Chapter 51: The Test II
Sophia stood frozen, her eyes wide as she stared at the massive sword Orion held out, its sheathed blade glinting ominously in the morning light. The thing was absurdly huge, its leather-wrapped hilt thick enough to dwarf her hands, the scabbard alone nearly as long as her torso. She looked at Orion like he'd sprouted two heads, her mouth parting in disbelief.
"Are you insane?" she blurted, her voice cutting through the grounds' noise. "That sword's bigger than me! What kind of test is this?"
Orion, slouched in his wooden chair with a blanket over his lap, smirked, his hazel eyes glinting with mischief. The faded black veins on his neck were barely visible now, but his pallor betrayed his recovery's fragility. Rita hovered nearby, her herb-stained apron flapping as she shot him a warning glance, clearly unimpressed by his antics.
