The next day—
Everything felt different.
Jelo, Atlas, and Mira arrived early this time.
No complaints.
No hesitation.
Just focus.
The morning air carried a coolness that hadn't been there before — or maybe it had always been there, and they were only now calm enough to notice it. The training field looked the same. Same cracked earth. Same faint scorch marks from the days before. Same open sky pressing down without mercy.
But the three of them moved differently.
No dragging feet. No sideways glances checking if the others were as miserable as they were. Jelo walked with his hands loose at his sides, breathing steady. Atlas rolled his shoulders once and left them there, relaxed. Mira didn't say anything when they arrived — but she didn't need to. The fact that she was already scanning the field, already thinking, said enough.
They were ready before Tongen even appeared.
⸻
Tongen stood waiting, as usual.
But this time…
There was something new.
