[End of Week One of Training — Fifth Continent]
An unusual silence filled the golden palace at that moment.
Even Narquion, who was always relaxed, slowly placed his teacup aside as if preparing for something unnatural.
Photon stood there, tears in her eyes from being beaten, while Lucian calmly fixed his shirt as if nothing had happened.
Dastan said in a low voice:
— “I feel like the training has gone out of control…”
Photon immediately replied:
— “He hit me first!”
— “Because you wouldn’t stop harassing Genica.”
Photon raised an eyebrow:
— “She provoked me!”
Genica shouted from behind:
— “Me?! I’m the victim here!”
Then she added while pointing at them:
— “This entire academy is designed to psychologically torture me!”
Narquion sighed slowly.
— “At least… you’re starting to act like a team.”
Silence fell.
Then he looked at Lucian.
— “How was light training?”
Lucian wiped a small trace of blood from the corner of his mouth and said calmly:
— “I’ve become faster.”
Then he vanished for a moment.
And reappeared directly behind Narquion.
Silence again.
Narquion smiled.
— “Good.”
Then he turned to Dastan.
— “And you?”
Dastan raised his hand.
Shadows gathered around it, denser than before.
— “I can maintain control for longer now.”
Narquion nodded.
— “Also good.”
Then he looked at Genica.
— “And you?”
Genica froze.
Then forced a nervous smile:
— “…I didn’t blow up the lab this week.”
Everyone stared at her in silence.
Then Dastan said:
— “That’s actually progress.”
The arena outside the golden palace was full of cracks and marks from previous training sessions.
The trio stood facing each other.
Narquion sat on a small throne in the air, watching calmly.
— “Today… synchronization test.”
He pointed at them.
— “One combined strike. If you fail, you restart training from the beginning.”
Genica shouted:
— “That’s unfair! I’m not a fighter!”
Narquion replied instantly:
— “You chose to stay here.”
— “I didn’t choose anything! Photon kidnapped Lucian!”
Lucian looked at the sky.
— “I don’t want to remember that part…”
The group prepared themselves.
Dastan focused his aura.
Lucian gathered light around his hands.
Genica raised gravity around her arrow.
Then—
— “Now.”
They moved together.
Shadow, light, and gravity.
The three energies collided at one point.
But instead of an explosion…
A massive pressure wave spread across the arena.
For the first time, Narquion smiled clearly.
— “Finally… you’re starting to understand each other.”
But suddenly—
The air trembled.
Everyone’s expressions changed.
A small black gate appeared in the middle of the arena.
And from it…
A gold-plated message emerged.
It fell in front of them.
Narquion picked it up instantly.
His eyes narrowed for a moment.
— “…It has already begun moving.”
Genica asked:
— “What is that?”
Narquion answered calmly:
— “An invitation from the Sixth Continent.”
Silence fell.
Then he said:
— “The academy… has opened its gates early.”
The trio exchanged glances.
— “So… the next stage has begun.”
Dastan:
— “Finally.”
Genica:
— “Is there at least a hotel there?”
Everyone looked at her.
Then Narquion said coldly:
— “There are worse things than no hotels.”
— “Like what?”
He replied:
— “Other students.”
[Fifth Continent — Before Departure]
That night…
The trio sat in their separate places for the last time before leaving.
Genica stared at the sky from the hotel window.
Dastan trained silently in his room.
Lucian studied his hand, which now moved faster than he ever imagined.
Far away…
Cloud was watering his tomatoes as usual.
Then suddenly stopped.
He raised his head slightly.
— “…I feel like something annoying is about to happen.”
Leviathan from inside:
— “You say that every week.”
Cloud:
— “And that’s what worries me.”
Then he returned to watering the tomatoes calmly.
[End of Preparation — Beginning of the Sixth Continent]
The next morning…
Narquion stood before the golden gate.
— “From here… the academy begins.”
He opened the gate.
Behind it appeared an entirely new world.
Intertwined energy.
Unnatural pressure in the atmosphere.
He looked at them and said:
— “The Sixth Continent… is not training.”
He added quietly:
— “It is survival.”
The trio stepped forward.
Toward the academy… and toward something far more dangerous than anything they had faced before.
========== End of Chapter Two ==========