The alien blocking our path shifts slightly, revealing a hierarchy among them. Three maintain their positions while one steps forward, clearly a subordinate based on the deference in its posture.

  "Surrender the Mind Crystal," the alien says, its voice melodic yet strangely hollow, like wind through glass tubes. "No need for unnecessary conflict."

  I keep the crystal hovering securely at my side, telekinetic grip unwavering. "And why would I do that?"

  The subordinate gestures toward the tallest figure in their formation. "Our leader requires it. He has recently ascended to A-rank and seeks the Crown components." There's a pause, then a more threatening tone. "If you know what's good for you, human, you'll hand it over."

  Beside me, Sera's hands flare with intensifying flames. "That's not how this works," she snaps. "We found it fair and square."

  The tall figure steps forward, movement unnervingly fluid as multi-jointed limbs carry it in a graceful motion that seems to defy normal physics. Up close, its iridescent skin shifts with colors that might be emotional indicators, currently pulsing with cool blues and purples that suggest controlled aggression.

  "I am Veridian," it introduces itself, voice deeper and more resonant than its subordinate's. "Twenty-seven arena cycles I have fought, human. Twenty-seven cycles of calculated advancement, careful resource acquisition, and methodical enhancement. My ascension to A-rank was earned through discipline and strategy."

  His black eyes reflect my image like perfect mirrors. "And then there is you. Barely arrived in Central Arena, yet already reaching for power beyond your understanding." He makes a gesture that might be dismissive. "You are an upstart who barely comprehends the strength you already possess."

  I feel my temper rising but keep my expression neutral. "Sounds like you're jealous."

  Veridian's skin ripples with momentary orange before settling back to cool blue. "I am concerned. Many promising assets burn out by pursuing advanced enhancements before mastering fundamentals. Focus on basics before seeking more power, human. The Mind Crystal would be wasted on your undeveloped abilities."

  "I'll take that under advisement," I reply evenly. "Now step aside."

  The alien's skin darkens to deep indigo. "I cannot. The Crown's completion is vital to my advancement path."

  I glance at my teammates. Desta stands ready, energy pistol not yet drawn but hand positioned for quick access. Sera's flames dance around her fingers, her platinum hair stirring in the heat she's generating.

  A direct conflict would be messy. Four against three, with all of us tired from our expedition. But something about Veridian's confidence bothers me, the calm certainty that he's in control of this encounter.

  "How about we settle this the old fashioned way?" I suggest. "You and me. One on one."

  Veridian's skin flashes with briefly surprised yellow before returning to calculating blue. "A direct challenge? Interesting."

  "Gary," Sera murmurs, "we don't need to do this. We can take them together."

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  "No unnecessary bloodshed," I reply quietly. "If I win, they leave us alone. If he wins—"

  "You will not win," Veridian interrupts, those perfect black eyes revealing nothing. "But I accept your terms. When you lose, you surrender the Mind Crystal and depart without further conflict."

  I hand the crystal to Desta, maintaining the telekinetic field around it during the transfer. "Keep this safe."

  Veridian moves into the small clearing beside the path, his teammates backing away to give us space. His limbs flow through what appears to be a preparation routine, movements impossibly smooth as joints bend in directions that would break human anatomy.

  I shake out my arms, feeling the gauntlets pulse with energy that synchronizes with my own telekinetic signature. The bodysuit adjusts subtly to my movements, while the velocity boots root me firmly to the ground.

  "Begin whenever you wish, human," Veridian offers, settling into a stance that distributes his weight across all limbs in perfect balance. "I know how this ends already."

  His confidence irritates me. I launch forward without further delay, the velocity boots propelling me across the clearing with explosive speed. My first strike is a telekinetically enhanced punch aimed at his midsection, not my full strength, but enough to test his defenses.

  Veridian isn't there when my fist arrives. He shifts aside with such perfect timing that it seems as if he began moving before I did. His counter-strike comes from an impossible angle, one of those multi-jointed limbs bending around to catch me in the side with surprising force.

  I stagger slightly, adjusting my stance as I reassess the situation. His movement wasn't just fast, it was anticipatory.

  This time I feint low before shifting to a high attack, a technique that has worked against even experienced fighters who can't adjust to the sudden change in momentum. Veridian simply isn't there again, his body flowing around my attack like water around stone.

  "Predictable," he comments, landing three precise strikes that find gaps in my defense I didn't even realize existed.

  I back away, creating distance while I recalibrate my approach. This isn't working. It's as if he knows exactly what I'm going to do before I do it. I try something completely unplanned, a wild, spontaneous combination of strikes with no pattern or strategy behind them.

  Veridian moves with the same uncanny anticipation, avoiding every attack while landing his own with surgical precision. Not overwhelmingly powerful hits, but perfectly placed to disrupt my balance and rhythm.

  "You rely too heavily on physical enhancement," he observes, skin pulsing with confident blue as he evades another attack. "Your telekinesis has far greater potential than you realize."

  Frustrated, I shift tactics completely, gathering telekinetic energy for a concussive wave that should be impossible to dodge entirely, a blast radius that would catch him regardless of which direction he moves.

  When I release it, Veridian is already in the one position where the wave's force dissipates harmlessly around him, exploiting a natural cancellation point in the energy pattern that I wasn't even aware existed.

  "How are you doing this?" I demand, genuine confusion mixing with frustration.

  A ripple of amused violet crosses his skin. "You begin to understand. Good."

  I launch another attack, this time combining physical strikes with telekinetic manipulation of the environment. Uprooting plants, hurling debris, creating multiple threat vectors simultaneously.

  Veridian navigates this chaos with impossible precision, moving exactly where nothing will hit him, as if he's following a predetermined path through the mayhem.

  That's when it clicks.

  "You're seeing my moves before I make them," I say, backing off to reassess yet again. "You're a precognitive."

  Veridian's skin flashes with satisfied green. "Precognition is a crude term for temporal perception enhancement, but essentially correct. I see probability streams moments before they materialize."

  The implications sink in. He's not just reading my body language or anticipating based on experience, he's literally perceiving my actions before I commit to them. No wonder nothing I do is working. Every attack I plan, he sees coming before I even move.

  But if he's seeing the future, that means...