The world around her seemed sharper than before. Every rustle of the wind, every faint vibration of the ground beneath her feet — Livia could feel them as if the training field itself had come alive.
Her heart was still racing from the spar, but beneath the pounding of her pulse was something new. Something awake.
She stared at her hands for a long moment. They trembled slightly, not from fear, but from something else — an unfamiliar current coursing beneath her skin.
It was as though something long dormant within her had stirred during that exchange with Elder Roman.
"Livia," Florita's voice reached her gently, drawing her back from her thoughts. "Are you alright?"
"I…" Livia swallowed hard, lowering her staff slowly. "I don't know. It felt different. Everything did."
Elder Roman, who was now leaning lightly against his own staff, regarded her with a thoughtful gaze. "Different how?"
