Lightning flickered across the shattered skies of the Crimson Sky Sect. The storm had been conjured—not by nature, but by the violent clash of forces that tore through the barrier protecting the northern district. Magic still sparked and danced in the air, reluctant to settle.
Harvey stood at the center of it all, cloak torn and fluttering, his system window still active behind his cold, calculating eyes.
> [Warning: Internal Mana Reserves at 62%. System Overclock enabled.] [Threat Assessment: Level Unknown.] [Analyzing opponent signature…]
He exhaled slowly, the metallic taste of mana burning his throat.
"Zaine..." he muttered.
The name tasted like betrayal.
Before him stood a projection—not of the real Zaine Vandrel, but something far more insidious. A mirror image cloaked in shadow magic, eyes glowing red like molten embers. It was the kind of spell that only someone from the inner circle of the Executioner Division could summon.
A clone.
A decoy.
A trap.
The shadow's lips curled into a knowing grin.
"I see the rumors are true," it said with Zaine's voice. "You've grown. But not enough."
Harvey didn't answer. He didn't need to. He stepped forward, boots crunching over broken stone, until the spell circle from the previous battle glowed underfoot. Its edges still shimmered with the blood from the last ritual—Rina's scream from the previous night echoing faintly in the corners of his mind.
> [Memory Sync: Suppressed.] [Emotional Detachment Protocol: Stabilized.]
The system cooled his thoughts, reined in his rage.
He drew his dagger again, this time tracing it over the arcane circle.
The runes lit.
And the arena changed.
Crimson flame engulfed the sky as they were transported—not physically, but mentally—into a duel realm. A psychological battlefield crafted from mana and memory, where everything was shaped by willpower and mastery.
Harvey's eyes narrowed. This was Zaine's domain.
But his will? Unshakable.
---
The duel began without warning.
Zaine's shadow lunged first, twin scythes forming from raw mana. Each slash tore through the air like ripples in a nightmare. Harvey ducked, rolled, and countered with a precise kick laced with wind magic. The illusion staggered—but didn't falter.
Instead, it laughed. "You still fight like a system-born brat."
Harvey's reply was silence.
He activated a technique—Silent Rift Step—and vanished mid-air, reappearing behind the shadow with a mana-fueled palm strike. A shockwave exploded outward, distorting the dreamscape and throwing the clone backward.
But again, it smiled.
"You're still reacting. Still following the script."
And then the dream shifted.
The battlefield became the Vandrel family training yard.
The ground was soaked in blood.
His brother's voice echoed in his ear: "You were always just a shadow of me, Harvey."
---
He staggered—only for a second.
Then he clenched his fist.
> [System Override: Blood Memory Rejection.] [Cognitive Stabilization… Complete.]
"Nice try," he whispered.
Harvey surged forward, combining system skills with a forbidden technique he'd copied months ago—Verdant Fangs: Variant Form—his blade now dancing with black-green energy, honed for annihilation.
The shadow's eyes widened for the first time. "That technique…!"
Too late.
The blade struck, slicing across the dream-form's chest and unraveling its spell body.
The arena began to collapse, the spell unable to sustain itself after the integrity breach.
Harvey landed hard, back in the real ruins, smoke curling from his gloves. The projection was gone—but its words lingered.
"You're still following the script."
What script?
What truth was he missing?
Then, a new alert pinged from the system.
> [New Mission Unlocked: Echoes of the Vandrel Bloodline.] [Unlock Condition Met: Duel with Zaine's Projection.] [Warning: Ancestral Secrets Hidden in Crimson Sect Library.]
He stood slowly, expression grim.
So it wasn't over.
It had never been over.
---
Back at the entrance of the ruins, Rina stood, one arm bandaged, the other clinging to her staff.
She'd watched the entire thing from afar.
Her expression was unreadable.
"He's still hunting you," she said quietly.
Harvey didn't look at her. "I know."
"You think you're ready for Zaine?"
He finally turned, eyes glowing with mana. "I'm not ready."
A pause.
"But I will be."
The storm broke above them, light filtering through for the first time in days.
But the shadows had only begun to move.
---