"Could we spar?"

Evélyne looked at Lucas intently, her gaze unreadable. After an uncharacteristic delay, she asked,

"Are you sure?"

Lucas frowned, his tail tensing a bit but fixed his expression as he said,

"Yeah, I am. Well… it's not a regular sparring session I'm looking for. I figured out a new Rune yesterday and I want to integrate it into my fighting style."

"I see."

Evélyne then took a loose narrow stance, both palms open and at chest level as she said,

"Whenever you are ready, Lucas."

Evélyne's loose stance gave Lucas the same amount of pressure he felt during their first fight.

'She can still kill me easily… if anything the gap feels wider now.'

Lucas subconsciously grinned at this, clenching his fists. Evélyne just watched him indifferent, a quiet gust blowing her hair back. Lucas got into his usual stance, muscles taut and his torso poised.

Sizing Evélyne up, he took a powerful step forward. Vanishing as he left a powerful gust in his wake. With minimal movements, Evélyne unleashed a palm strike at her left side before Lucas even reappeared.

Lucas' right fist clashed with the open palm oddly producing no disturbance, he pressed on by trying to grab Evélyne. His left hand accelerated in a blur of motion. Evélyne's expression remained neutral as she retracted arm while kicking at his waist.

Lucas hastily stopped his grab and blocked the kick with a knee, skidding back a few steps. Evélyne followed closely behind as she struck out with silent knife hand.

Lucas ducked the blow only to be met by a knee strike, flinging his head back. Before he could correct his stance, his vision went black. Evélyne's shadow obstructed his sight as tensed fingers hovered millimeters above his heart.

"You lost."

Evélyne stepped back, giving Lucas some room to rise to his feet, her tall form towering over him. Standing upright Lucas looked at her in genuine wonder.

"How did you read my moves so well?"

"I spar with Sasha almost every single day and your style is a lesser copy of hers."

She said bluntly. Lucas' right ear flickered as he asked,

"Lesser copy? I think I have it down perfectly."

Evélyne nodded faintly as she continued,

"That's the problem. You copy her perfectly but you are not her. Your strikes lack the fundamental Will and philosophy she approaches battle with, hence it can only be a pale imitation."

Lucas was struck silent. He had never thought about it like that. Even though he didn't really get it, Evélyne's last sentence really struck the nail on the head.

"It seems the question I should ask myself is… 'why do I fight?'"

Evélyne smiled as she adjusted a stray strain of hair,

"Exactly. If you want to achieve your own form, that question should always be at the root of every move you make."

Lucas' tail uncoiled from his waist as he asked absentmindedly.

"Why do you fight, Evélyne?"

Evélyne's eyes instantly sharpen as she said,

"I fight to be the best, I fight to reach the peak. Fighting is the path I chose to mastery."

She then snapped out of it as her gaze softened. Lucas looked at her straight in the eye, fully taking in the Vitauri before him.

'… I could feel her Will and intent just then. She truly believes everything she says… incredible.'

"Is there something on my face?"

Evélyne asked, snapping Lucas out of his thoughts. He scratched the back of his head as his tail wagged faster,

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"No, it's nothing. I'm just surprised by your conviction and confidence. I think I know what I have to do, but first I need some alone time. See you later, Evélyne."

Evélyne hesitated for a moment but she eventually said,

"Goodbye, Lucas."

Lucas' tail whipped in an 'S' shape as he walked away. With measured steps on the stone pathway, he made his way to his favorite view.

Finding a comfortable spot to sit, Lucas gazed out at the horizon. After a few moments of tranquil silence, he smiled as he watched the sun,

"Seems I spent quite a while with Evélyne. It's already 1 PM, or rather, the 13th hour. Still funny that a day is twenty six hours here."

Stretching with a pleased yawn, he laid underneath the warm light. His ears fidgeted at random intervals as he calmed himself, resetting his mental state to become neutral.

Intending to meditate, he closed his eyes and focused on his progress so far. He eventually lost track of time as he fell into peaceful sleep.

Chirp, chirp.

"Huh? Huh?"

Startled awake by some particularly loud chirps, he woke up from his "meditation". Feeling something wet on his face, he whipped at it with his sleeve.

"Ohh gross."

Cleaning up his drool, he rose to a seat. Slapping his jaws slightly, he pumped himself up.

'Be serious. Now let's see…'

He centered his mind and went into deep thought.

'Why do I want to learn how to fight? That's obvious. I want to survive. Beyond that I want to be strong, I want to… be free…'

He paused here as his thoughts detracted. He recalled Evélyne's words, the convictions she showed. He couldn't help but ask himself.

'Do I really want freedom and strength? Or is it just something I deceive myself with? A grand goal I push towards to escape the abyss of despair that lurks at the back of my mind?'

His thoughts fell silent once more as he descended deeper into meditation. His troubled expression eventually went flat, as night fell.

———

[STATUS]

Name: Sasha Lifewoven

Species: Beastkin

Tier: 0

Level: 5

Essence: Empathy

Achievements:[Expert Combatant],[ Runist],[Martial Master],[Ikarrus in the making],[Empathetic], [Witness of the Beyond].

Traits: [Caring Mind],[Runic memory],[Breaking the veil], [Perfected Form].

Attributes:

•Physique: 5

•Spirit: 5

•Mind: 5

Skills:

•Psionic Circulations – [Level 5]

•Psionic Shock – [Level 4]

•Empathetic Connection – [Level 4]

•Sensory Overload - [Level 3]

Attribute points: 0

———

Sasha stared at her status screen while laying on her bed.

'Will this be enough? I hope so. The Queen needs my help, I just have to do my best.'

With that, she opened her eyes and sat up. Looking around in her large room, you could see various portraits hanging on her wall. There were mostly of her mistress, some were of the queen, herself and other Beastkin servants. As she gazed absentmindedly at her paintings, a hologram appeared in front of her.

"Are you ready, Sasha?"

Sasha nodded firmly as she looked up at the life-like image of Katlyn. The Beastkin then vanished with a streak of red light.

Sasha found herself in Katlyn's office in a blink. She stood rigidly, claws flexing faintly as the familiar hum of holograms filled the air. Crimson runes danced across the walls, syncing with the star map orbiting Katlyn's desk—a Tier Two system light-years beyond this domain. Katlyn stood at the center of the room, all the furniture was no longer present. Giving room for her to manipulate vast amounts of Spirit energy.

"Sasha, it's time again."

Sasha's tail flicked once before she tapped her chest twice.

"Yes, my Queen. The signal?"

Katlyn nodded, her gauntlet flaring as she adjusted a hologram.

"Still too faint. Decades of broadcasts, and the void swallows them. Your mental affinity's our edge. I am counting on its growth since last time."

Sasha's ears twitched, pride warring with nervousness.

"I will do my best my Queen but my [Empathetic Connection]'s level is still—"

"—it's not enough alone. I know dear."

Katlyn finished, her gaze softening.

"I've refined the gear."

A circlet etched with an absurd amount of microscopic runes appeared and hovered by Katlyn.

"The circlet's dampeners are sharper now, your Mind won't fray as fast."

Sasha stepped forward, brushing the circlet with her hands. It thrummed warmer than the last one, it felt heftier as well.

"Last time, I couldn't move for days. Will it hurt less, my Queen?"

"No."

Katlyn said, blunt but gentle.

"But you'll recover faster. I've tuned it to your limits. You're stronger than you were, Sasha."

Sasha exhaled, her mental senses grazing Katlyn's resolve. It felt like steel wrapped in care. She'd felt this before: the signal's fire, the gadgets' strain, the Queen's trust. All this was a little… too familiar.

"For you and the mistress, I'll bear it."

Katlyn's faint smile broke through.

"Prepare your mind first. Don't push before you must."

Sasha nodded as she cleared her thoughts and focused. Katlyn's eyes lingered on the star map, a tired hope flickering. After a few moments, Sasha raised the circlet to her head and wore it like a crown.

The circlet shifted and expanded, closing around her head as it glowed faintly. Katlyn nodded and a small device appeared by her side. It was an identical device to the one Evélyne used to contact her. Her eyes glowed as she sent Sasha a mental message.

/You can begin./

Sasha's eyes glowed with a bright sky blue light with the circlet following suit. She clenched her fists and canines as the circlet fired a psionic beam into the mirror-like device. Reading from the holograms around her, Katlyn thought optimistically,

'As expected, she is able to boost my mental energy by almost 10%. I should make every second count.'

Her gaze then focused as she transmitted her message.

/Attention: Sentinels of the Divine light, this is Katlyn Lifeblood, one of the many researchers of the Blood moon domain. I am stranded on an unknown planetary system, but I do think I am within the Solaris system. Requesting immediate search and rescue. I hold some information that may involve the survival of our species. The Unity, it has more than one—/

"Argh!"

Sasha suddenly collapsed in pain, bleeding heavily from all her orifices as the transmission cut off. All the holograms immediately deactivated as Katlyn focused on Sasha, catching her with an intangible energy.

She took a look at her condition. A frown formed on her face. Sasha looked like a broken porcelain doll, multiple cracks ran from her across her head gushing streams of blood.

"Multiple brain hemorrhages… This is worse than I thought."

She and Sasha vanished with a crimson light and reappeared in the lab. Katlyn produced a syringe filled with black ooze. Her eyes unreadable as she mumbled,

"It should be safe for general use now... I hope."

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