I stopped counting how many times I hit the ground.

  I don’t know if it was noon, evening, or the end of the world—

  all I know is that it was past the point of “pain.”

  Everything hurt.

  So much that, eventually, I stopped feeling anything at all.

  Selem didn’t go easy on us.

  He made us repeat the same movements over and over.

  Turn. Guard. Step back at the same time. Dodge in the same direction.

  Use the other person’s movement without looking back.

  I don’t think I was even breathing normally anymore.

  I was moving on reflex, repetition—and flow.

  We were given a break for lunch.

  Warm. Salty.

  I don’t know what it was called, but it tasted like

  “thanks for surviving.”

  No one spoke.

  We ate, drank water, and stood back up.

  The afternoon was more of the same.

  Shadows. Sweat.

  Footsteps falling into sync.

  Collisions.

  Bodies crashing.

  But little by little—

  we got better.

  When the sky started turning orange, Selem spoke.

  「That’s enough for today.」

  And then he left.

  No explanation.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  No “well done.”

  No “good work.”

  Just that.

  Like it was enough.

  …I thought he was a little like my old man.

  —

  I don’t know who suggested it, but we ended up sitting right there.

  Back to back.

  Silent.

  Not tense.

  Just too exhausted to move.

  The stone floor was cold.

  Sera’s back was warm.

  All day we’d kept our distance so we wouldn’t trip each other up,

  and now we were naturally leaning together.

  That felt strange.

  「…You felt it too, didn’t you?」

  Sera said without moving.

  「Felt what?」

  「When I turned first and you stepped back.

  That order made it easier to dodge, right?」

  「Yeah.

  I noticed.

  But I thought it was just coincidence.」

  「No.

  I bumped into your elbow three times.」

  「Seriously…」

  「Three times.」

  「…I’ll write that down for tomorrow.」

  Silence.

  Then Sera spoke again.

  「Hey. About last night’s dream.」

  「Which part?」

  「…What kind of dream did you have?」

  I thought for a moment before answering.

  「At first, I saw a little girl.

  Didn’t know who she was.

  She was drawing, showing it to some attendants.

  While I was watching, I thought—wait.

  That was—you.」

  I took a breath and continued.

  「After that… the forest at night.

  When I found you—」

  Sera was quiet for a while.

  「Mine was a room with a fire.

  A small you was sitting alone in front of an empty hearth.

  And then… yeah. The forest too.

  I was being carried.」

  She smiled softly.

  「So it really was you who carried me.」

  「Someone had to.」

  「And you decided it should be you?」

  「No.

  My body just moved.」

  She laughed a little.

  I did too.

  I felt like we didn’t need to say anything else.

  —

  After that, we took a bath.

  The monks who’d prepared our clothes

  guided the three of us—me, Sera, and Nael—to dinner together.

  We ate as a group.

  Simple food.

  Warm.

  Good.

  Nael looked strangely proud.

  「Just wait till you hear this! I stabilized the surface!

  Didn’t even touch it!」

  「The surface?」

  「Yeah! The water in the cup! Seriously, I didn’t touch it!」

  Sera and I looked at each other.

  「It’s harder than it sounds.

  You gotta calm yourself down first.

  If you’re not calm, the water gets mad.

  Probably.」

  「…What are you even talking about?」

  I laughed.

  Sera laughed too.

  She didn’t even try to hide it.

  —

  That night, I fell asleep almost immediately.

  And for the first time—

  there was no fire,

  no blood,

  no broken things in my dreams.

  There was only one thing.

  The sound of breathing,

  moving at the same pace.