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Iris's POV...
I stayed in the garden a while longer, trying to gather my thoughts. The night was peaceful, the sounds of the celebration a distant murmur. I needed to find a way to carve out my own path, to prove to myself that I was more than just Raya's sister. But how?
The answer eluded me, slipping through my fingers like water. All I knew was that I couldn't continue like this. Something had to change.
The days turned into weeks, and I threw myself into training with a renewed fervor. I woke up before dawn, practicing my forms and techniques in the quiet solitude of the early morning. Father noticed my dedication and pushed me even harder, his stern voice a constant reminder of the expectations I struggled to meet.
"You have potential, Iris," he would say, his eyes piercing as he corrected my stance or critiqued my strikes. "But you need to focus. You need to be better."
