Ken continued his training while Luna watched. She sat on a rock while her legs swung, then suddenly she stopped.

"This place is really safe," she said, her tone sounding more like a confirmation.

Ken stopped his push-ups. He looked up at her, curious as to why she would say that.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

She was silent for a few seconds, then after gathering her words, she spoke.

"It might be that you are really not in touch. I find it somehow very nice. I get to teach you all these things." She said, then leaped off the rock. She landed on her feet and then placed her hands behind her back, strutting towards him in an exaggerated manner.

"You do know this world is filled with magic, right?" she asked, leaning in close and looking at him as she spoke.

"I have heard about it. I don’t know much about it," he responded.

"Good. Magic exists to create all, to do what you want, to be powerful." Her tone went dark as she got to the last word, her eyes held a glint of something terrible. "But magic comes at a cost, and that cost will haunt you all your life, but the power it gives is intoxicating like a drug that many can’t do without."

She turned around and walked away from him. "Magic is twisted like this world. It flows in the air with its pungent form, but here, here is different." She spoke with a certain sense of relief.

Ken listened to her closely, curious about why she would speak of magic in such a manner. His curiosity got the better of him, so he asked.

"Do you have magic?"

She turned around, a wide smile on her face. "Wanna see?" she asked, more eager to show him than he was to see.

"Sure, please," he replied.

She rushed closer, but stood a safe distance away from him. She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.

"You should step back," she said.

Ken took her word and took a step back, but that was all. He kept his eyes glued on her.

She opened her mouth and began muttering something. The air changed almost instantly, it felt like everything had gone still and stuck to his body.

Her muttering continued, and then a green magical circle formed underneath her feet, a pattern that drew attention instantly, showing ancient elvish writings on it.

Her eyes shot open, glowing green as her muttering got louder, and then after what seemed like a very long minute, she thrust her hands into the air. Instantly, vines as thick as a human shot from the ground all around her. They all went up and then proceeded to twist themselves around each other. The twisting continued until it was nearly a hundred feet into the air, and then at the very tip of it, a flower formed, pink, beautiful.

Ken looked up. All it was was a vine with a flower, yet the more he stared at it, the closer he felt, and the more it felt beautiful.

"This is a spell my mother taught me," Luna said. She walked to his side and stood beside him.

"It is her way of showing that even in the ugly parts of life, there will be that one beauty that takes it all and pulls the attention from the bad, something worth saving.

She believed everyone could have good in them, and even now she still does," Luna explained.

"Hmm, I see, that’s pretty nice then," he replied, then looked at the flower again for a moment before turning to look at Luna.

"Your magic looks pretty, so why would you speak of magic like it’s so evil?" Ken asked, trying to understand her. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"What you see now is the end result. You never saw the process that led to it. My magic comes at a cost. As for the cost of my magic, it’s my soul, but not in the way that you think. Every moment I cast a spell, a force tries to rip my soul. To win the bout, I must defeat it mentally.

I had a sister once who failed to win in hers, and what remained of her was an abomination," Luna said. She stared at the ground as she spoke, her eyes told enough of how much it weighed on her.

"Then why do it?" Ken asked.

She looked up, a smile formed on her face. "The reasons differ for many people. For me, it’s because I believe I need it for something, not only to make things beautiful but to protect those I love.

So what about you, what drives you to train?" she asked.

"That’s simple. I refuse to be weaker than anyone. It’s simply an unacceptable fact of my existence," he made it clear.

She looked at him for a bit and then smiled. "I guess that makes sense in a way."

She stepped forward. "Regardless of the cost of magic, it’s still a very beautiful thing, and also the only way that we can defend ourselves against the demons and their magic. It’s diabolical and evil.

Demons are soulless creatures, that’s the best way to put them. Their goal is destruction. Many people have tried to save them or find a few that are actually good, but no matter how much effort is put, demons continue in the way that they are and always will be," she explained.

Ken nodded and then walked to a tree. He leapt up and caught a branch, continuing his pull-ups.

"There are beings that are created to not be tamed, no matter how good of a heart you have. The best mercy is to put them down.

Demons are like that probably. I don’t know much about them. The thing is, there might be a good one or two, but one in a thousand is not worth the risk of innocent lives of other races."