The sun was already leaning toward the horizon when Kazen suddenly stopped walking.
We were still on the beach—sand clinging stubbornly to our clothes, salt drying on our skin, laughter echoing faintly with every crashing wave. I'd been half-dragged along by the group, still replaying the feeling of the ocean in my head, when Kazen planted his feet so abruptly that Liam nearly walked straight into him.
"Hold up," Kazen said, squinting toward the distant skyline of Newoaga. The city rose beyond the beach in layered terraces of white stone, blue banners fluttering from towers, domed rooftops glinting under the sun. "Tomorrow morning," he added, grin slowly spreading, "we explore the city."
Everyone froze.
Then—
"What?"
"Like… actually explore?"
"The markets too?"
"Food stalls?"
"Weapon shops?"
"Can we—"
"Yes," Kazen laughed, holding up both hands. "All of it."
The reaction was immediate.
Kai pumped his fist. "Finally!"
Aelira's eyes lit up, restrained but clearly curious. "I'd like to see their icecraft districts… coastal cities often develop different techniques."
Liraeth tilted her head, sparks of plasma flickering faintly as excitement crept in. "Do they have arc-conduit towers? Coastal mana currents are stronger."
Arion looked overwhelmed already. "Do they… have cheap food?"
Seraphyne spun one of her daggers lazily and smirked. "Shopping and sightseeing? I'm in."
I didn't even realize I was smiling until Kazen glanced at me.
"Rain?" he asked. "You good?"
I nodded quickly. "Yeah. I've… never really explored a city before."
That earned me a few looks.
Liam blinked. "You're kidding."
I shrugged. "I was busy surviving most of the time."
That shut him up.
With that settled, Kazen clapped his hands. "Alright! Back to the villa. Tomorrow's gonna be long."
That's when Theon grinned dangerously.
"Race you back," he said.
There was a brief pause.
"…Whoever's last does the laundry," Liam added.
Silence.
Then chaos.
Everyone bolted at once.
Sand exploded beneath sprinting feet. Kai surged ahead immediately, fire flickering faintly at his heels before Aldred's earlier warning echoed in all our heads and he cut it off with a curse. Kazen followed, long strides eating up ground easily. Varein moved like the wind itself, barely disturbing the sand. Aelira ran smoothly, efficiently. Liraeth laughed as she sprinted, plasma crackling faintly around her boots.
I ran too—lungs burning, heart pounding, laughing despite myself.
Behind us, Arion was already wheezing.
"THIS—WASN'T—A—GOOD—IDEA!"
Near the villa gates, disaster struck.
Seraphyne, laughing and taunting Liam over her shoulder, didn't see the uneven stone step.
She tripped.
Hard.
She hit the ground with a startled yelp, skidding forward and stopping just short of the gate as the rest of us crossed it in a tangle of laughter and near collisions.
There was a long pause.
Then Seraphyne groaned, pushing herself up. "…I hate all of you."
Laughter erupted.
"Laundry duty!" Kai shouted.
Seraphyne flipped him off without hesitation.
Instructor Aldred, who had been waiting near the entrance with crossed arms, sighed deeply. "You are all impossible."
Dinner that night was loud.
The Drayle dining hall was massive—long table, polished wood, hanging crystal lights that reflected warm gold across the room. Plates kept coming. Fish prepared in ways I'd never tasted. Fresh bread. Stews rich with herbs. Fruits soaked in citrus and honey.
Arion nearly cried.
"This—this is noble food," he whispered reverently.
Seraphyne sulked through half the meal, forced to listen to constant reminders of her laundry fate. Liam didn't let her forget it for even a second.
At one point, Kai tried to see how many rolls he could stack on Arion's plate before he noticed.
It was six.
Later, as the noise died down and plates were cleared, something… shifted.
I noticed it because I'd learned to notice these things now.
Varein sat a little straighter than before, breath steady, eyes distant. A faint current of air stirred around him—not wild, not uncontrolled. Just… present. Like his body was learning the rhythm of his aura instead of fighting it.
He didn't seem to realize it.
Aldred did.
The instructor watched him quietly from across the table, saying nothing—but his gaze lingered, thoughtful.
That night, the villa settled into a rare kind of silence.
When morning came, I was already awake.
And for once… I wasn't tired.
Sunlight spilled through the curtains, warm and bright. My chest felt light. My mind clear. I sat up slowly, listening to the distant sounds of the city waking—carriages, voices, gulls calling somewhere beyond the walls.
Varein stirred in the other bed. "You're up early."
I nodded. "I'm… excited."
He smiled faintly. "Yeah. Me too."
We met the others near the entrance an hour later.
No one was late.
That alone felt strange.
Newoaga's main district was everything I imagined—and more.
White stone roads curved gently between buildings decorated with blue glass and sea-themed carvings. Wind chimes hung from balconies. Mana-lamps shimmered with soft aquatic hues. The air smelled like salt and spice and something sweet I couldn't place.
I kept turning my head, afraid I'd miss something.
Kazen stopped us near the central plaza.
A massive statue dominated the square.
A knight stood carved from azure-tinted stone, cloak billowing behind him as if caught in an eternal storm. His blade was raised—not in threat, but command. The sea itself was sculpted at his feet, parted as though obeying his will.
Kazen stepped beside me.
"This," he said quietly, "is Commander Nerith of the Azure Mantle."
I stared up.
"He commanded the Leviathan Knights," Kazen continued. "A lost order. Legends say his aura alone split the seas. He didn't just fight monsters—he led tides."
Something stirred in my chest.
"Do you think…" I hesitated. "Knights like that could exist again?"
Kazen looked at me for a long moment.
"…Yeah," he said. "I do."
The others had already drifted ahead—laughing, arguing over stalls, pointing at trinkets and weapons and food.
I took one last look at the statue.
Sir Nerith of the Azure Mantle stood frozen in stone, cloak billowing behind him as if the ocean itself had carved it that way. The way his sword was angled—downward, calm, not raised in threat—felt deliberate. Not a conqueror's stance.
A protector's.
I swallowed.
I didn't know why, but the statue made my chest feel tight. Not fear. Not awe either.
Something closer to longing.
"…Leviathan Knights," I murmured. "A whole order just… gone."
Kazen nodded. "Disbanded after the Calamity Tides. Or wiped out. Depends who you ask."
I looked away before the feeling grew heavier.
"Hey!" Liam's voice echoed from down the street. "You two planning to start a history lecture or are you coming?"
Kai was already halfway down the avenue, holding up something wrapped in paper and shouting about food.
Seraphyne was dragging Aelira toward a clothing stall, pink hair bouncing as she laughed.
Liraeth stood nearby pretending not to be interested while very obviously watching a stall filled with crackling crystal ornaments.
Arion looked overwhelmed.
Theon looked impressed.
Varein was quietly observing everything, eyes sharp but relaxed—his posture different than it used to be.
I jogged to catch up.
The main district of Newoaga was alive in a way Lionhearth never was.
Lionhearth felt disciplined. Regal. Structured.
Newoaga felt… free.
Open-air markets stretched across wide stone streets, colorful banners hanging between buildings like sails. Merchants shouted cheerfully, not aggressively. Music drifted from somewhere—strings and drums blending with laughter. The air smelled like salt, citrus, and roasted fish.
Kai stopped at every third stall.
"No," Aelira said flatly, pulling him back by the collar. "You do not need another skewer."
"I absolutely do," Kai argued. "For balance."
"For bankruptcy," Liam muttered.
Kazen laughed. "Relax. It's on me."
That was a mistake.
Kai's eyes lit up like a man who had just been handed the keys to chaos.
"Oh? Did you hear that, Rain?" he said, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "He said it's on him."
"I did not say unlimited," Kazen corrected immediately.
Too late.
Somehow, within half an hour:
Kai had bought four different street foods and tried to stack them.
Seraphyne convinced a vendor to let her try juggling flame-glass baubles.
Arion got talked into holding a decorative anchor that was far heavier than it looked.
Liam somehow ended up in a heated debate with a fishmonger about seasoning.
Theon stood quietly reading plaques and signs like this was a museum tour.
Liraeth bought something that hummed ominously and refused to explain it.
Aelira inspected fabrics like a noble evaluating armor.
And me?
I just… walked.
Watched.
Every sound. Every smell. Every smile.
I hadn't realized how little of the world I'd actually seen.
"You look like your head's about to explode," Varein said, falling into step beside me.
I blinked. "Is it that obvious?"
He smiled slightly. "You're staring at everything like it might disappear."
"…It feels like it might," I admitted.
He didn't tease me for that.
Instead, he nodded.
"Then take your time."
We eventually regrouped near a fountain shaped like a coiled sea serpent. Everyone compared purchases.
Seraphyne held up a bright scarf. "I'm wearing this to class."
Liam groaned. "Absolutely not."
"I'm doing it anyway."
Kazen checked a small timepiece. "We still have a few hours. There's the upper terraces, the docks, and—"
"The docks," Kai said immediately.
"—the historical quarter," Kazen finished.
"DOCKS," Kai repeated louder.
Aldred, who had been quietly observing from the edge of the group, sighed.
"We'll split," he decided. "No more than groups of four. Meet back here before sunset."
Everyone immediately started arguing about groups.
I didn't even realize I'd been pulled until—
"Rain, you're with us."
I looked up.
Kazen. Varein. Aelira.
"…Okay."
The docks were massive.
Ships of every size bobbed gently in the water—merchant vessels, fishing boats, sleek military designs with reinforced hulls. Sailcloth snapped in the breeze. Gulls cried overhead.
I leaned over the railing, staring down at the endless blue.
So this was the ocean.
It felt… alive.
"You look like you're about to jump in," Kazen said.
"I'm not," I replied quickly.
Pause.
"…Probably."
Aelira snorted softly.
Varein rested his arms on the railing. "It's strange, isn't it? Something so big it doesn't care about us at all."
I nodded.
The waves reminded me of my aura. Constant. Moving. Never truly still.
"Rain," Kazen said suddenly, more serious. "You ever think about what you'll do after graduation?"
The question caught me off guard.
"…No," I admitted. "I've just been… surviving. Getting stronger. Protecting people."
Varein glanced at me. "That's not a bad answer."
Aelira looked out at the horizon. "But eventually, you'll choose."
I thought of Sir Nerith.
Of the Leviathan Knights.
Of guardians forced into madness.
"…I want to protect," I said quietly. "But I don't want to become something that's only used."
None of them laughed.
Kazen smiled instead. "Good. Then you'll find your own path."
We met back at the fountain as the sun dipped lower.
Everyone was talking at once—new foods discovered, strange merchants encountered, Arion somehow having bargained his way into a free trinket.
Seraphyne waved dramatically. "Next time we split, I'm going with Rain."
I choked. "Why?"
"Because you get into the least trouble."
Kai scoffed. "That's a lie."
Aldred clapped once. "Enough. Back to the villa."
Groans echoed.
But as we walked back together—laughing, arguing, alive—I realized something.
This wasn't just a trip.
It was the first time I felt like I was living, not just preparing for the next fight.
I didn't feel like the storm was chasing us for right now.