Iron Sky Sect — Shared Courtyard, Morning
The sun rose gently over their courtyard,
but tension pulsed through the air.
Not from enemies.
Not from war.
From something softer.
Quieter.
More dangerous in its own way.
The Training Begins
Kaelen stood in the center of the open space.
A pulse of his hand summoned projection runes across the sky—
a blueprint of the Global Sect Duel layout.
Mountains.
Floating arenas.
Spirit-sealed death zones.
He turned to the six women standing around him.
"We don't wait for them to train us."
"We train ourselves."
"Because we're not just going to compete—"
"We're going to dominate."
Personal Drills
Each girl paired off to sharpen their strengths:
Aria vs. Mira — swordplay and shadow duels
Lyra and Valessia — aerial combat + precision qi bursts
Lyanna and Selina — combined tactics, support, and sudden healing strikes
Kaelen watched all of them, adjusting their forms.
Guiding their stance.
Correcting their aura flow.
But every time he touched a shoulder, adjusted a grip, or praised a breakthrough—
Eyes lingered longer.
Hearts beat harder.
And he didn't notice a thing.
POV: Aria
Kaelen stood behind her during a sparring sequence.
He corrected the angle of her sword-arm.
His breath brushed her ear.
Her entire body tensed — not from discomfort.
From want.
You're too close, Sovereign.
And not nearly close enough.
POV: Mira
She watched him move from girl to girl, coaching them all.
Each time, his words were calm. Encouraging. Focused.
But never flirtatious.
Never aware.
He doesn't know.
And it's slowly killing me.
Evening — The Whispering Flame
That night, they sat around a training fire.
Tired. Sweaty. Closer than ever.
Kaelen leaned back against the stone bench, hair loose, eyes half-lidded in thought.
One by one, the girls looked at him.
Then at each other.
An unspoken truth settled between them.
Each of them was falling.
And none of them were backing down.
POV: Selina (Internal Monologue)
We've fought beside him.
Bled with him.
We were never just background pieces.
So if we all fall in love with the same man…
Then let fate decide the rest.
Final Line
Above them, the stars shifted quietly.
Below, six hearts whispered what none could say aloud.
And Kaelen—
calm, confident, certain—
still had no idea
that the true war had already begun.