I woke up to the sound of someone breathing softly against my chest.
This... was not a normal occurrence.
I opened my eyes cautiously. Sara was curled up on my bed, her head resting on my shoulder and one arm draped over my stomach. Thank God she was still fully clothed, but she definitely wasn't in that chair she had been sitting in last night.
"This is going to need an explanation," I grunted.
Her eyelashes fluttered open. She looked at me, realized her position, and her face turned crimson instantly.
"I... this... it's impossible... I think..." She scrambled backward, nearly falling off the bed in the process. "I fell asleep in the chair, was I sleepwalking? Do I sleepwalk? I don't think I have that habit..."
"Sara. Breathe."
"I am breathing! I'm breathing very well! An excellent breathing process is happening right this second!"
"You're panicking."
"I'm not panicking, I'm just..." She stopped and took a deep breath. "Fine. I'm a little panicked. I didn't plan on waking up in your bed."
"I know. The chair was uncomfortable. You likely moved in your sleep subconsciously. The other bed has nothing on it—it's hard—so you chose mine." I sat up and ran a hand through my hair to straighten it. "It's fine."
"It is not fine! What if someone saw... what if my father finds out..."
"Your father is three hundred miles away and blissfully unaware. Calm down."
She looked at me, then at the bed. "Did... did anything happen?"
"No. You were asleep the whole time. Nothing happened."
"Oh." She seemed relieved, but was she also... slightly disappointed? "Good. I mean, not that I 'didn't want it' to, just accidentally... you know what, I'm going to stop talking now."
"A wise decision."
She stood up and checked her wrinkled dress. "What time is it?"
"About 3:45 AM. We have training in fifteen minutes."
"Fifteen... what? No. That's madness. Training was better at 5:00."
"It's 4:00 AM from now on. I told you."
"NO, YOU DIDN'T!"
"Oh. Must have slipped my mind." I pulled on my training clothes. "You should go. And brush your hair. You look like you just woke up in someone else's bed."
"I ACTUALLY just woke up in someone else's bed!"
"That's exactly what I'm saying."
She threw a pillow at me. I caught it without looking.
"I hate you," she said, heading for the door.
"No, you don't. Remember kissing me yesterday?"
"That was just a temporary lapse in judgment!"
"You kissed me twice."
"Because you're an idiot who doesn't listen!"
She slammed the door shut as she left.
I smiled to myself. "Good morning to you too."
"Bravo, Master," Selena's voice rang out, dripping with sarcasm. "Very romantic. 'You look like you just woke up in someone else's bed.' After that line, you're definitely getting a third kiss."
"I'm not trying to get a third kiss."
"Liar," Azrael said firmly. "You've been thinking about kissing her again since the moment you woke up. We can feel your thoughts, remember?"
"Then learn to ignore them."
"We are a part of your consciousness. Ignoring is impossible."
"Then suffer in silence."
"Where's the fun in that?" Mordayn's voice sounded cheerful. "Besides, watching you mess up romantic interactions after 127 cycles is our greatest entertainment in decades."
"I'm so glad my emotional incompetence brings you joy."
"It truly does," the three of them said in unison.
I severed the mental link and headed outside.
The old training grounds were located behind the dormitory towers, tucked between the edge of the forest and the rocky cliffs. It was secret, secluded, and the perfect place for the brutal training sessions that would get me in trouble if any official ever saw them.
It was also completely on the opposite side of the girls' dormitory.
I arrived at exactly 4:00 AM. The field was empty and dark, illuminated only by a few mana-lamps I had set up yesterday.
At 4:05 AM, Sara arrived; she was exhausted and had a bit of a temper, but she was ready. She had changed clothes and pulled her hair back.
"This is cruelty and inhumane treatment," she said.
"This is preparation. Demons don't wait for a convenient time to attack."
"Demons also don't require you to be awake at 4:00 AM."
"Minor details."
Celeste appeared at 4:12 AM, looking like she had been "risen from the dead." "I hate you. I hate all of this. I hate this decision."
"Noted. Start with the warm-up exercises."
At 4:15 AM, Luna appeared out of nowhere. "Good morning. Even earlier than yesterday, I see."
"You don't sleep. It shouldn't matter to you."
"True. But I must point out that waking teenage girls at 3:30 AM is an act bordering on villainy."
"I never claimed to be a hero."
We began the session—basic forms, combat movements, mana control drills. The same routine as yesterday, just earlier and everyone was grumpier.
About thirty minutes later, I heard footsteps in the corridor.
Raven emerged from the darkness, looking far too alert for 4:30 AM.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, not stopping as I corrected Sara's stance.
"I couldn't sleep. I was working in my room—remember I'm analyzing that soul shard? Anyway, I looked out the window, saw mana signatures moving, and curiosity got the better of me." She held up her notebook. "Also, I want to document your training methods. For research."
"Your room is in the East Tower. This is the back of the West Tower. You can't see this place from there."
"My eyes are very sharp."
"The laws of geometry and field of vision don't work like that."
"Are you going to let me stay, or are we going to keep arguing about textbook rules?"
I sighed. "Stay. But don't interfere."
She sat on a rock and took out her notebook and pen. The pen wasn't an ordinary pen—it glowed faintly with some sort of enchantment.
The training continued. I pushed them through movements, forms, and mana drills. I corrected their stances, sharpened their techniques, and pointed out every flaw.
Around 5:30 AM, I decided to demonstrate something.
"Both of you, take a break. Drink some water. I want to show you something."
They collapsed onto the grass gratefully. I walked to the center of the field, took a deep breath, and summoned my swords.
They appeared in my hands—twin crescents made of bone-white metal (not actually metal). Black and purple energy crawled along their edges like living shadows.
"These are just weapons," I said, spinning them through the air. "But they are also a warning. Watch."
I began the movements—a fusion of Earth's kung fu, Ethermoor swordsmanship, and techniques I had invented myself over 127 cycles. The blades sang through the air, an extension of my will.
Then I added the elements.
Water poured along the blades, freezing into sharp ice. Fire erupted, turning the ice into steam. Soil and rocks rose from the ground, swirling around me like a miniature storm. The wind picked it all up, creating a vortex of elemental chaos that I controlled with mere thought.
When I stopped, the training ground was simultaneously scorched, frozen, and drenched.
"This is what true mastery looks like," I said. "It's not about the elements; you'll learn those in time. It's about control. Precision. Forcing four conflicting powers to work in harmony without destroying each other."
Celeste's mouth was hanging open. "How long did it take to learn that?"
"About ninety cycles. Give or take."
"That wasn't very encouraging."
"It's the truth." I dismissed the swords. "Now..."
"Wait," Raven interrupted, standing up. Her eyes were fixed on the spot where the swords had vanished. "Can I... see them one more time?"
"Why?"
"Because I'm studying your soul shard, and I suspect those swords are linked to your curse anchor. They are made of your bone, yes, but they are also forged from your accumulated death traumas. If I could examine them directly..."
"No."
"Just for a second..."
"I said no. They are dangerous."
"I am a curse expert. I can handle it..."
She reached out her hand toward the void where the swords had disappeared, as if forcing them to manifest.
And they did.
Responding to her intent, drawn by her fascination with curses, my swords materialized again. By her will.
"Raven, don't touch—"
It was too late.
Her hand gripped one blade tight.
The world exploded.
Not physically, though. The mana shock was horrific—purple-black lightning arced outward, the air pressure dropped, and reality itself seemed to crack around the point of contact.
Raven's eyes rolled back. Her body went rigid.
Then she began to scream.
Not from pain. From something much worse. It was the cry of someone experiencing an eternal moment, a compressed lifetime of deaths from 127 cycles all at once.
I dismissed the swords instantly. She hit the ground, body convulsing, blood trickling from her nose and ears.
"RAVEN!" Sara rushed to her side immediately.
I knelt and checked her pulse. Alive. Breathing. But her eyes were moving violently and erratically under her closed lids.
"What happened to her?" Celeste asked, terrified.
"She touched my blades. My blades are forged from compressed death trauma. She just..." I closed my eyes. "She saw it all. Every cycle. Every death. Every moment of agony and loss. All at once."
"Will she recover?"
"I don't know. No one has ever touched them before."
Luna suddenly appeared beside us, kneeling on Raven's other side. Her hands glowed faintly over the girl's head. "She's trapped in her own personal time loop. She's living your deaths over and over. We have to get her out before her mind breaks completely."
"How?"
"You created the loop. You have to end it." Luna looked at me. "Go inside her mind. Find her. Bring her back."
"I can't..."
"You can. You have soul shards. You've split your consciousness before. Do it again."
Fine. Because this morning wasn't complicated enough already.
I placed my hands on Raven's temples, closed my eyes, and dove into the depths of her mind.