Lucion exhaled, rolling the scroll between his fingers. 'At least there's this.'
He glanced at Selena.
His thoughts drifted back to that moment: a sudden gust of wind, sharp and unnatural.
'Her guards, no doubt.'
His fingers curled tighter around the stone he'd picked up. 'That wind wasn't normal… A warning. A line I wasn't meant to cross.'
'That's why I backed off, why I didn't press her any further about her reason for being in Sunfall.'
Still, he was thankful Selena hadn't taken offense at the question.
If she had…
He shook his head.
'She dodged it for a reason. I'll let it rest for now.'
Selena noticed his distant gaze and furrowed her brows. "What are you thinking about? You've been spacing out a lot these days."
Lucion blinked, then smiled quickly, deflecting. "Nothing... Just wondering why, you didn't ask about my technique."
"Oh? You want to show me?" she said, a faint smirk curling her lips.
'So predictable. Blind trust, no caution... Naive,' she thought, yet the fondness in her gaze told a different story.
Most people hesitated to reveal their techniques so openly.
But Lucion knew. the previous him was naïve, trusting too easily.
Even so, 'I don't really mind showing her. Besides... I only learned it because of her.'
He recalled the ingredients. A shiver ran down his spine.
Thinking of the cost still made his stomach knot.
But then she surprised him.
"Never show your power to strangers—or even allies. Keep that in mind, Luci."
'This girl…'
He realized how much she genuinely cared.
"But still, Sis… I want to show you." He smiled. "You're family, not an outsider."
Her face froze for a split second, eyes widening, lips parting ever so slightly.
Then she smiled, brushing back a strand of hair.
"Alright then, show me what you've got."
She gave a curt nod.
Lucion turned and moved toward a pile of weather-worn stones at the edge of the clearing, scanning for anything unusual.
His boots crunched softly against gravel as he crouched near a larger rock jutting from the ground.
Selena remained behind, her posture relaxed but her gaze sharp, tracking his movements without a word.
Just as Lucion reached for something glinting between the stones, her expression shifted in an instant. She didn't flinch only narrowed her eyes.
Her voice dropped to a glacial whisper. "Serra."
The wind answered like a blade drawn from its sheath.
A shadow peeled away from a nearby tree.
Tall, clad in dark leathers.
A silver insignia gleamed at her collar, marking her as one of the elite within the Star Born ranks.
The woman bowed, stiffly. "My lady."
"What," Selena said, voice laced with steel, "were you doing?"
Serra's jaw tensed. "He was crossing a line. Asking about matters best left untouched—your lineage, your intentions. That is not for a lowborn to…"
"Enough."
The word cracked like a whip. Sharp. Final.
"You don't decide what he's allowed to ask. If I tolerate his impertinence, you certainly don't get to object."
A tense silence followed. Serra's fingers twitched at her side before she lowered her head. "...Forgive me, my lady."
Selena's gaze remained unyielding.
"This isn't the first time. You interfered. Again."
Serra's nostrils flared. "I'm sworn to protect the Zyphar bloodline. Even from distractions."
The air thickened between them. Static. Volatile.
Selena stepped forward, her words drenched in venom. "Lucion is not a distraction. He's under my protection."
Serra opened her mouth. "But…"
"Don't." Selena's voice cut through her like a knife. "You just arrived. You don't know him. And if you ever undermine me again…"
Her eyes narrowed, voice lowering to a threat barely above a whisper.
"I'll have you reassigned to the border outposts. Permanently."
Serra's knuckles turned white, but she bowed lower, swallowing the sting of humiliation. "Understood."
Without another word, she turned and moved swiftly, her footsteps silent against the earth.
Selena watched until the woman's figure vanished into the trees.
'She bears a silver insignia that alone speaks volumes. I never commanded her,' Selena thought bitterly. 'She answers to Father. Not me. And yesterday... she didn't come to protect. She came to collect.'
***
Lucion, completely unaware of the tension behind him, examined the stone slab beside him.
'Time to test this.'
He raised his right hand slowly. Focused.
Crimson light danced across his fingers, then condensed.
"Bullet Seed."
A single bead formed on his fingertip—small, glowing like crystallized blood.
He aimed at the stone and let it fly.
Thup!
The bead struck the slab's surface. It didn't pierce through completely.
Fine cracks spiderwebbed outward, and at the center, a small hollow had formed, faintly glowing from within.
It looked like a miniature sun trapped in stone.
'Not enough.'
"… Not much penetration power," he muttered, analyzing the impact.
Still, he grinned. 'Not bad for a first try. Not getting mocked by her again. This was just a warm-up…'
"Sis! Over here!" he called, waving her over.
Selena approached, her expression composed, but when her eyes fell on the stone slab and Lucion's glowing hand, a flicker of emotion crossed her face
She halted mid-step, lips parting in surprise.
Lucion caught the flicker of her expression and chuckled inwardly.
She moved closer, staring at the small glowing hollow in the rock. "That's the Crimson Resilience Art? Already? But you only just…"
Her shock shifted into something fiercer pride, disbelief, maybe even a hint of awe.
Seeing this, Lucion muttered to himself.
'Oh, my dear sis… This isn't just a normal technique—it's a magical one. One of its biggest advantages is that reaching the novice level of mastery is actually pretty easy.'
"Do it again." she told him, her voice calm, but her thoughts were far from it.
'I thought he just learned the technique… What could he even show me at this point? But this? Already reaching this level? This isn't just fast—it's unbelievable. Is he really always this quick at learning?'
She looked at Lucion in disbelief, this time unable to hide her expression.
Lucion exhaled slowly, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips
"Alright," he said,
Channeling more essence.
This time, he tried to split the energy form two beads.
The glow stuttered. Fizzled. Only one bead emerged.
'Tch. Bloom's gonna take a while.'
Selena noticed his expression. "What's wrong?"
"When I try to form more than one seed, only one forms."
He didn't tell her about Bloom
She crossed her arms again. "...You're upset about that?"
He blinked. "Uh. Yeah?"
A laugh escaped her short, incredulous.
"Gods. You really are his spitting image."
Lucion stiffened.
He refocused and aimed once more.
Thup!
This time, the bead punched straight through the rock.
Clean and powerful.
A plume of dust rose in its wake.
Both of them stared at the result, wide-eyed.
"…This…" Selena was the first to break the silence. "How did you do this?"
'That's exactly what I was wondering too,'
Lucion stared at his glowing fingertip.
"I… don't know."
In the shadows, even Serra was taken aback, eyes widening slightly.
Then Lucion scratched his head, chuckling nervously.
"Maybe… because I'm awakened now?"
'It's the only thing that makes sense.'
'But… what about before?'
"Hm," Selena murmured. "It did seem plausible."
But her gaze landed on Lucion's fingertip.
Just as he was about to say more.
Flick!
She tapped his forehead.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"Your finger, idiot," she said flatly, arms crossed.
Her expression was somewhere between annoyance, concern, and reluctant fondness, like an older sister watching her reckless little brother.
Lucion blinked, then finally glanced at his finger.
"…Oh."
The skin around his fingertip had swelled, flushed a deep red. A thin line of blood trickled from beneath the nail.
The glow had vanished, but a dull ache pulsed in its place, sharp and rhythmic. He winced.
"I didn't even feel it at first."
Selena rolled her eyes. "That's the worst part with techniques like this. They numb you until the damage's already done."
"Let's go to the city," her voice clipped.
He opened his mouth to ask why, but she didn't acknowledge him.
"Just don't forget to wear your mask," she added without looking back, slipping on her own silver veil that shimmered faintly.
She began walking, her pace swift and determined, leaving Lucion to catch up with a sigh and a quiet grumble.
Seeing her walk ahead, and knowing all too well how stubborn she could be, he could only let out a resigned sigh.
Serra, still lingering in the shadows, watched Lucion and Selena's exchange in silence.
She was no longer just dismissive of him. Now, she was watching. Measuring.
'A lowborn… mastering a master-level technique in hours?'
The wind howled through the trees, carrying the scent of coming rain.
'…What else is this boy hiding?' Serra wondered, just as her figure melted back into the shadows.