More than a dozen people lay sprawled on the ground, breathing heavily and raggedly. Their bodies were filled with gruesome injuries, none of which life threatening, but painful all the same.
A few feet away from them was Caelum seated on a bench. All around him were shards of glass floating with a noticeable pattern.
Erta snapped her fingers and a wave of holy mana washed over the Chosen who were on the ground, healing their injuries in almost an instant.
"Is that all you've got? Weeks of training, this is the result?"
Caelum looked at the crowd with visible disappointment.
They groaned as they rose to their feet, but they could not look him in the eye. Even Erta remained silent as she returned to the bench.
Her worries have become real. Their students, who have begun to grow, had become complacent with their powers.
"Do you not understand the predicament that we are in? I asked you to grow, you said yes. When and how did you become satisfied with this?"
No one answered. They were ashamed and also guilty. They understood what was at stake, but perhaps somewhere in their hearts, they hoped it was not real.
That fear manifested unbeknownst to them. Now, it was all too obvious to their teachers, Caelum and Erta.
They knew that this was not a concrete solution to their problem, but they had to try. However, being faced with such a disappointing resolution made them feel worse than when they were still looking for a solution.
The test was simple.
All the Chosen present had to work together to break the barrier that Erta erected around Caelum and herself, all the while being faced with constant attacks from Caelum's Wing of Reason.
Both Caelum and Erta expected this to be easy, and even if they failed, they would at least have been able to break the barrier. However, their expectations were so thoroughly betrayed.
Perhaps because they thought it would be the same as all their previous training, the chosen immediately fell apart the moment they were faced with attacks that truly aimed for their lives.
Of course, Caelum was not going to kill them, but he had to make them feel the threat was real. In that alone, they realised the flaw in their students' mindset.
They have been training and fighting to save themselves. It was normal, natural even. They could not be faulted for that, honestly. But it only proved that they had not learned anything at all.
They were Avatars, warriors chosen to stand in the front lines of the Great War. Yes, it was too much to ask them to die for the world, but they agreed to it when the training started. That was the whole point of this training.
They were not supposed to fight to save themselves. They were supposed to fight to protect the world they live in. Because who cares whether they survive or not when their home is shattered to pieces.
Caelum's disappointment was immeasurable. He was right the whole time. Everything he had been doing was futile. And he wished the, for once, he was wrong because it left him feeling helpless.
"Let's end it here."
Caelum took Erta's hand as they got up from the bench and flew back home. The Chosen were left alone to think. No one spoke a single word. And none of them left even as the moon had taken its place in the sky.
Reynor and a few others came later to join the training, but found them still seated on the ground, huddling in depression.
Back in their home, Caelum and Erta lay in bed. Their minds filled with many different thoughts, none of which pleasing.
"Honey, are you still upset?"
"I… I guess I am. I just don't understand where we went wrong."
"It's not your fault, Cal. Neither is it theirs. You have to understand that not everyone can accept this new reality. It's easy for us. I was born into it, and you were forged by it. But the rest of Earth has no idea what awaits them at all."
"I know. I just thought things would be different, that this could work."
"It will work. Maybe not now, but in the future, yes. We need to take it one step at a time, Cal. For now, sleep."
As though her words were a spell, Caelum did not even manage an answer and fell asleep. Erta embraced him tightly that night as though she was afraid that he would break apart.
The following days, they decided not to think about their failed plan. They had a much more important thing to do before leaving for Evonia. And that was to prepare their insurance.
Similar to last time, the two sat back to back, their stigmata pressing against each other. Their bodies were glowing brightly as mana pulsed all around them like a beating heart.
This time, however, they were not only strengthening their flames but also their other aspects, most especially the Dragon Heart.
They had been neglecting it for a while, but they needed to acclimate to this foreign power quickly. It was one of the strongest aspects either of them had, but they knew next to nothing about it.
As they focused on the Life Covenant, the power of the Dragon Heart seemed to resonate within them. They could feel the existence of something ethereal within their bodies, but they seemed incomplete.
They were filled with such wild and primal energy that it threatened to devour their consciousness. Fortunately, their flames managed to keep the Dragon Hearts at bay.
Caelum and Erta had been undergoing this deep meditation for hours upon hours. And only when they heard a scream, did they wake up.
"Who's there?!"
"Ces?"
They saw Ceres on the floor, covering her eyes as tears trickled down her face. She seemed confused and afraid which shocked the two.
Erta immediately ran to her and cast a healing spell while Caelum released a wave of mana to scan the area around his house for any enemies.
The moment he saw Ceres crying, he immediately thought that they were under attack and cursed his recklessness for not being aware of it.
However, there was nothing out of the ordinary in their surroundings. When Ceres seemed to have calmed down, Erta asked.
"Ceres, what happened?"
"I was checking up on you two since you weren't answering your phones. When I opened the door, all I saw was an incredibly bright light. I was blinded, but it also felt like I was going to get eaten."
"Get eaten? By what?"
"...Dragons."
They sat down around their small dining table. While Ceres was eating Erta's ice cream to calm down, Caelum and Erta were instead staring at each other in confusion. Erta was the first to break the silence.
"How was that possible? Not even that replica Fafnir was able to exude the authority of true dragons."
"Is it possible for the Life Covenant to have affected it?"
"I don't know. Like I said before, our Life Covenant is way different than the others'. And it's not like everyone who has a Life Covenant could absorb the abilities of others, especially not a dragon."
"I guess there's no way for us to know right now. It's good that we learned about it early on. This Dragon Heart might be a double-edged sword. We'd best be careful when using it."
They fell silent again as they watched Ceres finish her ice cream. Sensing that their conversation was over, she hurriedly ate the dessert, nearly choking from impatience. Once done, she began to speak about why she visited them.
"I heard what happened the other day. Are you really leaving like this?"
"I don't know what to say to them that I haven't already said. If they can't realise their mistake, then they weren't meant to be Avatars at all. I know you've become close with some of them, Ceres, but don't forget why we started this in the first place."
"Cal…. You need to think about it too, Ces. I don't know about the others, but you of all people should reflect on this."
"Why me? I don't understand. You made me train with them as well when I'm not even Chosen. I'm just a normal person."
Erta looked at Caelum, her eyes asking for permission. However, Caelum shook his head.
It was not time for her to know. In fact, he thought that if she learned of what she could become, it would only frighten her more.
What Ceres needed was desperation. The same goes for everyone else.
The world, Caelum realised, needed desperation in order to face and accept the new reality they found themselves in.
"I made you train so you could face your fears. But in the end, it's entirely up to you, Ceres. I won't tell you what to do. You choose your own path."
Those words rang in Ceres' mind even days after their conversation. She did not understand what Caelum was talking about, but as Erta said, she had to reflect.
Meanwhile, Caelum and Erta stood in front of the stone castle shrouded by night. A faint scent of rusted iron hung in the air.
It was deathly silent, not even the sound of their own breaths reached their ears. The gentle breeze was so frigid that it seemed more like a knife gently cutting through flesh.
And above them, in place of the morning sun was a crimson moon.