The air trembled even before Lunaria finished speaking.
They stood on the edge of a broken plateau, dawn light spilling over a land still scarred by yesterday's madness. Crushed forests stretched like flattened carpets. Mountains lay split open, their ribs of stone exposed. The world looked as though a god had dragged his fingers across it in impatience.
Lunaria faced them, hands tucked into his jacket, silver hair stirred gently by the wind. He looked calm—too calm—like this was nothing more than a morning stretch.
"I'm setting a new training," he said.
Ash felt it instantly. Not excitement. Not fear.
Pressure.
"This time," Lunaria continued, "it's speed."
Kael straightened. Riven stopped leaning. Juno's playful expression faded.
"No sparring. No combat techniques. No shortcuts," Lunaria said, turning slowly and pointing toward the distant horizon. Far, far beyond it lay their former ruined city—little more than a grave of stone and memory now.
"You'll chase me until you reach that city. One day."
Kael exhaled sharply. "At our current top speed… that's insane."
"That's the point," Lunaria replied.
He turned back to them, eyes sharp but gentle. "If you fail to meet me there within a day, there will be no combat training. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not until you can catch me."
Silence fell.
Ash stepped forward. "And you?"
Lunaria smiled faintly. "I won't slow down."
Riven laughed softly. "You're trying to kill us."
"No," Lunaria said. "I'm trying to make sure you survive what's coming."
Juno rolled his shoulders once. "Fine. Let's do it."
Kael grinned, feral and eager. "I'm not losing again."
Lunaria stepped back, the ground subtly compressing beneath his feet.
"On the count of three," he said.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
"One."
Ash's mana surged instinctively, heart hammering.
"Two."
Kael's aura flared. Riven leaned forward like a blade about to be thrown. Juno's breathing slowed, steady and controlled.
"Three."
Lunaria disappeared.
Not ran.
Not dashed.
He ceased to exist in that space.
A concussive shockwave detonated outward, carving a massive crater into the plateau. The sound arrived a heartbeat later, a thunderclap that split the sky.
Ash launched after him.
The ground shattered beneath his feet as he accelerated, air screaming around his body. Kael followed with a roar, every step cracking stone. Riven laughed wildly as he pushed past sound itself. Juno vanished last, his mana wrapping tightly around his form like a second skin.
They tore across the land.
Plains vanished beneath them in seconds. Rivers burst apart into mist as their passage boiled the water away. Trees didn't fall—they disintegrated, reduced to splinters and dust by pressure alone.
Ahead of them, Lunaria appeared briefly on the horizon.
Just a silhouette.
Just enough to chase.
Hours passed.
The sun climbed, then burned overhead.
Ash adjusted first. He stopped forcing speed and started refining it—cutting wasted movement, aligning breath and mana until his steps became smoother, sharper. His pace increased without additional strain.
Kael adapted next. He altered his stance mid-run, letting momentum carry him instead of fighting it. The land cracked less beneath his feet—not because he was weaker, but because he was more efficient.
Riven pushed recklessly, then abruptly changed—laughing as he compressed his aura inward instead of letting it bleed outward. His speed jumped violently, tearing a canyon behind him in a single bound.
Juno nearly collapsed once.
His vision blurred, mana screaming at the edges of control. Then something clicked. His circulation stabilized, condensed—his aura tightening like a drawn bowstring.
He surged forward.
By nightfall, the land was unrecognizable.
Forests were gone. Hills had collapsed. Entire mountain faces were pulverized into brick-like stone fragments, scattered across miles by shockwaves from their passing.
Stars appeared overhead.
They didn't stop.
Ash's lungs burned like fire. Kael's muscles screamed. Riven bled freely from his nose. Juno's legs trembled violently.
Still, they ran.
Just before dawn, the ruined city appeared.
Broken towers. Collapsed walls. Silent streets where ghosts of memory lingered.
Lunaria stood at its edge.
Waiting.
They reached him moments later—skidding to a halt, carving trenches into stone as dust and debris rained down around them.
Ash bent forward, gasping. Kael dropped to one knee, laughing hoarsely. Riven fell onto his back, staring at the sky. Juno barely stayed standing.
Lunaria looked at them—really looked.
His smile was soft. Proud.
"You made it," he said.
Ash straightened slowly, eyes blazing through exhaustion. "We're not… done."
Lunaria's eyes gleamed.
"Good," he replied. "Because this—"
He turned, gazing at the broken city, the scarred land, the dawn light rising over devastation born from growth.
"—is only the beginning."