Chapter 64 — The Fourth Lesson
The darkness on the horizon remained.
It didn’t spread.
It didn’t move.
It simply existed.
Azrael watched it from beneath the white tree, Astraeus resting beside him while Lyra slept against his leg.
Something about that darkness felt wrong.
Not dangerous.
Not yet.
But familiar.
As though it had been waiting for him long before he entered the Thirteenth Gate.
The old master stood beside the lake.
"Tomorrow."
Azrael looked at him.
"You said the fourth lesson starts tomorrow."
"I changed my mind."
Azrael raised an eyebrow.
"We begin tonight."
The old master turned.
"Stand."
Azrael immediately rose.
Lyra opened one eye before settling back down.
The old master walked toward the center of the white field.
"Bring Astraeus."
Azrael picked up his sword.
"Are we fighting?"
"Yes."
"Against you?"
"No."
Azrael looked around.
There was nobody else.
"Then against who?"
The old master pointed toward the darkness.
"Yourself."
Azrael’s expression changed.
The darkness on the horizon suddenly moved.
It stretched across the white sky like ink spreading through water.
The old master stepped backward.
"Fourth Lesson."
His voice became cold.
"Learn how to kill."
Azrael tightened his grip around Astraeus.
The darkness reached him.
And the world disappeared.
Azrael opened his eyes.
He was standing in a ruined city.
Buildings burned around him.
The sky was red.
Bodies covered the streets.
He immediately recognized the place.
The Trial Tower.
But something was wrong.
The people lying on the ground weren’t strangers.
Marcus.
Ryan.
Sophia.
Elena.
Seraphina.
His heart stopped.
"No..."
A figure stood in the middle of the ruined street.
Azrael.
Another him.
The other Azrael held Astraeus.
His wings were completely unfolded.
Six golden wings.
Six black wings.
His eyes were empty.
Blood covered his clothes.
Azrael stared.
"What is this?"
The old master’s voice echoed from nowhere.
"Your fourth lesson."
The other Azrael slowly raised his sword.
"Fight."
Azrael didn’t move.
"That’s me?"
"One possibility."
The other Azrael disappeared.
Azrael’s instincts screamed.
He raised Astraeus.
CLANG!
The impact drove him backward.
The other Azrael attacked again.
Faster.
Stronger.
More precise.
Azrael blocked the first strike.
The second grazed his shoulder.
The third nearly cut his throat.
He retreated.
His opponent didn’t give him time to recover.
Astraeus collided with Astraeus.
CLANG!
Their swords locked.
The other Azrael whispered:
"You’re too slow."
He kicked Azrael in the stomach.
Azrael flew backward.
He landed hard.
Blood rose into his mouth.
The other Azrael approached.
"You’re still hesitating."
Azrael wiped his mouth.
"I don’t want to kill you."
The other Azrael smiled.
"That’s why you’ll lose."
He attacked.
Azrael blocked.
The force pushed him backward.
Another strike.
Block.
Another.
Parry.
The other Azrael’s movements were terrifyingly familiar.
Every technique.
Every habit.
Every weakness.
He knew them all.
Because he was Azrael.
The other version suddenly changed his stance.
Azrael recognized the movement.
My left side.
He moved.
Too late.
Astraeus cut across his ribs.
Azrael stumbled.
The other Azrael raised his sword for the finishing strike.
Azrael’s eyes hardened.
He rolled sideways.
The blade struck the ground.
Azrael kicked the opponent’s knee.
The other Azrael staggered.
Azrael attacked.
CLANG!
Their swords collided again.
This time Azrael noticed something.
The other version always attacked after his breathing changed.
Every three attacks...
He inhaled.
Every fourth...
He shifted his weight.
A rhythm.
Azrael smiled.
"You’re not perfect."
The other Azrael froze.
Azrael stepped forward.
Stone Resonance activated.
Silver light spread across Astraeus.
The other sword began vibrating.
Azrael followed its rhythm.
CLANG!
The enemy’s blade was knocked aside.
Azrael could have struck his throat.
He didn’t.
Instead, he lowered his sword.
"I won’t kill you."
The other Azrael stared at him.
Then smiled.
"Wrong answer."
The entire illusion changed.
The dead bodies disappeared.
The ruined city vanished.
The other Azrael disappeared.
Azrael stood alone beneath a black sky.
The old master appeared behind him.
"You failed."
Azrael turned.
"I won."
"No."
The old master shook his head.
"You survived."
Azrael frowned.
"What’s the difference?"
The old master walked past him.
"You had a clear opening."
"I know."
"You could have killed him."
"I know."
"And you didn’t."
Azrael looked down at Astraeus.
"Because he wasn’t real."
The old master stopped.
"Does that matter?"
Azrael looked up.
The old master continued.
"If a real enemy stands before you..."
"If killing him is the only way to protect someone you love..."
"Will you still hesitate?"
Azrael remained silent.
The old master nodded.
"That’s the question."
A scene appeared before Azrael.
Seraphina stood alone.
Surrounded by enemies.
One attacker raised a sword behind her.
Azrael’s expression changed.
The scene disappeared.
Another appeared.
A child.
Terrified.
An enemy stood above him.
Azrael was holding a sword.
The enemy was begging for mercy.
The old master asked:
"Would you kill him?"
Azrael looked at the scene.
"If he’s truly surrendered..."
He paused.
"I wouldn’t."
The old master nodded.
"Why?"
"Because killing someone who no longer threatens you isn’t strength."
The old master smiled faintly.
"Good."
The scene changed again.
The enemy suddenly pulled a hidden blade.
The child screamed.
Azrael’s eyes widened.
He attacked.
The enemy disappeared before his sword landed.
The old master stood beside him.
"That’s the difference."
"Mercy isn’t refusing to kill."
"Mercy is having the ability to kill..."
"...and choosing correctly."
Azrael slowly lowered Astraeus.
The old master looked toward him.
"A true warrior doesn’t kill because he enjoys it."
"He kills because sometimes there is no other choice."
Azrael nodded.
"I understand."
"No."
The old master smiled.
"You understand the words."
He stepped closer.
"Now you need to understand the feeling."
Without warning—
The old master attacked.
Azrael barely raised Astraeus.
CLANG!
The impact nearly broke his stance.
Another strike.
Azrael blocked.
Another.
He dodged.
The old master kept attacking.
There was no killing intent.
No anger.
Yet every strike carried absolute precision.
Azrael couldn’t read him.
He tried Origin Perception.
Nothing.
He tried Resonance Sense.
Nothing.
He tried predicting movement.
Nothing.
The old master struck his sword aside.
Astraeus flew from Azrael’s hand.
The old man’s palm stopped against his throat.
"Dead."
Azrael froze.
The old master stepped away.
"Again."
Azrael retrieved Astraeus.
They fought again.
And again.
And again.
Each time, Azrael lost.
Sometimes within seconds.
Sometimes after several minutes.
He tried speed.
Failed.
Strength.
Failed.
Prediction.
Failed.
Resonance.
Failed.
By the twentieth defeat, Azrael was exhausted.
He dropped to one knee.
"I can’t beat you."
The old master nodded.
"Correct."
Azrael looked up.
"Then how am I supposed to learn?"
The old master smiled.
"You aren’t."
Azrael frowned.
"What?"
"I told you to learn how to kill."
He turned away.
"Not how to defeat me."
Azrael remained silent.
Then he understood.
The old master had never been testing whether he could win.
He was testing whether Azrael could recognize when winning was impossible.
Azrael stood.
"You wanted me to stop fighting."
The old master smiled.
"Now you’re learning."
Azrael slowly sheathed Astraeus.
For the first time during their training...
He chose not to fight.
The old master nodded.
"Good."
The darkness around them began fading.
The ruined city disappeared.
The white tree returned.
The lake returned.
Lyra was still sleeping exactly where Azrael had left her.
Azrael stood beneath the tree.
His body was exhausted.
His mind even more so.
A familiar chime echoed.
Ding.
"Fourth Lesson Completed — Partially"
Understanding acquired: Killing Intent
Understanding acquired: Mercy
Combat Insight increased.
Resonance Sense increased.
New Skill Created: Intent Reading — Lv. 1
Condition for complete mastery: Unresolved
Azrael stared at the screen.
"Partially?"
The old master laughed.
"Did you think one night was enough?"
Azrael sighed.
"Of course not."
"Good."
The old master looked toward the horizon.
The darkness had disappeared.
But something else had changed.
A faint golden light now illuminated the white sky.
Azrael noticed it.
"Is that morning?"
The old master smiled.
"For the first time..."
He looked toward the rising light.
"...yes."
Azrael stared at the horizon.
After countless days within a realm without day or night...
The sun was finally rising.
And with it came another change.
The Thirteenth Gate trembled.
A massive notification appeared before Azrael.
"External Time Synchronization Detected"
Academy time has resumed.
Current elapsed time outside the Thirteenth Gate: 3 hours.
Azrael’s eyes widened.
"Only three hours?"
The old master nodded.
"Your real training has barely begun."
Then he looked toward the entrance.
"Because when you return..."
His smile became mysterious.
"...the Academy will no longer be waiting for the boy who entered the Thirteenth Gate."
Azrael looked down at his hands.
Something had changed.
Not his realm.
Not his bloodline.
Something deeper.
He had begun learning how to understand himself.
How to read intent.
When to fight.
When to stop.
And when killing was truly necessary.
The old master walked toward the white tree.
"Tomorrow, we begin the fifth lesson."
Azrael followed.
"What is it?"
The old master glanced back.
"Your first real battle."
Azrael smiled.
"I thought we’ve already fought."
The old master shook his head.
"No."
He looked toward the distant horizon.
"Those were lessons."
"The next one..."
"...will have consequences."
Far away, within the Golden Sanctuary, Seraphina suddenly stopped practicing.
The golden leaf she had been trying to strike fell into the water.
She looked toward the sky.
Three hours had passed.
Yet something about her brother felt different.
Stronger?
No.
It was something else.
More dangerous.
She smiled faintly.
"Azrael..."
Then she picked up her sword.
"Whatever you’re learning..."
"I’ll keep growing too."
Above the Sanctuary, a new ranking appeared.
And for the first time...
A name previously absent from the Sky Ranking appeared at the very bottom.
New Disciple — Seraphina
Rank: 10,000
She looked at the ranking.
Then smiled.
"Bottom?"
Caelan stood beside her.
"Everyone starts somewhere."
Seraphina’s golden eyes narrowed.
"Then I’ll climb."
The journey of the twins was moving forward.
One beneath a forgotten white sky.
The other beneath golden heavens.
And neither knew that the Academy had just begun preparing them for the same war.