No one gave the order.
But everyone understood.
The courtyard cleared in seconds, forming a wide circle. Guards stayed ready at the edges. No one interfered—but no one relaxed either.
Kael stepped forward.
Alone.
Across from him, the figure stood still, its fire barely flickering.
Waiting.
Lira's voice reached him, quiet but firm. "Don't fight it like before."
Kael didn't look back. "I know."
Do you?
The voice inside him stirred.
Kael inhaled slowly.
This wasn't a battle of strength.
It felt like something else.
A test.
"Begin," the figure said.
Kael moved first.
Not with a strike—but with intent.
His hand lifted, and the flame answered—not explosively, but smoothly. A controlled arc of fire extended outward, stopping just short of the figure.
The figure didn't dodge.
Didn't block.
It simply… watched.
"Too cautious," it said.
Then—
It moved.
Not fast.
But precise.
Its hand lifted, and a thread of dark fire traced through the air, cutting through Kael's flame without resistance.
Not overpowering it.
Unmaking it.
Kael's eyes widened slightly.
"What—"
"You're still shaping it," the figure said calmly. "You haven't understood it."
Kael stepped back, resetting.
"Then explain."
The figure tilted its head.
"Fire does not obey."
Another step.
"It aligns."
Kael felt something shift inside him.
The Ember Core pulsed—stronger this time.
Listening.
"Again," the figure said.
Kael didn't hesitate.
This time, he didn't push.
He reached.
The flame responded differently—less resistance, more flow.
It curved toward the figure—not as an attack, but as a presence.
The figure didn't disrupt it.
It let it touch.
For a moment—
Everything stilled.
Then the figure stepped back.
"…Better."
Kael lowered his hand, breathing steady.
Lira watched closely from the edge, something like unease in her eyes.
Because this wasn't a fight.
It was a lesson.
And Kael was learning too quickly.
-End of Chapter 34-