Chapter 59 Chapter 59

Chapter 59 Chapter 59


Yulia

When the crowd started to leave the tension didn't go away. It just changed.

People weren't arguing out loud anymore. They were still watching each other closely. They were thinking.

And that felt more dangerous than shouting.

I stood there for a moment, watching them go. I could feel everything settling into place. This wasn't over. It had just changed into something, something that would eventually explode if I didn't get ahead of it.

"We can't wait around " I said finally.

Luci looked at me away. "You should be resting."

"I've rested enough" I said.

That wasn't entirely true. It didn't matter. I could still feel the strain in my body the weakness from earlier.. It was under something stronger now. Something that refused to let me stay still.

Rhys looked at us. "She's not wrong."

Luci didn't look convinced.

"She could barely stand not ago " he said.

"And I'm standing now." I said.

My voice wasn't sharp. It didn't leave room for argument.

Then Rhys spoke again. "If we're serious about preparing we need to start with control. Whatever happened night wasn't random."

"I know." I said.

That much was clear now.

I looked at the training grounds in the distance. It felt strange. Something in me had settled since earlier. The fear was still there. It wasn't overwhelming anymore. It had been replaced with focus.

"If its sealed power" I said, "then there has to be a way to reach it without losing control."

Lucis expression hardened a bit. "You're not experimenting on yourself."

"I'm not experimenting " I said. "I'm figuring out what's already there."

"That's not any better" he said.

"It's necessary" I said.

The words came out before I could soften them. I didn't take them back.

Rhys exhaled quietly. "We don't have choice. If something like that happens again without warning we won't be able to contain it."

Luci didn't respond away. I could see it in his expression. He didn't like this. Not the situation, not the direction it was going and definitely not the idea of me putting myself in the center of it.

He also understood. That was the problem.

"Fine" he said eventually. ". You're not doing anything alone."

I held his gaze for a second before nodding. "Fine."

It wasn't an agreement but it was enough for now.

Rhys straightened a bit. "Then we start with something. No rituals. No pushing far. Just control."

I frowned a bit. "Control over what?"

"Over yourself" he said. "Your breathing, your focus, your reaction. If something inside you responds again we need to see how it behaves in a controlled environment."

That made sense. More than I expected it to.

"Training grounds" I said.

Rhys nodded. "Training grounds."

Luci didn't say anything. He followed when we started moving.

The walk there was quieter than before. Not tense, just focused. The kind of silence that came when everyone was thinking about what came

When we reached the grounds it was mostly empty. A few warriors were still there. They kept their distance once they saw us. I could feel it again. The awareness. The attention.

Word had already spread.

Rhys stepped forward first turning to face me. "We start slow."

I nodded.

"Close your eyes " he said.

I hesitated for a second then did as he said.

"Breathe normally" he said. "Don't force anything. Just focus."

At first it felt pointless.

I could hear everything around me. The wind, voices, the faint movement of people watching. My thoughts kept trying to drift pulling me back to everything that had happened.

"Focus " Rhys said again.

I exhaled slowly trying to steady it.

In.

Out.

Again.

For a moments nothing changed.

Then—

There it was.

Faint.

A pressure.

Not like before. Not overwhelming. There sitting beneath everything else.

My breathing faltered a bit.

"I feel something" I said.

"Don't react” Rhys said right away. "Just observe it."

Observe it.

I tried.

The pressure didn't spike. It didn't explode. It stayed there steady like it was waiting.

For me.

My chest tightened a bit.

"Its not attacking " I said quietly. "It's just… there."

"Good" Rhys said. "Stay with it."

I swallowed, keeping my focus on that feeling. It wasn't painful.

Not yet. It wasn't normal either. It felt alive.

That thought alone made something in me shift. The pressure responded.

It pulsed once. My eyes snapped open. Luci was already watching me closely.

"What happened?" he asked.

"It moved " I said. "It reacted."

"To what?" Rhys asked.

I hesitated.

"I don't know " I admitted." It felt like it noticed me… noticing it."

The words sounded strange loud.

They were true.

Rhys didn't dismiss it. If anything his expression sharpened.

"Try again" he said.

Luci frowned. "That's enough for now."

"I'm fine" I said.

"You don't know that" he said.

"I do" I said.

Before he could argue again I closed my eyes more. This time it came faster.

The pressure returned immediately stronger than before. It spread a bit not painful, but heavier.

Like something pushing against a barrier. I focused on it again. Carefully.

Slowly.

Then I did something different. I reached for it. Not physically. Just mentally.

The reaction was instant.

The pressure surged.

My breath caught as something inside me shifted sharply like a crack forming under pressure.

"Yulia" Lucis voice cut in.

I didn't stop. Not yet.

Because for a second.. a second—

I felt it. Power. Not the kind I remembered. Something deeper.

Colder. Older.

My eyes snapped open as the pressure vanished as quickly as it came.

I staggered a bit. This time I didn't fall.

Lucis hand was on me away steadying me.

"That's enough" he said, his voice low.

I didn't argue this time. Because my heart was still racing. Not from fear.

From realization.

"It's there" I said quietly.

Rhys stepped closer. "What is?" I looked at him.

"Whatever was sealed" I said. "It's still there."

A brief silence followed. Then Luci spoke.

"And?" I swallowed.

"It’s waking up."

That changed everything. Not, for me. For all of us.

Because now it wasn't a question of if something would happen

It was when.