Jovian didn't slow down.
That was the difference.
Every instinct told him to hesitate. To calculate. To wait for an opening that made sense.
But Voss didn't leave openings. He created traps that looked like them.
So Jovian abandoned that way of thinking entirely.
Vital Mirage surged forward beside him, its movements sharp and unwavering.
The invisible lines cut across the battlefield again. Faster now. Denser.
They weren't random.
They were meant to stop him.
Jovian stepped through the first one.
Barely.
The edge brushed his sleeve, slicing the fabric clean.
Too close.
But he didn't stop.
Behind him, the others realized what he was doing.
"…He's forcing it," Lucien said.
"No," Alaric corrected quietly. "He's committing."
That was worse.
Because if he misread even once—
It was over.
Another line cut toward him.
Jovian shifted his weight and leaned into the movement instead of away from it. The attack passed just behind him.
Then another came from the side.
Vital Mirage reacted instantly, deflecting it just enough to break its path.
Still moving forward.
Still closing the distance.
Voss watched him the entire time.
Not surprised.
Not impressed.
Just… watching.
"You think persistence is enough?" Voss said.
Jovian didn't answer.
He was close now.
Closer than anyone had gotten so far.
The pressure intensified immediately.
The lines multiplied, intersecting faster, cutting off every possible path.
A cage.
No—
A system.
Jovian saw it too late.
"This wasn't to stop me…" he muttered.
"It was to guide you," Lucien realized from behind.
Straight into the center.
Exactly where Voss wanted him.
The space around Jovian tightened violently.
No room to move.
No angle to escape.
Obsidian Fang shifted slightly forward.
For the first time—
Voss was going to strike directly.
Jovian exhaled once. Slow.
Then he smiled faintly.
"…Good," he said under his breath.
Vital Mirage moved.
Not outward.
Not defensive.
It pulled inward.
Close.
Tighter than ever before.
And in that single moment—
Everything around him felt slower.
Not stopped.
Not frozen.
Just… readable.
The lines were still there.
But now—
He could see where they weren't.
A narrow path.
Small.
But real.
Jovian stepped forward.
Right through it.
And suddenly—
He was face to face with Voss.
For the first time.
No distance.
No system between them.
Just two Stand users.
Voss's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…So you found it," he said.
Jovian didn't hesitate.
Vital Mirage struck.
Directly.