Helios left Skuld’s room, his steps slow and deliberate. As he ehe main room, he wasn’t surprised to find Malefit still seated in her usual spot, her sharp gaze fixed on him like a predator watg its prey.

  “Did you have a good versation?” Malefit asked, her tone dripping with dession as she sipped from her por cup.

  Helios leaned against the doorway, his expression cool and unreadable. “Are you so bored that you’ve taken t to eavesdrop?” he tered smoothly, his voice carrying just enough sarcasm to push back against her usual barbs.

  Malefit’s lips curved into a faint, amused smirk as she set her cup down with deliberate care. “Eavesdrop? Hardly. I couldn’t care less about what you have to say to your little ward. What caught my i, however, was your excessive use of the silence hex. Eight of them, no less. You must have been quite eager to keep me from hearing.”

  Helios crossed his arms, his toeady. “What was said has nothing to do with you. So why don’t you save yourself the effort and put it out of your mind?”

  Malefit’s smirk deepened, her eyes glinting with mockery as she tilted her head. “How quaint,” she said softly, her tone ced with venomous amusement. “To think I’d have even the slightest i in the musings of a boy pying protector. You ftter yourself.”

  Helios raised an eyebrow, his expression unmoved. “You’re the one whht it up,” he replied coolly, his voice calm but firm. “Seems like it’s more on your mind than mine.”

  Malefit’s smirk faltered ever so slightly, her fingers drumming against the armrest of her chair. With a flick of her wrist, she waved her hand in a fluid motion, and the room around them dissolved into darkness.

  When Helios’s vision cleared, they were no longer itage. Instead, they stood in the Crystal Fissure, a breathtaking cavern filled with luminous crystals that bathed the spa hues of blue, purple, and silver. The air hummed with a faint, magical energy, and the sound of faint dripping echoed through the expanse.

  Helios turo Malefit, his eyes narrowing. “What are we doing here?”

  Malefit gestured zily toward the surrounding crystals, her expression as serene as it was calg. “Today’s lesson will be… hands-on,” she said, her voice carrying a note of satisfa. “Transformation magic requires more than just theory, and I suspect you’ll learn faster under pressure.”

  With a flick of her finger, a shimmering barrier materialized behind them, sealing both the entrand exit of the cave. The barrier’s surface pulsed faintly, its plex design resembling interwoven runes and magical sigils. It glowed with a light that shifted in time with the hum of the crystals around them.

  Helios frowned, his instincts already on high alert. “Transformation magic?” he repeated, his tone questioning but cautious.

  Malefit walked forward, her steps slow and deliberate, her presenanding. “Indeed,” she said. “Transformation magic is an advanced discipline, ohat allows a caster to reshape their physical form into that of another creature. Unlike simple shapeshifting, however, this magic is intricately tied to the essence of the form you take. To transform is not merely to mimic—it is to adopt the very nature, instincts, and abilities of the creature you emute.”

  Helios tilted his head, intrigued despite himself. “And how does that work, exactly?”

  Malefit raised a hand, juring an orb of greehat flickered ominously in her palm. “The essence of transformation magic lies in harmonizing yical energy with the innate energy of the creature you wish to bee. You must visualize not just its appearance, but its every movement, its instincts, its strengths, its weaknesses. Yic acts as a bridge, weaving your physical and magical esseo the desired shape.”

  She let the orb dissipate, her eyes glinting with satisfa as she tinued. “But be warhis magic is not without its dangers. Lose focus, and you risk being trapped in the form you’ve taken. Overreach, and your body may reject the transformatioirely, tearing you apart from the inside.”

  Helios nodded slowly, abs her words. “So it’s not just about appeara’s about being.”

  “A wise observation,” Malefit said with a smirk. “But enough talk. Let me show you.”

  Before Helios could react, her body dissolved into a swirling mass of bd green mist, which scattered into a dozen smaller shapes. A momehe smoke reformed into a flock of crows, their wings beating as they filled the cavern with the sound of rustlihers. The birds scattered in all dires, darting around Helios before verging behind him.

  The crows vanished in a burst of the bd green mist, and in their pce stood a sleek bck jaguar, its glowing yellow eyes fixed on Helios with predatory i. The jaguar let out a low growl, its muscles tensing as it crouched, ready to pounce.

  Helios barely had time to react as the jaguar leapt toward him, its cws extended and its teeth bared. He threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack as the beast nded gracefully behind him. Spinning to face it, he summoned his Keybde, gripping the on tightly as he assessed the situation.

  The jaguar circled him, its movements fluid and calcuted as it growled. There was no mistaking the intelligen its eyes—this wasn’t just an animal. It was Malefit, fully embrag the instincts and prowess of her chosen form.

  “So this is the lesson,” Helios muttered under his breath, his grip on his Keybde tightening.

  The jaguar lunged again, faster this time, its cws swiping toward his chest. Helios blocked with his Keybde, the force of the impact sending a jolt through his arms. Before he could terattack, the jaguar darted to the side, its movements too quid uable for him to follow easily.

  Helios focused, trying to anticipate the creature’s move. “If you’re trying to kill me just say so,” he called out, his voice steady despite the tension, “this might be a bit much for a lesson.”

  The jaguar let out a low, rumbling growl, its lips curling back to reveal sharp teeth. It pounced again, this time feinti before darting right. Helios barely mao dodge, the beast’s cws grazing his side as it nded behind him once more.

  ‘This isn’t just an attack’, he realized. ‘She’s trying to punish me. How petty.’

  Every swipe of the jaguar’s cws, every calcuted lunge, carried an underlying message: ‘You may think you’re in trol, but you’re pying my game.’

  The jaguar growled again, its low rumble eg through the crystal-filled cavern. Helios ched his Keybde tightly, f himself to remain calm. He couldn’t afford to lose foot here, not against her.