The air in the gravity room was heavy—thick with the crushing weight of 100 times normal gravity. Every breath was a battle. Every movement required sheer willpower.
Knox and Seraph stood across from each other, their bodies drenched in sweat, their muscles aching from the relentless strain. Neither had collapsed—not yet.
Knox cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders as he forced his arms to move through the sheer resistance. "Alright," he exhaled. "Let's see how much we can take before we drop."
Seraph flexed her fingers, her wings twitching slightly under the added weight. "You're actually trying to kill us, aren't you?"
"Not kill. Just break," Knox replied, taking a slow step forward. His boots left deep imprints in the reinforced floor. "Then rebuild."
She smirked. "Fine. Let's break, then,"
They started with push-ups.
Knox lowered himself to the ground, his arms trembling as he pushed against the overwhelming force of gravity. Each rep felt like lifting mountains. The suits added weight dug into his shoulders, threatening to drive him face-first into the floor.
Seraph followed, her wings shaking from the pressure. The strains on her body was immense, but she grit her teeth and kept going, refusing to fall behind.
'How long do you think we can keep this up?" she asked between breaths.
Knox grunted as he pushed himself up again. "Until one of us collapses."
"Or dies."
"That too."
They moved to squats. Then planks. Then weighted punches, each strike cutting through the dense air like swinging through molasses. Every motion took an eternity. Every fiber of their beings screamed in agony.
But neither stopped.
Knox finally straightened, exhaling sharply. "Alright. Enough warm-up." He raised his fists. "Let's see how well we can fight under this."
Seraph scoffed, rolling her shoulders. "You really want to spar in 100 times gravity?"
Knox smirked. "Unless you're scared."
She lunged at him.
The moment Seraph moved, she felt it—the sheer resistance of the environment, the way the gravity tried to drag her down mid-motion. Her punch came slower than usual, her muscles struggling to keep up with the command to strike.
Knox barely dodged. His movements were sluggish too, but his instincts carried him, tilting his head just enough to avoid her fist.
"Feels like fighting underwater," he muttered.
"More like being buried alive," Seraph corrected, pivoting and throwing a low kick toward his legs.
Knox stepped back—too slow. The kick connected, and though the force was weaker than normal, it was still enough to make him stumble slightly.
He smirked. "Not bad."
Seraph grinned. "Not good either."
Knox retaliated with a punch. his fist cutting through the thick air toward her ribs. Seraph barely managed to block, but the impact still sent a dull shock through her arms.
"You ever wonder if this is actually making us stronger?" she asked, shaking off pain.
Knox inhaled. "Breaking ourselves over and over again?" He threw another punch. "Yeah."
Seraph ducked, countering with a sharp elbow strike to his side. "And?"
Knox clenched his teeth at the hit didn't back down. Instead, he twisted his body, bringing his knee up toward her stomach. "I think it's the only way."
Seraph barely blocked in time, grunting as the force pushed her back a step. "We could just train normally, you know. Like sane people."
Knox let out a short laugh. "Yeah, but that wouldn't be enough."
He suddenly dashed forward, his fists aimed at her face, Seraph twisted, dodging by a hair's breadth, and countered with a heavy kick aimed at his ribs. Knox caught her leg mid-air, his grip strong despite the immense resistance. The sheer weight pressing down on them made every movement feel like moving through solid stone, but he refused to let go.
Seraph's eyes narrowed. "You gonna keep holding on, or—"
Knox twisted sharply, pulling her off balance.
She barely had time to react before she was sent tumbling. With a sharp flap of her wings, she steadied herself mid-air, but the extra 15 tons on each wing made it a struggle. Her feet hit the ground hard, knees bending slightly under the pressure.
Knox exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "It's different, fighting like this."
Seraph shook out her arms. "No kidding. Feels like I'm fighting in slow motion."
"Good." Knox's eyes gleamed with something unreadable. "That means we're adapting."
Seraph smirked. "Or dying."
Knox lunged again, this time feinting a punch before shifting into a kick. Seraph anticipated it, dodging to the side, but her movements were still slightly sluggish. His foot grazed her arms, sending a shock of force up her limbs.
She clenched her teeth. 'Faster. I have to be faster.'
Knox wasn't stopping. He closed the distance again, throwing a rapid barrage of punches—if they could even be called rapid in the gravity. Each strike was slower than what they were used to, but they were precise, relentless.
Seraph weaved through them as best as she could, countering when she saw an opening. She landed a sharp blow to Knox's ribs, making him grunt, but his stance barely wavered.
"You ever think about what happens if this doesn't work?" she asked between strikes.
Knox blocked a punch, countering with an elbow. "What do you mean?"
Seraph ducked under it, retaliating with a rising knee. "What if we train like this break our bodies over and over again—" She spun, her fist colliding with his jaw, making his head snap to the side. "—and it doesn't make a damn difference?"
Knox wiped his lip, smirking. "Then we'll keep breaking until it does."
Seraph let out a short breath, shaking her head. "You're insane."
Knox grinned. "And you're still here."
Seraph scoffed. "Guess I am."
They stood there for a moment, both panting, both aching, but neither backing down. The gravity pressed on them like an unrelenting force, but still, they stood.
Knox cracked his knuckles, "Again."
Seraph sighed. "You really don't let up, do you?"
Knox's smirk didn't fade. "Not until we're strong enough."
Seraph rolled her shoulders, stepping back into her stance. "Then let's break a little more."
And with that, they clashed again.