The training room echoed with the heavy sound of blows being exchanged inside. There was no audience, not even a noisy spectator. Just the five of us, facing the two of them.
The ground was covered in a thin layer that looked like ashes. The energy domes were turned off. Here, the pain would be real.
My brothers had called me and my allies. I knew right away this wasn't just to talk.
Pedro snapped his chain, the sound echoing like a monster stretching its body.
Bruno, always calm, stood with his spear planted in the ground, saying nothing. His eyes were enough: two stones shaped by hardship and unshakable dedication to training.
Simon was sitting higher up, in the shadows, arms crossed, the only judge of what was about to happen. He gave no order, not even advice, only that look that weighed heavier than any judgment.
— So, little troublemakers, Pedro said with a grin, ready to test your limits? HAHAHA!
I glanced at my team.
Asha was already gripping her halberd tightly.
Elias adjusted his stance like he was repeating a choreography.
Lyra pressed her lips together, the healer about to step into a war she could not win.
And Dorian… his smile was too wide, too nervous.
— Shield formation! Everyone knows what to do! I shouted with confidence.
Pedro burst out laughing.
— Formation?! Oh, this is going to be fun! HAHAHA!
The fight started, and before we could even breathe, Pedro threw his chain in a wide arc. It suddenly became thicker. I blocked with Ventus, but the impact still made me lose balance.
Asha shouted, jumping forward with her halberd raised, filled with her electric energy. Bruno stepped forward calmly, and with a simple movement of his spear, he stopped her attack and threw her against the wall in an instant.
— Too direct, he commented.
Elias tried to compensate, raising a wall of stone to protect us. Pedro laughed even louder.
His chain wrapped around the block, and with a quick pull, he tore it out and sent it back at us.
Dorian screamed and released a sound wave. The wall exploded into pieces, but the shockwave scattered us.
— Good, Bruno said calmly. You know how to defend yourselves, but it cost you your precious formation.
I stood up again, calling my blades. Three flashes appeared, orbiting around me.
Pedro raised an eyebrow, interested.
— Wow little brother, you have three now! You never stop surprising me!
I launched myself forward, Fulmen wrapping around my fist. I pretended to aim at Pedro but instead attacked Bruno. The impact shook the room with a shockwave, but Bruno didn't move at all. He took my hit like I punched empty air, then pushed me back with a simple movement of his arm.
He sent me flying ten meters away. I couldn't believe it.
I quickly understood that my victory against the dragon was partly thanks to those two monsters. They were even stronger than before.
Lyra, panicking, placed her hands on Asha to close her wounds. Pedro took advantage of it. His chain cracked through the air, grabbed Lyra's arm, and pulled her to the ground.
— Bad reflex, little one. In a real war, healers fall first. Didn't you know?
He enjoyed mocking us like that… I preferred when I was on his side…
Elias rushed forward, raising another stone barrier to protect Lyra. Pedro laughed again.
— You think you can protect the world with weak rocks? Watch how easily everything falls apart.
He hit the ground with his bare fist. The floor cracked. Elias stepped back, sweat on his forehead.
Dorian, breathing heavily, shouted:
— We need to separate them! Iron, take Bruno, I'll handle Pedro!
— You're not handling anything, Pedro laughed, already behind him.
His chain struck the air like lightning, and Dorian was thrown against the wall. His cry froze my blood.
I charged Bruno again, twelve simple blades rushing toward the giant.
Bruno blocked every strike with his spear, without any visible effort. Not a single drop of sweat on his forehead. His technique was perfect, with no wasted movement.
He looked me straight in the eyes.
— Are you holding back against me, Iron?
His fist came from below and hit my stomach brutally, lifting me off the ground. I fell heavily, throwing up my last meal. At that moment, I felt relief… relief that they were not my real enemies.
Asha, still standing, tried one last charge. Bruno stopped her with the shaft of his spear, not hurting her, just pinning her to the ground.
Pedro spun his chain around us, closing his trap.
— Looks like this fight is over, he said. You're not bad, but still too soft… not good if you plan to go to Arcadia.
Pedro made his chain disappear. Bruno put away his spear.
No celebration. No arrogance. Just giants reminding children where the limit was.
Pedro turned toward me, his smile now serious.
— You shouldn't hold back like that, Iron. Especially when facing an enemy stronger than you. Do you want to die young or what…
His gaze became heavy.
— If you think the Academy is cruel… wait until you see what is waiting for you outside.
Bruno added:
— Don't take it the wrong way, but if you meet a Xilon member with this mindset and this level… you might as well give up and go home.
Silence fell. Even Simon, sitting above us, didn't interrupt the moment.
I fell backward, exhausted… but I still smiled.
I felt no anger, no shame.
Just the certainty that the gap in front of us was much bigger than I imagined. My brothers truly were monsters in the making.
We were still sweating, some of us covered in scratches, when we were taken down into a dark room.
One table.
Holographic maps glowing in red and blue light, slowly eating the shadows.
Simon joined us. Beside him stood an Aurora mentor I had never seen before.
A still figure, metallic gray hair, and a smile too thin to be honest.
— Sit down, he said.
His voice was not loud. That was worse… it carried the certainty that we would obey immediately.
We sat down. Elias first, stiff. Asha suspicious. Lyra tense. Dorian tried a nervous smile but quickly stayed quiet. I remained slightly behind, my eyes fixed on the maps.
The man moved the holographic image with one gesture.
A city appeared. A sea of skyscrapers, crowded avenues, bridges almost collapsing under their own weight.
Where Aurora shined… Arcadia suffocated.
— Arcadia City, he said.
— A mess? Elias asked.
Simon answered instead.
— More like an open wound. Officially under Guidence control. Unofficially… no one really controls Arcadia. It is a stomach that swallows everything: human trafficking, black markets, prostitution, fallen heirs.
Asha almost spat:
— Then why send us there?
— Because, Simon said, someone is starting to build a name for himself. And that name, if we let it grow, will become a problem. We believe you are now skilled enough to deal with it.
He was lying.
The image changed. A silhouette appeared. Tall… monstrous… a born psychopath. His torso was covered in scars that almost looked alive.
His face was unclear, swallowed by shadow. But his eyes… two wells filled with calm madness.
— Aegon Targus, also known as "The Butcher of Arcadia", the instructor announced.
— An heir? Lyra asked carefully.
Simon shook his head.
— Worse. An Outsider. Born without knowing what a Fracture is. Invisible to Kalion.
Asha frowned.
— Then how…?
— Izac Drakthorne, Simon interrupted.
The name fell like a blade. Even the air seemed to freeze.
Dorian whispered:
— The Cursed…
Simon continued:
— Aegon was taken in by Izac years ago, and he awakened his fracture. He was trained, sharpened, forged. But he quickly became too unstable, too violent, even for Xilon. Izac rejected him. And Aegon… decided to create his own faction.
The instructor continued, his fingers moving across the map.
— Arcadia is now his territory. He turned the city into a laboratory. His "followers" are creatures of flesh and blood, shaped by his power. Those victims were once human.
I swallowed.
— His power?
Simon looked directly into my eyes.
— He manipulates blood… he controls it, shapes it, and more. Every drop spilled makes him stronger.
A chill ran down my spine.
Asha growled:
— And we are supposed to get close to that… thing?
— No, the instructor said quickly. Your mission is to locate his base and report back to us. You are strictly forbidden from attacking. Forbidden…
Pedro and Bruno had entered the room quietly, leaning against the wall.
— Listen carefully, Pedro said. This is not a game between heirs. This man does not care about your honor. He kills… and he enjoys killing…
Bruno added, his voice low but heavy:
— And remember, there will be no glory in your death if you fail. If you face him… run, by any means necessary.
Lyra turned pale. Elias nodded, jaw tight.
I kept staring at the shadow on the map.
A rejected man… like me.
Except he chose a completely different path.
Simon finally placed his hands on the table.
— You leave tomorrow at dawn. The trip will take seven hours.
He looked at me.
— Iron.
— Yes?
— You more than anyone must understand. A person who survives with that kind of burden becomes either a weapon… or a monster. Arcadia will show which one you really are.
Then the instructor closed the map.
— The briefing is over…
I left the room with the others. For the first time in a long while, I felt my stomach tighten.
And it was not because of a duel, or a tournament between young heirs. This time… it was not just a test.
This was a hunt.
A deadly one.