My stomach quietly growled and woke me up. With a sigh, I slowly stretched the sleep pains from my aching muscles as much as I could in the tiny room without waking Saki. I looked to the narrow strip of light that led to the door and hesitated. I want to get out of this room... but will Saki be ok?

Her sleeping form remained still as she breathed in a pit of hot, stuffy air. If anything, my exit and entrance will let in some fresher air. I approached the door and used my paw to operate the door handle and push the door open.

Fresh cool air rushed through the widening gap. Just as my nose passed through a door, a sword blocked my path. "Back inside." General Helios stared at me.

"I need some air," I stated, glaring at him.

"Get back to your quarters, monster." The white-cloaked Stellan demanded. "You'll be allowed out here during your scheduled time."

Gritting my teeth, I withheld a growl. "And when will that be?" I obediently backed away from the sword point and turned towards my designated quarters.

"You get one after your morning training session," Helios stated as I quietly reopened the door to the closet that served as the sleeping quarters I shared with Saki. I quietly slipped back into the windowless space. Thankfully, she didn't stir as I laid next to her.

I dozed but quickly reawakened as a knock echoed through the door. With an annoyed groan as I stood and stretched. As I approached the door, Saki rubbed the sleep from her eyes. I opened the door with a paw, I nudged the lights switch on with my wing. The aging lightbulb above my head weakly flickered on as I gazed at the uniformed Stellan. He stared, the trays of food in his hands steady.

"Just leave them on the floor." I turned and approached Saki, "You're going to have to get the food. I approached the folding table in the back of the closet, Then moved the second chair out of the way and sat in its place.

"Thank you for bringing us food." Saki waved to the guard, but he closed the door without an inkling of friendliness. Saki's ears drooped as she picked up the food and brought it over. "He could have at least said hello..." She sighed as she placed the metal trays on the table

"He's a soldier, we are the enemy." I sniffed the bland food, then ate the biscuit in a single bite. The meal was typical for how little it smelled. "They don't exactly want to be friends."

Saki sighed as she poked the brown mush on her plate with her spork. "I thought being around Stellans again would go better than this."

"I didn't" I bluntly stated as I bit into the lone piece of meat on my plate. "They're only giving us this chance because it could win the war, We're tools." I quickly finished my meal, but I was still hungry. However, I knew I would be fine. If I could go days between meals I could live on frequent small meals.

Saki frowned more as she continued to slowly eat. "Maybe it will get better when we become war heroes for helping to end the war." She glanced up at me as I shrugged.

"Maybe they'll even give us metals." I didn't believe it, but Saki's face lit up at the idea. With a small smile at her cuteness, I glanced at the door, barely visible

in the shadows of the dim yellow lighting. My smile faded to a stoic countenance as I heard footsteps approach the doors, and they soon opened.

The brighter lights of the training room silhouetted the figure, but I already knew the Stellan's identity. "Get out here, it's time for your sessions." General Helios's monotone voice edged in anger.

With a slight huff at his tone, I stood and walked over to the door. Helios stepped to the side as I exited. The mats in the training room were still empty, so I went to the front of the room and laid on the floor. Part of me debated napping until the 'students' arrived, but I decided against it. They don't need another reason to look down on me. I calmly watched the entrances to the room.

Saki shoved her biscuit into her mouth as she followed, barely managing to scarf the bread down before she exited the room. As she chewed, she sat by my side.

The general disappeared through a door, but I sensed him enter the upstairs observation room, despite the one-way glass blocking my vision of the man.

Soon, the instructees and the guards filed into the room and took their places on the mats. There was a bit of chattering about some announcement, but they quieted upon entry. From what I could piece together, I surmised their discussion was about the recent legalization of magic.

The nurse from yesterday joined with a ninth mat, but I couldn't tell if her involvement was voluntary or coerced. After her display yesterday, I thought of her as the best in the class so far. Her magic felt the strongest. The teal-eyed captain was still there as well, much to my chagrin. He glared at me, but I ignored him.

"Good morning." Saki greeted them with a smile, while I remained indifferent and silent. "I think today we should continue to work on summoning magic into your hands again. Some of you exceeded, but some of you need more time."

I paused as Saki spoke, then looked at the military personnel sitting on the mats. "If you need help, think about why you are fighting this war. What drives you to want to win? I don't care if it's your hatred of monsters or for pride or even for love. Use those emotions to pull the spark of magic out of you. That magic can potentially end the war if you can learn how to use it. Have hope in that. Believe you can end this."

I felt a few more Stellans found their spark and managed to form small spheres of sparkling magic in their hands. However, one soldier continually refused to try, his faint magic locked away by his adamant resistance against the instructions.

I focused on the blue-eyed delinquent with an unimpressed gaze. "If you are going to continue to adamantly refuse, then you should reconsider your involvement in the class. This is for people who are here to learn magic and end the war."

"I'm not going to learn magic, I don't care if it's legal, you probably mind-controlled the magastron." The captain's glare sharpened and his fingers wavered over the hilt of a short sword.

"Captain Bluenova," I paused as Helios's harsh voice reverberated over the intercom. "If you won't participate in the class you volunteered to take, I remind you, then you can leave now and see me in my office at dawn." There was a brief pause, and I couldn't almost sense the general's magic spark again. "Your choice."

All the military personnel stared at him with wide eyes. Though I wasn't in on the exact repercussions, based on the gazes from his comrades, whatever the implications of the second option were, it was serious. I withheld a smirk as I watched with a stoic countenance.

"Yes, general." He bowed his head, focusing on his hands.

"That applies to all of you." Helios barked, his voice echoing in the room after the speaker fell silent.

I subtly nodded to myself as the captain's inward magic spark and tiny teal sparkles formed in his fingertips, possibly spurred into existence by fear of the head general.

"Now that most of you can summon magic into your hands, you've gotten past the biggest roadblock. The hard part is over. Congratulations." I attempted to be genuine, but my near-stoic voice sounded borderline sarcastic. "Before we start on spells, we should probably talk about your magic's star gift." I glanced at Saki.

She continued. "Everyone's magic has an effect gifted to them from the stars." Saki recited the words from the old child's spell book she learned from. "It can be anything, but can be categorized into two basic categories: Enchantment and Manifestation." She smiled a bit, her eyes lit up. Due to the laws and our recluse life, she rarely got to talk about magic to anyone but me. I could tell she was enjoying herself. "Enchantment gifts are charm-based magic, such as adding fire magic to a sword or healing wounds. It affects existing objects or people. Manifestation gifts are external-based magic, like Hoshi's armor or elemental magic. It forms the objects."

Saki looked proud of her explanation. "The easiest way to determine which type it is is to relax a bit and allow the magic in your hand to relax. Maintain it, but allow it to form into whatever is most comfortable for you. If it stays a sphere you most likely have an enchantment gift."

"Spells, in contrast," I spoke as I watched the military personnel attempt to both relax and sustain their magic, "consist of magic with intent. Unlike gifts, spells have to be formed and purposefully created from your gift. You may find that spells similar to your gift are the easiest and get harder the more you deviate."

"Your natural magic color is sometimes a clue to the nature of your gift but is not always a perfect indicator. For example, a fire nature gift is often a warm color like red or yellow, but other colors like green and white are possible." Saki smiled. "Natures are essentially your elements, like fire, electricity, or ice, but not all natures are as obvious as those, like healing."

A lieutenant suddenly gasped and shook his hands in a bit of panic, a tiny orange flame fizzling out as he lost his focus. Despite the man's attempt to be quiet, the sound was abnormally loud in the quiet room.

I withheld a brief laugh. "Don't worry, you can't be hurt or affected by your gift. You are not immune to your spells, so be more careful with those before you panic." I had a feeling that it wouldn't be the last time the soldiers panicked around magic. Though fading, I could sense how nervous some of them still were around the once-outlawed practice. This may take longer than I thought. But I will do it, at least for Saki's sake, per the deal.

"How can you tell what your gift is if it doesn't take a shape?" one of the higher-ranking sergeants asked, her eyes glancing between the navy sphere in her hands and Saki's.

"Admittedly, that is harder." Saki slowly spoke. "Enchantment gifts can affect objects, people, or both. I suggest trying it on a small object like a stick or a rock and seeing what happens. If nothing, then I would work on controlling your magic before you try it on a person, just in case it's something you need to cancel quickly. It could still take you a long time to figure out the exact identity of your gift. It took me a long time to figure it out, but once I realized it, it felt right in my mind."

"What is your gift?" The nurse asked.

Saki blinked in surprise at the question, then recovered. "Clarity of mind."