Mark dusted himself off as he stepped out of the ring, his mind still replaying the last few seconds of the fight. One slip. That was all it took.

  Daniel stretched his arms behind his head, still smirking.

  “Tough break, blockhead. But hey, you lasted longer than last time.”

  Mark rolled his eyes.

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  Before Daniel could respond, a familiar voice cut through the ambient hum of the Sparring Grounds.

  “Well, well, look who’s back.”

  Mark turned just as Lyra Achernar sauntered toward them, her usual air of effortless confidence wrapped around her like a second skin. Her golden eyes sparkled with amusement, and the smirk tugging at her lips was far too entertained for Mark’s liking.

  Beside her, Raven Voltra walked with a more composed, almost analytical demeanor, arms loosely crossed as she surveyed the sparring rings with a detached interest. She looked the same as ever—serious, efficient, unshaken.

  Mark let out a breath. Great.

  “Lyra,” Daniel greeted first, grinning. “Good to see you back. Finally decided to stop slacking?”

  Lyra placed a hand over her chest in mock offense. “Excuse you, Gale. I was doing important things.”

  Daniel snorted. “Sure. Drinking fancy tea in some other Sephir, probably.”

  Lyra gasped dramatically, then shrugged. “Maybe. A girl has to enjoy herself, you know.”

  Her gaze flicked to Mark, and her smirk deepened. “And what about you, Shadow Boy? Still getting beaten up in sparring matches?”

  Mark tensed slightly, his grip on his bag tightening before he could stop himself.

  Lyra didn’t miss it.

  Daniel let out a low chuckle. “Oh, he’s definitely improving. Almost beat me today.”

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  Lyra raised a brow, her interest piqued. “Almost? That’s cute.”

  Mark sighed. “Nice to see you too, Lyra.”

  He hated this. Not the teasing, not her smug tone—the fact that she wasn’t wrong.

  Mark did improve. He was getting stronger. But against her?

  Against light itself?

  It was always a bad matchup. His shadows couldn’t overpower her photons—her light literally unraveled his abilities, scattering them before they could take shape. Every time they fought, it felt like fighting a person with a cheat code to counter his entire existence.

  “Don’t start, Lyra.”

  Lyra turned toward her, feigning innocence. “What? I’m just catching up.”

  Raven’s electric-blue eyes flicked toward Mark, measuring, assessing. She didn’t mock him, but she didn’t coddle him either.

  “If he’s improving, then he’s improving. That’s all that matters.”

  Mark met her gaze and gave a small nod. Raven never wasted words. She was practical and efficient. Unlike Lyra, she wasn’t interested in games—only results.

  Lyra sighed, dramatically tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Fine, fine. I’ll stop being mean to poor Mark.”

  She leaned in slightly, voice lower. “For now.”

  Mark exhaled, shaking his head. Some things never changed.

  “Alright, fun’s over,” Raven cut in, arms crossed. “Are we sparring or standing around gossiping?”

  Lyra smirked, shifting her weight onto one hip. “Oh? Getting impatient already?”

  Raven’s eyes twitched. “I just don’t like standing around listening to pointless banter.”

  Daniel raised an eyebrow, looking far too entertained. “You sure about that? You were listening pretty closely Sparky.”

  Raven’s sharp gaze flicked to him. “I swear, Gale, one of these days I’m going to put you through a wall.”

  Daniel grinned. “You say that, but you never actually do it.”

  Raven narrowed her eyes. “Yet.”

  Mark watched the exchange, resisting the urge to smirk. That was just how Raven was. She never made small talk, she never wasted words, and she especially never entertained Daniel’s nonsense—yet, somehow, he always found ways to get under her skin.

  Raven sighed, turning toward the nearest open training ring. “Come on. Are we sparring or not?”

  Daniel, still smirking, leaned toward Mark and muttered, “Sparky is feisty today, huh?”

  Raven shot him a glare so sharp it could have cut steel.

  Lyra stretched her arms behind her head, golden eyes gleaming as she glanced between Mark and Raven. "Well, since we're all just standing around wasting time, how about we split up? You and me, Shadow Boy—let’s kill some time in the ring."

  Mark tensed slightly. There it was.

  Sparring against Daniel was one thing. Sparring against Lyra was a whole different beast.

  Before he could think of an excuse, Daniel clapped him on the back, grinning. “Sounds perfect. I’ve been meaning to see if I can actually make Raven break a sweat.”

  Raven’s eye twitched. “I will break something, but it won’t be a sweat.”

  Daniel smirked. “We’ll see.”

  Lyra turned back to Mark, raising an eyebrow. "Well? Are you going to stand there overthinking it, or are we doing this?"

  Mark exhaled through his nose. There was no getting out of this.

  "Fine. Let’s go."