Mira knelt by Rudra's side the moment she was allowed in. Her fingers brushed his cheek, eyes scanning every scar, every bruise.
"You idiot," she whispered. "You really did it…"
Arthur stood at the doorway, arms folded. "He used every move I taught him. Every one." His expression was unreadable, but his voice had pride buried deep within it. "And then some."
Aura didn't speak much. She simply observed. Watching Rudra's chest rise and fall. Watching the tension still locked in his frame even as he rested.
She saw it clearly: he wasn't just healing. He was changing.
Mira sat beside her, silent for once.
"Even now," Mira said, "he still looks like a boy."
Aura nodded. "He won't for much longer."
Arthur, arms folded, leaned against the rocks. "He used every skill we taught him. Seamlessly. Better than I expected, even with all the pain."
Agni Igris exhaled smoke. "That was never a normal child. That's a weapon… a future calamity."
