Realm Lord
Chapter 167: The Spar to Come

Chapter 167: The Spar to Come

The training facility’s fluorescent lights cast harsh shadows across the sterile walls, their incessant humming creating an almost hypnotic backdrop to the tension that filled the air. The medium-sized room felt both spacious and claustrophobic at once, its emptiness amplifying every sound—every footstep, every whispered conversation, every nervous breath. The polished concrete floor reflected the overhead lighting in fragmented patterns, while the walls bore the subtle scuff marks and dents that spoke of countless training sessions and sparring matches that had taken place within these confines.

At the center of the room lay a single, decent-sized sparring platform, its padded surface worn smooth from use. The mat’s deep blue color had faded in places where countless feet had tread, creating a patchwork of lighter and darker hues that told the story of every fighter who had stepped onto its surface. The platform sat elevated just slightly above the surrounding floor, its edges clearly defined by a thin strip of yellow tape that served as both boundary and warning.

Arthur and Aziel stood at one end of the room, their voices carrying in hushed, urgent tones that seemed to bounce off the walls and echo back to them. The space around them felt charged with anticipation, as if the very air itself was holding its breath in preparation for what was to come.

"Are you sure about this, bro?" Aziel’s voice carried a mixture of concern and barely contained excitement, his hands gesturing emphatically as he spoke. "I mean, don’t get me wrong, this is fucking awesome and all, but this isn’t really like you?" He paused, running a hand through his hair as he studied his friend’s determined expression. "If anything, this is more of a me thing, you know? You’re usually the one talking me out of stupid decisions, not the other way around."

Arthur’s laugh was soft but confident as he began his pre-fight stretching routine, his movements fluid and practiced. He rolled his shoulders, feeling the familiar burn of muscles preparing for combat, the tension slowly leaving his body as he limbered up. "This is just something I have to do," he said, his voice carrying an unshakeable resolve that seemed to surprise even himself. "Trust me on this one."

The conviction in his voice was something new, something that hadn’t been there during their academy days. It was the voice of someone who had found purpose, who had discovered something worth fighting for. The transformation wasn’t lost on Aziel, who studied his friend with a mixture of admiration and concern.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the platform, Myah’s voice carried a note of frantic urgency as she spoke to Cara, her hands moving animatedly as she tried to dissuade her friend. The space between the two pairs felt like a chasm, filled with unspoken challenges and the weight of expectations.

"You don’t have to do this, Cara!" Myah’s voice pitched higher, her eyes darting between her friend and the figure of Arthur across the room. "He isn’t worth your time anyway. You saw him back at the academy—he’s weak. Remember how he used to struggle with even the basic combat exercises? How he’d get winded after just a few minutes of sparring? This is beneath someone with your abilities."

But Cara’s attention remained fixed on Arthur, her gaze unwavering as she studied him with the intensity of a predator sizing up potential prey. There was something different about him now, something that hadn’t been there during their shared time at the academy. The way he carried himself, the confidence in his movements, the quiet determination that seemed to radiate from him—it all spoke of a transformation that went far deeper than mere physical training.

"Arthur," Cara called out, her voice cutting through the ambient noise of the training room like a blade. The single word carried weight, authority, and a challenge that couldn’t be ignored. "Tell me something."

Arthur paused in his stretching routine, breaking his attention away from both his preparations and his conversation with Aziel. He turned to face her fully, his expression serious and attentive. The casual atmosphere that had existed moments before seemed to evaporate, replaced by something more intense, more focused.

"Why are you here?" Cara continued, her voice carrying across the space between them with crystal clarity. "In District 3, I mean. Why did you volunteer?"

Arthur stopped his stretches completely, standing up straight as he considered her question. The room seemed to hold its breath as he processed her words, his mind working through the complexity of his motivations. It wasn’t a simple question, and it didn’t deserve a simple answer. The silence stretched between them, filled with the weight of unspoken truths and half-formed dreams.

Finally, Arthur looked deep into her eyes, his gaze steady and unwavering. When he spoke, his voice carried an unbreakable confidence that seemed to surprise everyone in the room, including himself. "To find out who I am," he said, each word deliberate and measured. "And if I deserve the strength I seek."

The answer hung in the air between them, raw and honest in a way that cut through all pretense. It wasn’t the answer of a glory-seeker or someone looking for easy advancement. It was the answer of someone who had looked deep within themselves and found something worth pursuing, regardless of the cost.

Cara squinted from across the platform, a sly smirk playing at the corners of her mouth as she processed his words. There was something in his response that intrigued her, something that spoke to a depth of character she hadn’t expected. She turned back to Myah, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper that somehow carried more weight than her previous shouting.

"That isn’t the same boy from back at the academy," she said, her eyes still fixed on Arthur’s form. "The government wouldn’t have put him on the team if he was still that weak, struggling student we remember. I’ve heard a lot of rumors about him lately, about what he’s been through, what he’s become. I’m excited to see if they were true."

Myah tilted her head questioningly, her curiosity piqued despite her concerns. "Rumors?" she asked, but her question was destined to remain unanswered as both of their attentions were suddenly drawn toward Arthur, who had just begun removing his shirt in preparation for the upcoming fight.

The simple action seemed to transform the entire atmosphere of the room. As the fabric fell away, it revealed a body that had clearly been shaped by intense training and unimaginable hardship. His physique was chiseled and toned, every muscle defined with the precision that could only come from countless hours of rigorous conditioning and real combat experience. But more than his impressive physical development, what drew their eyes—what made both women draw in sharp, involuntary breaths—were the scars.

They covered his torso like a roadmap of pain and survival, each one telling a different story of battles fought and barely won. Some were thin and precise, the marks of blades that had found their target. Others were broader, more jagged, speaking of explosive force and desperate struggles. All of them were horrible in their own way, but together they painted a picture of someone who had survived things that would have broken lesser individuals.

Cara looked back at Myah with a soft smile and knowing eyes, her expression carrying a mixture of respect and anticipation. "Yes," she said simply. "Rumors."

Myah stared at Arthur with stunned amazement, her previous dismissive attitude evaporating in the face of the physical evidence before her. The boy she remembered from the academy—weak, struggling, often left behind during training exercises—was clearly gone, replaced by someone who had been forged in the crucible of combat.

Meanwhile, Aziel looked at Arthur with a barely contained laugh threatening to escape his lips. "D-dude," he managed to say, his voice shaking with suppressed mirth. "Why did you take off your shirt?" The question came out between barely controlled chuckles, his amusement at his friend’s dramatic gesture clear in his voice.

Arthur looked over at him with a perfectly serious expression, as if the answer should be obvious. "Because I don’t want it to be ripped up," he said matter-of-factly, his tone suggesting that this was the most logical course of action imaginable.

Aziel rolled his eyes dramatically, his grin widening as he spoke. "Dude, you’re going to be using your shadow armor for this fight. Your clothes will be perfectly fine, completely protected." He paused, his laugh finally starting to break through his attempts at control. "Be honest—you just wanted to show off your body, didn’t you?" The accusation came out accompanied by rising laughter that echoed off the training room walls.

Arthur’s face immediately flickered to embarrassment, a deep red flush spreading across his cheeks as he turned to face his friend. "What? What are you saying?" he protested, his voice rising in pitch as he tried to defend himself against the accusation. "That’s not—I would never—it’s purely practical!"

The two friends continued to argue for several more moments. But their playful argument was suddenly cut short as Arthur felt his breath catch in his throat, as if the very air had been sucked from his lungs. His entire body felt like it was being set on fire, not from physical heat but from an overwhelming presence that had suddenly filled the room.

Both Arthur and Aziel turned their heads toward the source of this sensation, and what they saw would forever freeze itself in their memories with crystal clarity. There, across the sparring platform, stood Cara—but she was utterly transformed from the woman they had been speaking with just moments before.

Light radiated from her form in waves, flowing almost like liquid through the air around her. It wasn’t the harsh, artificial light of the fluorescent fixtures overhead, but something pure and otherworldly, something that seemed to bend reality around its presence. The very air seemed to shimmer and dance as the light moved through it, creating patterns that were both beautiful and terrifying in their complexity.

Her presence suffocated the room, filling every corner with an energy that made it difficult to breathe, difficult to think, difficult to do anything but stare in awe at the display of raw power before them. The temperature seemed to shift around her, not becoming hotter or colder, but simply different, as if the fundamental laws of physics were being gently nudged aside to accommodate her transformation.

Then, with a gesture that seemed almost casual, she summoned a sword from sparks of pure light. The weapon materialized in her hands like something from a dream, its blade gleaming with an inner radiance that made it appear almost molten. It was a longsword, clearly meant for people much larger than her petite frame, but she wielded it with effortless grace as she swung it through the air in a series of practice movements.

Each swing left trails of light in its wake, creating temporary constellations that hung in the air for just a moment before fading away. The weapon seemed to sing as it moved, producing a sound that was part whistle, part chime, and entirely otherworldly. Despite its impressive size, she handled it as if it weighed nothing at all, her movements fluid and precise with the confidence of someone who had mastered their craft completely.

Arthur and Aziel stared in complete amazement, their previous conversation forgotten in the face of this overwhelming display of power. Arthur’s mind raced as he tried to process what he was witnessing, cold sweat beginning to form on his brow despite the controlled temperature of the training room.

’Her presence—it’s insane,’ Arthur thought, his internal voice barely coherent as he struggled to maintain his composure. ’Even that Pathfinder we encountered on the transport ship feels almost weak compared to this. What kind of power is she wielding? What have I gotten myself into?’

Aziel’s voice cut through the silence, his words barely above a whisper as his eyes remained transfixed on Cara’s transformed state. "D-dude," he managed to say, his voice carrying a mixture of awe and genuine concern. "You sure about this?"