Tarek leaned back so far in his chair it threatened to tip, his hood half-down, lazily tossing a bread roll in the air. Mira, smirk sharp as a razor, made playful jabs at the airborne roll with her fork. Lira's jumpsuit flickered with faint static, her visor tilted as she cackled at their antics, while Orren, an island of calm in their usual chaos, methodically picked at a plate of greens, his dark eyes tracking the pandemonium with quiet amusement. A knot in kairo's chest loosened; this—his friends, their ridiculous energy—felt like surfacing for a much-needed breath of fresh air.
"Yo, Virel!" Tarek's voice boomed, a beacon across the cafeteria as he spotted him. He snatched the roll mid-air with a grin fit for a kid who'd just found a new toy. "Get your butt over here, man! I'm itching for a spar—picked up some slick new blade tricks in training. You in, or still too busy playing VIP?" He waggled his eyebrows, then mimicked kairo's typical swagger with an exaggerated, coat-flicking flourish.
Kairo snorted, weaving between tables, "Blade tricks? What, you finally learn how to not slice your own hood off?" He dropped into the chair next to Orren, the cheap steel frame groaning under his weight. His muscles screamed a silent protest as he settled; the dungeon's brutal toll still lingered despite the Codex's Full Recovery. The nagging question of time dilation resurfaced—hours, maybe a whole day, in that frozen hell, had apparently been mere minutes out here. How long had he truly been gone?
Lira leaned forward, her visor flashing with reflected cafeteria light. "Oh, please, Tarek's been swinging that practice dagger around like he's auditioning for a holo-drama. 'Behold, I am a legendary sword saint!'" She mimicked an over-the-top swordsman stance, arms flailing wildly, sending Mira into a fit of choked laughter around her drink. "Laugh it up, Glitch-girl," Tarek shot back, good-naturedly lobbing the roll at Lira. She caught it with a flourish and took a dramatic bite. Mira wiped her mouth, her grin infectious as she turned to Virel. "Don't let these clowns fool you, kai. They're just jealous of your fancy private training pod. What was it this time? a massage chair and a personal chef?" Her teal eyes sparkled with pure mischief. Kairo forced a chuckle, the sound a bit hollow even to his own ears. "Yeah, real luxurious. Just me, my thoughts, and a whole lotta pain." He stretched, wincing involuntarily as his back sent a sharp twinge of protest. Orren's calm voice cut through. His gaze was steady, analytical, as it rested on kairo. "You look drained, Virel. More so than us." He tilted his head slightly, the way he did when assessing a complex battlefield. "Your training… it was significantly rougher, wasn't it? You seem… different." His words were soft, yet landed with precision. The table quieted instantly, the usual boisterous energy dimming as Tarek, Mira, and Lira all turned to look at him, their playful expressions fading into concern. He shrugged, trying for nonchalance. "Just pushed hard, is all," he said, keeping his voice light. "Those solo sims don't mess around?" He leaned back, hoping to deflect, but he saw Mira's smirk widen, her perceptiveness kicking in.
"Pushed hard, huh?" she echoed, propping her chin on her hand. "And did this top-secret training involve any actual food, or did they just feed you raw determination and the salty tears of training dummies?" Her tone was teasing, but her eyes lingered, searching.
Kairo managed a genuine grin this time. "Found some berries," he said, a half-laugh escaping him. "Real gourmet stuff. Kept me going while I was, y'know, wrestling a few… particularly aggressive polar bears." He kept the details deliberately vague. Mira's eyebrows shot up. "Berries? That's it?" She stood abruptly, hands on her hips in mock outrage. "Oh, no, we are not having that. Hold on, I'm getting you real food before you start eating Tarek's stale bread" She spun towards the food line, completely ignoring Tarek's indignant cry of, "Hey! It's not that stale!"
Lira snickered, leaning conspiratorially toward tarek. "Look at her, going full team mom. Bet she's got a whole balanced meal tray mentally curated for you already." Her lips curling to a devilish smile "Kinda sweet, huh?"
Kai blinked, and before he could formulate a response, Tarek jumped in, his grin wide and shark-like. "Oh, kinda sweet? What's next, she's going to wipe his mouth for him after?" He nudged with his elbow, winking broadly "Why don't you two just kiss already and get it over with?"
"Shut up, Tarek," kairo muttered, snatching Tarek's abandoned bread roll from the table and chucked it back, aiming for his smug face. Tarek ducked with a bark of laughter, and Lira cackled, clearly in on the teasing.
Orren commented with a smile forming on his lips "maybe let the man eat before you start planning his love"
Mira returned then, expertly balancing a tray piled high with synth-steak, mashed nutrient-rich roots, and a steaming bowl of what actually smelled like real stew. She slid it decisively in front of kai, her earlier smirk back in place. "There. No berries. Eat, or I'll force-feeding you with Tarek's discarded fork." Her tone was playful, but her eyes softened for a moment as they lingered on the faint, fading bruises under Virel's eyes and the subtle weariness in the set of his shoulders.
"Thanks, Mira," he said, and the warmth in his voice was entirely genuine, cutting through some of the guardedness he'd felt since returning. He picked up his own fork and dug in, the food surprisingly good. The team's easy chatter resumed around him, Tarek already bragging about his new skills "Moonfang Razor Dance" and "Ghost Step" and the rest of the team continued talking about their overall progress. It was loud, a bit dumb, and exactly what kairo needed.
As they finished their meal. Tarek slammed his hands on the table, snapping Kairo's focus. "Alright, freak, no more stalling. We've got what…four hours before evening training? perfect time to spar!" His eyes gleamed, hood slipping back. "My new moves need a real test, and you're it." Kairo leaned back, "Alright, alright, blade-boy," he said, voice cocky but warm. "But I've got a condition." He paused, letting the anticipation build, then grinned. "All four of you. Against me. One shot."
The table erupted. Lira choked on her drink, "What? Yeah you lost it." Mira's fork froze mid-air, her teal eyes narrowing with a mix of amusement and disbelief. Tarek laughed, loud and sharp, "Dude, no way" he said, grinning. "One day of fancy training, and you think you're a one-man army? We'd mop the floor with you" Kairo's grin didn't waver, but his heart raced. He knew he could take them. "Laugh it up," he said, standing, "Combat arena, now. Let's see who's tripping."
Tarek whooped, jumping up. "You're on, Virel! This is gonna be fun!" Mira sighed, grabbing her tray, but her smile betrayed her excitement. Lira followed, muttering, "This guy's ego's gonna need its own rank"
They made their way to one of the designated combat arenas – a spacious, padded room with configurable holographic terrain projectors, currently set to a simple, open grid.
"Ready to get schooled, freak?" Tarek crowed, drawing his new pair of swords.
With that, the spar exploded into motion. Tarek charged with a flurry of spins and slashes. Kairo sidestepped the initial rush but had to actively parry a follow-up cut, the impact vibrating up his arm. "Not bad, Tarek! Actually using your feet this time!" he taunted.
"Just warming up, pretty boy!" Tarek shot back.
Lira directed her wolves, "Frost, Fang! Flank him!" The ethereal beasts darted, one high, one low, snapping at Kairo's heels and trying to drive him towards Mira, who unleashed a whip-like lash of water. Kairo ducked under the water whip, the spray cool on his face, only to have Orren subtly increase the gravity around his left ankle, causing a momentary stumble.
"Whoa there, Flash!" Tarek seized the tiny opening, his swords a blur.
Kairo gritted his teeth, using his dagger to block and deflect the jarring impacts, then activated Assassin Dash to break free from Orren's gravity, landing a few feet away. "Getting a bit crowded in here, don't you think?" he grunted, shoving Tarek back and using a burst of speed to create some space from the nipping wolves.
It was when he deftly evaded a pincer attack from Lira's wolves, then spun out of a miniature whirlpool Mira tried to form at his feet, before finally shrugging off another of Orren's gravity pulses with sheer momentum, that the team paused, breathing a little harder.
"Okay," Tarek said, panting slightly, his playful grin replaced by genuine surprise. "Either we all collectively decided to suck today, or… you got a serious upgrade, Virel."
Lira nodded, recalling her wolves to her side, their ethereal forms shimmering.
Kairo just smiled. "Told you the training was intense."
Mira swirled her water tendrils, her expression turning serious. "Alright team, let's get serious then. Formation Omega!"
The four of them moved with practiced synergy, their earlier probing attacks replaced by a focused, tactical assault. Tarek and Mira pushed him hard upfront, Tarek's swords a constant offense while Mira controlled space with jets of water, simultaneously forming slick patches and sending sharp water-knives flying straight at Kairo's face. Lira's wolves surged towards him again. Kairo jumped and pivoted, throwing his dagger to make the wolves dodge back, then used his gauntlets to deflect Mira's water-knives, recalling his dagger just in time to block Tarek's sword.
But Orren subtly altered the gravitational fields around him, not just to slow him, but to try and divert his dodges into the path of their combined attacks. Kairo met them head-on, his own intensity rising. He forced his way out of Orren's gravity, then used Stealth Mode to escape their vision. With Assassin Dash, he appeared behind Orren.
Mira shouted, "Orren, behind you!" but it was too late. Kairo landed a punch straight to Orren's gut, sending him flying backwards. He then used Phantom Stride, creating afterimages that drew the attacks of Mira's water and Lira's wolves, while he focused on Tarek, his gauntlet-clad fists becoming blurs as they parried Tarek's blades.
One of Lira's wolves managed to snag his leg, its ethereal teeth shockingly solid, forcing him to use a burst of raw strength to fling it off. But that was all the opening Tarek needed to land a solid hit. Kairo fell back but quickly got up and unleashed short, controlled bursts of Avalanche Fists that forced all of them to scatter, their expressions a mixture of focused effort and grudging admiration.
He was faster, stronger, his movements more precise than they had ever seen. He was landing his own light taps and shoves but taking a few glancing blows in return – a stinging water lash from Mira across his cheek, a jarring impact as Orren briefly amplified gravity when Kairo landed a jump, making him grunt.
"Okay," he thought, dodging a coordinated lunge from Tarek and Frost the wolf, "this is definitely tougher than I let on. Good. This is good." He was pushing himself, using everything he'd learned until now except the ice powers he was determined to keep secret for now.
But then– a deafening explosion ripped through the arena.
BOOM!
The massive, reinforced door to the combat arena suddenly blew inwards. Torn from its hinges like paper, crashing to the floor in a cloud of dust and debris.
The sparring stopped instantly. All five of them froze, staring at the smoking jagged hole where the door had been. Then Two figures stepped through the haze, their shapes stark against the corridor light now flooding into the room. They wore dark, unfamiliar combat suits – nothing like the C.E.L.E.N agent gear or standard Etherborn training attire they were used to, with smooth black masks hiding their faces and overwhelming aura rolled off them.
"Uh," Tarek started, lowering his swords. A confused look spread across his face as he squinted at the newcomers. "Bit rough on the entrance there guys, what's the deal" He clearly thought these were just some C.E.L.E.N agents accidentally breaking the door.
But kairo felt a chill crawl down his spine, a coldness that had nothing to do with his newly awakened ice powers. He recognized that oppressive, suffocating pressure, the distinctly evil feel of their auras, reminding him of his last meet up with his father.
His eyes widened, and a name escaped his lips in a horrified whisper. "Red Traces…"
Then, he screamed, "GUYS, RUN! GET BACKUP! NOW!" With a voice raw with sudden desperate urgency and a terrified face.
His friends, startled by the sheer terror in his eyes, "Virel, what the hell is happening?!" Lira said, her ethereal wolves appearing and bristling defensively beside her, her earlier confidence completely gone. Orren's eyes, however, darted to the intruders strange suits, then back to them. "He's right!" Orren yelled, his voice tight with fear. "Their gear… they're not C.E.L.E.N! Lira, Tarek, let's go! We need to tell Commander Zairen Now!"
Mira, meanwhile, stood her ground. Water swirled defensively around her as her energy batons flared to life. "No! We're not leaving kai alone with these… things!"
"Mira, don't be–" kairo began, but he never finished the sentence. One of the masked figures, the slightly taller one, simply lifted a hand. The air around Lira shimmered with a violent, red and black Etheron. It was a gravity manipulation, but far more powerful and terrifying than anything Orren could wield. With a flick of his wrist, Lira was yanked from her feet and hurled through the air like a ragdoll. She slammed hard against the far wall with a sickening thud before crumpling to the floor, her summoned wolves dissolving with a distressed whine.
A collective gasp of horror tore through the team. Panic erupted.
Kairo's face, which moments before had been a mask of shock and dawning terror, twisted into a snarl of pure, uncontrollable rage. And the secret skills he had been so determined to keep hidden, exploded outwards. Blue-white flames, an exact mirror of Rimeclaw's ethereal fire, erupted around his body. They spread along his arms, "YOU BASTARDS!" he roared. With a primal scream, he launched the Rimefire Breath – a torrent of chilling, beautiful destruction – straight at the two intruders.
He instinctively dodged back as they separated, the one who hadn't attacked moving with impossible speed. And before he reached kairo. He slammed his gauntleted fist onto the ground, unleashing his other new skill. Jagged spikes of crystalline ice erupted from the arena floor, shooting upwards in a deadly wave towards the figures. One of them was caught; a cry of surprise was torn from it as the ice slammed into its side, sending it staggering back. With a sweep of his hand, kairo commanded more ice to rise, forming a thick, glistening wall between the intruders and his terrified friends.
"GO! NOW!" he screamed, his voice hoarse, the Rimefire flames still dancing on his skin.
This time, there was no hesitation. Tarek grabbed Lira, while Orren gave Mira a desperate shove towards a side emergency exit. They turned and fled, their footsteps echoing kai's desperate hope that they'd make it out and bring help. Then he turned back to face the Red Traces.