Leon was covered in sweat. His body was shivering, as a dark invader clawed at his mind. An unknown force whispered into his ear, incessantly urging—and demanding him to kill.
He clenched his fists, with his veins throbbing with tension, as he furiously shook those sinister thoughts away from himself. No... I won't lose myself! was all he could think. Then, with a powerful roar, Leon willed the chaos inside of him to hush.
Suddenly, a violent purple aura exploded from his body, like a flame that was reignited. It pulsed with fervor, rebellion, and fury.
On the other side of the training field, Finn sat cross-legged on the ground, his brow deeply furrowed with concentration. He had his eyes closed, but his mind was drifting. Come on... focus, damn it. He took a breath and began listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat—thump... thump... thump...
A bright orange aura started to rise from his body like a comfortable blanket of warmth.
Finn stood up, resolutely. He walked over to the boulder right in front of him and put one hand on it... then the other. He gritted his teeth. "Let's go..."
He pushed.
Nothing.
But he didn't want to stop. He dug his feet into the loose dirt and shoved with everything he had. His shoes began to slide, dirt was flying. His muscles were straining. He let out a growl as the stone inched forward.
.
Nearby, Isla had finished her own training. Her breathing was easy, controlled. Leon was still grappling with the stone—and the storm inside of him.
His feet would slip on the soft dirt. The rock shook under the weight of him but it did not budge.
Leon took a deep breath and looked at his hands, then closed his eyes. Amelie… I will be powerful… for your revenge…
His aura exploded outward—darker, hotter, more ferocious.
Sir Edric was watching and narrowed his eyes. "That aura…" he mumbled. "It is rising… in a dangerous way."
Leon roared and shoved once more with all of his strength.
The rock didn't just move, it shot forward nearly twenty metres.
And it was quiet.
Leon fell to his knees, panting, then collapsed on his back, his purple aura dissipating into the air. He even managed a faint smile. "I did it…"
Sir Edric walked up to the group, as he first looked to Fanny and then back down on Finn, Isla, and Leon all lying out flat on the training ground.
"I gotta say this year... we found some real diamonds," he said with pride.
Seeing them all nearly unconscious, he knelt down and lifted Leon up onto one shoulder and then Finn. Finn's eyes blinked wide open surprised.
"W-Wait... what's happening?! I didn't do anything wrong, I swear!" he exclaimed panicking.
Sir Edric laughed. "Chill. I'm just taking you all to see the nurse before you pass out right here."
Isla got to her feet slowly. "I'm fine, sir. I can walk."
Edric raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I can carry you too."
Isla blushed. "I think you forget... I'm a girl, sir."
He laughed again. "Right. Of course. Walk, then."
As they navigated the hallway, Edric's voice, low and deep, boomed. "You three will need to take a full week of rest."
"Why?" Isla asked.
"We're waiting to see if more students complete this phase and after that... we start the final training. Trust me, it takes a lot of preparation."
Leon, still on Edric's shoulder, narrowed his eyes. What kind of training needs that much effort to organize…?
"I'm excited!" Finn exclaimed weakly. "I wonder what we'll face in the final round."
"You'll see," Edric said with a grin. "I hope you enjoy it."
"I hope so too," Isla added.
In the nurse's room, Edric gently placed Finn and Leon onto beds. Isla sat nearby.
"You all did great. Rest now," Edric said with a proud smile as he turned to leave.
Just then, Darius Sir entered.
He raised an eyebrow. "Now what? Another set of students injured under your 'tender' training?"
"They're just exhausted," Edric replied with a sheepish grin. "They completed the phase."
"What?" Darius's eyes widened. "All three? You serious?"
"They survived your training, they are quite talented then they survived yours brutal training "
Finn laughed. "Sir, edric training is still better than your training of snakes and insects! That was real torture!"
Darius gave Finn a cold glare.
Finn flinched. "N-No offense! I mean… both trainings were hard! Yours was... horrifying in its own way!"
Edric patted Darius on the back with an awkward laugh—too hard.
CRASH.
Darius flew into the bed and fell on the ground.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! I sometimes forget my strength!" Edric rushed to help.
"Back off! Don't touch me!" Darius groaned on the ground. "Keep your monstrous arms away from me! I'll get up!"
Leon, Finn, and Isla were watching all of this, and they were covering their mouths to stop themselves from laughing.
Later that day...
After taking a rest in the nurse's room, Leon and Finn made their way back to their dorm.
The two were changing after getting back to their dorm, but Leon looked deep in thought. "Finn… when you did genkame [process of meditating for channeling power] did you… feel something inside? As in a presence?"
Finn gave Leon a confused look. "What do you mean?"
"I mean… when you were doing genkame, you were dripping sweat? What was going on with you inside?"
Finn scratched his head. "Honestly, I didn't feel anything like that. Just tried to concentrate on my heartbeat."
Leon nodded, concealing his surprise. Maybe… I'm just the one going through this. I can't tell him yet.
In an attempt to change the subject, he said, "Hey, I think something got in my eye. Can you get a look?"
Leon turned away from the door. Finn stepped in front of Leon and looked right into his eye.
Then—WHAM!
The door burst open. Fanny stood in the doorway, her eyes wide.
"I wanted to let you know something imp—"
She froze.
From her angle, Leon looked like he and Finn were... kissing.
Fanny's cheeks turned crimson and she quickly closed the door. "S-Sorry to interrupt! Continue!"
Leon and Finn blinked. Then the light bulb came on.
"Fanny!" they yelled. "It's not what it looks like!"
From outside, Fanny's voice came, "It's okay! I didn't see anything! You guys continue~!"
"STOP IT!"
"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!!"