The door closed behind them.
No echo.
No aftersound.
Just separation.
Levi stood still.
White light descended from above.
Not blinding.
But too clean.
There was no dust.
No scratches.
As if nothing here had ever been touched.
"Proceed."
A voice spoke.
Not loud.
Not urgent.
But absolute.
Three Axians entered.
Their movements were synchronized.
Perfect.
"Stand in position."
The floor responded.
Circles of light formed beneath each of them.
Levi.
Velkar.
Kraith.
Nyxara.
No one questioned it.
No one resisted.
The light intensified.
The feeling—
was different.
Not recovery.
Something else.
Levi narrowed his eyes slightly.
A cold sensation ran along his spine.
"…They're measuring."
Velkar said quietly.
An Axian stood before them.
"Remaining dimensional energy."
A brief pause.
"Link stability."
The light beneath Kraith flickered.
"Low."
Velkar's circle remained steady.
"Acceptable."
Nyxara's—
shifted.
Not evenly.
"…Unstable."
Levi did not look down.
He remained still.
The light beneath him—
stopped.
No increase.
No decrease.
Just… still.
An Axian stepped closer.
"…Unmeasurable."
Silence.
"Repeat."
The system adjusted.
A stronger layer of scanning overlapped the first.
Levi did not move.
The result—
unchanged.
"…Unmeasurable."
The atmosphere in the room shifted.
"Stop."
Another voice.
A different Axian entered.
There was no visible difference in form.
But his presence—
was heavier.
"This case."
He looked directly at Levi.
"…exclude."
Levi did not react.
But Velkar glanced at him.
For a brief moment.
"Cannot be measured."
The Axian continued.
"Cannot be evaluated."
A short pause.
"…Does not belong within the system."
Kraith smirked slightly.
"That doesn't sound good."
No one responded.
The leading Axian turned away.
"You have understood by now."
Not a question.
A statement.
"Dimensional energy is not power."
A brief pause.
"It is existence."
Levi remained silent.
"You use it—"
"You consume yourself."
Velkar spoke.
"Then why force us to use it?"
The answer came without hesitation.
"Because you do not have a choice."
Silence followed.
"Fight."
"Or disappear."
Nyxara said nothing.
But her eyes—
had changed.
The Axian continued.
"Combat systems."
"Wind. Water. Fire. Earth."
"Stable."
"Predictable."
"Special systems."
"Metal. Wood."
"Environment-dependent."
"External systems."
"Speed. Sound. Gravity."
"They do not create."
"They alter."
A brief pause.
"Abstract systems."
The air grew heavier.
"Emotion."
"Safety."
"Time."
"…Unstable."
Levi's fingers tightened slightly.
"And restoration?"
A short silence.
"Rare."
Very brief.
"Extremely rare."
Another Axian stepped forward.
He drew a new circle on the ground.
"Stand inside."
They obeyed.
The light this time—
was different.
Not intense.
But stable.
Velkar's breathing eased.
Kraith adjusted his stance.
Nyxara's surface no longer flickered.
Levi—
felt it.
Not recovery.
Not healing.
But containment.
"This."
The Axian spoke.
"…is restoration."
A pause.
"Not repair."
"Maintenance."
Levi looked at his hand.
No fragments.
For now.
But he knew—
it remained.
Inside.
"Preparation complete."
A voice echoed.
Not from one direction.
From everywhere.
"Movement detected."
A brief pause.
"Target approaching."
Levi raised his head.
Velkar straightened.
Kraith let out a quiet breath of anticipation.
Nyxara remained silent.
"Distance decreasing."
Silence followed.
"Preparation time…"
"…has ended."
No one spoke.
No one needed to.
Because all of them—
understood.
The battle—
had already begun—
long before they were ready.