One week had passed since Azril and Lyra went to the city to see the beautiful sea view.
Inside the quiet bamboo house, Azril was sitting hunched over, staring at a language exercise book with a confused expression.
"Hey, Long Hair! Have you memorized the tasks I gave you yet?" Lyra's shrill voice echoed from outside. She stepped inside, approaching Azril who could only shake his head.
"Goodness, you! Which part don't you understand?" Lyra sighed softly, then sat down right next to Azril.
As Lyra began to teach, the distance between them grew thinner. "Now, this one goes like this, and that one goes like that. Do you get it, Long Hair?" Lyra turned her head, intending to check.
However, she flinched. Their faces were so close that she could feel the rush of Azril's breath.
Lyra began to act flustered. Her face turned beet red. "S—so that's basically it!" she said nervously while looking away.
Azril only gave a thin smile. His instincts were improving; he no longer saw Lyra as a threat, but as something else.
"Hey, why are you smiling, Long Hair?" Lyra grumbled irritably to hide her embarrassment.
"Oh right, I almost forgot. You can't go wandering around if your hair is all messy like that. Look, your face is almost completely covered. Wait a moment, I'll get a comb from my room."
While Lyra was away, Azril tried to move his tongue. He spelled out a name with a stiff, raspy voice. "Ly... ra..."
Lyra, who had just returned with a comb in her hand, froze.
Clack!
The comb fell to the floor. Her eyes sparkled with emotion. "Hey, Long Hair! Try saying that one more time!" She hurriedly sat facing Azril, resting her chin on both hands, waiting enthusiastically.
"Ly... ra," Azril said again, more clearly.
Lyra gave a very sweet smile. "Very good! Now you almost look like a normal human," she teased jokingly. "Come here, let me tidy up your hair."
Lyra began to comb the back of Azril's hair. "Your hair is very long when it's straightened out," she murmured. "Try turning around this way."
Lyra then combed the front part. As her fingers lifted the strands of hair covering Azril's face, her movements stopped. Lyra was dazed. Behind that messy hair was a very handsome face with a sharp jawline.
She blanked out for a moment before snapping out of it and continuing to comb. "There, finished!"
Lyra handed him a small mirror. "Look at yourself. I didn't expect you to be this handsome," she said honestly.
Azril stared at his reflection. He was stunned. That face... was very different from his last memory of looking in a mirror with Aerith long ago. He touched the skin of his face, lost in a daydream.
"I forgot to ask your name. What is your real name?" Lyra asked.
Azril remained silent.
"Geez, you really have a hobby of making people annoyed," Lyra complained. "What did people used to call you?"
An old memory surfaced. The warm voices of his parents calling from a distance. Unconsciously, a single tear fell and wet Azril's cheek. Lyra, seeing that, felt sad as well. She rubbed Azril's back gently.
"It's okay, it's fine if you can't answer," Lyra said softly.
"...Az... ril," the voice came from Azril's lips.
"Azril?" Lyra repeated it with a soft voice. "Your name is very nice."
Seeing Azril still looking sad, Lyra emboldened herself to move closer and hug him. "Hey, there now..." she whispered while stroking Azril's hair.
On the other side, in the increasingly tense Remnant Village...
Inside Lana's house, the atmosphere felt very heavy. "Aerith, let's get out of here. This place is no longer safe. The war is still raging, and the food rations haven't arrived for two days. We have no food reserves," Arlo and Lizra said with anxious tones.
"But what if Azril comes back later?" Lana interrupted while sobbing. "What if he looks for us, Arlo?"
Aerith exhaled, trying to stay calm. "Enough, Lana. We aren't going anywhere. Let me be the one to look for food. You two," Aerith pointed at Arlo and Lizra, "your wounds haven't fully healed yet."
Lizra shook her head weakly. "If the empire loses, we will all be turned into forced labor slaves forever. Even if the war isn't over, the food supply will surely run out. Citizens will start looting to survive."
Everyone fell silent. Arlo broke the silence, "Aerith's words have merit, Lizra. If we force ourselves to leave now in this injured state, we won't be able to protect anyone. I only hope... my son can return before something terrible happens."
"Anyway, you two just stay quiet at home. You've been branded as traitors; don't let yourselves be seen outside. Let me handle the food, and Lana handle the house," Aerith stated firmly.
Back at Lyra's Bamboo House.
"Do you feel better now, Azril?" Lyra asked. This was the first time she had mentioned that name. She looked at Azril with mixed feelings—there was something growing in her heart, but she immediately brushed it away.
"Hey, you have to keep learning to speak so you get more fluent!" Lyra said while patting Azril's shoulder. "Do you want to come to the Cloud Dust Palace later? There's an opening ceremony to determine the genius disciples. Senior Serez and Junior Yelan also want to apologize to you."
Azril looked at Lyra for a moment, then answered shortly, "Want."
"Alright then! Study first, I'm going to go prepare something."
A while later, they stepped outside. Lyra suddenly stopped.
"Ah, I forgot! You are a Step 3 Star Ascendant. I'm too used to acting casual in front of you that I forgot you are much stronger than me."
"Try to make a space portal so we can reach the palace quickly," Lyra requested. However, she saw Azril's confused face. "You don't happen to not know how to make a portal, do you?"
Azril was silent, but his mind drifted back to the rift in space in the Sanctuary he had used to get out. He didn't know the theory; he only knew one way.
Azril clenched his fist. Without warning, he punched the empty air in front of him.
KRAK!
A large black rift appeared instantly, ripping through the reality before them. Lyra's eyes widened. "That's incredible... Try to aim it over there!"
Azril threw a second punch toward the direction Lyra pointed. A second rift appeared. They stepped inside, and in an instant, they were standing outside the magnificent Cloud Dust Palace.
The palace radiated a greenish-blue aura with thousands of blue-robed disciples passing to and fro, as well as formation ships floating above it.
"Stay by my side, okay," Lyra whispered.
As they entered, Serez and Yelan immediately approached. "Forgive us for the incident back then, Sir," Serez said respectfully. Azril only stared coldly without answering.
The ceremony to determine the genius disciples went on vibrantly in a very vast arena. However, the atmosphere turned sour when they were about to head home.
As they were walking toward the exit of the Cloud Dust Palace gate.
A disciple from the Red Mountain Palace named Mulan began to tease Yelan with an insulting tone.
"What do you think you're doing! You truly have no ethics!" Serez barked.
"Forgive her, Serez," a mocking voice was heard from a distance. It was Noah, a teacher from the Red Mountain Palace, a late-stage Step 2 Star Ascendant.
Noah walked closer with a sneering smile. His eyes then landed on Lyra. "Eh, isn't this the most beautiful woman in the entire palace?" he said brazenly while grabbing Lyra's shoulder.
"Hey! What are you doing!" Lyra shouted, trying to pull away.
"Come on, Senior Noah! The disciples are waiting for you to return!" someone shouted from atop a ship.
"Alright, one second!" Noah replied, then looked back at Lyra. "How about you just come with me instead?"
"Let go of me!" Lyra held Azril's hand. Noah noticed the hand-holding and began to smile.
Noah shifted his gaze to Azril and grabbed his shoulder.
"Hey, Handsome. Move aside, it's my turn—"
Before Noah could finish his sentence, Azril's hand had already moved. Without a word, without warning.
BUM!
Azril's punch landed squarely on Noah's stomach. He didn't just fly back; instead, Noah's stomach was shattered and left with a hole, piercing through to the back. Noah's body froze with bulging eyes, his life gone before he could even scream.
The disciples on the ship shrieked hysterically. Mulan ran away in a panic and began trying to call the higher-ups of the Red Mountain Palace by crushing a crystal stone.
To give a threat code to the palace elders.
"Sir! You have offended the Red Mountain Palace! We must leave now!" Serez exclaimed in panic.
However, the sky above the ship suddenly split. An aura far more terrifying pressed down upon the entire arena. An old man appeared with a gaze full of rage—Noah's grandfather, a mid-stage Step 3 Star Ascendant.