Early morning sun radiated through the glass windows of Kiato's room. The golden rays danced around, illuminating the air as they pierced through Kiato's eyelids.
He slowly regained consciousness, opening his eyes to the reality of the world as all his memories gathered in his head.
Kiato sat at the edge of his bed, noticing subtle changes in his muscular system. Concentrating hard enough, he heard his mother asking an attendant to fetch her some beverages from the garden.
Baffled by what he experienced, he picked up a pen from the floor with curiosity. Acting on instinct, he compressed the pen with just two fingers.
Crack... the pen cried.
He called out to his Zepharion.
"Kakuriyukimaru..."
Unexpectedly, he received a reply—but it echoed in his head, not aloud.
"When we merged, did our genes merge also?" Kiato asked, his tone laced with confusion.
"That's right," Kakuriyukimaru replied. Pulsing slightly, he added,
"Simply call me Kakuma when speaking to me," the dragon said, though his tone made it clear—he did not see himself as Kiato's equal.
Kiato sat quietly, deep in thought.
Knock, knock...
The door cried from the weight of an external force.
"Who's there?" Kiato replied, his tone demanding an answer.
The voice behind the door seemed surprised to receive a response. With little hesitation, it echoed:
"Greetings, Your Grace. Your father sent me to deliver a message."
From the speech, Kiato discerned the speaker was an attendant. Then, with calm certainty, he replied,
"Drop the message. I'm all ears."
The attendant's words followed:
"Lord Gundrick Kenji demands your presence at the training ground—immediately."
Kiato's eyes widened. Without hesitation, he asked the voice behind the door,
"What day of the week is it?"
"Today is Monday of the second week of the sixth month, Year 1807," the attendant replied with crisp awareness.
"Alright... I'll be there," Kiato murmured.
The attendant departed.
"I hibernated for three whole days," he said, frustrated.
A voice rang in his head.
"I actually expected it to last longer."
It was Kakuriyukimaru.
Wasting no time, Kiato rushed to the bathroom to refresh himself with haste—the thought of the forthcoming tryouts making his heart pound against his ribs.
At the Lyslender's Mansion
The temperature was far too low as father and daughter stood opposite one another in the open courtyard.
"Let's see how much you've improved since the last few days," Aldrin Lyslender said, his voice expectant.
"Alright then. Don't hold back... Fight me like your heir, Father!" Seraphina sparked, drawing her sword from its sheath.
"Hmmm," Aldrin exhaled.
"A real fight calls for real consequences."
Seraphina responded with a glint in her eye.
"I'll accept whatever they are."
"If you say so. Remember—your ability is frost. And frost answers not to pride... but to balance. To calmness—not strength," Aldrin instructed.
She nodded slightly, eyes locked onto his.
"Then begin," Aldrin commanded, drawing and unleashing his sword.
"By the ice of the Frozen Deep—awaken, Cryvon."
Ice burst out in a circle around him, freezing every soil, every stone. It danced around Aldrin from head to foot, finally forming a crystalline blade in his grasp.
Seraphina reacted immediately, awakening her sword with a quiet chant:
"From rime and ruin, let frost arise—awaken, Thalruin..."
Icy water gushed from the earth, swallowing her fully. As the water climbed, it turned to snow—scattering—before revealing Seraphina, silver blade glowing in her grasp.
They both dashed—an icy flash step—colliding mid-air, blade to blade. They retreated, then charged again. Seraphina launched massive ice needles from her palms, but Aldrin sliced through them with lightning speed.
A moment's delay—Seraphina struck upward from beneath him. Aldrin, quick to react, enveloped himself in an icy armor mid-air, absorbing the blow without harm.
As they landed and faced off again, Seraphina summoned her training.
"Frost Technique—Cryo Burst!"
She gathered cold energy in her core and released a shockwave of razor-sharp ice in all directions—unavoidable.
Aldrin smiled in approval. He answered swiftly:
"Frost Technique—Frozen Cyclone!"
A tornado of ice and snow whirled to life, gathering her attack. Then with a swing, he hurled the cyclone—and her own needles—back at her.
Seraphina tried to evade, but the vortex caught her. Aldrin seized the moment.
"Well done, my rightful heir," he said, turning away, his dark cloak billowing in the wind.
"Conjure a technique for both offense and defense," he advised, vanishing into shadow.
"Yes, Father... Thank you, Father," she whispered, her head bowed, body drained of strength.
Back at the Kenji Residence
Kiato entered the training hall. He spotted his father seated at the far end—on a frost-formed chair.
Before Kiato could speak, Gundrick's voice echoed through the icy space.
"You are finally here." A pause. "Have a seat. I'll start by feeding your confusion... a little."
Kiato sat opposite him, anxiety creeping through his aura as the thought of training with his father loomed.
Gundrick turned, his gaze fixed on his son, and began:
"Every magic knight has his blade... but in your case, you are the blade itself."
With both hands behind his back, Gundrick paced sideways across the training ground as he continued:
"You might conjure the abilities of both ice and flame—just as your Zepharion did the other day... in the form of the sun and the moon."
He paused, letting the silence settle before he continued:
"In other words, you can adapt to two fighting styles—either by summoning your physical blade or wielding magic firsthand, like a temperature wizard."
Kiato took a deep breath as clarity slowly took root in his mind. Gundrick offered his final words of guidance:
"What I can—I'll show you. Everything else... life will teach."
Then he drew his blade from its sheath, gripping it firmly with both hands.
"Shall we begin?" Gundrick declared coldly, tension rising in the air as Kiato stood, the temperature plummeting.
You'll face consequences if you underestimate him, a voice echoed in Gundrick's mind.
It was his Zepharion.
But Gundrick reply to that was a cold smile. Without waisting much time Gundrick took a firm stance as he mummured awakening his sword...
To be continued...