The will

The voice of the masked man echoes through the world. The entity looks down a bit and its eyes glow brighter. The position it takes shows its anger. All its muscles are covered with veins so big it seems like they're about to explode. Kazuki wants to know more about what the masked man just said but the entity disappears, leaving no time for the kid to ask questions. It rushed to the masked man almost instantly, splitting in two the bottomless water on his path. The Masked man only has the time to protect himself with his arms covering his face. The entity throws a powerful punch which sends the intruder flying through the world, almost getting him out of it. The masked man is shocked by the strength of this new opponent. He tries to flee from the hit but every time a hit doesn't land on him, the sheer strength of its fist is enough to send him flying a few meters away. He knows the black figure isn't fighting at the fullest of its capacity, always using the same moves, yet not giving him the chance to fight back.

"Fighting here is too dangerous for me.. I do not have my full strength.."

Those words sent another shiver through Kazuki's spine. If the attacker isn't fighting with his full strength here, he cannot imagine the gap between them in the real world.

The chase between the masked man keeps going in Kazuki's inner world. But to his eyes, all he sees is a red light fleeing from a golden one. They illuminate the sky and the ground with the trail they live and the flashes every time they meet. Finally, high in the air, the black figure grabs the masked man by the throat before launching him down. The impact on the ground shakes the whole world. The Black figure descends straight forwards, falling like a meteor towards the masked man. The intruder has nearly no time to avoid the attack, almost getting touched by the falling star. There is a second impact at the landing of the black figure. The masked man is penting. He looks at his hands, slightly shaking. He looks at Kazuki for a few minutes and turns his gaze back to the black figure, which is getting back up. His voice shakes as much as his body is.

"This thing.. If only I could get my hand on it and the others.. I'm not enough to fight this. We'll meet again… Kazuki."

And like he came, the masked man disappears by blending with the water. The water blends back together. The entity slowly walks back towards Kazuki, who is resting from the intense fight. Kazuki looks at it, with admiration. The way he just made the Masked man flee with some punches. Kazuki wants to be as strong as the black man. That's it. That's his will. He wants to be the man strong enough to win against the masked. He wants to be him.

The entity stands before him. It looks down on the child. Then it turns its gaze in a direction beyond the rock structure, at the opposite of where the fight took place. Kazuki stands up and looks in the same direction. In the distance, Kazuki can see a tiny black spot standing on the water. It's another figure. Kazuki starts to rush towards the new thing, but his forehead starts to burn where the mark is. He falls on the water. Everything suddenly becomes black again.

While Kazuki was sleeping, Master Yi came back. He looks at Kazuki. He sees blood on the bed and marks on Kazuki's face. There is also a little burn left by the mark of the eye on Kazuki's forehead. Master Yi takes a deep expression, because those elements show that his worries were right.

"So they were here.. As predictable as I thought.."

Kazuki slowly wakes up. He looks around him. Master Yi is crushing something on a plate with his fists. When he sees movements in the bed, the old man stops his activity. He wipes his fists on a tissue and approaches the young boy.

"How are you doing, my boy ? You slept well, it seems."

Kazuki thinks about what just happened. He looks at the blood on the bed. He turns again face to face with his master. He wonders if the old man really didn't see the blood or if he is just ignoring it. Kazuki takes time to answer. Master Yi seems curious about the time Kazuki takes. The young boy remembers what the masked man told him. Should he doubt his master? No. He still thinks that he is the only one he can trust. Maybe the masked man wanted him to be confused by spreading false information. But there is definitely something he doesn't know yet. It's not the first time. Tian-Han didn't tell him the name of his father. Kazuki trusts the judgment of the old man. But to try to break the master's character, Kazuki decides to become a bit colder for once.

"Pretty well…"

The nicknames that the masked man gave to Tian-Han rings in Kazuki's head. However, calling him an old ape might be a bit too harsh and he'll get in trouble if he uses it. He doesn't want to use this one, as it is too insulting. Deep down, he can't hurt his master. So he decides to use the other one.

"... Old.. Man."

But Tian-Han seems pretty amused by the new label. He even laughs a bit before entering in the game that the young boy is playing with him.

"How did you call me, young boy?"

Unsure if his master is about to laugh or to scold him, he carefully thinks twice before answering.

"-Old man.

-Haha. Watch your tongue, my boy. You'll call me Old man when I'll be on my deathbed. I'm still far away from it.

-Death.. Bed?

-When I'll be on the verge of death, Kazuki.. You know, I won't always be there. But by the time it happens, you should be old enough to take care of yourself. Oh, don't make such a sad face! You don't have to worry about it yet, my boy! As far as I know, I'm still there!"

Even if Master Yi is joking with Kazuki, it hides some parts of the truth. He is getting old. He won't always be there for Kazuki, and with every day passing, the critical day is getting closer. Being called an Old man by his student is an event which might happen sooner than both of them think it is. But thinking about it brings nothing to the table so he chases the thought away from him.

As always, the old man puts his hands in Kazuki's hair. This move, he feels like it recently happened. And then, he remembers. The Black figure. It's the same movement. It just confirmed to Kazuki the link between the events and Master Yi. If he couldn't believe the masked man, at least he can trust Tian-Han.

Tian-Han went back to crushing some kinds of plants with his fist. Kazuki, curious, looks at them.

"What is it?"

The old man answers quickly to Kazuki without interrupting his work.

"Twilight Lotus petals. It's the main ingredient for the Serenithral Veil Elixir. It'll temporarily numb your pain."

Kazuki looks at Tian-Han mixing the petals's powder with other unknown ingredients and puts it in a teapot filled with hot water. After a bit of time, letting the plants infuse in the water, Tian-Han serves a cup to Kazuki. The liquid has no smells and seems pretty bland. After gathering some courage, Kazuki dips his lips into the liquid and tastes it. It has a very bitter taste. It's difficult to drink because of it. He decides to drink it all at once. He almost threw up the entire drink but does his best not to. He takes some time to be sure he won't throw up and breathe in order to try lowering the awful taste. Once done, he can return to his previous thoughts.

Kazuki turns to his master. He wants to tell him something but hesitates. He takes a deep breath to get some more courage.

"Master… I.. I want to be stronger! I have enough to stay in bed each time I use the Art.. I want to be as strong as you! And if those bad guys show up again, I'll be able to beat them!"

Tian-Han turns to Kazuki and smiles. He gives the kid a second cup of the beverage. The young boy grimaces and the old man laughs. Tian-Han puts his hands on Kazuki's shoulders. His words are gentle but strong.

" Alright then. We'll resume your training once you'll feel better without the elixir. But be aware that it will be harder than the first time. But for now, drink"

Kazuki isn't scared anymore, because he wants to be stronger. That's his will. The old man gave him the confidence he needed. He still drinks the cup as fast as possible because the taste is unbearable.

Once he drinks the elixir, he starts to feel better in every way possible. The pain gradually goes away and he can't feel any new pain as long as the substance makes its effect. He could hurt himself and feels nothing during this short time of numbness. And everyday he'll consume the drug until he feels better.