Chapter 46
There was no more anger, no more commanding tone.
Now, only one reality remained.
The student who once bowed had risen, and the teacher prepared to witness the result of the efforts he had instilled with his own hands.
For forty-four days, every movement of Theo was a formless storm tearing the limits of human capability, while Erietta remained trapped in a vortex of attacks that came from nowhere and without pause.
Her body repeatedly fell, yet beneath all the blackened wounds and eyes that had lost their light, something slowly grew—a comprehension that could not be given through words or guidance.
Theo saw it, observing how the girl began to stop imitating and started listening to the rhythm of her own weapon.
On the forty-fourth day, Erietta's gaze was no longer empty.
Her eyes burned with something Theo had never seen before—a consciousness born from the suffering that had been etched into her.
And finally, on the forty-fifth day, as the air began to vibrate with unseen intensity, Erietta raised the sword given to her by Theo.
Her movement was no longer imitation, no longer an attempt to understand another's style.
She struck with conviction arising from within herself, creating a curve that was beautiful yet deadly.
The slash twisted and spiraled, cutting through the air, dancing along the fine line between honor and destruction.
In a moment forced to slow down, the blade touched Theo's chest, back, and the most vulnerable point—three locations symbolizing a warrior's life, burden, and dignity.
She named the technique the Honor Slash, because it contained a meaning born only from suffering endured with a held-high head.
Forty-five long days had come to an end.
Theo bowed his head, not out of defeat, but in acknowledgment that what he had shaped had reached a form beyond his control.
In silence, he declared that the training was over, and that Erietta had now stepped beyond the limits he had once set.
Within that slash, Theo felt two worlds intersect—The Realm of Darkness and the Realm of Light—meeting in Erietta's trembling but certain hands.
Beneath the softly glowing sky, the teacher gave a faint smile, knowing that something greater than himself had been born that day.
'Damn my luck.Of all the directions she could choose to strike, why did it have to almost hit a vital point?'
"Do not be arrogant with your technique.A great sword without wisdom will only turn back to consume its owner.Surely you understand that?"
"Understood, my teacher."
'Impressive, indeed.Even extraordinary.But now, the one facing you is me.A single small intent wrapped in seriousness is enough to easily destroy all the confidence you just built—even leaving you unable to stand again.'
Wooooofh!
'And if I were not your trainer—sincerely wanting to see you grow—I could have erased you from this world without waiting for the end of the first arc.But no.This world still needs you, Erietta.And Ilux still has to learn from your resurrection.'
After the blood ceased flowing and the air calmed, Theo sat beneath the sky turning soft shades of gray-blue, tending to the lingering heat around his body from the wounds.
His fingers, imbued with vital energy, touched the injured areas, closing the tears in flesh with the faint light born of high-level healing techniques.
In front of him, Erietta still stood tall, her hands trembling slightly, as if unable to believe that her final slash had truly struck her teacher.
A gentle wind passed between them, carrying the scent of iron and damp earth, sweeping over the heavy silence until even the sound of breathing seemed like unspoken prayers.
Theo looked at the girl without anger, without a smile—only a calm so deep that its meaning could not be guessed.
Within those silent eyes was a message unspoken aloud.
'Do not be arrogant with technique.'
For technique is merely a vessel, and true honor is not about how perfect one's slash is, but how strong the soul guiding the blade is.
Within himself, Theo spoke in the long inner silence.
He acknowledged that what Erietta had done was extraordinary, even surpassing the limits of Human Change.
Mastering the entire foundation of Lu Core—the endless basis opposing the Realm of Light—was not something anyone could achieve without breaking along the way.
Yet such greatness, Theo thought, could also become a burden that would consume Erietta if she forgot to remain humble before the meaning of power itself.
He knew well that if he wished, with just one move, he could destroy all of Erietta's confidence, shattering the body and spirit he had painstakingly shaped.
Theo realized how fragile that balance was—between teaching and destroying, between creating and erasing.
He could end it all here, closing the chapter of the girl's journey before it developed further.
Yet what kept Theo silent was not mercy, but an intention engraved from the start.
The intention to let Erietta grow, to allow her to become something that might one day surpass him.
Because behind all the training lay a long path awaiting, and Theo knew that if he intervened too deeply, the road designed for Ilux Rediona in the future would collapse before it could form.
'Four in the morning?Who would have thought this long trial would end beneath a sky as dark as ink?From one o'clock until now, only swords, breaths, and will remain between us—as if time itself refused to interfere.'
'Awkward indeed.A few days ago, we could be close, touching each other while planting materials lesson by lesson.'
Buuuk - buuuuk- buuuuk!
But let's forget that.
Right now, my steps feel too light before her silence.
And still, she stands there, frozen like a stone statue refusing to crack.
"Erietta, let's walk a little.Enjoy the view before training ends."
"Understood."
Buuuk - buuk - buuuk!
'Is it just my imagination?Could she be evaluating me?Trying to understand whether I am truly a teacher worthy of being her support on this long journey?'
Fuuuuh!
'No one speaks.Even as the ten o'clock wind rolls between us, bathing the path in soft light, each mouth remains bound in silence.Of course, we just walk, moving from one place to another.Without pause, without obstacles, without words.But perhaps now, it is time to truly part.
"Forgive me, Erietta."
"Why?"
"I must go for a while. There is business I cannot postpone.You do not need to come this time."
After that silent morning walk, the sky remained soft like scraps of pale blue woven from mist.
The small town below the hill had just begun to stir, greeting a day too calm to fully absorb.
Theo's steps left the scent of last night's rain in the air, a damp fragrance mixed with earth and shadows of trees newly touched by light.
Erietta stood not far behind, silent, her eyes never leaving the figure slowly disappearing and reappearing among the shadows of buildings.
A sense lingered in the air, as if unfinished, as if their journey was not merely a journey, but an echo of something older than the meeting itself.
On the cobblestone road descending into the valley, Theo walked without looking back, letting his steps be swallowed by the growing silence in every distance created.
Time rolled in his chest like fog, engulfing every possibility he had yet to comprehend.
He knew today would open a gap for something hidden, something calling to him from somewhere, yet too faint to explore.
The morning birds chirped in the distance, but not one disturbed his stillness.
'She still sleeps soundly, missing the night set for her training.But it is alright.Soon, this front page will be fully written, and my role in her first arc only remains heading toward the closing scenario.'
To be continued…