Witnessing Death

"Hm.."

Aurelius looked at different sheathed weapons on the walls of the training room, his gaze pausing on a particular wooden sword with an exotic design.

Without hesitation, he raised his hand and grabbed the wooden sword, lifting it out of its sheath as its appearance unveiled.

Outwardly, the wooden sword was long and thin. Its long single-edged blade slightly curved while the handle attached was thick enough for two hands.

The single-edge exotic sword was light, weighing around 2 pounds, the type that could be held in one hand. It was different from the ordinary sword as it lacked the thickness of a normal straight blade, but such difference was compensated by the sharp and fatal edge it possessed.

Aurelius nodded to himself. He lifted the 'sword—katana' with one hand and swung it around, displaying his rudimentary skills.

Woosh!

Despite being made from wood, the wooden katana's edge flashed with sharpness, perfectly displaying why it was a weapon known for its sharp cutting edge.

There were many kinds of swords, but the type he was most accustomed to was the katana. It was his family's signature weapon.

After picking the katana, Aurelius returned back to where Valenmist was. 

"Is any sword fine?"

Valenmist faintly looked at the wooden sword before shrugging casually.

[It doesn't matter. All swords are the same at source anyway.] 

Aurelius nodded before asking.

"Okay, now what? You said you were going to test my talent… how do you exactly test my talent in the sword?"

As far as he knew, talent was something immaterial and invisible. It was hard to measure. But surely an immortal sword saint from a different world knew one or two tricks to it.

As soon as he said that, an unknown and ominous premonition suddenly erupted in him, as though he's standing at the edge of death.

Aurelius deeply breathed and shook his head. It shouldn't be that bad.

[How else?]

Valenmist chuckled as though it was obvious, his eyes flashing a tint of scarlet red.

[Turn your eyes here and look at my sword.]

As he spoke, he raised his hand and took the sheathed ancient sword hanging behind his back.

Huh? What sword…? Instinctively following his instructions, Aurelius looked at the rough sword on the man's hand, soon proving to be a mistake.

Thump! Thump!

At that moment, Aurelius felt an indescribable chill fizzle throughout his whole body as he heard a loud heartbeat. It was unknown whether it was his or the sword's.

The sheathed sword was akin to a divine item with life, twisting space and time itself. Under its presence, the void was non-existent while time was in chaos.

Just by looking at it, Aurelius fell prey to a deadly world of blood—dark, grimy blood dripping from its ancient sword's tip and surrounding its sheath was scarlet miasma, wailing, screaming, begging and despairing.

It's less of an illusion, and more of an intense recreation of reality.. Aurelius impressively thought while under the illusion. 

And as though sensing his gaze, the sheathed sword suddenly directed its invisible eyes to him. 

Thump!

At that moment, Aurelius felt his mind tear. Break and be dissolved. It was a feeling that couldn't be described in words—complicated symbols and power whirled around the sword, akin to forbidden knowledge and power, destroying the minds that came in contact with it.

Aurelius gasped, suddenly losing his sense of reality as his eyes were encroached of dark, red blood.

Under the world of blood, he could hear the screams of people begging, screaming and despairing. 

The sword couldn't be described as divine at all. It was for all intents and purposes, the definition of hell. Its mere existence twisted spacetime and destroyed minds.

Despite the hell and psyche destroying effects it brought, Aurelius managed to control his mind and close his eyes in a split second.

At that moment, as though happy, Valenmist nodded in acknowledgement and tapped the sword, dispelling the illusion and restraining the aura.

The ancient sword which exuded the aura of slaughter suddenly stilled under his command, as though an obedient puppy 

"Haaa…!"

Following that, Aurelius abruptly came back to reality, gasping desperately. He fell to the ground, sweat pouring down on his neck, while terror mixed with relief gushed him.

Bam!

He could feel again.

That calmed him, only slightly. He couldn't relax, for time felt like a never ending-eternity under the illusion. 

Aurelius heavily breathed, unnerved by what had experienced. Afraid to look at Valenmist, he closed his eyes before asking:

"Now… ha… can you tell me what that was about?"

Now, he wanted to lash out, but…

[Calm, determined and has some semblance of mastery of your own mental state. Underneath that carefree exterior of you, a calm and observant side lay in silence. And despite such a traumatic event, you managed to placate yourself.]

Valenmist said with a large smile. 

Hearing that, Aurelius' expression morphed into confusion and terror at the same time.

Seeing his face, Valenmist chuckled before explaining what the sword is.

[Yama is the first form of my sword. It's the sword that expresses Slaughter, the Incarnation of War. Anyone who sees it will be forcefully brought to an illusion by its aura. I use that particular trait to test those who wish to learn under me.]

Carefully thinking of his words, Valenmist paused before continuing.

[...The path of the sword is paved with bloodshed and destruction, I do not accept senseless slaughter and inclination towards demonic behaviour. In the world of blood, you expressed fear, showing your respect to life. Then you managed to calm yourself amidst it, displaying your mental mastery and worth to wield the sword. Subsequently, you averted your eyes from blood, showing that you do not have an inclination for senseless slaughter.]

Hearing the explanation, Aurelius was surprised as his mouth opened slightly, before closing. After a few seconds, he sighs in resignation.

"Dammit, you could've just asked for my medical records if you were wondering if I have a mental illness…"

Aurelius murmured silently before shaking his head. He looked to Valenmist and asked.

"So… am I talented in the sword or what?

Valenmist smiled, shaking his head gently.

[By managing to pass that, It doesn't matter if you're talented or not, what matters is that I accept you as my disciple. Even if you don't have any lick of talent, I can raise you into a master.]

Wow… Aurelius was impressed by the man. For the first time since the dream yesterday, the man resembled an immortal sword saint—one that could be effectively called a god of swords.

That made him forgive the man to an extent, but not enough to extinguish the boiling resentment inside him. 

Noticing a minute detail, Aurelius curiously asked.

"Then if that isn't how you measure talent, how do you do it?"

Valenmist replied without hesitation.

[Through the Profound Soul. In there, one could see the countless profoundities and origins a being has.]

Profound Soul…? Aurelius thought, furrowing his brows in confusion. 

Seeing his clueless expression, Valenmist explained.

[A Profound Soul is a person's true and undisguised essence. It's filled with countless profound symbols and knowledge that hide and represent a person's origin and identity, by extension talent. It's also known as a being's anchor to the material universe. Without it, a person cannot exist. On the other hand, the Vessel of Mind refers to the physical body.]

[I can gaze through the Profound Soul and look whether you have a certain affinity to swords or any kinds of other weapon.]

In other words, the Profound Soul where everything about me could be seen… Aurelius nodded slowly before smiling.

"Then do it. I'm curious what my soul looks like."

Valenmist shrugged and instructed him to raise his hand. Aurelius, remembering what happened earlier, hesitantly raised his hand to the air.

Seeing his disciple's reluctance, Valenmist chuckled before touching the hand hanging in the air.

Woosh!

At that moment, Valenmist gaze turned piercing as though it could see through anything material and immaterial.

Without wasting any time, he directed his gaze at Aurelius. Under his all-seeing pupils, he could see a pure floating mass inside with an underlying hint of mystery.

The pure floating mass, a hue of unblemished white, stretched throughout the insides of the Vessel of Mind, interwoven with its existence was both the mystery and origin of Aurelius.

It was the Profound Soul!

Valenmist looked at the Profound Soul and immediately found of the soul sword talent the kid has.

At that moment, the Profound Soul suddenly shook as its visage slowly shaped into a plain, sword of mist and fog.

'Heaven's Sword..?'

Valenmist thought in shock as he reeled back. However, before he could even confirm it, the plain sword of mist and fog suddenly dispersed as it revealed a new sword.

An exotic and strange sword that defied aesthetics was unveiled, its mere visage twisting the rules of reality as though a devil that could not exist.

'Demon's Sword…!? How is that possible…?!'

Valenmist choked as his shock turned into disbelief. It was already shocking enough for the Heaven Sword to be seen, but seeing it along with the Demon Sword?

It was incomprehensible. It broke everything about his current understanding about the two. Both soul swords were at the peak, however they were conflicting powers.

The Heavens Sword was the soul sword that allows the person to easily understand and master the rules and laws of the sword.

While the Demons Sword was the opposite, it was the soul sword that allows the person to easily distort and defy the rules set by the sword.

Usually any of the two appearing in a person symbolizes that the person would be a terrifying sword master in the future, there was no precedent of yet both appearing.

Even Valenmist, with his renowned talent for the sword, only had one sword soul—the All-things Sword which could copy all swords and make everything a sword.

It was also a soul sword comparable to Heavens Sword and Demons Sword, although a tad bit inferior.

While he was thinking, the sword visage suddenly dispersed once more and showed a new sword—the All-Things Sword!

'This…'

Valenmist choked. He didn't know if he was seeing things or not… it was as if the soul could be anything. But this strange and peculiar scene suddenly reminded him of something.

The Chaos Soul!

It was the legendary-most soul that is said to contain the mystery and origin of all things itself. The most mysterious and powerful type of Profound Soul, the user symbolizing to be equivalent to the master of everything!

'Impossible… If that's the case then he shouldn't be alive. If he has the Chaos Soul then either he explodes from his own talent or gets hunted by the terrifying existences in the cosmos.'

Valenmist shook his head. However, at that moment, while the Profound Soul continued to showcase itself—a chain lock that was interwoven to the soul immediately appeared and suppressed it.

Afterwards, the Profound Soul fell silent as though sealed by the chain lock.

Valenmist fell silent.