The morning mist clung to the outskirts of the city as the recruits assembled at Ashen Veil's main training grounds—a hidden clearing surrounded by dense forest.They had arrived at the main base the other day.Even though the other executives were away(leaving only 4 left),the place still looked busy as old members moved from place to place with whatever information they had found .At the training grounds,the dew glistened on the grass, but Edrin barely noticed. His focus was on the figures moving around him: seasoned fighters, precise and controlled, each carrying the weight of experience in their movements.
Seris stepped forward, her long white hair catching the light as she addressed them. "Today begins your real training. This isn't about learning to swing a sword or fire an energy bolt. This is about understanding yourself, your limits, and the world that will test you."
"I wonder what this training will be like" Edrin thought to himself.
Lyra stood off to the side, observing silently, while Kaelen paced along the edge of the clearing, arms crossed, watching each recruit with a calculating eye. Mirael, predictably, flitted around with a teasing grin, nudging recruits into awkward positions, testing their reactions.
The first exercise was simple in words, impossible in execution: anticipate and evade an attack.(The rule was that the recruits would go up against the executives that are currently there and do their possible best to anticipate and evade their attacks.
Most of the recruits had trouble with this as they struggled to anticipate and evade the attacks.Soon,it was Edrin's turn.
He stepped into the ring, facing Seris, her sword at the ready. He raised his own blade, heart hammering.
"Do not underestimate your opponent," Seris said. "And do not hesitate."
The first strike came—a blur of silver aimed at his shoulder. Edrin barely dodged, stumbling back. Another strike followed, faster, more precise. Each movement forced him to focus, to predict, to react—not just physically, but mentally.
Sweat ran down his face. His arms burned. His legs felt like lead.As the strikes became more faster and precise,Edrin managed to evade some but still recieved multiple strikes
"Again!" Seris barked after a short pause. "And this time, anticipate more than the swing. Anticipate the intent!"
Edrin gritted his teeth. He dodged, parried, and for the first time felt a rhythm emerge. It wasn't instinct. It wasn't skill—at least, not yet. It was awareness.
Hours passed in a haze of strikes, blocks, and repeated failures. His body ached, but his mind refused to quit. Every mistake Seris corrected, every footwork adjustment, every misjudged swing—he absorbed it all.
By midday, he was paired with Kaelen for sparring. Kaelen didn't hold back. His strikes were precise, unrelenting, forcing Edrin to adapt quickly.
"Too slow," Kaelen said after a particularly clumsy parry from Edrin. "Focus. Predict, don't react. Anticipate the outcome, not just the attack."
Edrin's chest heaved. Sweat stung his eyes, but beneath it, something else stirred—a flicker of warmth along his arms, a subtle thrumming in his chest. His hands gripped the sword tighter.
"What is this feeling ?" he muttered under his breath, more to himself than Kaelen.
Kaelen raised an eyebrow but didn't answer.
Later, as the sun began to dip, Lyra gathered the group. "End of the first day," she said. "Those who survive the day will survive the mission. Those who falter… don't."
Edrin slumped to the grass, every muscle aching, but his mind was still racing. The exercises weren't just physical—they were mental, emotional, and exhausting. He could feel himself being pushed, challenged, reshaped.
Seris approached, kneeling beside him. "You're different," she said softly. "There's a fire in you that isn't just rage or grief. Control it, learn it… it will keep you alive when nothing else can."
Edrin looked at her, confused. "Fire? What do you mean?Are you talking about that time at the square?That fire?"
She smiled faintly, almost as if she were teasing him with the truth. "You'll see. Not everything is taught with a sword. Some things… awaken when you need them most."
Her words lingered in his mind as he returned to the temporary barracks. That night, he lay awake, muscles screaming in protest, but the flicker Seris had mentioned pulsed quietly within him.
"What is this feeling? Could it have something to do with that fire that surrounded me at the square? Maybe i should get some answers from Seris, she seems to know more about it"
Outside, the forest whispered in the darkness. Somewhere far above, the hooded figure who had watched him before now lingered on a ridge, observing silently. A low, satisfied hum escaped under the hood.
"Interesting," the figure murmured. "The boy has the potential to grow evrn stronger. There's something inside him that has high concentration of Aether "
Edrin didn't know it yet, but the trials had only just begun. And the fire Seris spoke of… it was far from tamed.