Kalvis had thought himself prepared. He was wrong.

The holo-chamber pulsed with a deep, synthetic hum, its walls shifting between simulated landscapes of brutal terrains—burning deserts, storm-lashed wastelands, the vacuum of space itself. The gravity fluxed, the air thickened, and somewhere above, invisible nanites tracked his every movement. It was engineered to break him.

Within this shifting crucible, Artex stood with arms crossed, watching Kalvis struggle against his own frailty.

"The mind snaps long before the body crumbles," Artex said, his voice smooth as a blade unsheathed. "What does that teach you?"

Kalvis, sweat-drenched and bruised, dragged himself upright. His lungs heaved for air, but his eyes remained locked onto Artex. "That I need a stronger mind."

Witness to Suffering

Artex smirked. "No. That you need to stop fearing pain. Absorb it. Let it wire itself into you until it is no longer an enemy."

Kalvis clenched his jaw and stepped forward again. The training did not relent. It was war. Every strike, every block, every staggered breath—each one another step toward transcendence. His muscles screamed, his body faltered, but he did not stop. Could not stop.

Beyond the chamber’s forcefield, Roqiam and Karina watched in silence.

"He's pushing himself too far," Karina murmured, her fingers tightening into her sleeves.

Roqiam's gaze was impassive, but the weight of experience lived in her words. "No. He’s learning what it means to commit."

Inside, Kalvis stumbled but did not fall. And in that instant, the agony did not lessen, but it lost its power over him. He met Artex’s gaze with something new in his eyes—something molten.

Artex inclined his head. "Again."

Mastering the Mind

The study chamber glowed with sterile blue light, a contrast to the chaos of the holo-training. Here, knowledge reigned supreme.

Roqiam guided Karina through the labyrinth of medical science, gesturing at floating holograms of human neurostructures, their golden threads pulsing with simulated life.

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"Neural augmentation is delicate work," Roqiam said. "The brain is a jealous fortress—it rejects interference. Our job is to trick it into believing it's expanding itself."

Karina traced the delicate curve of a floating brainstem, her expression sharp with concentration. "So the key is compatibility?"

Roqiam grinned. "The key is deception."

Karina scoffed, but the fire in her eyes burned brighter. The more Roqiam explained, the more the pieces snapped into place. She had never imagined herself in this world of artificial synapses and bioelectricity, but now—now, she felt something new. A pull. A purpose.

For the first time in a long time, the path ahead did not seem like an abyss.

A Rare Moment of Peace

Dinner that evening felt different. The air was lighter, no longer suffocating beneath the weight of grief. Voices carried with something close to ease, and laughter—real laughter—cut through the quiet.

Kalvis tossed a LithoLoaf at Artex, who caught it without looking. "Gonna pretend I don’t see you rationing me like I’m some caged warhound?"

Artex arched a brow. "You eat like a glitchy auto-feeder stuck on max output."

Karina rolled her eyes but grinned. Then she inhaled, bracing herself. "I have an announcement."

The table stilled.

Karina met their gazes, her voice steadier than she expected. "I’ve decided—I want to become a doctor."

Silence, then an eruption of cheers.

Kalvis smirked. "Guess that means we got a genius in the house."

She shot him a look. "Always did. You were just slow to catch on."

Roqiam’s face contorted in an exaggerated display of emotion, her eyes theatrically glassy. "My star pupil—oh, the pride is too much!" She clutched at her chest like she’d been struck. "I need a moment—no, a century—someone hold me!"

Laughter rippled around the table, warmth settling into their bones. For the first time in what felt like forever, the joy felt real.

Then Karina took a deep breath, voice steady but charged with something raw. "I don’t ever want anyone to go through what we did. Losing our parents, feeling powerless to stop it—I won’t let that happen to anyone else if I can help it." Her hands clenched on the table. "I want to protect people. I want to save them."

The laughter softened into something more solemn, more real. Understanding flickered in their eyes. No one questioned her resolve.

Kalvis’s Declaration

Then Kalvis stood.

The energy shifted. The air tightened.

He rolled his shoulders, exhaled, and looked at them all. "I have an announcement too."

Stillness stretched across the room, an invisible wire drawn taut.

He inhaled. "I’m going to become a Gallant."

The reaction was immediate.

Roqiam froze, her playful bravado shattering. Artex’s expression darkened like a storm rolling over the horizon. Karina’s breath hitched.

The Gallants. Warriors. Enforcers. Shields of the system and executioners of its will. The same force that their uncle had dedicated his life to. The same force their father had died serving.

Karina’s chair scraped against the floor as she shot to her feet, her breath tight in her throat.

Without a word, she turned and strode from the table, her steps quickening into a run as she disappeared down the hall.

No one stopped her.

The three left behind sat in tense, suffocating silence.

No words. No easy answers. Only the weight of a choice that none of them were ready to face.

And for the first time in a long time, the future felt unknowable.

Glossary

LithoLoaf - a nutrient-dense, rock-derived bread made from edible mineral composites, baked under electromagnetic waves