenches into the earth from the sheer force.
Neo snapped his fingers again.
Pop!
He vanished, reappearing in mid-air, directly above Neto. A massive hammer of ice formed around his fists as he descended like a meteor.
Neto raised a single palm upward. "Bad angle."
Boom!
A pulse of gravitational force shot up from his palm like a cannon blast. The air rippled violently—Neo was launched upwards.
Neto swung his hand up, a chain construct forming in an instant.
It caught Neo mid-air, then dragged him to the ground, slamming him into the dirt in a trail of frost and debris.
Neo gasped, rolling to his feet. "That... was cheap."
Neto wiped a bit of blood from the side of his mouth. "Effective though."
Neo held his palm out, forming hundreds of small icicles floating in a sphere around him.
"I don't have to hit you directly," he said. "I just have to aim everywhere."
The air snapped with cold as he launched the icicles from all directions.
Neto inhaled deeply. "Okay... okay."
He stomped once, slamming his hands together—energy burst from him like a shockwave. Each icicle that came close shattered instantly as the gravity around him distorted wildly.
But that was the setup.
Neo appeared behind him again with a snap.
Neto turned—just too slow.
Neo's punch landed squarely in his ribs, frost cracking over Neto's side.
Neto staggered, coughing—but smiled.
"Gotcha."
Neo's eyes widened.
Neto's hand gripped Neo's wrist, and in a single smooth move, he pulled him forward—his knee drove into Neo's gut, then a swift uppercut with his elbow to the chin sent his head whipping back.
Before Neo could center himself—
A force yanked him backward, straight into Neto's fist—this time, a repelling pulse flaring on contact.
Crack!
Neo collapsed, coughing out slightly frozen black blood, the energy in his body flickering.
He tried to rise. "One more—"
But Neto already stood above him, energy gauntlet flaring faintly. "No need. I know you're done."
Neo smirked, teeth stained slightly blue from the cold. "Barely won."
Neto offered him a hand. "Still a win."
Neo grabbed it, grumbling, "Aniyah's gonna roast us."
Neto nodded. "Yeah, there's that."