Part I — The Calm After the Hunt
CLANG!!
The massive alloy doors slammed shut.
The metallic echo lingered throughout the gravity chamber long after Caelion had disappeared.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
His final words continued to reverberate within the silence.
"Tomorrow..."
"We begin learning how to kill."
The pressure had vanished.
Yet no one felt relieved.
For the first time since arriving at the Gathering of Prodigies...
We understood.
Everything before today...
Had merely been preparation.
I slowly exhaled.
The air felt lighter.
The weight pressing upon my body had disappeared, but my muscles still remembered it.
Every fibre ached.
Every joint protested.
The gravity chamber had released us.
Our bodies had not.
Then—
A faint hum spread across the chamber.
MMMMMMMM...
The ancient runes engraved into the floor began glowing once more.
Not with destructive force.
With restoration.
I watched silently.
Cracks running across the black alloy floor slowly sealed themselves.
Fragments of broken stone dissolved into streams of silver light before returning to the walls from which they had come.
Scorch marks faded.
Dust vanished.
Residual spiritual energy dispersed into the air like morning mist.
Within moments...
The battlefield had become flawless once again.
It was as though the battle had never happened.
No broken floor.
No shattered walls.
No lingering destruction.
Only silence.
A chamber built not merely to endure combat...
But to welcome it.
Again.
And again.
Endless battle.
Endless growth.
I slowly turned my attention toward the others.
The difference between us was obvious.
Several prodigies massaged bruised shoulders.
Others winced as fractured bones slowly knitted themselves back together beneath the effects of medicinal energy.
Fresh cuts remained across countless robes.
Blood stained sleeves.
Faces.
Hands.
Yet...
None of the injuries were fatal.
Painful.
Yes.
Permanent.
No.
Everything had been measured.
Calculated.
Controlled.
Caelion had pushed us to the edge...
Without allowing us to fall beyond it.
My gaze drifted toward my own arm.
The shallow wound left by the white tiger's self-destruction had already stopped bleeding.
Only a thin crimson line remained.
A reminder.
Not of failure.
Of assumption.
"Never believe the battle is over..."
His words echoed quietly within my thoughts.
I clenched my fist.
Never again.
A soft laugh suddenly escaped someone nearby.
"I've never been beaten this badly."
Another snorted.
"Be grateful you're still standing."
"I barely am."
A few weary chuckles spread through the chamber.
The tension eased slightly.
Only slightly.
Because no one had forgotten.
We had survived.
That was all.
Then—
RUMBLE...
The enormous alloy doors slowly opened once more.
Every conversation died instantly.
Every head turned.
Footsteps echoed beyond the entrance.
Steady.
Measured.
Unhurried.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Caelion stepped back into the chamber.
His black robes were immaculate.
Not a wrinkle.
Not a trace of dust.
The terrifying instructor who had moments ago forced us beyond our limits...
Now wore the relaxed smile of an ordinary teacher.
If I hadn't experienced it myself...
I would have believed they were two different people.
His goldish-blue eyes calmly swept across the chamber.
They carried neither hostility nor warmth.
Only observation.
"Come together."
His voice remained gentle.
Almost pleasant.
No one moved.
Instinct.
Every one of us had learned the same lesson.
Relaxing around Caelion was dangerous.
Seeing our hesitation...
He chuckled.
"So..."
"You remembered."
A few students exchanged awkward glances.
Only then did we begin walking.
Slowly.
Cautiously.
As though approaching a sleeping beast.
We stopped several metres before him, naturally forming a straight line.
No one lowered their guard.
No one relaxed.
Caelion looked at us for several long moments before smiling.
"Have a seat."
He lightly snapped his fingers.
Snap.
Ripples of spiritual energy spread across the chamber floor.
Tables rose from streams of condensed energy.
Chairs followed.
Perfectly shaped.
Perfectly solid.
A crystal jug of water appeared upon every table beside several empty cups.
Everything looked real enough to touch.
Real enough to use.
Yet every object had been created from pure spiritual energy.
Several prodigies stared openly.
Even I found it impressive.
Such precise manipulation required absolute control.
Not merely overwhelming power.
Without another word—
The gravity shifted.
The invisible burden pressing against our bodies lessened considerably.
Twenty times gravity...
Became ten.
Collective sighs escaped throughout the chamber.
Tight muscles relaxed.
Heavy breathing slowed.
Several students instinctively stretched aching shoulders.
Yet...
No one sat.
We remained standing exactly where we were.
Watching him.
Waiting.
Ready.
Caelion tilted his head.
A puzzled expression crossed his face.
"Why is no one sitting?"
Silence.
His smile widened.
"...I see."
He laughed softly before raising both hands in exaggerated surrender.
"All right."
"I understand."
His eyes wandered lazily across the group.
"Some of you dislike me."
A brief pause.
"Some of you..."
His smile became strangely amused.
"...probably hate me."
A few embarrassed expressions appeared.
Others carefully avoided meeting his eyes.
Mine didn't.
Our gazes met briefly.
His goldish-blue eyes reflected calm certainty.
Mine remained cold.
Unreadable.
The corners of my lips lifted almost imperceptibly.
Not a smile.
Not quite.
He noticed.
Of course he did.
Then—
The smile vanished from his face.
Instantly.
The atmosphere changed.
The warm instructor disappeared.
The predator returned.
His voice remained calm.
Yet every word carried invisible weight.
"You are not here..."
"...to hear pleasant stories."
"You are not here..."
"...to enjoy yourselves."
His eyes swept across every prodigy.
"You are here..."
"...to survive."
Silence filled the chamber.
"Understand this."
"The world outside your clans..."
"...does not care who your parents are."
"It does not care how talented you are."
"It does not care how pure your bloodline is."
He took one measured step forward.
"It will kill you..."
"...all the same."
No one dared interrupt.
For the first time...
His words carried something beyond authority.
Experience.
He wasn't repeating something he had been taught.
He had lived it.
Then—
His expression softened once more.
Only slightly.
"I've seen enough."
A faint smile returned.
"I now understand every one of your strengths."
His gaze sharpened.
"And every one of your weaknesses."
Another pause.
"Good."
"That means..."
"I can finally begin teaching you properly."
The chamber became even quieter.
Tomorrow...
The real training would begin.
Caelion slowly folded his hands behind his back.
"Now..."
His eyes swept calmly across every face.
"Let's discuss..."
A brief silence.
"...the real enemy."
No one spoke.
His goldish-blue eyes seemed to deepen.
"The enemy..."
"...flowing through your own veins."
— End of Part I —