Dorian did not believe in the restorative power of rest. In his previous life, rest was merely a window of vulnerability a space where a knife could find its way between ribs. Even now, with his body still humming from the residual miasma of the Whispering Woods, he was in the Academy's gravity sealed training chamber at four in the morning.
The chamber was a stark, circular room of reinforced obsidian, illuminated by a single ceiling crystal that pulsed with a faint, violet light. The local gravity was tripled a pressure that felt like trying to move through waist deep mud for a normal Novice. To Dorian, it was a familiar weight, a reminder of the gravity of his own past.
He moved through a series of blade forms not the flashy, ornamental "Holy Slashes" taught by the Academy, but the brutal, efficient killing strikes of the Blood Emperor.
*Slash. Pivot. Piercing lunge.*
His steel blade hummed in the heavy air. Every movement was precise, a staccato of lethal geometry. He was training his resonance, forcing the golden light to flow through his scarred mana circuits with the clinical indifference of a machine.
**[Holy Resonance: 9.2 / 10]**
The bar was moving with an agonizing slowness. He needed the 'Sun Crest Elixir.' If he didn't hit Rank 2 before the Great Awakening, he would be at the mercy of the rifts. And Dorian Valerius did not do "mercy."
"You're overextending on the third rotation."
Dorian didn't stop. He finished the form, the tip of his sword stopping exactly one inch from the obsidian wall. He slowly lowered the blade and turned, his sapphire eyes cold and unblinking.
Standing by the door was Prince Kaelen of Valerius the "Golden Child" of the kingdom. He had hair that seemed to catch the light even in this gloom and eyes the color of a summer sky. He wore the white and silver cape of the Elite 'Paladin' class, a garment that cost more than a village's annual harvest.
"I didn't ask for a tutor, Kaelen," Dorian said, his voice flat.
Kaelen stepped into the chamber, his movements fluid and effortless despite the tripled gravity. He carried an ornate mace that looked more like a piece of jewelry than a weapon.
"I'm not tutoring you, Dorian. I'm observing," Kaelen said, a polite, almost pitying smile on his face. "The rumors about the 'Tyrant Saint' have reached the Royal Court. My father wants to know if you are a miracle or a mistake."
"Then tell your father to mind his own business before he finds himself without a throne," Dorian replied.
Kaelen's smile didn't falter, but his eyes sharpened into chips of ice. "Arrogance is a sin, Dorian. Especially for one who claims to walk the path of the Light. You saved Oakhaven, but you did it with violence. You didn't offer Benedict redemption; you offered him death."
Dorian let out a short, dry laugh. "Redemption? Benedict was a rotting corpse in a priest's robe. You don't redeem rot, Kaelen. You burn it."
"The Light is about healing," Kaelen countered, stepping into Dorian's space. "If you continue this path, you'll burn yourself out. Let me help you. Join my circle. We can guide your power toward true holiness."
*Ding!*
**[System Quest: The Path of the Humble.]**
**[Objective: Accept Kaelen's offer of 'guidance'.]**
**[Reward: +300 Faith Points.]**
Dorian stared at the holographic text. The System was asking him to bow to this golden haired puppet. It was asking him to pretend to be lesser than a boy who hadn't even seen a real battlefield.
"I'd rather swallow broken glass," Dorian whispered.
He looked at Kaelen, his eyes flashing with a cold, sapphire light. "Kaelen. Let me make this very clear. I don't need your 'guidance.' I don't need your 'Light.' I've walked through hell and come out the other side. You... you haven't even stepped in a puddle."
Kaelen's expression finally shifted. The pity vanished, replaced by a cold, royal disdain. "Then you are as lost as they say. The Grand Tournament will show you the difference between a common brawler and a true Paladin."
"I look forward to it," Dorian said, turning his back on the prince and raising his sword once more.
*Ding!*
**[Quest FAILED.]**
**[Faith Points Received: +50 (The System appreciates your consistency).]**
**[Note: Prince Kaelen has been marked as a 'Rival'.]**
**[Current FP: (9,997,645 points deducted)]**
Dorian didn't care about the rivalry. He cared about the fact that Kaelen was right about one thing: his resonance *was* darker. The fragment of the necrotic heart in his pocket was bleeding into his mana circuits. It wasn't corruption; it was a shift in frequency. He wasn't a "Saint" in the traditional sense. He was a Sovereign of the Light, and the Light he wielded was sharp, cold, and heavy.
As he left the training hall, he ran into Elena. She was waiting for him, her silver blue robes clean and her eyes regained their spark.
"Dorian! They're calling you the 'Obsidian Saint'," she said, falling into step beside him. "They're saying you're going to challenge Kaelen for the Sun Crest Elixir. Dorian... be careful. Kaelen is already Rank 2."
Dorian stopped and looked at her. "Rank 2?"
"He broke through last month," Elena nodded. "If you fight him as a Rank 1... you might lose."
"I don't lose, Elena," Dorian said, his voice dropping into that dangerous, Emperor like register. "I simply haven't decided how to win yet."
He walked away, leaving her in the hallway. He had two weeks. Two weeks to bridge the gap. If he couldn't do it with training, he would do it with a 'Good Deed' so massive the System would have no choice but to reward him with the breakthrough.
***
**Author's Note:** The rivalry between the Golden Prince and the Obsidian Saint is set. If you enjoyed Dorian's refusal to play the "humble student," support the novel with your **Power Stones**! Your votes fuel the Emperor's ascent. Can Dorian reach Rank 2 before the tournament in **Chapter 19**? Let us know in the comments!