The sun hadn’t even broken over the hills, yet my eyes were wide open.

  I laid there, motionless in my bunk, staring at the ceiling. The silence of the dormitory pressed down on me like a weight. I hadn’t slept a second last night. Maybe not even the night before.

  My head felt like it was full of broken glass, every thought jagged and splintered.

  “Your father would be disappointed.”

  “Compared to him, you're nothing.”

  “A fly.”

  Raphael’s voice echoed inside me on a loop, poisoning every attempt to think straight.

  I clutched the bedsheets tighter. My breath hitched. My chest started to tighten. Harder, deeper until the air barely made it through. My lungs burned.

  I was drowning in my own head again.

  “Not now... not again,” I muttered, gripping my hair.

  My vision blurred as the walls seemed to close in, and the smallest tremble overtook my fingers. My heart was hammering. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.

  Why did I think I could keep up?

  “Your dad was one of the strongest warriors I’ve ever fought beside.”

  My breathing grew faster, erratic. Every word from yesterday was a nail driven into my skull. The pressure built until the only thing I could hear was that stupid ticking again.

  Tick. Tick. Tick.

  I covered my ears. Shut my eyes. Tried to make it all go away. I don’t know how long I stayed like that, but eventually... the storm started to quiet.

  Just enough.

  Just enough to think.

  My breathing steadied. Barely.

  I sat up.

  The dorm was empty. Everyone else had probably gone off to train by now, especially Eli’s squad. And here I was, curled up like some weakling in bed because I couldn’t face the idea of being alone.

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  The word made my skin crawl.

  "...Get up." I whispered to myself. "You need to move."

  I stood, slowly. My legs were weak, but not from exhaustion this time. From something worse.

  I needed air. I needed to be anywhere else.

  I pulled on a hoodie and slipped out of the dorm quietly, hoping no one would catch me looking like hell. The early morning breeze brushed against my face as I made my way into the woods near camp, following the dirt path deeper than I normally would.

  Every step away from the dorm, the more I could feel the fog in my chest starting to lift. Slightly.

  The forest was quiet. Still soaked in dew, the sun barely piercing through the thick canopy above. Just the sound of my footsteps, the faint rustling of leaves, and birds starting to chirp.

  This place was the only place I could think clearly. The only place where the weight of Raphael’s words didn’t suffocate me.

  “I feel sorry that his son couldn’t live up to his name.”

  I stopped walking and shut my eyes.

  Was he right?

  Would my dad, if he saw me now. Would he be ashamed of what I’ve become?

  I remembered the stories my mom used to tell me. Not the exaggerated heroic ones, but the quiet ones. How he'd wake up before dawn just to cook breakfast for her. How he'd train in silence but would always return home with a soft smile, a flower sometimes tucked into his belt for her.

  He sounded kind.

  Gentle.

  Nothing like me.

  My grip tightened. "Damn it..."

  I missed mom.

  And Kristine, too.

  But this wasn’t the time to fall apart. I forced that weight back down. I had two weeks to figure things out. Two weeks to become someone worthy of stepping onto that battlefield.

  I turned around, ready to head back.

  That’s when I saw it.

  A small creature peeking from behind a tree.

  “…You again,” I whispered.

  It was the same fluffy thing I saw a few nights back. Round body, oversized ears, gleaming black eyes that shimmered in the light.

  It tilted its head at me.

  I took a cautious step forward.

  It squeaked and bolted.

  “Hey—wait!” I shouted, instinct taking over as I sprinted after it.

  Branches whipped at my arms, underbrush crunching under my boots as I gave chase. The little thing was fast, but not fast enough to lose me entirely. I caught flashes of its tail bouncing ahead like a ghost through the trees.

  It leapt over rocks, darted under fallen logs, and I followed without question.

  Deeper.

  Deeper into the forest.

  Before I knew it, I passed a part of the mountain range I didn’t recognize.

  And that’s when I stopped.

  I doubled over, panting, trying to catch my breath.

  “Damn... where are you going...?”

  I looked up, scanning the treeline.

  I could still see the creature in the distance. Its outline flickered near a ridge. Just standing there.

  Waiting.

  I hesitated.

  I was way past camp grounds now. If I kept going, it’d be hard to find my way back.

  My rational side told me to turn around. To head back, train, do something useful.

  But then again... something deep inside tugged at me.

  A whisper.

  A thread.

  I took one step forward.

  Then another.

  And then I was running again.

  The slope was steeper now. I scrambled up the ridge, grabbing onto roots and stones, until I reached the top.

  And everything changed.

  The forest opened into a hidden valley bathed in golden light. Trees with silver bark and broad leaves surrounded the edges. Strange flowers bloomed in colors I didn’t recognize. The wind carried a hum—soft, like a distant lullaby.

  And there, standing in the clearing—

  Was her.

  An angel.

  At least, that’s the only word my brain could form when I saw her.

  She stood tall and composed, wrapped in elegant forest-green and white robes that shimmered like sunlight through leaves. Her skin was pale, near luminescent. But it was her *wings* that made me stop breathing.

  Six of them.

  Each patterned like leaves in motion, rippling and curling as if catching an invisible breeze. They weren’t feathers, no. They were alive. Like they were breathing along with her.

  She was gently stroking the side of a massive creature beside her. It bore the muscular frame of a lion, hooved legs like a deer, twisted ram horns, and a thick, scaly tail that flicked behind it lazily. Its fur was mottled with scales beast and armor in one.

  She didn’t look surprised to see me.

  In fact, she smiled.

  Her emerald eyes glinted softly, and her voice rang out. Not loud, but it carried effortlessly across the clearing.

  “Took you long enough,” she said.

  My breath caught in my throat.

  “I’ve been expecting you, Rei Moutsuki.”

  I had no idea what was going to happen next.

  But whatever it was...

  It had already begun.

  [End of Chapter]