Alex left his dorm room, feelingpletely rejuvenated thanks to General Marks'' infusion of pure energy.


    As he walked through the campus, he noticed more students than usual throwing looks his way, whispering to each other, and some even boldly pointing.


    ''What''s with all the attention?'' he wondered, walking past them without paying much heed. Internally, he was curious why he was garnering so much attention even though he lost the fight.


    The murmurs continued as he made his way to Mira''s dorm. ''Did something else happen that I''m not aware of?'' he thought, a bit puzzled.


    After a short walk across the campus, he arrived in front of Mira''s dorm address. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Stumped, Alex looked around, trying to figure out where she could be.


    ''Where could she have gone?'' he thought, scratching his head.


    "Boo!"


    Suddenly, out of nowhere, Mira appeared right in front of his face, literally an inch away. Alex jumped back in shock, nearly tripping over his own feet.


    "Whoa!" he eximed. "How the hell did you do that? You scared the crap out of me!"


    Mira grinned mischievously. "Surprised you, didn''t I? I''ve been working on my not so new talent anymore."


    Alex blinked, trying to regain hisposure. "Call of the Void? Oh yeah how could I have forgotten!? But how did you appear out of nowhere like that? I couldn''t even sense a thing even when you were right in front of me! Not even I can do that with my teleportation!"


    Mira''s eyes sparkled with excitement. "It''s a bit different from teleportation. I can step through the void, moving in and out of reality. It''s like walking through a hidden dimension. Pretty cool, right?"


    Alex''s jaw dropped. "That''s insane! How did you figure it out?"


    Mira shrugged nonchntly. "Lots of practice and experimentation. The Primordial Expanse is full of surprises."


    Alex shook his head in disbelief. "You''ve got to teach me how to do that."


    Miraughed. "Sorry, Alex. This one''s all mine. But I can show you a few tricks."


    Alex grinned. "I''ll take whatever I can get. Anyway, I wanted to ask you how you did in thebat assessment. General Marks wouldn''t tell me, and said I should hear it from you."


    Mira''s expression turned serious. "I ended up in first ce."


    Alex smiled and replied. "First ce? That''s great!"


    But a short momentter his face shifted to one of shock. His jaw literally hung open, unable to close itself.


    "Wait… Like first ce on the overall rankings, first ce!? Or just first out of your batch?"


    It was his turn to be serious as he asked this question.


    Mira nodded. "Yeah, I was pretty surprised myself. But I guess all that time in the Primordial Expanse paid off."


    He had no clue where Niks ced overall, but he assumed he had a good shot at first ce, but as it turned out Mira took that spot for herself.


    Alex couldn''t help but feel a mix of pride and envy. "How the hell did you get so strong?"


    He had spent 2 months on the same ship as her on the way here, yet not once had he suspected her of being this strong.


    Mira smiled mischievously at Alex, "It''s a secret!"


    ''So cheeky!'' Alex thought, pretending to sulk.


    Seeing Alex''s ''sad'' face, Mira couldn''t hold herugh in any longer and blurted out, "Just kidding! I''ll tell you about itter!"


    "Wow… You''re really something, huh? Compared to you, I feel like I wasted my time in the Primordial Expanse…"


    Alex''s mood quickly took a downturn when he was reminded of his own result.


    Mira smiled warmly. "Thanks. But don''t sell yourself short, Alex. You did amazing too."


    Alex sighed. "Yeah, but I ended up in third ce in our batch and 37th overall. I feel like I could''ve done better if it weren''t for Niks''s speed."


    Mira ced a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but quickly took it back as she felt an unknown emotion well up within her when she did so. "A-Ahem, It''s only because of my talent that I reached first. I''m still not confident that I could defeat you if we fought…."


    Alex nodded, feeling a renewed sense of determination. "You''re right, but you earned that spot through your own efforts, who cares if you rely on your talent? Doesn''t everyone? Even I do."


    They stood infortable silence for a moment, both reflecting on their experiences.


    "By the way," Alex said, breaking the silence, "What else can you do with Call of the Void? Any other cool tricks?"


    Mira''s eyes sparkled with mischief. "Oh, you have no idea. But I''ll show youter. Right now, how about we grab something to eat? I''m starving."


    Alexughed. "Sounds good to me. Lead the way, Voidwalker."


    Mira smirked. "Voidwalker, huh? I like the sound of that."


    As they walked to the cafeteria, they continued to banter back and forth..


    "You know," Alex said, "I think we make a pretty good team."


    Mira nodded shyly, her cheeks were flushed but she didn''t know why. "Definitely. Just imagine what we can achieve together, hehe. Who knows, if we were in the same batch for thebat assessment, there might have been another ''unprecedented'' joint first ce!"


    They reached the cafeteria and grabbed their food, sitting down at a table in the corner. The whispers and stares from other students continued, but Alex and Mira ignored them, focusing on their conversation.


    "So, what''s the n now?" Alex asked between bites.


    Mira shrugged. "Keep training, I guess. I mean, isn''t that the whole reason why we came to this ce?"


    Alex nodded. "Yeah, I want to work on my speed. Niks showed me a major weakness."


    In fact it was more than a major weakness. It was the whole reason Alex had lost the fight. He couldn''t keep up with Niks''s movements with his eyes, nor could his own body react in time to Niks''s attacks.


    Alex was stronger than him, but what is the point in having all that strength when you can''t evennd a hit?


    Niks was right, speed was Alex''s Achilles heel.


    Mira grinned. "I can help with that. My Talent is pretty simr in practice to his, in fact there''s already a consensus that mine''s better since I achieved first ce and he got second! I can teach you a thing or two about moving quickly."


    Alex''s eyes lit up. "That would be awesome."


    They spent the rest of the meal discussing their training ns, strategies, and goals. By the time they finished, both were feeling more determined than ever.


    As they left the cafeteria, Alex turned to Mira. "Thanks for being such a good friend, Mira. I don''t know what I''d do without you. Life was so… lonely before I met you."


    Mira smiled embarrassedly, not knowing how to respond to Alex''s sudden bold act of confidence.


    But seeing his face, Mira couldn''t help but feel butterflies in her stomach.


    ''I see now... these feeling are...''


    She didn''t know why, or how, but something inside her just burst, and her thoughts unknowingly spilled out her mouth.


    "I-I think I''m falling in love with him…"


    They both stopped in their tracks.


    But both for very different reasons…