29. Origin

Ugh...

Pain filled Leo's mind as he groggily woke up. His vision was hazy and he felt dizzy, it took him a few seconds to regain clarity. When he looked around he was stunned.

Darkness. Absolute Darkness.

Where am I?

Leo got up on his feet. Though the world around him was dark he was able to see his hands and his body.

How is that even possible?

Mind filled with thoughts he looked around, after careful observation he found a point of light in the distance. With no other choice he walked towards it, he didn't know how long he walked as the concept of time seemed non-existent here.

At some point he was standing right before a mass of light encased in a golden sphere. The sphere was engraved with two divine beasts. An Azure Dragon winding on clouds with it huge body making the onlookers kneel in reverence.

The other was a White Tiger stepping through the mountains, it's colossal body gave off a hint of cruelty while thousands of beasts bowed down beneath it's feet.

The mass of light burned fiercely inside the golden sphere,. Around the light, several combination of mist drifted forming a particular beauty to it.

Leo instinctively knew what this was, this was his spirit. The golden sphere represented his body. His eyes focused as he looked deeper inside his spirit, what he saw shocked him.

That's...

Before he could react the world before him changed, the pitch black world broke down. His body was pulled through space, after a while he stood before a barren land.

Infront of him stood a middle-aged man, he had black hair and clear blue eyes. He was more than six feet tall with a lean body, he wore traditional clothing with a dragon and tiger painted on it's back.

The man turned around and smiled, "Seems like you made it."

"Who are you?"

Leo asked confused.

The man had a serene aura around him, however Leo could tell he was powerful.

"My name is Aruha Heart."

Aruha... Heart? Aruha... No way! could he be...

"I am the first leader of Heart lineage."

Leo quickly bowed and showed his respects. His father always rumbled on about this man.

He said that throughout the history of Heart family there was no one stronger and more respectable than the first leader Aruha Heart. Most importantly he was the one who created the Dragon - Tiger Breathing!

"Get up young man. What's your name?"

"Sir, my name is Leo Heart."

"Good name. Leo, do you know why you are here?"

Leo shook his head. Aruha spoke unhurriedly.

"You were dead for a second young man."

Leo stared. I died for a second?

"Correct. You died for a second, luckily the Dragon - Tiger Medallion was able to pull you back."

I see. Now it made sense. Earlier when Leo was observing his spirit he saw a medallion within his soul, it was engraved with an Azure Dragon on one side and a White Tiger one the other side.

It was a heirloom passed down through out generations to the next leader of Heart Family.

"Sir, what's happening right now?"

"Before I explain, what do you think about the Dragon - Tiger Breathing Technique?"

Leo organised his thought for a second and explained, "It's a method to breakthrough human limits."

Aruha nodded his head and explained, "Partly. I created this technique after four decades of persistence. At first it started with body tempering since my era was filled with nothing but slaughter. A strong body gave better chance at survival, Dragon-Tiger Breathing helped me achieve that."

"In my time I was know as the strongest. However it wasn't until I was in my last years of life did I truly understand what training meant."

By this point he smiled amiably at Leo and said sincerely.

"I envy you to some point, your spirit is far stronger than an average person and that is your greatest advantage."

Huh?

Leo was confused. He knew his spirit was strong but what does that have to do with what we are talking about. Seeing his confusion Aruha explained.

"Tell me what you gained after training in Dragon - Tiger Breathing."

Leo said without hesitation, "Stronger body, faster regeneration, increased stamina, monstrous strength and defence."

Aruha laughed, "Haha, young man those are but some side benefits. The real treasure is still hidden beneath, you will understand it when you wake up."

Aruha seemed to have magically appeared before Leo, he tapped Leo's forehead lightly. Leo felt a bunch of information sneak into his brain.

"Don't worry, once you regain consciousness you will understand everything."

Leo nodded. He waited silently for Aruha to continue.

"You should have seen the Dragon-Tiger medallion within your soul. I created that before my death, at that point I understood many things. I created this landscape using a part of my spirit and imprinted it within the medallion. This is to aid a lucky descendant acknowledged by it at dangerous times."

"When you were officially dead for a second I activated the medallion. Using the remnant energy within this landscape I healed your fatal wounds and brought you back to life."

Leo now understood many things. He just had one more question.

"Am I in this world because of you?"

Aruha went silent for a moment and sighed, "Yes. With your parents gone you became the last descendant of Heart lineage."

"Dragon - Tiger Breathing only has one flaw, it can only be trained by a Heart family member. I couldn't allow my lineage to die out."

Leo didn't blame the old man for suddenly bringing him here. His previous world was hell for him, every single second there felt like endless torture.

"How did I die?"

Aruha was surprised, he stared at Leo and said, "You knew."

"Yes."

Leo figured out he was dead before he came to this world. Aruha hesitated for a moment and said.

"Your house was struck by lightning. The gas lines exploded creating a vaccum, the sudden change caused the space to crack. I sealed your soul within the medallion and flew into the space crack. After several seconds of darkness the medallion landed in your current world, near...

"I merged the medallion with the warmest body there. Tremendous amount of energy was needed to seal your soul and merge it with your current body, this made me fall into slumber."

So that's it.

Leo had his answer. His mind finally cleared up and a sense of serenity washed through his heart. He bowed deeply towards Aruha and thanked him sincerely.

"Thank you."

Aruha shook his head and waved his hand. A gentle wind swept Leo, raising him up.

"I did what I must. Go, your friends are waiting."

Leo took a final look around the barren landscape and asked.

"This place...

"The life this land once had was to protect you, it served it's purpose."

Leo felt his vision blur and darkness ensued.