The mellow, golden sun rays peeked out from the clouds as a new dawn emerged.
Asahi's boots slid across the mountain's winding stream as mud smeared his face. Each step felt both exhilarating and terrifying, a thrilling dance over nature's unpredictable terrain. Determination mixed with tension surged through him like an electric current, driving him forward despite the treacherous path. Asahi's mind was a cacophony of focus and a lingering whisper of self-doubt, yet his heart pounded with a relentless drive to conquer whatever lay ahead.
Adrenaline surged through his veins, fueling an intense urge to keep moving.
"Remember, focus. As Joshilyn said."
He sprang into the air, clashing blades with a shadowy opponent.
(CLANG)
Clangs of metal rang over the forest as sunlight flickered through the treetops. He watched the hilt of his opponent's blade, not their face.
(Focus.)
Asahi felt a surreal connection as he swung his wooden blade, each movement echoing the birds gliding above. The birds, swift and nimble, mirrored the dance of combat, effortlessly slipping through the air yet never breaking the calm intensity that filled him. His actions, purposeful and smooth, matched both the challenge and grace of the moment.
The birds flocked and made way for the two, as the wildlife roaming here as a whole.
"Errr…"
Cradled by weightlessness, they tumbled through pines toward a blocked area.
The thick, lush vegetation gradually closed in on the two, forcing them to draw their blades closer together.
Asahi felt pride as he noticed how high up he was, everything below him swirling around him.
"Agh!"
Asahi gripped his wooden blade tightly, feeling the comforting weight in his hands. With a swift motion, he split the blade into two, each part fitting snugly in his grasp. He eyed the thick, mushy green hill ahead, its surface slippery and challenging. Determined, he began the ascent, his feet digging into the soft earth with each calculated step. As he neared the top, the lush green vines hanging around caught his attention. Without losing momentum, he reached out, letting the vines coil around his opponent, securing them in place.
"Don't think this is over." The girl with dark hair and purple eyes sneered, pricking his shoulder with her blade and retreating. Asahi gritted his teeth but kept a genuine smile as his feet flew downward.
He used both his arms to keep his grip on the ground and clenched tightly on the dirt.
Despite the heavy onslaught of attacks, Asahi's mouth remained sealed.
His lively eyes tracked the girl's legs as she vaulted over roots toward an opening.
Asahi cut through cyan bushes and scarlet leaves, eyes flashing as golden sunlight poured in.
"This fight is only getting started."
A powerful gust of wind whipped Asahi's white hair, tied in a bun. This sudden breeze created a new opportunity for action.
A breeze tousled his hair as he fell, the view beneath him opening wide.
A spark of playfulness mingled with resolve in Asahi as he dove toward the waterfalls, his legs energized, yet his focus anchored in the moment.
He felt the handle of his blade hover over his pale hands.
But then he closed his grip and chased the girl down a thin turquoise stream.
Running along the stream, Asahi hurled his blade into the air; it spun and struck his opponent's head.
"Ah, curses!"
(BONK)
With her stunned, Asahi took advantage. With his quick moves and relentless speed, he attacked, forcing the opponent to defend herself against his blows. The girl let out a cry in response.
"Even with The Perfect Darkness, I can't reflect your attacks?!"
Asahi smirked, swung his blades toward the girl's wrist, then caught her sword's edge.
"Your presence looked so powerful days ago. What happened?"
The girl raised an eyebrow.
"What the hell do you mean?"
"Oh-- you know…."
The girl catapulted herself down a natural bridge, tumbling through thorny roses before freezing next to water geysers.
A wave of embarrassment hit her after the tumble. She grumbled.
"N…No…"
Asahi released a chuckle and facepalmed.
"Ha, that's what you receive when you don't keep your calm under control."
Asahi, brilliant and energetic, leapt over the thorns and landed firmly on the dirt.
He quickly pulled the thorn from his heel and moved on.
His sardonic, energetic smile wiped away any trace of his previous mood.
A purple streak slammed into his knee, toppling him to the ground.
"HA! You have been fooled!"
As she saw her "surprise attack" deflect from the patient boy, her face scrunched and shriveled into one of fear.
"Impossible."
Lamia stared in shock. Despite her powerful attacks, not a single injury appeared on the boy's body.
This quickly terrorized the defenseless girl, knowing she had been defeated no matter what she could do.
As she saw the white-haired boy push himself up and laugh at her little attempt, she squirmed her leg, curled her fingers, and whispered to herself.
"How? You used to be cold as ice. Now you're completely different. Who changed you since last time?"
Asahi released a sigh of apprehension and chuckled.
"The world changed me."
"AGH!"
Lamia's body was numbed by defeat. Nothing she could have done would have returned her to her initial state.
Asahi, on the other hand, felt a sweeping sensation of relief wash over him, as though, after all he had experienced, he finally understood what Ubel and Chloe meant when they said, "If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things."
When he saw Lamia reach for her last reserve of magic, Asahi realized he had won. But they were less than a quarter down the mountain, which meant they had not followed Joshilyn's orders.
Though he could have killed her after what she'd done to him, instead, Asahi took the necklace containing The Perfect Darkness and extended his hand to her.
. . .
A silence emerged in the misty, humid, and damp area.
After a long descent, the intensity of battle finally ceased, and the wave of peace now washed among the shoreline of fighting.
As Asahi's white-haired messy bun flew with the wind, he knelt over and breathed, whispering as the fresh scent of mist entered his nostrils.
"Even the finest sword plunged into the cleanest water will eventually rust. I know you may have been defeated, but that doesn't mean you are absolutely evil...
Asahi took a deep sigh and turned toward the glittering azure sky,
"These five days have been absolute torment for me. I have experienced the absolute worst when it comes to my own. But the moment I finally grasp my senses, I feel and can connect to the world. I can understand the electricity that sparks between each person."
He gulped and looked over at the glass.
"I can read anyone now, but I lost all my powers. Go—run. I don't want to kill you."
Lamia answered quietly.
"O... Okay..."
Strange.
How could Asahi, so serious and stern before, quickly seem healthier, stronger, and confident?
This event was not the beginning of his training but the end, marking a transformation that defined emergence. Asahi could now fit together his fragmented experiences into a coherent whole, and the vision encapsulated the culmination of his journey. The memory lingered, steady as ever, helping Asahi realize the significance of each struggle and triumph without dramatic swings.
"I'll hurt you!"
This was the actual present, days before that vision.
She laughed darkly. "You wish." Her blade struck, flipping him into the air, knocking Asahi down.
His body felt weightless among the slopes as if every corner of his struggling body had been splintered and injured by despair's poison.
At the stroke of dawn, Asahi's group was already ambushed by someone. This was what sparked the beginning of his proper training.
A mysterious figure encircled the clouds. Their legs struck across the air and pierced through the stone. Asahi raced into the carriage and clutched onto a wooden blade. But as he rushed downstairs,
(CRUMBLE)
A woman bounced down the mountain, plunging at Asahi. The ground shook beneath her.
But as her legs were about to batter at Asahi's head, Joshilyn tossed her floating spoon, refracted the attack, charged at the tall silhouette, and snapped her fingers.
"Who said you could touch my recruits?" she yelled, chasing the purple trail. "Don't run! Recruits, fight!"
Canyon pressed his feet, sprang up, and unleashed a barrage of ropes from his palm, clinging onto the branches of trees and dragging Asahi from the purple piercing strikes.
(BAM)
(SWOOSH)
[It was apparent that Joshilyn only used this as an alternative to her planned training. It was so quick that I couldn't even catch my breath from the attack.]
The gray-haired boy swung from branch to branch like a monkey, wrapping ropes around as his figure juggled around the hills.
"Just who are you to attack us amidst awakening?"
His agility was so quick that the only thing the mysterious figure could see was a blur flashing back and forth. The woman clutched a sleek black dagger and struck it across a flying spoon, deflecting it.
(DING)
"Pathetic."
Joshilyn threw her magical spoon into the air and scooped golden remnants from the dust.
Mist enveloped the area soon after.
A deep, throaty voice came from above as she closed her eyes and forced herself to levitate in the air.
"Who are you to interfere? Keep your spoons to yourself!"
Joshilyn's mind was scattered with a rampant rush of ideas.
"I can't think."
But then, a metaphorical light bulb sparked above her head.
"I have to use them."
Joshilyn dashed toward the carriage and threw the door open. Her eyes darted to the several swords on the wall.
"Yes."
She used all her power in a sudden storm and forced each sword to float. Then, in a swift command, Joshilyn ordered all spoons and wooden blades to strike at the figure.
"Go, now!"
Spoons and bolts shuffled and splattered across the green mountainous terrain.
"Just where do you think you're going?"
Suddenly, as Asahi even thought of escorting everyone, a kick forced him several meters through the brittle ground, spewing out dirt fragments and shredding bushes.
His body flew and tumbled several meters downward, Linuxinia Mountain, transferring from the highest mountain peak to a dark, mist-enveloped area secluded deep under a waterfall. Though he wasn't the only one who followed him downward, Asahi still felt alone without his sister beside him. A profound sense of isolation gripped his heart, like a heavy shroud, reminding him of the void left by her absence. Anxiety crept in, but also a fierce determination to find her again, to bridge the gap their separation had created. Within him, a turmoil of emotions churned—loneliness, fear, and a desperate hope that they would be reunited soon.
"Dang it, not even my silver wolves can accompany you! Asahi, whoever you are… I will find you!"
Despite falling down, Asahi threw his blade into the air and dodged a strike from the head. Rush, speed. There were no words that could describe it. He clashed his knife and jumped from boulder to boulder, slashing and striking the solid metal sword against it. It was only his instincts that led him to this.
Each pebble flew and struck the stranger before pummeling and disintegrating into the ground.
Just as he could see who it was that was hitting him, suddenly, he was forced unconscious by a heavy punch