The Trials

Me and Curly stepped forward, unaware what would await us. Once we touched the barrier, a sudden pressure enveloped us, but we didn't pass through it. Instead, darkness appeared all around us. "So, trials it is after all", I said, trying to figure out what to do. We didn't have to wait long though, because a copy of myself and Curly appeared in front of us.

The copies were not normal either, they both had red and black eyes. I could understand myself, but Curly was a surprise for sure. "Hehe, you made a wrong choice. If you lose now, I'll take over your body. Let us fight to death!", my copy exclaimed before rushing at us. Even Curly's copy had the same Aura as my anger, but there was a bigger issue. No matter how much I tried to summon my own angry Aura, it wouldn't appear.

"Swoosh, swoosh… What? Can't awaken your Aura? Take a guess why", my copy said smugly. The reason was simple, I couldn't awaken that Aura, because the anger was in front of me. 'This is supposed to be an illusion, so how do I break it?', I asked myself, while trying to evade all the attacks. My copy was playing with me, I could tell. Its use of Aura was minimal, like it wanted to get a thrill out of beating me up.

Curly's copy wasn't sitting idly either. I realised how strong Curly could be in reality. Her movements were not only fast, but tricky to guess and follow. The copy was mostly distracting me, not attacking directly. "Curly, can you take care of your copy? I have to fight my own… This is supposed to be an illusion, and you can figure them out better than me. Try to find a solution, before we die", I said, and let Curly off my shoulder.

There was no time for me to think though. I had a strong and probably the worst opponent in front of me. Myself to be exact. "You are pathetic. I had to teach you how energy is used, and you call yourself a daughter of an Emperor? Once this body's mine, I'll kill him one day, then I'll become the Emperor!", my anger exclaimed before slashing her sword at me furiously.

I had to use my movement technique to evade that, but my copy wasn't any different from me. "I know everything about you, remember? I can use the same skills you learned, and I can use them better!", she exclaimed, then disappeared from my view. She actually combined the stealth aspect into my movement technique. "Rip! Argh!", a large wound appeared on my back.

Perhaps that was an illusion, but the pain was real. Moreover, my own copy was better than me. She could utilise all my skills, and even to a better degree. This felt more like a nightmare, than a trial. "Swoosh, swoosh… What's wrong? Giving up already? Aren't you the one who tried to kill herself all this time?", the copy asked. "You were trying to kill me, talkative bastard. You know that perfectly well", I replied full of anger.

"Ha, what a loser! Why would I want to kill myself? I want this body, once it's dead, it's dead. Fools like you can't properly use the gifts your body contains. You were merely controlling it temporarily, it's time for me to have a go!", she replied before disappearing once more. 'Focus, I can't lose here. My instincts and senses… Those things can't fail me!', I thought before closing my eyes.

"Swoosh!... Wow, you do have a brain after all. Though you forget one thing. I have the same senses and instincts like you. Hehe, I can even utilise them better. There's no way for you to win, give up and let me out. You don't deserve the control", she demanded. "Control? Who gave you the right to demand control! Shut up already, you are nothing but the anger living inside me!", I exclaimed back.

Her attacks never ceased, while more wounds appeared on my body. Even though I utilised my senses and instincts to the best of my abilities, she'd wound me from time to time. Her movement technique was much better than mine, while her Aura hindered me on each step of the way. Then finally I heard a familiar bark. "Arf! Arf, arf!", Curly defeated her opponent, because the copy disappeared.

"That animal is better than you. At least it will deserve to stay by my side, once I take control of this body", my copy said. Curly wasn't done though. She pointed into the darkness, and motioned for me to follow. Once Curly did that, my copy's face changed. Instead of going after me, the copy rushed towards Curly. I followed suit, trying to taunt her at the same time. "What? Did you get scared of a little marten? I thought you were so high and mighty, show me how you take control over my body!".

Besides releasing a few growls, she didn't stop. Instead, she utilised the movement technique, and disappeared from my view. 'This is bad, I can't let her get to Curly', but what could I do? I couldn't disappear like her, and my own skills were not as good either. Thankfully, Curly was really attentive and cautious. Her past experience taught her a lot, and she managed to evade my copy's attacks.

"Come here you little shit!", my copy exclaimed, with an obvious urgency in her voice. Curly was heading in the same direction she pointed, but my copy tried everything it could to kill her. "Arf!", Curly barked at me, as if I could do anything. 'What am I supposed to do? I'm lacking compared to my own copy. How can I accomplish anything, if I can't even win against myself?'.

Just as that question appeared in my mind, I realised how close my copy got to Curly. Once Curly disappeared, I'd perish too. Moreover, looking at myself killing Curly didn't sit well with me. I hated that, I hated it more than anything. The grip on my sword tightened, the time seemed to slow down. Was that our end, or at least the end for the current me and Curly? Submit to my anger, let Curly suffer for no reason?

I refused to accept that, I refused to bow down to my anger and leave everything in its hands. I refused to give up. As the resolution swelled inside me, the sword in my hand swung forwards. "Screeee…!", a white air blade left my sword, heading straight for my copy. "Wha…!", before the copy could finish, the air blade arrived. She tried to block that, but for some reason, that attack couldn't be blocked. It went straight through her, cutting her in half.

"Hehehe… Lucky bastard… I'll be back one day… The control over that body will belong to me!", her voice was fading, as both halves slowly disintegrated into the darkness. I stood there, unsure what just happened. I wasn't focused on making that attack, my body simply swung the sword by itself. The frustration and powerlessness made me create something even my copy didn't know about.

"Arf! Arrr", Curly rushed over, then climbed onto my neck. "Yea, yea, I'm fine now… I'm not sure what it was either, I was kind of lost in my own thoughts. Hmm, your cries for help made me do it, so I'm thankful you were there. If I faced her alone, this body wouldn't belong to me anymore", I said. Curly licked my face, before pointing in the same direction. This turned out to be an exit, or at least the end of trial.

I didn't have to defeat myself, I simply had to face myself and find a way out. At least, that was what I assumed the trial meant. The darkness slowly disappeared, and the familiar sight of the North appeared in front of me. "Heh, you took your time. How was it? Difficult?", master Irwin's words greeted me.

"Are those trials always different, or the same for everyone?", I asked. "Interesting question, what did you see exactly?", master Yater asked instead. "I saw myself, or rather the angry self. Curly was there as well, and her copy too. There was a difference in Curly's copy. She had the same eyes as me", I explained.

"That's indeed interesting, but not surprising. You see, the trials consist of something that you fear. In other words, you fear the other part of you, if you will. I can understand why, but since you've won, that should be a good thing", he added. "Yes, but only thanks to Curly, and something else…", I said. "What would that be?", master Irwin asked. "I'm not sure myself…". After recounting the events to them, they looked at each other and smiled. "Not bad, kid. You'll soon understand what it was, we are sure. Anyway, time to take you back home", maser Yater said.

They didn't explain what it was, but I had an inkling as to what it could be. I didn't break past the Half Step, that was certain. In other words, I either created a new sword technique, or that was an Aura. They were right about one thing though, I would find out in the future. "Let's go Curly, this is my home, and yours as well. Our home is a serene place, with a great view of the sea. I'm sure you'll like it", "Arf!". I was back home, after two years of travelling, training and struggling. 'I missed my parents, and my sibling. I'll finally get a chance to learn whether it's my sister or brother', I thought, as we marched inwards.