The storm had finally cleared up the next day. After an entire night stuck in the shed, freezing our brains out, I wasn’t able to get much sleep.

Unfortunately for me, however, I had another training session with my grandfather. Bright and early as always.

"Do not be afraid of what is yet unknown," my grandfather said to me. "You need to learn to react to the situation ahead of you. All you’re doing right now is guessing."

I was currently in the process of dodging a barrage of fire blasts being shot at me by Lydia.

"I’m pretty sure I already know what’s going to happen?!" I shouted, "All this seems to be doing is slowly singeing my hair!"

"That’s because you need to concentrate," he said to me.

"How is she even using this much flame!?" I asked.

"Quit worrying about menial things; just focus!" my grandfather shouted back. “You were able to activate your abnormality without any issue yesterday.”

“I told you I’m trying! It just doesn’t seem to be working anymore! I don’t know why!”

"Good grief." He held his hand to his face in disappointment. "I suppose every abnormality has its own distinct way of activating; perhaps the conditions on this one are a bit more strict."

Lydia halted her attacks

“I guess…” I feigned ignorance. Though I didn't say much at the time, I’m pretty sure it had something to do with my encounter with Hope the night prior. I no longer felt the same way as I did before—that aching feeling in my chest, that blinding anger I felt towards myself—it was all replaced by a sense of longing to see her.

"You seem to be in an awfully cheerful mood today, prince; did something happen?" Lydia had teased me.

"N-nothing in particular. I just woke up with a sudden burst of energy, that's all." I replied to her, "I want to master this power as fast as possible."

"You should really slow down and recuperate, that attack from the other day really did a number on you." she said to me.

"Let the boy continue; he’s clearly raring to go. A few extra sessions here and there won’t hurt," my grandfather said to her.

He was right. I couldn’t explain it, but it felt like I could do anything.

"As you wish my lord," Lydia bowed and continued our training.

Her hair began to emit a faint glow as she released a burst of energy; she then managed to conjure up various orbs of fire and flung them all towards me at once.

I took a deep breath in order to brace myself for impact, but everything seemed to slow down; every orb of fire that was headed towards me practically came to a full stop. I managed to maneuver around the flames and get within an arm's length of Lydia before time had once again reverted to its original state.

Every single orb of fire had exploded behind me, leaving a small crater in their wake.

"You could’ve killed me!" I shouted.

She, along with my grandfather, both started to laugh.

"What’s so funny?" I asked.

"Mistery, you did it." My grandfather had said to me

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You were moving at an extremely fast speed; not a single orb had the chance to home in on you," my grandfather had said to me.

I noticed that the power I had just used was much different than before; I was actually in control of my body this time rather than filled to the brim with anger and power like before.

"No, I’m not too sure about that." I responded

"Are you certain? It seemed pretty abnormal to me." my grandfather asked me.

"No… While I was fighting the Grewk I didn’t have much control over myself all I could really feel was this…anger."

"I see..." my grandfather stopped to think. “Perhaps more time is required then.”

"Shall we conclude here, prince?" Lydia asked me.

"Yeah, I guess we can stop here for today. You must’ve used up a lot of power, especially during that last attack," I said to her.

"I suppose I did." She gave me a slight laugh.

"Mistery," my grandfather got my attention. "I’m afraid I won’t be home tonight; I need to go off planet to Otoma for a little while," he said to me.

"Are you still running your errands?" I asked

"Yes, I’m afraid it can’t be helped, though this shall be the last one for quite some time," he replied. "I shall be heading out soon, please don’t get into any trouble." He spoke to me in a sarcastic tone.

"Will you at least be back in time for the placement exam?" I asked.

They were coming up in a few days, and I assumed that this training was meant to help increase my chances of advancing.

"If all goes according to plan, I should be back about a day or two before the exams so they can continue as scheduled," he said to me.

"Sounds good! Anyways, I’ve gotta get going. I’ll catch you both later then."

"Mistery!" he called out to me once more, just before I was able to walk away.

"Yeah? What is it?" I asked.

He pulled out a small bag of ecrima from his pocket and tossed it towards me.

"Go buy her something nice, okay?" he said to me with a huge grin on his face.

I swear, that old man is a psychic or something.

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Later that day, I was finally free to roam around and do as I pleased, but I couldn’t seem to stop thinking about what had happened last night. It was so surreal, I wasn’t sure if I could ever bring myself to face her again, and now it was the only thing I wanted to do.

I went out, trying to find something nice for her as a sort of apology gift. Initially, I looked for any clothing that might suit her style, but it quickly dawned on me that I may not be the most knowledgeable on that front, especially considering my own wardrobe.

So I decided to stop by Sigil’s shop. I knew that Hope wasn’t the type of person to use any form of weapon or armor, but it didn’t hurt to at least look around. It definitely wasn’t for me, no sir.

"Hey, old man, how are you today?!" I shouted as I approached.

"Mistery!" he shouted back. "What a surprise!"

"You seem busy; what are you up to?" I mentioned

"I just finished forging a weapon; hopefully, he’ll like this one," he said to me.

"Who is it for?"

"It’s for your buddy, Blade."

"If the weapon truly is for him, you better scrap it now," I chuckled. "He won’t like it no matter how much work you put into it; he’s a picky one," I said to him.

"Well then, I never knew you saw me that way, prince," said Blade, who had been standing there the whole time.

"Oh…uhh… Blade! How are you, buddy?" I tried to play it off.

"Is the sword ready?" He ignored me,

"I just finished polishing it; why don’t you give it a whirl?"

Sigil handed him the sword. Blade held it close to admire the weapon. He swung the sword in a horizontal arc and placed it back in its sheath.

"It will work for now," he said to Sigil.

“Yeah and if you don’t like it I recommend taking your business elsewhere.” Sigil retorted.

"I told you," I whispered.

"Anyways, kid, what can I help you with?" Sigil asked me, "You’re more cheerful than usual."

"I actually came to get your advice on something."

He stopped what he was doing and turned over to stare at me with a smug look on his face.

"Well, if you want advice on love, I’m the right man for the job." He let out a laugh.

"You too?" I said under my breath.

"There’s no point in hiding it, kid; your face says it all." He gave me a huge grin.

"It’s not like that; I just want to give her a gift. Sort of as an apology for avoiding her all these years, you know?"

Sigil put his tools down and placed his hand on my shoulder.

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"Kid, listen to me. Hope is a sweet girl," he said to me in a serious tone. "I’m sure she’ll be happy to just spend the day with you, like old times."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "That seems way too simple. I should at least get her something small."

"Well, since you're so damn insistent about it, I... may have something in mind," he said to me as he rummaged through his storage.

"Ah, here it is!" he exclaimed. He handed me a small black pendant. "I gave one just like this to my wife the day we got married. Old Hag never gave it back."

I sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you it’s nothing like that?"

"Never said it was. I just thought it might be a nice gesture. Trust me, she’ll love it."

I let out a sigh, "Alright, fine. How much do you want for it?" I asked.

"Go ahead and take it, kid."

"A-are you sure?" I asked, "It’s really no issue. My grandfather gave me some cash to spend."

"Yeah, it’s fine; you two go enjoy yourselves. As much as I’d love to take that geezer's money, you deserve it, kid." he chuckled

"Well… I really appreciate it," I said to him.

A few moments later, Blade had returned to the shop.

"This just broke," Blade said, coming back with his newly forged weapon; the hilt had snapped completely off and the tip was completely shattered.

"H-how does that even happen?" I asked.

"I-it may be best not to talk about it." He said to me in an embarrassed tone.

"Sure… Well anyways… Imma go now." I said as I slowly and carefully walked away from the situation as Sigil looked about ready to lose it.

I then headed towards the abandoned shack we were trapped in last night; we decided to meet up there for convenience's sake.

As I arrived, I saw Hope sitting down on a broken piece of wood, holding a small box.

"Hey, I’m sorry to keep you waiting," I apologized. "Have you been here for a long time?

"Just for a bit," she responded quietly.

"Yeah… Sorry about that, I got a bit preoccupied at the smithy." I said to her, "But, I also got you something during my time there." she turned over to me.

I approached her and pulled the pendant out from my pocket. I took hold of her hand and placed it on her palm.

"What is this?" she asked me.

"It’s just a small gift; I saw it and... thought it might look nice on you." I smiled.

"Y-you didn’t have to do this," Her voice very faintly changed tone.

She wouldn’t look me in the eyes and kept covering her mouth.

"I-I brought you this," she said to me, handing me a fairly large box.

I took hold of the box and opened the lid.

"These are…" I was stricken with silence. "These are amazing," I said to her.

She began to show a faint smile. "I know you don’t like to use armor, but you might want to consider these if you intend on fighting as recklessly as you do," she giggled.

Within the box were two black arm bracers. This piece of armor was designed to go on the forearm and was mainly used to block or parry various different attacks. They were extremely tough, not to mention expensive.

"I’ve been cleaning and polishing these ever since our last meeting," she said to me.

"But, why go through all that trouble for me?" I asked.

"Well... it’s because we’re friends," she said to me. "You’ve also given me a lot of gifts; I thought you might want one too."

"Well, I appreciate it." I gave her a quick smile.

She had become much more silent since the last time I had seen her; it was like her entire demeanor had changed.

While deep down I could tell she was still the Hope I had grown to know, I couldn’t help but notice that she seemed to be an almost entirely different person at times; her eyes were missing that bright light she once had.

I walked closer and took a seat next to her on a broken piece of wood. She remained still and stared at the pendant.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

She shook her head. “N-no it’s fine…”

"Here, let me help you with that."

I took hold of the pendant and unlinked it. I undid her scarf and helped her put the pendant on.

"There. I think it looks great on you," I smiled.

As time passed, I struggled to come up with something to do or say in order to break the awkward silence. Hope then suddenly tugged on my sleeve snapping me out of it.

"I saw you training with Strek," she said to me. "You’ve gotten so much stronger."

I didn’t know whether to be flattered or worried because all I remember is getting my ass handed to me by Marz, Blade, and Trock.

"I’m not sure I would call that an improvement," I nervously chuckled. "Frankly, not much has really changed since then."

"I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit," she said to me. "You took control of the situation in an instant. When your team wasn’t cooperating, you found a way to work around it. Even if your team lost, it shows your improvement and dedication."

"You really have that much faith in me?" I asked sarcastically.

"Of course," she responded, "you’re the reason why I can continue to train and fight, even with my condition."

"I-I…" I was speechless.

"The placement exams are coming up soon," she said to me. "Are you going to participate this time around?" she asked.

"Y-yes, I plan to. I’ve actually been training with my grandfather, so I would like to see where that’s gotten me." I responded

"I’ll be rooting for you then."

"Thank you."

At this point, it was starting to get late, and the sun was beginning to set.

"It’s getting late; do you have to be home anytime soon?" She asked me.

"I’ll be fine for a while." I responded, "But what about you? Do you have someplace to stay?"

"Yes, the captain arranged a place for me to stay."

"Would you care to take a walk then?" I asked her

"That would be nice," she said to me.

We decided to take a nice, leisurely stroll throughout the town, though we tried to avoid the noble territory, as to avoid any unwanted attention.

Once midnight struck, we took a break and sat down near the top of a mountain just outside the kingdom.

Torn, how lively it looked at this time of night. With many lights glowing around the whole city, it was a truly spectacular sight to behold. The lights always flickered as the crackling fire from each speck radiated throughout the night sky; even from this distance, you could still faintly hear it all.

I took a seat with my legs hanging off the side of the mountaintop and continued staring at the city as the townsfolk enjoyed their peaceful lives. I fell back and laid down on the soft patch of grass behind me, closing my eyes.

"I don’t know if I’m ready," I whispered.

"For what?" Hope had asked me.

I lifted my head off the ground. "I don’t know if I’m ready for the exam; I mean, I still can’t even control my own power," I said to her.

"I think you just need to have more confidence in yourself," she said to me. "I know you have what it takes to pass this test. I think you just need a push in the right direction," she said to me.

"I’m trying," I replied.

"And that’s all that matters," she gave me a very faint smile as she leaned on my shoulder, "just promise me you won’t give up on your dream; you’re the one who said the same thing to me, remember?" She spoke to me in a quiet voice.

"My dream…?" I stopped and wondered for a moment. “Oh, right.” I let out a slight laugh

My dream had always been to become one of the royal knights, the highest rank a warrior can achieve.

"No worries there," I said to her, "Not a day goes by when I don’t think about it."

"But, what about you?" I asked her, "How has your training been going?"

"It’s been going well; I’ve gotten some private lessons from the captain," she responded.

"Welp, you might already be better than me." I said as we both began to laugh.

For the remainder of that night, we had simply laid down, staring at the sky, conversing about our plans and hopes for the future.

Oh, how ignorant we were...

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(One Week Later)

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The placement exams were coming up in three days. I had until then to prepare myself both physically and mentally. While I still had my doubts, I was much more confident than I would’ve been a year ago, and I had Hope to thank for that.

As I finished freshening up that day, it was time for breakfast, so I made my way over to the dining hall.

"Good morning, sir." Lydia had greeted me.

"Morning," I replied. “Hey Lydia, do you happen to know when my grandfather is set to return?”

“I was notified that he is scheduled to arrive later today," Lydia had said to me.

"That’s great; hopefully I can get a bit of training in before the exam."

"R-right," she stuttered.

"What’s wrong?" I asked, "You don’t think I can pass, do you?"

"I-it’s not that; I just..." she became silent.

"It’ll be fine. I’ve been training, and if I don’t manage to pass this year, there’s always the next."

"Have you ever considered taking some time off?" She asked in a serious tone, "I just think that sometimes you tend to push yourself too far, and if you continue to do that, you may end up exhausting your will to keep going. Failure can be extremely hard to deal with, and I just think this may not be as important as you believe it to be."

"I understand your concerns," I replied, "but Lydia... I have to do this. Even if I fail, there's no downside to at least giving it another shot, I promise it won’t be like last time."

In the past, I had failed the placement exam nearly every single year. As a result I would lock myself up in my room for days and every single time Lydia had to come and cheer me up the best she could.

She seemed shocked at my response. "Well, then… Please excuse me," she said to me as she took a step back and bowed before rushing off to her quarters.

After I had finished eating, I made my way out into the courtyard for my daily training.

Once outside I made sure to properly perform my stretches before actually beginning my work out.

I began by creating two orbs of fire, one for each hand. This was a very simple training method but an incredibly effective one at maximizing the amount of flame energy one can hold. For just a few minutes a day we hold this exact pose, hands to our side, palms pointed upwards, making sure to constantly pump more and more energy into the flame. This quickly began to build up a large amount of sweat.

Once finished I released the flame, launching both orbs into some nearby targets and managing to knock them both down.

I then walked up to a larger target. I pulled my hand back and formed a fist.

I took a deep breath.

While I had always complained and spoken about my lack of fighting prowess there was at least one thing I always held a bit of pride in. From what I could tell my flame capacity was definitely above average so I tended to focus on that more often than not.

I created another flame orb, this time a much larger one. I closed my eyes and began to visualize the flowing energy. I swirled the flame around my arm and slowly moved it up to the center of my fist where it all converged.

In one quick breath I took all the flame energy I had gathered and condensed it into a small point before launching my fist out towards the target in one fast and fluid motion releasing all pent up energy at the exact moment of contact.

A large explosion erupted from the end of my fist, managing to tear completely through the metal target even breaking through to the outer brick wall of the castle.

A loud sound could be heard echoing throughout the courtyard.

A part of my sleeve had been burned, and I had a small cut on my left hand.

"Well, it’s better than nothing I guess," I said to myself. I may have said that, but the fact of the matter was that I finally managed to successfully perform the flame pulse technique, the same one that had left my room a mess a while back.

Shortly after, I heard a loud clapping sound. "That was wonderful!" I heard my grandfather shout.

I chuckled. "You’re back early, I see."

"Well, things went off smoothly, and the plans were approved," he said to me.

I was getting excited, practically jumping up and down.

"So…" I asked, "when can we start training again for the exam?"

He remained silent, and Lydia quickly ran up to him.

"I’m sorry sir I…"

"You didn’t tell him yet, did you?" he asked in a serious tone.

"I apologize; I was trying to let him down easily. I just wanted to..."

"Please," my grandfather interrupted her, "leave us."

Lydia took a large step back and bowed before returning inside with all the other workers.

"What is this all about?" I asked my grandfather.

Everything went silent, and there was this piercing tension in the air.

"Mistery… I need you to withdraw from this year’s placement exam."