The air in the training room was cold, still, almost sterile. The sound of Grayfia's footsteps echoed with calculated precision as she circled Gasper, assessing every micro-tension in his body. The lights were minimal, just enough to give the shadows depth.
Gasper took a deep breath. Demonic magic gathered inside his chest, hot and unstable, like something that did not yet fully belong to his body.
Grayfia raised one hand. "Begin."
He moved forward.
The energy flowed, but not the way it should. The magic ran through his joints with delay, as if his body refused synchronization. The impact of the first movement dissipated before it could gain strength. Gasper clenched his teeth, trying to stabilize.
Grayfia's palm cut through the air.
The strike hit his shoulder with perfect precision. It did not hurt. It only showed the difference between them.
Gasper stepped back twice. Demonic magic wavered. "I still… can't keep the flow uniform."
"I know." Grayfia's tone remained neutral. "And that is exactly why you must try again. Without complaining. Without hesitation."
Tension built behind Gasper's eyes. He inhaled, exhaled, and tried again. Energy ran through his muscles but jammed in his abdomen. He lost force in the impulse and nearly slipped.
Grayfia advanced without warning.
Gasper was forced to defend instinctively. Shadows rose from the floor, sharp, bending like blades emerging from a dark lake. The wall of shadow blocked her kick for an instant.
Just an instant.
Grayfia touched her own shadow with the tip of her foot and shattered the technique as if it were glass. Dark fragments dissipated across the floor.
"You activated without permission."
Gasper looked away. "Reflex."
"Uncontrolled reflexes kill. Control them."
She advanced again. A direct strike, fast, dry. Gasper raised his arms and felt the force push him back. The impact burned his muscles but did not knock him down. The floor slid half a meter beneath his feet.
The shadows vibrated behind him, restless.
Grayfia noticed. "Use them consciously. Not as crutches. Show me that you learned."
He took a deep breath.
Demonic magic once again spread through his body, but now Gasper forced control from the inside out. The energy was dense, heavy in his bones, but he did not let balance break. His hands trembled for a few seconds before stabilizing.
Grayfia attacked.
Gasper reacted with minimal speed, but enough. His shadow stretched along the floor, curving up to the ceiling like a blade. She dodged easily, but the movement bought time.
Small shadow bats materialized behind him and flew upward, serving as distraction. Grayfia lifted her gaze for a second.
One second was enough.
Gasper slid sideways, using the moment to reposition his center of gravity and try once more to channel demonic magic into his body. The effort made his chest ache, as if the energy scraped along the inside of his ribs.
Even so, he continued.
The magic finally adjusted, not perfectly, but enough to reinforce the muscles in his legs. Gasper advanced with a firm movement. The floor vibrated beneath his feet.
Grayfia blocked with her forearm, but did not retreat.
"Better." Her voice remained emotionless. "Again."
He tried to repeat the execution. His body trembled at the start of the impulse, but the energy flowed less turbulently this time. Gasper landed a direct strike on her forearm. It was like hitting a wall of rigid, flawless ice.
Still, the contact existed.
Grayfia noticed.
Little by little, he began to sustain more blows without losing balance. Nothing flowed perfectly, but each attempt was better than the last. His breathing grew heavier, but his movements became less disordered. The shadows stopped reacting on their own and began to obey with greater precision. The bats vanished when he no longer needed them.
Grayfia attacked with more speed.
Gasper almost could not keep up. His knees weakened on the third strike, and he was forced to slide backward to avoid being knocked down. His shadow stretched, curving his body into a defensive arc.
Grayfia's hand stopped a few centimeters from his face.
He froze.
His breathing was irregular but steady. The flow of magic, though unstable, had not gone out of control.
Grayfia lowered her hand.
"That's enough for today."
Gasper blinked slowly, still trying to stabilize his pulse. "Did I… improve?"
Her expression did not change. "Yes."
His chest relaxed a little.
"But you are still far from ideal."
She stepped back, adjusting her glove naturally. "However, for the first time, you executed without losing command of yourself."
Gasper remained silent for a few seconds before inclining his head in respect.
Grayfia turned toward the door. "Rest. Tomorrow, we will double the intensity."
Her footsteps vanished down the corridor. The room became completely still again. Only the muffled sound of the shadows withdrawing around Gasper filled the space, soft and obedient, as if breathing with him.
He stood there for a moment.
His body burned in muscles that had never been used that way. Magic still circulated in imperfect spirals, but controlled. The sensation was strange, a mix of exhaustion and quiet satisfaction.
Gasper ran a hand over his face.
'I'm still far… but not as far as before.'
The shadows slid across the floor and disappeared beneath his feet. Their absence made the room feel even emptier. Sweat-darkened skin began to cool, pulling light shivers along the back of his neck.
He walked to the locker room without hurry.
Hot steam escaped through the cracks when he opened the door. He entered, left his clothes on the bench, and turned the valve. Water fell heavy and constant, washing away the dark sheen that still marked some points of his body. The heat relaxed tense fibers in his shoulders and dissolved the rigid pain in his lower back.
Gasper braced both hands against the wall as he let the water run over his face.
'Grayfia never goes easy. She never will.'
The thought came without frustration. Just acceptance.
'But… she acknowledged my progress.'
His chest felt a little lighter remembering it.
When he finished, he dried himself slowly. He put on a simple T-shirt and ran the towel through his hair until most of the moisture was gone. The shadows, now stable, remained dormant around him. No tremors. No impulsive reactions.
It was the first time that happened after a real training session.
He closed the locker.
Asia.
The name surfaced naturally, soft, almost inevitable.
She was probably in the room, reading or arranging things with that patience that always seemed to overflow from her. Gasper felt a different tension tighten in his chest, not fear, but something close to anticipation.
'She probably wants to know how training went.'
He left the locker room, walking through the silent corridor of the mansion. The lights were soft, the environment calm, and each step brought a strange feeling of return. Of routine. A total contrast to the icy intensity that had filled the room minutes before.
When he turned the last corridor, he sensed her aura before even reaching the door. Calm, pure, familiar. The gentlest presence in the entire house.
Gasper took a deep breath and moved forward.
He knocked lightly.
The door opened with a soft creak.
Asia was sitting at the small table in the room, leaning over a simple plate of rice with vegetables. Her mouth was slightly messy, a small dot of sauce at the corner of her lip. She chewed carefully, focused on the taste as if it were something too precious to waste.
Gasper stopped at the scene.
A brief silence filled the air.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Then he let out a short, unexpected laugh, almost too light to match his usual mood.
Asia froze.
She blinked twice. Then raised her hand to her face, touching the corner of her mouth with her fingertips. She saw the stain. She turned completely red.
"Ah— I— sorry!" She stood up in a hurry, almost knocking over the chair. "I… I was eating… and… I didn't see that—"
She wiped the corner of her mouth with her hand, completely flustered.
Gasper closed the door behind him. "You don't need to apologize."
Asia lowered her head, trying to regain some composure. Then she lifted her gaze, shy but determined.
"Thank you."
He frowned slightly. "For what?"
Asia took a deep breath, holding her own hands. "For saving me."
The air grew calmer, heavier. The soft light of the room touched her hair, creating a contrast far too gentle with the pain carried in those words.
"I… woke up with a lot of pain in my head." She clenched her hands. "I couldn't pray. I couldn't say anything. I didn't know what was happening to me."
Gasper stood still, listening without interrupting.
"But… I'm alive." Asia continued, her voice small but steady. "You brought me here. You didn't leave me there… and I wanted to thank you for that."
She inclined her body in a slight gesture of reverence.
Nothing exaggerated. Nothing religious. Just sincere.
Gasper looked away a little. "I just did what needed to be done."
"Still…" She raised her face. "It was you who saved me. It was you who took me out of that place."
Freed's name crossed her mind like a quick shadow, but she did not let fear bloom.
"And… thank you for taking care of me when I woke up. I know I'm being a burden right now."
"You're not a burden." The answer came automatically, firm. "No one here thinks that."
Asia smiled faintly.
For a few seconds, that seemed enough.
The silence that followed was not uncomfortable. It was light, as if they shared a calmer breath after a storm of hours.
Gasper stepped back.
"I just came to see if you were okay."
"I am." Asia inclined her head. "And you?"
"Tired." He answered without hesitation. "But fine."
"Did Grayfia-san go easy on you?"
Gasper let out a short, dry laugh. "No."
Asia laughed softly, trying to imagine it.
Her eyes met his again.
"Thank you… again."
He answered with a discreet nod.
Then he turned toward the door.
"I'm going to rest a bit."
"Alright." Asia held the hem of her shirt between her fingers. "Have a good rest."
When he was about to leave, she called:
"Gasper."
He looked over his shoulder.
"I'm happy you came back."
Gasper did not respond immediately. He just watched her face for a second longer than normal.
Then he nodded.
And left.
The door closed slowly.
Asia took a deep breath, still feeling her chest warm with gratitude. She wiped the corner of her mouth once more, even though it was already clean, just to be sure she would not make another awkward scene.
She sat down again and looked at the plate.
"I'll do my best from now on…"
Her smile grew a little.
And she went back to eating, more calmly, more lightly, with more life.
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