Evelyn's POV
A week slipped by in a blur. Later I learned the feeling had a name—anxiety. My body was changing, and so was the way I saw the world. To clear the thoughts piling in my head, I created a mana puppet and challenged it to a spar.
This puppet wasn't like Sarah. It had no real intelligence, only basic reactions, just enough to trade blows. I chose it instead of Marcus because I wanted to go all out—fists flying, no hesitation—without worrying about hurting someone I cared about.
The puppet hit as hard as I did, but it lacked experience. I slipped past its clumsy swings, countered with my own, and pressed harder. Each punch I threw wasn't just an attack—it was a way to release the storm inside me. Anger. Fear. Confusion. All of it poured into my fists.
So I made another puppet.
Now it was two against one, and the strain forced me to push harder. My knuckles cracked against their bodies of light and mana, blows landing heavy, the sound echoing in the training hall. The more I struck, the steadier I felt. For every kick I blocked, for every jab I landed, the chaos inside me loosened.
I didn't need armor. I didn't need weapons. What I needed was to remind myself that these emotions—wild and unpredictable—were mine to command. Fist by fist, strike by strike, I carved out a fragile sense of control.
When I finally dropped the puppets, sweat clung to my skin, my chest rising and falling in rough breaths. My emotions hadn't vanished, but they weren't suffocating me anymore. They were quieter now, manageable.
That's when I noticed Lina waiting at the edge of the training ground. She handed me a towel with a small smile.
"Good to see you back on your feet again."
I wiped my face, exhaling. "I want to say everything's fine, but… I can't change how fast everything's happening. My emotions feel wild, my body feels strange. I think you know what I mean."
Lina smiled knowingly. "It's just growing up. We all go through it. I was prepared, and it still caught me off guard."
I gave her a curious look. "Prepared? How?"
She laughed sheepishly. "Books. I read what to expect. But living it and reading about it… they're not the same."
That pulled a laugh from me too. "I guess it isn't."
Her smile faded into curiosity. "In your past life… you were the First Hero. A man. Does that change how you feel now—about liking men or women?"
I froze at the question. My mind searched for an answer but found only emptiness. "I don't know. Back then… I was only taught to be the Hero. My emotions were suppressed. I never felt love. Never even considered romance—with anyone."
Lina tilted her head, frowning. "Your life as the Hero sounds… boring."
I let out a dry chuckle. "I guess it was, wasn't it?"
Silence hung between us for a moment before I finally said, "Come on. Time to head back."
"Let's go, then," Lina replied, falling into step beside me.
I walked her home, exchanged polite words with her mother, then returned to my own. After a bath, I joined my family for dinner. My mother looked relieved, my father gave me a quiet nod, Lucas grinned before returning to his food, and Avery—just one year old—slept peacefully in my mother's lap.
Looking at him, I realized how fast time passed. A year already gone. In three more, I'd be strong enough to reach stage five cultivation. Suddenly, three years didn't feel very long at all.