My consciousness began to return slowly.The darkness in my vision was replaced by a faint light. I could hear muffled voices — my parents, their friends... and Nari."Move aside," Nari said urgently, kneeling beside Rei. She placed her hands over him and began using her ability."What happened here?" — that was the question on everyone's face.They turned toward the motionless figure of 1283, and their expressions froze."What is a Veldori soldier doing here?" Their eyes could barely comprehend what they were seeing."How did they manage to defeat him?" Siena asked, kneeling down to inspect his mana crystal. "I don't know how many orbs he possessed, but one thing's certain — he was a black-level mana user." Her words deepened the shock in everyone's eyes."He wasn't alone."The words left my lips through heavy breaths as I weakly pointed toward the cave. "There were more of them… inside." My arm trembled; I could barely hold it up."Don't push yourself," Nari said softly, her voice t

The remaining months passed swiftly and quietly, with little to mark their passing.For my fourteenth birthday, my parents gave me a new neglance to replace the one I'd broken during the battle against Unit 1283. Rei had already grown used to living with us; each day, he blended more naturally into our lives. As for Senna, I had only spoken to her a few times since then — brief exchanges when we crossed paths during training.I had finally reached the seventh Mana Orb. That meant it was time for another trial.For safety, I told Senna to stay by my side while I attempted it — in case something went wrong."Mother, I'm heading out to train with Senna!" I said, finishing my breakfast in a hurry before standing up and rushing to the door."All right, son — but don't be late. You still need to pack when you get back," she called out, rinsing the dishes."Pack? Why do I need to pack?" I asked, confused."You're leaving for Asterin tomorrow," she replied, her tone soft but her lips curved d

The sunlight spilling into the room woke me.It was calm and regal—like the palace itself. Slowly, I got out of bed and glanced at Rei, still asleep. I didn’t wake him; it was far too early to leave anyway.“They said we’ll gather at the gate at noon before passing through,” I murmured to myself.Since I still had time and assumed everyone else was asleep, I decided to find the training hall and start my daily practice.I stepped out of the room and wandered through the corridors, admiring the paintings on the walls.One of them depicted the royal family—Saya Rin was there, the only child.“So, she doesn’t have any siblings… that means she’ll become the next queen of Eldora. I bet many people won’t look kindly upon that.”I whispered to myself, my gaze lingering on her painted smile.“Then that’s why she said what she did yesterday,” I realized.Her words from the dinner now made sense. “She’s trying to gain supporters. Clever. If she finds strong allies, her position will be secure—n