"Fine. I'm ready for this training," Dys declared, his voice steady despite the uncertainty ahead. Kritva looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Are you insane? This isn't a game, Dys. Your life is literally on the line, and you don't even have your Instinct power yet!"
"It doesn't matter," Dys replied, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Nuan was the only support I had during my darkest times. I can't just let her go like this." As he began to walk away, Zyla's voice cut through the air. "Dys! I'm coming with you."
Two days later, the duo found themselves trekking through a dense, mountainous forest. "How much longer do we have to search, Dys?" Zyla Carris Hirigakure panted, the exhaustion of the trail catching up to her. While they struggled through the wilderness, Eeron and Siston were back with Mr. Iyer, undergoing their own intense warm-up drills.
Suddenly, Dys spotted a familiar figure. "Finally! Nuan... Nuan!" He lunged forward, desperate to reach her, but was abruptly yanked back. A net, tight and suffocating, coiled around him like he was nothing more than common produce. "Ugh! What is this now?"
"It's a trap, obviously. Can't you see?" a voice drifted from the shadows. A woman—or rather, a lady with an imposing presence—stepped into view. "My name is Sonia Kayron. I am your trainer and the former holder of your Instinct. I'm only thirty, so feel free to try your luck with me if you want, but don't bother—I'd just reject you and swipe left anyway."
"Excuse me, Aunty," Dys retorted, struggling against the net, "who are you rambling to? I'm right here." Sonia froze. She turned around slowly, her teeth grinding in sheer fury. "Aunty??" With a single, swift strike, she sent Dys sprawling across the ground. Dys was stunned by the raw display of power, but before he could process it, he was already being set up for the next move. He scrambled up, shouting, "What was that for?"
"Your training is called 'Bulking,'" Sonia stated coldly. "The Instinct you carry is based entirely on raw strength. Your stats might be a perfect 100/100, but they only awaken when you achieve your true Form. Without this, you'll fail this training and eventually lose your Air Instinct, because that too depends on your physical bulk. But I won't let you fail—that's why I'm here." Dys stood there, bewildered. Bulking? What does that even mean?
Without warning, she grabbed Dys's bag with one hand and hoisted him into the air. Turning to Zyla, she snapped, "Hey, you—packet of vermicelli! If you have a weak heart, leave now. This is going to be too much for you."
"No, I can handle it!" Zyla insisted.
Sonia rolled her eyes. "Who said I was training you? I'm talking about this idiot!" Zyla's reaction was a pure, stunned, "Huh?!"
Sonia led them deep into the mountains until a vast, crashing ocean came into view. They were at the Kirkjufellsfoss Mountains in Grundarfjörður, Iceland—Sonia's secluded home where she lived a simple life of farming. "This is your training spot," she announced. "I'm going to cram fifteen days of hell into just seven. Are you ready?"
Dys screamed at the top of his lungs, "YES, MA'AM!"
The next morning, Dys woke up feeling unusually light, only to realize he was sitting on a mat in the middle of a field. Wait, I went to sleep inside... how am I out here? Before he could finish the thought, Sonia clapped her hands. A massive, rounded boulder was hurtling down the mountainside directly toward him. "If you don't stop that, it'll ruin my crops," Sonia shouted. "And if my crops are ruined, I'll ruin you!"
Dys dove in front of the stone, his feet skidding as the sheer momentum dragged him backward. He couldn't hold it. Gritting his teeth, he tightened every muscle in his body, pushing past his absolute limits. "AHHHH!" With a final, desperate surge, he halted the boulder just inches from the edge. In that moment, he felt it—the true spark of his power.
For an entire week, the cycle was relentless. Sixteen hours a day, Dys worked under Sonia's brutal regime. One moment he was tilling the fields, the next he was being kicked off a cliff only to climb back up. He fell countless times, but the fire inside him never flickered. If I can't do this, who will? To ensure his body didn't break under the strain, Sonia had placed a specialized adaptation spell on him. His body began to evolve rapidly; though he was sixteen, he now possessed the physical presence and maturity of a twenty-year-old—a transformation shared by the rest of his team.
"Finally, your training is complete. I honestly didn't think you'd make it," Sonia admitted, handing Dys a device. "What's this?"
"A Radar. It'll tell you what's coming in your future. And take care of that girl... what was her name?"
"Zyla Carris Hirigakure," Dys replied softly.
"Right. Look after her. She truly cares for you. Every night while you slept off the exhaustion, she was the one bandaging your wounds." With those final words, Sonia snapped her fingers. In a flash, Dys, Zyla, and Nuan found themselves standing in a desolate, frozen wasteland.
"What is this place?!" they screamed in unison as the icy wind hit them.