The following night, Kael returned to the training grounds with his body still aching. His arms felt heavy, and his legs throbbed from the strain of endless running. Yet his eyes held no hesitation. He knew the path ahead, and he would not turn from it.

  Daren stood waiting, arms crossed. “You look worse than yesterday.”

  Kael smirked faintly, though the effort pained him. “That just means I trained hard.”

  “Or that you broke yourself.” Daren’s tone was flat, but there was a flicker of approval in his eyes. “Activate it. Let’s begin.”

  Kael closed his eyes, felt the familiar spark ignite, and opened them with the glow shining faintly. The weight of it pressed against him at once, but he had learned not to fear it. He stepped forward, breaking into a run.

  The first lap came easier than the night before. His breaths still burned, but he found rhythm in them—inhale, step, exhale, step. The glow steadied, pulsing with his heartbeat.

  By the second lap, the strain returned. His chest tightened, and his legs shook. Sweat poured down his face. He wanted to stop, to fall as he had before.

  But Daren’s voice carried across the ground: “Push through it. Your body lies. It says you cannot go further, but it is wrong. Push until the eye fades, not before.”

  Kael grit his teeth and kept running. His vision blurred at the edges, but he refused to stop.

  Finally, the glow sputtered out, and his legs buckled. He fell to his knees, gasping.

  “How long?” he croaked.

  “Nearly four minutes,” Daren said. “Double yesterday.”

  Kael blinked, stunned. He hadn’t realized it had been that long. A faint smile tugged at his lips despite the ache in his body.

  Daren stepped closer. “That is progress. Small, but real. You will run again.”

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  Kael groaned, pressing his palms into the dirt, but forced himself up. “Again.”

  ---

  The training became a cycle. Kael ran until he collapsed, rested only long enough to catch his breath, then ran again. Each time, the eye lasted a little longer.

  By the third attempt that night, he reached nearly five minutes. By the fourth, his vision went white before he fell, but the glow had held until the very end.

  When he finally lay flat on the ground, staring at the stars, his chest heaving, he whispered, “Five minutes… I did it.”

  Daren stood above him. “Better. But not enough. Ten minutes is your next mark. Only then will I say you’ve taken this step.”

  Kael’s head turned slightly, his face still damp with sweat. “And after ten?”

  Daren’s eyes narrowed. “After ten, we test you in battle with it. But for now, you will run until your body understands that the eye is not a curse but a part of you.”

  Kael let out a long breath. “Then I’ll keep running.”

  The days that followed blurred into one another.

  Morning was spent with the villagers—helping repair walls, tending the farms, and walking among the people to remind them he was not hidden away in stone rooms. But when night came, he returned to Daren.

  Each night, the drills were the same. Run. Hold the eye. Collapse. Rise again.

  The pain was constant, but so was the progress. By the third night, Kael could keep the glow steady for six full minutes before his body gave out. By the fifth, he reached seven. His body screamed at him each time, but his will grew sharper, harder.

  Daren rarely praised him, but Kael began to notice the small things—a slight nod, a pause before the next order, the faintest curve of approval in his gaze.

  On the sixth night, Kael staggered across the field, his body on the edge of collapse. His legs dragged, his chest burned, and the glow threatened to flicker out.

  But he refused to stop.

  He forced himself on, step by step, until he stumbled past the tenth marker post. His vision swam, the glow sputtered—and then died. He collapsed face-first into the dirt.

  Daren walked forward, crouching beside him. “How long do you think that was?”

  Kael coughed, his voice hoarse. “I… don’t know. Eight? Nine?”

  Daren’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Nine and a half. Almost ten.”

  Kael laughed weakly, the sound rough but filled with pride. “Almost…”

  Daren looked at him for a long moment, then stood. “Tomorrow, you will reach it. I expect nothing less.”

  The next night, Kael pushed harder than ever before. His body screamed for rest, his lungs burned, and his vision blurred with every step. But he kept going.

  “Breathe steady,” Daren called. “Control your rhythm. Do not fight it—guide it!”

  Kael obeyed, forcing his breaths into pattern. The glow steadied, brighter than before. He counted each step, each breath, each heartbeat.

  When his body threatened to stop, his mind pushed it forward. When his legs faltered, his will carried them.

  And then, at last, he crossed the tenth marker and kept going.

  The glow held.

  Ten minutes passed before the eye flickered out. Kael collapsed into the grass, chest heaving, every muscle screaming. But a wide grin spread across his face.

  “I… did it,” he whispered.

  Daren stepped to his side, his arms crossed. “You did.” For the first time, there was no cold edge in his voice. Only respect. “Now you know the weight of stamina. Without it, the eye is nothing. With it, you can carry it into battle.”

  Kael’s grin remained, even as exhaustion dragged his eyes shut. “Then I’ll carry it… as long as it takes.”

  The night air was cool, the stars bright above. Kael lay broken on the ground, but for the first time since his training began, he felt not weakness but strength.

  He had endured. And now, the eye was his to wield.

  Kael smiled , and said"can u carry back inside I don't I have the ability to carry myself right now

  Daren " hahahahaha. No problem . U did well