"The Girl with the Chipped Blade"
Lorenzo's forge always smelled like steel and fire. The air shimmered with heat, and the soft clatter of tools filled the space between hammer strikes.
The front door burst open.
"Lorenzoooooo!" The shout was followed by a clumsy thud and a muffled "ow."
Lili Falia stumbled in — short, wiry, hair tied in a too-high knot that was already coming undone. Her coat swung unevenly at the hem, green lining flaring with each exaggerated step. Freckles across her nose. Grin too big for her own good. And her dagger — chipped, dull, and somehow already unsheathed.
Lorenzo didn't even look up. "What was that?"
"I tripped over a cabbage cart." Lili straightened herself out with dramatic flair, brushing imaginary dust off her Wielder coat. Her dagger swung at her hip, dull with chipped edges. "Again."
She dropped the weapon on the counter, grinning. "I need it fixed. You'd think they'd make training dummies less... sharp."
Lorenzo raised an eyebrow, inspecting the blade with a half-smile. "You chipped it on a dummy?"
She leaned in, unbothered. "I have a talent, you know," she said proudly. "Just for chaos."
He chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. "Remind me never to build one of those things with real edges."
"Blame the dummy. It flinched."
He rolled his eyes and turned the blade over. "This is the third time this month, Lili."
"Fourth, technically," she corrected with a shrug. "This is my fourth."
He said nothing. She sat on a stool, swinging her legs.
Then her voice quieted. "Hey... can I ask you something?"
Lorenzo grunted in reply.
"Do you think I'm stuck?" She looked down at her boots. "I mean... I've been a Bearer for over a year now. People I trained with — same age, same batch — they're already Aegis. Some even Vigil. Like Pesh she's an Aegis now, a D-rank and she can take a combat mission with a team already."
Lili scratched her cheek. "It's not like E-rank is bad or anything — I mean, someone has to do the reports and the check-ins and the... sweeping. But still."
"You're still alive, still kicking" Lorenzo said flatly.
Lili smiled, but it faded. "Yeah. Barely. And I still get stuck doing errands. Laundry runs. Parcel drops. Courier work. I'm here and there but not anywhere. I don't think they trust me with real missions yet."
Lorenzo turned the dagger over again, then set it down on the workbench. "This'll take a bit."
He reached behind the counter, rummaged through a wooden crate, and pulled out a temporary blade.
"Use this in the meantime. Pick up yours tomorrow."
Lili blinked. "Oh. You've got spares?"
"I've got you."
She grinned "I think I'm your favorite now".
Lorenzo laughed.
"I know I mess up a lot," she added. "But I try. I study. I spar. I patch things up. I want to be better. I even have late nights for training."
"You're trying," he said. "That counts."
"Trying doesn't make me rank up." She sighed, propping her chin on one hand.
She sighed, then added, "But you know there's this one Wielder... Reeve rank already. Goes by the name Aria. Haven't met her yet, but they say she's young."
Lorenzo said nothing. Just kept working. He'd lost count of how many times Lili had brought her up.
"They say she's unreal. Never joins teams. Finishes every mission solo. Doesn't speak unless necessary. No one really knows how she does it."
He adjusted the grip on the replacement blade and handed it over without a word.
"And the crazy part? Some say she fights like a Solus."
That made him pause — just briefly — then he shook his head and looked away, returning to his tools.
Lili missed it.
"I know it's probably exaggerated," she continued. "But still. Imagine being that skilled. I bet she never chipped her dagger on a training dummy."
Lili laughed. "True! She probably slices through trees just to stay sharp." She gave a small shrug. "I want to be like her someday — strong, focused... maybe even quiet, if that's what it takes."
She accepted the temporary dagger and slid it into its sheath. "Thanks. And hey—don't tell anyone I got all emotional over ranks, okay? I've got a reputation to maintain. Chaos and charm, remember?"
"I wasn't listening."
She smirked. "Liar."
She started to leave, then paused. "Hey... you really think I've got a chance? I mean, really?"
Lorenzo glanced up just long enough to meet her eyes. "You're still here, aren't you? Still swinging. That's how it starts."
Lili smiled — not her usual grin, but something smaller, steadier. "Guess I'll keep swinging, then."
Then she waved and headed out the door, her usual bounce returning as she nearly knocked over a crate.
The door swung shut behind Lili with a gentle clang, and silence fell again over the forge.
Lili stepped into the sunlit street and let the door close behind her. She walked a few paces, then stopped and exhaled loudly.
"Okay, Lili. Today's the day. No tripping over carts. No chipping anything. No accidentally setting things on fire."
She adjusted the dagger at her hip like it was a declaration of intent.
A passing merchant gave her a puzzled look. Lili grinned at him. "Training montage in progress."
He said nothing and moved on.
She stood there a moment longer, then squared her shoulders and marched down the road, talking to herself under her breath.
"Bearer today. Maybe Aegis by the end of the year. Definitely not courier forever."
She tripped on a loose stone.
"...Okay, starting tomorrow."
She kept walking.
A moment later, she turned a corner and saw a group of younger Wielders sparring in the courtyard behind the barracks. Her stride slowed.
They looked confident. Fast. Sharp.
She hesitated at the edge, one hand brushing the hilt of her temporary dagger.
"Not yet," she whispered. "But soon."
And with a breath, she turned and continued on her way — head high, steps sure, even if one shoelace had come loose without her noticing.
Inside Lorenzo's shop only the steady hiss of the furnace remained. Lorenzo didn't look up as he set Lili's chipped dagger aside and picked up a cloth to clean his hands.
Then the stairs creaked.
Soft, deliberate steps descended from the upper floor.
Aria appeared, cloak trailing, black fabric rimmed with streaks of deep crimson. Her dark red eyes met nothing — expression unreadable, gaze distant. She said nothing as she walked across the room, her boots quiet against the floorboards.
Lorenzo glanced sideways but didn't ask. He rarely did.
She reached for a satchel resting near the edge of the table. Her gloves were already buckled. Her stance, always ready.
"You heading to the Post already?" Lorenzo asked without looking.
She nodded once.
"There's bread. On the table."
Another nod. She didn't stop walking.
Lili's voice echoed faintly in Lorenzo's mind. 'She fights like a Solus.'
As Aria passed by the forge rack, she paused for the briefest second. One of the metal drawers sat slightly ajar, exposing the corner of a parchment. Just faintly visible — lines. Not a weapon yet. But something shaped like it.
She didn't touch it. Just stared. Then moved on.
Lorenzo didn't bother asking about the mission. He never did. He knew better.
As she reached the door, she paused — just for a second — as if listening. Then, with the faintest brush of air, she stepped outside. The bell gave a soft chime as it shut behind her.