The next morning marked the beginning of their final week before the entrance exam.
Vael and Kiera both knew they couldn't afford to waste any more time.
During their sparring session, Vael suddenly grew curious.
"Why'd you pick Elena as your fake name? I mean… it's a nice name. But why?"
Kiera, who was mid-swing, froze.
Her grip on the sword tightened, as if she were holding onto something far more fragile than metal.
"It was my mom's name," she said softly, a sad smile tugging at her lips.
Realizing the weight of his question, Vael quickly apologized.
"Oh… I'm sorry."
"It's fine," she replied. "I remember what I said last night. And I intend to stand by it."
Vael looked into her eyes.
What he saw there was nothing like what he would've seen a few days ago.
Kiera had seen slaughter. Bloodshed. Torture.
She had lived through it. Survived it.
There had always been a silent fury in her — a restrained sorrow simmering just beneath the surface.
But now, it had changed.
Not disappeared. Not healed.
But focused. Sharpened.
She had a goal now. An enemy. A path.
Her pain hadn't vanished overnight.
But she wasn't letting it chain her anymore.
"Let's continue, Serpes," she said, a flicker of humor lighting her voice.
And so, the days passed.
Endless training, the occasional visit to the market, and then even more training.
Ash would watch, from time to time. How they honed their Mana, how they sparred with Oculor.
She had a lot of time to think lately. No longer forced to fight for survival, her mind wandered.
She thought about herself. Her future. What she truly wanted.
If she followed the path Vael and Kiera had prepared, she'd eventually join the Academy—not as a student, but as a Ward. A child under the institution's protection, waiting until she came of age to enroll.
But even then, she wasn't a fighter. She hadn't even awakened yet.
Odds were, they'd funnel her into diplomacy or politics. Not the battlefield. Not where her friends would be.
Seven years. That's how long it would take.
She thought about the Alps. The danger. The chaos.
And how alive she felt.
She never told anyone, but that journey had been the most fun she'd had in years.
Since her village burned, since she was shoved into that wretched rebel camp—where the other kids mocked her, and the adults barely acknowledged her—she'd felt like a ghost.
But on the road? With them?
She had a purpose.
Now, it was over.
Vael and Kiera would enroll, and their lives would move forward. Banquets. Missions. Power.
And Ash?
She'd be left behind.
She didn't blame them. She understood.
But understanding didn't make it hurt any less.
So now she had a choice.
Stick by their side, live in their shadow, and wait—wait until she could finally be part of something again, even if it wasn't the same.
Or…
She wasn't sure what the other option was.
But she was starting to think there had to be one.
Kiera had once told her about what she endured in the lab — and how Vael saved her.
That story stuck with her — not because he chose to bring Kiera along, but because it just… happened.
Kiera had told Ash how Vael orchestrated his escape — how he was prepared to leave alone. How he was ready to cross a continent by himself, if need be.
But he had saved her. Not for any particular reason. Maybe pity. Maybe not. But what if he hadn't?
Would he have died fighting some monster in the forest? Frozen to death in the Alps alone?
A single, spontaneous choice — and it might have saved his life.
And now? Two battle-hardened warriors — strength rare for their age, and experiences rarer still.
All that, just because.
Thinking back, Ash saw a parallel with her own situation.
She could stay in the comfort of her friends' shadows — living a normal life for a child in the Capital.
Or, she could act on a whim.
Do something all by herself. Something unheard of. Something hers.
Maybe, just maybe, she'd do something only she could do.
Ash didn't know what she should do. Ultimately, the choice was hers. But whether it was the right one — that, she didn't know.
Actually, a certain snake who could see the future might. Shame she couldn't talk to him.
But, for now, Ash resigned herself to making a choice by the time the exam ends.