Xin crossed the threshold and collapsed.
Not dramatically. Not heroically.
His legs simply gave out.
He hit the ground face first, breath knocked clean out of him, body twitching as Raxton screamed warnings straight into his nervous system. Plates snapped closer, locking partially now, not by command but by necessity.
Zane floated after him.
Casual.
Relaxed.
Then his foot touched the ground.
The world changed.
Zane frowned.
Not anger. Not shock.
Confusion.
"What," he said softly.
The air inside the zone vibrated at a frequency that made Xin's teeth rattle. Lines of dull blue light ignited along the chamber walls, the ceiling, the ground beneath Zane's boots.
Anti Spinat field.
Fully active.
Zane took another step.
His body reacted instantly.
Not healing. Not adapting.
Rejecting.
His skin rippled unnaturally, like something inside him was suddenly out of sync. The constant glow beneath his flesh dimmed. His breath hitched, just slightly.
Xin heard it.
The first imperfection.
Zane looked down at his hand. Flexed his fingers.
"…Cute," he said.
Then pain hit him.
Not physical.
Existential.
Zane staggered half a step, catching himself before falling. The ground cracked beneath his weight anyway, but slower than before. Weaker.
His smile twitched.
"That's new," Zane muttered.
Xin rolled onto his back, gasping for air. "Yeah. Welcome to… the room."
Zane turned toward him sharply.
He moved to strike.
And missed.
Not because Xin dodged.
Because Zane was slow.
Not human slow.
But not god fast anymore.
His punch hit the ground beside Xin instead, sending a shockwave through the chamber that cracked walls and rattled every bone in Xin's body.
Zane stared at his fist.
His eyes widened just a fraction.
"Oh," he said quietly. "You actually did it."
Deep underground, Alaric's voice shook with restrained disbelief.
"Resonance dropping. Rapidly. This is working."
Rion slammed the secondary control. "Lock it."
Massive doors slammed shut above the chamber. Energy barriers layered over each other. The field intensified.
Zane growled.
Not in rage.
In irritation.
He lunged again, faster this time, adapting to the suppression, and grabbed Xin by the throat, lifting him off the ground.
Xin felt bones creak.
Raxton reacted instantly.
Plates snapped into place around Xin's chest and neck, dispersing pressure, keeping his spine from snapping. His feet dangled uselessly as he clawed at Zane's wrist.
"You planned this," Zane said, staring into Xin's bloodshot eyes. "That's adorable."
Xin forced a grin. "You… followed."
Zane tightened his grip.
Then hissed.
His arm spasmed.
The field surged.
Zane dropped Xin, stepping back abruptly, one hand clutching his own forearm. Dark veins pulsed across his skin, unstable, flickering in and out of existence.
"This place hates me," Zane said slowly.
"Yes," Xin rasped. "We built it that way."
Zane laughed.
A sharp, broken sound.
"You think hate kills gods," he said. "It just annoys them."
He straightened, drawing in breath, forcing his body to stabilize. His power pushed back against the suppression, carving cracks into the field itself.
Alarms screamed.
"Field integrity dropping," Alaric warned. "We do not have long."
Rion's voice came through the comm. "Injection team ready."
Xin dragged himself upright, Raxton fully engaged now at emergency sync. His body still screamed in protest, but he was standing.
Zane looked at him again.
This time, there was no boredom in his eyes.
Only focus.
"Good," Zane said. "Now it feels fair."
He took a step forward.
Slower.
Heavier.
Killable.
And the room braced itself for the real fight to begin.