The next day, dawn arrived quietly, as if the world itself was holding it's breath. Mist clung to the grass, silvered by the first light of morning.
Maria's blade sliced through the cold air, sharp and precise.
Her breath was steady, though her body was not fully healed. Each swing sent a dull ache through her arms but she welcomed the pain. Pain reminded her she was still alive. Still moving. Still fighting.
Beside her stood Amelia.
Again. Amelia said gently, smiling as if she could already see Maria's next move.
Maria tightened her grip and struck once more.
She wasn't just practicing technique. Sje was trying to outrun guilt. The loss. The numb realization that she is still... weak.
something inside her screamed not to stop.
Then-
Footsteps.
Slow. Unhurried. Heavy with authority.
Maria turned instantly.
A man stood few steps away. Twice her age, his hair touched with ash-gray, his presence so overwhelming that the air around him felt heavier. His eyes locked onto Maria's, sharp and unreadable.
Her body stiffened.
But Amelia only smiled.
"Amelia... do you know him?" Maria whispered.
He is the one under whose protection we remain. He is one of the 7th captain of 'Sactum of the Blades'-Captain Cameron.
Maria didn't wait.
She lowered herself immediately, kneeling down infront of him, head bowed.
For half a second silence fell.
Captain studied her as if he could she inside her. Then he murmured for only her to hear
"Rise. You do not kneel before me unless you are at fault".
Maria lifted her head.
And in that instant-
"Move-!" Amelia shouted.
Three spines burst into existence midair, razor. Maria twisted instinctively. One grazed her shoulder, burning like ice. Another shattered against her sword with a violent clang that rattled her bones. The third-
She barely ducked.
It ripped past her ear, slicing strains of hair and embedding itself deep into the earth behind her.
Before she could breath, more came.
Not three,
Not Five.
A storm.
Spines erupted from every direction, moving too fast to count, their edges shrieking as they cut through the air. Maria ran, rolled. She struck wildly, steel meeting spined in explosive sparks. Each miss bringing death closer.
Her lungs burned.
The ground beneath her feet cracked as spines slammed into it, forcing her back, her movements tightening, shrinking-
Then the trap snapped shut.
The spines curved inward, locking together, sealing her inside a shrinking sphere of Spines. The light inside dimmed as the walls pressed closer.
"No-!" Maria slammed her sword against it.
The cage didn't break.
She struck again. And again.
The cage shinked, stealing space, stealing air.
Her breath turned sharp and shallow.
The walls pressed closer. The air thinned. Her vision blurred.
"So... this is how weak i still am..."
Just as darkness swallowed the world-
The pressure vanished. The cage shattered outward in a violent brust of light.
Maria collapsed hard onto the ground, dragging in air like she'd been pulled back from drowning. Her body trembled uncontrollably. Cuts and bruises burned across her skin, shallow but countless.
Footstep approached.
Captain Cameron stood over her, calm, unbothered-as if he hadn't just pushed her to the edge of death.
He knelt.
Two fingers touched her forehead.
Warmth flooded her body, swift and overwhelming. The pain faded. The wounds closed. Aether surged through her veins.
Her breath steadied.
Her hands clenched into fists.
She stood up slowly and he said "Never trust blindly. Even the one you trust the most may one day be the one who wounds you. Always be prepared for a battle".
He took a step away, then paused."Tell me", he added, " Do you really believe power is just in the magic?"
"No".
"Good. I have no use for students who beg for mercy while beliving they are useless".
He turned toward the path leading to the field.
Maria watched him disappear into the morning light.
Did he just accepted her as his student?.
Apart from her outside of the sactum on the ground were Miata and Zoe.
The training field was wide ans uneven, scattered with stone pillars and shallow trenches carved into the earth. It was designed not for strength but for coordination.
Miata stood near the center, spear grounded beside her foot-as her sword broke on the previous battle.
At her side was Zoe.
They shared no words.
They didn't need to.
Aether flowed quietly between them-not connecting, not merging-simply responding.
Across the field stoid Jaxson.
Liam-his black dragon lingered behind him.
"Today" Jaxson said, " you stop fighting as two".
He lifted his spear.
"You learn to move as one".
Without warning, the ground shifted.
A portal opened at Miata's left.
Zoe reacted first.
She vanished in a blur, intercepting as a black chain snapped out, her movement forcing it to miss Miata by inches. The chain struck the earth, cracking stone.