Chapter 114 The glitch in the matrix

Words : 842 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

She could've tightened the noose already, squeezed until his bones creaked under the force, but she was still managing the weight—adjusting, reacting. It was a decision, not a failure. That meant she wasn't just relying on brute force. She was reading him, just as he was reading her. A contest of control. Noah exhaled slowly, his mind shifting from endurance to action. He needed to break out of his own reasoning. He had spent time analyzing, feeling out her technique, but now it was time to test it. He adjusted his stance slightly—not to resist, but to probe. The response was immediate. The pressure doubled down on his left side, tightening against his ribs, forcing his spine into a locked position. The shift was too fast, too efficient to be anything other than conscious reinforcement. 'She's watching my weight distribution.' That confirmed something. She wasn't just applying an even force across his entire body. She was actively adapting to every movement, treating the dead zone as something flexible, not rigid. That meant weaknesses existed. He pushed a little further, this time angling his right knee forward while subtly shifting his left shoulder. Another reaction. The weight crushed down on his right thigh before slamming into his collarbone. Noah gritted his teeth. The force wasn't just strong—it was intelligent. Diana was predicting where his pressure points would be, where his balance might tip, and adjusting in real time to keep him trapped. 'Then I need to make her reinforce it even more.' he began by guiding chi around his body to allow subtle enhancements, aiding his body to move against her pressure just enough for her to crush him again. He pushed in quick succession—small, measured movements, each one forcing a correction in her control. The weight pressed tighter, harder, stretching to compensate. But the more it stretched, the more he felt its edges. The boundaries. That was what he needed. His muscles burned as he kept shifting, forcing her to respond, mapping out the differences in resistance. His upper chest? Like iron bands coiling around his lungs, impossible to flex. His lower spine? Heavy, but stable—meant to lock him down rather than crush. His right arm? Completely immobilized. No space to leverage. His left leg? Pressed, but not as dense as the rest. And then— There. His chi, still unpredictable, still free-flowing, coiled instinctively. He didn't force it—he couldn't. Instead, he wove it into the natural movement of his body, aligning the surge of energy with his next motion. Now. Noah twisted sharply—not against the dead zone, but with it, riding the force instead of opposing it. He used the weaker point at his hip as the fulcrum, slipping through the momentary flicker before she could reinforce it. The way he'd done this was quite simple. His body was frozen within Diana's nullification field. Every instinct screamed at him to push, to break free—but force meant nothing here. Momentum was devoured the moment it formed. Struggle was useless. Instead, he shifted inward. His chi pulsed, not in raw bursts, but in controlled currents, cycling through his limbs in a self-contained loop. Movement didn't have to be external—it could exist within. Muscles trembled, vibrating at frequencies too subtle to trigger the suppression, energy coiling beneath the surface. Diana's field adjusted in real-time, pressing down, nullifying. But that suppression had rhythm, an ebb and flow as it recalibrated. Noah synchronized his chi to it, letting the pressure guide him rather than resisting it. The dead zone wasn't impenetrable—it was predictable. Then, in the space of a breath, he shifted. Not forward, not back, but through. His chi flickered out of sync with the suppression's pulse for the briefest instant, a ghost between beats. The dead zone didn't register his movement—it had nothing to suppress. All this of course wouldn't have been possible if Diana was at full strength but for whatever reason best known to her, she'd overextended herself and that cost her. One step. And he was free. Diana's eyes widened. "You—" She reacted instantly, the dead zone snapping back, but it was too late. Noah had already broken free. His breath hitched from the exertion, but his focus remained razor-sharp. There was no time to celebrate. Diana's power was instant in its activation. If he didn't act within the next second, she would lock him down again. His hand lifted. Fingers splayed. "Nyx... Awaken" [Summoning complete : Red Death Dragon] The air split. A swirling portal tore open, dark and unstable, with red mist spilling outward in thick waves, consuming the space in moments. Diana's reflexes were fast. She moved to reassert her control, but the sensation behind her made her hesitate. Something was coming. Her dead zone required absolute control—an unshaken focus. But right now, she had something else to focus on. Noah, despite his exhaustion, saw the gap. He exhaled sharply and pushed through, his voice steady. "Nyx... Speak."

Chapter 114 The glitch in the matrix

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