"True mastery isn't domination. It's evolution in motion. Those at the peak never try to improve then eventually another comes along and dethrones them. You've seen it countless times in this world's future battles."
Yuichi's breaths came in ragged pulls. Blood trickled down his chin, mixing with sweat as it dripped from his jaw onto the shattered mirrored floor. Every nerve screamed. His limbs ached. His vision blurred.
And yet…
He stood. Such wounds had become common to him now.
Blade trembling in his grip, knees shaking under the weight of spiritual exhaustion, but his feet still planted firmly.
Across from him, the future version of himself watched with an unreadable expression. Blade lowered. Shoulders relaxed. Not mocking — just observant.
"Well," the future self said softly, "you're still standing. That's something at the very least."
Yuichi inhaled slowly. His lungs felt like they were filled with broken glass.
"We're not done yet," he said.
The future self tilted his head, just slightly. "Why? You're barely standing as is."
Yuichi gritted his teeth. "Because… I'm starting to get it."
"Oh? What more do you have to show me?"
"This isn't about beating you. It never was. I will prove to you here and now that I will surpass you."
He raised his sword again, settling into a more relaxed stance — not rigid, not forceful. But open. Intentional. Listening.
A flicker of light crossed his eyes.
"I'm not here to win," Yuichi said. "I'm here to learn. Everything you have done and every word you have said I will incorporate them into my being and go higher than you ever could."
The future self's smile was small, but real. "Good answer. Now let's see it in practice."
The next charge came not from anger or desperation — but from focus.
Yuichi dashed forward, Mirage Step crackling faintly in his footwork. This time, he didn't try to hide. He let his reiryoku pulse out and then collapse — baiting attention.
The future self moved toward the false pulse — and Yuichi slipped under.
One clean slash — aimed low.
It grazed the future self's thigh.
Barely.
But it landed.
Future Yuichi's eyes sharpened. "There it is. First hit of the day, you must be proud."
Yuichi followed with a Bakudō #30: Shitotsu Sansen, golden triangles snapping outward toward his opponent's shoulders.
The future self deflected one — but the other two struck his forearm and knee. The binding held for half a second.
And that was enough.
Yuichi fired Hadō #33: Sōkatsui at close range.
The blast tore through the air — blue flame surging across the field.
The future self vanished with Shunpo — reappearing to the left, the edge of his left sleeve singed slightly.
"Improving your setups," he noted.
Yuichi was already moving. He used Phantom Pain again — this time casting it behind the future self instead of beside him. The clone rushed forward with a scream — blade shimmering.
The future self turned to parry it—
—And Yuichi struck from below.
Not strong. Not fast. But smart.
The blade scratched along the side of his opponent's clothes above his ribs before he was blasted away by a counter-kick. But Yuichi disregarde the hit a slice down on the leg that kicked him at the moment.
He tumbled back, sliding to a stop. The pain in his side bloomed fresh — he could feel a cracked rib now. But he grinned through it.
His future self wiped a trickle of blood from his thigh.
"Well done," he said. "You're using pain as a teacher, not a motivator. You're adapting quite nicely."
Yuichi stood again.
"You said I layer techniques instead of blending them," he said. "So I'm blending now."
He raised his hand.
"Hadō #54: Haien."
A burst of violet energy shot forward.
Future Yuichi activated Return the Strike — the mirror flash from Kagami no Jotei rebounded the energy.
Yuichi expected it.
He braced — and activated Shared Pain an instant before impact.
The rebounded blast struck, but the damage diverted. He still felt it — but his body didn't shatter.
His spiritual power dipped hard — dangerously close to the red.
He staggered.
But he was still alive.
Still fighting.
The future self's expression changed slightly.
Softer.
Almost proud.
He raised his blade — not in challenge, but in respect.
"Good," he said. "Now you understand the lesson."
Yuichi looked up, panting.
"This world," his future self said, "won't wait for you. It doesn't care how much you try. Or how hard you struggle. It will break you unless you learn and change faster than it hits."
He pointed the tip of his sword at Yuichi's heart.
"And now… you're beginning to change."
He moved.
This time faster than before. No longer testing — now fully pressing. The next ten seconds blurred into a storm.
Kido traps, shattered.
Clone shattered.
Blade nearly snapped.
Bones bruised.
But Yuichi held his ground.
He used Shunpo to reposition rather than escape. He used Geki to interrupt, not freeze. He began reading the angles, letting instinct fill the gaps. The future self still dominated — but for the first time…
He was no longer talking.
He was watching.
Yuichi launched another Mirage Step, this time dropping reiryoku into the floor mid-movement. The image it created hung just long enough to make his future self commit.
He rolled under the counter-strike, blade slashing up—
Steel grazed flesh.
Blood sprayed.
It was real.
The future self leapt back, hand to his shoulder.
He looked at the cut. Then at Yuichi.
And for the first time…
He laughed.
"You finally did it," he said.
Yuichi fell to one knee. "What?"
"You grew. Just now you've grown."
A long silence followed.
Then the future self began walking toward him.
Yuichi didn't resist.
He fell backward — chest rising and falling, fingers twitching with exhaustion. His blade clattered beside him.
The future self stopped beside him and crouched. "I'm glad you didn't give up even in the face of overwhelming odds. You'll definitely become stronger than this image of me.," he said.
Yuichi looked up through the sweat and blood in his eyes.
"Same here, I'm glad I didn't surrender until the end," he replied. "You taught me well."
The future self extended a hand.
Yuichi took it.
As their fingers touched, a ripple passed through the mirrored palace. The skies above — once dulled with haze — began to brighten. Not fully. But enough.
"You'll keep growing," the future self said. "As long as you remember this: pain teaches. But clarity transforms. Don't become so buried in your pain that you lose sight of what lie ahead."
Yuichi nodded slowly.
The future self stood and began to fade — not into light, but into transparency. His reiryoku dissolved into the mirrored walls, carried on the wind.
Before he vanished, he spoke one final time:
"Walk forward, Yuichi. I'll be waiting for you."
And then he was gone.
Silence.
Kagami no Jotei appeared from the shadows of the chamber, walking to his side.
She didn't speak immediately. Instead, she knelt, lifted his body, and placed his head on her lap.
Warmth flooded through him. The worst of the injuries began to mend. The pain ebbed — not entirely, but enough.
"Did I pass?" he asked.
She gave a small, graceful smile.
"You didn't pass," she said. "You changed."
Yuichi sat up, breathing steadily now.
The mirrored palace shimmered slightly — the slightly dim walls shined brighter than ever.
He stared at it.
And smiled.