**"Again!"**
Riza's voice rang out across the rooftop of the Ember Corps' western watchtower, sharp and impatient.
Kye grunted, rolling to his feet. His shirt clung to his skin with sweat, bruises blooming across his ribs. His wooden staff clattered across the floor where she'd knocked it from his hands—again.
"I liked you more when you weren't so good at hitting me," he muttered.
She smirked, twirling her own staff. "I wasn't good. You were just worse."
They'd been meeting in secret every morning since the Orien mission.
Velden had said nothing—but he'd left **unlocked combat rooms** available at odd hours, and Kye knew better than to believe it was a coincidence.
"You're improving," Riza admitted, walking toward him.
Kye raised an eyebrow. "I'll take that as high praise from someone who fights like a runaway boulder."
She laughed—actually laughed.
Then, suddenly, she flicked her staff toward his neck in a blur of movement.
Kye dropped flat.
The staff whistled overhead.
He rolled, grabbed his fallen weapon mid-spin, and countered with a strike that clipped her thigh.
**Crack.**
Riza flinched.
Then nodded once.
"Better."
They both stood there for a moment, breathing hard, the sunrise painting the tower in gold.
"Why are you really training me?" Kye asked.
Riza didn't answer right away.
She turned toward the edge of the roof, looking out over the Ember Corps training fields. "Because the stronger you get… the more honest people become around you."
Kye frowned. "What's that mean?"
"It means I want to know what you'll *choose* when you're too strong to be controlled."
---
**Elsewhere, below the tower…**
A boy in plain robes swept the courtyard.
He looked ordinary.
Unremarkable.
Until his eyes flickered—just once—with **white fire**.
He paused. Reached into his sleeve.
Pulled out a small, crimson blade etched with veins of black.
A whisper echoed in his ear.
> *"Strike when his flame is still. Not when it burns."*
He smiled.
And kept sweeping.
---
**Later that night…**
Kye returned to his quarters, exhausted and sore. His muscles screamed. His Witchfire hummed faintly beneath his skin, still adapting to the increased flow from training.
He collapsed onto the bed.
Didn't bother changing.
Didn't hear the door unlock.
Didn't hear the soft click of boots.
Didn't hear the blade drawn inches from his neck.
Until—
> **\[Paradox System Warning: Proximity Threat – Killing Intent Detected]**
> *Activate: Reflex Override?*
> **YES.**
Kye's body **moved on its own.**
He rolled off the bed just as the assassin's blade **stabbed into the mattress**, flames crackling along its edge.
The attacker lunged, silent, fluid, precise.
Kye countered with instinct—not grace. He threw a chair. A pillow. Anything. The assassin carved through them like air.
Kye focused—
> **\[Instinct Spell Triggered: Ember Push]**
A burst of pressure slammed outward, throwing the attacker against the wall. The hood fell back—
**A child.**
No older than fifteen. But his eyes… were ancient.
Burning with white fire.
"You were supposed to be weaker," the boy said, voice echoing unnaturally. "The Circle misjudged."
Kye's pulse spiked. "The Ash Circle."
The boy lunged again—this time with **two blades**. He moved like smoke, like memory.
Kye didn't cast.
He **remembered.**
> **Kael's lesson.** *"Control is survival. Pain is the leash."*
Kye let the blade graze his shoulder.
Then **grabbed** the assassin's wrist—sigil flaring beneath his grip.
> **\[Searing Echo – Activated]**
> *Corruption reflection engaged.*
The boy screamed.
Fire poured from his eyes, ears, nose. His magic **turned on him**—folding inward, crushing his soul.
He crumpled to the floor.
Twitching.
Kye knelt beside him, heart pounding. "Who sent you?"
The boy stared, trembling.
Then whispered:
> "Not all who burn are yours to command…"
And his body **crumbled into ash.**
No bones. No blood.
Just **vanished.**
---
**Minutes later…**
Riza and Velden arrived to find Kye still sitting in silence.
Riza scanned the room. "You alright?"
Kye didn't answer right away.
He looked at the spot where the boy had died. The place where the Empire's secrets had just tried to silence him.
Then he looked up, eyes calm.
"No more training," he said.
Riza blinked. "What?"
"I'm done practicing," Kye said, standing slowly.
"I'm ready to *fight back.*"