Only a few hours had passed since the examination. As Morgana's ice-cold congratulations continued to echo in their ears, Hyoga, Naomi, and Ryusui found themselves in the academy's massive infirmary. The "Mirror of the Soul" had battered not just their minds, but their bodies as well. On each of their skins were faint bruises and thin cracks caused by mana leakage—physical imprints of the clash within their souls.
Naomi sat on the edge of a cot, trying to stop her hands from trembling. "That moment..." she murmured, her voice shaking. "When I saw my mother rejecting me, it felt as if the entire world slipped from beneath my feet. Knowing it wasn't real wasn't enough, Hyoga. That pain... that disappointment burned my lungs."
Hyoga walked over to Naomi and placed a hand on her shoulder. His own dark reflection was still coiled like a sinister snake in a corner of his mind. "I know, Naomi. But as Morgana said; we saw the darkness within us and we did not surrender to it. That was the greatest step we could take."
Ryusui was staring out the infirmary window at the bonfires prepared for the academy's new students. He stood tall as always, but only Hyoga could notice the slight slump in his shoulders beneath his cloak. "Mine was a total comedy," Ryusui said, turning around with a mocking smile. "They offered me the world. But what that stupid illusion didn't understand was this: I'm going to take those worlds anyway. Why would I give up my most precious pieces—you guys—for that? What's the point of sitting alone on a mountain of gold? Who would be there to envy me?"
The three of them laughed for a brief moment. Ryusui's irrational yet unshakable loyalty warmed their insides as much as the legends Emily used to tell on those cold nights in Oakhaven.
The white silence of the infirmary settled over them again after the laughter. However, this silence was not a peace, but a harbinger of the approaching storm. Hyoga, Naomi, and Ryusui could not forget Morgana's piercing gaze or the dark reflections they encountered in the exam. They had realized that surviving in the academy was possible not just through will, but through the raw talent that would direct that will.
"Enough resting," Ryusui said, shaking out his cloak. "We've seen the monsters inside us; now it's time to learn how to feed them. The Academy's Mana Gardens are open until midnight."
Located in the southern wing of the academy, the Mana Gardens were a magnificent area where even the floating pollen glowed and plants fed on pure energy. The three friends moved to an empty training field. Each retreated to a corner to push their own limits.
Naomi gripped her staff tightly, trying to summon that golden light she had used against the illusion of her mother. Though only faint sparks emerged at first, she regulated her breathing and pushed aside the fear of "inadequacy" in her mind. Drawing on the healing techniques she learned from Emily, she focused on making the light not just a lantern, but a protective shield. After hours of attempts, she managed to create a golden halo swirling around her. It wasn't just light; it was a Sacred Ground that dissolved any dark energy entering it.
Ryusui, as always, was flashy. He was testing mana bursts against training dummies suspended in the air. His technique was not to store mana, but to pull the surrounding energy into himself and release it with great violence. "More," he whispered. The blue lightning striking from his palms grew strong enough to strain the runes on the dummies. He treated magic power not as a medium of exchange, but as a treasure the universe owed him.
Hyoga sat cross-legged on a stone. The "Valerius" heritage Ethan had spoken of in the basement kept spinning in his mind. If there was a secret in the blood flowing through his veins, he could only reach it through absolute focus. When he closed his eyes, he began to feel the mana not just in his hands, but over his entire body like a suit of armor. He gathered that pure white light from his dream into his fingertips in a controlled manner. The light began to flow not like a torch, but like a sharp blade. Hyoga was trying to transform mana into a physical object; an invisible but perceptibly sharp Air Blade.
When midnight arrived, all three lay exhausted and drenched in sweat on the grass. The Luxon moons painted the garden in shades of silver.
"Truly..." Naomi said breathlessly, "I realize now how easy we had it in Oakhaven just chopping wood and gathering herbs. This place... this place is rebuilding us."
Ryusui flipped a silver coin between his fingers, pulled from his pocket. "Being rebuilt isn't enough, Naomi. We must build this place ourselves. Hyoga, that white light... it was more intense tonight than what I saw in the exam. What were you thinking while doing it?"
Hyoga looked at the sky and smiled. "Just a promise, Ryusui. That promise I made to never be anyone's shadow."
As they left the Mana Gardens that night, they had reinforced not just their magic powers, but their trust in one another.
The magical silence of the gardens was broken by the flapping of distant night birds as the three friends began to pack up. Naomi placed her staff, heavy with fatigue, into its case and brushed the grass off her clothes. The glint in her eyes had not faded despite her exhaustion.
"I think I've reached my limit for tonight," Naomi said, yawning. "Considering classes start with the first light of dawn, a little sleep wouldn't be bad."
Hyoga smiled kindly at Naomi. "You're right, Naomi. You did a great job; that golden halo was truly impressive. Go and rest."
The trio walked together to the large crossroads at the garden's exit. As Naomi headed toward the silver-trimmed gate of the girls' dormitory, she turned back and waved. "Goodnight, boys! Meet at the training grounds early tomorrow morning, don't be late!"
After watching her go, Hyoga and Ryusui began to walk with heavy steps on the stone-paved road leading to the boys' dormitory. The two moons in the sky cast long, sharp shadows over the towers of Luxon. The silence between them was broken by Ryusui's voice—confident as always, but a bit more serene this time.
"Hyoga, that 'Air Blade' attempt tonight..." Ryusui said, clasping his hands behind his head. "Your mana density is far beyond that of an ordinary first-year student. I know you tell everyone the story of the 'book found by adventurers,' but there is something deeper in you than that book."
Hyoga hesitated, then continued walking. "Perhaps you're right, Ryusui. Sometimes I feel a power within myself that I can't quite explain. It feels as if what flows through my veins isn't just blood, but an ancient testament."
Ryusui chuckled softly, his eyes gleaming with a golden greed in the moonlight. "That's a wonderful thing! If you have such a heritage, do not let it wither. I am a man who wants everything, Hyoga. And a powerful friend is the most precious treasure one can possess."
As the two young men moved toward their rooms through the moonlight-illuminated corridors, the gears of an ancient clock in the depths of Luxon Academy began to turn, preparing to strike the first seconds of a new era.