The basement training room hummed with quiet anticipation. Aunt Nari adjusted the lighting and secured the doors behind them. The faint smell of baking bread from above seemed a world away now.
"Before we start," Aunt Nari said firmly, arms crossed, "some ground rules."
Kael nodded, muscles coiled, ready.
"First: You may only use your Darkbind Quirk. Non of your BalanceKeeper abilities. This is to test your core control without shortcuts."
Kael's heart skipped a beat. No Balancekeeper—no absorbing or giving powers. Just him and his shadow beast.
"Second: This is a sparring match, not a fight to the death. Use restraint."
"Understood," Kael said, voice steady.
Yumi chimed in from the side, cracking her knuckles. "And no support from me either. I'm just here to watch."
Aunt Nari gave a rare smile. "Good. Now, let's see what you've learned."
Voidflare floated to one end of the room, cosmic energy flickering faintly around his hands like distant galaxies in motion.
Kael exhaled deeply and summoned the shadows that crept from his arms, tendrils twisting like living smoke.
Kael struck first, his Darkbind tendrils lashing forward with precision, aiming to bind Voidflare's wrists. The Pro Hero countered with a swift pulse of gravitational force, pushing Kael back without breaking stride.
Aunt Nari's voice echoed softly, "Notice how Kael initiates with ranged tendrils, testing Voidflare's defense."
Yumi added, "He's baiting Voidflare to reveal how strong his gravity control really is."
Kael leapt backward, the shadows retreating with him. He tried to circle around, striking at Voidflare's legs with sharp, whip-like lashes. Voidflare anticipated, bending gravity beneath his feet to anchor himself, then counterattacked with a crushing wave of cosmic energy.
Kael barely dodged, feeling the heat and force singe his jacket.
"Good evasion," Aunt Nari commented. "Kael's learning to read his opponent's patterns."
Voidflare shifted tactics, floating higher and generating a shimmering barrier of dense cosmic particles. "Containment field," Aunt Nari whispered. "He's restricting the battlefield."
Kael frowned, eyes narrowing. His shadows rippled, growing thicker and denser as he tried to pierce the barrier. With a sharp hiss, the tendrils extended and thrashed, but the cosmic wall held firm.
Yumi's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Voidflare's playing the long game—forcing Kael into exhaustion. That barrier's energy-intensive."
Kael gritted his teeth and ducked under a sweeping cosmic beam, retaliating with a flurry of precise strikes, focusing on breaking the barrier at specific points.
"Nice," Aunt Nari praised. "Targeting weak spots instead of brute force."
The barrier faltered. Voidflare's lips twitched into a grin. He collapsed the wall suddenly, rushing forward with a burst of gravitational acceleration that pulled Kael off balance.
Kael scrambled, extending Darkbind tendrils to catch himself, but the sudden speed overwhelmed his reaction time.
"Here comes the trap," Yumi murmured.
Voidflare closed in, shifting gravity to increase his strike's weight. Kael barely blocked, the force pushing his shadows backward violently.
Aunt Nari's tone sharpened. "Kael's defense is strong, but his offense is predictable. He needs to vary his tempo."
Kael tried to respond with a spinning strike, but Voidflare slipped between tendrils like liquid light, landing a glancing blow on Kael's ribs.
Voidflare hovered just out of reach, shadows thickening around Kael's hands as he prepared to lash out again.
But Voidflare smiled knowingly. "You're too focused on attack patterns, Kael."
Suddenly, Voidflare created a miniature gravitational well beneath Kael's feet, distorting the floor and unbalancing him.
Kael staggered, shadows flickering.
"Now," Voidflare said softly, "observe the dance."
With fluid grace, he manipulated gravity and cosmic energy to lift Kael briefly off the ground, spinning him helplessly in midair.
Kael's shadows flailed, but he couldn't gain purchase.
Aunt Nari clapped once. "That's it. The match is over."
Yumi nodded, impressed. "It wasn't just strength—it was patience and timing."
Kael exhaled, breath ragged but smiling. "I lost."
Voidflare lowered Kael gently to the ground. "And that's… how you learn."