Leona climbed the final steps before reaching their cliff, basically dragging her feet over the ground, a yawn escaping her lips.

The sound alarmed a very awake Diana, who was already there, a big book laying on the floor near her feet as she stretched a bit. She looked at Leona, "Hey you," She said as the warrior yawned once more, making her smile. "Someone's sleepy?"

"I don't know how you do it," Leona said, her smooth voice gone, replaced by a husky one which cracked in all of the right places. "I can barely stand."

"Nobody knows how I do it." Diana said, still smirking at Leona. "Not even I know how I do it."

"You must be a nightcrawler." Leona retorted, smirking at the girl as she walked the final steps towards her.

"Woah, someone remembers yesterday's lesson, I see!" Diana said enthusiastically, teasing the warrior, who scoffed at her words.

"Please, I spent all night studying."

"The wrong things." The Solari said, but there was something strange to her tone.

Something that appealed to Leona, making her blush.

She's no weakling like you, the voice in Leona's head echoed.

"So, what's today's lesson?" Leona said, trying to drown the sounds in her head.

"Right," Diana said as she picked up the book from the floor. "Today's lesson is this," She approached Leona, showing her the book. The warrior squinted at it, lazily rubbing the sleep off her eyes so as to have a better look at it.

"Don't torture me like this, Diana." She said after giving up in her poor attempts at reading the old, dusty book's cover.

"Torture you how?" She retorted, confused.

"I can't read this early." Leona said, making Diana snort.

"Okay, lazy bum, I'll tell you." Diana said, teasing the warrior. "Today's lesson will be about the Chosen of the Sun's responsibilities, powers and abilities."

Leona raised a brow, tilting her head to a side. "Consider me intrigued."

"This won't be an easy lesson for me to teach you, for these are all things only a Chosen of the Sun can ever experience," Diana said somewhat apologetically. "So you will have to learn directly from your predecessor." The Solari offered Leona the book, who took it and inspected it.

"This was written by the last Chosen?"

"Not exactly; it was written by one of the many who came before him, who came before you, so as to enlighten future generations of Chosen One's about their link with our Goddess and how it works." Diana frowned. "I read it all, but I can't fully comprehend some things, mostly because of a lack of firsthand experience." She shrugged, then, adding, "Guess you'll have a better shot at understanding it than me."

Leona frowned at the book, letting out a grunt of contemplation. She sat down on the ground, Diana doing so, too, and opened the book, skimming through the pages. She noticed someone had jolted down some notes on the margins.

"I took the liberty to write some stuff over there, explaining what I could." Diana offered as Leona stole a glance in her direction, then let her eyes go back to the book.

"Thanks." Leona let out as she read her ancestor's writings. It wasn't very complex; she could understand it, but she lacked the clarity of mind to read it all without effort nor problem whatsoever, the grogginess of her lack of a good night's sleep making it hard for her to concentrate.

Still, she would try. "Mind if I read?"

Diana shook her head. "Tell me when you're done."

Minutes ticked by and turned into an hour, Leona still trying to concentrate on her task, Diana taking the time to rest a bit and save her energies, letting herself lay against a tree. The Solari slowly opened her eyes, checking on her student.

Finding her frowning, squinting at the pages and rubbing at her eyes.

"What's the matter?" She said, moving closer to Leona, her eyes falling on the book, trying to find the source of Leona's confusion.

"I can't." Leona said, rubbing her eyes. She shook her head and, upon seeing Diana's look of worry, she rephrased herself. "I can't focus. I'm-" She began to say, but a yawn cut her off before she could finish, "Too tired."

"Hm." Diana stifled the yawn she caught from Leona. "Too tired?" She asked as Leona nodded, her eyes closing on their own accord as she battled to keep them open. She thought for a second, then said, "Change of plan. Would you like to hear it?" Upon seeing the warrior tilt her head in question, she went on, "If you promise you'll read the book later, and that you'll read it until you can recite it on your sleep and backwards, I'll let you rest for now a bit and then we'll spar a bit. How does that sound?"

Leona's tired frown slowly and lazily turned into a grin. "Sounds marvelous."

Diana smiled at her. "Okay, then. You can rest against that tree if you want." She said, pointing at the tree she had been laying against before, but saw Leona eye it and then stand slowly as she narrowed her eyes at her. "What?"

Silently, Leona grabbed Diana by the hand and lifted her up, making her stand. Then, she guided her towards the tree. "Sit." She ordered, though her voice was soft as ever.

A ver confused Diana obeyed. "What...?" Before she could say anything else, the warrior sat down on the ground, laying down so that her head was on Diana's lap.

Leona slowly closed her eyes and ignored the sense of blood rushing to her face as she heard her mysterious mind companion.

Finally you join the game and play.

But Diana couldn't ignore her own blush. "Leo...?"

"I don't want you to abandon me while I sleep." She said as an excuse to her behavior, a playful smile on her lips. "It'll just be fifteen minutes, I swear." She said, her voice weakening as she allowed herself to relax into a slumber.

Diana sighed, pretending to be annoyed by her cheeky nature. "Fine," She said, as she settled against the tree, letting Leona do the same on her lap. "Only fifteen minutes, though."

"Only fifteen minutes." Leona repeated, though she wasn't really paying attention.

And as minutes ticked by, this time with the warrior's eyes closed instead of the Solari's, Diana allowed herself to relax, her hand slowly approaching Leona's hair.

She saw the Ra-Horak sigh when she ran her fingers through her lion-like mane, her touch as gentle as if it were velvet on skin.

She went on playing with the warrior's hair, slowly feeling herself falling under the same tired spell, her eyelids becoming heavier and heavier with each passing second, until both of them weren't awake anymore.

Leona stood in the middle of a completely dark room, her eyes straining to adjust to the light, trying to see something, but there was nothing there except the vast darkness.

It felt strange, she thought; to know that you were asleep and this was all in your head, just a product of your imagination as you slept, as you dreamed.

"Guess I'm completely bonkers." She let out, snorting at herself. "What an awful lucid dream, this one."

"Except is no dream, weakling." The ancient voice retorted, making her flinch and stand defensively, her sight trying to scan her surroundings in search for the intruder.

"I'm getting tired of you." Leona said, baring her teeth. "Tell me; are you a product of my imagination? Have I gone mad already?"

She couldn't see the intruder but, somehow, she felt it smiling. "No, I'm not." A pause. "And you're still very sane of your mind, don't worry." That voice said, as if being able to predict Leona's thoughts before they finished forming.

Anguish gripped Leona's heart. "Then show yourself!" She said, her feral expression making her teeth look more like fangs.

"I will, eventually, weakling, just not yet." The voice said as it transformed, going from unrecognizable to something more familiar… a female voice.

Leona snorted. "You don't sound so threatening like that." She said, a taunting smile on her lips.

"Please, don't be a buffoon." The voice said, making her scowl. "I don't mean to sound threatening."

"Yet you hide inside my head, whispering nonsense when I don't need it."

"Nonsense? You really are a weakling, aren't you?"

"Shut up!" Leona roared, making the dark room tremble with the sound of her voice. Silence ensued, making Leona believe she had won.

But then her companion talked again. "Wow, how scary. Oh, I'm shaking with fear!" The intruder said in an exaggerated, fearful tone, making Leona furious. "Are you done rampaging like a child?"

"Consider this conversation over." Leona said as she noticed a door forming itself in front of her, the handle appearing last, calling the warrior to it.

The intruder chuckled as Leona opened the door. "For now." She said as the Ra-Horak walked away, into a better dream.

The first thing she did as soon as she woke up was to keep her eyes closed, her breathing slow. It was a thing she had picked up from the Ra-Horak camp; whenever she woke up in an unknown location, a place she didn't recognize easily, she would pretend to still be asleep for a while until she deemed it safe or at least had enough information to make it safe.

Golden Ra-Horak Rule: If you wake up and can't recall whatever happened when you went to sleep, fake it until you do or until you form a new procedure plan.

Just like the rest of her warrior tribe, Leona had been trained for anything, even for something as unusual as someone kidnapping her while she was unconscious.

She knew she hadn't been kidnapped, though. She remembered everything that had taken place before she fell asleep, so no threat wasn't forcing her to rely on her honed abilities.

What did force her to remain still was the feeling of a soft hand going through her hair.

And she knew exactly who the owner of that hand was.

Diana.

She tried, but she couldn't help the content sigh that escaped her in the form of a deep, long exhalation. Thankfully, Diana didn't think anything of it, her reaction being only a small, almost inaudible sound at the back of her throat. It sounds like contempt.

Leona relished on Diana's administrations for a bit before slowly opening her eyes, letting the girl know she was awake.

She saw Diana smile at her. "Hey there." She said, her voice softer than ever.

"Hey there." She said back, her voice husky. "Fifteen minutes spot on, right?"

"An hour and a half."

Leona's eyes widened. "What?"

Diana smirked, making an affirmation sound. "Guess you were really tired."

The warrior frowned. "Guess I really was tired." She repeated, not moving from her spot, for Diana's caresses had never ceased and she didn't want them to stop.

But then the hand on her hair halted on its' movements just as Diana frowned. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Leona's frown deepened. Truth was she had never been good at remembering her dreams once she woke up, being able to remember them on rare occasions. This time, though, she recalled being in a dark room… talking to something… someone… How did it go, again? Shit, I got no clue. "I can't really remember if I did. Why?"

Diana's frown relaxed as she raised a brow and her hand began moving again, making Leona relax onto her, her eyes closing on their own accord. "I… may have fallen asleep, too, until you began moving around way too much."

Leona snorted. "Did I wake up the slumber champion?" When she saw Diana nod, she added, "Now that's an incredible accomplishment not anybody can achieve."

Diana smirked. "It makes you deserving of a trophy, really." She said, making Leona laugh. When the warrior calmed down, she went on. "When I saw you thrashing around, I brushed your hair for a bit and you calmed down, so I guess you were having a nightmare."

"I've never been any good at remembering my dreams, though I do know that I tend to move a lot if I'm having nightmares." Leona offered as an explanation, remembering how her old friends would shake her awake whenever she had a bad dream. Her expression turned apologetic. "I'm really sorry if I woke you."

"It's fine." Diana shrugged it off. "Not like I was expecting to sleep too much, anyway."

The warrior groggily stood up, letting her mentor do the same. "Guess I'll have to read it now, right?" She asked Diana as she rubbed her eyes.

"Normally, I'd say yes, but you caught me in a good mood." Leona heard Diana say, the sleep suddenly gone from her eyes as she turned to see the Solari.

"What?" A smile. "Really?"

Diana merely nodded. "Now you're the mentor." The girl said as she looked away, somewhat nervous. "And I'm the student."

Diana could sense Leona approaching, a predator's smile on her face as she turned into someone else, the calm Sun's Champion being left behind, the girl choosing the feral hunter in her soul over their deity's gift. "Today's lesson will be far more interesting for someone with your abilities."

Diana could feel herself blushing as she saw, out of the corner of her eye, the huntress approaching her. "My abilities?" She questioned, arching an eyebrow.

Leona circled her until she was in her line of vision, their eyes meeting. "In no lesson did we fight, or am I wrong?"

Diana's eyes widened as Leona's narrowed viciously.

The Solari dodged the punch that was aimed for her nose just in time, feeling the force of the hit that would have knocked her down going right over her head. Diana skipped backwards, creating room between Leona and her, her arms slightly raised, ready to react accordingly to Leona's attacks.

"Nice." Leona recognized the girl's reaction speed. "You're fast on both your mind and your body. That will save your life on multiple occasions, just like it saved your nose mere seconds ago." She said, raising her fists and falling into an offensive stance.

"You know; I'm starting to get used to your lessons beginning so… abruptly." Diana said, a challenging smirk on her face as the adrenaline began to rush through her veins to every part of her body.

"Aw, I always hoped you'd never learn that." Leona retorted with a mocking, sad tone. "I loved the look of surprise on your face each time our classes began."

"This time you would've left me with a broken nose, Leo."

"Spare the rod and spoil the child." The Ra-Horak circled Diana, the Solari mimicking her if only to keep herself away from the threat the warrior posed.

"Now that's cruel." Diana retorted, surprised at Leona. "Did you just kill the Peace-lover again?"

Leona laughed, but nodded. "If I'm to teach you something valuable, I'm to teach you in the way I learned: by trial and painful error." The girl analyzed Diana's stance. "Let me begin with this: You're standing awfully wrong. Your feet are way too far from each other and that's no fighting stance; that's a fleeing stance."

I know, I want to flee right now. "What difference does it make?"

Leona stood completely still for a second, then she lunged for Diana's left leg, which was on front, closer to the warrior.

Diana couldn't even attempt to protect herself as the auburn haired girl swiftly brought her down to the ground, her back landing roughly on the dirt, her head reeling from the hit it took against the ground, while Leona positioned herself on top of the girl, locking her in place with her legs, placing them to each side of Diana's hips.

"The difference is that it makes it harder for you to move fast." Leona said, giving Diana time to gather her surroundings, knowing the girl was listening, either way. "With your feet too far away from each other, it takes more time for you to bring your whole body from one side to the other, since you'll always tend to let your weight rest on one of your sides; left or right. You were resting your weight on your strong, heavy side: your right, so if I attacked by surprise, coming for your left, you'd have a harder time avoiding me and I'd have an easier time bringing you down, since there's no support for your weak side, your weight locking your right in place."

"Okay…" Diana said, slowly, as she tried to make some sense out of Leona's words. "Should we try again, then?"

"We'll get to that… in a minute, when you release yourself."

"What." It wasn't a question, but a complaint dressed as one.

"You have a bigger problem now," Leona said, an amused smirk on her lips. "I have the upper hand right now and I could do some serious damage from here," She said as she brought her hands up, already turned into fists. Upon seeing Diana's look of pure terror, she added, "I could also apply some joint locks or chokeholds and trust me, you should fear those more than these two." She waved her fists a bit so as to emphasize her words.

"Fuck."

Leona laughed. "Indeed. So," She said, violently letting herself fall closer to Diana, her hands landing to each side of Diana's head, keeping her above the Solari, making the raven haired girl tremble. "How are you getting out of this one?" Her voice had turned low, viciously so.

Diana shouldn't like it.

She did either way.

But the cruelty in Leona's eyes, the expertise with which she could display it, kept her heart beating fast out of pure, unadulterated fear.

And nothing else.

Too scared, frightened out of her wits. She couldn't analyze it being in a state like that one.

Or so she'd say to herself, if only to escape a reality she wasn't ready to face.

For now.

"I can't," Diana finally responded. "You're bigger than me."

Leona chuckled, "Being bigger or smaller means nothing while on the ground." She smiled, "That's the fun of grappling."

Diana frowned, completely confused. "…Grappling?"

Leona's brows shot up. She blinked. "You don't know what that is?" Upon seeing the girl shake her head, the warrior returned to her sitting position, unconsciously letting Diana breathe again. "Okay, then, let's start from the beginning." She looked at Diana with a curious look. "Just how much do you know about actual fighting?"

Diana propped herself up, resting her weight on her elbows. "I know how to fight..." She searched for a word. "Standing, I guess."

Leona made a humming noise as she thought. "Well then, let's begin here," She said as she lifted a finger in the air. "Lesson number one about combat: When we are fighting against an opponent, our objective is to defeat our enemy. To do so, we must reach a secondary objective, which is…?" She looked at Diana, expecting her to complete her sentence.

"…Not dying?"

Leona laughed and shook her head. "Getting the upper hand." She said, correcting Diana's guess. "You got that?"

Diana nodded, feeling an embarrassed blush reddening her cheeks.

"Okay. Now, lesson number two about combat: When we fight without weapons, there are two techniques we can use. Technique number one is striking."

"Punches and kicks." Diana thought out loud, making Leona nod.

"Punches and kicks. Then you have technique number two, which is grappling; very close quarters combat that consists of applying different maneuvers on your opponent's body, so as to manipulate it and use it against them, thus giving you advantage. The best fighter will always know how to use a good combination of both striking and grappling." Leona explained, "Though striking is easier to learn, grappling is, by far, a more dangerous tool. Being so close to your opponent, you become way more vulnerable but, at the same time, you turn into a bigger, deadlier threat, as long as you know how to wrestle."

"That means you'll always win, for you'll always know more than I do."

"Not exactly." The Ra-Horak said with a smile.

And thus made Diana frown. "How come?"

"When fighting, if you opt to strike rather than grapple, you must know and accept that the element of luck plays an enormous role, one which it doesn't play when grappling."

"Uh…" Diana was even more confused than before.

"Let's say a tiny, newbie fighter is up against a humongous, expert one. If the tiny one dodges every punch the big one throws and at least tries to respond with some of their own, they may get lucky and land one. Sometimes, that's all it takes: One hit and, if the big one was taken by surprise, couldn't dodge or block it," Leona whistled as she let her hand fall to the ground with a noisy thud. "Down they go."

Diana's eyes darted towards the fallen hand, then back to Leona's pupils as she went on explaining, "Grappling is different; luck has no role in here, for it's a game of strategy: if you play your cards right, you get the upper hand. If not, your enemy does, as long as they can see through the chinks in your armor, the mistakes on your technique."

"That just means you'll always win."

"If I could defeat Commander Khait with a stranglehold, you can definitely learn enough to beat me, someday. Now," Leona said, grabbing Diana's hands and pulling from them, making her back hit the ground and taking that moment to return to her position from before. "How can you free yourself from this one?"

"I don't know." The Solari said as she frowned at the warrior on top of her.

"Think fast, for time is running out." Before Diana could make sense of her words, Leona began to move, grabbing one of Diana's arms and bringing it close to the Solari's head.

Panicking, Diana attempted to release her hand from Leona, but the warrior was stronger.

Leona's gaze softened when she noticed Diana's breathing turning erratic. "Fear will make it hard to think in situations like this, but you must not lose your head; you must use it." She said, as she slowed down her movements, taking her time to form the head and arm choke she was planning on using.

The time she took, though, was far too long, giving Diana enough time to think her words through.

"Head…?"

Leona was left seeing stars when the scared Solari slammed her forehead against her temple.

The impact hurt Diana too, but the adrenaline of the fight kept her from actually feeling it, so she took advantage of Leona's condition, pushing her to a side and sitting atop her.

"Now I've got the upper hand." She said, somewhat triumphantly.

"When I said use your head, I didn't mean it in the literal sense, you know?" Leona said while she rubbed her head's side.

"But it worked, didn't it?"

"Being on top doesn't necessarily mean that you have the advantage." She said, a sly smile on her lips as she noticed how one of her legs wasn't trapped underneath Diana.

Before the girl could notice, Leona freed her trapped leg from Diana's, locking the Solari in place by hooking them behind her back. Then, as quickly as possible, she snaked her arm between Diana's own and her torso, then brought her free hand up, clasping them together and trapping the oblivious girl in an arm bar, using enough force to make Diana realize the position she's in, but carefully avoiding hurting the girl.

"It's all about seeing the chink in the other's armor." Leona repeated herself as she felt Diana struggle, trying to release herself. She didn't worry, though, for Diana's attempts were futile, for the moment. Once she heard the other girl groan in frustration, she loosened her grip slightly, so as to give her a break. "Remember this golden grappling rule, though; If there was a way you lost the upper hand, there's twice as many chances for you to get it back."

"This is frustrating."

Leona laughed. "It will be, but you'll learn." She released Diana and gently pushed her away, standing up and offering the girl her hand, helping her up. "Let's try again from the top." Diana frowned and Leona knew she was doubting herself, so she placed her hand on her shoulder and said, "No one was born with the knowledge, everyone had to start somewhere and learn from there. I'll stop to explain whenever necessary. Now," She got into a fighting stance. "Let's try again."

Diana smirked, then stood ready, her feet closer than before. Leona saw it and smiled, but said nothing.

"Let's."

They had been fighting all day, twilight already upon them, their battle having moved from the cliff as they wandered through the woods, both avoiding and looking for each other.

Diana's breathing was ragged, her body a mess of bruises and sweat. Surely, Leona wasn't a merciful teacher. Not that she wanted her to, though. Spare the rod and spoil the child.

She noticed with no short amount of satisfaction that her mentor wasn't any better than her, as Leona wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, her eyes never leaving Diana's figure, her breathing as erratic and her body as bruised.

Well, not as bruised. I have double, if not triple the marks. But still, I got her a few times and those markings are the evidence.

Leona moved towards her, her fists up. Diana responded by moving to a side, more specifically, Leona's right side, which was up front, closer to the Solari.

Circle her by her weak side.

Leona smirked. "Good thinking, fast learner," She said, as if she could read the girl's mind. "But my weak side is actually my left."

Before Diana could process it, Leona moved her right leg, placing it behind her, leaving her left side up front at the same time as she threw out her arm in a powerful punch directed for Diana's cheek.

The Solari could only close her eyes as she received the strong blow, falling to the ground. She felt Leona moving, so she opened her eyes once more while she brought her legs close to her chest.

Just in time, she thought as she saw Leona preparing to take the fighting to the ground. When Leona approached, Diana kicked out with all of her strength, hitting Leona on her stomach, leaving her breathless.

Swiftly, Diana got on her feet and tried to tackle Leona to the ground, but the Ra-Horak dodged her just in time, backing away enough, so as to give herself time to catch her breath.

"You fought against me in the mirrored stance this whole time," Diana realized the warrior had been tricking her as she also took the time to breathe again.

"You didn't think I'd face you without a trick up my sleeve, did you?" Leona offered, a sly smile on her lips.

Diana's expression was a twin to the warrior's. "Clever."

As Diana lunged for Leona, the battle went on, both girls unaware of the scholar who watched them.

Helena stared in awe at both the Chosen One and her best friend, unable to believe it all; First, she had never expected the Ra-Horak to be such deadly warriors. Second, she had never expected her best friend to be skilled enough to keep up with a Ra-Horak.

And the best of them, to top it all off.

She had been sent to retrieve them for dawn was upon them, but she couldn't intervene, couldn't stop the warriors as she ogled them.

"They truly are wonderful, aren't they?" She heard a smooth, velvet like voice said. Helena almost jumped out of her skin as she turned to look at its' owner.

"Mistress!" She said, blushing upon being discovered. "I'm sorry for my tardiness on bringing them back, it's just…"

"I can see why you're taking so long, dear." Sekhet said, her eyes never leaving Diana and Leona. "I'm amazed, too. Who would have known what our Diana was capable of?"

"She's holding herself up amazingly."

"Holding herself up? Darling, she's bruised and battered the best Ra-Horak the tribe had to offer." Sekhet corrected Helena. "I'd say she's giving the Chosen One exactly the kind of sparring partner she had demanded."

"Which kind would that be?"

"The kind capable of giving her such a hard time, she could be brought down if not careful enough." She said, her eyes glued to Diana, just like Helena's. "Let's give them a bit more of time, then we'll call them. Alright?"

"Alright."

Night was above them.

Despite her desires to call Diana to her chambers and talk of forbidden things, Leona had decided not to.

Not because of anything else but her will to keep the promise she had made to the Solari mere hours ago.

I have to read my goddamn lesson.

She threw herself on her bed, feeling relaxed after a long, hot bath, the simple robes she was wearing feeling extremely soft on her skin.

The felt a blush creeping up on her as she thought about the bathrooms. The Ra-Horak bathing chambers were also communal, everyone sharing them without any kind of modesty keeping them from using them, but the Solari just made it all feel… different. Since her arrival, all the acolytes would leave when she arrived and Leona wasn't sure if this was due to respect or fear or whatever.

Your mere presence makes them nervous, you really think they'd get naked around you?, she remembered Diana asking her with a snort one time she had wondered about it out loud in front of her.

Diana.

Would Diana be nervous about that same thing, too?

Sekhet and Helena had kept her busy; while Helena had gone to look for them due to nightfall approaching, Sekhet had another task at hand. The Mistress had obtained an old scroll written in the Old Rakkor and needed her protégée to translate it.

I surely hope they never find out about the other texts being in the Old Rakkor, too, Diana had whispered with an amused smirk before leaving, following after Sekhet.

Obviously, the girl would bathe after it.

But would you have bathed if I had been there, too?

When she realized what she was thinking, Leona blushed and shook her head.

The lesson. Stop deviating from the task at hand and learn that fucking lesson.

She quickly moved towards the book and began reading.

As minutes ticked by, she slowly, but surely, began to memorize what she was learning. The book started with the Chosen of the Sun's equipment: The Zenith Blade, the Shield of Daybreak, the Golden Armor of the Solari…

…then the book talked about the supernatural abilities she would acquire once she passed the Sun's trial.

This is far more interesting.

"The Chosen of the Sun will be able to manipulate sunlight at will, using it to attack enemies, protect allies and even heal themselves." Leona's brows shot up. "Not bad."

Her eyes landed on the next paragraph. "But do not forget, Champion, that you're the Sun's Avatar, not the Sun herself, for this means you'll…" She trailed off as she read, finding it hard to believe her eyes.

Suddenly remembering that strange nightmare, anguish taking over her heart again.

Finish reading that sentence, the female voice inside of her head ordered.

And she obliged.

"…for this means you'll be nothing but a soldier; The most powerful of soldiers, one she can communicate with, her presence on your mind being constant." Leona lowered the book, closing her eyes.

Now, the voice said. Ask me who I am, dear. You didn't ask before.

"Right, I was too busy screaming at you." Leona said out loud, suddenly fearing her past actions.

That you were.

"Tell me," Leona began, "Are you..."

Yes?

She gulped.

"Are you my goddess?"

The voice laughed inside her head.

That I am, dear. I'm the Sun.

Leona frowned, feeling fear's claws tearing her heart apart.

No reason to feel like this, my champion, the Sun's voice had turned gentler than usual, her typical taunting gone. You are to be my most powerful mortal ally and I won't tolerate any harm being brought upon you, even if such harm comes from yourself.

"It's coming from you, not from me."

The Sun laughed. Okay, an apology is due, then. I'm sorry, my dear.

"But aren't you supposed to appear once I'm chosen as your champion…?" Leona said, trailing off, feeling as if her mind were about to explode.

Darling, the one who chooses the champion is me, not the Solari, her voice sounded strong and Leona wondered why would the Sun say the name of her followers as if it were a blasphemy. You already are my Avatar. Whatever ritual you have to go through is just a mere formality.

"Can I manipulate sunlight, then?"

No, Not yet.

"Hey!" Leona frowned. "How come? Aren't I your Avatar?"

Yes, but no. I'm testing you.

"Testing me?"

Put the book upside down.

Leona arched an eyebrow, but obeyed nonetheless.

Now open it and go to the third page, counting from this side.

Leona opened the book, but no without question. "You do realize this wouldn't be page three, right?"

Just do as I say!

"Okay, okay!" Leona said as she moved through the pages. "No need to scream at me." The warrior reached the third page and frowned, noticing some barely visible markings on the pages.

See something funny? Read it.

"Chosen One, the path to becoming the Sun's Avatar is a rocky one. Our Goddess does not trust easily; you will have to earn it through hard work. Once you prove yourself worthy, she'll gift you with the ancient power and knowledge of the Chosen of the Sun. Fear not, for she'll guide you and help you through your journey. May the light shine on your path."

And I believe the light will shine, dear Leona.

Leona frowned, shaking her head. "I don't get it. What is this? Why is it… Why is it hidden?"

She felt the Sun's smirk. I'm glad you noticed that.

"What does this mean?"

That is for me to know and for you to find out. Good night, Leona.

"Wait!" Leona said, the Sun's dismissal raising more questions than answers, but she felt her deity's absence.

She was all alone, now. That she knew.

Guess I'm not sleeping much, tonight.

She flipped the book again, resuming her reading.

Author's Note:

HI THERE! Sorry for the big, dumb, delay :))) Problem was that I bought Horizon: Zero Dawn and it sucked me in like a freaking vacuum omg

If you read through all of this, you probably noticed that, whenever Leona's thoughts are actually the Sun talking to her, these thoughts are, not only in italics, but also bold. I hope this makes it easier to understand!

Any thoughts? Send them my way :)

Love y'all