Morning sunlight crept over the academy walls, casting long shadows across Iron Resolve's training grounds.
Kael was already awake.
Sweat rolled down his back as he drove his fists into the training post again and again. His shoulder still ached from the beast's claws, the wound wrapped tightly, but pain had long stopped being something he feared.
Pain meant he was still moving forward.
"Idiot," Lyra muttered from behind him.
Kael paused and turned.
She stood a short distance away, arms crossed as usual, but her expression was different—less sharp, less distant. Her Aether pulsed gently around her body, no longer flaring wildly like before.
"You should rest," she added. "Captain Aldren said—"
"I'll rest when my team doesn't start every mission at a disadvantage," Kael replied calmly.
Lyra frowned… then looked away.
"…You're stubborn."
Kael smiled faintly.
---
Training Under Pressure
Iron Resolve gathered soon after.
Captain Aldren watched them carefully. "You removed one black star," he said. "That doesn't make you strong. It means the academy is watching you now."
Mira exhaled. "That's not comforting."
"It shouldn't be," Aldren replied. "Train."
They did.
Harder than before.
Mira practiced controlled bursts instead of raw speed. Taren focused on forming thinner, denser stone rather than large shields. Lyra trained separately at first, compressing her Aether again and again, sweat dripping down her temples as she fought for control.
Kael moved between them, offering corrections, positioning drills, timing advice.
At some point, no one questioned why they were listening to the powerless one.
It just… happened.
---
Crimson Pressure
Across the academy, Crimson Talon trained in brilliance.
Their gold stars increased again.
Whispers followed Iron Resolve wherever they went now.
"They survived their first mission."
"Still the worst team, though."
"For now."
Rion Valeris stood at the edge of the courtyard, watching Kael train from afar.
"He's changing them," Rion murmured.
A teammate scoffed. "Without Aether? Impossible."
Rion's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Nothing about him is normal."
---
Unspoken Bonds
That evening, Iron Resolve sat together for the first time—sharing food, exhausted but quieter than usual.
Lyra sat beside Kael.
Not across from him.
Not away.
Beside him.
"…Thank you," she said suddenly, voice low.
Kael looked at her. "For what?"
"For trusting me," she replied. "When I couldn't."
Their eyes met.
Something shifted—subtle, fragile, unspoken.
Taren cleared his throat loudly. "So uh… next mission. Think we can remove another black star?"
Kael nodded. "We will."
Lyra watched him closely.
This boy had no Aether.
No noble blood.
No guarantee of success.
And yet…
He made people believe.
---
Shadows Stirring
Late that night, deep beyond the kingdom's borders, robed figures gathered around a cracked stone altar.
"The academy teams are mobilizing more frequently," one murmured.
A tall figure stepped forward, his presence bending the air itself.
"Good," Malrik Noctis said calmly. "Let them grow."
Dark Aether rippled outward.
"The stronger they become," he continued, "the sweeter their despair will be."
---
Stars Don't Lie
The rankings updated again.
Iron Resolve:
Black Stars – 6
Gold Stars – 1
Not much.
But enough.
Kael stared at the board, fists clenched.
"This is just the beginning," he said.
Behind him, his team stood taller.
Iron Resolve was no longer just surviving.
It was advancing.