"Ooh~"
Tiona stared wide-eyed at the ring on her finger as different-colored flames suddenly kindled around it.
"Tione, look, look! The ring is really burning!"
Tione sighed, lifting the hand that wore her two rings. The same crimson and golden flames danced there.
"I ignited mine a little earlier than you," she said. "And the colors are the same as yours."
"Eh?"
With her keen eyesight, Tiona focused on Tione's rings and finally noticed they were exactly the same model as her own.
"I can only say you two really are blood sisters," Tsunayoshi said. "Even the attributes of your flames are identical."
He truly hadn't expected Tiona to ignite the Storm Flame as well. He'd thought her situation would only awaken the Sun. Who would have guessed both sisters matched perfectly? It could only mean that, in many ways, the Amazon sisters shared similar traits—and the power they had hidden within them mirrored each other in uncanny ways.
"The crimson flame is called Storm; the golden flame is called Sun," he explained.
"The Storm's effect is disintegration, and the Sun's is activation—"
Halfway through, Tsunayoshi noticed Tiona's eyes turning clear and glassy, like a spaced-out college student. He sighed, reached out, and pinched the suddenly 'wise' look from her cheeks.
"Focus, Tiona."
"Okay, okay."
"I'll use simpler words so it's easier to follow. Storm enhances your offensive power—it lets your attacks tear through an enemy's defenses and body more easily, so you hit much harder. Sun enhances your bodily responses and strength, boosting your personal ability. In battle it can also mend injuries on the fly, letting you fight longer."
Understanding dawned in Tiona's clear eyes.
"Oh—I think I get it. Storm boosts attack, Sun boosts the self. Basically both make me hit harder and fight better, right?"
"That's the gist," Tsunayoshi said, ruffling her hair. "But Storm is extremely aggressive. Be careful not to use that power on anyone in the familia. It's dangerous."
"Who would ever use that on their own teammates?" Tiona muttered, though she didn't dodge his head-pat.
Off to the side, Tione cleared her throat, unable to watch the scene any longer.
"Tsunayoshi, you said you'd train us this coming week," she reminded him. "How exactly are we doing this?"
Tsunayoshi nodded and drew his hand back.
"Normally, igniting Dying Will Flames through the ring is the very first training step. Triggering the flames within your body isn't easy. But you two are exceptional—you cleared the hardest, earliest hurdle with hardly any effort. So we can move quickly to application.
"Once you've further grasped the use of the flames, go to Lady Loki to update your status. I want to see whether Dying Will Flames can be recognized as a 'magic' unique to you."
The specifics would differ from his own case, of course. But if Tiona and Tione could turn this external power into their very own magic, the benefits would be unimaginable.
It would mean a third-party power could be converted into a magic compatible with the Blessing. That was huge—an exploitable gap in the Falna system. Whether it would work, though, depended on the sisters themselves.
"And if it does become magic… what about Riveria?" he murmured, giving his head a small shake. "No—one thing at a time. First let's see if the Dying Will Flames can be registered by the Falna as magic."
A door appeared in the sisters' room.
"Come with me."
Tsunayoshi opened it and stepped through first. Tiona and Tione exchanged a glance and followed. As soon as they entered, the door vanished behind them, and the space beyond spread out before their eyes.
"This is… Orario."
Through a floor-to-ceiling window, Tiona looked down at a familiar sight: the Dungeon City itself.
"It really is Orario!" Tione hurried to the glass as well. From this vantage point, they could see nearly the entire city.
"Then this place is the Babel Tower?"
"Correct," Tsunayoshi said. "This is a special space modeled on Orario. You can think of it as a sandbox—a board on which we can 'play' the city like a game of strategy.
"I can recreate scenarios here to rehearse for things that might happen later. In essence, it can function like a 'Challenge Space.' The doors are my constructs; I can tune what's inside, and it all remains under my control.
"For now, it's perfect for training."
A private lesson.
The sisters instantly understood what this space meant. The Challenge Space was meant for the whole familia to use. Tsunayoshi could make many such places, but this one wasn't for everyone—this one was just for them.
"I suspect explanations won't sink in as well as practice," he went on. "Learning by fighting will be faster for you two. So, to start, we'll use a herd of Minotaurs as your opponents and teach through combat."
Suddenly, the Babel Tower shuddered.
Tiona and Tione peered down toward the source of the tremor. A large group of horned, bull-headed monsters was appearing across the cityscape.
The sisters blinked—then grinned.
Interest flared in both their eyes as they turned to Tsunayoshi.
"What do we do?"
Tsunayoshi stepped to the window, flicked his hand, and the glass shattered outward. He stood at the edge.
"Come with me."
With that, he leapt.
Without hesitation, the two sisters planted their feet on the carpet, kicked off, and dove after him.
(End of Chapter)
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