Looking into Changing Star's sincere gray eyes, Audun couldn't help but relent in his heart.
As someone who had also taught that little shit head, he could somewhat understand why Nephis had come to him with such a shocking request.
"Do... Do you even have any free time? From what I've heard, you're the busiest person in the Castle right now."
Though the expression on her face didn't change, Nephis's shoulders loosened almost imperceptibly.
"I'll clear some time from my schedule."
Audun nodded.
"In that case, just have one of your handmaidens notify me whenever you want to train. As long as I'm not doing anything super important, I'll be there."
Nephis flashed him a rare smile.
"Thank you."
Mirroring her expression, Audun shrugged.
"Don't get your hopes up too much, though. This is only my second time actually teaching swordsmanship... And Sunny wasn't exactly a normal student."
Changing Star raised a brow and pointed a finger at herself.
".... I'm normal?"
"Ah-... You make an excellent point."
Audun scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
A wry smile wormed its way onto Nephis's face.
"Well then, since we've come to an agreement, I won't keep you any longer."
*******
****
**
*
Despite claiming that she would clear out her schedule, it wasn't until a couple of days later that Nephis and Audun actually had their first training session, and during those few days, the teacher had put quite a bit of thought into how to nurture his new student.
With the sun just barely peaking over the horizon and the Dark Sea beginning its retreat, the two met near the entrance of the Bright Castle.
"Sorry for the wait- It took a while to find suitable people to delegate my tasks to."
Briefly recalling Cassie's resentful statements from the night before, Audun suppressed a chuckle.
The swordsman cleared his throat.
"Regardless of the reason, it hasn't been long enough to truly test my patience. Save your remorse for a more appropriate offense."
Changing Star blinked, caught slightly off guard by the curtness of his tone.
"You're being quite... formal.".
Audun raised a brow.
"Did you expect me to act the same? If I can't muster up the dignity or authority befitting one of my expertise, what kind of teacher would I be?"
Nephis offered an appreciative nod.
After gesturing for her to follow, Audun and Nephis began to climb down the marble steps leading to the outer settlement
The two traveled in silence, an arrangement that neither objected to, and eventually found their way to a familiar secluded clearing.
Briefly scanning the area, Nephis furrowed her brow.
"Isn't this one of Sunny's old training grounds?"
Audun's eyes widened ever so slightly.
"You recognize this place?"
Changing Star nodded.
"Yes. When we were first getting settled in the outer settlement, Sunny used to use this place to practice his swordsmanship... Is this where we'll be training from now on?"
Audun paused briefly before offering a vague answer.
"Sort of."
Nephis gave him a slightly confused look.
"It'll be easier to show you than to explain."
Four incandescent platinum jewels shimmered into existence and began to orbit the former constellation.
The Star of Memory, the Star of Vocalization, the Star of Detachment, and the Star of Judgement.
Audun had unlocked the Star of Detachment during his brief stint in the labyrinth right after he killed the cursed herald, and he had unlocked the Star of Judgement even earlier: during his three-month stay with Sunny.
The important one for right now, however, was the Star of Detachment.
Activating its authority, Audun began to paint the secluded clearing with the hues of his inner world.
Nephis could only blink in surprise as a serene yet lonely realm expanded around her.
The white and gray sky of the forgotten shore was overwritten by a glittering blanket of dusk, and the hard ground they stood on was replaced with an impossibly still obsidian ocean.
"Where-"
Audun's expression remained neutral.
"This is a projection of my inner world- well, you probably call it a Soul Sea, and it is the place where all of your lessons will be held."
"Your... Soul Sea?"
The swordsman nodded.
"Indeed. However, I'd recommend not paying it much thought. When you get strong enough, this technique will come to you far more naturally than if I were to explain it."
With her gaze darting around the constellations' realm, Nephis slowly mulled over his words, though she wasn't left with her thoughts for long.
A loud clap echoed in the seemingly endless realm.
"You may gawk at the scenery later, preferably during a break. Shall we get started?"
Nephis finally snapped out of her revelry, coughing into her fist as she cast a sidelong glance at her new instructor.
"Yes... What do you need me to do?"
Audun took a few steps back and reached towards the sky.
The light of one of the countless stars embedded in the night dimmed slightly as an unadorned estoc appeared in his hands.
"You and Sunny are starting from fundamentally different bases, and thus, for me to get a firm grasp of where you stand in relation, we shall start our first lesson off with a spar."
Nephis simply nodded and summoned her weapon.
As the longsword materialized in her hands, Changing Star flowed forward, her steps methodical yet possessing a certain graceful cadence.
Her gray eyes gleamed with analytic light as they remained locked on Audun's unmoving form.
Nephis's blade made no noise as it traced through the air, the silvery flash of steel barely visible to the naked eye.
Yet, as expected, Audun dodged without much effort.
Changing Star's eyes narrowed.
Retreating half a pace, she carefully eyed both the swordsman and the environment, shifting her stance as she closed in once more.
Leading with her shoulder, Nephis pivoted her foot into a rather straightforward thrust.
Audun met the blade straight on with his own, redirecting it upwards, with a flick of his wrist.
However, as soon as he made contact with her blade, Nephis loosened her grip on her blade and followed the momentum, her posture shifting as she lurched forward to strike Audun's forehead with her pomel.
Unfortunately, before she could capitalize on the opening she created, Audun had already adapted.
Since his blade was in an awkward position and there wasn't enough distance to work with, the swordsman simply lowered his center of gravity, let go of his sword, and slipped through by her right flank.
As soon as she realized her attack failed, Changing Star shifted her weight, redirecting her built-up momentum and shooting to the side in an attempt to open up the distance once more.
During this time, however, Audun had already retrieved his estoc.
With a long stride, he closed the gap that Nephis had opened up and attacked with a probing thrust to her right shoulder.
The linear action was easily parried by Nephis; however, this time, instead of closing in, Changing Star jumped backwards.
Audun didn't press the advantage, choosing a more passive approach, but this outcome was seemingly predicted by the silver-haired girl.
In a bizarre display of footwork, she switched direction in a split second and drew a graceful arc with her longsword, intent on cleaving her teacher in half.
Unfortunately for her, Audun's reaction was almost immediate.
Barely even shifting the position of his blade, he caught Nephis's longsword with his guard.
Being in such an awkward position, with Audun holding control of her blade, Changing Star tried to retreat once more.
But-
This time, Audun chose to press the advantage.
In a split second, the swordsman closed the distance, and although she reacted fast enough to let go of her sword and guard the rest of her body with her arms, he was easily able to send her flying a few meters back with a clean shoulder tackle.
Nephis recovered quickly, unsummoning then resummoning her blade as she got ready for another attack.
Fortunately for her, however, that attack never came.
"Hm~ I've seen enough."
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(A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter-
Well, you better have.... I stayed up hella late writing this!
I'm choosing to focus a bit more on Nephis's training rather than Sunny's because, well, it's frankly more entertaining for me to write.
There are a few more chapters before I begin the siege of the Spire, so I hope you'll bear with me till then!
Also, I'm still sort of thinking about my next step forward after the forgotten shore arc.
Originally, I had a plan I wanted to stick to, but that plan involved at least 200-300 chapters on a single arc, and frankly, I don't know if I could follow through with something like that.
So I've pivoted slightly and started redrafting my timeline... which is also why this chapter is kinda late.
Mb y'all!
Anyway, Thanks for reading this fic-
And special thanks to those gorgeous readers donating me stones~ :D
I still don't really know what they do or how they factor into the rankings, but since they're a sign of support, I shall continue to view them as my sign to keep on writing!
Well... uh, that's practically it, I think?
See y'all next time, and don't forget to leave a comment or a review if you like what you're reading or if you have any critiques you want me to see.)