The morning air was crisp and cool. The Iron Tread Plaza—a circular training ground sixty meters in diameter at the heart of the fortress—still had thin morning mist drifting across it. The events from last night's corridor lingered in the back of his mind. The weight of Lina's shoulder. Her body heat. The steady rhythm of her breathing. Every time he recalled it, the back of his neck grew warm, so Kenji was trying to shift his focus by looking at the stone floor of the training ground. Remnants of yesterday's rain had pooled on the stone floor. There were several puddles. (This has a bad feeling about it.) He didn't even need to use Yoken—the gift dwelling within Kenji that allowed him to fragmentarily foresee situations just two seconds ahead—to know this. Bad feelings like this usually came true before he even activated it. "Magic output stability test! I'll succeed today for sure!" Lina's water-blue short bob shimmered vividly in the morning light. She extended both arms forw