Caitlyn, still in a daze after waking up, seemingly doesn't register the pain—as if this is normal to her. She gets up off the floor and opens her window. The cool morning breeze rushes through, and she gazes at the sun rising over the ocean's surface.
After a while, she begins to think to herself,
"It's almost time for me to enter Leyward Academy… I wonder if I'll make any new friends there? I heard that the teachers are very strict. The combat might be fun tho…"
She stretches her arms, then walks across her room to her closet. She ruffles through her wardrobe, opens a hidden compartment, and grabs her saber.
"Well, I can't have fun in the combat classes if I'm rusty…" she says aloud.
She changes into her training outfit and heads down to the training grounds.
Six hours have passed, and it's now nine o'clock. A crowd of trainee knights has gathered at the training grounds. They all look on at a bewildering sight—the young miss of the Seraphyne House is fighting on par with their captain in terms of swordsmanship alone.
Some of the knights murmur among themselves:
"She's holding her own against Captain Scarlet…"
"No, you idiot, look closely—she's winning."
A magenta-haired woman with striking emerald eyes, wearing black gloves and light hunting gear, is currently engaged in a spar with Caitlyn. They unleash a flurry of attacks to no avail—a complete stalemate. Both are exhausted. If one of them makes a mistake, the other could easily win.
Suddenly, Captain Scarlet's left glove catches on fire, revealing a glowing mark underneath. Scarlet looks down at the mark and says aloud, in a rage:
"Don't you dare try to intervene… not now. I don't care if your pride won't allow a loss. I want to win without your assistance—after all, this noble knight stands before me giving it her all."
Caitlyn looks at the captain, annoyed.
"Accept it."
Scarlet, bewildered by Caitlyn's words, slowly responds,
"What?"
"I said use that damned power of yours…" Caitlyn shouts, enraged.
Scarlet replies, "It wouldn't be fair to you. After all, you don't have power either—"
"Do you know how shameful it would be for me if I won this match with you holding back!?" Caitlyn cuts her off.
"I don't want any onlookers to say I won because you weren't giving it your all."
She raises her sword toward Scarlet.
"I want to defeat the noble knight that stands before me—because today's the day that I prove that me at my strongest is more powerful than you at yours."
Scarlet begins to laugh maniacally as scarlet flames engulf her body. Her eyes glow with ambition.
"We'll end this match with one final strike…"
Caitlyn looks on in awe. A smile appears on her face.
"Yeah…"
They both enter different stances. Scarlet adopts a quick-draw pose, while Caitlyn raises her blade into an overhead slash.
Scarlet charges in at blinding speed to deliver the finishing blow before Caitlyn can react—
But then… a voice whispers in Caitlyn's ear, and her marking begins to glow.
"I'll help you out just this once, you fool… Now repeat after me."
Scarlet and Caitlyn both scream the names of their attacks in unison:
"Summer Sun: Ignition Drive!"
"Fool's Gambit: Last Draw Cloud Killer!"