The Eon hall held the light of almost-sunrise, thin stripes of it coming through the high windows and warmed the Luminite's dull colors into softer, more vibrant shades. Between the columns, the black panels waited in silence.
Raizen stood alone in the center ring.
His jacket lay folded on a ledge by the wall. Both blades sat low at his back, sheathed. Breath deep in his lungs, not his throat. Knees soft but not weak. Hands relaxed to the edge of a grip but no further.
Everything was just as Kori has instructed him. Today was the third morning in a row he'd come here before the bell-ringer even started his climb, and the room had stopped feeling like the place where he always failed... Mostly.
