After retreating, emotions broke open again.
Lyra snapped:
"I can't keep watching you almost die!"
Kael answered softly:
"You won't watch. You'll fight with us."
Rylan added:
"You don't carry this alone."
The stranger said:
"That's what loving someone means."
Lyra froze.
He had never said the word before.
Silence.
Powerful silence.
Lyra realized something:
She loved all three.
Differently.
But completely.
They trained harder than ever.
Lyra learned to split her absorption ability.
Control intake.
Filter corruption.
Redirect safely.
Kael trained her combat instincts.
Rylan trained reaction speed.
The stranger trained emotional control.
Together they made her stronger than prophecy alone ever could.
Lyra unlocked a new ability:
Power sharing.
Lyra tested the new ability.
She linked her energy with the three of them.
A shared aura formed.
Four powers.
One system.
No one had seen this before.
Rylan whispered:
"This is insane."
Kael smiled:
"This is perfect."
The stranger said quietly:
"This is dangerous."
Lyra answered:
"I know."
But she also knew:
This was how they would win.
Far away…
Seraph smiled.
"Good."
"Now she is ready for Phase Two."