One thing beca clear to Noah.
'His power is scary. But it's also predictable once you understand it.' Noah thought.
Riku exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "Alright," he muttered, smirking. "You're not as dumb as I thought."
Noah wiped a bit of sweat from his brow. "And you're slower than I expected."
Riku's expression flickered for a brief second before he grinned wider. "That so?"
Now ca the real test.
Noah switched gears, launching his first offensive sequence.
He surged forward, throwing a quick jab to test Riku's reflexes. The other fighter blocked easily. That was fine—Noah wasn't aiming to land just yet.
He feinted low, forcing Riku to shift his stance, then imdiately fired a chi-powered punch toward his ribs.
Riku barely managed to deflect it, but Noah had already moved. He wasn't waiting for an exchange—he was forcing Riku to play defense.
The mont Riku tried to swing back, Noah attacked again.
Another jab. A sharp hook. A leg feint leading into a rising knee.
Riku was blocking, dodging—but he wasn't attacking.
'Good. If he's not throwing hits, he can't stack them for later.'
For the first ti in the fight, Noah was dictating the pace.
Riku clicked his tongue, clearly frustrated. His arms moved a little slower now, his reactions not as sharp.
'This is working. His power requires too much ntal load. He has to keep track of his normal attacks, the echoes, and his stored hits at the sa ti. And now that he's forced on defense, it's even worse.'
A bead of sweat ran down Riku's temple.
Noah smirked. "Getting tired already?"
Riku exhaled sharply, shaking out his arms. "Nah. Just wondering when you're gonna stop holding back."
Noah's grin widened. "Funny. I was about to say the sa thing to you."
The Shift in Montum
For the next thirty seconds, Noah continued to pressure Riku, pushing him to his limit. Every ti Riku tried to regain his rhythm, Noah disrupted it. Every ti Riku looked for an opening, Noah took it away.
The crowd started murmuring.
"This isn't the sa fight from before…"
"No way… is Noah actually winning?"
Lucas frowned, watching closely. Noah was getting into dangerous territory. He had seen his friend in a couple of fights but this was different.
Lucas clenched his fists. 'What the hell is he doing?'
Noah alone saw it—the perfect opening.
Riku was sweating now, his stance breaking apart. One more clean hit would seal this round.
He planted his foot down, surging forward with a chi-infused strike aid straight for Riku's gut.
And then…
Riku stopped moving.
His smirk returned.
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Noah's fist never connected.
*Kpaarr!!*
Noah's breath ca ragged as he pushed himself up from the floor, his limbs screaming in protest. His vision swam, his body reeling from the sudden, violent impact that had co out of nowhere.
'What… the hell just happened?'
His last attack had been perfect. He had seen the gap, capitalized on Riku's opening, and committed to a clean chi-powered strike to the gut. He should have landed it—he did land it. He rembered his fist connecting.
So why the hell was he the one on the ground?
Noah wiped the blood from his lip, eyes flickering to his system display.
[Health Points: 185/320]
'Damn it. This is getting bad.'
Across from him, Riku stood relaxed, arms loosely at his sides, grinning. He wasn't in pain. He wasn't hunched over. It was like Noah's attack had never even happened.
Noah exhaled sharply, controlling his breath. 'Think. Sothing changed. What did he do?'
"Man…" Riku sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "You really don't know when to quit, do you?"
Noah's gaze sharpened, but he stayed silent, waiting.
Riku tilted his head, watching him like a teacher observing a stubborn student who refused to accept a simple lesson.
"You did good. Real good," Riku admitted. "Figured out faster than most. I was actually impressed for a second." He cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders. "But you see… the thing about understanding a problem is that it doesn't always an you can solve it."
His smirk widened.
"I let you play your little counter ga for a while. Thought maybe you'd push through if I kept things fair." He lifted his hand, snapping his fingers again.
Noah's stomach twisted. That sound.
That was the mont everything had gone wrong.
His mind raced, connecting the dots at a blistering pace. Riku's entire ability revolved around stored actions—Compression Vault. Every attack he made, whether it landed or missed, could be replayed at any ti. Noah had adjusted to that, worked around it, even managed to break Riku's rhythm.
So how had Riku undone a move that already happened?
Unless…
Noah's eyes narrowed. 'He can't just replay actions. He can erase them.'
Riku noticed the shift in Noah's expression and grinned.
"There it is," he said, chuckling. "That mont when you finally get it."
He lifted a single finger.
"Once per fight. That's all I get." His smirk widened. "One mont in ti, up to three seconds prior… and I get to take it back."
Noah's heartbeat slamd against his ribs.
'Loop Breaker.'
A manual reset.
Riku hadn't countered Noah's attack. He hadn't dodged, absorbed, or even endured it.
He had erased it from existence.
Noah's fists clenched, his jaw tightening.
'That's why it felt so damn weird. My body registered the movent. I rember hitting him. But reality just—shifted.'
It was like stepping forward only to find that the ground wasn't there anymore.
Riku stretched his arms, exhaling slowly. "You threw everything at just now. Thought you had cornered." His eyes glead. "But I rewound."
He gave a lazy shrug.
"That punch? That perfect mont you worked so hard for?" He tapped his temple. "It never happened."
Noah forced himself to his feet, shaking off the dull ache spreading through his body.
'One action. Once per fight. That's his limit.'
Riku watched him carefully, waiting to see if Noah would react with anger, frustration, or desperation.
Instead, Noah smirked.
Riku's brow twitched. "The hell are you smiling for?"
Noah cracked his neck. "Because that was your best trick, wasn't it?"
The grin on Riku's face flickered, just for a second.
"You said it yourself. Once per fight." Noah rolled his shoulders, stepping forward. "Which ans… you don't get to use it again."
Riku's smirk returned, but there was a hint of sothing new beneath it.
A flash of irritation.
Noah t his gaze head-on. Unshaken.
"This fight isn't over."
Riku exhaled, then rolled his wrist.
"Guess not." He took a step forward, his stance resetting. "But I'm giving you one last chance."
His tone was casual, but there was steel beneath it.
"Stay down, Noah."
Noah wiped the blood from his lip and let out a slow breath.
"I don't quit."
Riku's smirk widened.
"Good."
And then, he attacked.
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