by Aaron Oster
The ribs on Roy’s left side buckled, along with the burned arm. He was sent flying across the open ground, bouncing and jarring the shattered bones. The world was a whirl of flashing colors and pain, but Roy did his best to try and stay focused. He attempted to turn mid-air as he flew but only succeeded in making things worse.
He landed badly on his right foot, and the momentum, as well as the bad angle, worked against him.
“You know,” Geon commented as he finally came to a stop. “It seems like this test really has something against your legs for some reason.”
Roy lay on his back, blood streaming from his side and from the corners of his mouth. His right leg lay twisted at an odd angle, mocking him once more. Geon was right. It seemed this trial was out to get him. How else could he explain ending up with the exact same leg broken once again?
Hadn’t he just regained the use of that particular leg? Why did it seem that whatever he did, his right leg, the one which had been crippled nearly his entire life, ended up broken? He lay there, staring up into the darkness, his vision hazy and fading. The golem was approaching, he could feel it, but he didn’t have the strength to force himself to his feet.
He let out a snorting laugh, spraying blood everywhere. He couldn’t get up, even if he’d wanted.
Roy’s head turned to the side, staring at the twisted appendage. He expected to feel fear, anger, or resentment at having lost the ability to walk once again. But, for some odd reason, he just didn’t. Perhaps it was because he knew that it would heal once he left this place, or perhaps he’d finally overcome the crippling fear of losing his ability to walk once again.
Whatever it was, it gave Roy something he’d been missing before. The ability to fight on, despite being down. His left arm was broken, so he couldn’t even prop himself up. He threw his body to the side, aggravating the broken limb but freeing him up to view the battlefield before him.
The golem was closer than he’d anticipated, just eight yards away. It would be directly in front of him in less than five seconds, the amount of time it had taken him to form his Projected technique in the past. Roy grinned as he pushed his right arm out, sure that it probably didn’t look too pleasant. He could taste blood, meaning it had probably coated his teeth, dying them crimson.
He laughed, forcing the last of his Essence out of his body and into his right palm. The golem was nearly on top of him by now, its stony foot pulling back to deliver a kick that would remove his head.
Power Essence blazed around him as the Void Sphere formed near instantaneously, expanding out into its multi-layered pattern.
“Here, why don’t you have a taste?” Roy yelled, pulling his arm back and throwing the whirling ball of death, just as the golem’s foot began its approach to his face, glowing gold with gatherer Essence.
The technique hit the construct low, impacting with the foot, and resulting in an explosion that threw him a good ten feet across the floor. The breath was knocked from his lungs as he slammed into the ground several times, driving the broken fragments of his ribs deeper into his internal organs.
“Ouch. That didn’t feel too good,” Roy croaked as he finally came to rest face first with his twisted leg sticking up oddly to one side.
“I’ll say!” Geon replied. “You don’t look too good.”
“You think?!” he groaned, turning tiredly onto his back.
The last golem was lying on the ground, its lower half completely obliterated. The upper half was still moving, grasping weakly at the ground as it tried to pull itself closer. It was leaking Essence fast, and its movements were already slowing. Craning his head to the side, he could see that the golems he’d thought he’d need to deal with once he was done, were now as inanimate as the ones he’d obliterated.
“Wow. All that extra effort and all you had to do was break a leg, then wait for them to bleed out.”
“Shut up,” Roy groaned, flopping back once again and staring up at the black void.
He lay there for a few minutes, expecting something to happen. When nothing did, he pushed himself painfully up on his right arm and looked around. The golems had all vanished, absorbed back into the trial. The pedestal with the glowing gem stood back in its original place, rotating slowly and throwing light off its refracted surface.
As he stared, he got an overwhelming feeling of certainty that he had to make his way over to it and lay his hands on the stone once more. It would be super hard for him to get there. His leg, ribs, and left arm were broken. He was completely out of Essence and was bleeding from the wounds in his side. In short, he was exhausted and didn’t think he’d be able to move from this spot if he tried. But he also knew that in order to complete the test, he needed to touch that gem.
Turning back onto his stomach, Roy began to drag his broken body across the ground using his right arm and left leg. It wasn’t as though he was unfamiliar with moving this way. He only hoped he’d never have to do it again. He was shaky from the exertion, and he was leaving a trail of crimson in his wake as the wound in his side continuously bled.
It wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been before, but the pain hadn’t faded in the slightest. If anything, it had gotten worse. Still, he continued going, his goal now just a few feet away. His eyes locked on the glowing gem as he came nearer, feeling the power and warmth radiating out.
He then realized that he was quite cold, his fingers beginning to feel numb, and he suddenly became fully aware of just how close he was to death. His body was going into shock from the pain and loss of blood. He’d believed the bleeding must have slowed, but it seemed that there was some internal injury that he had not been aware of.
In retrospect, having the shards of your ribs shred your internal organs would likely do something like that. Not that he had the brain capacity to worry about it at the moment. His right hand slapped the pedestal, fingers slick with blood. He was afraid that he’d have to find some way to force himself to his feet, but thankfully, the pedestal slowly sank into the ground until the gem was at eye level.
Roy stared into the glowing stone for a few long moments, hesitant to reach out. Then a voice, one that he’d heard just once before, seemed to whisper in his mind.
‘Reach out and take it. You have earned this prize, Herald Leroy. You are worthy of taking this next step.’
He immediately recognized the voice as belonging to the manifestation of Power. Fingers trembling, Roy reached out and grasped the gem.
His previous experiences with the glowing stone had been less than pleasant, with most of his Essence being forcefully torn from his Core. Now, however, the complete opposite occurred. Roy screamed as his channels and Core were suddenly filled to bursting with Essence. Bones popped and shifted as his joints reset themselves, the broken and splintered bones fusing back together. His skin burned and writhed, stitching itself back up, and his blood boiled as it regenerated at a pace not meant for the human body to handle.
Roy felt his Core fill and fill, then finally, shatter. Essence flooded his body from the broken Core, strengthening his newly healed bones and muscles. He felt it from his eyes, nose, and ears, all the way to the tips of his fingers and toes. Essence suffused him, strengthening him in every way, before pulling back to reform his Core, newer and more powerful than ever.
Right at that moment, Roy felt he could push all the way to the end of this new power. And perhaps even beyond that. But, instead of rushing it, he reigned his Essence in, pulling every last scrap of Essence back to reform his Core. His Essence glowed a richer gold than it had before, and his Core grew ever deeper.
“Ooo, I like the way this feels!” Geon crowed as Roy finished pulling the last of his Essence back into himself. “I can remember things now, things that I couldn’t…Ooof! Oh! That’s…a lot! Don’t mind if you don’t hear from me for a few days. This might take a while…!”
Then Geon was silent. Roy might have been worried, had this not happened before. It would take Geon a few days to adjust to all the new memor
ies flooding in. It only made sense. Opening his eyes and getting slowly to his feet, Roy was just in time to see the last vestiges of Yellow fade from his Belt.
He could feel tears forming at the corners of his eyes as he stared down at the solid Orange-Belt tied at his waist. He’d never dreamed he would be a Martial Artist, never in a million years. But to have now made it to Orange-Belt, something which very few in the Shah clan ever managed, was something special.
His entire body thrummed with suppressed energy. He felt like he could run the length of this stage in seconds, even without using his Shockwave. He felt like he could take an attack from those golems without even flinching, or do a thousand pushups without a break.
Roy flexed his fingers, feeling into his Core and noting that with his advancement, it had grown not only in size but in depth as well. If before he’d had five or six times the Essence of a normal Yellow-Belt, he now must have had at least double that. It seemed that withholding the Essence and using it to deepen his Core had been the right thing to do after all.
Essence cycled easily through his channels, pouring out into his open palm and forming into the Void Sphere near instantaneously, just as before. The technique exploded out, forming into the many layers of translucent spinning Essence, each moving in a different direction. He breathed deeply, staring at the beautiful display of Power.
That was until a voice called out from behind him.
“You gonna keep admiring yourself, or are you gonna say hi? It’s not easy breaking into these things, you know!”
Roy whirled, dissipating the technique as he did. He already knew that no one other than himself should be able to enter this trial. Yet, standing there, with a wide smile and looking as nonchalant as he had the last time, was the man who’d appeared in the Trial of Beginnings. The man in question only smiled wider, his odd silver eyes reflecting oddly in the golden light of the trial.
“Been a while, hasn’t it, Herald Leroy?”
24
“You!” Roy exclaimed, too shocked to say anything else.
“Yes, me,” the man replied, standing straight with his hands clasped behind his back.
He was exactly as Roy remembered. The man was tall, fair-skinned, and slim. He had brown hair, silver eyes and wore black and white Martial Artist’s robes. They weren’t the same robes as the Tonde clan’s. His robes were completely black with the white flowing elegantly over his entire body, much like a snake, though there was neither a head or tail.
This man had shown up in the Trial of Beginnings, saved his life, handed him a weapon and the cultivation technique he was using at this very moment, then abruptly left. In all honesty, Roy had never expected to see him again. Yet here he was, standing not five yards away and beaming at him as though they were old friends.
“How are you here?” was the first question he asked when he overcame his initial shock.
“Afraid I still can’t tell you that,” the man said with a sigh. “Wouldn’t wanna get the big boss mad at me or anything.”
“Okay…So why are you here, and who is this ‘big boss’ of yours?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I came to congratulate you on passing your test,” the man said, hooking his thumbs into the blurry Belt at his waist.
It didn’t escape Roy’s notice that he completely skated over the second question. He thought about reiterating the question, but in the end, he decided against it. If the man wanted to keep his secrets, he doubted he’d be able to get them out of him even if he tried.
“Thanks…I guess?” Roy responded, not sure as to what this man really wanted.
“You’re quite welcome!” he replied, practically beaming.
Roy waited for him to say something else, but when several long moments passed and he didn’t say anything else, Roy continued.
“Is that all?” he asked, looking sidelong at the Torii gate that had appeared to lead him back out into Buryoku.
“I do believe that is it,” he replied, turning to walk away.
“Wait…what?!” Roy exclaimed, shocked. “You just show up out of the blue in a trial where no one but me is supposed to be able to access, just to congratulate me on passing?”
The man turned, still grinning widely.
“Yup!”
Roy shook his head and began rubbing at his temples – he could feel a headache coming on.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why come to congratulate me? Who even are you? And why are you interested in me?”
The man paused, seemed to think for a moment, then shrugged.
“Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to give you a little information. My name is somewhat of a secret, can’t let it get out that I’m still alive and all, but you can call me Azure.”
“Azure?” Roy asked with a raised eyebrow. “Never heard a name like that.”
“Oh, yes. Well, you see, I adore colors of all kinds, and I tend to take the names of those which are my favorite. Of course, they do change from time to time, but for now, it’s Azure.”
“Right,” Roy said, stretching out the word.
Either this man was completely crazy, or he was so powerful that his feeble mind simply couldn’t comprehend his genius. Roy suspected it was the former, though he didn’t voice his opinion out loud.
“Now, I can’t tell you why I’m interested in you specifically just yet, but I can give you a hint…”
Roy unconsciously leaned a bit closer as Azure lowered his voice. The man then looked around before giving him a conspiratorial wink.
“It has something to do…with the Martial Arts!”
Roy stared at him for a few long moments.
Yup, this guy is definitely crazy, he thought as the man straightened back to his full height.
A sudden rumble of thunder made him look up, and Azure’s smile faded into a grimace.
“Well, that’s my calling card. Gotta go!”
Roy stared as the blackness above was suddenly covered by roiling storm clouds crackling with lightning.
“Oh, one last thing before I go!” he said, his expression remaining serious. “You might want to look at that scroll I gave you. You may just learn something new!”
Before Roy could ask him what he meant, a bolt of lightning flashed down from above, consuming the man with an unpleasant sizzling sound. However, when the lightning vanished a split-second later, the man who called himself Azure was gone. A moment after that, the storm clouds vanished as well, leaving him alone on the golden stage, surrounded by blackness once more.
Not even bothering to question what had just happened, Roy turned to the Torii gate. Despite his odd and eccentric behavior, Azure had sparked an interest in him. Roy might not have gotten a single answer out of the man, but he had told him to look at the scroll. Roy wondered if perhaps there might be some information he’d overlooked.
The only problem was that the scroll was still in his pack, which had been taken from him by that mystery clan who was holding Aika prisoner. At least, he was pretty sure she was being held there against her will and didn’t actually hate him. Either way, they would have looked at the scroll by now, and if they figured out what it was, they’d most likely not want to give it up.
Geon had claimed that the cycling technique on there was an extremely old one, and one that was likely more efficient than anything they had in the world today. Something that valuable would not be given up lightly, especially by a clan who’d sentenced him to death simply for not being strong enough.
Roy shook himself and headed for the gate. Standing around here and thinking wouldn’t get the job done. He had to get out of here, go and try to increase his power with the Beast Cores he’d hidden, then mount a rescue mission and somehow get Aika out of a camp filled with high Dan Green-Belts and their Blue-Belt commander. It shouldn’t be too hard, right?
“Oh, wow, that was a lot of information,” Geon unexpectedly broke into Roy’s thoughts.
“Geon! You’re back?”
<
br /> “Yes, I know. It’s been some time. How many days has it been?”
“Um…about fifteen minutes,” Roy replied.
“That long, huh? I figured that since it was so much information, I would…Wait, what!?” Geon cut off midsentence sounding just as surprised as him. “Just fifteen minutes? You have to be lying. Wait, you’re still in the trial, so you can’t be. How very interesting.”
“I’ll say!” Roy answered, heading out of the exit gate and back into the luminescent forest. “I was expecting you to be out for at least a week, if not more.”
“It seems that my mental faculties are slowly returning as you grow. We will have to experiment with this further at a different time. In the meantime, I have some new information which may interest you.”
“Oh, really? Like what?” Roy asked, crouching down at his hiding spot and digging out one of the Power Beast Cores.
“Well, for one, that Beast Core you’re holding doesn’t just contain Essence,” Geon said as Roy smoothed the ground over once more.
This surprised him, but after scanning it with his Spirit Sense, all he could feel was Essence. In fact, there was so much of it he could scarcely believe it. There was likely enough to carry him all the way to the 2nd, maybe even 3rd Dan, which was absolutely incredible. Most of the elders in the Shah clan would never reach that high before they died.
“I can’t feel anything else,” he said, sitting with his back to a tree and getting into his cycling position.
“That’s just because you don’t know what you should be looking for. Here, let me help you with that…”
Roy listened as Geon outlined a set of instructions, going over details of Essence he hadn’t even known existed.
“…And when you’re finished with that, layer it over the current Sense you’re using, then allow it to extend out of your skin in a cloud. This should make you far more sensitive to your environment,” he finished.