Making Progress

During Ryuji's sleep a name continued to sound in his sleep. "Te …., Te…., you must remember my name." Ryuji could heard the words Silver but the rest of the words sounded muffled and toned out.

Stirred from his sleep Ryuji turns over in his bed and sits up to face the bedroom window. He stares out the window to see a bright morning sunshine glaring through the glass pane. Ryuji stands up and begins to walk out the house. As he walks out the door he witnesses the bustle of the villagers; giving morning greetings to one another.

"Good morning Dave, this a good morning to do some farming on the fields today." Says a villager walking past a man striking a hammer down on a piece of metal.

Ryuji smiles, enjoying the peaceful view of the villagers going about their day. Not wishing to be late, he begins to walk towards Chief Harvey's house. As he gets closer to the house he begins to hear the voices of Harvey and another voice arguing.

"Harvey you are being a fool; if we don't gather our men and strike out against these bandits. They will eventually come knocking at our village door once more. There have been reports from other villages close by; that the local bandits have been sited around the area raiding passing merchants." The man talking has a stern looking on his face as he explains his thoughts to Chief Harvey.

"Lance I can't order the men of the village to prepare for a war. The previous raid has caused major damage to the village. Most of the strong men in the village where either killed or captured by the bandits. As it stands now, the only battle ready men are the older veterans who don't have much energy left, and a small amount of young men who haven't wielded a sword or seen a battlefield in their life." Harvey's voice confident and experienced rings out through the house.

"I can't in good faith send these men to their deaths; unless the other villages join together to vanquish this threat." As Harvey explains his worries Ryuji walks slowly towards the front door. He reaches out to knock on the door but hesitates.

" Maybe if we can stand united there is a chance of us getting rid of the bandit threat temporarily. However, Kalia Village and Negal Village will have to put aside their past differences for now." Harvey rubs his forehead in thought.

"Yes, I agree their feud will have to be put aside if we wish to survive. But, their hate for each other stems from many battles and the deaths of the Great Chiefs of the past." The man called Lance nods his head and walks towards Harvey.

"Hmm, I will head to the other villages and see if I can talk to the other Chieftains about this proposition. For now it seems you have a guest at the door." Lance smiles and nods his head towards the front door.

"Come in Ryuji, it seems you been standing their listening for a while now." Harvey chuckles and turns his head towards the front door. Ryuji grimaced not thinking he would be noticed snooping so easily.

Knowing that he was caught, Ryuji opens the door and walks into the room. When he walks in he sees Harvey sitting on the couch looking at him. To the left in a recliner chair sits a man of smaller stature. The man had the look of a man in his early 30's, young and ready for any situation thrown his way.

Glasses sat on the Lance's face that illuminated a bright glow as he repositioned them father up his nose. "This is a interesting young man you have here Harvey. His cosmo is faint, yet it radiates endlessly like the universe throughout the house." Lance rubs his chin in interest as he observes Ryuji.

"He is a visitor to this village and I plan to train him in the basics of controlling his cosmo. I can feel there is a great future ahead of this young man; so I wish to impart him with knowledge that will create a sturdy foundation for the path ahead." Harvey stands up from the couch and motions toward a doorway down the hall.

"Let's go out to the training field out back; Lance you can follow us if your interested." Harvey walks towards the back door. As he walks down the hall he grabs a pair of gloves that hang up on the wall near the door. Harvey opens the door a walks out the house towards a clear field with wooden stands laying around, big metal circles are placed on the ground diagonal from each other, and weights of different sizes litter the ground.

Ryuji and Lance follow behind Harvey looking at the field in front of themselves. Ryuji begins to wonder what type of training will Harvey put him through. He begins to wonder if there will be any similarities between the training in this world and the training with the teachers in the Shinigami Academy.

In the Academy trainee's are taught how to wield and fight with their Zanpakuto. They learn the essence of Zanjutsu and the fighting styles that can be used to defeat a foe in battle. Alongside their Zanjutsu training they are taught Hakuda or Close Combat styles for situations where their zanpakuto is unavailable.

The wooden stands on the field reminds Ryuji of the Hakuda targets, the academy lets the trainees practice on. Ryuji steps on the field and stands in front of Harvey; when he gets close Harvey passes the gloves to Ryuji.

"Put these on, they will help you control the flow of your cosmo to your fist. There is a Runic circle on the gloves they react to the cosmo flowing in your body. Once it activates it will create a path towards your fist that will efficiently utilize your cosmo." After Harvey explains the usage of the gloves, he enters into a battle stance.

"I will demonstrate how a efficient punch will look after utilizing your cosmo. Ryuji focused attentively sensing the changes in Harvey's cosmo. Harvey began to burn his cosmo, exploding out like a miniature big bang. The energy moved through his body making its way toward his right fist. Waves of cosmo gather in his fist and condenses into a mass of blue light.

Harvey steps toward the nearest stand and swings his fist towards its center. His arm picks up speed and within an instant arrives in front of the stand. When his fist clashes with the stand, the ground nearby shakes as a great crack in the ground grows behind the stand. The ground shakes and separates forming a small crevice.

Harvey retracts his fist and pokes the stand; it begins to crumble to dust right after. "With great control over your cosmo you can destroy your foes insides without causing harm to the outer body."

With the demonstration out of the way Harvey steps toward another stand and motions for Ryuji to step forward. Focus on your cosmo and imagine it exploding inside your body like the big bang. When the explosion is at its greatest, push the energy along the route the gloves shows you, and gather it into your fist.

Ryuji steps towards the stand and closes his eyes to sense the cosmo flowing within his body. He gathers the energy with his mind and commands it to combine in the center of his body. Once it has gather together, he imagines a great explosion that creates countless universes and planets. His cosmo as if reacting to his will begins to quiver and shake eventually exploding within his body. Universes filled with suns, planets, and countless moons begin to flow in a circle; as if on que a stream of cosmo travels out from the glove into his arm.

This flow of energy moves through his right arm and makes its way to the center of universes within his body. Ryuji understanding that this is the path he was told to lookout for; wills his cosmo to move back through the same path the stream of cosmo came from. As the stream of cosmo travels through his arm and into his fist; a smaller green orb of energy than the one Harvey created forms.

Ryuji steps forward and presses his left foot forward, then swings his fist at the stand. "HAAAAAAAA!!!" Screams Ryuji as his fist collides with the stand.

The punch clashes with the stand destroying the stand and devastating the land behind it. Ryuji looks at the end result of his power and smiles in joy.

"Good, Good! While the amount of cosmo you possess is small, its condensed a lot more than it would be for someone at your level. However, you control as I though is nowhere near adequate; if you were to get into a battle you would run out of cosmo before your opponent would." Harvey nods in satisfaction

"I will have you continue to practice controlling the flow of your cosmo to your fist, and regulating the amount you send to stop wastage. You've done good today, you can continue to train here whenever you want just make sure you clean up after. Now I will show Lance out meet me here same time tomorrow for more training.

"Thanks Chief Harvey." Says Ryuji as he turns around and steps towards another stand.

Lance and Harvey make there way out of the practice field and move in the direction of the village gate. "So what do you think about him, he has potential to be a great warrior." Says Harvey as he walks ahead looking forward.

"There is something different about him, I can sense a great fate surrounding him. He might become a future Saint of Athena or he could be a Specter of Hades. Either way he is not someone who will be stuck in a place like this, this is probably a starting point for his future adventures." Lance explains his thoughts to Harvey, many thoughts flowing through his head.

As they make their way through the front gate they stop and turn to one another. "Keep in touch Lance, a great man like yourself shouldn't lose his life so early. There is a world out there that could use the skills of a man of your caliber."

Harvey my old friend I haven't run into a opponent that could stop me so don't worry I'm a professional at what I do. However, I do wish to find a successor to my skills, my knowledge shouldn't die with me." Lance's face scrounges up as he thinks about the possible future.

"Farewell my friend, my you stay safe on your travels." Bows Harvey.

"Farewell." Says Lance as he turns and begins to walk down the path into the forest.

Back at the training field Ryuji is thinking of other ways to utilize his cosmo. "I wonder if I can recreate the flash-step technique using cosmo instead of reiatsu."

Just like with the punch Ryuji burns his cosmo and gathers the exploded energy into one point. He then slowly wills the cosmo to split into 2 streams and pushes them towards his legs and feet. With his lower body energized he pushes his foot forward and tries to do a flash-step. However, instead of vanishing a appearing a distance away, his body jumped a great distance into the air.

Not expecting to jump up high, Ryuji loses his balance and begins to plummet back towards the training field. He crashes into the field landing on his back. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Doesn't look like that will work I wonder if there is something I am missing." Not knowing how to advance forward with his research Ryuji resumes training his cosmo punch.

Hours later Ryuji can be found laying on his back panting against the cold dirt. " I really wish I had finished my Shinigami training at the academy." Exclaims Ryuji as he forces his body to stand up.

"Ill stop for today, I need to fill my belly or ill really become a skeleton. After eating at Aunt Li's place Ryuji makes his way around the village. As he walks around he notices a small public library. Wondering if he can find some history books about this world, he decides to make his way inside.

"Hi, welcome to the Library if this is your first time come register with me, otherwise keep quiet and don't destroy the books." Says the lady behind the counter.

"Hello, my names Ryuji I'm new to the village, I went sight seeing around and happen upon the library. I was hoping if I could find some books on the history of the world and the villages nearby." Ryuji bows a little to the Librarian waiting for her response.

"Nice to meet you Ryuji, the village doesn't get many new people often, now fill out this paper and then follow me to the bookshelves." Ryuji grabs the pen and writes down his name, age, and where he stays in the village.

After he finished writing he turned around and followed the lady to a giant shelf. "If your looking for a book on this history of this world we don't have that, however we do have a book on major events that have happened in history. The librarian grabbed 2 books and handed them to Ryuji then walked back behind the counter.

Ryuji sits down at the nearest table and opens up the first book. The first book describes the Gods and Goddesses and their involvement with the earth. Most of the Gods and Goddesses decided that humanity was corrupting the earth. So they planned to eradicate humanity and cleanse the earth of any filth.

Goddess Athena alone pledged to stand beside Humanity and to protect it from the other Gods. Through her decision many humans began to pledge their loyalty to Athena to protect her and humanity. This choice would later form the renowned Saints of Athena, protectors of earth and humanity. These great warriors use their mastery over the cosmo and the Seventh Sense to defeat the evil army of the invading gods.

"Interesting so there are gods and mighty warriors that fight for the survival and destruction of humanity." Says Ryuji.

"Ryuji you must look into these Saints of Athena, I believe by following them we will have a easier chance at returning to our world. Out of nowhere the zanpakuto spirit's voice enters Ryuji's head.

"Why do you believe this spirit, we know nothing about these saints, what makes you believe they will help us?" Questions Ryuji.

"It is based on your sense of good and evil, I am a piece of you separated into your zanpakuto so I understand your line of thoughts. While we don't know them personally based on this history book, Athena can be considered a good god. She stands by the weaker side in this situation, even if she may be outnumber and out gunned." Explains the spirit its voice sounding clear and precise.

"The other gods have declared that humanity should die because of some unclear decisions. No one should have the power to decided the fate of a whole species, not even the gods! It does not sit well with me to massacring a entire race without major justifications." The spirits resolutely makes says its thoughts with a hint of anger.

"I will see what I can do." Ryuji agrees to the spirits request and looks over to the other book. This book contains a map of the geography nearby. On a great continent, lies the 4 empires of Avalonian to the north, Melvinth to the West, Eailnoth situated in the east, and the Holy Empire of Duskendale in the South.

The village Ryuji is located in is, marked in the territory of the Avalonian Empire, the village is named Darkshade Village placed within the Forest of Misery near the northern border of Melvinth. On the Eastern border of the Forest of Misery lies the 2 villages of Kalia and Negal. Farther east in the center of the Avalonian Empire lies the capital the City of Unending Knowledge.

"I guess this is enough reading for now I need to get home and meditate before I rest." Ryuji stops reading, return the books to the shelves, and makes his way home. When he gets to his room he sits on the floor in front of the bedroom window.

He breaths in and out and begins to pull in the nearby cosmo into his body. With his asauchi resting on his lap, Ryuji enters his soul space. His zanpakuto spirit is there looking at him, watching to see what he will do.

Ryuji walks over to the spirit and sits on the ground next to him overlocking the world around. He wills his cosmo to burn and uses this energy to try and sense the name of his zanpakuto.

Just like the dream before he begins to hear a voice in his ear. "Te …, Te …. ." It repeats this over and over. Once again he can't hear the rest of the words, they are muffled and hard to understand.

"I guess it will still take a while to unlock my Shikai, guess I can only utilize cosmo to enhance my strength right now." Ryuji disappointed in his failure finishes his meditation and gets in the bed to fall asleep.

Far away at the entrance of a giant city, Virgo Shijima walks forward towards the guards. As he closes in on the guards they spot him, almost immediately they stand at attention.

"L L Lor Lord Gold Saint, we we welcome you to the City of Unending Knowledge is there anything I can help you with sir? Questions the guard on the right, his stutters over his words. You can see the fear in the guards eyes as they stand before the gold saint.

"I seek passage through the Forest of Misery; Is there any convoys that are going through the forest to the village of Darkshade?" Questions Shijima as he releases a small amount of cosmo onto the guards.

"Yes sir! Lord Saint there is a convoy that leaves tomorrow in that direction let me escort you to them." The guard on the left finds his nerve and escorts Shijima into the city.

"Bring me to a tailor first, I require a cloak to cover myself from unwanted attention." Shijima looks at his armor and decides to unequip it into its box for. He picks the box up tying it to his back.

"This way sir." The guard stops and makes a left eventually stopping at a white building with the title of Welg's Tailor. Shijima walks inside noticing clothes hung around on display. At the counter ahead sits a tall 6.3ft woman who is reading a book. She has short black hair and light blue eyes. As Shijima walks forward the woman hears his steps approaching.

"I'm sorry how can I help you sir?" The woman asks as she sits up waiting for Shijima to respond.

"I need a cloak big enough to cover my body, I don't wish to be noticed to much by others." Shijima walks to the counter and places 6 gold coins on the counter.

"I think I have what you need in stock right now let me go get that for you. The woman turns around and walks through a door into the back. After a while she comes back with a brown cloak and hands it to Shijima.

Shijima tries the cloak on and notices that it fits just right. He thanks the lady and walks out the store to the waiting guard.

"Let's go." Order's Shijima as him and the guard make their way through the city.

Inside the grand Castle near the back of the city sits a man on a grand throne. This man is King Nestros, Lord of the Avalonian Kingdom. King Nestros can be seen sitting at his throne looking down at a group of men who have just entered his throne room.

"Your majesty we have reports that a Golden Saint has enter the city." The front man on the left tells the king.

"Why has one of those great figures entered my city; send out some men to watch this gold saint and figure out what he is doing in this part of the world. However, you must not at any time disrespect this man. Only watch him do not get in his way at any cost." The king with fear in his eyes gives out orders to his men.

Shijima and the nervous guard make there way through the city and stop in front of a tavern. "Sir this is the place I will bring you to the captain of the trade caravan." They begin to walk inside, the bustle of people drinking and laughing can be heard all around. The guard walks up to a table on the back left corner and stops near a man.

"Sir Emir I have brought a man who wishes to follow your trade caravan through the Forest of Misery to the Village of Darkshade." The guard informs the man of his business there.

Emir looks up at the guard the at the cloaked figure of Shijima and raises his eyebrow. "I won't ask about your reason for needing to go to the village of Darkshade; you can follow us as long as you don't slow down our voyage."

"That's okay with me, when do we leave?" Asks Shijima ready to get this conversation over.

"We will leave tomorrow morning bright and early, so please be ready or get left behind. The trip to the Darkshade Village will take about a month so stock up before you leave." The trader laughs as he turns back around in his chair.

"Ill see you in the morning and thanks for bringing me to this trader." Shijima thanked the guard and leaves the tavern vanishing instantly as he walks out.