She walked into the room as composed as ever—posture immaculate, steps measured, presence heavy enough to bend the air around her. Nothing about her suggested hesitation.
Her eyes found Yuri.
He sat at the edge of the bed, elbows resting on his thighs, fingers loosely interlocked. His hair draped over his face like a curtain he had long since stopped bothering to lift. He looked carved out of exhaustion—still, quiet, hollow.
"Yuri Saint."
Her voice cut clean through the silence.
Slowly, he lifted his head. Not all at once—first the chin, then the neck, then finally his eyes.
Cold.Empty.Like glass left out in winter.
For a fraction of a second—so brief it almost didn't exist—Anisa's eyes twitched.
"It's time," she said, composure snapping back into place instantly. "You are scheduled to commence training today. Under my directives. Do you understand?"
She looked down at him with predatory focus, like a hawk measuring distance before the dive.
Yuri pushed himself to his feet, joints stiff, movements unrefined. He didn't answer.
"Follow me."
She turned and walked out without waiting.
Yuri hesitated.
Just a beat.
Then he followed.
The moment he stepped outside, the sunlight struck him full in the face.
It wasn't gentle.
It burned.
Not painfully—but shockingly, like plunging into cold water after being numb for too long. He raised an arm instinctively, squinting as warmth flooded his skin. The sky stretched wide above him—too blue, too open, too alive. His lungs filled with air that smelled like grass and earth and wind.
Real air.
His chest tightened.
Anisa stood a few paces ahead, framed by open space. The wind tugged at her long white braids, lifting loose strands free, letting them dance against her shoulders. She looked perfectly at home beneath the sky—grounded, immovable.
Like she belonged to the world in a way he no longer did.
"Let's begin," she said, tone level.
Yuri lowered his arm and looked at her. "What… should I do?"
"What you are to do is simple." She placed a hand flat against her chest. "All you are required to do is touch me."
He blinked. "Touch… you?"
"Precisely."
Confusion flickered across his face. "But—why? What exactly are we training for? What's the purpose of all this?"
His voice grew louder with each word, pressure cracking through the restraint."What am I supposed to become?"
Anisa's gaze hardened.
"Your one and only purpose," she said coldly, "is to be used and perfected by the Assassins. Nothing more. Nothing less. Do you understand that?"
Her stare was sharp enough to draw blood.
"What… I don't—" Yuri grabbed his skull with both hands, fingers digging into his hair. Frustration. Exhaustion. Something darker twisting tight. "What does that even—"
He lifted his head.
She was gone.
No sound.No movement.Just absence.
His heart skipped.
Then—
From the corner of his vision, she reappeared. Instantaneous. No warning.
BAM!
Her kick landed with terrifying force, driving him straight into a tree. The trunk groaned under the impact, roots tearing halfway free as bark exploded outward.
"T—GHA—!"
Pain detonated across his chest.
"Keep your eyes on me," Anisa said calmly. "Focus."
Yuri staggered, clutching his ribs, barely managing to raise his guard. His thoughts scrambled.
How—? When did she—?
Everything hurt. Everywhere.
A blink.
She vanished again.
Before he could even inhale, she was there—standing inches from him.
"I told you to focus."
BAM.BAM.BAM.
Her strikes poured through microscopic gaps in his defense. For every blow he blocked or dodged, ten more landed. His vision blurred. His body lagged behind his mind.
Got it—
He slipped past the next strike, grabbed her wrist, surged forward—
SKAP!
Her heel smashed into his arm mid-block, sending him flying backward. He crashed hard against the base of another tree, sliding down as the breath was ripped from his lungs.
He didn't get back up.
His arm screamed in protest, fingers twitching uselessly.
Anisa approached slowly, footsteps deliberate.
"Observe. Anticipate. Execute," she said. "Those are the fundamentals of combat."
She looked down at him, expression unreadable.
"Even though you think like an Assassin…"Her gaze sharpened."…you still fight like one of them... those Beasts."
Yuri barely heard her. Pain clogged his thoughts, thundered through his veins.
Anisa exhaled once.
"That's enough for today," she said. "This was only the opening session."
She turned away—then paused.
"Prepare yourself," she added, voice sharp as steel. "I will break every single bone in your body and push you to your absolute brink."
She glanced back over her shoulder.
"In honor of the Assassins."