Irfin didn't give them even a heartbeat of peace.
"Lily. Lora. With me. Now."
The command cracked across the training grounds like a whip.
Before either sister could answer, heat erupted beneath their feet.
The ground glowed red.
Then flames burst upward in violent waves, swallowing the surrounding field in a sea of blistering heat.
Lily stiffened instantly.
Lora immediately pulled her slightly behind, protective on instinct.
Irfin merely smirked.
"Lesson one," he said lazily, "your enemies will not wait for your permission."
He snapped his fingers.
A pillar of fire exploded upward beside Lily.
"Agh—!"
She stumbled backward with a sharp cry as the heat scorched past her shoulder close enough to sting.
Lora cried out—
"Are you trying to kill her?!"
Irfin glanced back over one shoulder, utterly unimpressed.
"If I wanted to kill her," he replied flatly.
"You'd be holding her ashes."
He walked past them leisurely. Every step he took ignited the earth beneath him, leaving burning footprints across the field like scars of molten light.
"Your job," he said, "is to keep up."
A lazy glance flicked toward them.
"Try not to die."
Then he walked straight into the field of blazing fire.
Lily stared at the blazing path ahead. Her legs trembled. The heat alone felt unbearable. But slowly, she clenched her fists.
"Lora…" she whispered, forcing herself forward despite the fear tightening in her chest. "Let's go."
Lora inhaled sharply, steadying herself.
"…Right behind you."
Together, the sisters followed Irfin—straight into the fire.
Terra watched Irfin depart with a soft hum of amusement before turning to her students.
Then she turned calmly toward Cassia and Melinda.
"Come, you two."
Unlike Irfin, she guided them away from the chaos, toward a quieter corner beneath an old stone arch half-covered in moss.
Cassia looked confused.
"Um… Lady Gravemont, Is this where we will be training…?"
Terra knelt gracefully and rested one palm against the earth.
"The earth teaches patience before strength."
The moment her hand touched the ground, the soil trembled.
Cassia and Melinda froze.
The earth began to move.
Soil rose slowly upward in towering pillars around them, reshaping itself with terrifying ease. Massive walls of rock curved from the ground like silent sentinels.
Terra stood once more.
"You two lack stability."
Her voice remained gentle. But firm enough that neither girl dared interrupt.
"Your bodies move," Terra continued, "but your hearts waver. Before strength can grow… that must be corrected."
Melinda swallowed nervously.
"Correct… how?"
Terra smiled softly. It was warm. But somehow intimidating.
"By grounding your hearts."
The next second, the ground vanished beneath them.
"AH—!"
Both girls yelped as the earth opened instantly, swallowing them whole.
They crashed into shifting sand below.
Cassia sputtered violently.
"W-What?!"
Melinda nearly lost one of her boots trying to regain balance.
Above them, Terra looked down into the pit serenely.
"Climb out."
Cassia blinked upward.
"…By ourselves?"
Terra's gentle voice echoed from above.
"By yourselves."
Melinda stared at the steep walls of unstable sand in horror.
"That's impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible," Terra replied calmly, "for those who learn to stand firm."
Her voice carried an unshakable calm that somehow made the challenge feel… conquerable.
Cassia gritted her teeth. "…Okay."
She dug her fingers into the sand as she said to Melinda, "Let's try."
Melinda groaned slightly.
"I hate inspirational speeches…"
But she started climbing too.
And thus the two began their climbing journey.
—
At the far end of the grounds, Neris stood motionless, elegant as moonlit water.
"Claire."
Her soft voice carried effortlessly across the air.
"Step forward."
Claire obeyed immediately, though the tremble in her hands betrayed her nerves.
Neris lifted one pale hand.
Water gathered instantly from the moisture in the air itself, condensing into a perfect floating sphere above her palm.
The magic radiating from it was immense.
Claire stared in awe.
"Your flow is uneven," Neris said calmly. "Your mana is erratic. First, we correct that."
Then she flicked her wrist.
The water sphere shot forward instantly. Halfway through the air, it split apart—
Five razor-sharp water whips lashed toward Claire at terrifying speed.
Claire shrieked and ducked.
"W-Wait! You didn't even explain—!"
CRACK.
One whip snapped past her cheek close enough to sting her skin with icy pain.
"There is no explanation," Neris said evenly.
"Only adaptation."
Water surged upward around Claire.
In seconds, she found herself trapped inside a spinning dome of violent currents.
The pressure alone made breathing difficult.
"Sink," Neris whispered softly.
The currents intensified.
"Or move with the flow."
Claire clenched her fists tightly. "…Okay."
Neris's lips curved faintly. "Good."
The waters surged harder.
"Then show me."
Meanwhile, Aeros stretched lazily like a cat preparing for entertainment.
"Well," he mused, "they've started. Looks like it's my turn."
He raised his brows at Gerald and Ella and raised both hands playfully, as if about to start a game.
"Ready?"
Gerald hesitated.
"I'm not sure—"
Aeros vanished instantly.
"AGH—!"
A gust of wind slammed into their backs, knocking them face-first into the dirt. Ella spat grass as she sat up.
Aeros reappeared behind them casually.
"Too slow."
Another blast of wind struck Gerald sideways before he could recover, sending him tumbling.
"I didn't even see you move!"
Aeros grinned wider. "You won't."
"Not until you stop relying on your eyes."
Ella growled and lunged at him instantly, dagger flashing toward his throat.
Aeros flicked her forehead lightly.
"OW!"
Ella stumbled backward, clutching her head stunned and frustrated.
Aeros sighed softly. "Lesson one."
Wind spiraled violently around him.
"If you can't keep up…"
The air sharpened visibly.
"…then the wind will leave you behind."
He snapped his fingers.
A storm exploded around them. Wind howled across the training grounds, twisting into invisible blades carved through nearby posts with frightening ease.
Aeros's laughter echoed through the chaos.
"Now," he called cheerfully, "catch me."
Then he disappeared again.
Ella's eyes widened.
"GERALD, MOVE—!"
"I'M TRYING—!"
Another blast launched both of them across the field.
Wild trainings had begun.
And above it all, the autumn sun climbed steadily higher as Astra's once peaceful training grounds descended entirely into chaos.