At six in the morning in the White City, Kael and Mousan were still peacefully asleep.
Elmyra, however, was sitting on her bed. As usual, she hadn't slept much the night before. Even after finding a somewhat peaceful place and forcing herself to sleep, the nightmares wouldn't leave her alone.
She looked up at the upper bunk above her. Mousan's snoring had grown louder. She had heard it all night. Glancing at the clock beside her, it was already six.
She lay back down calmly, raised her legs—and kicked the upper bed.
Mousan was launched off and crashed to the floor.
He woke up in shock, touching his hair and glancing around in confusion. His eyes landed on Elmyra, who was calmly sitting on the bed staring at him. At first, he didn't process anything—he even thought he was still dreaming. He smiled.
"My dear Elmyra, what are you doing in my dream?"
Before he could even finish, her face was replaced by a pair of feet flying toward his.
Boom.
He collapsed onto Kael, blood dripping from his nose. He quickly held his nose and locked eyes with Elmyra—then suddenly shouted in shock.
"What are you doing here?!?!"
Only after that scream did Kael finally wake up, slowly opening his eyes to find Mousan sitting on him.
"Mousan… what's going on?" he asked calmly.
"Ka-Kael, Elmyra's ghost is on your bed… wait, why aren't you in your bed? Did she take it from you too?!"
Kael, still half-asleep, yawned and glanced at Elmyra.
"It's Elmyra. But I won't lie—she does look like a ghost right now, haha."
Mousan looked at him, then at Elmyra—only to see the fury in her eyes. She approached and smacked them both hard.
"We're sorry!" they said in unison, sitting silently afterward.
Elmyra returned to her bed. "Come on, it's training time."
Both of them glanced at the clock—it was six. Then they looked out the window. The sun hadn't even risen yet. Then they turned their gazes to Elmyra.
Kael spoke, "Uh… Elmyra, don't you think it's a little too early?"
Mousan nodded quickly in agreement.
"Training is at all times, you fools. Let's go."
Mousan raised his hand. "Uh… I'm not with you guys. I can go back to sleep, right?"
'You bastard, you're leaving me alone?!' Kael thought in anger.
"No, you're training with me today. Don't worry, I'll show you hell," she said coldly, smiling.
What did I do to deserve this? Mousan thought helplessly, trembling.
He had no idea that his snoring had led to all of this.
They all stepped outside, and the moment Kael saw the dark sky, he sighed.
'Damn it… I could've slept for another hour. At least in prison, I could sleep whenever I wanted.'
They entered the training yard, all in low spirits.
From the moment they arrived, they started training—physical drills and sparring. Time passed slowly. Mousan kept whining about not eating breakfast, while Kael kept complaining about his sleep. But every time either of them spoke, they got hit.
They continued this way until it was nine in the morning.
Valdren heard them from afar and smiled. He walked in, raising his hands cheerfully.
"Good morning…"
But what he saw was Elmyra chasing Mousan with a sword while he screamed, and Kael sitting peacefully in a corner—completely asleep.
'Haha… what's going on here?'
*****
"I see. So that's what happened," Valdren said, looking at the three of them seated in front of him.
"Well, good. Elmyra, continue your training with Mousan. And Mousan, from today onward, you'll be my student as well."
Elmyra stood and gave a slight bow, then took Mousan aside. The two resumed their training calmly—unlike earlier, because after seeing Valdren, Mousan's entire demeanor had changed.
'He was the family's former guardian!' Mousan thought, awestruck.
Valdren turned his gaze to Kael, then gave him a gentle smile.
"Thank you."
"Huh?" Kael blinked in surprise.
Valdren continued, his eyes now fixed on Mousan and Elmyra.
"I've known for a while about her nightmares… but she doesn't talk about them. Yet, around you two, she lets herself relax."
'Nightmares? So that's the reason…' Kael finally understood what had been going on with Elmyra.
He sighed. "Master, I'm not exactly a sentimental guy, so let's just talk about the stages. And let me just say—I really hate her. She destroyed my sleep, damn it."
Valdren burst into laughter, wiping a tear from his eye.
"Hahaha! Alright then, let's begin."
"So Kael, tell me—what do you know about bloodlines and the stages?"
Kael answered immediately.
"A bloodline is a power someone is either born with or inherits from a Gate. When I sensed mine, it felt like many threads inside me. The purer the bloodline, the more threads you have. When those threads are unraveled, you enter the first stage. And the stages represent power."
Valdren vanished and reappeared again, this time holding a chair, which he sat on casually.
"Well, let's say you know the basics. Yes, a bloodline is as you described, but it's not just power—it represents the person themselves. Each bloodline is a reflection of a person's true inner nature, whether it's darkness or light. The stages… I used to think they were just levels of strength, but…"
He raised his hand, looking at it thoughtfully.
"With every advancement, I feel more connected to the world—and my will becomes sharper and stronger."
'My bloodline reflects my inner self? Then I must be a complete idiot' Kael thought mockingly.
Suddenly, the familiar voice echoed in his head, annoyed.
"Who are you calling an idiot, you little imp?"
Kael smirked but didn't respond.
"What exactly is will?" he asked aloud.
"Will? That's hard to explain… but I'll try."
Valdren stroked his chin.
"Let's say your bloodline lets you control metal. At first, you can move just one piece. As you advance in stages, you gain more power and can control more. But there's something else—if your will gets stronger, you can control even more just by sheer force of will. It's… strange, I know."
Kael sat, thinking.
"I think I get it… How do you strengthen it?"
"It naturally grows as you progress, but it increases more rapidly when you face great challenges, or brush against death."
Before Kael could ask more, Valdren continued.
"You'll understand it better as you reach higher stages. Now, let's talk about how to ascend through them."
Kael nodded silently.
"The first stage, as you said, is the simplest. From that point on, to advance, your bloodline must merge with your blood—become one with it. That only happens through consistent training and using it throughout your body. When the time comes, you'll feel it. It's a strange sensation, but unmistakable."
Kael already knew this from the guard's memories.
'The master's explanation is so clunky…'
Valderin went on.
"Once that happens, you move to the second stage. You need to create a core from your blood, then infuse your bloodline into it. That makes it faster and easier to train with. But from the third stage onward…"
Valdren's tone changed.
"You need to speak an incantation. Each stage has its own. It's a ritual, a prayer for your bloodline's god to bless your advancement."
'An incantation?' Kael was stunned. 'I never saw anything like that in the guard's memories. A blessing… from a dark god?'
"Master… is the incantation absolutely necessary?" Kael asked with a small smile.
Valdren looked at him for a moment.
"Yes. Because once someone ascends past the second stage, the voices get louder. They begin seeing things—unnatural things. Without the god's blessing, they'll lose their mind… ninety percent of the time. And there's one more thing—the name."
Kael furrowed his brow.
"We don't name the stages because each one comes with a name granted by your god. That name is yours alone."
Kael lowered his head, his eyes wide.
'Why is it always me stuck in these damn situations…?'