Caelum wasn't fast enough, so she had already yanked him by the top of his clothing. Now he couldn't escape her grip.
"You have numerous problems: too slow, unable to react appropriately, fear, anxiety, and many other disqualifications that could kill you the moment we begin the Second Fate. Train harder! And rid yourself of those things..." she said, her voice showing no signs of concern; her tone was akin to a predator advising its prey to stay alert, as something menacing was approaching.
After that, she released him and walked to a corner of the room.
Caelum grimaced.
'Good advice, but what's her deal? Why was she holding me like a criminal only to advice me that?'
He stared at her, noticing that she seemed to slowly blend with the shadows, making her somewhat hidden.
Perhaps it was her ability to conceal her emotions that frightened the two boys; this made her seem unpredictable and potentially more destructive. Consequently, she could be deemed the strongest here. Even her aura was silent, almost like a living shadow. With her inability to express emotions, her true power remained unconfirmed, leaving her strength a mystery. Emotions often reveal one's power, allowing limits to be understood.
He was slightly shocked by her skills. It was clear that they did not share the same potential; she surely surpassed him by far.
Following that, two marching footsteps echoed through the area; it was Jamie and Orion who had just arrived. They each wrapped a wet towel around their heads.
The two instantly noticed Caelum, standing and staring at a certain corner. When they turned their gaze there, they saw a silhouette and knew immediately who it was.
Quickly, they rushed to Caelum's side and whispered in his ear, "You didn't start a conversation with her, did you?"
Caelum, who had been focused on the girl, was once again startled by their sudden approach. He cursed inwardly when he saw the two young men.
'Now I'm annoyed by my own body's reaction.'
Jamie asked again in a low voice, dragging Caelum along with Orion to a corner:
"No conversations, right?"
Caelum glared at them for a moment and nodded in response.
The two young men sighed deeply.
Meanwhile, Caelum merely nodded; he hadn't actually said anything:
"She... was the one who spoke to me first..."
The eyes of the two young men nearly bulged from their sockets upon hearing this.
"WHAT!?" they screamed in unison, their voices echoing off the walls and shattering the brief silence.
Caelum felt he should have covered his ears before they screamed, as it was so loud that his eardrums could barely cope.
On the other hand, the silhouette remained unfazed, not even lifting an eyebrow. She appeared to be meditating, and their screams failed to disturb her.
'Is she not...' Caelum was unable to complete the thought in his mind, as Orion interrupted him.
"She's like... maybe even the number one among our own Generation of Graceless. I mean, she made history by being the first to ever complete her First Fate in less than a week."
Caelum's mind exploded with absolute amazement and shock. His expression went blank, and the whole claim crashed down on him like a bomb.L-less than a week!? Monster! She's a monster! Caelum yelled in his head.
'Calm down, it might be that her mistakes weren't significant, so she didn't encounter any beings that could have put her in deadly situations. Yes, that's the only explanation for such...'
Caelum tried to convince himself—maybe he had really jumped to conclusions—she's just a normal human like... hopefully.
Orion, however, wasn't finished. He had more to say, and it hit like a cannon. "And the worst part is that her mistakes were bigger than ours combined..."
Orion didn't realise his voice had risen, and Mira could hear them clearly.
"One, she caused the death of..."
Jamie instantly hushed him and chuckled shakily, playfully tapping Orion on the back.
He whispered in his ear, "Shut up, she can hear you, and you know she can bite your head off. I think we should stop here now... training and lectures are about to begin..."
Phlip and Mr Daniel entered the room a few minutes later. The three of them stood at the front, and the four youngsters instantly arranged themselves, taking a seat on the neat ground.
Orion and Jamie stayed away from Mira, pushing Caelum closer to her.
'Bastards! I'm the frontman now, am I?' Caelum cursed to himself. He was directly beside her now.
Mr Daniel was holding his Dark axe in his left hand. His face was pale, as if he had been affected by food poisoning. Obviously, that was caused by Philip's cooking, which affected him more—perhaps because he had a weak stomach. The whites of his eyes had turned red, and there were purple shadows beneath them.
He was unable to utter a word, careful not to vomit.
Phlip smirked, relishing Mr Daniel's discomfort, and soon after cleared his throat:
"So, this is like the fourth time we are recapping this—a full explanation of how your life is going to be now as a Graceless. This is due to our new family member."
He referred to Caelum, who was starting to listen attentively; he was really curious about how his life would unfold from now on—would it be on the Hell path or the Rose path?
Without a doubt, the Rose path was obviously uncertain.
"As a Graceless, you're bound to a hot and fiery companion, the inferno. As you already know, it has been assisting you, bestowing gifts and abilities, especially after your First Fate. Only 5% of those cursed by the Graceless End manage to return to reality; the remaining 95% die. Luckily, the six of us here were able to survive.
"Definitely, you all know about the Graceless End even before being cursed. How it chooses its victims remains a mystery, but we understand how the entire process continues.
"Let's start with the first thing you haven't known about yourself, and which you must know before the Second Fate."