Launching himself forward, Hector charged his fists with the familiar surge of Hands of Triage layered over Vital Conduction. Green light wrapped around his knuckles, crawling up his forearms like living veins. The stinging sensation came immediately. A reminder that his hands were still damaged, that his body had limits no amount of willpower could ignore.

  He swung but Alric had already vanished. The punch cut through empty air as the man shifted just out of reach, not retreating so much as stepping aside, like he had seen the strike coming long before Hector committed to it. Hector followed through without hesitation. Another punch. Then a third. A kick aimed low. A second kick higher, trying to force a reaction; nothing landed.

  Alric flowed between the attacks with unsettling precision. Dodges became redirections, and blocks turned into subtle misalignments that threw Hector’s balance just enough to matter.

  The man moved like a machine built for combat, every motion efficient, every adjustment calculated. It felt less like fighting a person and more like testing himself against a system that already knew the outcome.

  Alric’s expression never changed cold and focused.

  “Is this all your deviation has to offer?”

  The words were calm, almost disappointed.

  Hector pressed harder, pouring more intent into his strikes, trying to force Hands of Triage to detonate on contact, but Alric was always half a step ahead, guiding blows away with forearms, shoulders, subtle shifts of his core.

  “If this is all you are capable of, your correction will soon be upon you.”

  He stepped inside Hector’s reach effortlessly, tapping two fingers against Hector’s glowing forearm. The contact sent a jolt through his arm, disrupting the flow of healing energy and forcing Hector back a step.

  “An existence such as yours cannot be allowed to persist. As long as deviations exist, order cannot be found within the Pantheon, our great lady Axiom has deemed this truth so.”

  “I have no idea what you are talking about, all I want to do is survive, right you now you are the biggest obstacle to that, so stand down or die.”

  Alric grimaced, disgust showing on his face as the air changed. Hector felt it before he saw it, a pressure spike that made his skin prickle and his teeth buzz. The space around Alric seemed to thicken, like the atmosphere itself had been charged and compressed. Red and blue light bled through Alric’s skin, faint at first, then brighter. Thin arcs of blue lightning danced through the glow, snapping and vanishing like fireflies made of electricity.

  “Since this is all you are capable of, I will end this now.”

  The aura ignited, and light exploded outward in a violent bloom of fire and electricity. Heat slammed into Hector like a physical force, stealing the breath from his lungs as the air itself became unbearable.

  Leaping backwards on instinct, he put up both arms in a defensive stance, channeling Emergency Heal inward as fast as he could manage.

  Then it hit, pain unlike anything he had felt before tore through him. It felt as if his blood was boiling inside his veins, his nerves screaming as heat and energy ripped through his body at the same time. His vision blurred white as he clenched his teeth hard enough to taste blood, forcing back a scream.

  The impact came faster than he could react. He was launched backward, tumbling across the ground as the heat scorched his skin, and the world spun violently out of control. Every movement felt like it might tear him apart. For a terrifying moment, he was sure he was going to combust, maybe melt, or simply just cease to exist.

  He rolled to a halt, smoke curling from his clothes, body trembling as Emergency Heal struggled to keep up with the damage. Through the haze of pain and heat, he realized one thing with absolute clarity. Alric had not even been trying yet.

  [Warning: Living Bastion Bracelet Damaged.]

  [Repairs Required.]

  [Warning: Reinforced Handwraps Damaged.]

  [Repairs Required]

  [Warning: Kinetic Leg Wraps Damaged.]

  [Repairs Required]

  “Shit!”

  This was possibly the worst moment for his gear to break. He was already hurt from the previous fight. The control and power flowing through his limbs staggered him. The familiar pain of Overheal hit as his skills stayed active, but his control-assisting equipment failed. He hadn’t realized how much he had begun to rely on the gear he made.

  Taking a deep breath, he attempted to gain control again. Damage was spreading throughout his limbs, and it needed to be slowed. Alric was not going to give him a chance though. A sword appeared in his foe’s hand as if it came out of nowhere.

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  “Time to end your suffering, deviation.”

  The sword glowed with the same energy as before. Raising it up, Alric made a horizontal swing, launching a slash-shaped beam of energy toward him. He rolled forward in a cartwheel, dodging the blast and focusing energy into his legs, propelling him toward his foe. Pain ripped through his legs the movement was pushing his body past its limit, Pain Suppression dulled the pain enough to make him functional.

  Layering Hands of Triage and Emergency Heal into his fists; he prayed this next blow would be decisive. Right before striking the man, a sharp pain struck his backside, and he slammed into the ground. Something had hit him, and it was completely unexpected. Tingling danger ran down his spine as he quickly recovered, running forward. Where he had just been, three arrows landed, piercing six inches into the ground, with such force that it created a small shockwave.

  “You didn’t think I came here alone, did you? My job is to ensure all deviations are corrected, and I am not the only one who shares in my quest.”

  Suddenly, a crackling noise spread throughout the battlefield, and the air around him began to distort. Dark shadows of power appeared out of nowhere on the battlefield, crackling with energy. The mass of dark energy exploded, sending him back yet again.

  [Warning: Void Damage Taken.]

  [Damage bypasses conventional resistance.]

  [Healing effectiveness reduced.]

  Panic surged as he felt Emergency Heal start to become even more uncontrollable. Overheal tore through his body, causing lesions and tears. The void energy clung to him like something alive, gnawing at his healing rather than simply resisting it. Every pulse of Emergency Heal felt wrong, twisted, as if the energy no longer knew where to go once it left him.

  Hector forced himself upright, breath coming in ragged gasps. Blood dripped freely from half a dozen wounds that should have already been closing. The forest around him felt colder now, muted, like sound itself had been swallowed. His vision was starting to become blurring, and he found it hard to focus. Hector assumed this was from blood loss, but the seriousness of his injuries was not small.

  Shapes began to step out of distortion. Three figures emerged first, their outlines sharpening as the air settled. Each wore layered armor etched with unfamiliar symbols, eyes glowing faintly beneath hooded helms. One carried a longbow already drawn. Another rested a gauntleted hand on the pommel of a weapon that hummed with restrained power, more followed.

  They formed a loose semicircle around him, positioning themselves with the ease of people who had done this many times before. None of them rushed. None of them spoke.

  Alric stepped forward, sword resting casually at his side.

  “Containment achieved,” he said calmly.

  The figures responded in unison, voices overlapping with unnatural precision.

  “Deviation confirmed.”

  “Authority recognized.”

  “Correction authorized.”

  The air behind Hector tore open. It was not a clean rift, though he wasn’t sure what a normal one looked like, but his senses told him something was off. It looked more like reality had been grabbed and peeled apart by something that did not care about what broke in the process. Darkness churned beyond it, layered with streaks of color that hurt to look at directly. Gravity bent toward it immediately, tugging at Hector’s body, pulling loose dirt and leaves into its widening maw.

  Hector dug his heels into the earth, muscles screaming as he fought the pull. His hands sank into the dirt, fingers clawing for purchase as the force intensified. His vision blurred, edges darkening as the pressure crushed in from every direction.

  Alric watched him struggle, “This is mercy; your existence ends cleanly. Removed before it destabilizes anything further.”

  The pull intensified and Hector felt himself sliding. Inch by inch, the ground giving way beneath him as his body was dragged toward the portal’s edge. His healing flared instinctively, wild and uncontrolled, tearing through him as Overheal compounded the damage instead of mending it.

  So, this was it, not a heroic ending. Not even a fair one...just erased. Maybe it was foolish, but he had hoped in this second chance at life he would have been able to make some real friends or at least trustworthy companions who would have his back. Life is cruel though; that did not appear to be in his cards. His foot was nearly in the rift; muscles struggled fighting against the impending doom. That was when something strange happened. From the looks on everyone's faces he knew they did not expect this either.

  A sudden pressure slammed down on the battlefield. The void portal shuddered violently; its edges warping as if something far larger had placed a hand over it. The distortion rippled outward, freezing every combatant in place for a single, impossible heartbeat. A system message burned itself across Hector’s vision, brighter than anything he had ever seen.

  [Pantheon Authority Has Taken Notice.]

  The portal twisted, its interior collapsing inward before re-expanding in a completely different pattern. Symbols flared briefly along its rim, unfamiliar and unmistakably not part of the void construct that had been forming moments before.

  [Void Portal Altered.]

  Alric’s expression finally changed. His eyes widened a fraction.

  “That is not...”

  The ground vanished beneath Hector. The force yanked him free of the earth entirely, ripping him from the battlefield as the portal consumed him in a rush of darkness and light. The last thing he saw was Alric lunging forward, reaching out as if to stop what was happening.

  Then reality was inverted. Everything vanished sound, weight and thankfully even his pain. It felt like floating through some unknown substance that cut off all his senses. He felt a force pull on him as he blasted away to somewhere unknown.

  The darkness peeled back, replaced by an endless expanse of pale light streaked with flowing sigils. The sensation of movement slowed, then softened, until Hector felt himself gently lowered onto solid ground.

  Warm air brushed against his skin, carrying the scent of earth and something faintly floral. The sky above was wrong, painted in layered hues that shifted slowly like a living thing, but it did not feel hostile.

  Another message appeared, quieter but no less absolute.

  [Notice: You have exited Tutorial Jurisdiction.]

  [Current Location Exists Outside Tutorial Oversight.]

  [System Restrictions Modified.]

  [Local Authority Detected.]

  Hector lay there, chest rising and falling as his body slowly stopped shaking. His healing stabilized on its own, no longer fighting itself. The void damage faded like a bad memory, leaving behind only exhaustion and a deep, aching confusion.

  He laughed weakly.

  “If I had a quarter for every time I got teleported away right before dying.... well, I guess I would only have 2 quarters, but I feel like not many people could say that.”

  Standing up, he could see that he was in a field; a mild fog spread like it had just rained. In the fog, he saw a dark figure approaching. With a deep breath he turned to face the approaching figure.