The Phantom blade

As Azrael stood in the Watchers Gate, he marvelled at Mortimer's plan for him to learn sword techniques. It was incredibly efficient, almost unfair.

"Does this mean I can train here without time passing in the real world?" Azrael asked, hoping for a way to improve his skills without wasting precious time in the physical plane.

"Time doesn't completely stop in the physical plane, it only flows far slower. But yes, you could train here without any significant amount of time passing in the physical plane. However, the 'you' present here is only a spiritual copy, and although training here helps, you will only gain mental knowledge of what you learn. Applying this knowledge physically is another aspect," Mortimer explained.

"Let's not waste much time so as not to use too much of your dark ki," Mortimer advised, sensing Azrael's eagerness to learn.

"Does being here use up my dark ki?" Azrael inquired.

"Yes, it does. Crossing over to this plane uses up your dark ki, but way less than it would take if you were to bring your physical being into the Watchers Gate or summon me into the physical plane. Simply put, communication and spiritual existence in this plane takes less amount of your dark ki to carry out," Mortimer clarified.

"Let's get back to the task at hand," Mortimer said. "I will teach you a sword technique called the 'Advanced Phantom Blade,' which ranges from low to extremely high levels of difficulty depending on how much of its power you can unleash. It is a quick-draw technique that allows you to inflict multiple cuts with a single attack. I chose this technique as the first to teach you because it grows in power the more you do."

Azrael eagerly reached to unsheathe his sword, ready to learn, only to realize it was in the physical plane and not present in the Watcher's Gate. With a slight wave of his hand, Mortimer conjured a sword in front of Azrael.

Azrael walked over to the sword, examining it closely. It was remarkably well-made for something conjured out of thin air. He unsheathed the sword and swung it around, testing its weight.

Mortimer waved his hands once more, and four dark human-like figures materialized from the darkness, each holding a weapon. They were featureless, with no discernible facial features, and completely black.

"Watch closely," Mortimer instructed as one of the dark figures stepped forward.

The figure gripped the sword hilt with its left hand, its thumb bent under the hilt, and held the hilt firmly with its right hand. In a flash, the other three figures were cut multiple times as they dissipated into the darkness. To most others, it would have looked like the figure drew and sheathed its sword quickly, but Azrael saw what really happened.

Although it appeared as if the figure had made multiple strikes with the sword, Azrael had seen it draw and strike the other figures once. But by the time the figure had sheathed its sword, the other figures had been sliced through multiple times.

Azrael was perplexed. "It had cut only once so how?" he asked, unable to understand what had just happened.

Mortimer clarified, "Yes, they were only cut once, not multiple times."

"But they were cut into pieces," Azrael protested.

Mortimer then explained the technique known as the Phantom Blade. "It relies on the user's mastery of swordsmanship, body movement, and perception. When the user draws their sword, they do it in such a way that the blade creates an illusion of multiple slashes." With a wave of his hand, Mortimer portrayed the technique visually, just as Ren had done earlier.

He continued, "This illusion is so convincing that the opponent's mind, including onlookers like yourself, registers each of the phantom cuts as if they were real, physical wounds. The Phantom Blade works by exploiting the limitations of low-level perception and even high-level if done well. Brains are wired to process visual information in a certain way, and the user of this technique takes advantage of that. By moving their sword in a very specific way, they create afterimages of the blade that the opponent's brain interprets as real slashes."

"In reality, the user only cuts once, but the opponent feels as if they were cut multiple times. This can be extremely disorienting and demoralizing, as the opponent might think they are already losing the fight even though they have only sustained one actual injury. Additionally, the illusion of multiple cuts might cause the opponent to focus on defending themselves against the wrong attacks, leaving them open to other strikes or maneuvers," Mortimer concluded.

Azrael questioned, "So you're saying that they weren't actually cut, as the cuts were just illusions?"

Mortimer responded, "no. The technique used was the advanced Phantom Blade."

He continued, "The Phantom Blade technique creates the illusion of multiple sword slashes, but by infusing ki energy into the blade, the user can make the phantom slashes real and actually cut through their opponent's body. By channeling ki into the sword and focusing it at the tip, the user can release a burst of energy that creates multiple afterimages of the sword, all imbued with the same energy as the original strike."

Azrael sighed, "I thought you said it was low difficulty."

Mortimer replied, "It is compared to most techniques."

Curious, Azrael asked, "How can I learn it?"

Mortimer simply stated, gesturing to the dark figures, "These will be your practice targets. They're not real, so you don't have to worry about getting hurt."

Mortimer began instructing Azrael, "First, you must learn the Phantom Blade. We will start with a single phantom slash. You must defeat each of these dark figures, but you can only land an attack after you have successfully deceived them with a feint. Once you can perform one phantom slash successfully, we can increase the number of slashes and move forward from there"

"Alright," Azrael replied, drawing his sword. He added, "Let them come."