Stay quiet, don't die.

Azrael sat in the cave, the letter clutched tightly in his hand. He read it again, trying to absorb every word. It was like pieces of a puzzle that he didn't know how to put together yet, but he was determined to figure it out. As he sat there, lost in thought, he realized he needed to act on the instructions written in the letter, he had sensed the great amount of ki coming from deep within the jungle and he knew it was best to not attract whatever was there.

Fortunately, Ryzel Academy had taught everything concerning ki to its students, including ki and aura suppression. Azrael already had the knowledge on how to do it, even though he had never had ki before.

Ki suppression refers to the intentional inhibition of one's ki energy flow in order to conceal their aura or to temporarily seal their strength. This ability could be achieved through focused meditation, breath control techniques, or physical training.

When an individual suppresses their ki, they are essentially slowing down or stopping the flow of energy within their body. This can be accomplished by focusing their attention inward and using their willpower to control the energy flow.

To hide their aura, an individual would need to suppress their ki energy to the point where it is no longer detectable by others. This would require a significant amount of control and focus, as well as the ability to maintain the suppression over an extended period of time.

Alternatively, an individual might use ki suppression to temporarily seal their strength. This could be useful in situations where they want to appear weaker than they actually are or to avoid drawing unwanted attention to themselves. In this case, the suppression would be released when they want to access their full strength or power.

ki suppression would likely have some physical and mental effects on the individual, such as decreased energy levels, reduced physical abilities, and potentially altered mood or mental state. These effects could be mitigated through training and practice, but would still need to be taken into consideration when using ki suppression as a tactic.

Azrael knowing all this immediately started medicating.

Suppressing his aura was not an easy task. He had never done it before, but he had learned about it during his time at Ryzel Academy. Despite never having ki, he had always been fascinated by the concept and had spent hours studying it. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, trying to clear his mind of any distractions.

Azrael sat in meditation, attempting to suppress his aura. As he focused, he could feel his ki flowing through his body more fully and with great control over it he suppressed the energy it emitted. After an hour of concentration, he successfully suppressed most of his aura, but the effort left him exhausted. He collapsed onto the cave floor and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Azrael woke up early in the morning, feeling refreshed after a long night of rest. He decided to take a walk around the forest to explore his surroundings. The forest was dense and the trees were tall, making it difficult for sunlight to penetrate the forest floor. Azrael walked cautiously, taking care not to step on any dangerous creatures.

As he walked, he felt a sense of peace and tranquility that he had never felt before. The only sound that could be heard was the rustling of leaves and the occasional bird chirping. After a while, he sensed something peculiar, a faint ki that seemed to be emanating from a particular direction.

Curiosity piqued, Azrael followed the faint ki until he stumbled upon a clearing. In the middle of the clearing stood a magnificent deer with giant antlers and unique fur. Azrael could sense ki from it, but it was little and it didn't seem strong at all. Azrael decided that this would be a good target for his first kill.

Without hesitation, Azrael drew the sword gifted to him and charged towards the deer. The deer, taken by surprise, didn't even have a chance to react before Azrael's sword struck it. The deer fell to the ground, dead. Azrael was surprised at how easy it was to take down the deer, but he didn't dwell on it for too long.

He dragged the deer back to the cave and set about preparing it for cooking. Azrael had never cooked before, but he remembered that he needed fire. He ventured out into the forest to gather wood. He struggled to find dry wood that would catch fire. After many attempts, he managed to find a suitable piece of wood and tried to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together.

It was a difficult task, and he struggled for a long time, but finally, he succeeded in lighting the fire. Azrael skewered the deer over the fire and let it roast. As he waited for the deer to cook, he sat down not too far away from the fire, meditating and thinking about the events that had led him to this forest.

Outside the forest, chaos and disbelief reigned among the surviving soldiers of the Zefron Empire. The ambush against them was unexpected, and it had been easily wiped out. The Zefron Empire was also taken aback by what had happened. After their reinforcement had reached the war front, all they found were lifeless bodies.

In a room at the Cyval Empire army base, the grand commander stood with other military personnel, seething with anger. He demanded an explanation for the catastrophic failure of their plan.

"I want someone to explain to me what went wrong," the commander spoke calmly, though the anger within his voice was unmistakable.

"We... we made sure everything was perfectly planned, so we don't know how..." one of the officers stuttered nervously.

"Perfectly planned?" The commander exclaimed in fury, slamming his fist on the desk.

"If it was perfectly planned, then why do I have fifteen thousand dead soldiers at Zefron's border?" The commander shouted.

He then turned to the captain standing nearby and asked, "What did you report to me prior to the ambush?"

"A total of 50 soldiers, including the base commander, occupied the war front and none posed any significant threat," the captain responded, his voice shaking with fear.

"That's exactly what you told me. But if none posed any significant threat like you said, then why was a troop of fifteen thousand wiped out overnight?" The commander roared in frustration.

Silence hung heavy in the room as the commander's eyes swept across the other military personnel. He then turned to the captain and said, "So you either did not confirm such important information or deliberately gave me false information."

The commander's aura filled the room, and the captain flinched. "Should I take this as you sabotaging the empire?" The commander said, his gaze piercing.

"No... no... I could never," the captain responded, his voice trembling. "Every information I gave was correct. The only information I got, possibly not correct, was from the princess."

The commander's eyes narrowed, and he gave the captain a questioning glance.

"Go on," he said.

"Princess Lyra was supposed to take care of any threats at the town outside the base we attacked. She reported just one squad outside the base, which she claimed to have neutralized. But I later received word through ki transmission that members of the squad were later seen at the war front" the captain explained

The commander stayed quiet for some moments before breaking his silence

"Prepare my horse, I'm going to Ryzel academy,".