Six months after the victory in Bragan?a. Reconstruction moved slowly. The walls were rising again. The people returned with cautious steps, as if fearing peace was only a pause between tragedies.

  But Lukas wasn’t there to see each stone being laid. He spent his days at the Imperial Training Grounds, where the sound of swords echoed from before dawn until long after nightfall.

  ## The Stone Yard

  “Faster,” said Luiz, arms crossed.

  Lukas was on his knees, his body covered in bruises, breath ragged. His heavy shield lay at his side, and his gladius was buried in the ground like a totem.

  “Already…” Lukas panted, struggling to rise. “It’s been… twelve hours…”

  “Twelve hours of you failing the same strike,” Luiz replied coldly. “If you want to quit, go back to pretending you’re some fake demon—acting strong just because you killed raiders. But you and I both know that means nothing compared to the Tower.”

  Lukas clenched his teeth. His fists trembled. And he stood.

  “Then let’s go again.”

  “You’ll keep at it until you collapse?” Valquíria asked, sitting on the parapet, legs swinging. “That’s why you’ll die young, Lukinhas.”

  “Better to die… than to stand still,” he answered without looking at her.

  Luiz gave a crooked smile. “Very well. Try to wound me. Just once.”

  Lukas lunged, swinging wide. Luiz dodged easily, spinning and landing a sharp kick to his brother’s chest. Lukas flew back three meters and crashed on the ground.

  The air burst out of his lungs in a ragged gasp.

  “Again,” Lukas growled.

  He rose. Attacked again. Fell again. And again. And again.

  The ground stained with blood and dust.

  Around them, soldiers and recruits stopped to watch in silence. Some couldn’t hide their pity. Others, their respect. None dared interfere.

  Hours passed. Lukas staggered. His legs barely obeyed.

  Luiz stepped closer, face stern. “Why don’t you quit?”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Lukas lifted his head. His eyes burned—not with hatred, but with a determination that devoured everything.

  “Because… if I stop… everything my father believed in… everything everyone died for… will vanish. I won’t let that happen. I can’t. Only I can carry this burden.”

  Luiz said nothing. For the first time in weeks, he lowered his training sword. “Rest for today.”

  Lukas collapsed to his knees, gasping. But he didn’t protest.

  ## In the Shadow of the Wall

  A figure cloaked in black stood still, unmoving as a statue. Her eyes—deep violet, almost ethereal—followed every motion of the boy.

  When Lukas finally fainted, she let out a soft sigh. “You haven’t changed at all…” the woman whispered, voice low as a prayer. “Still breaking everything… even yourself… because of foolish promises.”

  A small smile touched her lips. “I swore… that next time, I wouldn’t just watch.”

  But it wasn’t time yet. She turned and vanished into the night, as if she had never been there.

  ## Hours Later

  Lukas awoke in the barracks, body aching. Adriele sat at the bedside, applying ointment to his cuts.

  “Again?” she asked softly. “Are you training until death?”

  “…If that’s what it takes.”

  She sighed, shaking her head. “Idiot.”

  But said nothing more. She didn’t need to.

  ## The Next Day

  Lukas returned to the yard.

  Soldiers raised their brows as they saw him walk—limping, but head held high.

  Luiz and Valquíria were already there, waiting.

  Luiz pointed his gladius. “Ready for another round of humiliation?”

  “I was born ready,” Lukas answered with a wounded smile.

  Valquíria rolled her eyes, but smiled faintly. “You really are missing a screw, Lukinhas. You know that, right?”

  He didn’t answer. He simply raised his shield— and took his stance.

  The fight resumed.

  And somewhere far away, under a pale moon, Morgana walked a lonely road, murmuring promises only she understood: “I won’t lose you again.”

  End of Chapter 10