The sun had barely risen over Stormcrest Academy, casting a golden glow across the training grounds. Students lined up, whispers and murmurs carrying through the crisp morning air. Eryndor's pulse quickened—not from nerves, but from anticipation. Today was the day his Ember Tier abilities would be tested against the academy's finest newcomers.
As he adjusted his stance and ran through the motions in his mind—Pulse Step, Arc Lash, Nerve Ignite, Gale Feint—a shadow moved across the courtyard. Calm, deliberate, and unmistakable.
Eryndor froze. His eyes narrowed.
"Kael?" he whispered under his breath.
From the steps of a raised platform, a figure in the academy's ceremonial robes watched the assembled students. Cloaked not in mystery this time, but in authority. The mask was gone, replaced by the same sharp eyes and calm demeanor Eryndor remembered from their encounter in the alley.
"You will address me as Instructor Kael," the man's voice rang out, smooth and commanding. "I am in charge of today's preliminary trials. Observe carefully. Adapt quickly. Survival is the measure of potential."
A hush fell over the courtyard. Students craned their necks, but Eryndor's heart skipped a beat. Kael—the same Kael he had fought in that brutal, hand-to-hand duel—was now his instructor. The one who had pushed him to the brink and forced his Ember Tier breakthrough.
Eryndor's mind raced. Everything I learned… everything he made me realize… it's about to be tested again. But this time, I won't be the one challenging him. He's in control.
Kael's eyes swept across the students, pausing for the briefest moment on Eryndor. A flicker of recognition, subtle but undeniable. He didn't smile, but his posture relaxed just slightly.
"First match: names will be called at random," Kael announced. "Step forward when your name is called. Remember, the goal is not simply to strike your opponent down—it is to survive, to adapt, and to demonstrate control over your abilities. Observe the battlefield as well as your opponent. Execution without understanding is failure."
Eryndor stepped back, letting a faint current of wind brush his coat and sparks of lightning flicker along his fingertips. Every instinct from his previous duel with Kael screamed in readiness. He knows me. I know him. And yet… nothing is certain.
The first names were called, and students began to pair off. Eryndor's turn came. He stepped into the center of the arena, feeling the energy of the academy flow around him. Each student's eyes were on him—some curious, some skeptical, some impressed by the faint crackle of lightning along his hands.
Kael's gaze fixed on him from the platform, calm, unyielding, as if weighing every microsecond of his movement before the trial even began. Eryndor felt the familiar thrill of anticipation—the same electricity and wind from their alley fight, now amplified by the stakes of the academy.
This isn't just a trial, he thought. It's the first real test of Ember Tier against the world beyond my family. And Kael… he's watching every step.
The first bout was called, and Eryndor moved forward, heart steady, senses sharp. The courtyard seemed to shrink around him. Lightning hummed faintly along his knuckles, wind tugged at his coat, and his body fell into the natural rhythm of Eightfold Flow.
The trial had begun. And for the first time in months, Eryndor felt the thrill of combat under the gaze of the man who had once pushed him to the edge—and who now held the power to judge his every move.