Butters Estate — Ring III
Rain misted over the moat surrounding the Butters Estate, turning the water into silver glass.
Inside, morning light filtered through tall windows carved with wave patterns. The scents of salt and jasmine drifted through the halls, calm and steady, every corner of the estate radiating her mother's presence.
Lila had been home for several nights now, yet the walls still felt strange and familiar at once, as though she had stepped back into a memory she had already outgrown.
She sat at the breakfast table beside the open veranda, her hair damp from her morning wash and her robe hanging loosely around her shoulders. Beyond the terrace, koi swam through faint aura currents that glowed a soft blue beneath the water.
Lila sipped her tea and stared into the steam.
Soft footsteps reached her before the voice did.
"Morning, sweetheart."
Laila Butters—the Water Demon of Royal Aqua—swept into the room wearing a loose silk jacket, her hair braided high. Even without her armor, she carried the quiet weight the world had learned to bow before. Her aura shimmered faintly around her, steady as a tide capable of drowning cities if it ever chose to rise.
Lila smiled faintly. "Morning, Mom."
Laila crossed the room and rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Still waking up early. I figured you'd sleep for another hour."
"Couldn't," Lila said. "It's too quiet. I got used to people snoring on ships."
Her mother laughed, the sound moving through the room like a ripple across still water.
"That's the Seeker life. Even silence feels loud once you stop moving."
Lila looked down at her cup. "It's... weird being back."
Laila tilted her head. "Weird how?"
"I don't know. I thought coming home would feel safe, but I feel... small."
Her mother sat across from her, eyes gentle.
"Small isn't bad. Small means there's still room to grow."
Lila nodded, hesitated, then lifted her gaze.
"I wanted to tell you about my squad."
"Ah." Laila smiled. "The ones William Lockhart handpicked."
Lila brightened slightly.
"Yeah. He's... different. Polite and calm, but you can tell he's always watching. He doesn't talk like most captains. He teaches between the words."
She leaned forward a little as she continued.
"Aria's loud and confident, like lightning that laughs at you. Rin's quiet, but sharp. He fights like he already knows how everything ends. And Kai..."
She paused, her smile widening.
"He's strange. Pure, but he isn't naive. You can feel how serious he becomes when he fights. It's like he carries peace on his back."
Laila listened with her chin resting against her knuckles.
"You sound proud of them."
"I am," Lila said softly. "But I'm scared too. The Trial by Mercy is in two days, and I want to be ready. Really ready. I don't want to be the healer who hides behind everyone else."
Laila's expression softened further, the Water Demon fading as her mother came forward.
"Lila Butters, you've never hidden a day in your life. You step forward where others hesitate. That's what I taught you."
Lila laughed and wiped at her eyes.
"You taught me to swim by throwing me into a river."
"And you floated," her mother teased. "Eventually."
They both laughed, the sound carrying lightly through the quiet hall.
When it faded, Lila brushed her bangs away from her face and sighed.
"Can you cut my hair? It keeps falling into my eyes when I fight."
Her mother raised an eyebrow. "Your hair? You love your hair."
"I know." Lila touched the damp ends and grinned. "But I think I'm ready to stop hiding behind it."
Laila's smile rose slowly, like the tide coming in.
"All right. Sit."
Lila turned her chair toward the light.
Her mother drew a small blade from her sleeve. It was an alchemic trimmer rather than a weapon, its edge shimmering with refined Water Muti.
Each snip was clean and deliberate. Locks of hair fell silently, catching the morning light before settling against the marble floor.
When she finished, Laila brushed a hand along her daughter's cheek.
"There. Strong and sharp. You look like someone who could command a storm."
Lila studied her reflection in the window. Her hair was shorter, her face clearer, and her eyes steadier.
"I look like me."
Her mother smiled. "Exactly."
They sat together in silence for a moment as the rain began to ease outside.
Then Lila spoke again, her voice quieter.
"I know I was supposed to go to the guild today, but... Mom, can you train me? Just for today. I want to prepare for the Trial with you."
Laila's expression softened immediately. There was no hesitation or calculation in her eyes, only love.
"Of course I will, baby."
She rose and took her daughter's hand.
"Come on. The pool is clear, and the water is listening."
They walked toward the inner courtyard, where the training hall opened over a vast circular pool. Faint blue glyphs glowed beneath its surface, rippling like heartbeat lines.
Laila's aura began to rise as the rain strengthened outside, calm but impossibly heavy.
"Show me what the world has been teaching you," she said. "Then I'll show you true power."
Lila tightened her sleeves and stepped barefoot onto the wet stone.
"Deal."
The first ripples moved as they stepped out onto the water.
Mother and daughter faced one another—one as calm as the ocean, the other ready to become the storm.
Two days remained until the Trial by Mercy.
The tide was rising.
The Talking Boar — Evening Briefing
The Talking Boar was loud again by midafternoon, filled with clanging mugs, bursts of laughter, and the faint hum of aura-drunk Seekers.
William's guildhall stood only a few streets from the Forgehouse where the squad had first bunked. The rookies filtered through the front door one by one, their boots tapping against the oak floor.
Kai arrived first, his hair tied back and his sleeves rolled above his elbows. The scents of forge-spice stew and ale hung thickly in the air.
Hanami sat behind the dispatch desk with one leg bouncing beneath her chair as she scribbled notes into her tablet.
"Ah, the early monk returns," she said without looking up. "I was starting to think you found enlightenment and forgot to come back."
Kai smiled. "Almost. But enlightenment didn't have lunch."
Hanami snorted. "Figures. Sit tight. The others are on their way."
The door swung open again.
Aria blew into the guildhall like a spark, her short hair damp from the rain. Her old lightning-sigil jacket covered her shoulders, and a sword rested across her back.
She spotted Kai and grinned.
"Hey. Guess who talked a merchant down from triple price?"
Kai tilted his head. "You or the thundercloud behind you?"
"Both," she said proudly.
The door opened one last time.
Rin stepped inside.
Quiet. Hood lowered.
His eyes found Aria immediately, and she was the first to look away.
Hanami glanced up from her notes, sensing the change in the air.
"Oh boy. Front's moving in."
The silence between them was tight without being sharp, like a wire stretched between memory and guilt.
Rin walked toward Aria, slow and deliberate, then stopped in front of her.
She blinked, surprised. "What?"
He exhaled.
"About earlier." His voice was steady, though low. "I shouldn't have snapped at you."
Her mouth opened, but he continued before she could speak.
"You didn't deserve that. You were trying to understand something I didn't want to talk about. That wasn't your fault. It was mine."
The space around them went quiet. Even the noise of the guild seemed to fall away.
Hanami paused halfway through writing a note.
Aria's throat tightened, her eyes softening.
"Rin..."
He kept his gaze lowered.
"You don't have to say anything. Just... don't worry about it."
A small beat passed between them.
Then Aria reached out and tapped his shoulder once, firm but gentle.
"Apology accepted, grump."
The single word cracked the tension enough for Kai to lean closer, a grin creeping across his face.
"Wow. So the Ice Prince can apologize. Guess he's got a heart under there after all."
Rin slowly turned his head.
Murder filled his eyes, his silence louder than thunder.
Kai coughed into his hand.
"I mean—an honorable heart. Very professional apology."
Hanami bit her lip, fighting back a laugh.
"Oh, he's going to die."
Aria could no longer hold it in. She laughed, and the tension broke as though someone had thrown open a window.
Even Rin's glare softened into something caught between exasperation and tolerance.
William's voice drifted down from the staircase above.
"Glad to see nobody has stabbed anyone yet."
The captain descended with his usual composure, his coat immaculate and his gaze sweeping across the room. The guild's hum dimmed as he approached.
"Good. You're all here."
He looked at them in turn—Aria, Rin, Kai, and Hanami, who held her tablet half-raised like a badge.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll be drilling you personally," William began. His voice was never loud, but it filled the room all the same. "The Trial by Mercy isn't simply another test. It's a declaration."
Aria straightened without realizing it. Rin's focus sharpened. Kai stopped fidgeting.
William paced slowly between them.
"This trial will be broadcast across every major nation. The people watching from that arena won't only be Seekers. There will be soldiers, nobles, children, world leaders, and more sponsors than sense."
A faint smile touched his face before disappearing.
"Every nation will be watching its own. Guilds will place their reputations and their wallets on the line. Some people will cheer for glory. Others will watch in the hope that you fail."
He stopped and met their eyes one by one.
"You aren't only representing yourselves. You're representing this guild—the Order of the Crescent Halo. I expect you to do so with discipline and pride."
Hanami's fingers paused against her tablet. Even she remained quiet.
William folded his arms.
"Here is how it works. The winner earns automatic promotion to Silver Seeker. Second place earns Bronze on the spot. The Council evaluates everyone else according to performance—skill, technique, Muti versatility, power, teamwork, heart, and the one quality most rookies forget."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "Which is?"
"Common sense."
Kai stared at him. "That's a ranking metric?"
William smiled faintly. "You would be amazed by how many geniuses trip over their own egos."
Hanami lowered her voice toward her tablet.
"Common sense. Low probability among this group."
William's tone became serious again.
"Each team will also learn the identity of its squad leader before the Trial begins. Whoever I choose will hold that position permanently."
He looked toward the three rookies.
"That person will become my lieutenant."
Aria blinked. "You're choosing your lieutenant through this trial?"
William nodded once.
"Exactly. I won't announce my decision until I've seen what you do on that field. Leadership is never given. It is proven."
The silence that followed hummed with heat.
Even Rin lifted his head.
William continued, his expression softening slightly.
"The rules are straightforward. No killing. You fight until surrender or incapacitation. Everything else belongs to you—your decisions, your heart, your Muti. How you carry yourselves will decide whether you rise or fall."
Kai crossed his arms. "So the world watches us bleed for glory?"
William's eyes glinted.
"For meaning, Kai. For proof that you belong among the ranks of Seekers. For every person who still believes in what the Association is supposed to represent."
He turned toward the guild crest hanging above the bar, the crescent halo glowing dimly beneath the lamplight.
"This will be good for us," he said quietly, a smile crossing his face. "The Order of the Crescent Halo has never entered a full team since I founded this branch. After this, the world will remember our name."
Hanami hurriedly scribbled the words down.
"Ooh. That's going on a banner."
William turned back toward them, his composure settling into place once again.
"Get used to being seen. You aren't fighting in the shadows anymore. You're standing in front of the world."
He started toward the doors.
"Now, enough talk. I intend to teach you something before the day is over."