Being in the middle of nowhere, Chris decides to go into the mountain and makes his way against some fierce animals such as wildcats and bears ending their hibernation. For any human without powers, it would have been a very dangerous journey, but for Chris it was very easy to build solid stone walls to block the attacks of wild animals.
Having wandered the mountainous region throughout the day, he eventually reaches a cave to shelter from the rain:
“Wow, here it starts to rain more suddenly than in the temple, even the air feels less dense.” Chris says loudly panting despite being alone, trying to catch his breath so quickly, “Walking up a hill almost makes me faint.”
“If that alone is enough to exhaust you, you will not survive. You’ll die.” says a male voice, much lower than that of the monks of the temple.
“The only person in the whole area, you must be the old friend of-” but Chris is abruptly interrupted.
“Hama must have left you here, she always does what she pleases, I seriously don't understand the Air element. Everyone justifies their actions by being "free," only causing unnecessary problems.” complains a man at the bottom of the cave.
“I don't plan to make trouble; I just want to rest.” replies Chris with a very much exhausted expression in his eyes, «One thing after another, Karen leaves the temple, Fanny gets fed up with me, Yamamoto kicks me out of the temple, and Hama leaves me in the middle of nowhere. Now a man complains about my very existence. I'm fed up. »
The hermit sees Chris carefully, the awkward silence lengthens, the docility of the young man in front of him makes him more uncomfortable than watching a man kiss a dog on the muzzle. The man's piercing gaze makes Chris stay defensive while trying not to be a nuisance.
“How disgusting.” the hermit replies as he looks away from his figure, “I hate unnecessary problems, but what I hate most are weak people like you.”
“And who cares about that?! You are just a filthy man in a cave in the middle of nowhere!!!” Chris explodes when he receives a strong criticism.
As soon as Chris finishes speaking, he notices the atmosphere around him, the environment is flooded with a suffocating pressure that makes all his senses indicate the same thing: Death. The hermit wields a sword, and the pressure increases as he wields it in his direction.
All the animals of the region ran in terror with the pressure and throughout the area all can see an immense flare rising from inside the mountain to the skies, splitting the storm clouds and interrupting the torrential rain. Just outside the cave, Chris is all badly injured, his clothes have almost been completely incinerated, and his whole body is smoking.
The hermit comes out of the cave with the sword that almost destroys the entire area and is a little surprised that the young intruder has survived his attack. He claims that even a powerful adept would not be able to withstand an attack of that magnitude, so it will give him a chance to survive.
«Chance? What the hell are you talking about? You almost killed me just for being in front of him. » Chris thinks as he tries not to lose consciousness.
“I hate the weak, I'm not going to repeat myself.” says the hermit who prostrates on top of him while the twilight sky clears over them, “I can't stand a world where you are weak, so either you get stronger, or I destroy you.”
«I’m fainting, I don't understand what he's saying anymore. » Chris is already losing consciousness.
Chris wakes up in the same place and the hermit has dinner prepared at the campfire in front of him. With his body sore and his guts roaring from not eating all day, Chris extends his arm to reach for a piece of meat from the campfire, but the hermit hits his hand in reprimand.
“That's my food, get yours.” says the hermit with his mouth full of delicious deer meat, “One more thing, I am disgusted by the primitive way in which you use your elemental powers, do not move the earth again or I will kill you on the spot.”
Chris didn't eat that night or the next day, he was at the awkward point of his body healing while demanding nutrients to carry out the work. He collected water from a nearby river and seeing fish swimming against the current he tried to catch one, but was unsuccessful, plus huge bears appeared even hungrier than him.
Automatically, Chris was about to fight with them with the power of the earth, but he remembered the words of the hermit and before he could make use of his powers, he could feel the same pressure fall on him practically from the sky. The presence was just as overwhelming, but it was enough for the bears to come out terrified and Chris was able to continue catching the big and juicy fish.
Still unable to make use of his innate abilities, practically Chris’ day flies away as he roamed the area in incognito, looking for resources to survive: berries, edible plants, animal habitats that he could hunt and develop the means to get hold of the precious meat.
For the next 2 months Chris was living in the open, living more as an animal than as a person. Sometimes he could see the hermit in the distance, even if he showed no signs of it Chris could feel his piercing lookout over him.
At a certain point, the hermit arrived at Chris' camp and incinerated with his fire what he had built:
“Is that how you plan to survive? Are you satisfied with meeting your needs like an animal?” asks the hermit, “Is it that you don't have a shred of pride in being a human?!”
But Chris didn't respond, he was just immersed in staying alive, although it was strange to him. As lonely and dangerous as his current life was, he was still struggling to survive, the hermit knows the answer, but there is no point in telling him directly.
Wielding his sword, the hermit begins to attack Chris and chases him all over the place:
“You try so hard to survive that you forget to be a person.” the hermit says as he wields the sword, “You better not sit still, because at the slightest opportunity you will end up dying. How much will you be able to resist?”
For the first time Chris' expression stopped being dull and apathetic, for the first time in a long time his gaze was shiny, although he was completely terrified and running for his life. Sneaking through the foliage of the forest, receiving cuts all over his body by the branches of bushes, Chris' whole body was covered with wounds and dirt as he tries to catch his breath.
In less than a minute the hermit finds him and resumes the persecution, and the situation remained for about 2 months. Figuring out to survive, Chris couldn't stay in one place for long, plus the intervals for the hermit to find him didn't have a pattern, sometimes he found him right away and at other times he could spend a few hours.
Due to the constant persecution, Chris had to learn to analyze and predict, if the hermit chased him, then it meant that he could prepare in advance some traps to facilitate his escape and ensure his survival. On each occasion that he received attacks with the sword, he analyzed the movement patterns of the hermit, the postures, and occasions in which they were used, sometimes imitating them in order to discover weak points and openings.
Chris went so far as to confront the hermit in order to get more information about him, although on each occasion he ended up seriously injured. It even hurt to breathe, but he was already so used to the pain that it did not affect him, although he still considered the condition of his body. Making use of his knowledge in herbalism, Chris made ointments to treat his wounds, avoid infections and rest his body as much as possible.
Over the course of an entire month, Chris gathered the materials to make his own sword, carved from the wood of a very large and imposing tree. He had to prepare a hiding place and return to work the weapon without the hermit noticing. Knowing that it was impossible to confront him, he had to learn to brandish it by taking full advantage of what he observed from his attacker.
Having trained on his own for 5 months, Chris finally wielded his wooden sword to face the hermit, although he had no chance of winning. No, his main goal was to make use of his sword to improve his chances of survival in pursuit. The hermit let out of his presence a little when he saw Chris's brazenness, causing him to attack him with more ferocity.
From the first few seconds of the fight, it was evident, all of Chris's attack attempts were easily blocked. Every clash of the swords told him that he was hitting a "mountain", something immovable. Every time Chris received a blow, he remembered it with frustration, having allowed an opening caused him multiple injuries and a lot of pain.
After a more severe beating than ever, Chris analyzed the new repertoire his opponent demonstrated, even if he couldn't lift his arms from all the blows he received on them, still, he wielded the sword in his mind. This new phase lasted just over a year, during which time Chris began to become more and more accurate and precise, improved his hunting abilities and even drove the bears away from the river where he fished on his first day.
Without realizing it, Chris had gone through a metamorphosis and was no longer the sniffy young man who fell from the sky. Looking at his face in a pool of water he could see that even his gaze changed, although he didn't care at all, his only idea in the mind was to survive.
Feeling a presence, Chris feels something falling from the sky and investigates the point of impact, only to realize that Hama arrived after such a long time. She only apologizes for having taken so long, after all one thing led to the other and flew by a year and a half. Although that two-way comment is very bold to tell Chris covered in recent wounds, scars and dirt as far as it is not reached.
As compensation, Hama decides to instruct Chris, because it is practically a miracle to have survived so long with Charles. That’s when Chris realizes that after all that time, he did not even know the name of the hermit who besieged him.
While receiving martial arts instruction, Hama noticed how Chris had changed, but turned a blind eye. She taught him some basic techniques, such as cutting punch with his hand, circular punches, and applying perpendicular force to deflect an attack.
For Chris, all those lessons connected quite easily with what he learned analyzing Charles:
“Well, it's a good sign that you realized that.” Hama says somewhat uncomfortable by epiphany, “It means that what you have learned is marked very deep in your being, you absorbed the essence of something intangible such as an action.”
“Something intangible?” Chris asks with great interest.
“How to explain it?” Hama asks herself for a few moments until she gets to the answer, “Anyone can explain to you how to do something, from fastening your laces to making a tie knot, but when you do it for yourself you realize the difference. That is the essence of an action, and only the one who carries it out will gain experience, true knowledge.”
“Experience...” Chris mutters thoughtfully of Hama's teaching.
“You Earth adepts always have your feet on the ground, but the adepts of Air are good at letting our minds fly.” Hama says with a smile.
After a short break, the two resume training and sessions always began when Charles retired. Chris found it strange that Hama would appear whenever Charles was away, but she says he noticed her presence, only that it must seem to him a hassle to deal with her.
Hama's reputation has never been the best, but it's not something she can control, it's what she earns accordingly to being herself. Those words sank into Chris as he stands up from the ground, understanding what she meant, remembering his past in Yamamoto's temple.
With great focus on training, Chris spends a couple of months connecting Hama's teachings with what he learned by observing Charles. The combat sessions with Hama were summarized in that they were mostly exchanges of blows and kicks, Hama always allowing him to find openings for him to take advantage of and learn to block and counterattack.
In a single one-hour session, Chris would block and strike close to 1000 punches and kicks, leaving his body incredibly tired, but with each attack and block he could feel it strengthening. Deflecting attacks with the back of his hand, attacking openings with elbows, knees, forearms, Chris learned a very complete repertoire of how to use any part of his body to block, deflect and return attacks.
One night, while Hama watched Chris devour an entire leg of deer, she tells him that Charles was used to loneliness, even more than he was. That's why she decided to put them together, the two are ingrained loners, but together they may come out of the cave of their lives.
Chris does not agree with her, he received many beatings to get along with Charles, but something good could come out of this situation:
“I've never felt more alive than I do now.” Chris says with overwhelming serenity as he gazes at the campfire.
Two years after falling from the sky, Chris faces Charles again, this time with a strange fire in his gaze. The two do not speak at all and ram into each other with their swords, initiating their combat.
There is an abysmal difference in brute force between the two warriors, while Chris' body trembles from exerting with his whole being, Charles is completely still, as if he were a mountain. Chris backs down from being pushed with Charles' sword, but Chris' gaze is analytical, proving that he has no intention of giving up.
Hama watches the two men's fight from the top of the mountain:
“Heavens, Charles is still lousy holding on.” she says out loud, even though there is no one to listen to her.
«I can't break his defense, so I'll have to elude it to catch up with him. » Chris plans in a matter of seconds before pouncing on his opponent.
“Do you only know how to go in a straight line?” Charles asks annoyed by how boring Chris' strategy is, «After two years of surviving in the open, it's obvious that he plans something. »
As soon as Chris enters range, Charles watches as Chris' body settles in to launch his attack. He recognizes the pose, so he blocks his sword from his right flank, a diagonal descending cut of opening, a simple but effective move, if it is blocked then the attacker has a chance to block the counterattack.
Charles knows that Chris is mimicking his swordplay, so he doesn't hesitate to raise the level of combat. He stops holding the clash of swords, causing Chris to lose balance and prepares to hit him directly in the abdomen, but Chris takes advantage of his fall to attack him from the right side instead.
«He retaliated the attack that was going to strike him, he has studied me extensively. He is not imitating my movements; he is using them against me. » Charles deduces in the instants it takes for the wooden sword to come into contact with his body.
«There are only two options left: 1) You dodge leaning forward, turning your back on me and giving me moments to attack you; and 2) You dodge leaning back, backing up and giving me a chance to attack you again. » Chris thinks as he is focused to his opponent.
However, Charles is a more experienced warrior than Chris can imagine, opting for a third option. He hits the wooden sword with his knee, deflecting his attack and opening an opening to kick him with the sole of his foot, causing Chris to vomit blood.
The young man is thrown by the force of the kick and twists from the pain, for the first time in a long time the pain affects him, but that only makes him feel more alive. His breathing is heavy, he gasps as he resists continuing to vomit blood, but his gaze is more piercing than before.
As Charles lowers his leg, Chris can't help but smile as he stands up, wielding his sword which was clearly weakened by the knee. He realizes that the wooden sword will not endure much before it finishes splitting in half, so he must finish the fight as soon as possible.
Chris approaches Charles once again, he knows that the swords must not collide or his wooden sword will break, so he must dodge all attacks and attack him as soon as there is an opening in his defense. Using the experience gathered over the past two years, Chris recognizes Charles' habits when it comes to attacking and defending, all he has to do is be quick enough to react in time.
«His dominant arm is the right, he never hits with his left arm, which makes him seem slow, but he's actually fast enough to need only one arm to fight. However, the left arm moves it first to prepare for the movement of the right arm. » Chris analyzes being back in range, «He never wears a defense pose because he encourages attacks...Does he fight using counterattack always? »
«Too late. » Charles thinks, having found a slight sign of distraction in Chris's expression.
Charles raises his sword and attacks from above, causing the same pressure as at the beginning of the training, as if the sky fell on Chris, but the experience helps him in times of crisis. Having experienced that situation on multiple occasions, Chris' body reacts by instinctively connecting his knowledge with his impulses, Chris jumps and turns horizontally, deflects Charles' sword with his own and exposes him.
In an instant that seems to last minutes, Chris has Charles in reach, lands his left foot after the rotating attack and Charles realizes the intention of the young man. As soon as he lands his right foot, which he normally uses as a pivot, he will give a thrust directly to the heart.
For the first time in two years of knowing him, Charles can feel in Chris something he just woke up, Killer Instinct, Chris has every intention of killing him and does not blame him, but he is not even close to letting him do it. Charles lets out his own murderous instinct, very different from the pressure exerted by his powerful attacks, trying to make Chris doubt.
What Chris decides to do at the last moment will define his path, if he backs down out of fear, he will never have such a chance again and will leave a scar on his being in formation; if he ignores the imminent threat to which he is pouting he will be discarding his own life uselessly, throwing away the quality that defined him for the last two years, the survival instinct.
However, like Charles, Chris opts for a third option: he will continue with the attack, evading the threat to the greatest extent possible. He can't dodge the counterattack completely because of the momentum of his own attack, but he can use his pivot to take a side jump.
Taking advantage of both impulses, front and side, only his sword is below Charles' attack, breaking his sword in half, but he still has a blade. With what is left of his sword and the great proximity, Chris directs a sword attack at his neck, Charles tries to kick him once again, but with the side jump Chris has both legs in the air.
Chris lands his feet on Charles' knee, knowing that the kick is not circular, the leg serves as a platform. Squatting, Chris tries to end the fight with beheading, but Charles leans back, dodging the sword and retreating in combat for the first time in the two years they have been together in the mountains.
“You almost killed me twice in a single second, something no one has achieved in many years.” Charles declares to Chris that he was left lying on the ground after his last attack failed, “Are you satisfied, Hama?”
“Of course, I told you that this guy has a lot of potential.” replies the sorceress that descends from the sky, “But you have not said the words I seek.”
“I will train him, but not because you want him, but because he has earned it.” Charles clarifies annoyed towards Hama.
“Aren't you happy, Chris?” Hama asks his badly wounded student relieved, “Anyone in the history of the whole world would kill for an opportunity like this.”
“Train me? Wait a minute, and why should I train with you?” Chris asks the hermit who has tormented him so much.
“Because I say so, so don't question what I say. I will not repeat myself.” says Charles quite imposing towards Chris who is all emaciated by the fleeting fight, “Also, the change in you began from before you got here and if you don't complete it, you will inevitably get lost. It's not something you should go through alone.”
Those last words really impacted Chris, they weren't an attack, it wasn't blunt, they were the first words of real support he's received in a very long time. Something he thought he had lost began to ignite within him, different from the survival instinct or the Killer Instinct, it was something more, it made him feel... Not bad.
Back in the present, Chris looks at the campfire as if it were at that time:
“He was the kind of person who wants you to be strong for yourself and no one else because you can't take care of others but take care of yourself at least. Even though I separated from him a few days ago, a part of me misses all the training, every step, every exercise. Once I finished my training with him remembering the whole tour makes me feel truly grateful.” Chris says as he gazes at the flames of the campfire, remembering that time, “Someday I will see him again to express my gratitude. He welcomed me into my darkest time.”
The girl was left with a look of being completely immersed in his words and begins to ask if she will do all that and Chris immediately clarifies that no, it is not necessary, just to maintain the concept of his training, more than to lose the fear is to let fear drive you to survive adversity. The girl begins to tell him back a story of hers.
“I'll start with my name; my name is Ha-Hanna.” says the girl as she looks at the campfire.
That the shy girl begins to open her heart to Chris is the first step toward an uncertain path, one that will take shape with every step she takes from there.
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