Amaterasu giggled to herself as Arslan tried to catch Lily. The young beastkin was covered with sweat and his face was flushed red with exhaustion and frustration. Lily on the other hand had a big smile as he avoided every strike coming from Arslan.

“This is stupid! I thought we fighting, not playing childish games!”

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. His hands can't hit what his eyes can't see. Now you see me, now you don't.”

Lily disappeared from Arslan’s sight with those words. Arslan took a defensive stance similar to the one he took against Grizzon. However, this time it was useless as a sharp thing poked him in the ribs.

“No matter how well you have trained, if you let your emotions get the better of you, it is worthless.”

Lily took several steps back, not leaving any marks on the sandy beach. Arslan kicked the sand.

“Morrigan, help me out. I would rather go 10 rounds with you than sparring with him one more time!”

Morrigan lifted her head from the documents she was reading. She inspected the two half-naked men before speaking. Arslan was covered with several scars and much more muscular than Lily. His body was slightly hairy. Meanwhile, Lily was much more thinner than him. He had some muscles but for beastkin standards, he was considered skinny. His ponytail was still intact despite his sparring partner’s hair being disheveled.

“You are getting annoyed because you are bad at fighting speed-focused enemies. You should focus on things you are bad at, not avoid them.”

Arslan sighed. He wasn’t able to find an ally. He looked at Amaterasu with hope but she gave him a reassuring smile yet she didn’t say anything in his defense. Defeated, he gripped his swords tighter and charged toward Lily once again. Lily stepped to the side with a simple step and kicked Arslan’s ass, sending him into the water.

“Agh! Fight like a man!”

Now wet and even more furious, Arslan exited the water and chased Lily.

“That’s sexist.”

Lily giggled as he ran away as flamboyantly as he could. His playfulness only made Arslan angrier.

“And I thought there couldn’t be a human more annoying than Poyraz.”

“I am his teacher. Of course, I will be more annoying than him.”

Arslan’s swings caused the wind to blow. Despite being that fast his strikes rarely connected. Even when his swords connected, they were parried to the side with minimal effort by Lily.

“I could catch you yesterday! Why this!!!”

Arslan’s sword reached Lily. However, Lily turned into mist and appeared behind him. He hit the back of Arslan’s head lightly with his sword’s handle.

“Because you started to think about things outside our sparring.”

Arslan turned around and swung his sword. Lily turned into mist once again. Arslan turned back again but Lily wasn’t there. He was several steps away from him. He sent green mana attacks to Arslan.

“I am focusing on our sparring!”

Arslan roared as he blocked Lily’s attacks.

“Nope. You are thinking about how to catch me. You are thinking about what would happen if you can’t catch. You are thinking of getting embarrassed in front of your girlfriend.”

Arslan’s face reddened once again but this time not out of frustration. Amaterasu hid her face behind her tail.

"Doubt yourself, you do, as think you do. Act, don't think."

Lily made references only he could understand.

“I am trying! This is not easy. How do you do that? You must experienced a bunch of life-and-death situations. You even died once. Aren’t you afraid it will happen again? Don’t you doubt yourself?”

Morrigan lowered the documents she was reading. Arslan looked ashamed for a second.

“I am sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned it. It must be hard for you...

All three beastkin knew that Lily and Poyraz were outworlders. They died once in their world and were resurrected by the Stars. While both Poyraz and Lily weren’t stingy when it came to their experiences in their world, how they died was still a mystery. All three at least once thought about it. How could these two experienced and trained warriors could have died? All saw their resilience and will against Tormented One. The fact that someone, something could kill them was a scary thought.

Despite their curiosity, none asked that question. They all knew that it was a sensitive topic. However, Arslan forgot that since they looked young and behaved so nonchalantly. Arslan's question hung in the air for a moment, creating a palpable tension among the group. Lily suddenly laughed and broke the tension.

“You are not wrong. Dying sucked and I don’t want to go through that again. But no matter how much it sucked, it is in the past and I am now in the present. I can just turn back constantly but why I would do that when today has so many things to offer? Why agonize in the past or worry about tomorrow when I could enjoy a good drink, make love, and spend time with friends? No matter how painful the past is or how close tomorrow is to me they are still far away. I am not going to waste my today for them.”

Lily’s sudden wisdom surprised others. They were used to him being an airhead playboy. But he returned back to his usual self by sticking out his tongue and raising his hands.

“Or something like that.”

He pointed to Arslan.

“Let me guess: You are feeling as if you are not a man because you failed to defeat your older brother by yourself. But you are not proud to admit that to yourself or others. So what do you do with that shame? Throw it inside, try to cover it with anger and a false sense of confidence.”

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

Lily stopped and inspected the faces of his friends. Poyraz probably wouldn’t have spoken out about what he said and what he was about to say to Arslan in front of Amaterasu since he would have wanted to avoid making Arslan look bad in front of her despite him constantly teasing him but he wasn’t Poyraz.

“But that cover fails and everything surfaces the moment you encounter something difficult.”

Arslan raised his sword and looked at his own reflection. For a second rather than seeing a battle-hardened adult with scars he saw a scared little child. He glanced back to Amaterasu with vulnerability, afraid of her thinking less of him due to his insecurity. Despite his fears what met his gaze wasn’t rejection. Instead, he saw Amaterasu’s warm smile. He looked back at his own reflection.

“I… I couldn’t defeat my brother. I had to be saved by you.”

Arslan had to force himself to say those words.

“Then again, I would have died if Poyraz hadn’t interfered. While you guys fought to free those beastkin’s souls I lay down useless as ever!”

His voice steadily increased in volume.

“How I am supposed to ignore my previous failures? How I am supposed to believe that I can protect others when I constantly need other’s protection?”

He lowered his gaze in shame, avoiding eye contact.

“I just can’t.”

Morrigan who was watching until now let go of the documents she was reading and got up.

“Switch with me.”

She touched Lily’s shoulder and stopped in front of Arslan. She pulled her twin daggers from her back.

“Your thoughts are understandable, Arslan. I share your thoughts and I am sure everyone in here too.”

Arslan let out a small gasp of shock. Morrigan, a beastkin capable of perfect Primal Evoction and Sword Aura felt not enough?

“But we move forward. Because that’s what we can do. What we have to do.”

With a fluid motion, Morrigan engaged in a sparring stance. Arslan hesitated for a moment, then raised his swords. The tension in the air shifted from introspection to anticipation as the two engaged in a swift exchange. Morrigan moved with a fluidity that seemed almost unnatural, her movements a dance between offense and defense. Despite her weapons being daggers she pushed Arslan back.

“Use your Aura.”

Morrigan’s kick sent Arslan flying into the water. Unlike Lily’s kick, this one aimed to actually hurt Arslan.

“You can’t use it on will. But I am not as soft as Lily. Use it or I’ll maul you.”

Arslan swam from deeper parts of the water. Before he could exit, Morrigan gathered shadows and sent them to Arslan. He barely was able to dodge. Arslan climbed back onto the sandy beach, water dripping from his clothes and swords.

"Come on, Arslan! You're the best around

Nothing's gonna ever keep you down

You're the best around

Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!”

Lily moved like a cheerleader as he shouted. Amaterasu couldn't help but chuckle at Lily's cheerleading antics, providing a touch of levity to the intense training session. Lily grabbed her.

“Come on. Give the boy some fire. He needs it.”

Amaterasu was clearly embarrassed to do so. Lily winked.

“Throw him some bone. You know what I mean.”

Amaterasu blushed slightly but nodded. She stepped forward, her tail swaying with the wind.

“You can do it, Arslan! I believe in you!”

“She said you can put your head between her thighs if you can land a hit on Morrigan!”

After a second of pause, Amaterasu processed what Lily said and turned back to Lily. At that moment Amaterasu understood why Poyraz treated Lily as he did. Lily shamelessly stuck his tongue out.

“I made a bet with Poyraz. I am not going to lose it. You are welcome for matchmaking.”

Amaterasu considered smacking Lily like Poyraz always did. She got ready to cast a simple attack spell but she stopped when she felt Aura coming from Arslan. She turned around and saw Arslan give out a golden glow. She felt panic settle. Did Arslan really take what Lily said seriously?

“If you want my best friend you have to earn her. I will not go easy on you.”

Amaterasu panicked for real this time. Morrigan too? She opened her mouth but Lily intercepted her.

“Are you really blue ball the guy after he got fired up? What if he feels even more insecure?”

Amaterasu hesitated for a moment, torn between the awkward situation and Arslan’s feelings. It was true that both had feelings for each other. But what Lily said was outrageous! Relationships were meant to be private and slow! That kind of stuff… She sighed. , realizing that both Arslan and Morrigan were now in the midst of an intense training session, and any interference might disrupt the flow.

"Fine, but let's keep it focused on the training," Amaterasu said, trying to salvage the situation. As the intense training continued, Arslan found himself tapping into his Aura more consistently. The golden glow around him grew stronger, and he began to match Morrigan's movements with increased confidence. The beach became a battleground, a place of growth and self-discovery. Lily cheered them on in his peculiar way.

Finally, after a series of swift exchanges, Arslan managed to land a hit on Morrigan. The clash of their blades echoed, and for a moment, everything stood still.

Morrigan, with a smirk, conceded, "Well done, Arslan. You've earned that hit. However, you will have to work on using Aura. You should talk with Börü."

Lily, ever the cheerleader, shouted:

"Arslan, you're a legend!"

Bleeding and exhausted, Arslan collapsed to his knees. He could still feel Morrigan’s dagger at his neck. Amaterasu slowly walked towards him and casted healing magic.

“Thanks.”

Arslan said between breaths. He looked back and saw that Amaterasu’s face was as red as her hair.

“What happened?”

He stopped and laughed.

“Did you think that I took what Lily said seriously? We were just joking.”

Amaterasu, relieved and slightly flustered, laughed together with Arslan but inside she was dying. Why did she even think that?

She made a mental note to make Lily pay one day.