Chapter 8: Conditions

Chapter 8: Conditions 

I continued to practise, my movements becoming more fluid despite the exhaustion. 

The repetitive action began to ground me, each swing of the staff a small victory over my own limitations. 

I was driven by a growing sense of determination—a need to prove myself, to meet the expectations that had been set before me.

Hours passed, the sun sinking lower on the horizon, painting the sky in deeper shades of crimson and indigo.

Eventually, as the stars began to pierce the twilight, my exhaustion caught up with me. 

My movements slowed, each swing more laboured than the last. I dropped to one knee, panting heavily, the staff slipping from my grasp. 

My body had reached its limit, but my mind was still racing.

The stars overhead began to shine brighter, the night sky a vast, dark canvas splattered with points of light. 

I looked up, feeling a deep connection to the world around me, a sense of being a part of something much larger than myself.

I reached for the staff once more to pick it up, yet no matter how much I tried to pull it, it refused to budge from its spot. 

It was as if it had rooted itself into the ground, a stubborn symbol of my failure.

"I am pretty sure I told you to rest." Mori's voice drifted over, calm and slightly amused, as he reappeared from the shadows.

I looked up, surprised. "Where did you go?"

"It had been a couple of centuries since I swung Ryuji, so I was a bit restless." Mori replied nonchalantly as he walked back into the cave, his steps echoing softly against the walls.

I tried to lift the staff once more, determined to follow him, but it remained immovable. Mori glanced back, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as he saw my futile struggle.

"Just leave it and follow me."

With a resigned sigh, I let go of the staff and followed him, wincing with every step as my battered body protested. 

Mori led the way, his movements effortless as always, while I struggled to keep up.

"I'm sure you have some questions," Mori said, his tone more curious than commanding as we walked deeper into the cave.

I had a flood of questions, but they all tangled together in my mind. Still, one pressing issue stood out among the rest.

"This is supposed to be my First Trial, but you speak as if you know the weaver…are you not the manifestation of the weaver?" I asked, my voice tinged with curiosity and a hint of frustration.

"I am not. I don't think that bastard dares to try to mimic my powers, especially after the situation he put me in," Mori replied, his voice taking on a vague, evasive quality.

"So who, or what are you then?" I pressed on, eager for some clarity.

Mori turned to look back at me, his golden eyes flashing with a momentary intensity. 

"I am Mori Jin from the comics you've read. Well, from around the end of that anyway," he said with an air of nonchalance.

"And how did you end up here?" I asked, trying to piece together the fragments of this strange encounter.

"That…is a very long story that I am too lazy to explain," Mori said, as he reached the rock he had been resting on earlier. 

He flopped down against it and propped his arm up to support his head, looking every bit like a man settling in for a nap.

I took a seat on the floor, slightly in front of him, ready to engage in what I hoped would be a meaningful conversation.

"How do I beat this trial?" I asked, watching as Mori's eyes grew heavy with drowsiness.

"Hmmm let me think." Mori scratched his chin thoughtfully, though his gaze was already drifting. 

"I did say you have to hit me, but that wouldn't be possible…how about if Ruyi Jingu responds to your command. Until then, you can train and fight me." He snapped his fingers lightly, a gesture that seemed almost too casual for the weight of his words.

"And is there a time limit?" I inquired, hoping for more concrete guidance.

This time, Mori's eyes closed fully, his posture relaxing into a state of half-sleep. Yet, even as he began to drift off, he managed to mumble a final response.

"You have until I am bored of you."

His words were barely coherent as he slipped into a deep slumber, leaving me with a sense of uncertainty. 

The vague time limit and the cryptic nature of his response made it clear that my path forward was anything but straightforward. 

I was left alone with the challenge, my thoughts swirling as I considered my next steps.

The cave was quiet now, the only sound was the faint rustling of Mori's breath. I took a deep breath, gathering my resolve. 

I sighed inwardly. Mori's answer left me with more questions than clarity. "Until he's bored of me"—what kind of timeline was that? Days? Months? 

I glanced over at him, already snoring lightly on his rock, looking utterly unbothered by any of this. 

For him, this trial was little more than a fleeting amusement. But for me...it was everything. 

I tried again to summon Ruyi Jingu, the staff still embedded in the ground like it had taken root. 

My hands trembled as I gripped the smooth staff, willing it to respond, to move, to acknowledge me in some way. But it remained stubbornly still, as if mocking my every attempt.

I collapsed onto the ground, frustration bubbling beneath my skin. 

This was hopeless. 

I'd been thrust into a trial I wasn't remotely prepared for, against someone leagues beyond me. What did the Spell expect me to accomplish here?

As I sat there, staring at the unyielding staff, Mori's earlier words echoed in my mind: "You have until I'm bored of you."

There was no time limit except for my ability to keep him interested. And I was running out of chances.

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