The sanctuary was quiet in the early morning haze, mist curling around the towering trees like thin silk. The air carried that familiar, tranquil stillness Rei had started associating with this hidden place, though the faint weight in his stomach reminded him that peace here never lasted long.

  He stood at the forest’s edge, his hand brushing against the strap of the weapons case slung over his shoulder. The phantom twins. his dual pistols rested inside, their weight steady and unfamiliar after so many days spent only training with the blade. Alongside them, a spare sword from camp hung at his hip. The juxtaposition made him restless.

  When Rei finally stepped through the two great trees that marked the sanctuary’s gate, he spotted her. Ariel stood barefoot by the pond, emerald wings half-folded like an ancient tapestry woven into the air itself. She seemed unchanged since their first meeting, yet something in the way she looked at him always unsettled him, like her gaze cut through his skin and straight into his thoughts.

  “You brought them?” she asked, her voice soft but expectant.

  Rei shifted the strap and nodded. “Yeah. Both the pistols and the sword, like you asked. But…” He frowned, pulling the case forward. “Why though? You’ve had me swinging a blade this whole time. What’s the point of dragging these along if I’ve been training for sword combat?”

  Ariel tilted her head slightly, an amused glint in her emerald eyes. “Are you sure that’s all you’ve been training for?”

  That made Rei pause. “What do you mean?”

  Instead of answering directly, she asked, “Tell me then, what’s the difference between them?”

  “The difference?” Rei blinked, then glanced at his hip and the case. He hesitated but answered anyway. “The sword’s up-close. It’s straightforward, cuts and blocks, good for keeping control in tight situations. The pistols are ranged, faster. They’re better for picking enemies off before they get too close. They don’t overlap.”

  She listened without interrupting, her wings folding fully behind her back. Once his words trailed off, Ariel’s lips curved into the faintest smile.

  “And yet,” she said, stepping closer until her bare feet skimmed the pond’s surface without sinking, “they share the same purpose. To strike. To protect. To kill. Only the method changes.”

  Rei opened his mouth, then shut it. She wasn’t wrong.

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  “Every lesson so far,” Ariel continued, “was for both. The blows you endured while swinging your blade were not for the sword alone. It was to keep your focus steady, something you’ll need whether steel or bullet leaves your hand. And the pillars? Your footwork was never just for striking with a blade. Every step matters no matter the weapon you hold.”

  Rei exhaled slowly, realization dawning. “So… you were training me for both, the whole time.”

  Ariel nodded, her expression unreadable. “Today, you learn to use them together.”

  Rei blinked. “Both? At the same time?”

  “Yes.” She said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

  His brows shot up. “How am I supposed to wield a sword and a gun at the same time?”

  Ariel cocked her head, watching him with a sharp, knowing stare. “Are you not ambidextrous?”

  That question made Rei stiffen. “I… I mean, yeah, but—”

  “Then adapt.” Her tone carried no sympathy, only fact. “Others have done it before you. Why should it be impossible for you?”

  Rei swallowed, the phantom twins suddenly feeling heavier than before. His mind raced with the thought of balancing two entirely different rhythms: the sweep of a blade in one hand, the snap of gunfire in the other. It sounded… impossible. And yet, her certainty made him wonder if it truly was.

  Before he could argue further, Ariel clapped her hands once.

  The ground trembled.

  From the earth, vine pillars burst upward in a violent surge, shooting higher than those that had sprouted from the pond. They twisted together into towering columns, some swaying unnaturally as if alive, while others jutted like jagged teeth from the soil. Their heights varied—some level with his chest, others towering above him like watchtowers.

  Rei’s eyes darted across the chaotic terrain, heart quickening. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”

  But Ariel wasn’t finished.

  She clapped a second time.

  The sanctuary shifted. A guttural roar reverberated from deeper within the grove, low and primal, sending vibrations up Rei’s spine. Then, breaking through the mist, it appeared.

  A hulking creature leapt into view, landing with such force the ground splintered. It was unlike anything Rei had ever seen.

  Its body was a savage fusion, muscular like a gorilla’s, but with the spring-loaded legs of a kangaroo. Its hide shimmered with jagged, stone-like scales that caught the light, patches of wiry black fur bristling along its shoulders and arms. A long, spined ridge cut down its back, tapering into a thick, lashing tail.

  But its face was the most terrifying: a warped hybrid of primate and reptile, jaws lined with jagged teeth, slit-pupiled eyes glowing faintly with predatory hunger.

  The creature flexed, releasing another guttural snarl, its claws gouging into the dirt.

  Rei staggered a step back, his hand instinctively moving to his sword. “What… what the hell is that?”

  “Scaleknuckle,” Ariel said calmly, as though introducing an old friend. Then, with almost childlike casualness, she added, “But I call him Scaly.”

  Rei tore his gaze from the monster to her. “Scaly? Really? That thing looks like it could rip me in half!”

  Ariel only folded her arms, wings arching slightly as the wind stirred. “This will be your sparring partner.”

  The scaleknuckle pounded its fists against its chest, the sound like drums made of stone.

  Rei’s throat went dry. “You’re not serious.”

  She tilted her head, almost amused by his reaction. “You’ve endured the blade. You’ve endured the pillars. Now you must endure both while wielding your true style.”

  “My… true style?” Rei echoed.

  Ariel’s gaze met his, unwavering. “You were never meant to choose between the sword or the gun. They were always meant to be one. Today, you begin to make them so.”

  The scaleknuckle snarled, crouching low as its muscles coiled like springs.

  Ariel raised her hand, her voice soft but sharp. “Rei Moutsuki… are you ready to fight with a style you are not used to?”

  The creature roared, the vines swayed, and Rei’s grip tightened on his weapons.

  The answer caught in his throat, torn between fear and determination.

  And then—

  The fight began.

  [End of Chapter]