Opening Se

  Aria Falkenridge stood at the edge of the training ground, her arms crossed as she observed the beast tamers-in-training. Her mother, Selene Falkenridge, watched alongside her, her gaze sharp yet unreadable.

  "You see their mistakes?" Selene asked without looking at her daughter.

  Aria nodded. "Too slow. They hesitate before anding their beasts."

  Selene hummed in approval. "Hesitatios you killed. A beast won’t wait for your and if your mind isn’t clear."

  Most tamers here were still beginners, struggling with their first tracts. Aria, however, had already internalized the fuals. She hadn't tracted a beast yet, but she had learned from watg her mother. The way Selene moved, how she spoke to beasts, the precision in her as—it was all burned into Aria’s mind.

  Yet, despite her uanding, she still had of her own.

  Her mother wasn’t rushing her. "Your first beast is not a pet, nor a tool," Selene had oold her. "It is a part of you. If you choose wrong, you will regret it forever."

  Most tamers rushed to traething quickly. Aria refused to make that mistake.

  A Test of Instinct

  Selene finally turoward her daughter. "It's time for you to prove yourself."

  Aria’s heart pounded. "A test?"

  "You won’t get your beast by waiting. You’ll earn it by showing you’re ready."

  She led Aria to a private training hall—a pce where serious training took pot just basic drills. A single cage stood in the ter, taining a beast. It was not aal, much to Aria’s relief, but rather a feral Steel-type creature.

  A Gryllock, a vicious armored predator with sharp bded limbs. A test oppo.

  "You must subdue it without ons or outside help," Selene said. "If you trol it, you prove your instincts are sharp enough for a beast of your own."

  Aria took a deep breath. ation.

  The cage opehe Gryllock lunged.

  The Fight

  Aria sidestepped, barely dodging the razor-sharp limbs. Her heart pounded, but her mind remained clear. No wasted movements. No fear.

  The Gryllock was fast, but its attacks were straightforward—relying on brute ford sharpness. Aria focused on its movement patterns. It would swipe, retract, then lunge again. Predictable.

  She dodged left, f it to overextend. Then, with a sudden burst of speed, she grabbed the back of its ned smmed it into the ground.

  The beast screeched, thrashing, but Aria held firm. Dominance had to be established instantly. She dug her ko its back, pressing down with all her strength.

  "Submit," she ordered, voice calm but anding.

  The Gryllock struggled but eventually stilled. It k had lost.

  Seleepped forward. "Good. You learn fast."

  Aria let go and stood, breathing hard but triumphant.

  Her mother’s approval was silent but absolute.

  A Step Closer

  "You've passed this test," Selene said. "But remember—this was only instinct. Your true test is still ing."

  Aria nodded. She knew.

  Somewhere out there, her true beast was waiting.

  And she would find it.