In preparation for the upcoming Lunarium Duel, both Valeria and Selene were trying their best to win.
Of course, pressured by both of their grandmothers' age-old rivalry, they, too, wanted that 'reward'.
Knowing Charlotte—
They knew it wouldn't be something simple.
It wouldn't be the Witching Hour's currency, literal gold. It wouldn't be the meager titles. It would be something that changes them.
And that alone—
Was enough reason to go all in.
Their usual routine settled into something rigid.
Classes in the morning, taking in everything their professors taught. Not just the spells themselves, but the logic behind them. Why it worked. How it could be changed. How far it could go.
When lunch came after, the three of them—Valeria, Selene, and sometimes Aurora when she wasn't dragged off by Charlotte—sat together. Just casually enjoying their time together as friends, gossiping, and acting like their age.
Selene glanced at her.
"…You're eating fast."
Valeria didn't look up. "I'm hungry."
"You're always hungry."
"…I'm training."
Selene raised a brow.
"That doesn't change anything."
Valeria clicked her tongue but didn't stop.
"It does. I burn more."
A pause.
Selene watched her for a second longer.
"…You're nervous."
Valeria finally stopped.
"…I'm not."
Selene didn't say anything. Just looked at her.
"…Okay, maybe a little," Valeria muttered, going back to her food. "It's the duel."
"Thought so."
"…You're not?"
Selene shrugged lightly. "…I don't know yet. I never really think about my family's pressure on the matter."
"That doesn't make sense."
"…It will when it starts." Valeria frowned at that but didn't press further.
A small silence settled between them.
"…Don't lose early. I'd rather fight you in the finals," Valeria said after a while.
Selene glanced at her.
"…Same to you."
It was strange.
They didn't push the conversation further. Just returned to their food.
A quiet settled over them, despite being in the coven hall, where students go about their lunches as well.
The quiet was not comfortable, nor awkward.
Just… familiar.
They didn't talk much after that. They really just went back to eating.
Selene still glanced at her sometimes.
Valeria of course noticed.
Though neither of them said anything about it. But they remembered what the other said.
That was enough.
Afternoons, after classes, were for practice.
And that was where things truly changed.
The open plains of the Lunarium, away from the minitown flourishing by the entrance gate, had been turned into a training grounds for students to use. The once quiet plains of moonflowers were no longer quiet.
As the students practice there, all manner of magic scattered the plains. No longer just a place to "try things out." They had become a battlefield. Despite those students still using the three publicly used circulation, people always wonder. What if they could use the Lunarian Principle, the circulation that Charlotte had made and is using? Would they be like Aurora? A frightening thought.
Valeria stood at the center, practicing side by side with the other students, her mana gathering into form.
A weapon began to take shape in her hand—pure mana, condensed into something sharp enough to cut through more than just physical matter.
Her Soul Armament.
As she swung, the air split—
But not cleanly.
"Again."
She didn't need to turn. She already knew who's voice it was from.
Selene.
Valeria reset her stance, exhaling slowly.
"You're watching too closely," she muttered.
"I'm curious about your progress," Selene replied.
"…So am I."
Selene just smiles as she sits by the grassy plains, as the wind blows around them, her hair swaying with the moonflowers.
Valeria clicked her tongue and moved again.
Faster this time.
Her soul, in the shape of a sword, gleamed—mana flooding into her legs, compressing, focusing—She disappeared from her spot.
Or at least—
That's what it should have looked like.
Selene, who was still on the ground, reacted instantly.
In a simple condensed barrier of pure mana, the ground cracked between them.
Seeing the barrier, Valeria was already behind her—blade already mid-swing.
Selene barely moved and created another barrier.
Though, it didn't develop fast enough as It grazed her.
Barely.
Sheathing her Soul Armament to nothingness, she sits beside Selene on the ground.
They just both stare at the endless skies dark night of the Dimension Bubble, frozen after such a display.
Not because they were done. Because they both felt it at the same time.
Something had changed.
They were improving. Fast. Too fast. If their past version could see them, would they have labeled themselves as a Calamity like Aurora or what?
At night, the Lunarium quieted.
Students returned to their respective rooms and slowly, the noise faded in the stillness of the neverending night.
And for the first time that day—
They were alone.
The two, who were still on the plains, still sitting on the ground, surrounded by the swaying flowers.
That was when it hit.
The weight. The expectation.
The thought that losing—
Was not an option.
Not anymore.
Weekends were worse. Because that was when they went home.
And at home—
Was not rest.
It was pressure.
Edith Panthera stood across Valeria.
It was their usual practice. To check on her growth. At first, Edith had thought of just letting her practice with the other coven daughters but, It was far too easy for Valeria.
"Come."
That was all she said.
Valeria didn't hesitate.
Losing before at their first practice, Valeria holds her weapon of pure mana tightly, completely focused.
She moved instantly.
This time, her weapon turned into a glaive, her usual weapon before.
Her entire body shifted as mana concentrated into her legs. The ground beneath her cracked as she launched forward, faster than ever before. Faster than she had ever been.
Her blade came down—
Edith caught it. Just like that. Two fingers. No effort. Valeria's eyes widened.
"…You're become so much faster," Edith said. "But still way too predictable."
Then—
She flicked.
Valeria was sent flying. Crashing across the field of their estate's training grounds.
Pain shot through her body. But she stood regardless.
Immediately.
"…Again."
Meanwhile, on the Raven's estate, Selene's training was no kinder.
Persephone didn't overpower her. Didn't crush her outright. That wasn't her way.
Instead—
She dismantled her.
"Your spells are powerful, yes," Persephone said calmly.
Selene's spells, made with her own mind and cooperated with the Lunarium's teaching were powerful to say the least. She even made the effort to make it so that it works with her circulation technique.
"…But it's still lacking."
Selene clenched her jaw.
"…Again."
She tried.
"…Again."
"…Again."
"…Again."
"…Again."
But the constant word 'Again', always echoed out of her grandmother's mouth. It did help. Yes. Her rough spells were being refined by her grandmother. But the constant hard criticization was already getting to her.
Breaking her down—
Until there was nothing left to rely on.
Except her grandmother was actually enjoying her growth despite that.
Besides that, the other branches noticed. They couldn't not notice. The change was too obvious. Too fast. Too unnatural. Even the main branches—The ones who approved of Lunarium—Felt something shift.
Pride. Yes. But also, unease.
Because this wasn't normal growth. This was way too bizarre. It had no limitations and that type of growth always led somewhere dangerous.
The other branches felt it too. But differently.
Regret.
They had refused outright. No consideration, no compromise. Charlotte Sweeiz was dismissed as a mistake they didn't need to acknowledge, and the Lunarium was written off as nothing more than another short-lived disruption in the order they believed would always hold.
And now—
They watched from the outside.
"…We should've sent them," one muttered. "…Next year."
Even if they hated Charlotte Sweeiz. Even if they refused to acknowledge her methods, they couldn't deny the results anymore. Despite hating it, they could use it to become the new main branch of their family.
Back in the Lunarium—
Valeria and Selene stood across each other again. No instructors. No family. Just them.
"You've improved," Selene said.
Valeria smirked slightly.
"…You too."
A pause.
Then—
"Still not enough."
Selene raised a brow. "You too, huh?"
"Yep. Grandma won't stop nagging about how I fight during practice."
"…I feel you."
It was just the usual kind of conversation between two people who had grown up under families that never really stopped competing with each other.
Somehow, it didn't feel heavy here.
They laughed. They teased. They argued over small things like it meant nothing.
Like it was normal and always been this way.
From a distance, Aurora watched them for a moment.
Then, without warning—
she ran straight toward them.
"Hey!"
And just like that, she dropped into their space like she belonged there too.
And above—
Aster leaned back slightly, observing the many students on the plains.
He couldn't help but smile. Witches and Supernaturals, chatting with each other without prejudice, well for the most part. Not only that but he could see that even Supernaturals were also progressing with their Birthright techniques.
The growth. The pressure. The way they were starting to break past what they used to be.