(Yami POV)
The world around me was quiet.Too quiet.
The training room behind Sainan's facility had been empty since dawn — walls lined with impact panels, the faint hum of stabilization fields, the smell of ozone from energy discharges that hadn't yet faded.
I stood barefoot on the platform, the dim blue lights painting the air in cool tones. My hands flexed, the familiar weight of my transformation forming around them — blades of living gold, sharp and restless.
But something was different now.
Since the awakening.
Since him.
[Connection Active – Scourge_Link][Sync Rate: 94%][Observation Mode: Passive]
He wasn't speaking, but I could feel him.A quiet pulse at the back of my mind — watching, analyzing, not intruding.
Good.
I didn't need guidance. I needed to know.
If the bond had taken my autonomy.If I was still me.
The walls around me flickered as the simulation loaded — twenty hostile drones materialized, each carrying an energy signature close to Class-B threat level. A standard test.
But this time, it was personal.
I lunged forward — no hesitation.Every movement precise, cold, lethal.Golden light flared, slicing through the first line of drones before they even fired.
Then — something strange.The second wave came faster, smarter — anticipating my pattern. My body moved before I decided.
A feint to the left.A perfect parry.A twist that used my own momentum to turn defense into strike.
It was flawless.And it wasn't mine.
[Adaptive Response: Symbiotic Combat Instinct – Hivemind Assistance Active]
"Stop," I hissed aloud, slashing through the last drone in a golden blur.The blades retracted, and I stood panting in the center of the room, surrounded by smoking fragments.
Inside, the link pulsed softly.
You handled it well.Better than expected.
"Don't patronize me," I muttered under my breath. "You interfered."
I didn't. The System reacted to your intent — I only watched.
"Watched?" My voice sharpened. "You call moving my body for me watching?"
A pause. Then — calm, even, frustratingly composed:
You're connected, Yami. The link isn't control — it's adaptation. It helps you survive.
"I've survived plenty without you."
I know. But now you don't have to.
That silenced me for a moment.The words weren't arrogant — they were… honest.
And that annoyed me more than anything.
I exhaled slowly, blades melting away into nothing. The System interface flickered briefly in my vision:
[Training Session Complete][Physical Sync: 100%][Autonomy Integrity: Preserved][Symbiotic Bond Strength: Increasing]
So I hadn't lost myself.Not yet.
I closed the link halfway — not severing it, just dimming the presence between us. Enough to breathe without hearing his pulse in mine.
Still watching? I asked silently.
Always, came his quiet reply. But only when you let me.
My lips curved in the faintest of smiles — involuntary, fleeting.A dangerous sign.
The System's final message glowed faintly behind my eyes:
[Hidden Condition Achieved – Mutual Awareness]Reward Unlocked: Dual-State Resonance→ Temporarily allows independent and synchronized action simultaneously.
I opened my eyes again.The golden aura flared, sharper than ever.
"Then I'll keep testing," I whispered. "Until I know who's stronger — me, or the bond."