The chamber shifted. Crystal shards and residual echoes of the Prime Convergence's duel twisted into a controlled arena, suspended within the Nexus currents. Gravity bent naturally, then reversed unexpectedly. The rules of physics were optional here, but Kael felt grounded.
Lumen's form stretched along the edge of the arena. "Your training will combine control, strategy, and adaptation. The Architect will continue observing, and every lesson you master here will be tested in reality itself."
Kael exhaled. "I'm ready."
The first exercise was deceptively simple: a shard of pure Nexus energy hovered in front of him, spinning erratically, bending time and space around itself. Kael had to channel his paradox currents to stabilize it without breaking its natural oscillation.
He extended his hands. Energy flowed, bending the shard's trajectory. It resisted violently, spinning faster, splitting into fractal pieces, each of which seemed to defy time. Kael forced himself to feel the shard, to anticipate its chaotic pulses. Slowly, the shards recombined, forming a perfect sphere that hovered obediently before him.
"Excellent," Lumen said. "Now the shard will fight back."
In an instant, the sphere shot forward, faster than Kael expected. He dodged instinctively, then countered with energy manipulation that bent space around his movements. Every strike, block, and pulse was mirrored by the shard—sometimes slightly ahead, sometimes delayed—forcing him to adapt continuously.
Minutes—or maybe hours—passed. Time was meaningless in the fractured Nexus. Kael's body ached, his mark burned, but he continued, learning the rhythm of the shard, predicting its chaos, and bending it to his will without breaking it.
Finally, the shard stabilized perfectly. It spun in a calm orbit above Kael's head. The Nexus itself seemed to pulse in approval.
Lumen's form shimmered. "This is just the beginning. Soon, the Architect will escalate. Reality itself will be your battlefield, and every choice, every hesitation, will be a test of your mastery."
Kael wiped sweat from his brow. "Then I won't hesitate."
The chamber darkened, the shards collapsing into a singular, spinning nexus point. He could feel the Architect observing, measuring, calculating. Kael clenched his fists, feeling the weight of not just his own path, but every version of himself across the multiverse.
"I'll be ready," he whispered.
And somewhere in the distance, across impossible timelines, the Architect prepared the next move.