The Art

"But before explaining it to you, Kazuki.. I have to make sure that you understand something. What happened that night, in your bedroom, was real."

The old man stares at him with a really stern expression on his face, which is pretty rare from Kazuki's point of view. The kid can only trust the words of the old man and takes time to digest the information. The only one that he could trust, his master, is telling him that it's real. It sounds so unbelievable to him. To his eyes, what he witnessed was impossible, yet the contrary is the truth.

"- So.. the rooms moving.. the light disappearing.. everything.. Did it really happen ?

- Yes. That's what I just told you. It was real. You see, this world is ruled by forces that are beyond what you know or what you already saw. Things that you can't imagine yet."

And as his master said this, it's like something rings in his head. He connects some dots, and it's like an illumination. It was so obvious, under his eyes, but he didn't know what it was. It's like having the end of a book hidden at its beginning, but not being aware of it until reaching the revelation. He does have evidence before having those explanations. He did saw an example of it, at least he thinks so. For him, it is like..

".. the invisible force."

The Master looks at Kazuki, his curiosity teased by the sudden words of his student. He definitely seems suspicious about "the invisible force" Kazuki experienced. 

"- Mmh ? The invisible force ? What is it ?

- I had a dream, before leaving the room... The night of the accident. It's.. Hum.."

As the kid struggle to finds his words, the old man speaks before him to guide him. 

- Oh, really ? Was it the same as the one before ?

- No.. it was.. different.. It was scary.. but not as much as the nightmare.. It's just that.. I didn't understand what I saw. It was beautiful but it was scary, very scary. Especially the moon.

- I see.. And what happened in this dream ?

- I was walking on water.. It was a dark water and.. There was that water everywhere as a ground... And screams, that turned into voices once underwater.. And I grabbed a star..

- You grabbed a star, huh ?"

The kid nods. Tian-Han was surprised by this declaration. But in the eyes of the old man, something hinted that it's not an ordinary declaration. There is more behind it.

"-But I think I dropped it when the invisible force pushed me out of the dream.

-Can you tell me more about the voices? 

Kazuki takes some time to remind himself about the voices. He doesn't remember about one in particular. 

"No.. I.. I don't remember clear.."

The old man thinks about what his student is telling him. It is clearly that he suspect something about that "dream". 

"I see. And what about the nightmare you had ?"

The kid starts to think, but the memories of the nightmare seem even more blurred than the dream or the attack which occurred during the same night. 

"It was also really weird.. and..scary.. but, I can't clearly remember what happened."

The old man takes a moment to think about what he is about to say. He takes another deep breath and speaks with a firm voice. 

"Listen carefully, Kazuki. Everything I'm going to tell you is very serious, more than anything I taught you during those 10 years. It is a lot, so I hope you are ready"

Kazuki nods despites being nervous about what's coming. The kid is very attentive to every word of his master, being as silent as he can be. He seems like curved into a stone. His full attention is drawn towards Master Yi. After a few second to be sure that his student is listening, the old man keep talking

"Alright. I've got your attention. So, as I said earlier, this world is ruled by multiple forces. One of them can be found in every human. It's in the core of our body and our mind, in our spirit. This force, we managed to find a way to use and to give it a shape. It's called Art. It's not the art like painting or singing, things that I taught you. It's neither like martial arts, that you didn't learn yet. However, it could be a complement to the fighting styles. Or fighting styles could be a complement to the Art. Both are often learned together. Art is the external manifestation of your spirit. It's a powerful ability which, with training and fighting, can affect even the world around you. It's what happened when the room started moving during the night of the incident. Or when the moonlight disappeared."

But the curiosity is stronger than the young boy's will. The questions escape between his lips. The old man wasn't there when they happened, so how come that he knows about them? He needs answers 

"- How do you know ?

- I sensed it. But the movement of the room didn't allow me to come faster. You have to know that yet, it wasn't even the shape of their Arts. It was just their mere presence, the tiny bit of brutal energy which they let emanate from their body. Those two people, that night, could have killed you just by unleashing enough power. But they didn't do so. I suspect that some people threaten you, to bait me out of the temple. To be sure to do that and to be able to do so, then it means only one thing.. They are threats beyond any expectation, probably among the most powerful people of this era. 

- Do you possess the Art too ?

- I do. But if I used it, it would mean starting a fight with full power. It would have definitely erased you. I can't lose you. And the fight would be so destructive, that everything from the mountains far away to the nearby villages would have been reduced to ashes. And only with the pressure of our Arts, so many people would have met their end painfully crushed by something they couldn't understand.

- What does your art look like ? Does it turn off the lights too ? Or does it move things around ?

- It doesn't. Mine takes the form of rocks. I can shape and move the mountains. I built the temple with the help of my powers. 

- Can my Art do this too ?? And how do you use it ?

- Be patient. I didn't plan to teach you how to use the Art yet. I wanted for you to be a bit older, in case you'll have to go through an intense training to master just the ability to manifest it. Art can be achieved through different ways, some being harder than others. It's due to the fact that even though we all have this force in our spirit, people are more or less sensitive to it. Some are very sensitive and only need training to control their Art. On the contrary, some aren't sensitive to it at all and have to develop their spirit in order to just feel a glimpse of it. And about what your Art could do, well.. Art is unique to every being. It doesn't mean that it couldn't be similar to someone else's. It'll only depend on how your spirit will develop. There, you'll see the form that your Art will take."

Both of them stay silent for a short moment. Kazuki is trying to ingest whatever was just revealed to him, while the old man judges his reaction. But again, they are not sure how many times they have until the threats come back. It is an unsure race against time. Master Yi stands up from his chair and heads towards the exit door. He leave the room with those last words towards his beloved student :

"You'll make dreams again, my boy. I don't know if they will be nightmares or if you'll have that strange dream once more. Art users often see their inner worlds when they sleep, for an unknown reason. It might also be linked to your crisis you had since the incident. I'll tell you more about it when it calms down. And when you've recovered enough, I'll start training you. It's time I entirely fulfill my duty as your master."

He leaves Kazuki with so many answers, but yet 10 times more questions. Sleeping will become more troubled now that he knows about that. Kazuki takes some time to reflect on this discussion. It is a lot for his young mind.

"So.. That night.. And the nightmare.. And the dream.. They were all real.. What I saw.. Was real… It shouldn't be.. But Master Yi said it's real.. If I sleep again.. Will I dream again?" 

The question remains without an answer as he stays by himself in the bedroom, still processing all the information given by his Master.