Varos didn't waste time with greetings. The moment Thalen's boots touched the cracked stone of the plateau, the Hero was already moving fast, low, a blur of momentum. His blade whistled through the air, not toward Thalen's neck or heart, but his stance.
Thalen blocked, but too high.
Varos's foot swept out.
Thalen hit the ground hard enough to crack the stone beneath him.
"Lesson one," Varos said, voice level, blade still humming. "You're not fighting other initiates anymore. You're fighting monsters. And monsters don't wait for you to warm up."
Thalen scrambled up, blood in his mouth and eyes narrowed.
"So this is the mentorship of a Tyrant Hero?"
"This," Varos said, "is survival. Learn fast, or die with pride."
They circled each other now, Thalen's reborn sword glowing faintly with interwoven energy a soft flicker of violet Tyrant Spirit and his sharpened Blade Aura. The fusion still felt new in his hands, like a second heartbeat he hadn't learned to trust yet.
