Echelon Academy was bustling with activity. Both indoors and outdoors. Students trained with equipnt and sparred amongst themselves. So worked completely alone, choosing secluded spots away from the crowds. Everyone was refining their ability techniques while instructors and other authority figures made preparations for the upcoming trials behind the scenes.
There were no unnecessary discussions or casual fraternization.
There was no laughter either. It was as though nothing had happened the day before.
As though festival tents still didn't stand in forgotten corners of the academy and confetti wasn't scattered across the pathways.
Each person was fully engrossed in whatever task they had undertaken, pushing themselves for hours with only brief monts of rest.
And the strain showed. In the gym, a student tore a muscle trying to lift four heavy weights at once.
The weights crashed to the ground with a violent clang, and he collapsed before anyone could react.
A tired Lightning User missed his aim and blasted his training partner through the shoulder. The crack of electricity echoed too late for correction. An Advanced Class hybrid attempted to manipulate two elents simultaneously. The air warped incorrectly.
Fire bent into wind, wind fed the flas, and the surrounding space nearly beca unstable before instructors forcibly shut the exercise down. A student with Elasticity stretched an arm from the ground to the top of a building in an attempt to save ti during drills. The limb beca lodged between structures, trembling violently as it refused to retract. An Earth User accidentally trapped another student beneath the ground during formation practice.
Panic spread through the training field before an instructor shattered the terrain and pulled the victim free. By late afternoon, even controlled exercises began to fail under mounting exhaustion. A student attempted to move two long buses across a testing lane using telekinesis. The strain hit imdiately.
She held on anyway, shaking uncontrollably, until her body finally gave out and she doubled over, coughing blood onto the ground. The Academy Clinic was busier than ever.
---
By evening, the training field was still crowded. Most students were visibly exhausted, yet they continued regardless. Mahirah stood near the bleachers, striking a punching bag shaped like a human target. Her fists, elbows, and knees targeted vulnerable areas as she continuously tried to visualize the pressure points of the human body. She had spent most of the previous day studying a book on the subject. Unlike many of her fellow students, Mahirah trained with a seemingly endless determination, stopping only long enough to catch her breath before resuming. Kristen and her clique passed by.
"Nice work, Corvane," Kristen taunted. "Let's see if you co up with so groundbreaking moves next week."
Her friends probably would have laughed if she had said that on any other day. Mahirah gritted her teeth and struck harder, imagining driving a knee straight into Kristen's face. Not far from her, a few rows up in the bleachers, Apollo sat watching the field. He looked far too relaxed for the atmosphere around him. Mahirah had been deliberately ignoring his presence. That was until Garrett suddenly appeared and took a seat beside him. Mahirah paused for a second before continuing her training.
"Hey, man," Garrett said.
"Hey."
Apollo opened the bag beside him, pulled out a purple water bottle, and took a drink.
"How's training looking?" Garrett asked.
He regretted the question imdiately. Apollo was still wearing the walking boot, and his crutch rested beside his seat. He didn't seem bothered.
"Great from this angle," Apollo replied.
Garrett pressed his lips together. Mahirah glanced toward them repeatedly.
"What brings you by?" Apollo asked.
Garrett coughed.
"I heard the summon didn't go as expected."
Apollo kept his eyes on the field.
"And what exactly was expected?" he asked.
Garrett shifted slightly.
"Well, you seed pretty certain the library attack ca from an insider."
Mahirah had stopped pretending to train and was now openly listening. Apollo sighed.
"I really don't appreciate indirect conversations. Tell your President to see if he wants to talk."
Mahirah was already making her way over. Garrett nodded.
"Fine by ."
He stood and started to leave. Mahirah arrived just as he passed.
"Still running errands?" she asked, sounding irritated.
Garrett regarded her briefly.
"Nothing you should worry about."
"It's not worth my ti," Mahirah sniffed.
"Then why are you here?"
Mahirah didn't hesitate.
"To ask you to leave. We have training to do."
Garrett glanced at Apollo's injured foot. There was no chance he could train. Still, he said nothing and walked away. Apollo turned toward Mahirah.
"That was uncalled for."
Mahirah scoffed.
"He insulted on Monday. This is nothing."
Her gaze drifted toward the water bottle in his hand. She frowned and snatched it away.
"I said you could have one sip. Then you drank the whole thing?"
Apollo remained expressionless.
"I was thirsty."
"You could've gotten water sowhere else. You're not even training."
Apollo's gaze returned to the field.
"You know, usually friends help each other."
Mahirah blinked.
"Friends?" she echoed.
A few seconds passed. She folded her arms.
"So we're friends now?" she asked mockingly.
Apollo didn't answer. Sothing on the field had caught his attention. The girl who had introduced herself as Yesu Kaelitha. Amid all the intense preparations, Yesu was playing a ga of catch with a childish-looking girl.
She swung her arm and launched a small ball across the field. The girl zood after it, caught it midair, and returned within seconds.
Yesu checked a stopwatch in her hand. They did it again. Then Yesu pointed toward an obstacle course while saying sothing. The girl nodded eagerly. Yesu stretched her limbs before hurling the ball even harder. It soared high into the air. The girl raced through the obstacle course. For a mont, it seed as though she wouldn't make it.
The ball was already descending. Then she burst from the final hurdle, sprinted across the field, and caught the ball a split second before it touched the ground. She looked surprised by her own success. Yesu checked the stopwatch again. Then she held up five fingers and called sothing out.
The girl imdiately began laughing and running. Apollo's eyes followed Yesu's every movent. Suddenly, he looked down at his injured foot. Then back at her. Then down again. As though weighing a decision. Mahirah noticed. She had been following his gaze the entire ti. Yesu reached the opposite side of the field. The younger girl gave her a high-five. They laughed together. Then Apollo smiled. It lasted less than a second. Barely noticeable. But Mahirah saw it.
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