Things did not change loudly between Eira and Neo; they shifted in small, almost invisible ways. Neo still walked beside him, still spoke to him, still laughed with him, but there was a thin, unfamiliar distance now, like standing on opposite sides of a clear glass wall. Eira noticed it in the pauses between their conversations, in the way Neo hesitated before speaking, in the way his smiles arrived a heartbeat later than before.
They sat together one evening on the edge of the training field watching other students practice, Neo plucking at the grass beside him as he spoke lightly about how busy Eira had been lately, and Eira nodded, unsure how to explain everything that had changed inside him.
When Neo said it was not a bad thing, just different, Eira tried to reassure him that they were still good, and Neo smiled and agreed, but neither of them sounded completely certain.
Ryn became Eira's anchor in a quieter, steadier way, spending long evenings with him in the workshop surrounded by tools, wires, glowing crystals and half-finished devices.
Ryn worked with focused excitement, showing him a small rune-embedded stabilizer he had designed to regulate mana output during moments of stress, not to increase power but to prevent fluctuations, and Eira realized how brilliant the idea was when they tested it together and watched the mana readings finally hold steady.
Ryn admitted he wanted to submit it for the academy exam that would decide who was chosen for the national tournament, and Eira encouraged him, knowing how much it meant to him to finally be seen for his work.
Lara's training changed as well once Flake stayed close to her, her mana becoming calmer and smoother instead of surging unpredictably or collapsing inward. The little dragon seemed fond of her, following her around the field, curling at her feet, once even falling asleep in her lap, and when she carefully asked if she could name it and chose "Flake," the creature chirped happily as if approving the choice.
With daily training, slow casting, breathing exercises and careful focus, Lara finally managed to release a clean spell without pain or backlash, laughing softly in disbelief when she succeeded for the first time, and Eira felt something warm settle in his chest as he watched her gain control over something that had once only hurt her.
By the time the academy announced the upcoming exams to select participants for the national tournament, something had shifted among all of them, not in a way that felt broken or lost, but in a way that felt like growth quietly reshaping old spaces.
Friendships deepened in some places and softened in others, emotions settled into unfamiliar forms, and the future — the competition, the attention, the powers awakening and the dangers waiting beyond the academy — stood patiently ahead of them, not waiting for them to feel ready, only waiting for them to step forward.