The chamber was quiet. Not hollow but still.
Nola sat with the Orb's hum behind her and the last of her tears drying against her cheek. Her fingers still rested on the golden katana. It no longer glowed, but it pulsed, like a living thing.
Like a heart.
She stood.
Her knees wobbled once, then steadied. Each breath was fuller now. No ghosts clung to her spine. No shame bit at the corners of her vision. Just breath. Just forward.
The corridor beyond the chamber had changed.
When she stepped out, the stone walls felt warmer. The light overhead had dimmed to a twilight gold, and she could hear footsteps ahead. Familiar ones.
She walked faster.
At the end of the corridor was a high arch. Beyond it, an open space, a kind of ceremonial hall. Wide, with silver banners and floating crystals casting refracted colors along the floor. And in the center, her comrades.
Ari saw her first.
She waved, her face with a smirk like usual but it had changed as well. Her hair was shorter now, and a look of understanding and enlightenment filled her. She didn't hide it. She looked proud.
Tris gave a short nod, arms folded over a newly stitched uniform. There was something steelier in his posture now. Less twitchy. More centered. His aura coiled tight, like a wire drawn taut with purpose.
Even Felic, quiet Felix stood with his back straighter, his hands no longer trembling against the spear he held. He caught Nola's eye and gave her a nervous smile. But it was braver than before.
They had changed.
All of them.
Grown harder, heavier, more real.
And then her gaze landed on Vera.
Still and unmoved.
Her arms were behind her back, her white hair braided into a single whip. Her face was unreadable. The same as always. Not tired. Not elated. Simply present.
But Nola saw it now, something more than control.
Depth.
Vera had never been shallow. She had just always known who she was.
Nola exhaled through her nose. 'I hated that once.'
But a doubt filled her, about how Vera had not changed at all.
"Everyone's here." A new voice cut through the room.
Caldre.
Their teacher in the Comet Legion, walked to the center dais, her silver cloak brushing the ground behind her. Her presence had always been firm, but now, Nola could see the pride etched in her steps. Like watching stones grow soft under morning light.
"You've all completed your trials." Her voice rang clear. "Some of you fell apart. Some of you broke through. But all of you stood back up."
They stood in rows now, instinctively. Shoulder to shoulder. Uniforms pressed and weapons sheathed.
Caldre let the silence sit before she continued.
"For three weeks, you were students of the Legion. Candidates. Probationary, unshaped, untested. But today, that ends."
A crystal above them burst with comet light. A bright flare of blues and silvers, shooting in wide spirals across the room. When it faded, something settled in the air, like a weight, or a vow.
"You are soldiers now," Caldre said. "Comet-blooded. Six-month contract."
There were no cheers. No shouting or celebration.
Just silence.
Just that silent, beautiful, trembling sense of becoming.
"You've earned your place. Every inch of it. And your time begins now." She looked to each of them. "Rest for a few days. Celebrate, if you want to. Because soon, your first mission will come."
Nola's chest tightened. Her throat burned.
They weren't students anymore. She wasn't just someone with a golden katana and a past she couldn't control.
She was part of something real.
A hand touched her shoulder.
She turned.
It was Ari.
She didn't say anything. She just smiled and nodded. Like she was saying, we made it. Like, we're not alone anymore.
Across from them, Tris crossed his arms again. "Told you we'd survive."
Felic chuckled weakly. "Barely."
"I think I died once," Ari said with a laugh.
"You did," Vera replied, voice flat.
Everyone turned to her.
She blinked slowly. "But now you are stronger."
"…Thanks?" Ari scratched the back of her head.
Caldre's voice cut back in, sharp but warm. "One more announcement."
They turned toward her again.
"In every squad, one must lead. Not by privilege, but by strength and responsibility. The right to carry others through fire."
Caldre's eyes rested on Vera.
"She has shown, time and again, that she bears both."
The room stilled.
"Nobody here has a cleaner combat record. Nobody has carried more weight in training, more effectiveness. Vera is your Captain. Effective immediately."
A pause.
Then Vera stepped forward.
She didn't bow. Didn't smile.
Just saluted.
"I accept."
Caldre stepped back. "Then you're dismissed. You've earned it."
The commander left.
The room remained quiet.
For a while, nobody moved.
Then Tris let out a huge breath. "Holy stars. We're actually Legion members now."
Felic gave a shaky laugh. "We should… probably celebrate or something."
Tris nodded. "There's the meal hall, right?"
Everyone began trickling out. Vera turned without a word and started walking toward the exit.
But Nola stopped her.
"Wait."
Vera paused.
Nola stepped closer. Her voice low. "Do you… feel anything?"
Vera tilted her head. "You mean pride?"
"No." Nola struggled with the words. "Relief. Sadness. Anger. Something."
For a moment, Vera didn't reply.
Then, softly, almost imperceptibly, she said, "I feel prepared."
That was it.
It felt like more rehearsed and fake.
Nola just nodded. "You'll be a good captain."
"I know."
Nola snorted.
"You're allowed to thank me."
"I just did." Vera walked away.
Nola turned, exhaling.
'Still a brick wall. But she's our brick wall now.'
The meal hall was loud when they arrived. Lights overhead, clinking metal, laughter that felt a little raw around the edges but real.
Everyone sat together.
Felix talked too much. Tris laughed too hard. Ari rolled her eyes like always.
And Nola…
She watched them.
Really watched them.
Their hands. Their eyes. The way their voices wove through each other's.
Something had changed.
Not just in them.
In her.
Before, she'd always sat half-outside moments like these. Scanning for the next wound. Bracing for the next betrayal.
But now she let herself be part of it.
Even when Tris teased her.
Even when Ari offered to trade rations with her like she was a charity case.
Even when Felix asked if she was okay for the third time.
She said yes.
And she meant it.
Later that night, when they were all dispersing, Vera lingered at the edge of the room. Watching the stars beyond the window.
Nola approached her again.
They stood side by side in silence.
"You're not going to ask me why I'm still awake?" Vera said.
"Nope."
"You're not going to share your feelings about ascension?"
"Nope."
Vera glanced at her. "Then what do you want?"
"…To stand here."
That made Vera blink once.
"You're weird," she muttered.
"You're colder than moon glass," Nola replied.
Vera gave a faint breath that might have been a laugh. "I can work with that."
They stood together. Just for a little longer.
The stars above didn't twinkle. They blazed.
Comets. Every one.