The villa was quiet when I stepped inside, the muffled sounds of music and laughter fading behind me. My boots echoed against polished stone as I walked down a long hall lined with paintings and expensive-looking furniture.

  At the far end, I found a small room with a sturdy door and a bed that looked like it wouldn’t collapse under me.

  Good enough. I shut the door, slid the bolt, then dragged a couch across the floor until it wedged tight against the frame. It wouldn’t stop anyone determined, but it might give me a warning.

  The air was still, heavy with the faint scent of old wood and linen. I sat cross-legged on the floor. I closed my eyes, slowed my breathing, and, one by one, my muscles uncoiled. It took time, but eventually I centered myself.

  It was time to see to my progression.

  I pulled up the messages I’d been ignoring all day.

  After more scrolling, I found what I’d been waiting for.

  The calm I’d worked so hard to find evaporated. I now had three Talent Points banked. I pulled up my updated stat sheet.

  I followed Lawson’s plan and dropped the two free stat points into Spirit, raising it to 32.

  By the time I opened my eyes, I was ready to close them again and collapse into sleep. I lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, letting the weight of the day press down.

  A sudden slurping sound snapped me upright. Lawson sat casually on the couch I’d shoved against the door, a foaming tankard in hand, as if he’d been there all along. “What the hell, man? You scared the shit out of me! Is this your idea of a morning wake-up call?”

  He chuckled, wiping foam from his mouth. “Relax. So, you’ve got three Talent Points now, right?”

  I nodded, though my pulse spiked again. “How did you even get in here?”

  Lawson waved the question away. “Doesn’t matter. What matters is that it’s time to upgrade your sword. I’ve already chosen our next floor, and you and Balt are going to have your work cut out for you. When training starts tomorrow, I want you practicing with your new weapon.”

  “I thought you wanted me to wait, save my points and level everything manually while it’s still easier early on?”

  He nodded and took another swig. “I still do."

  Excitement warred with caution in my chest. “Then why?”

  Lawson raised a finger. “Legacy weapons like Ashbourne evolve once they hit level four. When that happens, your combat power will improve immensely. I am genuinely curious to see what that weapon will evolve to. Also, with what you’ve told me about these Factions, finding a smith who has both the materials and the skill to reforge that particular weapon? Let's just say that going to be a nightmare for you. Better to prepare now.”

  Lawson then threw something at me.

  I caught it and held it up to my eye. It was a simple gold ring with small runes. “What’s this for? I don’t swing that way, my friend. I mean, I appreciate it, and I admittedly did have this one dream about Hugh Jackman, but…”

  “Oh, shut up. It’s a soul ring.” He showed the twin rings on his finger. “It lets me follow you into your soul realm. It will give me a better idea of your potential and where your foundation currently sits.”

  I let out a long breath, the kind that carried the weight of the entire day with it. My shoulders finally loosened. “Okay,” I said, my voice low but steady. “Let’s get to it. It’s been a long day.”

  I slid the ring onto my index finger. The moment it settled, I activated my anchor and dived into my soul tree realm. With a jolt, I was standing in the vast expanse of my soul realm.

  At the center of it all rose my soul tree. Its bark shimmered with veins of sapphire light, each branch stretching endlessly upward, each leaf glowing like a shard of starlight. The air itself pulsed, alive, as though the tree was breathing with me.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Lawson appeared at my side, his own ring glowing faintly. The calm, unshakable Overseer mask slipped. His eyes widened, his voice breaking into raw disbelief.

  “Holy shit…” he whispered, staring up at the towering blue soul tree. “Riven… this, this is not normal; it's huge.”

  I sighed. I wish I’d heard that from at least one woman in my life. I smiled at my own internal joke as I asked. “Is that good or bad?”

  “It’s good, very good, actually. No wonder you can continually break your limits without going into the fetal position. Your soul tree can take the strain.”

  I couldn’t help but smile as I looked up at the vast, glowing canopy of my soul tree. For all its impossible size, it felt not intimidating but welcoming.

  Lawson’s voice cut through my thoughts, steady again, though I could still hear the awe lingering beneath it. “Alright,” he said, squaring his shoulders. “Let’s get to it.”

  I stepped forward until I stood at the base of the trunk. The bark pulsed faintly, veins of sapphire light running like rivers beneath its surface. Slowly, I pressed my palms to the bark, and the soul tree shuddered beneath my hands. A tidal wave of power slammed through me.

  My breath caught instantly, my vision sparking white. “Shit!” I gasped, knees nearly buckling as I forced my focus toward Ashbourne.

  The blade appeared before me in a shimmer of light, suspended in the air and I grabbed it. Its silver steel drank in the glow of the soul tree, shining sapphire and silver. Then the leaves began to fall, not downward, streams of sapphire leaves peeling from the branches and streaking into the weapon. Each impact rang like a bell, the sword vibrating with power as if it were being reforged in real time.

  The air thickened, the pressure mounting. My vision flickered, and then a message burned across my mind’s eye:

  Well, fuck.

  The flow of energy stuttered; the leaves froze mid-flight. My stomach dropped. “Oh, come on, what now?” Then the blade went molten-hot, pain lancing up my arm. “Lawson! Something’s wrong!

  Lawson’s voice roared beside me, sharp and commanding, cutting through the storm. “What?!”

  My hand was legitimately on fire now, and the pain was making it hard to think. “It’s saying I need to use another Talent point to finish upgrading it.”

  “Do it!” he yelled back.

  I gritted my teeth, every nerve in my hand screaming as the heat seared through me. The system prompt still burned across my vision, taunting me. Additional Talent Point Required

  “Fine,” I growled, forcing the point into the blade.

  The effect was immediate. The frozen leaves jolted back into motion, a thousand sapphire streaks tearing free from the branches and streaming into Ashbourne. The weapon drank it greedily, the silver steel glowing brighter and brighter until I could barely look at it. Each impact rang louder, like a chorus of bells, until the sound became a single resonant hum that shook the entire realm.

  The sword flared, silver and sapphire braiding together in a living flame. Heat roared up my arm, but I couldn’t look away. “Holy… Ember?”

  I staggered as the shockwave rolled past, heart hammering. The glow intensified, the air around it warping with heat, until the name seared itself into my mind:

  The final surge hit like a thunderclap. A shockwave of blue and silver light burst outward from the blade, rippling through the soul realm, making the branches of my tree sway as though in a storm. The leaves above shimmered in approval; their glow much brighter than before.

  I staggered, chest heaving, but I couldn’t stop staring at the weapon in my hand. Ember. The steel still radiated heat, but it wasn’t burning me anymore. It felt… right. It had been waiting for this moment.

  Lawson let out a low whistle beside me, his awe unmasked. “Holy hell, Riven… you have a real monster there.”

  I tightened my grip on Ember, the blade humming in response. I Identified my new weapon.

  The hum of Ember thrummed up my arm, steady and alive, like the heartbeat of some great beast that had finally chosen me as its master. Power coursed through the blade, not wild or burning out of control, but focused, a blue inferno waiting for my command.

  Lawson’s voice broke through the haze, softer now, but carrying a rare note of pride. “Well done, Riven, truly well done. Let’s leave here for now.”

  I nodded. Ready to leave as well. The soul realm dissolved, and the world snapped back into place.

  We were standing in the bedroom again, if you could still call it that. The stone walls were blackened, scorched as if a firestorm had torn through. The air smelled of smoke, and faint embers still glowed in cracks along the floor. The room was burned to hell. Ember rested in my hand, no longer a vision in my soul but solid, real, its blue and silver steel gleaming in the dim light.

  I turned the blade slowly, admiring the way it caught the glow of the ruined room. It was beautiful.

  As we stepped out of the destroyed room, I glanced at Lawson. “Have you ever seen someone have to use two Talent Points just to upgrade their weapon?”

  He gave me a long look, then shook his head. “I have. But not until the weapon reaches level fifteen or higher. For you to hit that wall at level four…” He trailed off, his expression unreadable, though the weight of his words pressed down on me.

  I swallowed, gripping Ember tighter. Whatever path I was on, it wasn’t normal.

  We reached the hall of rooms, and I peeled away, finding an empty chamber that hadn’t been reduced to ash. Lawson stopped at the doorway, his tone returning to that calm, commanding cadence.

  “Get some sleep. I’ll see you in a few hours in the Great Hall, the same one where you fought Rick and Lazz.”

  I nodded, stepping inside. Ember pulsed faintly in my hand, as if telling me it was ready to go. I just gave a faint smile. Soon. I dismissed my new weapon and lay down. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out.

  Morning came faster than I had expected. One moment I was out cold; the next I was blinking against the pale light filtering through the chamber. My body still ached, but the events of yesterday and now having Ember lingered in the back of my mind.

  I made my way to the Great Hall. The last time I’d stood here, the floor had been littered with blood and bodies—Rick, Lazz, and the chaos of that fight. Now it was spotless. The stone gleamed as if it had been scrubbed clean of every trace of violence, the air sharp with the scent of polish and steel instead of death. It was almost unsettling, like the room itself had chosen to forget.

  Balt was already there, leaning against one of the pillars, arms crossed. He gave me a nod, a unusual grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

  I knew that look. That bastard had gotten lucky last night.

  Lawson stood in the center of the hall, his posture straight, his presence commanding as always. His eyes flicked between us, sharp and assessing.

  “Good. You’re both here.” He clasped his hands behind his back. “Today, you’re going to spar against me.”

  Balt let out a low, nervous laugh. I’m first, right?”

  Lawson gave a single nod. “Correct. Balt your first, then Riven. After that, I’ll tell you both what we’ll be working on today.”

  Lawson stepped into the center of the Great Hall, his presence filling the space like a drawn blade. His gaze swept over us, sharp and unyielding.

  “For this spar,” he said, voice calm but carrying, “I’ll bring my power down to your level. Don’t hold back. Go all out, leave it all on the field.”

  Balt cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders. To me, he still looked apprehensive, but to the man’s credit, he stepped forward.

  The moment Lawson gave the nod, Balt disappeared.

  He’s starting off with Blink. He appeared behind Lawson Force Jolts, shooting out of his staff. He did his best to press Lawson hard, chaining spells together with a kind of reckless precision, each spell carrying similar power to Dalton’s lightning on the first floor. For a moment, I was honestly impressed. Balt wasn’t just throwing himself at Lawson, he was thinking, adapting, pushing every ounce of strength he had into the fight.

  But Lawson… Lawson was something else entirely.

  He moved like water, flowing around Balt’s strikes and spells, redirecting them with the smallest shifts of his body. A parry of his hand here, a sidestep there—never wasted movement, never rushed. Where Balt fought with grit and fire,

  Lawson fought with inevitability. Every time Balt thought he’d found an opening, Lawson was already there, shutting it down before it could exist.

  Still, Balt didn’t quit. He roared, driving in harder, sweat and magic flying as he forced Lawson to at least move. And for that, I couldn’t help but respect him. He was giving everything he had, and it showed.

  But the gap between them was undeniable. Watching Lawson dismantle Balt’s offense was like watching a master craftsman at work, precise, efficient, almost beautiful in its brutality.

  By the time Lawson finally disarmed him with a clean strike and sent him sprawling back, chest heaving, I found myself shaking my head in awe. Balt had fought much better than I would’ve guessed, but Lawson had worked him over easily.

  And yet, I thought as Balt pushed himself back to his feet, he’d given a damn good showing of himself. “Well fought, buddy.”

  Balt brushed himself off, heaving out. “Not well enough.”

  Then I heard what I had been waiting for. “Okay, Riven, it's your turn.”

  The words hit me like a spark to dry tinder. My turn.

  I stepped forward. Focus. No distractions. This wasn’t just another spar—this is Lawson.

  I reached inward. Ember answered instantly. Heat surged in my hands, and with a flare of blue and silver light, the blade materialized. Its steel gleamed like living fire, the hum of its power resonating with my soul.

  Balt’s eyes went wide. He let out a sharp laugh, half disbelief, half admiration.

  “Hey... when the hell did you get a new sword?”

  I couldn’t help the faint smile tugging at my lips as I angled Ember toward the ground, its edge catching the hall’s light. “Last night,” I said simply. The blade pulsed in my grip, eager, alive.

  Lawson’s gaze lingered on Ember for a long moment, unreadable as ever, before he raised his hand and beckoned me forward. “Show me what you've got. Limit Breaker.”

  The hall was silent, Ember’s glow brightening the surrounding stone. My pulse thundered, the world narrowing to me and Lawson. I activated Limit Break. Then I moved.