The land changed long before the banners appeared.
Owen felt it in the air first.
Landergrey despite being small, had always felt heavy with stone, fog, and iron discipline. Oriana was different. The roads widened like they were made for marching armies. The earth itself felt alive, threaded with mana veins so dense Owen's skin prickled as the carriage crossed the border. Towers rose in the distance, white stone laced with gold, not defensive but declarative. This wasn't a territory that feared invasion.
This was land that dared the world to try.
Glauderia sat across from him, boots on the opposite seat, hands folded behind her head, staring at the ceiling like this was a lazy afternoon ride and not the prelude to war. No armor. No weapon drawn. Just that ever-present, dangerous calm.
"Don't tense up," she said without looking at him. "Oriana bites people who look scared."
"I'm not scared," Owen replied.
She smirked. "Yeah. I believe that."
The carriage rolled through the outer gates, and Owen finally saw it, The Oriana Citadel.
Grand didn't cover it.Massive didn't either.
The citadel wasn't just tall, it was layered. Walls within walls. Towers growing out of other towers. Mana cannons embedded into architecture like ornaments. At the center, higher than everything else, stood the palace of Grand Duke Drake Oriana, its spires crackling faintly with lightning even under clear skies.
Power didn't hide here.It stood upright and dared you to look away.
Knights parted as the carriage passed. Not stiff salutes, measured ones. Respect, not fear. Owen caught more than a few glances thrown his way, curious, sharp, calculating.
Glauderia noticed.
"Congrats," she said. "You look like a problem already."
The carriage stopped.
And that's when the noise hit.
Steel clashing. Mana detonations. Laughter.
They stepped into a massive training courtyard where dozens of knights sparred simultaneously. Some fought with blades, others barehanded, mana flaring wildly. The air hummed with energy so thick it felt like walking through a storm.
A lightning bolt cracked down in the center of the yard.
Not from the sky.
From a man.
Black electricity crawled along his blade as he pivoted mid-spin, deflecting three attacks at once, laughing like he was having the time of his life.
"IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?"
He ducked under a swing, slid across the stone, and kicked one knight flat on his back before vaulting away, landing clean, sword resting on his shoulder.
He looked young. Sharp eyes. Wild grin. Confidence spilling out of him like mana.
Glauderia cupped her hands around her mouth.
"ZACHARY!"
The man froze.
Slowly turned.
Then his grin widened to something dangerous.
"No way," he said. "You finally came back?"
He vanished in a crack of black lightning and reappeared in front of them, stopping inches from Owen's face.
Owen didn't flinch.
Zachary blinked. Then laughed harder.
"Oh, you've brought an interesting one."
"Calm down," Glauderia said.
Zachary straightened instantly, snapping into a sharp salute still smiling.
"Knight Zachary Oriana," he said. "Age twenty. Still alive. Barely."
Owen clocked it immediately.Only a year older—but the aura was different. This wasn't raw rage like his own. This was control wrapped in chaos.
Glauderia hooked an arm around Zachary's neck and dragged him into a half-headlock.
"You're under my command for this mission," she said. "Try not to die."
Zachary grinned. "Again?"
Owen finally spoke. "Him?"
Zachary glanced at him. "Exactly, why me?"
They met in a war room carved directly into the citadel's core. Maps floated in the air, mana projections showing trade routes, city districts, guild halls.
Stonehaven glowed faintly on the display.
Glauderia stood at the center.
"Garten der Schatten doesn't get wiped in a day," she said. "Not by us. Not by anyone. This is a dismantling operation."
She pointed to Stonehaven.
"Our entry point."
Zachary leaned back in his chair. "Guild city. Neutral ground. Everyone's dirty."
"Exactly," Glauderia said. "Which means everyone's lying."
Owen studied the map, eyes narrowing. He didn't speak, but something twisted in his chest at the name.
Stonehaven.
Graves.
Glauderia noticed. She always did.
"We prepare first," she continued. "Two phases. Two chapters of your life you don't get to skip."
Zachary snorted. "She means paperwork and stabbing drills."
"I means survival," Glauderia corrected.
She looked at Owen.
"You're not a knight. That's an advantage. While we move openly, you observe. Listen. Learn. No heroics."
Owen nodded.
Outside, thunder rolled across Oriana skies natural or not, Owen couldn't tell. what it was but he's had a feeling. somewhere in the citadel, someone was watching him, observing him.
Preparation in Oriana wasn't loud.
It wasn't frantic shouting or last-minute scrambling like Owen had seen in Landergrey. Here, everything moved with deliberate calm, like the kingdom already knew tomorrow would be bloody and had made peace with it centuries ago.
Owen learned quickly that strength in Oriana was assumed. What mattered was refinement.
He stood in one of the inner training grounds before dawn, bare hands wrapped, Seishi resting against a stone rack behind him. The blade hummed faintly, almost impatient. He ignored it.
Across from him, Glauderia sat cross-legged on a pillar that absolutely should not have supported her weight, chin resting in her palm.
"Again," she said.
Owen inhaled, and then vanished. Three Owens flickered into existence, then five, then eight, each one moving half a breath out of sync. The air warped under the strain. His footing faltered for a split second.
"You're wasting speed and tiring yourself" Glauderia said casually. " Stop moving faster when you're only keeping up eight images. Try maintaining that speed then suddenly speed up when you spot an opening."
Every copy shattered at once.
Owen reappeared on one knee, breath ragged.
"Also stop trying to disappear," she continued. "That technique isn't about disappearance. It's about hiding by being everywhere without being where you're seen."
Owen clenched his jaw. "That doesn't make sense."
She hopped down in front of him, eyes suddenly sharp.
"It will. When you stop thinking about who you lost while you move."
That landed harder than Sky Judgement ever did.
She turned away. "Take a break. Zach's probably bored enough to start a war."
-
On the other side of the barracks,
Zachary had, in fact, started a war.
Owen found him in a sparring ring surrounded by knights who very clearly regretted their life choices. Black lightning crawled over the ground like living ink as Zach ducked, weaved, and laughed.
"Come onnn" Zach said. "You're not even trying to kill me a little."
A knight lunged. Zach vanished and reappeared above him, tapping the man's helmet with the flat of his blade.
"Dead."
He spotted Owen and waved mid-flip.
"YO! Trauma boy!"
Owen sighed. "Please don't call me that."
Zach landed, lightning fading. He looked Owen over, eyes lingering briefly on Seishi.
"…That sword hates you," Zach said.
Owen blinked. "You can tell?"
Zach shrugged. "Lightning's good at reading tension. That thing's screaming."
He leaned closer, grin softening just a little.
"You're strong though. Not 'knight academy' strong. More like rule breaking strong."
Owen didn't respond.
Zach straightened. "Stonehaven's gonna suck. Guild city, fake smiles, bad ale."
Owen finally spoke. "You've been there."
"Yeah," Zach said lightly. "And it always takes something from you. For me it was my dignity."
"I'm pretty sure I didn't need to know that." Owen replied
"At some point you will have to go through it." Zach laughed.
"I doubt I will." Owen said looking away. "I can't talk to women."
Zach stared at him before placing his hand on his shoulder. "Me too. Me too."