Liora's second day at Lunaris Academy felt much more ordinary. The curious looks from nearly everyone in the class had already started to fade. Most of the students were beginning to get used to her presence. Cael was too. When he entered the classroom that morning, he saw Liora already sitting in her seat. “Morning.” Liora turned toward him. “Morning.” Cael put his bag down. “Getting used to the class?” “A little.” “Good.” Liora smiled slightly. “What about you?” Cael sat down. “I've been here since the beginning, so there's nothing I need to get used to.” Liora let out a quiet laugh. Cael smiled too. The conversation was simple. But at least they no longer felt like two strangers who happened to be in the same room. A few minutes later, Evan arrived, slightly out of breath. “Why are you two talking without me?” Cael looked at him. “You're late.” “It's only been two minutes.” “Late is still late.” Evan pointed at Cael. “Since when did you become a teacher?” Liora laughed. --- After school, the three of them went to the training grounds. Evan brought some basic training equipment with him. “Like I said yesterday, we're training together.” Liora looked at Cael. “You usually train here?” “Yeah.” “Alone?” “Usually.” “Why?” Cael thought for a moment. “It's easier to focus.” Liora nodded. “That makes sense.” Evan immediately interrupted. “What about me?” Cael looked at him. “You're noisy.” “HEY.” Liora laughed. --- They began training. Evan stood on the left. Liora stood in the middle. Cael stood on the right. Their first exercise was maintaining their energy for thirty seconds. Evan raised his hand. The ground began to move. Liora formed a small sphere of water. Cael created a stream of Wind. Thirty seconds passed. Evan successfully maintained his Earth, although its surface had begun to crack. Liora remained stable. Cael maintained his stream as well. “Done,” Evan said. He then exhaled. “That was tiring.” Liora looked at him. “Your control is better than yesterday.” Evan smiled proudly. “Seriously?” “Yeah.” Evan immediately looked at Cael. “You heard that?” “I heard.” “So I'm improving.” Cael nodded. “A little.” Evan's smile disappeared. “Why does there have to be an ‘a little’?” Cael laughed. --- The second exercise was more difficult. They had to move their energy through several points without crossing the boundaries. Cael studied the arrangement of the points. Liora studied it as well. “If we go from here...” Liora pointed toward one of the paths. “Water can pass through the outside.” Cael nodded. “Wind can too.” Evan looked between them. “Then where do I go?” Cael pointed toward the center. “You can use Earth to create a path.” Evan smiled. “So we're working together?” “More or less.” They began. Earth moved first. Liora guided the Water through the path Evan created. Cael then used Wind to guide the flow of water without letting it cross the boundary. It wasn't perfect. They failed several times. But after a few attempts, they finally completed the course. Evan raised both hands. “Yes!” Liora smiled. Cael simply let out a relieved breath. “Not bad.” “You always say ‘not bad.’” Cael laughed. “Because it is.” Liora looked at the two of them. “You two have been friends for a long time, haven't you?” Cael nodded. “Yeah.” Evan immediately added, “Even though he's annoying sometimes.” Cael looked at him. “So are you.” Liora laughed again. --- After training, the three of them sat beneath a tree at the edge of the field. The afternoon wind moved gently through the branches. Liora looked up at the sky. “Cael.” “Hmm?” “You look at spacecraft a lot, don't you?” Cael turned toward her. “Is it that obvious?” “A little.” Evan turned toward them as well. “He's been like that since he was little.” Cael raised an eyebrow. “How do you know?” “You told me once.” “Oh.” Liora looked back at the sky. “Why do you like them?” Cael was silent for a moment. The question was simple. But the answer wasn't quite as simple. “I'm just curious.” “Curious about what?” Cael watched a spacecraft passing high above them. “How big the world outside really is.” Liora didn't answer immediately. Then she smiled. “I'm curious about that too.” Cael looked at her. “Really?” “Yeah.” “Why?” Liora thought for a moment. “I don't know. Maybe because I've never seen it.” Cael smiled. “Then we have something in common.” Evan, who had been listening the entire time, immediately interrupted. “I'm curious too.” Cael and Liora both looked at him. Evan pointed at himself. “Don't forget me.” Cael laughed. “You're curious because you want a cool Shell.” “That is still part of being curious!” Liora laughed. For a while, the three of them simply sat there. No training. No tests. No discussions about Rank. Just three people talking about something they didn't even understand yet. The world beyond them. --- The sun began to set. Eventually, they stood up and prepared to head home. Liora looked at Cael. “Training again tomorrow?” Cael nodded. “If you want to.” “I do.” Evan immediately raised his hand. “Me too.” Cael smiled. “Then the three of us.” They walked away from the academy together. Cael was still a Beginner. His abilities were still developing. His world was still limited to his school, his home, his family, and the city where he lived. The Void was still far away. Very far away. But that day, for the first time, Cael didn't feel like he had to carry his curiosity alone. He had Evan. Now he had Liora too. And maybe... a long journey didn't have to begin alone.

Chapter 10 : Three People