---
Inside his mind, Kai gritted his mandibles.
"So that's why…" He murmured.
The slow reaction. The blunted aura output. The timing glitches. All of it.
This was his first time using the Apex form in a real fight—while under direct suppression aura, with a half dozen of observers, on an unknown and corrupted land. The system was still adapting to his new physiology, syncing instincts with control. It was like piloting his own body with new limbs he hadn't learned to move yet.
Kai thinks, "So, that's why I suddenly felt weak. I wasn't used to this body/apex form and the synchronization isn't complete."
Outside, the Frog-Prince howled in victory, oblivious.
"I have you now, KING BUG! You won't even die pretty!"
Kai didn't move—not yet. Instead, he focused.
Breathed. Let the system stabilize.
Steam hissed around him like armor tightening.
Akayoroi, watching from the crater's edge, saw it all.
"Kai's not fighting back…" she whispered.
