The training grounds of the Order of the Black Sun stretched before Rael like a battlefield frozen in time. Towering stone pillars, weathered by centuries of war, loomed overhead. The scent of steel and sweat clung to the air.
Rael stood in the center of the arena, his fingers still aching from the blood oath he had sworn the night before. He had expected to be thrown into combat training immediately, but instead, Lady Selene Drakos paced before him, arms folded.
"You wield power you barely understand," she said. "That makes you dangerous—to yourself and to us."
Rael frowned but said nothing.
Selene tilted her head. "Tell me, what do you feel when you call upon your power?"
He hesitated. Hunger. A craving for blood. The abyss whispered to him, a presence lurking beneath his skin. He remembered the moment he had first unleashed it, the way his vision had blurred into crimson, the way flesh had torn beneath his claws like paper.
"...Like something is trying to consume me," he admitted.
Selene nodded, as if expecting the answer. "Then control begins with discipline. You need to learn restraint before you learn how to fight."
She turned and gestured toward a rack of weapons. "Pick one."
Rael scanned the selection. Swords, spears, axes—all weapons meant for war. His fingers hovered over a longsword before hesitating. Would it be enough? Would cold steel matter when the abyss itself raged within him?
His eyes landed on a dagger. Small, precise, deadly. Something about it felt right. He picked it up, testing the weight in his hand.
Selene smirked. "Interesting choice. Most would reach for something grander. But a dagger is a killer's weapon, not a warrior's."
Rael met her gaze. "I don't plan to fight fair."
Selene's smirk widened. "Good. Then let's begin."
She lunged without warning.
Rael barely had time to react before her boot struck his stomach, sending him stumbling back. She moved like a shadow, closing the distance in an instant. A blade flashed toward his throat. He barely dodged, rolling across the dirt.
"Too slow," Selene said, standing over him. "The power inside you is useless if your body can't keep up."
Rael grit his teeth. He had survived the abyss. He had survived the chains of Varenthia. He would not be brought down so easily.
He pushed himself to his feet, eyes burning with determination.
Selene raised her sword again, her expression unreadable. "Come, abyss-born. Show me what you've got."
And so, his training began.