Orion returned to the mansion after encountering the merchant lady.

He took a shower, sat in his bed with the hourglass in his hands, and kept looking at the carvings on the frame.

'I can't say I'm not happy to have this. I will finally be able to show Amelia what they look like.'

He breathed slowly, feeling his muscles aching.

'I've been trying too hard recently.'

Everything he was doing recently was excruciating to him. He was pushing himself so hard that his body and mind couldn't follow.

But the situation changed the moment he obtained the hourglass. He knew exactly how much time remained now.

'Maybe I will be able to focus on one task at a time instead of doing everything all at once. Four months— that's still a long jump from now.'

The situation became slightly more bearable for him.

'This woman, who is she? I've tried to ask, but she keeps disappearing before I can say anything. What a pain.'

'And this artifact— can I truly believe it to be the time remaining before Elliott awakens?'

Of course, he questioned if this could be a lie or if it was simply a funny trinket with the shape of his parents' carved on it.

As he kept pondering if the middle-aged woman was trustworthy, the same question kept appearing. Who was she?

'Well, she gave me another artifact before, even though I understood its use recently.'

'She's been... helping me. Why?'

After remembering the first artifact he received from her, he realized that she was really trying to help him in his quest for revenge.

But once again, another question. Why?

So many questions remained unanswered.

'If I ever get to see her, I won't let her get away next time.'

*Yawn*

Fatigue began to set in his body. He laid on the bed after placing the hourglass on the table.

'I wonder what... Amelia... is doing?'

~

"Time out! Let me rest for a bit! What are you, a wall?"

Amelia lost her balance and had to kneel on the ground.

"That's the point. I need to be able to catch anything thrown at us."

Karteira was in full plate armor, but its shape was visibly different from usual.

"How did you even think of using it like this? Before, I could manage, but now, I can't even make a dent on your armor's surface."

Amelia stood up and looked closely at the changes.

"I knew you could move the plates around, that you could use steam to boost your speed, and that your tail could be used as a slingshot, but I never expected you to become a real walking fortress."

The plates around her elbows up to her shoulders were displaced on her forearm, creating two rectangular shields on her arms.

"I've been trying many things by moving my plates around. I never knew they could be removed so easily. When I thought of my withered plates, the idea came to me."

Amelia walked to her and tapped the left shield with her hand.

"This looks similar to an iron shield, but it feels sturdier. Is it still the same 'Cerulean Aegis'?"

Karteira stopped her ability, and her plates all returned to their original positions before retracting to her wrists and ankles.

"I think I've been misled about this ability. This might be the true 'Cerulean Aegis', while the basic form is just the 'Cerulean Armor'."

Karteira checked her clothes for any kind of dirt on them.

"Wait, doesn't that mean that you can be whatever you want with that ability?"

"Pretty much. Whatever is possible with the armor, that is. I already have an idea for the armor that uses steam, but it needs more adjustments."

Amelia's jaw dropped.

"That's what someone who managed to push Orion down twice can do."

Karteira laughed and placed her right hand on her head.

"Anyway, is that everything for today?"

Amelia cancelled her magic, and Ceres returned to her.

"Yes, thanks to you, I was able to see how resilient this form is against attacks. We should return. You've been worried about him this whole time, right?"

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"As if you weren't worried either."

They laughed while preparing to leave the training ground, when suddenly.

*Gasp*

"Amelia?"

'Something...'

*Cough*

"Amelia, are you alright?"

Amelia grabbed her throat with one hand and her head with the other.

'I have trouble breathing, and this horrible headache just came with it.'

She dropped to the ground, her legs turning weak.

"Do you want me to go get Orion?"

Karteira was going to leave before Amelia grabbed her arm.

"No, he's probably resting."

*Cough*

"We shouldn't bother him."

"Is it the right time to say that? Wait, it's getting colder."

Karteira's hand was starting to freeze from the place she grabbed Amelia.

'This feeling! No!'

Amelia immediately understood what was happening. She was losing control of her magic again.

'I won't let that happen!'

"Karteira, move away from me. My magic is running wild. I don't intend to hurt you."

"What do you m-"

But before she could ask, a tornado formed around Amelia, forcefully pushing Karteira away.

"Amelia!"

She could only watch as Amelia grabbed her head in pain.

'This... This... THIS IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN!'

She blacked out at that moment.

~

Amelia opened her eyes inside the void that was her soul. The 'Key' was floating in the same place as usual, but the spheres that represented her elements were in chaos.

"'Ego'! Can you help?"

"So you've come. Do you know what is happening?"

Amelia walked with fury in her steps toward the center of the place.

"This is the breakthrough you were referring to, right? Why is it causing me to lose control?"

"It is because of the dragon scales. The elements can't stabilize correctly when magic constantly increases. This was a mistake on my part."

'Ego' explained clearly.

"You don't seem panicked at all. Do you have a way to stop this mess?"

She looked at the water sphere that showed cracks everywhere, with water spouting profusely between those same cracks.

Then she looked at the raging wind inside the other sphere.

The calm wind that spun inside the sphere changed into a bouncing tornado that threatened to break its vessel.

"You have to regulate those two elements while I lead them to the next stage. Can you do that?"

With the determination to not repeat an orphanage accident, Amelia extended and crossed her arms in front of her chest and felt the flow of magic inside of her.

"Just like that, keep going."

The giant 'Key' began to glow periodically. The same light began to envelop the two spheres.

'Ah! This is bad!'

*Crack*

The water sphere crumbled to pieces, releasing the water inside.

"Don't worry! Keep your focus on it."

'Ego' encouraged Amelia.

The water surged in all directions. The dragon scale remained in the center, unaffected by the breaking shell.

'The water! I have to-!'

She frowned and hesitated.

'To what?'

A sudden thought crossed her mind.

'This is my element, isn't it? My magic? Why do I fear it?'

Amelia uncrossed her arms and pointed her palm toward the falling water.

"Good. Feel the flow of magic and stabilize it."

A frigid aura formed around the dragon scale, and as Amelia kept focusing everything she had on the water, she felt a thread of energy between the water and the scale.

The scale released its power and froze the water, creating a giant stalactite directed toward the ground.

"This is better than I expected! Now!"

The 'Key' began to pulse faster and used its power to reforge the sphere with ice.

As the ice began to turn into a fine powder, that same powder returned to the scales, and a cocoon made of ice formed.

Some dust turned back to water, and the rest kept its ice powder form inside the water.

The scale changed form in the process too. Three spikes linked by a small skin layer appeared on its top. This reminded Amelia of the scale of an aquatic creature.

Finally, the sphere of ice and water was done with its breakthrough. The next phase of her element was reached, leaving the wind element to be dealt with.

On the exterior of the structure, the freezing air stopped, leaving the small tornado as the only remaining disaster to contain.

"Amelia, it's not done yet."

She turned to the tornado that was smashing against the walls of the sphere. It was a matter of time before it would break free too.

"I know! I'll focus on this one immediately!"

She tried to feel the link between the element and the dragon scale, but she felt nothing.

'Maybe it has to break the sphere first before evolving? That's why she said it was alright?'

*Crrrrrr*

'It's starting. Focus Amelia! Focus!'

The sphere fractured, and with one last bounce on its cracked layer, it split open in half.

The raging wind escaped.

At first, the gale was bearable, but in no time, it turned into a massive storm, battering Amelia, who somehow managed to remain standing.

'I will not be scared of you! You are mine!'

Using everything she had, she felt that thread of energy between the magic and the scale.

The wind calmed for just a second.

"Now's the chance!"

'Ego' used this opportunity to turn this furious wind into a new object.

The tornado showed a reaction to the will of the 'Key'.

The bottom of the tornado, as if gravity had become inverted, moved toward the green dragon scale.

It turned around and led the top of the tornado to do the same. Before long, a new sphere of pure wind was formed.

The scale changed form, like the other one.

Its shape changed from being flat to curved outward, while a pink-colored horn-type bulge appeared in the middle, pointing downward.

"Good job, Amelia. Congratulation on having two intermediate-level elements."

"That was intermediate?!"

Amelia was shocked. This amount of power was outrageous.

"Yes, this was intermediate. I don't know what mastering an element will bring to you, but it shouldn't lead to this type of disaster anymore. This was an oversight on my part."

'Ego' appeared sincerely apologetic.

"I am sorry."

*Sigh*

She sighed and sat on the ground. Looking up at the 'Key' and at her two newly formed elements.

Expectations grew in her heart.

"I won't stay weak; that's a good thing to know."

'Ego' appeared to read her mind, just like it did for Orion.

"You weren't weak to begin with. Like everything, it takes time to mature."

"Right."

Silence fell in the dark, empty blackness.

"I should return now. Everything should have calmed down."

"Indeed. Don't forget to check what this evolution brought to your elements."

Amelia stood up and walked to the white spot on the ground.

"I will do just that. Thank you for the help, 'Ego'."

Amelia returned.

"You are welcome."

~

"Amelia! Amelia!"

Karteira was shaking a collapsed and unresponsive Amelia.

Grunting sounds escaped Amelia's mouth as she opened her eyes.

"Amelia? For the love of the world, don't scare me like that."

She felt hot for a second before realizing that Karteira was hugging her.

"Sorry, I've worried you. I'm fine now."

They separated as Karteira helped Amelia stand up.

"What was that? Did you really lose control of your elements?"

"I did for a moment. It happened before, so I knew immediately. That's why I told you to move away from me."

"The orphanage incident?"

"Accident, yes. I was the cause of it."

That little detail never sat right with Karteira. Amelia did not hurt anyone during the orphanage fire, even if she was the cause of it.

"So, why did it happen again?"

She decided to ignore it once again.

"The water and the wind elements managed to break through their limits. There was too much magic released in the process, which led to this situation."

Blood began to stir inside Karteira.

"You've progressed? Does that mean you have new tricks up your sleeve?"

"I don't like those eyes. Stop looking at me like a predator."

"I can't do anything about it. Do you want to test them now?"

Karteira was ready to fight. Her craziness for battle awakened, even though she was supposed to return home for the day.

Amelia showed a smile unusual for her, one full of pride.

"Yes, let's do that. I'll show you what they can do now!"

The sound of clashing weapons was heard until late at night, while Orion had to prepare his own disastrous dinner after noticing Amelia's absence.