Solan Neumann went to organize her belongings, her thoughts revolving around Shion Lan and how he had refused to meet her. The gloom appeared on her beautiful face.
"Milady! Why are you so silent ? Is that because of him?!" Polter asked.
"I don't know why Milady is too attached to him but Lord Lan didn't gave her a chance." Bloom said as she saw everything.
"..."
But Solan ignored them completely, her mind drifting back to something that had happened a few days earlier.
She had been with a friend when she overheard a girl speaking admiringly about Shion. Solan froze and glared at the girl with anger.
"What's wrong?" her friend asked.
"Nothing." Solan said as she turned her eyes away from her but her friend said,
"I think Shion Lan will be amazing in the future. Sol! I heard you spent some time with him."
"Ah! Actually...."
Solan's face flushed. It wasn't just some time… it was more than fifteen years....as Solan not Sol Hart.
Her friend continued, "Tell me, how can I get close to him and make him like me?"
At those words, Solan's eyes turned blood-red, as if she wanted to kill her. All traces of embarrassment vanished—until the girl smiled , laughed and said,
"As I thought… you fell in love with him."
The words struck Solan like lightning. Her face flushed deeply again, and she stuttered—but her friend didn't give her a chance to respond.
"Listen, it's fine. Many girls like him, especially after what happened last year—or more precisely, the second half of it...."
And began to mention his achievements, "Gaining the king's recognition on his own, starting from nothing and.... and… that kind of person attracts a lot of girls. But if you hesitate, someone else will take him."
Solan's body trembled at those words.
"Show him your love."
...
Now, as she packed her things, Solan asked softly,
"Bloom… do you think Shion could love me? Especially after I hid the truth from him?"
Bloom replied calmly, "He's a rational man."
Relief appeared on Solan's face—until Bloom continued,
"He might hate you."
"Ah..?! Wh...Why?!" Solan asked anxiously.
"He might see it as deception—that you lied to him. And I don't think he's the type to forgive something like that."
Polter intervened, "I think milady shouldn't get involved with him."
Bloom frowned. "Bolter, ever since the annual celebration, you haven't been yourself. Once with him and other against him. What happened?"
Polter remembered Shi Yun Lan placing a mark on him—how he could be killed at any moment. He had decided their paths should never cross again… but now his lady wanted to confess to Shion. He couldn't stay silent.
"Shion Lan is not as simple as he seems!"
Bloom raised an eyebrow. "Did you discover that while possessing his body last time?"
"No!... It's...."
"Enough!" Solan snapped. Then she calmed herself.
"Shion said he'll listen to me after the test, right? Then I'll just wait."
She looked at the mirror as the true form of her appeared and said, "If I told him my reasons...., he would forgive me..... Right?"
"..."
"..."
No one could talk as the both of them saw their lady as she would go mad.
...
Inside the Veins Domain, Shion was training fiercely against Shi Yun Lan. He had grown stronger—so much that Shi Yun Lan could only defeat him by using his blood aura.
Just as Shi Yun Lan was about to cut Shion's neck, he said,
"Why don't you train the new technique you created?"
Shion blinked confusedly and asked, "What new technique??"
"The technique you created when you were against the Dark Crows."
Shion recalled the battle against the Dark Crows, when Shi Yun Lan took over his body and forcibly merged the fire and water stars. That led him to conceive a new technique,
(Stellar Summet: Path of the Stellar River).
"That technique requires successfully merging fire and water—and I can't do that," Shion replied.
Shi Yun Lan smirked. "Let me tell you something…"
He continued,
"Sword aura differs from person to person—even if identical twins using the same technique. Everyone has something unique. I, for example, have the (Aura of Death) that none can imitate it even if they trained in the middle of corpses. You have the (Stellar Aura) that can't be imitated even if someone lived in celestial palace. I use blood to create my sword aura and merge it with death… but you might be able to do something else—since you have two bodies."
Shion thought for a moment—then felt his neck cut again, as usual.
"Think about what I said."
Shion woke up to a new morning. There was still time before departure, so he sat on his bed, recalling the feeling of creating that technique.
"Fire Star… Water Star…"
Heat rose in one hand, while a steady flow filled the other. He tried to merge them as he followed the tracks of his energy coming from the limbs and gathered in the centre of his body.
"I think I understand it now...."
but a backlash hit him, making him cough blood.
"'breath' .... 'breath' .... Is it impossible without using (Star Death)?"
He reflected on his foundation,
"All elements are contradictory yet connected… stars burn in the cold void, shine in darkness… there is no cold without heat, no darkness without light…"
Just as he was about to reach a realization, sunlight hit him—he was late.
"Damnit!!"
...
He rushed to the teleportation circles outside the academy, where teams had already begun gathering. His team was still waiting.
"Hello everyone!"
He felt embarrassed for being late, but Violet Night said calmly,
"It seems you've been working hard. Our turn is in five hours."
"…."
So his worry was pointless.
He sat and observed others. Glass Sano stood with members of his family—white hair, blue eyes—while others with similar features gathered nearby. Royal teams grouped together as well.
Kin Light was in the same team as Baro Ferrer, while Fiore Tai was assigned elsewhere.
"If Princess Jina organized this… it should be fine, right?"
Shion returned to his thoughts.
'(Water Bomb) uses explosive principles like fire… (Fire Paths) flows like water… even that idiot used something similar…'
He remembered Shun Ranus' (Fire Waves)—fire moving like water.
Contradictory… yet connected.
Stars appeared in his eyes as he prepared to meditate again—
"Senior Lan!"
But a voice interrupted him.
The second Princess Jina Joul sat beside him.
'What does she want now… interrupting my training?!'
Though frustrated, he hid it.
"Our mission this year," she said, "is to investigate child disappearances in Kito Province. It may take at least a month."
Shion nodded. He had taken such a mission before—and failed miserably.
He asked,
"Will other teams participate? Missions like this often require multiple groups."
Jina sighed.
"Yes. Shun Ranus' team, plus two others—one under my brother, one independent."
She was clearly frustrated.
Shion noticed and instinctively placed his hand on her head—but quickly stopped, realizing they were in public.
Instead, he said gently,
"Don't worry, Your Highness. I'll be by your side—and I'll stop anyone who stands in your way."
His calm, warm voice made her blush deeply.
Their eyes met—
Her heart skipped.
She stood abruptly and hurried toward Violet like a flustered child.
Shion smiled softly—
—and suddenly felt a crushing pressure behind him.
Solan stood there.
"..."
"..."
He cleaned his throat and asked,
"What is it, Sol?"
She asked coldly,
"Shion… Solan wanted to tell you something important, but you refused. Why?"
"She seemed serious. Since she agreed to postpone it, it can wait. I'm not in a state to deal with something that could affect the test."
He tried to get out of it, but Solan pressed further.
"She wasn't asking you for something—she wanted to tell you something important to her. I think… you're breaking her heart."
Shion's tone sharpened.
"Then what do you expect me to do?!"
She stepped back slightly.
"Just come back safe from this test. Don't let anyone get close to you."
'Solan Neumann… you're dead, and I'm alive. A relationship between us isn't possible… so why all this? And I won't let her get Sol either!'
He looked at Sol and said, "I don't want to hate her. But I think she would do something bad to reach me."
"Like what?"
"Killing you to get your body."
"Wh... What??"
Shion stood and said, "I noticed that, you have a physic like her .... I don't mean hitting on you but....."
"Stupid!"
Solan got away leaving him alone.
"..."
When it was time, Shion went with his team. He saw Shun Ranus glaring at him. Sixteen students stood there, tension rising—it felt less like an investigation… and more like a battlefield.
Once the teleportation circle activated, they were transported instantly.
...
In Kito Province.
The ruler, Kedna Kito, welcomed them warmly.
"Welcome to my humble province. I've been informed that students from Karath Academy came to investigate the children's disappearance. I'm grateful."
She ordered preparations immediately.
Soon, rooms were assigned—each team placed in a separate section of the estate.
After settling in, they attended a grand banquet filled with luxurious dishes. Then they met the guard captain to collect reports before returning to discuss.
Gathered in Violet's room, she spoke first,
"Before anything else—you must understand that instructors will be observing us. We cannot show weakness or carelessness. Understood?"
"Yes!" everyone answered firmly.