The hall fell into a brief, thoughful silence after Bahamut’s last remark. Even Elder Iset’s sharp gaze softened slightly, as if she had reassessed something she hadn’t realized she was misjudging.

Elder Silvia stepped forward, her eyes scanning Bahamut from head to toe—not as a master looking at a disciple, but as a craftsman inspecting a weapon freshly forged in divine fire.

"You look... different," she said finally.

Bahamut tilted his head. "Different how?"

"Sharper," she replied. "Not just in strength. Your presence... it has weight now. Before, you were dangerous. Now..." she paused, her lips curling faintly, "...you feel inevitable."

That earned a quiet chuckle from Elder Iset.

Bahamut scratched the back of his head, a little awkward at the description. "I just woke up."

"That’s exactly the problem," Elder Iset muttered.

Elder Silvia ignored her and stepped closer, placing a hand lightly on Bahamut’s shoulder. A faint ripple of energy spread from her palm, scanning him.

"Your body is stable... surprisingly so," she said. "Six elements at full affinity should have torn you apart during stabilization. Yet here you are, standing."

"I almost died," Bahamut replied casually.

"I know," she said. "That’s why this is impressive."

She withdrew her hand and turned slightly, her tone shifting into something more instructive.

"Listen carefully, Bahamut. Tier 2 is not just about having power. It is about control. Authority. You now possess the right to command elements, but if your will falters, they will devour you instead."

Elder Iset added from behind, her voice calm but firm, "And don’t be arrogant. Multi-elemental users often die faster than single-element users. Not because they are weak... but because they think they are invincible."

Bahamut asked in shock. "How did you know?"

"I can see... Your secret is safe with me. Don’t worry," Elder Iset said with a wink.

"That doesn’t sound assuring..."

Elder Silvia added. "Then here is your advice: don’t try to master everything at once. You already broke the rules by ascending like that. If you continue like this without structure, you will collapse under your own growth."

Lily crossed her arms. "He already does that."

Exildra nodded. "Frequently." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Alana raised her hand slightly. "Master explodes sometimes."

"That’s not helping," Bahamut muttered.

Elder Silvia actually laughed.

"Even so," she continued, "you’ve done well. For now, rest when you can, train when you must, and most importantly... learn."

"Learn what?" Bahamut asked.

"Yourself."

That answer lingered longer than expected.

Elder Iset leaned back in her seat. "Also, eat properly. Your body is burning through resources faster than before. If you keep starving yourself during training, you’ll end up unconscious again."

"I wasn’t starving myself..."

"You forget to eat," Exildra said flatly.

"That’s different."

"It’s not."

Lily smirked. "We’ll force-feed you if needed."

Alana nodded seriously. "Yes."

Bahamut sighed. "I regret everything."

Elder Silvia waved her hand dismissively. "Go. Eat. Recover. You’ve caused enough chaos for now."

"That’s your polite way of saying ’leave,’" Bahamut said.

"Yes."

They didn’t argue. Bahamut turned, the girls following naturally behind him as they left the hall. The moment they stepped outside, the atmosphere shifted. The quiet weight of the elders’ presence faded, replaced by the lively hum of the sect.

For a moment, no one spoke. Then Lily stretched her arms dramatically. "I’m starving."

"You’re always starving," Exildra said.

"I just fought for my life yesterday!"

"You won."

"That’s not the point!"

Alana walked quietly beside Bahamut, glancing up at him occasionally, as if making sure he was really fine.

Bahamut exhaled, relaxing slightly. "Let’s just eat."

They began walking down the stone path, sunlight filtering through the trees above, casting shifting patterns on the ground. Everything felt... normal. Too normal.

Exildra, who had been walking slightly ahead, suddenly slowed and stopped.

Bahamut noticed immediately. "What’s wrong?"

She didn’t answer. Her hand moved to her chest.

"Exildra?" Lily called, her tone shifting.

A faint tremor ran through Exildra’s body. She gasped in a sharp, broken sound. Her body stiffened violently, as if something inside her had snapped.

"Ah!"

She clutched her chest tighter, her fingers digging into her uniform as her breathing became erratic.

"Exildra!" Bahamut stepped forward instantly, grabbing her shoulders.

Her visible eye widened, trembling.

"It hurts..." she whispered.

A dark ripple flickered across her skin, so fast it was almost invisible, but Bahamut saw it.

Something was wrong. Very wrong. Exildra’s knees buckled, her body went limp, and before anyone could react, she collapsed. That was when Bahamut noticed the trickle of blood coming from her right eye behind the eyepatch.

"It’s happening again..." He muttered deeply as he carried Exildra. Elder Silvia and Iset appeared there almost instantly with worried faces.

"It’s happening sooner than I expected," Elder Iset said with a grim tone as a white light covered her right hand and she placed it on Exildra’s eye, stopping the bleeding and letting her fall deeply asleep.

"What is happening sooner?" Bahamut asked in confusion.

"Her awakening as a Seer. It shouldn’t have happened until she was at least Tier 2, but it seems something triggered it," Elder Iset said as she led the way towards Henut’s place. She suddenly halted and turned to Bahamut.

"Did you by any chance take her? You know what I mean..."

"What has that got to do with it?" Bahamut asked, frustration building up. His lover was in pain, and this was more severe than the first one, and they were here asking if he took her first time...

"Let’s get to Henut first. I will explain everything later. But just know that, once Exildra wakes up, she will be a full-fledged Seer with a Spirit Guide, and possibly, she will ascend to Tier 2. And it can happen anytime," Elder Silvia stated as they hurried their steps. Thankfully, Henut’s residence was very close to Elder Silvia’s residence, so they got there quickly.

The moment Henut saw them, she rushed to take Exildra away and told them to wait.

Bahamut then turned to the elders. Elder Silvia looked at Iset, sighed, and began.

"Seers..."