The sun baked the clearing behind the cave, drying the dew into steam. Ajax stood barefoot in the dust, arms tense at his sides, watching Reva stretch her shoulders.
Across from him, she looked at ease. One foot forward. Hands loose. Balanced. Her ash-colored skin shimmered slightly with sweat, but she didn't seem tired.
Ajax, on the other hand, already felt his legs aching.
"No magic," Karian had said, voice like stone. "You fight with what your body has. Not what your mana gives."
So here he was—without both weapons and mana, about to spar with a girl who moved like a predator.
"You sure you're ready?" Reva asked, smirking.
Ajax rolled his shoulders, trying to hide his nerves. "Me? Nervous?."
"Okay," she said sweetly. "Try not to cry."
She lunged.
Ajax barely managed to raise his arms in time. Her fist cracked against his forearm, and the force rattled up his spine. He stumbled back, breath escaping in a grunt.
She didn't let up.
She swept his legs next. He dropped hard, rolling over just as her knee thudded into the dirt beside his head.
He scrambled to his feet, but she was already circling.
"Come on," she said. "You've fought adults before. Where's that fire?"
He didn't answer. His chest was heaving. His instincts screamed to summon a blade, to flood his limbs with mana—but that would break the rules.
Karian watched from the shade, arms crossed.
Ajax rushed in this time, aiming a punch at Reva's side. She twisted, caught his wrist, and flipped him flat onto his back.
The sky spun.
He lay there, gasping.
"How does a seven year old girl hit so hard?" I asked.
My birthday had just passed and I had finally turned 6. Reva was a year older than I and more terrifying than any sword master from my past life.
"Your stance is sloppy," Reva said. "Your timing's worse. You're too dependent on mana. You think just because you've got some glowing sword, you're strong?"
Ajax groaned, forcing himself up. "I don't think that."
"Good. Because you're not."
He lunged again—slower this time. She dodged and jabbed him in the ribs. Pain flared. He spun, blocked her next blow, and drove a fist toward her gut. It grazed her, but not enough to slow her down. Her foot swept him again, and he hit the ground hard.
Karian's voice came from behind them. Calm. Measured.
"You're not breathing right."
Ajax blinked through dust. "What?"
"You hold your breath when you move," Karian said. "You're fighting like a spellcaster—tensing up, waiting for mana to do the work. Demon magic doesn't work like that. It starts with breath. Breath is rhythm. Rhythm is control."
Reva offered a hand. Ajax took it, teeth gritted, and she pulled him to his feet.
"You want to use our magic?" Karian asked. "Then start by learning to breathe."
Ajax looked down at his shaking hands. He'd killed four people less than a week ago. But here, in this clearing, with no sword, no spells—he was useless.
Not anymore.
He took a breath. Slow. Deep.
And again.
Reva tilted her head, studying him. "You good?"
"Again," he said.
She didn't argue.
They clashed once more—her fists fast, low, precise. Ajax didn't win. Not yet. But he lasted longer. He blocked two hits, dodged one, managed to tap her shoulder with a punch that made her blink.
He grinned through the pain.
"Better," she admitted.
They kept at it. Days passed.
Each morning, they trained. Each night, Ajax collapsed into the straw mat beside the hearth, muscles screaming. Karian fed him roots and broth that tasted like ash. Ajax drank it anyway.
"You don't need brute strength," Karian explained once, kneeling beside him. "You need to open the first gate."
Ajax leaned against the wall, bruised and bloody. "Gate?"
Karian nodded. "The Breath Gate. The first step of demon augmentation. You learn to sync your breath with your movements. When you get it right, it clicks. Your body starts drawing power from your mana naturally—not from casting, but from rhythm."
"Like… mana breathing?"
"Exactly. And with it both your stamina and awareness increase explosively. But it's not like how the humans do it with meditative nonsense. This is tied to action. You move in combat, you breathe during combat, and when you breathe, you draw power."
It sounded simple. It wasn't.
Ajax tried. Every spar. Every training run. Every stretch.
Reva was relentless. But not cruel. She corrected him when he messed up, knocked him down without gloating, and stayed late after Karian left to rest.
"You're improving," she told him one night, when they sat under the stars.
"You're still faster."
"I've had years."
He glanced at her. "I'll catch up."
She smirked. "Good. I'd hate to be training with someone boring."
"Be honest, Reva, you could never be bored with me around."
The next morning, the air was thick with mist.
Reva waited in the clearing. No smile this time. "You ready?"
Ajax nodded.
They moved.
He dodged her first strike. Stepped left. Blocked the next. Exhaled.
Then inhaled, and moved again.
And something clicked.
It wasn't like casting a spell. It was deeper. His limbs stopped lagging behind his thoughts. His reactions sharpened. His muscles no longer screamed—they surged.
He spun, ducked a blow, and punched. His fist hit Reva's side hard enough to send her skidding back.
She landed with a shocked grunt, hand on her ribs.
Karian stepped forward slowly from the trees. His eyes glinted with something rare—approval.
"You felt it," he said.
Ajax stood still, heart pounding.
"Yes," he said quietly.
"The Breath Gate," Karian said. "You've opened it."
Reva rubbed her ribs and gave Ajax a lopsided grin. "Finally." She said, "Since he's opened it can I start using the second gate in our spars now? It's hard to hold myself back so much."
"Huh, you weren't even trying your best in those spars?" He said bewildered.
"I told ya 'Jax, I've been doing this for years. How could I be your training partner if the first gates all I could do?"
Ajax blinked. "Did I hurt you?"
"Yeah," she muttered. "I'll admit that it was a solid hit, pretty boy."
It's kind of weird to get called a pretty boy by a 7 year old girl, I thought to myself.
But she didn't sound mad. She sounded… impressed.
Ajax looked down at his hands. They felt alive. Stronger. Like something had unlocked that had always been there, waiting.
Not magic to be summoned.
But strength to be used.
Karian nodded once. "Now we can begin the real training. Mastery of the Breath Gate, and training for the second gate, the Pulse Gate."