Ash started level eight early on the morning of Day Seven.
The training room was quiet except for the low, steady hum of the energy lines under the floor. He sat cross-legged in the center of the silver array, hands resting lightly on his knees, back straight but not stiff. The platform felt cool against his skin at first, then warmed as the residual heat from the previous day's work still lingered in the stone. He closed his eyes and let his breathing settle into the familiar pattern—slow in, slower out—until the world outside the room faded to a distant background.
He began the nine loops one by one.
