The attack didn't come all at once.
Instead, it began slowly, almost deliberately, as if whatever controlled this space wanted to observe how they reacted before committing fully.
The distortions appeared at the edges of the square again, but unlike before, they didn't rush forward immediately.
They waited.
Then, one moved.
Just one.
It attacked from the side, fast and precise, forcing Alaric to respond first as Golden Cavalier stepped in to intercept, the clash sharp and controlled rather than explosive.
The moment he moved, the rest followed.
Not randomly.
Not chaotically.
Perfectly timed.
"They're coordinating," Lucien said, already shifting position as Midnight Sontana slipped through the space between two incoming distortions, striking one before it could fully materialize.
Phantom Ember ignited brighter as Iggy pushed back another, but even as it recoiled, a second took its place instantly, maintaining the pressure without hesitation.
Jovian stayed still for half a second longer than the others.
Watching.
Measuring.
Because something about this felt off.
"They're not trying to overwhelm us," he said.
Alaric blocked another strike, his stance steady but strained. "Then what are they doing?"
Jovian's eyes shifted to the center.
"They're controlling where we stand."
The realization came too late to avoid.
The ground beneath them shifted again, the pattern tightening, narrowing their movement without physically trapping them, guiding them into specific positions whether they realized it or not.
Lucien noticed it next.
"…We're being placed."
Iggy let out a sharp breath. "Placed for what?"
The answer came immediately.
The central figure moved.
Faster than before.
Cleaner.
It didn't target randomly.
It chose.
Jovian.
Vital Mirage reacted instantly, meeting the strike head-on, but the force behind it was different this time, not stronger, but more precise, more intentional, aimed not to break through but to test a very specific response.
Jovian adjusted, redirecting the impact instead of resisting it, but even that felt like part of the design.
"…It's learning in real time," he said.
Lucien's expression darkened slightly. "Then we stop letting it."
Jovian nodded once.
"No more reacting," he said. "We break the system."
Because if they stayed inside this structure—
They would lose before the real fight even started.