Originally, Morgan had planned to take this time to rebuild his supply of cartridges, and ask someone about the conversation later. However, after hearing a few terms from the dragon-girl, namely, training, hidden powers, and incomplete, he decided knowing now was better than later, at least when it came to topics like this. Checking the group with Arcanus, among the Cadets he had joined up with, one of them, a well-built young man he had seen earlier in the fight against the arcane creature, seemed to be frozen.

I guess should be normal when meeting an almighty existence from ancient mythology.

Grabbing one of his spare bullets, he tossed it, hitting the young man's head, and called over.

"Hey! What're we talking about?"

As he finished the sentence, his thoughts started running their standard calculations after meeting someone new. Namely, whether they would think he was a boy or a girl. The current statistics on that was 30-70, with most of the few people he talked to guessing wrong. Not that he ever shared the results.

---

Zarin was still in a state of shock and awe even after Diana transformed back into her human form, which is why he didn’t realize he still had his arm outstretched towards Egwene. His trance was broken when he felt her grab his hand and ask what his intentions were, implying them to be less than wholesome. “What? N-no I was just-WHOA!” As Zarin stammered to defend his actions, he suddenly found himself swept off his feet and dropped on his back.

Growling like an angry dog, Zarin hopped back to his feet before stepping in front of Egwene and speaking through gritted teeth, ”Hey you dumb bitch! I was just trying to keep you from wandering off and looking like an idiot!” Zarin so badly wanted to throw her to the ground then and there, but remembering they were in the middle of a mission and in the presence of a dragon, he decided now wasn’t the time to get into a fight. Taking a deep breath and a step back, Zarin calmed himself down before giving Egwene a warning, ”I’m gonna let this one slide. But the next time you try something like that, I won’t restrain myself.”

Brushing himself off and turning away from the cadet, Zarin rejoined the main conversation. ”Special training from a dragon? Hell yeah I’m in!”

---

"Hmm... is that so?" Diana said, narrowing her eyes toward Chen for a moment. Seeing through his act wasn't that hard at for her, yet she didn't have any reason to care for anyone's suspicions regarding her. Hopefully, this business would be solved quite soon, or... at least she had company for a long time.

"By the way, I hope that you guys are looking forward to dinner. It's going to be to die for, hehe!" Diana laughed heartily at the expense of the Cadets as she walked back inside the temple, ready to begin their long, arduous training.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks to months, or so the time spent with Diana would seem to the Cadets, lodged in such a place bereft of civilization. The wildlife slowly began to acclimate to Diana's present within their space, making the Cadet's living far easier, with food and drink becoming plentiful. The temple counted with ample lodgings as well as a pair of huge indoors baths that must have been purification pools of some sort in the days of old. Hot water was easy provided. Aside from the isolation —which Ires seemed to enjoy quite a lot— and Diana getting "a little too friendly" sometimes, there would be no problems at living with the dragon.

The training, however, was another whole ball game. Diana's teaching may have been cryptic and hard to follow but they would allow the Cadets —except Viola and Ires, for some reason— to tap into the powers hidden within them. Magic of the likes that no one in ages was able to use: the power of the Song Knights.

Through the chanting of an Elemental Aria unique to each of their own, the Cadets —now full-fledged Beginner Song Knights— would not only be able to improve their Vessels current powers with true Elemental Magic but also form a contract with a being from the Spirit Realm that lays beyond this reality. Phoenixes, undines, gnomes, wraiths and even (lesser) dragons, each a unique individual could answer their prayers and form a lifelong bond with the Song Knights, granting them incredible powers and abilities that no one else in the world possessed.

One day, after the harshest depths of winter had long since gone past Orello, Diana called the Song Knights to the same ruins they met at first.

"All of you have grown quite a lot in the past few weeks. I guess that there's nothing else that I can teach you. Also, 'that person' is taking way too long, I'll have to go look for them and see if they got lost inside of another paper bag... Hehehe!" Diana joked while leaning against the old church. She made a solemn pause, taking the time to gaze at the improvised cemetery in which she personally buried all of the unknown soldiers from months ago before continuing, in a grave tone, "Times are changed. I have no doubts that our meeting wasn't a coincidence, but Fate itself at work. You guys are probably going to face a lot of hardships before you, I don't know what, or why, but you must weather the storm, that's all I have to say."

"I—" Diana scratched the back of her head nervously while a faint rosy blush painted her cheeks, "I'm not that good with partings. To say the truth, I feel like we are gonna see each other again. And... when that happens I swear that I'll let you all punch me for this, but..." Diana reach into her pocket and drew more than half a dozen music sheets, inscribed with strange scrawled characters that were painful just to watch. One could only imagine how awful such a song would be if played, almost as if it was a curse. "To prove that you are worthy of the power I bestowed upon you... consider this your graduation ceremony," Diana said, changing back into her true form for the first time in months —revealing that she could do it without removing her armor— before taking flight, with a tremendous wing beat.

"See ya, kiddos. Someday, sometime..." The massive dragon said before flying away. On her way out, she threw the pages at them. The ungodly screams that followed were cue enough to herald the summoning of 8 of the same monster that almost killed all of them a few months ago. Now it was time to put Diana's teachings to test and see how powerful Song Knights truly are.

Talk about being bad with partings...

Gradon blinked, not sure why everyone else was looking away from Diana’s form. Surely she was only changing to better give room for her draconic form, yes? That seemed like the case as a golden lizard was finally manifested before them. And while it was well good and all, Gradon couldn’t help but cough into his hand for Diana’s attention, hoping to distract her from showing off more to his fellow cadets.
“Excuse me, Diana? We, um, still have a mission to discuss.”

Perhaps he wasn’t all that impressed, but truth be told, he just wanted to make sure everyone remembered the reason they were even here. Thankfully, Diana seemed to catch on and turned back into her human state. A few words were shared with Gradon nodding happily. Who knew a dragon could be so reasonable? “Good, good. We can report back to the Empire first thing in the morning-huh?”

Special training? No, no, they needed to report to the Empire right away! They didn’t have time for a training montage! And yet, that didn’t seem to be the popular opinion of anyone else. “Um, guys? Hey hold on, maybe we should….er, I guess we can…um…” But it would seem the decision had already been made, and Ires didn’t seem to be helping. Well, so long as it wasn’t too long, he supposed they could make a short detour. Without anything else to say, he waited for Diana to go ahead and begin their newfound training.

That was a month ago. Much, much longer than Gradon was expecting or would have liked. Granted, it had been well worth it he supposed. They had each acquired newfound powers, both of their Vessels and of their true Elemental Magic; as well as summoned beasts that had bonded to them. Gradon wasn’t too enthusiastic about his own; the same snake he had seen before with that same dopey look on its expression. Could snakes even express emotion? This question had kept him up many a night.

The day Diana departed for the great beyond, she had left behind a gift in the form of music sheets. Also, monsters, now known to be called Dissonances. “We should take care of these quickly. Who knows how much of a lecture we’re going to get for stalling this long,” he said to the others with a sigh, waiting for Ires to give further orders. Little did he know of the extra pair of eyes observing their actions. A pair of human eyes.

"Who are you calling a bitch?" Egwene crackled her knuckles as she looked at Zarin whose lifespan is about to shorten throughout the training.

---

The winter training proved useful. It wasn't the toughest training she had ever encountered, but it has a huge depth of content to learn. And there a whole new world of possibilities with her weapon. And her weapon's true form is as disgusting as she thought. For it to have a holy affinity...

And Dissonances, the winter of trying out her new attained abilities on Zarin 'accidentally' has worked very well. With one draw of her sword, Egwene's sword whipped out towards the dissonance, the blade stretching out and biting it literally whilst emitting its iconic scream. With one twist of her wrist, she added the force of her attack.

Egwene had heard from the <<not black sword>> Gradon that they have to be taken away quickly. Well, can't be helped, time to call him out... She retracted her sword quickly like a grappling hook that was still on the dissonance, sending herself up in the air. "Xosun!" Egwene's vessel vanished as a four-headed silver hydra appeared behind her, the four necks sending itself towards each dissonances.

As Dianna flew off and the Dissonances she summoned turn to the group, Morgan sighed.

Well, I guess this counts as "not good with partings"...

Drawing the newest addition to his arsenal, the rifle he had stolen from the solders a month ago, he paused to aim down the sights, only to have his target torn into by a white snakelike head. Through Arcanus, he could sense the Hydra that been summoned by the white-haired girl a little ways away, and he lowered his rifle as a new plan began to form in his mind.

That... might just work. It'll be good to see the results of actual combat, and after all isn't the saying, "two heads are better than one"?

Muttering a stanza under his breath, Arcanus vanished from Morgan's eye, and a purple orb of light formed behind him.

[What is it? I was reading.]

Slightly grinning as Lore's childlike voice echoed in his head, Morgan gestured towards the Dissonances.

There's a decent combat scenario here. Haven't you been hoping for a field test as well?

When she noticed the Dissonances, Morgan felt a sense of glee pass over from Lore, and a second later a young woman, similar into him every way beside the lack of weapons and the purple eyes, stood beside him.

"I get to use the pistols though."

"Sure."

Passing over the twin pistols, Morgan took aim at one of the unharmed Dissonances and fired, covering Lore as she crept close for her own assault.

As Morgan's bullet passed through the creature's left eye, Lore dove in and wrapped her arm around its neck, pressing a barrel against the bottom of its head and firing, a sound akin to the detonation of an explosive resounding across the ruin as the Dissonance's head vanished and it turned back to a page of notes.

---

Zarin took full advantage of the opportunity given to him. No matter how hard he was pushed by the training, he made sure to push back twice as hard. There were some days he would be out training for so long Diana had to drag him back into the temple to eat and sleep. Although, achieving the latter was a challenge in itself as a certain someone liked to wake him up with Hydra bites in the middle of the night. At one point, Zarin attempted to convince Morgan to put Egwene in the false reality for a night. He was told it didn’t work like that, and was then immediately bitten by a hydra.

Despite having to deal with the antics of his fellow cadets, the overall experience was well worth it. Not only did Zarin unlock more abilities, but he gained his very own spirit; The lesser dragon Fafnir. And now it was all about to be put to the test. As Diana’s parting gifts screamed to life, Zarin cracked his neck and smirked. “Don’t worry, Gradon. Fafnir and I will take these guys down in no time.”

Holding his whip out and saying his stanza he waited for for the transformation, but nothing happened. “Hey, Fafnir, it’s ass kicking time. Come on!” Zarin said shaking his whip as if he could shake his spirit loose.

I believe you are the one Lady Diana is testing, not me.

“Are you kidding me? You’re really going to do this right now?” Zarin yelled at his vessel.

A month ago it took your entire squad to take down one of these things. Kill one on your own, and it will show the progress you’ve made.

Zarin dropped his arms to the side and let out a loud groan. “What is the point of having a spirit if you’re not going to fight for me?”

Afraid you aren’t strong enough to do it yourself?

“What? Of course not! I could easily take on a Dissonance!”

Prove it.

Zarin glared at his Vessel. He knew what Fafnir was doing, but he couldn’t resist taking the bait. Slowly looking up at the Dissonances, Zarin unfurled his whip and charged the closest Dissonance. The beast was quick to notice and leapt straight for the song knight. Just before it could smash him with its claws, Zarin Flame Dashed to the left avoiding the attacking and leaving a nice fire trail for the monster to burn itself on when it landed. Reeling back in pain as its paw was badly singed, Zarin decided now would be ample time to test his new attack. Spinning his whip above him he created and launched Burning Disk directed towards the beats head. The Dissonance stood no chance as the disk swiftly decapitated it.

As it dissolved into the bloody darkness, Zarin looked at his Vessel and snarked, “Told you.”

---

When Esther first heard about Diana's proposition of giving them special training, she wasn't sure what to do. She never really liked training. Back at the academy, the training assigned to her was harsh and draining. Many times she would return to the dorms with all her muscles aching. She would also be soaked in her own sweat, giving off a disgusting sensation to her skin and odor to her nose. To make matters worse, the white sport t-shirt she wore would become translucent, showing a hint of the bra she wore underneath. She had learned to just not think about it but it was still embarrassing to her, especially since the boys were there too.

However, after the fight with that horrible creature, she realized that she still lacked power. And here came Diana promising that after they finished their training, they would be able to defeat such a thing with ease.

In the end, Esther chose to accept the training, resolving herself that she wanted to become stronger. She had to make her grandpa proud!

The training she experienced wasn't what she was expecting however. Sure, there was still some physical training but most of the time spent was on learning about their vessels and their roles as Song Knights. They even learned to make a contract to a spirit from the Spirit Realm that would become bound to their vessels. Unfortunately however, the spirit she ended up contracting with was a... whimsical one, for the lack of a better term. Even though they had made a contract that would last for a lifetime, the spirit didn't seem to respect her that much. Right after they made their contract, she actually humiliated her by shredding her dress, just because she thought she would look cute in less clothing. Hmph, what kind of logic was that?

When Diana left, she thanked her wholeheartedly for all that she had done for her and the others. Setting aside the issue with her spirit, she had learned more nifty tricks and abilities with her vessel. Her mobility and strength had improved greatly, and it was all thanks to her teachings. She still wasn't sure of her role as a Song Knight, but she would carry the title with pride.

When Diana summoned eight of the horrific beast that gave them so much trouble a couple months back, Esther didn't even flinch. She was confident in their abilities to fight against them now.

She then noticed that some of the other cadets summon their spirits right away.

Want to summon me, dear?

There it was. Her spirit's taunting voice. Ever since they made their contract, she could hear her voice clearly. And since she wore her vessel at all times, she had to hear her taunts and teases all the time. To this day, it still annoyed her.

Don't worry. I promise not to reveal your cute little pink panties to the world this time.

Esther immediately blushed hearing her words. She hadn't summoned her ever since that accident but she knew sooner or later she would have to do it nonetheless.

However...

"No need! I'm going to do this on my own!"

Aaw, you're no fun!

With that settled, she began her attack by using her newfound skill, Wind Divider. Stomping her right feet to the ground, she created an almost invisible wall created by pressurized air. The wall was not for defense, as it headed straight towards one of the Dissonances. It tried to block it but immediately it regretted its decision as the wall's sharpness sliced its hands, arms, and eventually its body. Thanks to its regeneration capability, it didn't die immediately. However, Esther wasn't finished. With her newfound mobility she jumped all around the creature, sending multiple wind blades towards its direction. The blades all hit its mark, shredding the creature's body even further. And with that, the creature's regeneration capability couldn't keep up and it fell down to the ground.

"Wew, that was easy," Esther mumbled to herself. "We really have gotten much stronger, haven't we?"

Chen learned a lot in the past month. He learned to fine tune his control of ice in ways many would never have even thought of. He learned how to power up his ice significantly, no longer did he need direct contact in order to freeze whatever needed to be frozen. Most importantly though, he learned a lot about his fellow squad mates and Diana herself. There was always a subtle tension whenever they were in the same room together, Chen constantly suspected her while she just brushed it off. He knew that the jig was up, but nobody else did so the act was maintained.

Oh yeah, he also gained a badass Ice Spirit. As Diana left, transforming into a dragon and flying off to who knows where, Chen saw the flutter of papers held in her hand moment before they were released. He was already prepared throwing his Vessel into the air and catching it as it morphed into it's glass revolver state. "I shall take care of the Dissonance on my own, no need to waste the energy on such low class monsters." He said to seemingly nobody, but the person it was meant for got the message loud and clear.

"Your need to prove yourself is adorable. Very well then, try not to die. It would be very annoying to have to find a new partner." The voice was distinctly feminine, with a hint of amusement at Chen's need to prove himself. The voice belonged to his Spirit, Yuki of the Arctic Plane.

Chen quickly stomped on the ground, forming a block of ice in front of him within a few seconds to act as cover against the Dissonance that was currently charging him. The monster crashed into the barrier and bounced back a few feet, cracking the ice but not breaking it. Chen proceeded to kick the ice as hard as he could, sending it sliding towards the Dissonance and shattering upon contact, leaving several cuts and pieces of icy shrapnel in the beast. It roared in pain, but was silenced by a single gunshot to the head. "Be silent Dissonance, the show has begun!"

Truth be told, Gradon wasn’t expecting the Cadets to actually sweep this all off like it was nothing. But seeing really was believing, and he saw with his own eyes the culminated effort every one of them had obtained during the past month. Some used the power of their newly contracted Spirits and enhanced Vessels, while the others relied on their own strength. It didn’t really matter how they went about it, because soon enough the foes Diana had left for them were all but black dust. Gradon hadn’t even needed to summon his own Spirit, let alone raise his weapon.

But those pair of eyes, the very same that had watched from a distance, were now making themselves known. As the last of the Dissonance collapsed into the snowy ground, Gradon whirled around to glare at the person who had snuck up on them. “Who are you,” he asked, hand slowly reaching for his blade. Friend or foe, people didn’t just didn’t sneak up on a bunch of kids without cause for intrusion.

“I can’t believe a bunch of kids actually took down those monsters. That old dragon girl must be getting soft if she threw a bunch of weaklings at them,” the man said, ignoring Gradon’s words. By now, he had made himself evident for all the Cadets to see. With a cool grin, hands in his pockets, he nodded in satisfaction at the group before him. “Not bad, not bad at all kiddies. I could almost mistake you for real, legit Imperial soldiers.”

Gradon traded a glance with Ires, wondering if she had any words on the matter. Assuming she would say something to address this stranger, Gradon watched and waited. Unfortunately, the newcomer wouldn’t be so lenient to just wait around for individual speeches to be delivered. One hand shifting out of his pocket, an ember sparked between his fingers. He idly played with it, letting it slide between his digits as he focused his eyes on the group as a whole.

“It’s good to see kids like you can actually hold their own in a fight. Cause I’m afraid you’re about to get one real soon,” the man said, suddenly turning his cool gaze on Chen. “Starting with you first popsicle. Come on kid, show me what you can do. It’s not like I’m letting you all walk scot free anyway.”

The dissonances are eliminated just like that. Egwene recalled her spirit upon finishing her job. She landed on the ground, having to notice a blue-haired man that she doesn't recognise. Something feels off about this guy. Despite how Diana had sent them a team of Dissonances, she was pretty certain that the Dragon wouldn't summon a suspicious guy like this one. Overhearing his proclamation had proven her hunch right: The hunch of meeting an enemy.

"Bring it," Egwene's sword let out the shrieking scream as she activated her vessel. With one thrust of her sword, her blade stretched and extended forward, with the full intention of stabbing that man's throat.