The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 162: Chapter 162: The Beginning of a New Path

The next morning, the training grounds of the Eclipse Order were already filled with movement.

The large courtyard had been prepared before sunrise, with several training areas separated by reinforced barriers and enough space for dozens of people to practice without interfering with one another. Weapons had been arranged along the walls, training targets had been placed throughout the field, and several members of the Order were already moving between the different sections, overseeing the newcomers and making certain that everything proceeded properly.

The fifty or so children who had been rescued earlier were gathered in one section of the courtyard.

They were no longer wearing the filthy clothes they had been imprisoned in.

After being provided with proper clothing, having their hair cleaned, and receiving enough food to begin restoring their strength, the change in their appearance was considerable. Their faces were still somewhat thin, and their bodies remained weaker than those of ordinary children their age because of the years they had spent being deprived of proper nutrition, but the hopeless expressions that had once filled their eyes were slowly disappearing.

They looked like children again.

Some were nervous.

Some were quietly observing the unfamiliar surroundings.

And a few were already whispering among themselves as they watched the older members of the Eclipse Order training nearby.

At the center of the courtyard, Lydia stood facing them.

She had already inspected every one of them the previous evening, and she had no intention of allowing their current physical condition to become an excuse for delaying their development indefinitely.

"Everyone, listen carefully."

Her voice carried across the entire courtyard.

She wasn’t angry.

There was no hostility in her expression.

However, her voice was firm enough that even those standing at the far end of the training grounds immediately stopped talking.

"You have all been given a new life, but receiving that life is only the beginning. The power you have been entrusted with will not become useful simply because it exists inside your bodies, and none of you should expect yourselves to become strong overnight."

Several of the children straightened their backs.

Lydia continued.

"Your bodies are still recovering, so today’s training will not be focused on overwhelming yourselves. We will begin by rebuilding your physical strength, improving your stamina, and teaching you how to properly circulate the power of Eclipse without damaging yourselves."

She looked across the group.

"Some of you will struggle."

A few children lowered their eyes.

"That is expected."

Her expression softened slightly.

"But struggling is not the same as failing. What matters is whether you continue after you struggle."

The children remained silent.

Then one of them slowly raised his head.

"We’ll continue."

His voice was quiet.

Lydia looked at him.

"Good."

She turned toward the instructors.

"Begin."

The training started.

At first, it was nothing extraordinary.

Running.

Stretching.

Basic physical exercises.

Controlled breathing.

Simple movements designed to improve balance and coordination.

Yet for children whose bodies had spent years in captivity, even those basic exercises were difficult.

Several of them struggled to maintain their pace.

Some had to stop after only a few laps.

Others stumbled while performing exercises they would normally have considered simple.

A few collapsed onto their knees, breathing heavily as sweat covered their faces.

Lydia did not mock them.

She did not allow them to quit either.

"Stand up."

Her voice echoed across the courtyard.

One of the boys looked up from the ground.

"I... can’t."

"You can."

"I’m tired."

"I know."

Lydia walked toward him.

"That’s why you’re stopping."

The boy stared at her.

"Being tired doesn’t mean your body has reached its limit. It means your body is telling you that it hasn’t adapted yet."

She extended a hand.

"Stand."

The boy hesitated.

Then he grabbed her hand and forced himself back onto his feet.

"Good."

Lydia released him.

"Continue."

The boy clenched his fists.

"Yes."

Around him, the others continued as well.

They were struggling.

Their breathing was heavy.

Their legs were shaking.

But none of them wanted to return to the helpless state they had known before.

They had been given something they had never expected to receive again.

A future.

And they were determined not to waste it.

---

The ten newcomers were being trained separately.

The eight women and the crimson-haired twins had already demonstrated considerably greater potential than the others, and because of that, Lydia had arranged for them to receive specialized instruction rather than simply following the basic training routine.

Standing in front of them was one of the twenty private elites personally trained under Vhan and Vince.

He was young, but his presence carried the discipline of someone who had spent years refining his combat abilities. His movements were precise, his posture never relaxed unnecessarily, and even his instructions were delivered without wasting words.

"Again."

The crimson-haired boy raised his sword.

His arms were trembling.

He attacked.

The instructor blocked the strike.

"Too slow."

The boy gritted his teeth.

Again.

The instructor redirected his sword.

"Your strength is considerable, but you’re relying on it too much."

Again.

The boy attacked.

This time, his movement was slightly faster.

The instructor’s expression changed.

"Better."

The boy’s eyes widened.

That single word was enough to make him straighten his back.

Beside him, his sister was training with a different weapon, her movements still somewhat unrefined but already showing remarkable control over her newly awakened power.

The instructor observed her for several seconds.

"Your mana circulation is unstable."

She nodded.

"Yes."

"Don’t force it."

He stepped closer.

"Let the power move naturally through your body. You’re trying to control everything at once."

The girl closed her eyes.

She breathed slowly.

The Eclipse energy surrounding her gradually became steadier.

The instructor nodded.

"There."

She opened her eyes.

"I did it."

"You did."

A faint smile appeared on her face.

For people who had spent years being treated as nothing more than property, even a small achievement seemed to carry an unusual amount of meaning.

The other eight were progressing in much the same way.

They were weak physically.

Their bodies had suffered too much for them to immediately display the strength hidden within them.

But their potential was unmistakable.

Once they were given proper food, sufficient rest, and consistent training, their bodies began adapting faster than expected.

Their mana responded naturally.

Their movements improved quickly.

Even their stamina began increasing.

The instructors noticed it as well.

"Again."

One of the women attacked.

Her movement was noticeably faster than before.

The instructor blocked.

"Again."

She attacked.

Blocked.

"Again."

She attacked once more.

This time, the instructor was forced to take a full step backward.

He stopped.

The woman froze.

For a moment, she thought she had done something wrong.

Then the instructor nodded.

"Good."

Her eyes widened slightly.

"Your progress is faster than expected."

She lowered her head.

"Thank you."

The instructor looked across the group.

"None of you should become satisfied with your current strength. What you possess now is only the foundation."

He paused.

"You have potential, but potential means nothing if you refuse to develop it."

The ten newcomers nodded.

"We understand."

---

Lydia continued overseeing the larger group.

Hours passed.

The initial exercises gradually became more demanding.

The children began learning basic combat movements, simple defensive techniques, and the fundamentals of controlling Eclipse energy.

Some were naturally more talented than others.

That was inevitable.

But Lydia didn’t allow the difference in talent to divide them.

"Don’t compare yourselves to the person beside you."

Her voice carried across the field.

"Your only competition is the person you were yesterday."

The children listened.

"Some of you will improve quickly. Others will need more time. That doesn’t matter."

She looked toward the exhausted group.

"What matters is that you improve."

A young girl wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Yes."

Another child nodded.

"We’ll get stronger."

Lydia gave a small nod.

"That’s the answer I wanted."

The training continued.

By afternoon, the entire courtyard had become noticeably quieter.

Not because the training had stopped.

Because everyone had become too exhausted to waste energy talking.

The children sat along the edge of the field after completing their exercises, drinking water and eating the food that had been prepared for them.

Their faces were tired.

Their bodies were sore.

But there was something different in their expressions.

They weren’t empty anymore.

They were looking forward.

The ten undergoing specialized training were in a similar condition, although their progress had been considerably faster.

The instructors had already begun adjusting their exercises to match their rapidly improving abilities.

Lydia folded her arms and watched as one of the younger children struggled back onto his feet after falling during an exercise.

He wiped his face.

Then he tried again.

Lydia smiled faintly.

"That’s better."

The training grounds remained filled with movement until the sun began descending.

It was only their first day.

They had a long road ahead of them.

But for the first time in their lives, that road belonged to them.

The training continued until the afternoon.

The courtyard had become considerably quieter by then, although the sound of wooden weapons striking against one another still echoed across the training grounds, mixed with the steady commands of the instructors and the heavy breathing of the exhausted newcomers.

Lydia was observing one of the groups when she suddenly felt a familiar presence approaching.

She turned toward the entrance.

A woman with long white hair was walking into the courtyard.

Her appearance was elegant and composed, and there was an almost effortless dignity in the way she carried herself. Several members of the Eclipse Order immediately noticed her arrival, and the atmosphere throughout the training grounds gradually became more orderly as everyone recognized who had entered.

Lydia straightened.

"Lady Octavia."

Octavia gave her a small, graceful smile.

"Good afternoon, Lydia."

Her voice was gentle, but it carried clearly enough across the courtyard.

Lydia immediately turned toward the others.

"Everyone, stop."

The training gradually came to a halt.

The instructors lowered their weapons, while the children and the ten undergoing specialized training turned toward the newcomer.

Lydia stepped forward.

"Everyone, pay attention."

She gestured toward Octavia.

"Today, one of the Four Black Roses has come to inspect the training grounds."

The children immediately became more attentive.

Lydia continued.

"Show her the respect appropriate for her position."

Every member of the group straightened.

Then, almost simultaneously, they lowered their heads.

"Greetings, Lady Octavia."

The voices weren’t perfectly synchronized, but the respect behind them was unmistakable.

Octavia looked across the courtyard.

For a moment, her expression softened.

"There’s no need to be so nervous."

She smiled warmly.

"I’m not here to test you."

Several of the children slowly raised their heads.

Octavia’s gaze moved across them.

The change in their appearance was obvious.

They were clean.

Their clothes were new.

Their faces were healthier.

Even though many were still thin from their previous condition, they no longer looked like prisoners who had been forgotten beneath a palace.

They looked like children who had finally been given the opportunity to recover.

Octavia smiled faintly.

"You’ve all made considerable progress in such a short time."

The children exchanged glances.

One of the younger boys smiled.

"Thank you, Lady Octavia."

Octavia nodded.

"Keep working hard."

She then turned toward Lydia.

"How are things progressing?"

Lydia stepped closer.

"Overall, better than expected."

She glanced toward the children.

"The majority are still physically weak, so we’re focusing on restoring their stamina before introducing more demanding combat training. Their bodies are adapting gradually, and their condition has already improved significantly since yesterday."

Octavia listened carefully.

"And the ten receiving specialized training?"

Lydia’s expression became slightly more serious.

"Their progress is considerably faster."

She gestured toward the separate training area.

"They’re still struggling because their bodies haven’t fully recovered, but their mana control and physical development are improving at a rate that even the instructors didn’t initially expect."

Octavia looked toward the ten.

The crimson-haired twins were among them.

They were exhausted, their clothes damp with sweat, but neither had stopped training.

The boy was holding his weapon with both hands, while his sister stood beside him, breathing heavily as she tried to stabilize the flow of Eclipse energy around her body.

Octavia observed them for several seconds.

"Their potential?"

"Exceptional."

Lydia answered without hesitation.

"Especially the twins."

Octavia’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"How exceptional?"

Lydia lowered her voice.

"Master’s assessment appears to have been accurate. Even in their current condition, their mana density is unusually high. Once their bodies recover and they learn to properly control the power they’ve been given, they could develop considerably faster than ordinary members."

Octavia nodded slowly.

"And the others?"

"Several of them possess remarkable potential as well."

Lydia looked across the group.

"They simply need time."

Octavia remained silent for a moment before turning her attention back toward the larger group.

"What about their living conditions?"

"They’ve all been given proper rooms, clean clothing, regular meals, and access to medical care."

Lydia’s expression softened.

"However, we’re still regulating their food intake because their bodies were severely neglected before they were rescued. Giving them large amounts of food immediately would only place unnecessary strain on them."

Octavia nodded approvingly.

"Good."

She looked toward the children again.

"And their mental state?"

Lydia paused briefly.

"That will take longer."

Her voice became quieter.

"Some are still afraid whenever someone raises their voice. Others have difficulty sleeping, and a few remain uncomfortable around unfamiliar faces. We haven’t forced them to speak about what happened to them."

Octavia’s expression became noticeably gentler.

"You did the right thing."

She looked toward the children.

"They don’t need to forget what happened immediately."

Her gaze softened.

"They only need to learn that it won’t happen again."

Several of the children had heard her.

One young girl lowered her head.

Her fingers tightened around the hem of her shirt.

Octavia noticed.

She smiled at her.

"You are safe here."

The girl’s eyes slowly lifted.

Octavia continued.

"No one here will treat you as property ever again."

The girl nodded.

"Yes, Lady Octavia."

Octavia turned back toward Lydia.

"How long until they can begin proper combat training?"

"For the larger group, I would recommend at least several more weeks of conditioning before we push them too hard."

Lydia glanced toward the specialized group.

"The ten may be ready considerably sooner, depending on how quickly their bodies recover."

Octavia nodded.

"Then don’t rush them."

"Yes."

"They’ve already survived enough."

Lydia lowered her head.

"Understood."

Octavia looked around the training grounds once more.

The instructors had already resumed their positions, while the children were beginning to return to their exercises.

The courtyard no longer felt like a place where frightened prisoners had been brought after being rescued.

It was becoming a proper training ground.

A place where new members of the Eclipse Order could develop their strength.

Octavia smiled faintly.

"You’ve handled this well, Lydia."

Lydia’s expression softened.

"Thank you, Lady Octavia."

Octavia shook her head.

"There’s no need to thank me. You’re the one doing the work."

She glanced toward the children.

"Master entrusted them to us."

Her voice became slightly more serious.

"So we will make certain that his decision was not wasted."

Lydia nodded firmly.

"Of course."

Octavia gave the group one final look.

"Continue."

The children immediately returned to their exercises.

Octavia gave her a final smile before turning toward the exit.

"I’ll leave the rest to you."

Lydia bowed.

"Yes, Lady Octavia."

Octavia walked away from the training grounds, her white hair moving gently behind her as she disappeared through the entrance.

Lydia watched her leave for several seconds.

Then she turned back toward the courtyard.

"Everyone."

Her voice immediately carried across the field.

"Back to training."

The children straightened.

"Yes!"

The sound of their voices echoed across the training grounds once again.

And the training resumed.

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