The afternoon and the following night after the session with the psychologist had turned Elior's mind into a mess.One part of him knew he had to be aware of what he was saying and doing, but the other completely refused.Elior had to sacrifice everything to achieve his goals. They had to accept it. He had to fulfill the favor he owed to Death if he truly wanted to become stronger.
Sitting at the edge of the doorway leading to the house's backyard, he drank a coffee that, because of the bitterness of the moment, had no taste at all.
"What a waste of good coffee…" Elior whispered to himself.
He set the cup aside and covered his head with both hands, trying to concentrate, trying to decide what to do next. But the suffocation eventually took hold of him. So, without thinking further, he stood up decisively: the best option would be to train. Empty his mind. Not think.
He dressed for the occasion and moved toward his own kingdom, his domain.
He had to train.He had to tear every thought from his head.
He focused, visualized the place. His shadow and the shadows around him did the rest, transporting him to the Domain of Shadows.
He had to speak with Alice, and later with the elders, to increase the intensity of the training.
He walked through his residence while the others watched him and made a slight bow.
"Good afternoon, how are you?" Elior said with a smile to some children. "By any chance, have you seen Alice around here?"
The children nodded and guided him toward her.
Alice was at the top of a mountain near Elior's residence. The place was a divine meadow, to say the least: a massive tree covered much of the area, and fireflies with a whitish glow floated throughout the place.
When Elior arrived, he played with them for a moment.
"Alice…" he whispered.
Alice turned around, stopping her observation of the kingdom from above.
"ELIOR! What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"
Elior did not respond. He simply approached until he stood beside her. When he arrived, he sighed.
"I have something to tell you… and I know you won't like it. But it is already decided."
He said this while placing his hands behind his back.
"If it is already decided… what is the need to tell me, Elior?" Alice replied.
"Because I know you'll worry if I disappear just like that. I'd rather you know where I'll be…"
Alice looked away and then fixed her gaze back on him.
"What are you talking about?"
"I have matters with Death… and a favor I owe her."
"A favor?" she interrupted. "Elior… you owe her nothing."
"I know, Alice. Well… partly. But it's not only about the favor. It's about what I would gain from doing it. More strength. More power. What's necessary to move toward my objective."
"Ahh, Elior…" Alice said, shaking her head. "I wish you would think about it a little more, please. I know you're stubborn, but analyze it better. With death, you never know what will happen."
"I've been thinking about it for days, Alice. It's decided. I'll leave in a few weeks…"
Alice remained silent for a few seconds.
"All right…" she finally said, resigned. "I'll look for useful equipment for whatever you're going to face. I don't trust her, and I doubt it will be easy. I'll feel more at ease if you carry equipment made by us. At least promise me that. Tell me you'll accept it."
Elior smiled softly and looked at her.
"All right, Alice. I will."
"How will we do it?" he asked. "Should I give you my measurements or…?"
"That won't be necessary," she replied, walking away. "I know your measurements perfectly."
Elior smiled once more.
After contemplating the view for a while, he headed to where the elders were already waiting for him.
"How are you?" Elior said as he stood before them.
None of them responded. A slight bow toward their king was enough.
"I would like to inform you of a few things."
"Go ahead, my lord," Hope said.
"First… I will be leaving for a while. I will embark on a small journey, doing a favor for Death. I don't know how long it will take. Perhaps only two days… or more. It's not entirely clear."
The elders exchanged glances.
"And second," Elior continued, "for that same reason, I need to become even stronger physically. How much do you think I can improve in two weeks?"
The elders looked at one another until Lint, the oldest, spoke:
"Two weeks are more than enough to create a better version of you, my lord. But if that is what you desire, I must warn you: it will be a brutal training. You are fortunate to have your shadow constantly regenerating your muscles; otherwise, you would not endure it. Tell us when to begin, and we will conduct the harshest training we have ever carried out, strengthening your body and your abilities."
"I would like to prioritize hand-to-hand combat and daggers," Elior interrupted. "How to use them, throw them, block… those kinds of situations."
"Perfect, my lord," Lint replied. "I will begin preparing everything when you give the word."
"If possible, I would like to begin right now."
"Everything is possible," Lint said. "Please proceed to the training hall and wait for us there."
Elior nodded, like someone following the orders of a superior. Of a master.
The elders immediately began the preparations.
The training was about to begin.
And those remaining two weeks would be absolute chaos for Elior's body.
The following two weeks passed without Elior being able to clearly distinguish when one day ended and the next began.
The mornings belonged to Geheris.The nights… no longer.
At school, Elior sat in his seat as always. Back straight, gaze forward, notebooks arranged with almost sickening precision. To any other student, he appeared focused. To those who knew him well, something was out of place.
His eyes were not there.
While the teacher spoke, Elior's mind reviewed movements again and again.A sidestep.A twist of the wrist.The exact angle to throw a dagger without losing direction and force.
Sometimes he blinked and could not remember what had been said in the last few minutes. Other times, he copied the material automatically, without truly understanding it. His body was in class. His mind remained trapped in the Domain of Shadows, reviewing everything from training.
During breaks, he no longer spoke much, not even with Hina or Seraphine. He sat with a book in his hands, but they were not novels or school texts. They were military strategy books, ancient treatises on wars that should never have been won… and yet were.
He read about generals who sacrificed thousands to save millions.About armies that resisted with no hope of victory.About triumphs that only existed because someone decided not to surrender.
He was not seeking inspiration.He was seeking understanding. He needed to have an idea of what he might face in an unknown environment and how to act accordingly.
Alice watched him from a distance during training.
Each day, the change in Elior became more evident. He was not only more exhausted. His presence had changed. His movements were quieter. More contained. As if every gesture were calculated even when he was not training.
And his body…
His body was no longer the same.
Training began the moment he crossed the threshold of his domain.
The first days were brutal but predictable. Blows, falls, constant combat. Elior fell, stood up, and fell again. The shadow repaired what it could, but even it began to fall behind under the intensity and speed of the damage he received.
By the fourth day, the elders decided to move to something slightly more lethal.
That was the day of true pain.
Without ceremony, without warning, they immobilized Elior. Black needles, thin as thorns, pierced his skin. One. Two. Five. Ten.
Poisons designed to weaken, paralyze, corrode from within.
Elior's body reacted violently.
Spasms. Nausea. Fever. Uncontrolled breathing. His muscles tensed to the limit, as if they were about to tear from within. His body struggled to neutralize the toxins, but each one was designed to adapt, to change, to resist.
"Do not expel them," one of the elders ordered. "Let them stay."
Elior did not scream.He did not beg.He clenched his teeth until he tasted the metallic flavor of blood and felt all his organs burn from the amount of poison.
Day after day, they repeated the process. New toxins. New combinations. Elior's body began to change the way it reacted. It no longer rejected the poison immediately. It absorbed it. Analyzed it. Adapted it to his body.
By the end of the week, what would have killed anyone else… barely managed to slow him down.
Then came the agility trial.
The training shifted rhythm. It was no longer about enduring, but about moving at the greatest possible speed.
Daggers thrown from blind angles.Arrows fired without warning.Traps activated beneath his feet.
Elior fell many times. He slammed against walls, rolled across the ground, crashed into structures created to break his bones. But he learned from every failure.
He learned to use every surface as support.Every wall as momentum.Every mistake as immediate correction.
His body became lighter. Precise, fast. He anticipated danger before it fully manifested. He jumped, rolled, propelled himself, dodged by inches.
Using parkour not only as a technique… but as another part of his instinct.
At the end of the second week, the elders gathered in silence while Elior trained alone in the central hall. His breathing was controlled. His posture firm. His movements fluid like a lethal dance.
"We have not only strengthened our king," one of them said quietly."We have created something else," another replied. "Something that, if it were not human…"
"Would absolutely dominate everything."
Alice clenched her fists as she heard them.
She knew the truth the elders barely dared to say.
Elior's greatest strength…And also his greatest weakness…
Was his humanity.
That invisible bond that made him hesitate.That made him suffer.That kept him anchored to a world that could no longer offer him rest.
And yet…
It was the only thing preventing him from becoming something irreparable.
When Elior left the training hall that final night, his body was covered in recent and old wounds. His gaze, tired. His mind, clearer than ever.
He was exhausted.
But he was also ready.
And somewhere, beyond the Domain of Shadows,the dangers were waiting for him.