"Aria, wait. I have something for you before you go inside..."

She blinked, tilting her head slightly.

"Huh? What is it, Lucian?"

Instead of answering immediately, Lucian just looked at her. A sharp glint flashed across his silver eyes.

[Skill Activated: Fate Link]

Aria flinched backward as an identical translucent blue screen suddenly materialized right in front of her face. Her eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

"L-Lucian...? What kind of magic is this...?" she whispered, leaning in closer. "And these numbers..." she murmured, knitting her brows together as she read the glowing text on the panel.

[Aria Lighthollow]

[Age: 18]

[Mana: 45,000 / 50,000]

[Physical Strength: C+]

[Magical Aptitude: B]

[Mana Stage: Flow]

[Affection: 115]

[Special affinity : Light]

[Few Unique Trait locked]

"This is called Fate Link. It’s a skill that allows me to share a portion of my stats with you. From now on, as I grow stronger... you will naturally grow stronger right alongside me."

Aria’s breath hitched. Both of her hands flew up to cover her mouth as her eyes instantly glistened with overwhelming emotion.

Without giving her a chance to get too teary-eyed, Lucian gently took one of her hands in his and asked,

"Now, tell me, which finger do you prefer to write with?"

"Writing? Why are you..."

"Could you just tell me, please?"

His eyes softened further, and that gentle look was enough to make her heart skip a beat.

"Ah... umm. With this finger."

"Okay. Let’s do it like this, then."

He hovered his hand over her, taking the air pen he had already bought and placing it against her fingertip letting it sink into her skin until it disappeared completely.

She was left completely speechless, looking just as bewildered as Sera had been on her time.

"Okay, now no matter where you are, you can use this to text me, Sera, and Elira without even speaking a single word, okay? Just do it like this..." he demonstrated the motion in the air.

"Hooo..."

Tracing glowing words into the thin air, Aria began writing with absolute curiosity. Her face lit up with pure wonder, looking exactly like a little kid who had just been handed a brand-new toy for the very first time.

Lucian glanced around Myra’s quarters, until it landed on a sleek glass shoe rack, neatly displaying an expensive collection of heels, combat boots, and sandals. Walking over, he grabbed a pair of sturdy leather boots.

Returning to Aria, he suddenly dropped to one knee. Without a single word, he gently lifted her bare foot and began slipping the heavy boot onto it.

Aria flinched, instinctively trying to pull her leg back.

"W-Wait, Lucian! What are you doing? I can’t take these! They look incredibly expensive... and taking them without Miss Myra’s permission...? I-I can just put my sandals back on—"

"Hold still. Let me put them on. You’ll need these before crossing the portal. And don’t worry about Master—she won’t mind such small things. Stop overthinking."

Hearing his reassuring voice, Aria slowly relaxed. Her eyes softened with deep affection as she gazed down at Lucian’s raven-black hair while he gently tied the laces.

Then, she murmured softly.

"Lucian..."

"Yes?"

A few moments passed in silence.

"You’re going to share your strength with me... but why? After everything I’ve done — all the pain I put you through... I don’t get it. Why would you do so much for me—" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

She bit her lower lip as painful old memories resurfaced.

"Because you’ll need it. And I also want you to become stronger. In the future, I don’t know what we’ll face ahead... And besides, I know for sure that our mentor’s training isn’t going to be easy ."

Hearing all this sheer sweetness, Aria’s eyes grew glassy with unshed tears, though she managed to hold them back with a small, quiet sniffle.

However, the hidden, devilish toothy grin forming on Lucian’s face told a completely different story. His true reasoning for every single step was something else entirely.

’Hehehe... another free puppy who will grow and fetch me those sweet, sweet Fate Points ...’

Tying the final lace, Lucian seamlessly swapped his expression back to his fabricated, gentle smile and stood up straight.

Meanwhile, Aria lightly tapped the heavy boots against the floor to test them. They were practically way too big for her size, though she didn’t mind in the slightest. After all, Lucian had put them on her himself — complaining was simply not an option.

"O-Oh! These... um... these are really comfortable!"

"Good. Now..." He extended his hand toward her with a warm smile.

"Shall we go, then?"

Aria nodded shyly. Taking his hand, the two of them finally stepped through the shimmering portal together...

The moment they stepped through the rift and reached the other side, a boiling gust of wind welcomed them. The hot, volcanic, humid air immediately began turning Aria’s pale skin into flushed red.

Lucian had brought them exactly to his secret ’time chimney’ — the very same hidden spot where he had secretly trained for two years.

It was exactly as he remembered: the same jagged rock floor, molten lava slowly seeping out from the walls, the massive lava river flowing right down the middle, and the same box-like stone structure above with only a single vent allowing air to pass through.

"What... What the hell is this place?!" Sera cried out, pointing her finger toward the churning volcanic river.

"How are we supposed to train here? If we accidentally fall into that, there won’t even be a body left to find..."

Panic and slight fear — no, actually, pure terror — was clearly written all over her face. She really didn’t like the idea of getting her bones crushed and melting away in a near-death hole.

Meanwhile, off to the side, Elira casually walked a bit closer to the edge. With her arms crossed, she stared down into the river, watching the small bubbles of lava boil and pop.

"This will work perfectly for me, ..." she muttered softly.

"After all, my darling chose it..."

Sera’s head snapped so fast it could have caused whiplash. She shot a glance at Lucian, then glared absolute daggers at Elira’s smug, deadpan face.

"H-Hey, what do you mean by that? Are you saying I can’t handle it?!"

"When did I ever say you couldn’t?"

"You—Aghh...!"

Sera was completely at a loss for words, her face turning red with frustration.

’This witch...’

Back near the portal entrance, Aria looked down at her oversized boots.

’Ah, so this is why Lucian told me to wear these...’ Casting a affectionate glance toward Lucian, she chuckled softly.

"How sweet of him..."

"That’s it."

"There couldn’t possibly be a more perfect place than this." Myra muttered as she crouched down, placing her fingertips against the scorching, cracked floor to analyze the mana flow.

"Oh... it is so good to find a place like this..."

A smooth smile stretched across her face as she cast a look back over her shoulder at Lucian.

He immediately felt the sensation of an icy snake crawling up his spine.

’I didn’t just make a massive mistake, right...?’ He deeply regretted his choice at that exact moment, though there was no point crying over spilled milk now.

Seeing Lucian looking unexpectedly stressed out, Aria decided to nervously voice her own concerns as well.

"U-Um, Miss Myra... Are we really going to train in this place?" She paused for a second before mustering the courage to continue. "I mean, it’s a bit too risky. What if something happens to one of us—"

Myra stood up gracefully, brushing off her hands.

"Oh, don’t worry, sweetheart. I won’t let anything happen to any of you. I promise."

She paused, her smirk returning.

"Besides, this place still needs a bit of cleaning first."

Hearing that, Sera let out a visible sigh of relief.

’Thank god...’

Without wasting another second, Myra raised one hand and casually bit down on her thumb and stretched her hand forward. A few crimson drops of blood dripped onto the cracked floor below.

"I summon you... Varitas."