Two of Training Week
The courtyard was bathed in a dull silver haze. Morning fog clung to the stone pathways like restless spirits. Training dummies stood in rows, most already scorched or cracked from overuse.
Chris slammed his palm into the center of one—an explosion of flame burst outward, blasting the dummy into splinters.
"Again," he muttered.
Sweat traced down his neck. His breath came rougher than usual. His left arm trembled slightly.
But he wasn't slowing down.
Across from him, Kira stood with a sword in each hand, eyes narrowed as he watched Chris move like a furnace set on edge.
"You're overclocking again," Kira said, stepping forward. "You'll burn out before the next trial even starts."
Chris didn't answer. He exhaled sharply, stepping back from the rubble. The scorched ground hissed beneath his boots.
"…I can't afford to hold back anymore."
Kira sheathed his blades and folded his arms. "You're not Leo. You're not a god. You're still human—maybe a dangerous one—but you bleed like the rest of us."
Chris turned. "And if I don't push past that, we all die next time."
Their eyes locked.
Neither blinked.
Then a voice broke the tension.
"Do I interrupt often or is the drama just always this loud?"
Dice strolled into the courtyard, spinning a coin across his fingers. Sennya followed behind him, quietly sipping from a teacup she hadn't stopped holding since morning.
"I come bearing actual news," Dice said, tossing the coin high. "The Sovereign Class just came back from the sealed zone."
Chris and Kira turned instantly.
"They fought the Shadow King again?" Chris asked.
"Not exactly," Dice replied, catching the coin midair. "They fought something else. Something new."
A silence fell.
"New?" Kira asked. "What did they find?"
Dice's voice dropped, just a little.
"Something… left behind. Something that moved like Leo—but wasn't the clone."
He pulled a small data card from his coat and tossed it to Chris.
"A scout drone caught some of it. Thought you might want a look."
Chris inserted the chip into the training console. The screen flared to life.
Fuzzy footage played—a wide field. Sovereign students surrounding a humanoid figure in white. The figure stood still at first.
Then it blurred.
A split second later, one of the Sovereigns was on the ground. Another coughed blood. The figure raised a hand, and shadows twisted into spears.
The footage cut.
"Corrupted data," Dice said. "We don't know if it's a leftover failsafe, another clone, or something else entirely."
Chris stared at the blank screen. "It moved like him."
"No…" Dice corrected, his voice uncharacteristically serious. "It moved faster."
"Something that was able to move faster than that monster.... What could it be"
Reality High: War Room – Afternoon
The Crimson Class had gathered around the large briefing table. A glowing map of the school flickered between them, highlighting the sealed zones, open routes, and each class's territory.
Ard adjusted his distortion lenses and circled a region on the map. "This corridor here—Zone 17—collapsed during the Sovereign test. But I detected residual energy far beyond standard dimensional bleed."
"It means someone—or something—is still in there," Sage said quietly. Her voice echoed from the shadows near the wall.
"I propose we investigate," Ard continued. "Not immediately. But before the battle tournament starts."
Lina crossed her arms. "Why risk another incident when we're barely recovered?"
"Because," Chris said, "we're being watched. You all feel it, don't you?"
The room fell silent.
Then Sennya finally spoke, eyes low. "I've been having dreams… or something close to them. A presence I don't recognize. Always watching. Always near."
"Phantom," Kira muttered under his breath.
Lina turned to him. "You said that word before."
"It wasn't just a feeling," he said quietly. "Back in the forest. When I was alone. I saw a figure—but only for a second. No presence. No sound. It vanished the moment I looked."
"And you didn't tell us?" Lina asked, frowning.
"I thought it was a hallucination. Until now."
Chris stood.
"We can't fight ghosts while half-trained. Let's stick to what we can do right now."
He turned to the instructor standing near the door—silent, observing as always.
"We want you to push us. Harder than before."
The demi-human didn't react at first.
Then nodded once.
"Very well. From now on, training will be individualized, brutal, and constant. You will not fight as a group again until the day of battle. Consider this your crucible."
He vanished before anyone could ask questions.
The lights in the room dimmed.
A message appeared on the wall:
FIVE DAYS REMAIN
Training Montage — Internal Struggles
Chris stood alone in a sealed chamber, surrounded by walls of shifting fire. His sword arm was wrapped in burn-suppressant bands. Every move he made triggered a trap. He was training not to fight—but to fail. And keep standing.
Kira trained in a black zone where nothing echoed. A space where even time seemed uncertain. He fought shadows of himself, each more decisive than the last. He learned to cut faster than instinct—to act before the mind could think.
Lina trained inside a prism of mirrors. Support magic wasn't enough anymore. She began turning light into blades. Shields into spikes. She forced herself to strike—not just protect.
Ard crafted new glyphs in isolation. One failed. Two exploded. A third screamed when drawn. He kept going. Until the fourth bent space enough to cancel light itself.
Sage phased into water pressure chambers. Each second crushed her lungs. She endured. She learned to strike without form.
Raya summoned controlled flames and forced them to hover in perfect shapes for hours. If she flinched, she started over. She didn't sleep for three days.
Dice? He trained in silence. Alone in a zero-gravity arena where every coin flipped affected gravity, enemies, or himself. His gamble now had purpose.
They all broke, over and over.
And kept standing back up.
Night Before the Tournament — Tower Roof
Rain.
Soft. Steady. Cold.
Chris stood atop the tower, cloak wrapped around him. He looked out at the school grounds—glowing runes etched along the border, defenses already preparing for the inter-class war.
He heard footsteps.
Kira joined him, hands in pockets.
"Couldn't sleep either?"
"Nope."
They stood together without words for a while.
Then Chris asked, "Do you think we can win?"
Kira gave a small grin. "Depends."
"On what?"
"On whether we're still the same Crimson Class that lost to a clone."
Chris smiled faintly. "We're not."
Kira nodded. "Good."
Thunder rolled across the sky.
Below them, the arena lights flickered.
Tomorrow, the classes would collide.
And whatever waited in Zone 17…
Would no longer stay hidden.