His voice cut through the silence.
"How long are you planning to sit here sulking?"
Kikaru didn’t move.
Elias kept going. "Is this how Colby will be rembered? As a bunch of weaklings throwing in the towel?"
Kikaru’s fingers tensed, but she barely moved. "I don’t know..." she muttered. "I was supposed to be perfect... on the battlefield, off the battlefield. In every aspect of life."
She shook her head. "And I failed. Utterly."
Her voice wavered, her head tucking even lower into her arms.
Elias scoffed.
"Big fucking deal if you failed. Big fucking deal if you fail again."
Kikaru’s shoulders stiffened.
"The strongest aren’t made through easy victories. They’re forged through failure." His voice lowered. "Winning never pushes you like losing does. And if you let that fear of losing again keep you down, you’ll never move forward."
Elias stepped closer, lowering himself to her level.
"I’ve been wh—"
"I didn’t ask for a pep talk."
"Yeah, well, I didn’t ask to be a failure," Elias shot back. "A shadow of a man I’ll never reach. I definitely didn’t ask for any of this."
His jaw tightened.
"I should’ve died in that alley."
The words hung in the air.
For a brief mont, there was silence.
Then he continued.
"But sitting here, drowning in that feeling—it doesn’t do shit. It never did. And it won’t now."
Dot’s floated out from Elias’s chest, her tiny form glowing faintly as she drifted toward Kikaru’s Ikona. She wrapped her little arms around it, an unspoken comfort between Ikona.
Elias exhaled, rising to his feet.
"We weren’t as ready as we thought we were."
His gaze hardened.
"But as my father always said—’A big fall makes the coback all the sweeter.’"
Kikaru’s head lifted slightly, her red-rimd eyes watching him through dried tears.
"What the hell does that even an?" she muttered.
Elias smirked.
"It ans get comfortable. I’m making sothing special tonight."
Then, before she could respond, he turned on his heel and walked off, already pulling Tidwell and Paul into a hushed conversation.
Kikaru sniffed, wiping her eyes roughly with the back of her sleeve.
"Stupid idiot... acting like he knows everything."
She exhaled, a shaky breath slipping past her lips.
"... But I guess he’s right."
Shaking off the lingering frustration, Kikaru stood and stretched her arms over her head, rolling the tension from her shoulders. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a small device. The screen flickered to life, revealing a single unread ssage:
"I expected better from you. Please don’t fail again... for the sake of everyone."
Her grip tightened around the device for a mont before she let out a quiet sigh and snapped it shut.
"Light, pull up the tree and show our spirit energy count."
🌙 Radiant Ascendance: Kikaru’s Skill Tree 🌙
A skill path that enhances Light’s ability to manipulate plasma-based light energy, refine constructs, and improve energy control.
🌙 Core Skills 🌙 (Base Branch)
☀ Luminous Constructs (1/5) → 200 Soul Energy
→ Light’s ability to form solid plasma-light constructs. Higher levels increase complexity, size, and duration.
🔦 Refraction Control (1/5) → 200 Soul Energy
→ ??? (System Error: Locked Data. Higher levels may enhance Light’s ability to bend and control how light interacts with objects, possibly leading to advanced camouflage or illusions.)
⚡ Solar Charge (1/5) → 200 Soul Energy
→ ??? (Light’s plasma constructs beco more energized, increasing cutting power, explosive properties, or energy discharge potential.)
🏗 Radiant Stability (1/5) → 200 Soul Energy
→ ??? (Strengthens plasma constructs, making them more dense and durable, reducing energy drain, and allowing for longer usage.)
🔒 Locked Skill Paths (2/5) ???/??? → ??? Soul Energy
→ Unknown abilities waiting to be unlocked through mastery or unique conditions. All core skills must be leveled to (2/5) before these can be accessed.
-
Light hovered beside Kikaru, tilting its glowing head as it scanned the skill tree.
"Have you decided what you want to do with this?"
Kikaru stared at the floating display, arms crossed. No idea... The weight of everything pressed against her mind—the brutal fight, the losses, the cryptic ssage she’d received. But what gnawed at her the most was Refraction Control.
"Why is this one all weird?" she muttered, more to herself than Light.
Light bobbed slightly, as if trying to find the answer. "I don’t know... but we’ll figure it out. You’re strong regardless, and things will go well—I’m sure of it!"
Kikaru sighed, rubbing her temple. "Yeah, I guess..." But deep down, she wasn’t sure. The two-week countdown lood over her like an axe, the reality of only ninety Shard Users making it through Phase 1 settling deep in her stomach. It felt less like survival and more like they were playing a twisted ga.
I should have used my question to ask why.
But there was no point dwelling on it now.
Ti passed until she made her way to the training room for a few hours
A Block Training Simulation Room –
The hum of the simulation room filled the space as Kikaru adjusted the wrappings around her hands. Across from her, a dozen training dummies stood motionless, their sleek tallic forms lined with impact sensors.
She exhaled, rolling her shoulders before vanishing in a burst of movent.
Her foot struck the first dummy’s torso with a sickening crack, the reinforced material bending slightly before her next strike sent it sprawling backward. She pivoted, launching into a flurry of rapid kicks, her speed increasing with every motion.
Light floated overhead, quietly observing.
The minutes blurred together—jabs, sweeps, calculated bursts of speed—until her muscles burned.
At 7:00 PM, a distant chi echoed through the room. She planted her foot against the final dummy’s head, sending it skidding across the floor, before coming to a slow stop. Her breath was steady, but her mind still felt tangled.
Then—
A sweet scent drifted through the air.
Kikaru blinked, wiping sweat from her brow as she turned toward the common area.
Stepping out of the training room, she froze.
A long dining table stretched before her, draped in an elegant white cloth. The lighting in the room had been softened, casting a warm glow over the spread of immaculate dishes arranged in neat, artistic placents.
Elias sat at the head of the table, his arms crossed with an amused smirk as the group of six gathered around, their eyes wide in disbelief.
Steam rose from a golden-brown roasted bird, its surface crisped to perfection, glazed with a sweet, glossy sauce that glistened under the lights. To its side, perfectly seared cuts of at rested atop a bed of fragrant herbs, the juices pooling in a shallow silver dish.
The table was lined with lavish side dishes—creamy mashed root vegetables with hints of garlic and butter, freshly baked rolls, and delicate glass bowls filled with vibrant fruits. A set of ornate teapots sat in the center, emitting faint curls of aromatic steam.
The sight alone was almost overwhelming.
Elias leaned back in his chair, stretching. "I spoke with Warden Geras in my evening brief, and he approved this."
Kikaru’s brows raised. "Wait—you get to talk with him?"
Elias just shrugged. "I guess I do."
She didn’t press it further. Her eyes wandered over the feast before her—until sothing familiar caught her attention.
A simple dish, tucked between extravagant platters of food.
Her chest tightened as she slowly reached out, fingers grazing the delicate plate. The golden, crisp exterior of lightly fried tofu, drizzled with a tangy citrus sauce, sat before her. The aroma of dashi broth mixed with the faintest hint of yuzu filled her nose.
Her childhood favorite.
The last ti she’d eaten this was...
She swallowed hard, gripping the edge of the table.
Elias, without looking up, casually remarked, "Hope I got it right."
Kikaru’s fingers twitched, her mind swirling with mories.
She picked up her chopsticks, hesitating only for a second before taking a bite.
The mont the flavors hit her tongue, her eyes widened slightly.
It was perfect.
Kikaru chewed slowly, savoring the taste before setting down her chopsticks. She stared at the dish, the golden edges of the lightly fried tofu absorbing the citrus sauce just as she rembered from her childhood.
Then, her head snapped up, eyes narrowing at Elias. "How the hell did you even know about this?"
Elias, mid-bite of his own al, lifted a brow. He swallowed before smirking. "I’ve been thinking about it since I got here." He leaned back, stretching his arms behind his head. "Worked with Geras to find out everyone’s favorite foods. Turns out, it’s not as hard as you’d imagine."
Kikaru stared at him, processing the words.
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