Chapter 165: More Balls

[Valcor Residence - Late Evening]

Luna, Alaric, and Lyandra returned home dressed in black, their expressions somber, rain still clinging to their clothes from the evening drizzle.

They’d visited Brian earlier to express their condolences privately, avoiding the formal funeral that morning where SFD officers had gathered in force.

For reasons they didn’t explain to Luna, both Alaric and Lyandra had specifically wanted to avoid any contact with SFD personnel.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Booming sounds echoed through the house the moment they entered, rhythmic impacts coming from the training room, each one making the walls vibrate slightly.

Alaric and Lyandra exchanged a long look, entire conversations happening in that single glance.

"He’s been at it since we left."

Lyandra’s voice was quiet and filled with concern.

"He seems to be processing in his own way."

Alaric’s response was equally soft.

Luna looked toward the training room, her silver eyes showing determination.

"I’ll go see him."

Luna walked down the hallway, the booming sounds growing louder with each step.

She pushed open the training room door.

Damian stood in the center, shirtless, his enhanced muscles clearly defined, his long crimson hair loose and sweat-soaked.

He was hitting a reinforced training dummy designed to withstand B rank attacks, his fists impacting with enough force to make the entire structure shake.

BOOM.

As the right fist struck, the dummy’s head snapped back.

BOOM.

As the left fist struck, the torso dented inward.

BOOM.

Right again. Faster! Harder!

His face showed no expression, no anger or any grief. Just emptiness as he methodically destroyed the training equipment.

Luna activated her innate skill, the ability that let her see emotions as colors radiating from living beings.

What she saw made her breath catch.

Extreme darkness! Complete and overwhelming darkness wrapped around Damian like a shroud. Not the red of anger or the grey of sadness.

It was pure black. The color of void. Of absence.

And underneath that darkness, threading through it like cracks in ice, was yellow.

It represented... Fear!

Damian was terrified, and the darkness was him trying to contain it, to push it down, to prevent it from overwhelming everything else.

Luna didn’t say anything or call out to him or try to stop him.

She just moved quietly to the side of the room and sat down against the wall.

Kuro materialized from the shadows, the raven’s red eyes glowing softly as he flew to Luna’s shoulder and settled there.

She rubbed his feathers gently, the repetitive motion soothing, while watching her brother continue his mechanical destruction of the training dummy.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

The sounds continued for another twenty minutes as Damian’s breathing became heavier, his strikes losing precision but gaining desperation.

Finally, he stopped.

He stood there with his fists against the ruined dummy, his chest heaving, sweat dripping onto the floor.

Then he turned and walked over to where Luna sat, dropping down beside her without a word.

Neither of them spoke for several long moments, just sitting together in comfortable silence.

Then Damian’s voice emerged. It was quiet and distant.

"You know... Brian’s brother. Eric. He was just ten years old."

Luna didn’t respond, letting him talk at his own pace.

"He watched his parents get tortured for hours before they died. Had to listen to their screams. Had to see things no child should ever witness. And then... they did the same things to him."

His hands clenched unconsciously.

"He died knowing nobody was coming to save him. Died in pain and terror. He was just a kid who wanted to meet someone he admired."

Luna’s voice was soft when she finally spoke.

"...Does it remind you of your past life? When you watched your brother get tortured?"

Damian didn’t answer immediately, his long hair falling forward to hide his face.

The silence stretched.

Then he changed the subject abruptly, his voice shifting to something more controlled.

"Your entrance exam is coming soon. How’s the preparation going?"

Luna recognized the deflection but allowed it.

"I’m confident in my abilities. Combat training is going well. Theory scores are excellent. The main concern is my talent getting leaked and creating problems with–"

"I’ll handle the matter of your talent. You can rest easy about that."

Damian interrupted with his tone carrying finality.

Suddenly, his face became more serious, turning to look at her directly.

"Luna, I need you to listen carefully. Don’t come to Stormhold Academy. You shouldn’t even focus on combat and fighting given your nature. It would be better to follow Uncle Sebastian’s path. Become a scientist or researcher. Something that doesn’t involve battlefields and violence."

"JUST STOP IT NOW!"

Luna’s shout echoed through the training room, making even Kuro ruffle his feathers.

"Even the last time we talked about this, you tried to convince me not to come to the same Academy as you! And stop giving those lame excuses about me being too kind or gentle or whatever bullshit you come up with!"

She stood up, her silver eyes blazing.

"You’re just scared that I’ll become your liability! A weak point that can be exploited by your enemies! Just admit it instead of hiding behind concern for my wellbeing!"

Damian looked away but didn’t deny the accusation.

Luna’s expression shifted to something colder and more determined.

"Don’t get ahead of yourself, Damian. Don’t forget that I have SSS rank talent. The highest-ranked talent category in the entire world. I’m not some weak princess who needs protection or who can be used against you easily."

She moved to stand directly in front of him, forcing him to meet her eyes.

"And you keep saying I’m too kind, too gentle, too soft for the world you operate in. But have you ever considered the courage it takes to be willing to die for what you believe in?"

Her voice grew stronger.

"During the Norrington incident, everyone was scared. Trained adults were frozen with fear. But I stepped forward despite knowing I would probably die. Knowing that terrorist leader would shoot me in the head. I did it anyway because someone needed to and nobody else would."

"That was a fool’s courage."

Damian’s response was quiet but firm.

"Still had more balls than any other person there!"

Luna shot back immediately.