The boys had gone through most of their new daily routine, woken up by the children, washed up, eaten, changed into freshly cleaned clothes, and headed out. Except for the second day of training, Silas would part ways with them during the day, while Killian and Deandre were taken to the Abbot's personal training grounds.
They were led to a secluded section of the main building. A single door waited there, leading downward. Torches lined the stairwell, casting a faint orange-red glow across the stone floor. With every step down, the air grew heavier.
"He is the sole reason the enemy village has not yet attacked."
Killian swallowed.
The stairs opened into a circular arena. The floor was slick, almost oily, and difficult to stand on. The Abbot stood at the center. It was the first time they had seen him without his robes. Despite his age, he was heavily muscled, his body covered in scars. He stood barefoot, wearing only loose gi pants, his hair hanging freely down his back.
"Welcome to my paradise, boys," the Abbot said. "I spent many days here with my master, training, and laughing. Now, this is where you'll spend your time."
He smiled faintly.
"Today we focus on balance, and on maintaining a large output of ether over a sustained period."
A small cylindrical pillar rose from the floor in front of him, several buttons lining its surface.
"I understand Killian has only five days left. That means stamina. Endurance. You've realized by now that using your abilities, especially in battle, takes a heavy toll on the body."
"So, what do we do?" Dre asked.
The Abbot's smile widened, "you will fight mechanized training dummies. Each one is infused with my wind ether, durable, strong, and relentless. There are roughly a thousand of them. Different weapons, sizes, speeds… some even possess tactical intelligence."
Killian and Dre exchanged a serious look.
"We have to get through this," Killian muttered. "The trials will be just like this."
"Oh, and one more thing," the Abbot said, pausing.
He laughed.
"It's going to be quite… windy today."
The meaning became clear immediately.
The Abbot rose into the air as entrances opened along the arena walls. Dummies poured out, different shapes and builds, yet all of them somehow kept their footing despite the slick floor.
About twenty rushed in at once.
Killian and Dre barely moved. Every step required bracing. The first dummies struck hard, one sent Killian skidding across the ground. Dre adapted quickly, stomping his foot down to anchor himself as he fought back, but they were outnumbered.
"The use of Ether is visualization," the Abbot's voice boomed from above. "Creativity, Killian. Visualize."
Killian struggled to understand as he fought from the ground. Ether was energy, but could it be shaped? Redirected?
He tried; he imagined the energy flooding into his legs. They felt heavier. Stronger. Anchored. He kicked a dummy away, then another, and stood. He shifted his weight from side to side, and realized he wasn't slipping anymore.
Killian rushed to Dre's side, electricity crackling through his fist as he dropped the remaining dummies.
"How are you not falling?" Dre asked. "This floor is impossible."
"You remember that Ether stuff Liwei talked about?" Killian said. "I just imagined it building up in my legs, like my electricity, just without the shock."
Dre closed his eyes, focusing. When he moved again, he stayed upright.
"It worked," he said, grinning. "Now we've got a chance." They prepared for the next wave.
Thirty more dummies poured out.
Killian took one side, Dre the other. With Killian's speed and Dre's reinforcement, they cleared them quickly.
Four hundred fifty dummies later…
Killian and Dre were breathing heavily from exhaustion. They were slower, more vulnerable. Maintaining the ether in their feet and fighting at the same time was taking its toll.
"This is worse than I thought," Dre said. "I can't keep this up for another five hundred."
Before Killian could answer, a dummy struck him from behind, sending him to the ground. Dre destroyed it but missed the giant one behind him.
A wooden pole crashed into Dre's head and he fell. The dummies swarmed them, kicking them, stomping on them, their weapons rained down on the defenseless boys. Killian slowly felt himself drifting out of consciousness.
Everything went black.
He woke in a grassy field. An apple tree stood alone beneath a clear sky. The sun warmed his skin, for a moment he forgot everything.
Then a deep voice called out to him.
Killian jolted up.
A man hung upside down from a branch. When Killian blinked, the man was suddenly standing in front of him. His long black locs obscured his face, and his tattered black coat draped over his body, hiding it away.
"What are you doing here?" the man asked.
Killian was confused, "what do you mean."
"Why are you here? What do you want?" he said, more aggressively this time, like Killian wasn't supposed to be here.
Killian tried to get a good look at his face, trying to figure out who he was. Something about him felt like Killian should know him, but he couldn't figure it out.
"Who are you?"
The man scoffed. "That's a dumb question, Killian. I thought you were smarter than that. I 'm your god. The source of your power.
He pressed his finger into Killian's chest.
"Right now, your physical body is getting its ass handed to it by some weak training dummies. Your friend is trying, and failing, to protect you."
Killian suddenly remembered everything.
"I know what you're thinking, oh my god I have to go back and save my friend. But if you go back now, you'll just end up in the same situation, so let me help you."
Killian moved the gods finger off his chest, "Alright. I'm listening."
"Liwei explained ether well enough, and the Abbot gave you a little assist. But I don't think you understand just how far visualization and imagination goes in this world."
He raised his hand. Electricity sparked and took shape. Small dragons formed from the lightning. He continued to feed them more energy, they grew massive, filling the sky.
"That," the god said, "is what I mean."
"Alright I think I get it. How do I go ba-"
Before Killian could finish asking how to go back, he suddenly woke back up in the Abbots training room, still getting beaten.
But now, he understood.
"Dre," Killian shouted, "if you can grow, do you think you could shrink?"
"I think so," Dre said. "Why?"
"Trust me."
Killian grabbed Dre's arm as Dre shrank down until he fit in Killian's hand. Killian shielded him and closed his eyes. He let the electricity pour out of his body, his body glowed blue, getting brighter, hotter, until it burst. A wave of lightning detonated outward, and fifty dummies burned to ash.
Killian dropped to one knee as Dre returned to normal size.
'Did you do this?" Dre asked.
Killian nodded, barely able to breathe.
"I get it now," Dre said. "The Abbot was right on visualization."
Dre leapt skyward as the next wave came, enlarging his legs to propel himself higher, even higher than the Abbot. Killian drew the dummies inward, letting them gather around him, then dashed away at the last second.
Dre had reinforced his entire body while in the air and increased in size until he was massive. He descended, coming down like a mountain. He crushed all the dummies with ease under his weight.
The pillar rose again as the Abbot descended and shut the system down. "You won't make it to a thousand," he said calmly. "But I saw real progress today."
Killian knew the Abbot wasn't wrong, he could barely stand. Dre looked like he was half-asleep from exhaustion.
"Be proud," the Abbot continued. "We'll continue tomorrow. You're dismissed."