Location: Sword Pocket Dimension → Secret Realm (Deep Zone → Forest)
Date/Time: Outside time (Months 11-12)
Realm: Lower Realm — Obsidian Academy Territory
"Final assessment," Kazren said. "Seven waves. Progressive difficulty. No golden light between waves. No rest. No stopping."
Jayde settled into first position. Vael'kir hummed in her hand — eager, bright, the runes flickering with anticipation that matched her own. A year. Twelve months of wind blades and fundamental cuts and footwork drills and named techniques and combination flows and the slow, grinding, magnificent work of becoming something she hadn't been before.
"Rules?" she asked.
"Survive. Win. Do not embarrass me."
"In that order?"
"In any order you wish. The third is non-negotiable."
The first construct materialised. Then another. Then five more. A pack — fast, low, Flamewrought-level, spreading to flank her the way pack hunters did, cutting off angles, testing whether she'd freeze or fight.
She fought.
