The focus had always been entirely on the Phantoms. It made sense, since they were the warriors, the ones who fought against monsters and triumphed, defending the Citadel and all of humanity.

However, the truth was that if an Operator lagged significantly behind their Phantom, it was simply impossible to progress any further.

Aiden knew this better than most.

He couldn’t put that kind of pressure on Silvana while Adam was here. In that case, Adam would have intervened to stop Aiden, and nothing would have worked.

In fact, Aiden’s words and the oppressive atmosphere he had created immediately after Adam’s departure were a test for Silvana.

She was only beginning to realize this now.

Her grip loosened as she let go of Aiden’s collar. Her lips trembled slightly at the realization of what she had just said and done.

’He... He was aiming for this, wasn’t he?’ Her eyes darted to Aiden, who didn’t even bother to straighten his rumpled collar.

He wanted to see if she was ready to move forward.

"You have many flaws, Silvana, but intelligence certainly isn’t on that list." Aiden understood everything from her expression. "You guessed right. I wanted to see if you could handle at least the starting level of the workload."

Silvana frowned.

"Couldn’t you have chosen a better way?"

Thrust!

Before Silvana could react, Aiden’s hand reached for her neck. He clamped down hard on her throat, lifting her as her back hit the wall.

"ARGH!" Silvana grabbed Aiden’s wrists, trying to break his grip.

However... She couldn’t do a thing.

’W-What? Why is he so strong?! How is that possible?!’

Her shock was understandable, since she was an Operator of a K4-Phantom. Even if a muscular professional fighter attacked her, she would easily defeat him thanks to the energy in her body.

But Aiden’s hand didn’t even budge.

"Before I waste my time on you, I want to know if you’re even worth it in the first place. What is your true desire, Silvana? What do you want for yourself? What do you want to gain in the end?"

Aiden’s eyes narrowed, and his grip tightened. Silvana began to struggle for breath, and her attempts to break free grew weaker.

"Speak, or I’ll keep choking you until you lose consciousness. We both know you don’t want me to consider you a failure. The only exception, when I was wrong about a failure, was Adam. That will never happen again."

Silvana’s hands dropped. It seemed she had given up, but the next moment she raised her head. Her green eyes were bloodshot, filled with rage and desire.

Instead of trying to free herself, she reached forward, attempting to choke Aiden in return.

Strangely enough, he didn’t resist, even though he was clearly much stronger than she was. Silvana would suffocate before she could leave even a bruise on Aiden’s neck, but it wasn’t the damage that mattered, it was her intentions.

"Want to know what I really want? I already answered! I want to be stronger! I want to stay with Adam! I want to help him as his partner!"

There was no change in Aiden’s expression. Just as he’d said, he simply tightened his grip. Her words hadn’t convinced him.

Crack.

Silvana bit her lip until it bled as the corners of her vision began to darken. She would soon lose consciousness.

"ARGH! I don’t want to help him win! I want to be the reason he wins! I want to be the one who paves his path to victory! That’s what I want!"

Whooooosh!

Without warning, Aiden shoved Silvana aside.

"Grh!" She slammed into the ground, rolling across the floor.

Before Silvana could get up, Aiden kicked her shoulder and towered over her.

In the darkness, she saw nothing but his amber eyes staring at her like a nightmare come to life.

"Do you want to stand in front of him instead of beside him? Do you realize that’s not the path of a partner? It’s the path of a weapon’s tool." Aiden’s eyes narrowed as his pupils seemed to spin into two abysses.

"Kha!"

Silvana coughed up blood.

"So be it!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "I’m tired of watching everything from the sidelines and waiting for him at the Citadel! Right now I’m not his partner, but just a fucking energy reserve, otherwise a useless piece of trash!"

Aiden leaned forward, his gaze seeming capable of consuming her entire being.

"How interesting. The way you say that... Maybe you have an image you want to be like?"

"Arika!" Silvana exclaimed immediately. "When I saw what Goen’s weapon really was, what helped him defeat those Lords... I wanted to be in her place more than anything in the world!"

It was true.

Sure, a lot had happened that day, and Silvana was shocked to learn about the Manifest Nexus. Like anyone in her situation, she was suspicious of the idea that she would have to become a weapon. It was a strange feeling, to be expected of a human.

But those were her feelings about the Manifest Nexus when she first witnessed that strange transformation.

Her feelings about Goen and Arika’s dynamic, about Arika’s powers, hadn’t gone anywhere. What Arika had shown was true power, not just support. She was Goen’s power and the one who allowed him to show everything he was capable of.

That was what Silvana wanted.

She no longer wished to simply be Adam’s shadow, standing behind him. She wanted to be the one who would show him the path to the light, a light that only he could reach.

"I see..." Aiden’s hoarse voice rang out.

Silence.

For a moment, silence hung over the hall. No one spoke, and it seemed as if no one was even breathing.

But everyone could clearly hear Silvana’s heart, which seemed ready to burst. For her, it was an intense emotional surge.

"In that case, it’s settled."

Aiden took a step to the side, adjusting his collar.

He glanced over his shoulder at Silvana.

"Until Adam returns to the Citadel, I will personally take charge of your training, Silvana. You will no longer be his shadow. I will show you how to become a light."

As if clinging to hope, Silvana reflexively replied:

"YES!"