Desmond followed Leo as he led him out of the archives, down the hall, and back into the main lobby.
Turning right, they walked past Caspian's office and straight to the elevator system in the corner of the lobby.
Leo stepped inside and beckoned for Desmond to join.
It took him a few seconds to build up the courage, as he had never seen or been inside an elevator before.
He quickly shook the hesitance off and stepped in.
The floor below him seemed to sway as he did, causing him to tightly grip the rails that lined the sides of the cabin.
Leo noticed this and smiled to himself before pressing a button to bring them down.
The doors promptly closed and the cabin began to plunge deep beneath the Reveur Headquarters, shaking even more violently as it descended.
In reality, the violent shaking wasn't very violent at all. That's just how Desmond thought it was moving.
The ambient rumbling of the cabin died down as they came to a stop.
Shortly after, the automatic doors to the elevator opened and Leo stepped out with Desmond following suit, walking perhaps a little too close to him.
Like a child clinging to their parent in the busy streets of Augustine.
However, these lower parts of the Reveur Headquarters were all but crowded.
Instead, what made Desmond follow so closely was the lack thereof.
Too quiet yet somehow too noisy.
The usual sounds of human bustling being replaced with the light hums of the pipes and creaking of the supporting beams.
Eventually, the two found themselves in a large, open room.
Reinforced steel lined the walls and ceiling.
Desmond spoke for the first time upon entering the basement,
"What is this? Some sort of… bunker?"
Leo shook his head.
"No. Quite the opposite, actually. This place is specifically designed to keep destruction inside, instead of out."
His brows furrowed in puzzlement at the contradictory idea.
"Could you elaborate on that?"
Leo walked a bit deeper into the chamber before responding, his voice echoing in the expanse,
"This is where Reveurs train. These sparring sessions tend to get out of hand fast, so we fortified the walls to ensure the actual Headquarters wouldn't take any collateral damage. Well, outside of a vase or two falling over, that is"
Desmond studied the room for some moments, not fully believing what Leo was saying.
"So how do we get started? Straight hands?"
Leo lightly snickered.
"No, idiot. Come pick something out."
Desmond quickly jogged over to where Leo had been standing.
He stopped, turning over to the crude barrels, each of which held a variety of different melee weaponry.
Desmond blinked.
He blinked again.
"What the hell is this?"
"What do you mean? They're weapons. Pick one."
Desmond turned back to the barrels in disbelief.
"Swords? Spears? Seriously? Isn't this a little too primitive? Shouldn't you be teaching me how to use firearms or something?"
Leo scoffed lightly.
"And what use would a gun be if you were faster than the bullet?"
Desmond stood there for a while with a bewildered expression on his face before asking,
"Have you lost your mind? You say that as if anyone's faster than a bullet."
Leo stared back at him for a second.
"I am. So is Caspian, or basically any Reveur with proper Channeling. You seriously haven't seen a Reveur in action?"
"No. I've never even seen a Cryptid in person."
After a moment's consideration, it did make sense. As far as Leo knew, Desmond didn't live in Section One or Two.
Instead, he resided in an orphanage within Section Three.
Naturally, the chances of him witnessing a Cryptid were close to zero.
"Well, anyways, guns tend to be futile after a certain point of Channel mastery."
Desmond clicked his tongue in refusal.
"Yeah right. I'll take my chances with a rifle."
"If you insist."
Leo shrugged as he walked to another section of the weaponry and tossed Desmond a loaded rifle.
Desmond smiled before muttering to himself,
"This is more like it."
He walked deeper into the training grounds, making some distance between himself and Leo.
That's when he realized Leo was holding nothing.
He just stood there with his arms folded, confidence oozing from his being.
"You're not going to use anything to protect yourself?"
Leo thought for a moment before responding,
"I figured this would be the most fair since you chose something as harmless as a firearm."
Desmond lightly shook his head and smiled as he took aim.
"Don't hate me after this! You're my favorite teacher, y'know!"
Leo returned the smile and nodded as he let his arms drop.
Desmond lost his smile and grew serious, adjusting his posture and grip on the rifle.
"Steady your aim and squeeze the trigger when you're ready. Squeeze, don't pull."
Desmond inwardly accepted that if Leo got injured then that would be his own damn fault for not protecting himself against a literal bullet.
With a deep breath, he steadied himself and squeezed the trigger.
A loud boom rang throughout the chamber as he felt himself get punched back from the recoil.
After a moment, he slowly let down his rifle. His eyes widened.
Leo stood there, his hand extended out,
Between his thumb and pointer lay the bullet.
Desmond took a step back as the gun fell to the ground with a thud.
"But… How could…"
"Focus on your Eidcore. Think about what you want the most at this very moment. Realize that feeling and let it fill your muscles."
Desmond heard him but wasn't following, his mind too focused on the fact that he had just caught a bullet with ease.
"My turn."
Leo squeezed his thumb and pointer together, preparing to flick it back.
He lightly pushed Somnia into his fingers before launching the bullet back with a sonic boom.
The bullet inched closer and closer, far beyond Desmond's body could react to.
However, at that moment, Desmond could see it clearly.
It was as if time itself had slowed.
He recalled Leo's words in thought.
' Focus on my Eidcore... Think about what I want… Feel it in my muscles… '
With this, he determined that he had subconsciously managed to produce and Channel some Somnia into his brain.
Just enough to keep himself alive.
Now came the tricky part, which was dodging the bullet.
His first idea was trying to Channel enough into his legs to dodge it, but he doubted he had enough time for that.
The bullet grew dangerously close as the Somnia within his brain begun to dwindle.
He was quickly running out of time.
In an act of distress, he focused as hard as he possibly could on what he wanted.
He wanted to keep that damn bullet away.
Just before the Somnia within his brain ran out, he Channeled as much as he could into his arms and braced in front of himself.
The bullet slammed against his arms like a battering ram, sending a tumultuous shock throughout his body.
His arms barely managed to keep themselves from ripping apart as the bullet dragged him several feet backwards.
Clenching his teeth and using every ounce of strength that remained, he swung his arms up and redirected the bullet upwards.
The projectile hit the metal plating of the ceiling with a loud ring.
Desmond fell to his knees as his arms shook uncontrollably due to the sheer pain and adrenaline.
After a moment, he raised his head.
Leo stood before him with a smile.
Entirely calm, as if he knew Desmond would've been alright.
"I gotta say, Dessy. I'm impressed. I put a little too much behind that one."
After a moment, he controlled his trembling arms and forced a smile.
"What's next?"