First Lesson

The safe house had an eerie stillness to it, despite the quiet hum of conversation from the Rift Hunters scattered throughout the room. Kai sat on a crate, his mind still struggling to catch up with everything that had happened.

Legendary Shard. The Rift wants it back. And now he was stuck with a group of mercenaries who made it sound like his life had just turned into a countdown timer.

Lysara leaned against the table opposite him, arms crossed, studying him like he was some kind of puzzle she hadn't figured out yet.

"You look like you're about to puke," she said.

Kai exhaled sharply. "Would that be a normal reaction?"

Lysara shrugged. "More normal than bonding with a Legendary Shard and living to talk about it." She pushed off the table and cracked her knuckles. "Which brings us to your first lesson—control."

Kai glanced at her warily. "Control?"

She gestured to his hand. "That blade of yours. Summon it."

Kai hesitated, then focused. The memory of the battle in the alleyway was still fresh in his mind—the moment of sheer instinct when the weapon had appeared, cutting down the Abyssal in a single strike. He concentrated, trying to recreate that sensation.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, darkness stirred around his fingers. It coiled and twisted, forming into the familiar shape of the black blade, its edges crackling with shadowy energy. The weight in his hand felt solid, real—yet somehow alive, like it was responding to his emotions.

Lysara nodded approvingly. "Good. Now dismiss it."

Kai furrowed his brow. Dismissing it had happened instinctively last time, but now that he was actively thinking about it, doubt crept in. He willed the blade to vanish. It flickered for a second, then stubbornly remained.

Lysara smirked. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Kai scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you don't have control," she said. "You didn't summon it. The Shard did—reacting to your emotions, your instincts. Right now, you're just along for the ride."

Kai clenched his jaw. "And how do I change that?"

Lysara gestured toward the back of the safe house, where a makeshift training area had been set up. Sparring dummies, reinforced walls scarred from past battles, and a reinforced floor that looked like it had seen more than its fair share of destruction.

"You learn," she said simply.

---

The training room was empty except for the two of them. Lysara tossed him a dull metal baton. "If you can't dismiss the blade yet, don't use it. We start simple."

Kai caught the baton and eyed her warily. "What, we're just gonna fight?"

Lysara twirled her own baton lazily. "Something like that." Without warning, she lunged.

Kai barely had time to raise his weapon before she was on him. The impact sent a sharp jolt up his arm as he staggered back. Lysara didn't stop. She pressed forward, her strikes precise and relentless.

Kai barely managed to block the next few blows, but it was clear she wasn't going all out. She was testing him. Studying him.

His grip tightened on the baton. Frustration bubbled up inside him. Why was she toying with him?

As if sensing his emotions, the shadows around his hand stirred again. The baton flickered, the darkness curling around it like tendrils of smoke.

Lysara's eyes narrowed. "Don't force it," she warned.

Kai gritted his teeth. He wasn't forcing anything. The blade was responding to him on its own. He felt the same surge of power from before, raw and exhilarating. He let it take over.

The baton in his hand transformed—shifting into the black blade of Eclipse in an instant. A wave of dark energy pulsed outward, forcing Lysara to leap back.

For a moment, Kai felt powerful. Unstoppable.

Then, the pain hit.

A searing burn erupted through his body, like fire tearing through his veins. His vision blurred, his legs buckling beneath him. The blade in his grip pulsed violently, and he realized with growing horror that he couldn't release it.

Lysara cursed. "Damn it. Let go of the blade, Kai!"

"I—" His breath hitched as another jolt of pain wracked his body. He felt something pulling at him—like the Shard was trying to take more than he could give.

Then, just as suddenly as it began, Lysara moved.

She slammed the tip of her baton into Kai's wrist. The sudden shock made his grip falter, and the blade vanished in a burst of black mist.

Kai collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. His entire body felt like it had been torn apart and stitched back together with raw energy.

Lysara knelt beside him, her expression unreadable. "That," she said flatly, "is what happens when you lose control."

Kai swallowed hard. The lingering pain was proof that she wasn't exaggerating.

He looked up at her. "What… what was that?"

Lysara sighed, standing up and offering him a hand. "That was your Shard reminding you who's really in charge. And if you don't learn to control it fast…" Her gaze darkened. "It'll consume you."

Kai took her hand, pulling himself up, his body still aching from the ordeal. He had thought awakening to his power would make him stronger.

Instead, it felt like he was standing on the edge of something terrifying—something he barely understood.

And if he wasn't careful, it would devour him whole.

---

To Be Continued…