Morning light filtered through the garden paths in soft waves, the kind that made everything feel a little less heavy. Eon walked the familiar route with his friends, the laughter from yesterday's lighter session still lingering in the air. He was trying, really trying, to hold onto what his mother had said. Be himself. Not the next champion. Not the vessel for some grand legacy. Just Eon, training because it mattered, not because the whole realm depended on him becoming something enormous.
Kairn jogged ahead, tossing a small energy orb between his hands. "Come on, slowpokes. Jordan said today we try that linking thing again but without him yelling at us every five seconds. Think we can pull it off?"
Mira grinned, light trailing from her fingertips as she kept pace. "Only if you stop showing off. Last time you nearly took Leo's head off with that wild swing."
Leo adjusted his stance with a mock sigh. "I had it calculated. Mostly."
