Two weeks after Hollowstar, Eclipse Faction had found its rhythm.

The headquarters buzzed with activity most days. Contracts flooded in faster than Sam could process them, a direct result of winning the Vanguard challenge. Thirty percent of their workload now came to Eclipse instead, and while the faction hadn't absorbed Vanguard's people or infrastructure, the sheer volume of work meant everyone stayed busy.

Noah stepped off a transport covered in purple goo that smelled like rotting fruit mixed with sulfur. The beast they'd been hired to retrieve had broken containment at a private facility, killed three handlers before they could subdue it properly. By the time Eclipse arrived, the thing was rampaging through residential areas.

They'd put it down. No other choice. The creature was a Category 4, some kind of blob amalgamation that the client had been keeping for research purposes. Illegal research, Noah suspected, given how quickly they'd paid and how few questions they'd asked about collateral damage.

Marcus walked beside him, equally coated in the substance. "I'm burning these clothes. All of them. The smell isn't coming out."

"Agreed," Noah replied. The goo clung to everything it touched, viscous and sticky. His armor was going to need serious cleaning.

Reyna brought up the rear, somehow having avoided most of the mess. "Next time someone says 'simple retrieval,' we're charging double."

They filed into the building, heading straight for the decontamination showers Sam had installed after the third incident involving biological hazards. Eclipse recruits who weren't on contracts paused to stare as they passed, some covering their noses, others just shaking their heads.

"Don't ask," Noah said preemptively.

Sam met them in the hallway, tablet in hand, taking one look at their state before stepping back. "Successful contract?"

"Target's dead. Civilians are safe. Client paid immediately." Noah peeled goo off his forearm. "I need a shower."

"Medical wants to check everyone for contamination first. That stuff could be toxic."

"It's definitely toxic," Marcus muttered. "I can feel my skin tingling."

The medical check took twenty minutes. The goo wasn't immediately dangerous but needed to be washed off soon to avoid irritation. Noah finally made it to his quarters, stripped off everything he was wearing, and stood under hot water until the purple residue finally surrendered and went down the drain.

He dressed in clean clothes, ran a hand through damp hair, and was considering what to do with the rest of his day when he found Lila sitting on his bed.

"You know," he said conversationally, "most people knock."

"I may not have the door lock code but I have a key." Lila held it up, dangling from her fingers. "Sophie gave me one. Said I should use it responsibly."

Noah grabbed a towel, started drying his hair properly. "And you consider walking into my room unannounced responsible?"

"I heard about the blob thing. Figured you'd need someone to talk to after dealing with that mess." She stood, walked over to where he stood. "How bad was it?"

"Three people dead before we arrived. The thing had dissolved them partially. We couldn't save them."

Lila's expression softened. "That's rough."

"Yeah." Noah tossed the towel aside. "Could've been worse though. We stopped it before it reached the school nearby."

They stood there for a moment, comfortable silence stretching between them. Lila looked better than she had two weeks ago. The whole situation with not finding her parents on Hollowstar, combined with One attacking her specifically, had left visible damage. But she'd thrown herself into work since then, taking contracts, training recruits, staying busy enough that grief couldn't catch up.

"I just wanted to check in," Lila said eventually. "We haven't really talked since this morning. You rushed off to that contract before I could say anything."

"Sorry. Sam flagged it as urgent."

"I know. I'm not complaining." She moved toward the door. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay. I'll let you rest."

She stood on her toes and kissed him before patting him on the chest and walking away.

"Thanks." Noah said, still getting used to getting this treatment from two other women...everyday.

She paused at the doorway. "Oh, and Lucas has apparently turned the training hall into his personal fan club meeting spot. Fair warning."

Noah groaned. "Again?"

"Every day for the past week." Lila grinned. "Sophie thinks it's hilarious. Diana wants to implement restricted access hours."

She left before Noah could respond. He considered his options. Another contract was out of the question. His void energy reserve was fine but his body needed rest. Sleep would be smart. Training would be smarter.

He grabbed a fresh towel and headed toward the training area.

The murmuring hit him before he rounded the corner. Female voices, lots of them, talking over each other with that particular tone that meant they were watching something they definitely enjoyed watching.

"Did you see that move?"

"How is he that fast?"

"I don't even care about the speed. Did you see his arms?"

Noah turned the corner and found exactly what Lila had warned him about. Maybe twenty women crowded around the glass partition that separated the main hallway from Training Hall Three. They pressed against the glass, standing on tiptoes, some holding tablets presumably recording whatever was happening inside.

Diana was trying to force her way through the crowd from the opposite direction. She made it about halfway before giving up, squeezing through the last few people with visible effort. When she spotted Noah, she walked over with the expression of someone who'd dealt with this exact situation multiple times.

"Don't ask. It's the usual," Diana said flatly.

"I figured."

"I've tried implementing sign-up sheets. Restricted hours. Mandatory supervision. Nothing works." She shook her head. "He doesn't even notice they're there half the time. Just keeps training like the glass isn't covered in people."

"That sounds like Lucas."

"It's getting ridiculous. Yesterday someone asked me if they could get his autograph." Diana's frustration was palpable. "We're a military faction, not a fan club."

She walked off before Noah could respond, probably to go find Kelvin and complain about organizational problems. Noah approached the glass, and the women noticed immediately. Several jumped, suddenly very interested in being literally anywhere else.

"We were just leaving," one of them said quickly.

"Training hall's open to everyone," Noah replied. "I'm not going to yell at you for watching."

They scattered anyway, disappearing down various hallways with backward glances. Within thirty seconds, the area was clear except for Noah standing in front of the glass.

Inside Training Hall Three, Lucas was destroying combat mechs.

He wore camo shorts and nothing else, his torso bare and glistening with sweat. His hair had grown longer in the shadow dimension, now tied back in a ponytail that swung with his movements. Two weeks of proper nutrition and specialized supplements had filled him out considerably. The skeletal appearance from Hollowstar was gone, replaced by lean muscle and the kind of definition that came from constant physical activity.

Six combat mechs surrounded him, each one programmed for lethal force training. They moved with coordinated precision, attacking from multiple angles simultaneously.

Lucas was faster.

He ducked under a punch that would have caved in a normal person's skull, came up inside the mech's guard, drove his fist through its chest plating. Sparks erupted. The mech collapsed. Lucas was already moving before it hit the ground.

The second mech swung a blade arm. Lucas caught the appendage mid-strike, twisted, ripped the entire limb free with a screech of tearing metal. He used it as a club to deflect the third mech's attack, then threw it like a javelin through the fourth mech's power core.

Two left. They adjusted tactics, trying to flank him from opposite sides. Lucas didn't bother dodging. He moved between them so fast he left afterimages, his body was a blur that the mechs' targeting systems couldn't track. His elbow caught one in the head unit, obliterating the sensors. His kick took the other's legs out completely.

Both mechs collapsed. The training hall fell silent except for the sound of Lucas breathing and the mechanical death rattles of destroyed equipment.

Noah cleared his throat.

Lucas turned, spotted him through the glass, grinned. He walked over to the door panel, deactivated the lock, pushed it open. "Eclipse. When did you get here?"

"Just now. Finished a contract about an hour ago."

"The blob thing? Marcus was complaining about it in the mess hall earlier."

"That's the one."

Lucas grabbed a towel from the bench, wiped sweat from his face and chest. "How'd it go?"

"Target's dead. Three civilian casualties we couldn't prevent." Noah looked at the destroyed mechs scattered across the training hall floor. "I see you've been busy."

"Training. Same as always." Lucas tossed the towel aside. "These mechs are too fragile though. I barely hit them and they fall apart."

"That's not exactly true."

"What do you mean?"

Noah gestured at the wreckage. "Kelvin's modified those training bots three times since you started using them. Each version was supposed to be more durable, better able to handle high-level combatants. You're breaking them faster than he can improve the design."

Lucas's expression shifted to something between satisfaction and frustration. "So I'm too strong for the equipment."

"Basically, yeah."

"That's a problem." Lucas walked over to one of the destroyed mechs, examined the hole his fist had punched through reinforced chest plating. "Training is everything. If I can't push myself properly, I'm just going through motions. That's how you get sloppy. How you lose your edge."

Noah had seen this before. Back at the academy, Lucas had trained obsessively. Every morning before classes, every evening after. Even during their first year expedition to Cannadah, where they'd barely survived Harbinger attacks, apparently, Lucas had found time to drill combat forms. Training wasn't just habit for him.

It was his identity.

"No dummy out there can push you anymore," Noah said carefully. "That's just the reality now. You've gotten too strong for conventional training equipment."

Lucas looked genuinely unhappy. His jaw tightened, his hands clenched into fists. For someone whose entire life revolved around self-improvement through physical discipline, this was devastating news.

Then his expression shifted. A smirk crossed his face, familiar and challenging. "Maybe no doll can stand up to me. But perhaps someone can."

Noah chuckled. "I'm not sure Sophie wants to leave all that paperwork to come fight you."

Lucas actually laughed, putting his palm over his face. "No. God, no. I mean, yeah, Sophie would absolutely destroy me hand to hand. Her tactical thinking is scary. But when it counts?" He dropped his hand, met Noah's eyes. "No disrespect, but I'd destroy Sophie. She's smart but I'm faster and stronger. The gap's too big."

"Fair point."

"What about the others? Diana's probably busy with Kelvin. Are they still working on new mech designs?"

"Always. Diana's been helping him refine KROME's systems."

"I'm still surprised those two ended up dating." Lucas shook his head. "After Diana asked him out on Raiju and he said he wasn't ready, I figured the whole thing would either die quietly or Kelvin would wake up one morning unable to move his tongue."

Noah grinned. "Diana's more patient than people give her credit for."

"Apparently." Lucas grabbed a water bottle, drank half of it. "What about Seraleth? She's always up for training."

"She would be. But you two are still getting acquainted, right?"

"Yeah." Lucas's expression became more guarded. "I mean, we fought together on Lilivil. Helped evacuate her people. Brought them to Raiju. But that was crisis mode. I don't really know her outside of combat situations yet."

"She's good with people. You'd like training with her."

"Maybe later." Lucas set the water bottle down. "Honestly, I was hoping you'd be interested."

Noah raised an eyebrow. "Me?"

"Why not? You're the only person here who comes close to my level. Before I got trapped in Arthur's dimension, we were pretty evenly matched. You had the edge because of your abilities, but it was close." Lucas's expression held genuine interest. "Now? I don't know. Would be interesting to find out."

"I'd slow you down," Noah replied. "And besides, I was planning to do my own training. Chi cultivation. Meditation. The quiet stuff."

"I could join you for that. Meditation's good for control." Lucas moved closer. "Come on. We haven't sparred properly since the academy. And you've always been the closest to me in raw power. S-rank versus SSS-rank. Let's see how that gap's changed."

Noah considered. Lucas had a point. They hadn't fought each other seriously since before the shadow dimension, before Hollowstar, before everything that had changed both of them. It would be interesting to see where they stood now.

But the training hall's equipment couldn't handle Lucas anymore. And Noah wasn't stupid enough to fight an S-rank lightning user at full power in an enclosed space.

Then the idea hit him.

"Actually," Noah said slowly, "I was going to train my chi in my domain. You know, the void pocket dimension where I keep the dragons."

"Of course I know your domain." Lucas's interest sharpened. "The place you summoned Nyx from during our first fight with Harbingers."

"That's the one. It's quiet. Peaceful. Good for meditation and control work."

"Sounds nice."

"And I think I could help you with an adequate training partner."

Lucas tilted his head. "What kind of training partner?"

Noah's smile was slight but genuine. "The kind that won't break when you hit it. Come on. I'll show you."

He didn't elaborate further. Lucas looked curious but didn't push, just grabbed his shirt from the bench and pulled it on. They walked out of the training hall together, heading toward Noah's quarters where they'd have privacy for the domain transfer.

"This partner," Lucas said as they walked. "It's not one of your dragons, right? Because I like breathing and would prefer to keep doing it."

"Not a dragon."

"That's reassuring."

"It's something else entirely."

They reached Noah's quarters. He closed the door, turned to face Lucas. "Ready?"

"For what?"

"Domain Travel," Noah said.

Noah activated his domain travel skill. The Purple-black energy erupted around both of them, void power responding to his will. Lucas tensed instinctively but didn't resist as the energy wrapped around him, pulling him into the dimensional space.

Reality folded. The familiar sensation of existing between locations, molecules scattering and reforming. Then grass beneath their feet, perfect light from no visible source, the domain spreading in every direction.

Storm noticed them first. The wyvern shot from his den with that characteristic screech, covering the distance in seconds. He circled overhead, clearly excited to see Noah but cautious about the unfamiliar presence even though he knew Lucas.

Noah noticed Storm had been behaving differently since Lucas returned from the shadow dimension. He generally wasn't warm but not hostile either towards Lucas.

But then again, Lucas and Storm weren't exactly buddies. Kelvin on the other hand...

Ivy emerged more gracefully, her emerald scales catching light as she approached. Her vine appendages extended slightly, tasting the air, assessing Lucas.

Nyx remained in his den but his golden eyes locked onto Lucas immediately, tracking every movement with predatory focus.

"Your dragons remember me," Lucas said, looking around. "Is it just me or they're bigger than I remember?"

"Maybe they've grown." Noah walked forward, and Storm descended to nuzzle against him. "It's fine. He's friendly."

Storm chirped uncertainly but didn't attack. Ivy moved closer to inspect Lucas, her intelligent eyes studying him with clear interest. Nyx rumbled from his den, a sound that carried neither welcome nor threat.

Lucas stood very still, smart enough not to make sudden movements around creatures that could kill him. "I can never stop being amazed whenever I come here. It's incredible. How big is it?"

"Big enough." Noah scratched under Storm's jaw. "What did you think you were going to spar with? I hope you didn't expect me to volunteer Nyx, Storm, or Ivy. I'm not ready to be responsible for your death."

Lucas actually laughed. "Yeah, no. Fighting dragons isn't on my training agenda. So what's this mysterious partner you mentioned?"

Noah's smile widened. "Something you might find worse than dragons."

He walked away from Lucas, creating distance, moving toward an outcropping of stone that rose from the perfect grass. He climbed it easily, settled into a meditation pose at the top, looking down at where Lucas stood confused in the clearing below.

Then Noah activated Reaper's Harvest.

Void energy poured from the grass in a torrent, purple-black light erupting in a pillar that stretched upward. The dragons reacted immediately. Storm screeched, backing away with frost forming around his scales. Ivy's vines extended defensively. Nyx rose from his den, heat radiating from his body.

The pillar condensed, taking shape. Twelve feet tall, feminine, four horns curving from the skull. The Widow materialized as a dark purple construct, her form solid but clearly wrong. Not flesh and blood but void energy given shape. Her eyes glowed with purple light, empty of intelligence but radiating threat.

Noah settled more comfortably on his stone perch, satisfaction clear in his expression.

"Enjoy!" he called down.

Lucas stared at the Widow construct. Stared at the four horns, the twelve-foot frame, the tail swaying behind her like a blade. Stared at the creature that had killed thousands of humans, that had nearly killed Noah himself.

"Great," Lucas said flatly. "A Harbinger."

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