The underground chamber smelled like steel, dust, and sweat.
Weeks ago, the place had felt enormous.
Now it felt smaller.
Not because the chamber itself had changed—but because the three of them had.
Cracks spread across the stone floor where Essence impacts had landed over and over again. Entire sections of the walls had caved inward from failed techniques. Burn marks scarred the pillars. Broken weapons littered corners of the room like abandoned memories.
And somewhere in the darkness above, water dripped steadily from the ceiling.
Zil lay flat on his back near the center of the chamber, breathing hard while staring up at the ceiling.
"...I'm dead."
Marie didn't even look at him.
"No you're not."
"I can literally see my ancestors."
"They probably don't want you yet."
A short laugh escaped Zil's lips.
"That's cold."
Marie sat nearby against a cracked pillar, cleaning sweat from the side of her neck with a cloth while her sword rested beside her. Thin crimson strands occasionally flickered around her fingertips before disappearing again.
Unlike before, the Essence no longer burst out uncontrollably.
Now it moved when she wanted it to.
Mostly.
A few meters away, Gray sat on the ground silently with his eyes closed.
The underground chamber was quiet enough that Marie could hear his breathing.
Slow.
Controlled.
At least on the surface.
But the shadows beneath his feet kept moving.
Not aggressively.
Just... alive.
Marie noticed it immediately.
Again.
Lately, the darkness around Gray never seemed completely still anymore.
She frowned slightly.
"...Brother."
Gray opened one eye.
"What?"
"...Your shadows are moving again."
Gray glanced downward.
The darkness beneath him slowly settled like disturbed water becoming calm again.
"...I know."
His answer came too quickly.
Too casually.
Marie studied him for another moment before looking away.
She didn't push further.
But she remembered what Blood said.
Even now, the words still felt wrong inside her head.
Across the room, Zil finally sat up with a groan.
"I still think this whole Essence thing is unfair."
Gray looked toward him.
"You've been saying that for two weeks."
"Because it's true."
Zil pointed toward Marie dramatically.
"She learns control after like three attempts."
Then he pointed toward Gray.
"And this guy apparently scares shadows now."
Gray frowned slightly.
"I don't scare shadows."
The shadows near his feet twitched immediately.
Zil stared.
"...Right."
Marie covered her mouth to hide a laugh.
Zil pointed at her next.
"And you. Stop pretending you're normal too. Your sword literally bleeds Essence strings now."
Marie looked proud instead of insulted.
"Because unlike you, I actually listen during training."
"Excuse you, I listen."
"You tried punching Essence."
"...And?"
"...You broke your own hand."
"In my defense, it almost worked."
"It absolutely did not."
"It emotionally worked."
Gray sighed quietly.
The chamber fell silent again after that.
Not awkward silence.
Comfortable silence.
The kind people settle into after surviving difficult things together.
And strangely—
that felt newer than all the fighting.
Gray leaned against the wall nearby, arms folded loosely while staring toward the ceiling.
For the first time in a while, nobody was training.
No pressure.
No lectures.
No fighting.
Just breathing.
"Well anyways let's take our time and rest before that crazy old guy returns".
Zil said.
Then suddenly,crimson mist slowly spread through the chamber.
Zil immediately groaned.
"...I spoke too soon."
Blood emerged silently from the darkness near the far wall, cloak shifting slightly around him while crimson Essence faded at his feet.
As always, his presence changed the atmosphere immediately.
Not because he was trying to intimidate them.
It simply happened naturally.
His crimson eyes moved across the chamber slowly.
The damage.
The collapsed stone.
The lingering Essence in the air.
Then finally—
them.
Blood was quiet for a moment.
Long enough that even Zil stopped joking.
"...You've improved faster than I expected," Blood said calmly.
Zil blinked twice.
Then immediately looked around suspiciously.
"Wait."
He pointed toward Blood.
"Did you just compliment us?"
Blood ignored him.
Marie straightened slightly.
Gray remained still.
But Blood noticed something important immediately.
None of them reacted nervously anymore.
Weeks ago, standing in front of him would've made them tense instinctively.
Now—
they endured his presence naturally.
Their Essence no longer scattered under pressure.
Blood noticed that.
And deep inside himself –something eased slightly.
"...Show me," he said.
At those words the trio got alert.
Zil stood immediately.
Marie grabbed her sword.
Gray pushed himself away from the wall .
Then suddenly the air shifted.
Blue aura exploded around Zil's body as it engulfed the black gauntlets he picked up. The stone beneath his feet cracked instantly under the pressure of the energy surrounding him.
Marie's came next.
Thin crimson strands flowed around her and her blade smoothly, elegant enough to almost look harmless.
But they weren't.
Then—
Gray.
A dark crimson energy flowed quietly around his feet as it rose up covering his hole body.
No explosion.
No dramatic surge.
But the torches dimmed slightly as if answering the eeire scene.
Blood's eyes narrowed faintly beneath the hood, as he took a stance.
A faint smile on his face.
"Begin"
Then suddenly Zil moved.
Causing a small crater to appear where he stood.
In a matter of seconds he appeared right in front of Blood with his fist near his face.
Zil laughed.
"Ha got you old man".
But before it reached him crimson aura exploded out of Blood sending a shockwave throughout the chamber as Zil's fist collided with the energy.
"I see you gave up on the sword", Blood said.
"Yeah it's like you said, I'm a genius when it comes to close combat" .
Moving back ,Zil rushed towards Blood performing a sidekick to the gut.
But stopped midway performing a roundhouse kick.
Shifting his head slightly Blood grabbed his leg as he punched him.
Zil barely blocked in time.
The impact launched him backward across the chamber.
"DAMN—!"
He dug his feet into the floor before stopping himself.
Blood didn't follow.
Because Marie already had.
Her movements had changed completely since the beginning of training.
Cleaner.
Sharper.
She wasn't simply fast anymore.
She flowed.
Her blade cut toward Blood's side while a crimson aura shifted around the sword unnaturally, changing the angle of the strike midway through the swing.
Blood blocked once—
then again and again as the strikes kept coming.
Aiming for his chest Marie thrust her sword.
But before it made contact the essence around the blade dispersed into thin crimson strands as the threads wrapped around Blood's body.
"Smart" .
"Very smart".
Blood shattered the threads with raw Essence pressure before stepping aside.
Then–
A shadow pierced through the space he'd occupied moments earlier.
Gray.
His attacks were quieter than the others.
Harder to notice.
Harder to predict.
The dark crimson aura around his weapon stretched unnaturally as he attacked, extending his reach by inches that shouldn't exist.
Blood blocked the strike calmly.
But then—
the weapon changed.
The spear split apart instantly.
Chains burst outward.
A second blade swung toward Blood from behind.
Blood stepped backward smoothly.
For the briefest moment—
his expression changed.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
The weapon style suited Gray far too naturally.
Like something sleeping inside him already understood it.
Zil re-entered the fight immediately with a grin.
"Don't ignore me, old man."
His essence erupted around his fists as he partially transformed his hands.
Slashing the air a shockwave erupted, claw marks making their way towards Blood.
The attack collided with Blood's barrier with explosive force.
The underground chamber shook.
Marie followed instantly after him.
Gray attacked from the blind spots.
The three moved around each other naturally now.
Not perfectly.
But naturally.
Blood blocked strike after strike while crimson Essence flowed around him like smoke.
Yet despite his calm expression—
he was watching carefully.
Zil's explosive growth.
Marie's precision.
Gray's terrifying adaptability.
Weeks ago, they were surviving.
Now—
they were evolving.
Fast.
Too fast.
And for the first time in a very long time—
Blood felt relief.
Not because they were strong.
Because they might actually survive what was coming.
Retreating into different directions the trio surrounded Blood.
The auras around their body flared up as they took their stance.
Blood stared at each of them.
Then–
with a burst they rushed instantly as they tried to attack him.
Blood raised his hands.
"Blood technique : Blood Aura"
Instantly crimson energy filled the whole chamber pinning them to the ground.
"Fuck what's going on",Zil muttered.
Trying to get up dark energy surged around Gray .
All the shadows in the chamber shifted slightly.
Blood noticed, the pressure in the chamber spiked.
Then he released it.
"...Enough."
The entire chamber stilled immediately.
All three froze.
Breathing hard.
Sweat rolled down the cracked floor beneath them.
Blood stood silently for several seconds before speaking again.
"...Good," he said quietly.
The three of them looked up.
Blood lowered his arm slowly.
"You're finally learning how to survive."
The words settled heavily in the chamber.
Not praise.
Something more important.
Acknowledgment.
Blood turned away quietly.
"Come with me."
The deeper section of the underground chamber was colder.
Older too.
Ancient symbols covered the walls, faded from time and impossible to read completely.
The massive door at the end of the corridor slowly opened as crimson mist spread across its surface.
Inside—
weapons rested silently in darkness.
Not ordinary weapons.
Each one carried presence.
History.
The first weapon Blood approached was a pair of black gauntlets lined with deep blue cracks resembling fractured lightning with black fur at the ends.
He tossed them toward Zil.
Zil caught them instantly.
The gauntlets locked around his arms automatically.
Blue force erupted outward violently.
Zil stared wide-eyed.
"...These are insane."
"Beast Fang Gauntlets," Blood said calmly.
"With every hit, the damage it makes increases with every strike."
Zil grinned slowly.
"...Yeah."
"These guys fit perfectly."
Blood moved toward the next weapon.
A long crimson blade rested upon dark cloth.
Elegant.
Thin.
Deadly.
Faint red threads floated around it naturally like silk moving underwater.
Marie stepped closer slowly.
The sword reacted immediately.
The floating threads wrapped gently around her wrist before circling the blade again.
"The Scarlet Thread," Blood said.
"It responds to control rather than power."
Marie carefully grabbed the hilt.
The weapon felt weightless in her hand.
Like it belonged there.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"...Beautiful."
Then—
Blood looked toward Gray.
The atmosphere shifted slightly again.
Unlike the others, Gray's weapon wasn't displayed openly.
Chains covered it completely.
Dark metal rested beneath ancient seals carved directly into the floor.
Even the air around it felt colder.
Blood stared at it silently for several seconds before speaking.
"...This weapon is unstable."
Zil immediately folded his arms.
"Yep that sounds like you."
Gray stepped closer slowly.
The chains trembled faintly.
"This armament was created during the final years of the Holy War," Blood continued.
"It never accepted a wielder completely."
The chains loosened slowly.
The sound echoed heavily through the chamber.
Then the weapon revealed itself.
Two curved black blades connected by long dark chains.
Near the handles, sections of the weapon could extend and lock together into a spear form.
Dark crimson markings pulsed faintly beneath the metal.
Not glowing.
Breathing.
Gray felt something inside his chest react instantly.
"Graveveil"
"A weapon that responds to imbalance."
Gray stepped closer slowly.
The weapon shifted slightly.
Waiting.
Watching.
"Most who tried using it failed."
Zil crossed his arms.
"...Failed how exactly?"
Blood answered calmly.
"It consumed them."
"...Ah."
Gray stopped directly in front of the weapon.
The chains lifted slightly from the platform.
Marie noticed immediately.
"...Brother..."
Gray reached forward slowly.
The moment his hand touched the weapon
darkness exploded outward.
The torches dimmed violently.
Shadows spread across the floor like living water before abruptly stopping.
The chained weapon shifted forms rapidly.
Blade.
Spear.
Chains.
Then finally—
it stabilized in Gray's grip.
Silence filled the chamber.
Blood watched carefully.
The weapon had accepted him far too easily.
And somehow—
that worried him more than rejection would've.
Gray stared quietly at the weapon in his hand.
He could feel movement inside it.
Not alive.
Not exactly.
But responsive.
Like it understood him in ways it shouldn't.
Zil finally broke the silence.
"...Why does his weapon feel like it has emotional issues?"
Marie nodded immediately.
"It really does."
Gray ignored both of them.
Though honestly—
they weren't completely wrong.
Blood exhaled softly through his nose.
Almost amused.
Almost tired.
Then Blood stepped backward.
Crimson mist slowly began spreading across the chamber once more.
Around their feet.
Across broken stone.
Through cracked walls.
The familiar transportation mist.
Zil exhaled heavily.
"...Man."
"We're really leaving."
Marie tightened her grip slightly around her new sword.
Gray looked once more toward the destroyed training chamber around them.
Weeks ago—
They would've died here.
Now—
Even Blood acknowledged them.
The crimson mist thickened.
Blood's voice echoed calmly through it.
"I guess it's time to go."
Then the mist swallowed everything whole.