Dawn broke slowly, as if the world itself hesitated to face them.
Ash woke first.
His body screamed in protest the moment consciousness returned. Every muscle felt torn, mana channels raw and unstable, his core pulsing dully like a bruised heart. Even breathing hurt. Especially breathing.
He should not have been able to stand.
Yet his fingers dug into the dirt, and he pushed himself upright anyway.
Around him, the others lay scattered across the clearing—Kael on his back staring at the sky, Riven curled on his side with one arm clutched to his chest, Juno half-buried in the grass as if the earth itself was trying to claim him.
None of them looked ready.
None of them looked capable.
And yet—
Ash clenched his teeth and forced himself to his feet.
The memory of yesterday burned behind his eyes.
His double's voice.
You still don't know who you want to be.
Maybe that was true.
But one thing was certain now.
He refused to remain the same.
"Up already?"
Kael's voice was hoarse, strained, but unmistakably alive. He rolled onto his side, coughing once before sitting up. Blood crusted at the corner of his mouth. His hands shook—but his eyes burned brighter than they had in weeks.
"Barely," Ash replied. "You?"
Kael grinned, feral and exhausted. "I feel like death walked over me… then came back to finish the job."
Riven sat up next, movements precise despite the pain. His usual calm was cracked, something raw and dangerous flickering beneath the surface.
"Lunaria didn't break us yesterday," Riven said quietly. "He stripped us."
Juno pushed himself upright last.
He was trembling.
Not from fear—but from restrained fury.
"The chains," Juno muttered. "They were mine. Every limit. Every hesitation."
He looked at his hands, fingers curling slowly into fists.
"I won't let them bind me again."
The clearing was silent for a long moment.
Then—
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Slow, deliberate applause echoed behind them.
They turned.
Lunaria stood at the edge of the clearing, silver hair unmoving despite the breeze, posture relaxed as ever. No killing intent. No pressure.
Which somehow made him more terrifying than ever.
"You're awake earlier than expected," Lunaria said. "Most collapse for days after confronting themselves."
Ash met his gaze.
"We don't have days."
Lunaria raised a brow. "Oh?"
Kael stepped forward, legs unsteady but planted. "You said training resumes today."
Riven followed. "You didn't say we were allowed to quit."
Juno inhaled deeply, mana trembling as he forced it to circulate. "And you didn't kill us yesterday."
Silence stretched.
Then Lunaria smiled.
Not mockingly.
Not cruelly.
But with something sharp and approving.
"So," he said, "you've decided."
Ash stepped forward, each movement sending pain screaming through his nerves.
"Even if we're near death," he said evenly, "we'll still fight you."
The air shifted.
Not violently.
Not oppressively.
But heavily.
Lunaria's killing intent seeped out—not unleashed, just present. Like the weight of a mountain settling over their shoulders.
Kael grunted as his knees nearly buckled.
Juno gasped, chest tightening.
Riven narrowed his eyes, focusing, calculating how to breathe under that pressure.
Ash felt his vision darken at the edges.
And still—
None of them stepped back.
"Good," Lunaria said softly.
Then—
He vanished.
Ash barely had time to react before the world exploded.
A blow struck his side, sending him flying across the clearing. He slammed into the ground hard enough to leave a crater, breath ripped from his lungs.
Kael roared and charged, lightning flaring wildly around his fists.
Lunaria appeared in front of him and flicked his forehead.
Kael hit the ground unconscious.
Riven activated his ability instantly, shadows warping as he moved to flank—
Lunaria caught him mid-step, twisting his arm and driving him face-first into the earth. The impact cracked stone.
Juno summoned his chains in desperation, mana tearing through his already-damaged core.
The chains wrapped around Lunaria's arm.
For half a heartbeat—
They held.
Juno screamed as the feedback ripped through him, blood spraying from his mouth as the chains shattered.
Ash forced himself up.
Every instinct screamed at him to stop.
Every rational thought told him this was suicide.
But something deeper—something forged in failure, pain, and truth—pushed him forward.
Move.
He drew everything he had left.
Not power.
Not technique.
Resolve.
He attacked.
His blade met Lunaria's hand.
The impact sent shockwaves tearing through the clearing, trees bending violently outward. Ash felt his bones crack, blood pouring down his arm.
But—
Lunaria stopped.
For the briefest instant.
Ash stared, eyes wide, chest heaving.
Lunaria looked at the blade pressed against his palm.
A thin line of red welled up.
Blood.
The world froze.
Kael groaned weakly from the ground.
Riven lifted his head, eyes widening.
Juno laughed—a broken, disbelieving sound.
Lunaria looked at the blood, then at Ash.
"You're still far from strong," he said calmly.
Then he struck.
Ash flew back, vision going black as his body slammed into the dirt once more.
But as consciousness faded—
He smiled.
Because for the first time since training began—
They hadn't just endured.
They had forced Lunaria to respond.
And tomorrow—
Even if their bodies broke completely—
They would stand again.
Because retreat was no longer an option.
And death—
Was no longer enough to stop them.