She stepped slightly to the side.

"You’re on the right path."

Althea’s shoulders eased just a bit.

Lyra continued,

"You also did one thing right."

Althea looked up again.

"You didn’t stay still."

She nodded.

"That was from the earlier training."

"Then it worked."

A small pause.

Althea allowed herself a slight smile.

"Yes, ma’am."

Lyra’s tone shifted.

"You’ll improve your buffs later."

Althea focused immediately.

"We’ll increase your output and how much you can stack."

Her eyes sharpened slightly.

"That’s good."

But Lyra raised a finger.

"Not first."

Althea paused.

"...Not first?"

"You’ve neglected something."

The room went quiet.

Then...

"Your binding skill."

Althea froze for just a moment.

Then she lowered her gaze.

"...Yes, ma’am."

She didn’t argue because she knew.

"You haven’t pushed it."

"I focused more on support."

"That’s clear," Lyra replied. "But that doesn’t make this any less important."

Ryn spoke from the side.

"There were openings."

Althea’s attention shifted to him.

He continued,

"Moments where binding would’ve reduced pressure on the team."

Althea clenched her hand lightly.

"...I could tell."

The wolves.

The movement.

The chaos.

If she had locked even a few down earlier...

Things would have been easier.

Faster.

Cleaner.

Lyra’s voice brought her back. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"You see it."

Althea nodded.

"Yes, ma’am."

No excuses.

Just acceptance.

Lyra continued,

"Binding isn’t just control. It’s efficiency."

Althea listened carefully.

"You stop movement, you create openings, you reduce risk."

A brief pause.

"You save time. You save energy."

Selene added quietly,

"And it makes my job easier."

Torren nodded.

"And mine."

That got a small breath out of Althea.

She nodded again.

"I understand."

Lyra continued,

"And that depends on two things."

Althea looked up.

"Speed... and coverage."

"How fast you cast it... and how many targets you can bind."

Althea took that in carefully.

Her mind was already working through it.

Lyra stepped aside and gestured toward a section of the training hall.

"I prepared something for you."

They all looked.

Objects floated in the air.

Moving.

Not in a straight line.

Unpredictable.

Torren let out a low whistle.

"Yeah... I don’t like that."

Selene narrowed her eyes slightly, tracking the motion.

Lyra spoke again.

"You’ll stay in position."

Althea nodded.

"And bind them."

Simple.

But not easy.

"At first, they’ll move normally."

Then..

"They’ll spin. Bounce. Change direction."

Althea’s focus didn’t break.

"Random movement."

Lyra nodded.

"Because the battlefield won’t wait for you."

That was enough.

Althea stepped forward.

"I understand."

She reached her position and didn’t waste time.

The first object moved.

She raised her hand..

"Bind."

The spell formed and landed.

The object stopped mid-air.

Torren nodded.

"Clean."

Another came, faster this time.

She cast again.

It landed, but slower.

Selene tilted her head slightly.

"Timing."

Althea adjusted.

Again.

And again.

Each cast got tighter.

More controlled.

Then the speed increased.

She missed one.

"...Tch."

She didn’t stop.

She cast again.

Faster this time. And it hit.

Lyra watched everything in silence.

Occasionally...

"Earlier."

"Don’t wait."

"Trust your read."

Althea responded each time with action, not words.

Time passed.

The movements got harder.

Less predictable.

She missed more now.

But she didn’t stop.

Her casting speed improved.

Not perfectly.. but enough to see the difference.

Ryn nodded once.

"She’s adapting."

Selene crossed her arms.

"She always does."

Even Nox, still catching her breath from earlier, watched closely.

"...That looks harder than mine."

Torren chuckled.

"Everything is harder than yours right now."

"Shut up."

But she kept watching.

Althea’s breathing grew heavier, but her focus didn’t break.

Each miss turned into a quicker correction.

Each success came faster than the last.

Lyra raised her hand slightly.

"Continue."

Then she turned back to the rest of them.

"Selene."

Selene stepped forward, calm and composed.

Lyra began,

"You were accurate."

"Yes, ma’am."

"You didn’t waste movement. And you didn’t waste shots."

Selene gave a small nod.

"I aimed for weak points."

"But you still lack power," Lyra said plainly.

Selene didn’t react much.

"I know."

"But you compensate well."

"That’s the plan."

Lyra continued,

"You’re good. But you can be better."

Selene’s eyes sharpened.

"I will be."

No hesitation.

Torren smirked slightly.

"Confident."

Selene didn’t look at him.

"Focused."

That shut him up.

Lyra folded her arms.

"You’ll train your power later."

Selene nodded.

"But first... accuracy and speed."

She didn’t look surprised.

"You’ll shoot while moving. And you won’t stop moving."

Selene took a small breath.

"I’ve done it before."

"And you’ll do it better now."

Selene nodded.

"Yes."

Lyra watched her for a moment.

"You’ve seen your growth."

"I have."

"Then you know what comes next."

Selene’s voice was steady.

"I do."

There was a brief pause before she asked,

"What’s the structure?"

Lyra held her gaze for a second, then continued immediately, her tone steady as always.

"The training area is already set."

Selene followed her gaze as Lyra turned slightly and pointed toward a section deeper into the hall.

It wasn’t like the open space the others had used.

This one felt tighter.

Structured.

Built with intent.

Obstacles were placed across the area in uneven patterns. Some were low walls, others were tall enough to block vision completely. Narrow paths cut through them, forcing movement in specific directions. A few raised platforms were scattered around, but none of them were easy to stay on for long.

And then there were the targets.

They weren’t fixed.

Some hovered in the air, shifting slowly at first, while others moved across the ground in short bursts. A few disappeared behind obstacles before reappearing from another angle.

Unpredictable.

Selene narrowed her eyes slightly as she took it all in.

Lyra continued,

"You’ll move through this."

Selene nodded.

"And hit them."

She said simply

But the way everything was set up said otherwise.

"You won’t stand still," Lyra added.

Selene gave a small nod.

"I figured."

Ryn leaned slightly toward Torren.

"She’s going to hate this."

Torren let out a quiet chuckle.

"She won’t say it."

Selene heard them but ignored it.

Lyra continued,

"At first, the targets will move at a manageable pace."

Selene adjusted her stance slightly, already preparing herself mentally.

"Then they get faster."

Of course.

"And less predictable."