The training field beneath the Secret Archive wasn't a "field" in any normal sense.
It was a floating, shifting arena, hanging over an endless void of mirrored light. Platforms moved in real-time, responding to combat intent. Gravity changed orientation every few minutes. The place wasn't designed for comfort; it was designed to destroy weakness.
Kairo stood in the center of it, arms folded.
He had been told to wait.
But he hadn't expected the voices behind him.
"So this is the new wolf-boy?"A dry, amused tone male.
"He's cuter than I expected."A feminine voice, warm and teasing.
"He's too clean. I vote we knock him into the gravity pit."That one came from the ceiling. Kairo didn't look up.
Then came a voice that shut them all up.
Calm.
Commanding.
And familiar.
"Stand down. He's mine."
Kairo turned sharply.
And nearly forgot to breathe.
Elira Dawn stood at the far end of the platform, coat fluttering behind her. No longer in academy attire.
Now she wore the black-silver uniform of a Celestial Squad Captain, her shoulders bearing the triple-star sigil of Shadow Unit 7, an elite division reserved only for field commanders trusted to lead war-class mages.
She stepped toward him.
Eyes locked.
"Surprised?" she asked softly.
Kairo blinked once.
"You're… above Celestial rank."
She nodded. "I was placed there after my first mythic flame retrieval."
He tilted his head.
"You never told me."
She stopped a meter in front of him, raising one brow.
"And you never told me you were carrying an aspect with a kill count older than empires."
Touché.
But then, her gaze softened.
"You did well."
Kairo looked away briefly. "…Thanks."
Behind her, the rest of the team arrived, each one more chaotic than the last.
"Alright, alright, you win. He's hot. But can he dodge me?"
A lithe girl with short blue hair and silver chakrams slid in from the side, Levi, ranked assassin and speed-type aspect wielder.
She grinned as she circled Kairo.
"You like smart girls? Because I lie about everything but my aim."
Kairo blinked.
"…What?"
Levi winked. "You're adorable."
"Ignore her," came a tired voice.
A tall man with wind-burned skin and a coffee mug appeared next, yawning as he adjusted the massive sword on his back.
"I'm Rook. Lightning-class. I throw storms when I'm annoyed. Which is always."
He sipped his mug.
"Please don't flirt with him, Levi. I need him functional."
From the shadows crawled a barefoot, wild-eyed girl with sharpened teeth and fur-tuft ears.
"Kairo smells like burnt destiny," she whispered, eyes wide.
"That's Saya," Elira muttered to him. "Don't feed her sugar."
"I heard that," Saya growled.
After ten minutes of chaos and introductions, Kairo found himself standing beside Elira on a raised platform as her team went through their routines, chaotic, deadly, but synchronized.
Kairo glanced at her.
"You're the one who trained them?"
She smirked.
"Who do you think taught Rook to summon a thunder hurricane?"
He turned toward her fully now.
The battlefields were gone.
The tension was gone.
Just them.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.
Her voice was softer now.
"Because you weren't ready."
A pause.
"And because I wasn't sure if I'd fall for you."
His breath caught.
"What?"
She met his gaze.
Calm.
Unapologetic.
"I said what I said."
From below, Levi cupped her hands and shouted:
"He's BLUSHING!"
"Saya, write this down. Rook, prep a wedding circle!"
"I WILL push you into the anti-grav pit!" Elira barked.
The whole squad erupted in laughter.
But Kairo didn't look away from her.
Neither did she.
"You meant that?" he asked.
Elira nodded once.
"I don't fall easily."
"But I don't miss, either."