The training ground was wide and spacious, particularly the section dedicated to close-quarters combat. Smooth concrete floors were fully covered by thick black mats, and the clean white walls gave the room almost clinical feel.
At the edges of the wall placed a wooden craft with close combat weapons hanged and arranged in it neatly.
The four members of the Eclipse Squad stretched and warmed up in silence, loosening their muscles as they waited for the Warden to arrive.
Rye's controlled breathing echoed softly as he moved through his technique, punching at the air, twisting his torso, kicking with precise, practiced form. To anyone watching, it looked like he was fighting an invisible opponent.
"You make it seem like you're about to fight the Warden." Bart said with a short laugh.
"We'll never know. That's why I stay ready. I'll take on whatever comes my way, I'm an elite, after all." Rye shot him a smirk.
On the other side of the training ground, Adam was in the middle of a set of push-ups when Karo stepped toward him, twirling a practice knife in his fingers.
"Hey, Adam. Up for a light spar?"
Adam paused, then pushed himself off the floor, and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Sure, Captain."
Karo tossed him a practice knife, then backed up a few steps to give them space.
Both men settled into their stances, bodies lowered, arms raised and blades angled toward each other. The room quieted around them as they watched for the first move.
"Ohh, they're having a spar," Bart said, pointing toward the two as he nudged Rye.
"Don't go easy on him, Captain!" Bart shouted across the room.
Rye merely observed quietly, his arms crossed and his eyes tracking every subtle shift in their footing.
"Who do you think will win?" Bart asked Rye, nodding toward the sparring pair.
"Just based on experience, I'd say the captain has the edge," Rye replied, arms still crossed. "But there's no such thing as a sure win. We'll have to wait and see."
Bart grinned, watching light sparring in anticipation.
"Since you're less experienced than me, I'll let you have the first move."
"I'd like to take a step back on that offer," Adam replied.
"No, no, I insist." Karo shrugged.
"Alright then," Adam said, his eyes sharpening.
He sank lower into his stance, muscles coiling. Then, with a short grunt, he burst forward.
Slowing his momentum as he closed the distance, Adam thrust his knife forward, the blade angling toward Karo's neck.
Karo reacted instantly, his forearm snapped up, redirecting the stab off‑line. Without losing the beat, he followed with multiple quick slashes aimed at Adam's forearm, each one meant to break his grip and disrupt his attack.
Adam pulled his arms and stepped back, but Karo stayed on him, refusing to let him escape the range. Karo shot out another thrust, this time angling toward Adam's spleen.
Adam reacted instantly, his off‑hand snapped down, knocking Karo's arm off its line. He pivoted to the side, slipping past the thrust as he raised his other arm up aimed at Karo's neck.
Karo raised his other arm, covering his neck. In the same motion, Adam unleashed a rapid barrage of slashes that swept from Karo's wrist up toward his shoulder.
"Hmm… he's fast. Not bad," Rye muttered, his eyes narrowing as he studied Adam's movements.
As Karo slowly recovered his hand with the knife, he swung widely, Adam leaned his head back, the tip of the practice knife almost reaching his eyes.
Adam tried to back away again, but this time Karo didn't follow directly. Instead, he stepped on Adam's foot.
"Shit!" Adam yelped, stumbling backwards.
Before he could recover, Karo was already pressing his foot against Adam's right hand, forcing him to drop his knife. In one fluid motion, Karo leveled his blade at Adam's face, then stepped back, offering a hand.
Adam hesitated for a moment, then accepted it, letting Karo pull him to his feet.
"Not bad," Karo said, a gentle smile on his face. "You almost had me several times."
Adam sighed, "thank you, captain. I learned a lot from that."
A laugh echoed from nearby, Bart, leaning casually against the wall.
"Do you two call that a light sparring?" he said, grinning. "From where I'm standing, it looks like you guys were trying to kill each other."
"Isn't that how spars are supposed to be? You think of your sparring partner as the opponent," Rye remarked calmly.
"Well, technically, yeah," Bart replied with a shrug. "But they said light sparring. It's not supposed to be both sides going all out. Still, you're quite good with a knife, Adam."
"Thanks," Adam said with an awkward laugh, scratching his cheek.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Slow and deliberate clapping echoed from the entrance of the training ground. All heads turned. Standing there was Demurc.
"That was impressive," Demurc said, his voice carrying across the room. "You nearly defeated an experienced veteran."
Karo and Adam straightened instinctively.
"Warden!" they barked, snapping into a salute.
"I apologize for being late, even though I'm the one who called you all here."
"Not at all," Karo replied.
Demurc exhaled softly. "You may all speak freely. There's no need for formality."
"You're probably all wondering why I called you here," Demurc began. "It's regarding Pix." He paused, letting the words sink in and then continued, "Captain Karo, if you had helped them engage Pix instead of using the tranquilizer, you might have captured her by now."
"I apologize," Karo said quietly.
"Ah, I'm not here to nitpick your mistakes," Demurc said, a hint of a smile in his voice. "I'm here to tell you that the four of you will be training with me for a week. You'll be off duty during that time, of course, paid, naturally."
The four exchanged glances. Rye's grin was impossible to contain, while Bart's smile was a little awkward.
It was a fantastic opportunity, to learn directly from the Warden, and on top of that, they'd be free from duty while still getting paid.