Two days after defeating Carter, Rhys noticed something had changed. The prison's fusion dampeners - crystals that normally shone harsh blue through reinforced panels - were pulsing differently. Regular waves of power instead of F-Tier's constant glare.
He kept his vacant smile in place, watching the colors shift through the corridor's panels. Blue for suppression. Red for unauthorized fusion detection. White for basic power. The prison's heartbeat, pumping through crystal veins.
"E-7, halt." The guard's finger twitched near his stun baton. "Dampeners activating."
Rhys let his Gem Sense awaken just enough to taste the crystal matrix. Seven seconds between pulses. Longer than F-Tier's three-second cycle. More gaps. More possibilities.
The guards kept their distance now. His fight with Carter had sparked new whispers in E-Tier. A burned-out Hunter who moved like water through stone. A madman who spoke to shadows. No need for the full performance anymore - fear wrote his story for him.
Dr. Wells stood at her observation post, crystal-enhanced lenses glowing softly as she took notes. Rhys gave her the bare minimum show - a slight twitch, a muttered number. Just enough to maintain his reputation while his Gem Sense mapped the observation booth's crystal layout.
The arena had grown since Carter. New suppression crystals lined the walls, their light steadier than F-Tier's flickering barriers. But rushed installation left weaknesses. A maintenance panel behind section C-3 showed fresh tool marks. The power coupling in section E-8 hummed off-frequency. Small details that his Gem Sense devoured.
The crowd filled the observation galleries, larger than usual. Word had spread after Carter. They wanted to see the madman dance again. Betting would be heavy today.
"Prisoner entering arena," the announcement echoed. "Dampening field at sixty percent."
Sara Kain waited in the center ring. Her fusion mark - the sign of her Wind Sparrow bond - glowed despite the suppression field. She'd won six straight matches since transferring in. Fast. Technical. Predictable.
"I studied your match with Carter," she said as he approached. Military stance, weight slightly forward. "That wasn't just madness, was it?"
Rhys swayed slightly, matching the crystal pulses. No need for speeches about infinity anymore. Just enough oddness to maintain the act while his Gem Sense mapped her fusion frequencies.
The bout began.
Sara moved like her Wind Sparrow - quick strikes flowing into swift kicks. Her fusion mark blazed brighter as she drew on her bond's power. The suppression crystals pulsed stronger in response, trying to contain the energy.
Rhys Shadow Stepped through her first combination. To the crowd, it looked like his usual stumbling dance. To Maya, watching from her hidden booth, each "clumsy" dodge precisely matched the moments when suppression fields cycled down.
"Fight properly!" Sara's frustration made her bond flare. Red warning lights flickered as she pushed against the dampening field.
Her next sequence came fast - fusion-enhanced kicks that bent air with their speed. Rhys let blood from his split lip paint the floor in careful patterns. His Gem Sense showed him exactly where each drop would disrupt crystal harmonics.
The crowd leaned forward as he moved. Some saw a madman's dance. Others, those with fusion-enhanced senses, caught glimpses of something deeper. The way his stumbles matched crystal pulses. How the dampening field rippled in his wake.
Sara pressed harder, her Wind Sparrow essence manifesting in techniques that had earned her quick promotion through E-Tier. Each combination flowed with perfect fusion harmony. Each strike aimed to overwhelm with pure power.
Rhys Shadow Stepped through her guard - the movement so quick it looked like desperate flailing. But Maya would recognize that technique. A perfect match for crystal resonance that shouldn't be possible for someone with "burned out" fusion.
"What are you?" Sara demanded during a clinch, Wind Sparrow essence rippling across her skin.
He didn't answer. Instead, he let Resonant Strike flow through his counter, the technique perfectly timed to when the suppression field cycled down. Not enough power to be obvious. Just enough to make her fusion flicker.
The galleries erupted as Sara staggered. The betting syndicates' crystal-enhanced observers leaned forward, trying to analyze what they'd just seen. In her hidden booth, Maya's eyes narrowed at the familiar technique.
Sara recovered fast, fusion mark blazing as she drew deeper on her bond. The air itself bent around her movements as she launched another combination. Power meeting madness in a dance that made fusion-enhanced senses tingle.
Rhys flowed through her attacks, each dodge precisely placed. His Gem Sense showed him the gaps between crystal pulses. The moments when suppression fields were weakest. The exact timing needed to make skill look like chaos.
The end came like a whisper.
Sara launched her finishing combination - the full power of her Wind Sparrow bond channeled into movements that distorted space. The suppression crystals flared bright blue, struggling to contain her fusion.
Rhys Shadow Stepped one last time.
His Resonant Strike caught her perfectly - not with obvious power, but with exact timing. The crystals cycled down for that crucial seventh second. Her bond flickered. Her eyes widened in sudden understanding before unconsciousness took her.
"Winner: 3479. Time: sixteen minutes, twelve seconds."
The crowd roared. Money changed hands in the galleries as betting predictions paid off. Medical teams rushed to attend Sara while security drones scanned for unusual fusion signatures.
Rhys maintained his vacant smile. Let them think it was luck. Let them see madness in his efficiency. His Gem Sense showed him everything - the weak points in crystal coverage, the maintenance access points, the places where power flowed wrong.
Guard Captain Hayes approached through the competitor's tunnel, his eyes gleaming with unnatural enhancement. Crystal fragments embedded under his skin pulsed with bootleg fusion power. Another piece of the prison's underground network revealing itself.
"Impressive performance." Hayes's smile carried the edge of someone used to being feared. "How would you like to earn some real money?"
Rhys let his gaze drift past Hayes's shoulder, but his Gem Sense cataloged every detail of the guard's unstable fusion system. Counted to three. Mumbled something about shadows. Just enough to maintain expectations.
Dr. Wells made her final notes, crystal lenses failing to detect the patterns hidden in Rhys's performance. The dampening field logs would show nothing unusual. Just another mad fight from a broken Hunter.
---
Later, in his cell, Rhys pressed his palm against the wall and reviewed what his abilities had revealed:
- Complete crystal matrix layout
- Seven-second power cycles
- Guard rotation blind spots
- Hayes's black market connections
- Six maintenance access points
- Structural weaknesses in section C-3
- Underground fight venue locations
---
The Wolf's presence acknowledged each detail, their shared abilities growing stronger with each calculated use.
Tomorrow would bring Hayes's underground matches. More opportunities. More information.