Chapter 3: Bastion’s Flame
Training with Ragan was a daily trial by fire but the Bastion itself, Thalen soon discovered, held more than just stone halls and iron discipline.
The fortress was alive.
It whispered with the voices of aura sparring heroes, glowing walls infused with ancient energy, and the echo of battles long past. Every corner breathed power. Thalen often paused at murals carved into the walls, scenes of the SSS Heroes standing against titanic beasts, armies of corrupted aura-wielders, and one constant presence in them all: a cloaked figure with eyes like wildfire.
The First Tyrant.
No name. Just legend.
And yet no one spoke of him directly.
A week after receiving his first sword, Thalen was summoned to a different training floor. Not with Ragan this time.
A group of young aura users stood in the arena none older than twenty. He counted five. Their uniforms bore the Bastion crest but not the SSS insignia.
A new voice called out to him. "You’re the Trial boy, huh? The quiet one who made it out."
Thalen turned to see a broad-shouldered youth with wild brown hair and a grin too confident for his own good. He offered a hand.
"Name’s Bran. I punch rocks and make them explode."