Two years

Nathan wiped the sweat from his brow and, without time to rest, a cane struck him in the face, sending him flying to the side. Coughing, Nathan leaned his hands on the carpet and spat blood before looking back at the old man. 

Boreas Kan, that was the old man's name. It had been a month since Nathan had left the realm and started training with the old man.

The first thing Nathan did after understanding his technique was to begin to feel the essence. The energy that all those with techniques possessed.

But a month had passed, and Nathan was unable to feel it. Boreas had told him that it was different for each person, so he could not help him.

Apart from that, Boreas began to train him with the sword, the weapon he also used. Nathan had never seen him use it, as the old man always used his cane, but his knowledge was huge, and Nathan dared not doubt him.

In that month he had learned the basics of sword use, mainly because Nathan had never used a sword before. He had no preference for any other weapon, so he simply decided to follow in Boreas' footsteps.

All went well, Nathan felt he was learning at a good pace, but there was only one problem. Boreas was incredibly aggressive and violent, and his training was completely spartan. The old man showed no mercy and every mistake Nathan made was rewarded with a heavy blow.

Nathan had learnt the hard way what a blow from the old man felt like without him holding back …his leg had learnt that.

Even if the old man's blows didn't break anything, they still hurt... a lot. Nathan felt like he was learning how to take pain, something that would serve him well in the future... but it was not a pleasant thing to learn.

His whole body was covered in bruises, and now his face was about to get one from the blow he had just received. There were even times when he fainted from the blows... it was a hell of a workout.

Boreas stopped after the blow and looked at him blankly. Sometimes it was easy to read the old man's feelings, but sometimes it was impossible for Nathan to know. It was as if he had two personalities.

But in general things were going well. Nathan began to have fewer nightmares and the training always left him so tired that he had no time for his fears and traumas to flourish.

Time passed and a year and a half later Nathan stood alone in the middle of the dojo, took a deep breath, and opened his eyes, indicating that he was ready.

Boreas attacked him with his cane as usual, only this time he didn't hold back as much as before. His staff easily pierced Nathan's heart, leaving a hole in his chest.

Seconds later, Nathan dodged the staff and lunged at the old man. His counter was easily blocked by the old man, and he swung his staff diagonally again, so fast that Nathan was almost unable to block it, falling to the ground and recovering quickly.

His breathing was heavy, and his body ached, but that did not stop him from continuing to train with the old man.

Two years had passed since Nathan arrived in the outskirts. He had already forgotten what a life of comfort was like, but he had gained many other things.

If Nathan had stayed with his family, he would probably still be living in his brother's shadow. He would probably be living with everything he wanted, he would not have entered a realm, and he would probably not have had the experiences he had.

If you asked Nathan if he would change his past, his answer would be a resounding yes. He might be better off now, but he would have preferred to spare himself the traumas.

But he still had a long way to go, the future was uncertain, and his mind could change.

At some point during the training, Nathan revealed to Boreas the power he possessed in addition to his technique.

Boreas responded with a simple nod, as if he had suspected it from the first day they met. That was one of the reasons why he decided to help him, thinking that his premonition, in addition to Nathan's insistence, had good potential.

So now Nathan's training sessions were shorter but harder. He had to constantly watch Boreas kill him in order to improve his control and reaction time to improper deaths.

It was dangerous training, because one mistake and Nathan could really die. The only consolation was that Boreas had great control over his attacks, so he wouldn't miss if he didn't want to.

Eventually Boreas stepped back and sighed.

"That's all for today"

Nathan relaxed his muscles and leaned on the wooden sword as he caught his breath.

"So soon?" Nathan asked as he looked at him in confusion.

It was still around 2 o'clock in the afternoon and they usually finished training around 6. So, it was normal that he didn't understand why Boreas was suddenly breaking the routine like this.

"Yes, I have to do something. So, get out of here quickly"

Nathan shrugged his shoulders and walked calmly out of the dojo, picking up his things and leaving the house in the direction of the factory. He walked to the river and took a bath, something Nathan always did because showers were not very common in the town. Besides, the river was next to the village, and no one went near it, thanks to the rumors.

When he had finished bathing, he left and arrived at the factory an hour later. 

Nathan approached the door, but just as he was about to touch it, he stopped and looked back. The factory was on the edge of town, in an area that was not too busy or dangerous.

People didn't usually go there, so everyone Nathan knew lived in the surrounding area.

Nathan felt that someone was looking at him, a feeling that was hard to describe, but he felt a small tingling sensation. A second later the feeling disappeared, leaving him confused, so he could only shrug his shoulders and finally enter the factory.

All was quiet and the atmosphere was dark. He could sense that something was wrong just by standing there. Nathan remembered that when he first arrived at the factory, there had been a dozen children laughing and running around.

Now there were only a few left, including him and Lira, who had grown up in the last year.

Nathan closed the door behind him and walked through the factory before going up to the first floor where his room was. When he entered his room, he found Lira sleeping comfortably in his bed.

The girl had taken to sleeping in Nathan's bed while he was away, as if she felt safe there.

Nathan had never told anyone what he did every day, so for the children it was like going to work. Boreas had a small vegetable garden, so every now and then he would bring them fresh vegetables and other fruit that he found as he walked through the forest between the village and the town.

Nathan approached Lira and sat down on the bed, watching her. The little girl felt the bed move and turned around to make herself more comfortable. Nathan laughed at the girl's innocent behavior and left her alone without disturbing her.

'Someone is definitely behind this…'

Over the past two years, Nathan had watched the children disappear one by one. At first, he took it as normal, but over time he realized that it was not natural for them all to disappear periodically.

Nathan had investigated the matter but had come up against a dead end. Whoever was responsible had covered their tracks very well. It's not like Nathan knew how to investigate properly either, so there were days when he followed the children secretly, just to make sure nothing happened to them.

On the days when he didn't follow them, the children would disappear. It was as if someone was deliberately avoiding him. 

Nathan felt bad about losing the children, but it wasn't really hard for him to get over them. He had no real attachment to them. But for Lira it was different, the girl had grown up in this place with many of them for years, to see her lifelong friends slowly dying was horrible for the girl's mentality.

That's why Lira spent most of the day sleeping, so she wouldn't have to see the place that was once full of children now empty.