Chapter 2 - "The Dance Beyond Death"

The fight begins between me and Kojiro using the first form of the split step forward with a slight knee bend, complete stillness of the sword, and precise balance between torso and feet, preparing for the attack, steady breathing, and direct visual focus on the opponent. But Kojiro initiates with a flip above the ground, avoiding the sword kick, trying to cut my neck from behind. But these cheap tricks will not fool me, seeming predictable after dying countless times. Because of this, I parry the strike by bending my sword in a wavy motion, changing the direction of my body, blocking the blow. But he does not tire. He fools me again with a strike to the side to bring his sword closer, and when he feints, he changes the strike to a place impossible to block. But my agility has become better and faster after the appearance of some muscles lightly, and my height and arm length increased, so it became easier than expected. Kojiro tries to divert a strike to the neck since my focus is now on the lower side of my back, but my body bends automatically, and small strands of my hair are cut. Now it is time to use the second form. The sword rushes horizontally quickly towards the opponent's chest, driven by the wrist, fixed shoulder, and synchronized breathing to achieve precise impact and early cut in Kojiro's defense. But as usual, the sword master in front of me can match any art and repel it, so traditional moves will not work with him. Now we begin with the heavy. I will try to gather all eleven forms in one strike, each represented by one sword. Tian Shi took his first step toward Kojiro. Calmness enveloped the place. His body slightly tilted, his sword tense like a still string, but his heart was boiling. He froze his breath and moved like a storm inhabiting him. He did not raise his sword but embraced it with his body. Then in one flash, he unleashed all eleven forms of the vertical split art in one move. His body spun like a mill, and the strikes launched one after another without pause. The first horizontal strike sliced the air toward Kojiro's chest. The second descended from above with buried power. The third surged upward toward his neck while his feet moved with balance impossible for the eye to follow. A strike to the hand, a strike to the shoulder, a heart thrust, a sweeping spin, then a cut from above the head to the flank, followed by a quick withdrawal, a side attack, then a leap and grip change making the last one fatal. But Kojiro was not like before. He was not just an opponent moving like a shadow but a being whose body fragmented into gestures and stillness. Each strike met with a quick flick as if the air around him changed the sword's direction. Kojiro's hand did not move fully, only the wrist, and the eye watched without blinking. Then suddenly, he stopped completely, firmly stepped forward slightly, and bent part of his body to avoid a strike that fell like thunderbolt and raised his sword from behind his back with a cold inhuman movement and aimed a sideways strike that was not to kill but as if inviting Tian Shi to retreat. Tian did not retreat but advanced with a burning heart, again gathering the eleven forms anew. But this time, Kojiro did not give him an extra second but spotted a gap in the shoulder bend and exploited Tian's close lean and struck only one silent thrust that entered between two ribs and exited without sound. Tian Shi did not fall but stood for a moment, breathing heavily as if his heart refused to stop. But he did not attack again. Instead, he kneeled calmly as if ending the dance before hearing its applause. Their eyes met. Kojiro's eyes held no hatred nor contempt, only the gaze of a man who kills because he finds no other way. Quietly, Kojiro withdrew, leaving Tian Shi's body leaning on his sword as if they became one body, and light blood scattered in the air without screams or wails. This time, it was a death without pain, as if Tian Shi gained a rest not granted the first time, as if the vertical split reached its final peak in him, then he died. Now, I have reached near complete harmony with my sword. I feel the sword and I are one after dying about ten thousand times, spending here nearly forty years if we gather all our fighting hours. My appearance changed with long loose hair reaching my neck, long at my ears, and a little gray starting to show in my hair. But my youthful look remains unchanged though I became bulkier, not handsome but acceptable. My height increased beyond six feet, and I have sharp muscles like a sword. Every part of my upper body is filled with scars, and one eye still bears a scar from my past fights with Kojiro. Somehow, our relationship improved. We became closer like master and disciple. I benefit from fighting him despite him killing me coldly several times, yet he still holds part of dignity and calm. Now, I and Kojiro are nearly equal in level. I reached about eighty percent of the strength he shows until now. But every time he fights me, he surprises me with greater power as if joking with me. I have invented a counter art to Kojiro's art called Wave Cutting. Kojiro, whose every move is wavy and twisted, relying on agility, making his opponent open countless gaps by waving reflexes so he makes a martial art that twists himself. He is obsessed with the sword, reaching a stage we might call the Absolute Sword. His harmony with the sword is as if from the same, becoming a sword itself. Now the fight between me and Kojiro will start. This time, either I win or the endless cycle of death repeats, making me lose part of my humanity. Let the fight between me and this obsessed one begin. Tian Shi and Kojiro face each other again under a silent sky. Tian Shi is not as before. His eyes empty of hesitation, his body breathes deeply with the sword. He gathers again the vertical split art, but this time with tighter coordination and unwavering focus. Yet Tian Shi invented in isolation a technique called Wave Cutting. This art does not confront. It makes his sword pass through paths without touching them. The strikes seem to fall inside then evaporate. He no longer fights in a line or path. He changes rhythm strangely, waving the sword until it penetrates unseen gaps. Tian Shi began the attack, launching the eleven forms in an amazing sequence. But Kojiro met them with complete relaxation. Then with a side step, he turned the strike into emptiness and replied with a strike that does not follow a form but follows a tone holding a moment of breath in its midst and hitting. Tian Shi tried to repeat the strikes at irregular times. The battle began to turn into a musical duel. Every strike from Tian was swallowed and scattered. Then Kojiro replied with a wave-like thrust, leaning and diving, then exiting from an angle. Tian responded, making the sword bend to another side. They exchanged swords in the air until To the extent that they were faster than the sound of a rapid exchange in the air, but in the end, Kojirou used a technique saturated with a pure blue aura, one I had never seen before. I tried hard to avoid it, because if I blocked it, I would be among the dead. At the very least, I had to evade it. I released ten more blue auras that even cut through the clouds in the sky we were in. But it seems I discovered a suitable counter method. When he threw his dissipating aura, I gathered all my energy and movement into a single sword and struck at a concentrated point in the air. I created something similar to his aura, but it was an aura of wind. So when he launched his blue aura, I launched the wind aura, which clashed with it. And in the end, I split Kojirou's aura. I began to dodge all the aura attacks one by one until I reached him. Exhaustion was clearly visible on his face. So instead of surrendering to a strike, he dodged with his last breath. But eventually, his body reached its limit. His face began to wrinkle, he grew older, and lost his youth. After an exhausting battle, he collapsed to the ground and said, "Before I say goodbye, take this. Consider it a gift." He placed the aura technique into my mind simply by touching his finger to my forehead, transferring the technique, and said, "Well, after all, each of us has an end. No one is perfect and will not die. But the fault is not in dying. The fault is in dying without knowing why you did what you did. I believed in my conviction that I would fight, even if it meant my death. I would rather die by the sword than let someone kill me in cowardice and abandon my fate. My experience with you was worth meeting for. I had to meet someone persistent and striving, despite having no talent, no physical build, no agility. And yet you managed to defeat him. After all, you are the one I considered closest to being my disciple. So do what you must and discover the truth of this place." I looked at him with a somewhat sad gaze, but no tears fell. The feeling of farewell is something that cannot be described with words. I took the sword and struck the master directly in his heart. I will never forget your favor, Master Kojirou. Rest in peace. After that, a person appeared before me.