His flame fizzed out, leaving Nero standing in the dim yellow light, drenched in sweat and panting heavily. He pressed the spear against the ground and used it for support to help himself strand straight. He was completely spent, but more than the soreness of his muscles or the exhaustion that gripped him, he felt clear headed.
He took this time, while he was catching his breath, to sort through some of his thoughts. But, for once, he was completely unaware that someone else was also in the room, watching him.
Vanessa had accompanied Silas for a while longer, but it was clear that after the debacle that occurred he was not in the right state to entertain, so she had him drop her off at school. She lived in the female hostel, so getting dropped off at school was not a big deal. But, for reasons unknown, instead of her apartment, she found herself heading towards the gym.
Somehow, a part of her knew that Nero would be here. She wanted to talk to him about what happened earlier, so she stepped in and waited for him to finish. Since he was usually so astute, she expected that he had sensed her arrival this time as well.
But something was different today. She stood on the side for five minutes, then ten, and then twenty, but Nero showed on signs of stopping. Then he lit the tip of his spear on fire, and everything changed.
Painted in the blue lustre of his flame, his focused expression seemed… different. Vanessa herself did not realise when she began to breathe even quieter, her attention fixed on the light show in front of her.
The other girls had told her that her impression of Nero would change when she saw him training, but she hadn't taken them seriously. However, out of curiosity, she had peeked at him training before. While she had to admit that he was impressive, that was about it.
Now… well, she still did not develop the fascination with him that the other girls had, but she had to admit that his ferocity had a certain charm about it.
She noticed as the temperature of the room slowly started to drop, and was convinced that Nero would be done soon. It did not take a genius to realise that he was using his innate ability, so his energy reserves should finish soon. But the performance seemed to never end.
From where she stood, she could eventually see steam rising from his body, as he became a source of both heat and cold. The heat was from his body, and the cold was from his spear. Under the blue light, he cut a captivating sight.
Eventually she noticed that his breathing was getting heavier, and he was slowing down. She could feel the tension rising, the performance reaching its acme. Then, without warning, Nero thrust his spear forward one last time and released a guttural roar, causing a small explosion, and finally ending his performance.
Now she just felt… awkward. Yes, that was it. Awkward. Because it was clear that Nero hadn't realised she was there. Should she just slip out?
After a couple of minutes, when Nero had finally recovered a bit, he was about to go put his spear back when he instantly noticed Vanessa standing in the corner.
"Someone clearly has anger issues," she said as she walked towards him.
"Do you spy on all the guys while they train?" he asked, wiping the sweat off his brow. It was getting in his eyes now and resulting in a salty sting.
"Just the ones who pick a fight with an army R&D director. I wanted to see if you practise your bad ideas in a mirror."
Nero snorted.
"Why do you think it was a bad idea? I don't need anything from him, I don't care what he thinks. A man who has his son bullied in his own home is not worthy of my respect."
"A real macho man, aren't you?" she said, rolling her eyes. "He's an influential man. Having him in your corner can open many doors for you."
"Probably. But that would also put me in his pocket. I don't want to associate with such a man."
"You 'do' know that once you join the army, you can't choose who your superior is, right? With a character like yours, can you even take orders?"
Nero could not help but grin. Having potentially stupid or disagreeable superiors was one of his fears.
"There's no point in dwelling on it. I'll deal with it when the time comes. What happened after I left? Is Silas alright?"
"Nothing happened in front of me, but I can't say for certain that nothing won't happen later. You've really put him in a tough situation."
"As far as I'm concerned, he should move out of there. Much more than the favour of a narcissistic old geezer, I value Silas' potential. His influence will eventually be greater than his father."
Vanessa shook her head, as if she disagreed with him, but didn't want to argue.
"If he's your friend, you shouldn't put him in a tough spot like that."
"He was born in a tough spot," Nero answered. He finally put away his spear and was getting ready to leave.
"Did you need something, or did you just come here to admonish me?"
Vanessa raised an eyebrow. Even she herself didn't know why she had come here, but she obviously couldn't say that.
"Before I left, the butler handed me a few books saying that they were gifts from Silas' father. I thought you might find their titles interesting."
She opened a bag she was carrying and showed Nero the book covers. There were three of them, and each one had to do with Eldrim ruins.
"You mind if I borrow one?" Nero couldn't help but ask. "While you read the others, I mean. I'll return it when you need it."
She shrugged, and let him pick. After that, both of them went their separate ways.