Chapter 23:To Kill and To Endure
Peter opened his eyes and, not for the first time, saw runes floating in his field of vision—untranslated, yet familiar.
He sighed quietly and looked around. Aside from the surreal palette of the environment, nothing had changed.
Expecting what he would see, he looked down and spotted himself—his physical body, sleeping peacefully.
Peter had once again entered his spiritual form, and it irritated him. Ever since he had set foot in Ether, he hadn't experienced a single moment of natural sleep.
Granted, the last time he had "awoken" from this spiritual state, his body had felt just as rested as if he had experienced a normal dream.
But Peter was annoyed for a different reason—his mental fatigue hadn't vanished after the previous night.
His mind felt drained. Even though, shortly after waking up yesterday, it had seemed as though both his body and mind were fully recovered.So he had laid down and tried to fall asleep—but sleep never came.
Peter gave up on sleeping and stared at the tent pole holding up the roof. He wasn't thinking of anything in particular and simply listened to the sounds of the night.
All he could hear was the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind. Gone were the typical forest sounds of Earth—no insects, no nocturnal birds, none of the background noise people usually took for granted.
Peter extended his sharpened senses across the clearing. It was strange—perceiving such a vast space with senses other than sight.
He could hear every shift of the grass, every flutter of leaves, every breeze. He could smell the bark of the trees and the damp earth.
From these sensations alone, he could paint a mental picture of the entire clearing—without seeing a single part of it.
Another function of his Aspect.
Bored of lying idle, Peter crawled out of the tent and looked around.
The raven was still in the same tree, though it had chosen a branch closer to the trunk. It appeared to be sleeping—or so it seemed.
Selene sat beneath one of the trees, her sword resting across her lap, gazing up at the sky.Following her gaze, Peter looked up as well.
Unlike the sky during his watch, not a single cloud could be seen now. The view was breathtaking.
'Surprising—how easily the sky can lie. Peace, silence, a thousand stars... all above one of the most dangerous places mankind has ever set foot in,'
Peter thought, admiring the beauty of the night. The only thing missing was the moon.He didn't know whether it was in a phase where it couldn't be seen, or if this region of Ether simply didn't have one.
It could be yet another bizarre trait of Ether—that each region might have its own sky. Some even said certain parts had two suns.
Peter thought for a while about what to do. There were still about six hours until dawn, and the sensible choice was to give his mind some rest before the upcoming trip to the city.
But the real question was whether he was even capable of getting any normal sleep.
With no other options, Peter returned to the tent and tried again. He cleared his mind of unwanted thoughts and closed his eyes.
He lay there for probably two hours without success. Just as he was about to give up, drowsiness suddenly crept in, and his mind drifted into nothingness.
***
Peter awoke suddenly, thinking that since he had fallen asleep in his spiritual form, he had simply returned to his body upon waking.But to his surprise—and relief—he noticed light seeping through the fabric of the tent, signaling morning.
After a short moment, Peter crawled out of the tent and looked around the camp. Selene noticed him and greeted him cheerfully.
"Good morning. You woke up earlier than yesterday, I think... at least it seems like it."
She said with energy. Peter was surprised by her tone.After all, just yesterday she had learned she might never see her home again.
'Well, better for us that she got through it quickly,'Peter thought. Then, without much consideration, he replied shortly
"Morning."
He bent down next to the tent, grabbed his waterskin, and took a drink.Looking at the sky, he noticed the sun was still very low, suggesting he had awoken about an hour before Selene's watch was supposed to end.
Gazing at the morning sky, he was reminded of the mysterious raven.He looked around, searching for the creature, and soon spotted it soaring high above the forest that surrounded the clearing.
Strangely reassured by the fact that the raven hadn't vanished, he returned to thinking about the trip ahead.
He wanted to train Selene a bit more before they left, so without wasting time, he turned toward her.
That's when he saw Selene's face.
There was a strange expression—something like sadness? Disappointment?
Peter had no idea what had caused her mood to shift so drastically from when she had greeted him. Ignoring it for now, he said:
"Before we continue our journey, there are a few more things I need to teach you."
He sat down, leaned against a tree opposite her, and asked:
"First question. What do you think is the purpose of a fight? What outcome are you aiming for? Answer however you think is right."
Selene looked surprised by the question and took a while to think. Eventually, she answered hesitantly:
"Maybe... victory? The point of a fight is to win, right?"
Peter smiled internally, careful not to show any emotion on his face. He nodded and replied:
"You're asking me? Never mind. You're close—guess again."
Selene paused, thinking longer than before. Finally, she spoke with a tone that barely resembled a question:
"Survival. The point of fighting is to survive. You have to live so you can fight again."
This time, Peter allowed a small smile to curl at the corner of his mouth, then replied:
"Very close, but still not quite there. Now listen—the main and most important goal in a fight is to defeat your opponent. Which, in most cases, means killing them."
He gave the "correct" answer and watched her reaction—surprise, even a flicker of fear. Before she could gather her thoughts, he continued:
"What you said is true—it comes next in importance. But victory alone doesn't guarantee survival, and survival doesn't guarantee elimination of the threat.If you defeat your opponent, you both survive and win."
"In most cases, the fight will be to the death, so your only real option will be to kill the enemy before they kill you.Yes, sometimes you'll need your opponent alive—for intel, or to imprison them. But unless you're working in security services, the second option is off the table."
Peter paused briefly to catch his breath, then looked Selene straight in the eyes and said in a serious tone:
"So here's your first real assignment—you need to learn how to kill.I don't care what your past is, whether you're religious, or if the very idea of taking a life seems impossible.If you want to survive, you must learn to kill. Only then will I be able to teach you properly."
After finishing, Peter watched her closely for a reaction.Yes, he had twisted the truth—many battles can be won without killing. But to do so, you need to vastly outmatch your opponent in skill and magic.
For now, the safest and only realistic option was to fight without hesitation and eliminate the threat as quickly as possible.
Selene's reaction was predictable—disbelief at first, followed by horror.The idea of taking a life was inconceivable to someone raised in modern society.
Humanity had already fought against the threats from Ether.But killing someone fighting on the same side? That just felt wrong.
A large part of that mindset came from the government—its propaganda and school curriculum.
In a world where certain individuals had the strength to take on dozens of civilians, discouraging the rise of killers and psychopaths was a wise policy.
But the downside of that upbringing was that people raised under it had near-zero chances of surviving in a place like this—a place where morality had long been abandoned in exchange for survival.
Peter hoped to convince Selene that survival wasn't possible if she clung to her moral code.
'If she doesn't learn this truth now... the next fight might be her last.'
he thought fleetingly. But then she said the words that dashed any hope of resolving this quickly:
"B-but kill? You want me to kill? Other people? I can understand creatures from Ether, but humans?!"