The courtyard had started to breathe.
Footsteps padded softly through open halls. A pot clattered faintly from the cafeteria side. Birds stirred overhead, some darting through the wide beams of sunlight spilling past the forest's edge. The base wasn't loud yet—but it was waking.
Jin stood in the center of the clearing near the south wall, shirt damp from sweat, eyes sharp from focus. He didn't feel tired. Not exactly. Just… alive.
No sword. No aura flaring. Just him.
His hands and feet ached in a satisfying way—the kind of ache earned from pushing every muscle to its limit. He'd been running drills for nearly an hour already, moving like a man with something to prove.
Because he did.
And that's when he heard the voice.
"Morning," someone called. "You're up early."
Jin didn't have to look.
He turned anyway.
