Chapter 953 — Lessons of the Heart
The training fields of the Hollow were empty at dawn. Mist curled low over the grass, soft and silver, catching the rising sun in ribbons of light. The air was crisp — the kind that made breath visible and motion sharper.
Lyria's blade sang through the silence, a clean, cutting arc that hummed as it sliced the mist. Across from her, Eris watched carefully, every movement mirrored by the faint glow of her chaos-forged eyes.
"Good," Lyria said between strikes. "But don't just watch. Feel it. Fighting isn't just control and calculation — it's rhythm, balance, emotion. You let those guide your movements."
Eris tilted her head, brows knitting. "Emotion is unpredictable. Unreliable."
Lyria chuckled, lowering her sword. "Exactly. That's what makes it powerful."
The two stood opposite one another, blades low, breathing in sync. Birds began to stir in the nearby treeline, and the quiet hum of the Hollow awakening rippled through the distance.
Lyria gestured for Eris to ready her weapon — a staff of obsidian glass shot through with veins of faint violet light, a reflection of the chaos that pulsed within her.
"Lesson two," Lyria said softly. "Vulnerability. You don't just trust your partner with your life — you let them see you. All the cracks, the fears, the things you hide from everyone else. That's how real bonds form. That's how Kael and I became what we are."
Eris frowned slightly. "And you believe I can… learn that?"
"You already are," Lyria said. "You just haven't realized it yet."
They began to spar — slow at first, a dance of measured strikes and parries. Lyria was patient, her movements fluid, her corrections gentle. Eris was precise, almost unnervingly so, as if her instincts were built from equations rather than intuition. But as minutes passed, something began to change.
Eris loosened. Her steps gained rhythm. Her strikes gained emotion.
Lyria felt it immediately — the faint pulse of warmth radiating from Eris, that same flicker she'd seen when Eris laughed for the first time days ago.
"You're thinking less," Lyria noted between parries.
"I'm… feeling more," Eris replied, and for the first time, her tone wasn't neutral — it was alive, flushed with quiet pride.
Lyria smiled. "That's it."
The spar ended in a lock — Lyria's blade pressed lightly to Eris's collar, Eris's staff hovering just above Lyria's shoulder. Both women breathing hard, eyes meeting, neither quite willing to yield.
Then, they laughed — sudden, unguarded.
Eris's laughter was rare and imperfect, but genuine.
"I believe," Eris said, still catching her breath, "I am beginning to enjoy this."
Lyria leaned back against the fence, wiping sweat from her brow. "You're not the only one. You're a quick learner, Eris. And…" — her voice softened — "I think you're starting to understand what we mean when we talk about trust."
Eris looked down at her hands. "Trust," she murmured. "It feels… lighter than I expected."
"That's because it's not something you carry," Lyria said. "It's something you share."
The two women stood in silence for a moment, listening to the distant hum of the Hollow. Then Lyria sighed and glanced toward the northern watchtower, where the first messenger crows had already begun their flights.
"Kael's been restless," she said. "He didn't sleep much last night. Keeps pacing that study of his, talking with Varik and the scouts."
Eris nodded, her expression darkening slightly. "He fears the hero."
Lyria's brow furrowed. "He's faced gods, armies, and monsters that would make mortals tremble. But a hero…" She exhaled. "That's something the Hollow's never fought before."
Eris's gaze grew distant. "A hero is an unknown variable. They are chaos… given purpose. But not our kind of chaos."
Lyria turned to her, curious. "You mean divine chaos?"
"Yes." Eris's tone was thoughtful, almost analytical. "Divine chaos is directional. It flows according to the will of a god, not the nature of the world. Kael's chaos was born from freedom — unbound, unclaimed. A hero's, if blessed, is the opposite. It is control masquerading as purpose."
Lyria crossed her arms, frowning. "So what you're saying is… this hero isn't just dangerous because of power, but because they believe they're right."
"Exactly." Eris nodded slowly. "And belief… is the purest form of destruction."
The words hung in the cool air for a long time.
Lyria sat on the low stone wall, gazing toward the sunlight spilling across the cliffs. "Kael won't admit it, but this hero worries him. He's got plans for armies, traps for gods, even contingency vaults for divine plagues. But a hero?" She smiled faintly, sadly. "He doesn't know how to fight someone who thinks they're the story's protagonist."
Eris looked at her with quiet intensity. "Then perhaps he doesn't have to fight alone."
Lyria blinked, caught off guard by the tone — not cold, not analytical, but quietly fierce. Eris's eyes glowed faintly, that soft violet light swirling like smoke.
"You'd protect him?"
Eris tilted her head. "I was born of his will. But lately… I think I simply want to."
That simple confession carried more weight than either expected. Lyria's heart gave a strange, tight pull — an unfamiliar mix of warmth and unease. She studied Eris's face, the way her lips parted slightly when she spoke, the faint color that touched her cheeks when she grew self-conscious.
"You're changing, Eris," Lyria said softly. "And not just because of Kael."
Eris blinked. "You sound… conflicted."
Lyria laughed quietly. "Maybe I am. Maybe I didn't expect to like you this much."
A rare smile tugged at Eris's lips — not the perfect, practiced expression she used with the council, but something fragile and true. "Then perhaps we are both learning what it means to be human."
They shared a small, lingering silence. Somewhere in the distance, the bells of the Hollow rang — the hour of council briefing. Kael would be waiting, pacing, plotting.
Lyria stood, sheathing her blade. "Come on. Let's go see what kind of trouble he's planning to prevent this time."
Eris followed, though her gaze lingered for a moment longer on the rising horizon.
She didn't know what a hero truly was — not yet — but if one was coming for Kael, then they would have to go through the Witch of Chaos first.
And this time, Eris intended to fight not out of creation's command, but out of choice.