Training became merciless.
Rowan no longer held back.
"You cannot rely on the moon alone," he said as Alisha struggled to maintain her Radiance barrier. "If it can be silenced once, it can happen again."
Her muscles burned. Sweat soaked her training robes.
"I don't understand him," she gasped. "He felt… familiar."
"That's what makes him dangerous."
Rowan traced a forbidden rune into the sand.
"This is the Eclipse Path," he said. "Balance between light and shadow. Your mother forbade its use."
Alisha froze. "Then why show me?"
"Because the enemy already walks it."
The rune flared—dark and silver intertwined.
Alisha stepped forward.
The power didn't overwhelm her.
It listened.
Her breath caught.
For the first time, her magic answered without the moon.