Athena walks slowly, and then the scene shifts to Livio and his friends walking together.
Luka and Nicola are being carried by Matteo and Alaric.
"Damn it, I think you guys drank too much," says Alaric while carrying Luka.
"How can you blame me? Damn, Livio got a girl before me!" Nicola starts crying.
"He even got a gift. Damn you, Livio!" Luka also starts crying.
"It's not like that. She gave it to me for no reason, and there's nothing going on between us. She's actually out of my league," Livio says, looking at his gift.
"Where's my thanks?" Sebastian asks, jumping on Livio.
"Yes, you're right. Thank you," Livio smiles.
When they reach the palace, Travis comes running towards them.
"You look so happy. May we know the reason?" Nitin asks while handing him some bags of sweets.
"Our first mission has been postponed to next month," Travis replies, looking inside one of the bags.
"Hey, leave some for us," Oliver says, walking slowly towards them, with Ethan and Saul following behind.
A black bird with red spikes and a red beak listens to their conversation. Nitin notices the bird and throws it a piece of bread. The bird catches the bread and flies toward the king's palace. It lands on a window and peacefully starts eating.
"Aaahhhh!" A scream comes from inside the room. The bird leaves the remaining bread and flies away.
Through the window, we see the room—it's dark, seemingly a bedroom. A girl kneels on the floor with her hands tied. Her eyes dart around, and her trembling body betrays her fear.
A man with a commanding presence walks in front of her. She starts sweating and attempts to look at the king's face but quickly lowers her gaze in fear.
"So, after stealing this substance, you tried to escape but were caught by my soldiers in the middle of the forest," the king says, holding a small container of blue powder.
"No, my king, I'm telling the truth! I would never do such a thing. I'm your loyal servant and couldn't even imagine this in my dreams. I'm being framed—please believe me!" the girl pleads.
"I believe you, but let me explain what this is. This is a ritual substance—it can awaken something inside you for a short time. Since you know about this, you've proven yourself to be a bad girl. You must be punished," the king says, moving closer to her.
"No, sir! Please have mercy. I'm begging you!" she cries, crawling back until the chains stop her.
Her heart races as her eyes widen. She starts screaming, "No, no! Please, no! Have mercy!"
Outside the palace, the helpless screams fade into the dark, unable to escape the room.
Alaric sits on the ground. "So, when are you going to start your training?" he asks.
Nitin stretches. "From now," he replies before leaving in search of a quiet place. Gradually, the group disperses, each member seeking solitude.
Livio chooses a different spot this time, near a small pond and a large tree. He places his watch beside the tree, sits under it in a comfortable position, and begins meditating.
After a while, he opens his eyes. "I think I meditated for two hours. Not bad for a beginner."
He checks his watch—it's only been thirty minutes. "What? I thought it was longer. I'll try again after walking a bit."
After a short walk, he meditates again. "What? Twenty-eight minutes this time? I'll try again."
Minutes turn into hours, but Livio still cannot meditate for a full hour.
"Damn it, I'm feeling sleepy. Tomorrow, I'll train from morning till night, only taking breaks when necessary."
The next morning, after finishing his chores, Livio returns to train. Time passes—minutes turn into hours, and days into nights. A week goes by.
A mysterious figure watches him from atop a tree.
"I've trained day and night. I can do it now. I can maintain my Pbv while fighting. Let's give it a try," Livio declares.
He stands still, closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath, releasing his Pbv. A white energy glows around his body. He can see it; he can sense it.
"Okay, but why is it leaking? I thought it would stick to me like a blanket. What should I do?"
"Don't panic! Concentrate. If you don't, the Pbv will leak into the surroundings. Stay focused no matter what," says Trip, who has been watching Livio from behind, shoving his lance into the ground.
"What are you doing here? Oh, I need to focus," Livio says, counting down. "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and focuses again.
"I feel warm, like I'm inside a blanket," Livio says as he opens his eyes. The Pbv now surrounds his body like a thick coat.
"Ahhhhh, it's stable now," he says, looking at himself.
"Good. Practice your martial arts now. Let's see how long you can maintain your Pbv like that," Trip says, sitting down as Livio starts practicing.
"What? Only twenty minutes? After all that meditation?" Livio pants, lying on the ground.
"Without fighting, you can probably maintain it for forty-five minutes or so," Trip says, standing up.
"How long can you maintain yours?" Livio asks.
"About an hour and twenty minutes without fighting. While fighting, maybe an hour," Trip replies, pulling out his lance.
"That's awesome! By the way, what are you doing here?" Livio asks, still lying on the ground.
"I was just roaming in my free time when I saw you. So, I thought I'd watch your training," Trip says with an awkward smile.
"So, how can I improve?" Livio asks, staring at the sky.
"Just practice. Oh, and one important thing about Pbv: instead of spreading it across your entire body, try focusing more on your eyes. Watch," Trip says, activating his Pbv. His entire body glows, but his eyes radiate like white flames.
"What will it do?" Livio asks.
"Look at the falling leaves with your normal eyes," Trip says, pointing to a tree.
Livio looks. "I can see them, but I can't focus on all of them at once."
Trip deactivates his Pbv. "Now, try focusing your Pbv like I did and look again."
Livio stands up and starts focusing.
"It's taking him a while to activate Pbv while standing. Typical newbie," Trip chuckles.
After a few minutes, Livio activates his Pbv. However, he focuses all of it on his eyes instead of distributing it evenly.
"I can see them! I can focus on all the leaves at once! Wait... my eyes! They're going blank. My head feels heavy," Livio says, kneeling and rubbing his eyes.
"Not bad. You'll get better. Just keep practicing. There's so much more you can do with Pbv, but you're not ready yet. Give yourself time and practice hard," Trip says before leaving for his duty.