Theo stood in the training ground, the cold grass touching the skin of his sweaty feet, the morning air filling his burned lungs. His body screamed from pain, every muscle tense, every joint moaning, his bones feeling as if they would crumble under the pressure. But his will was harder, driven by Kyle's last words that were etched into his soul like blades, about pain as an unforgiving teacher, and failure as a stair towards the summit. The more he remembered Kyle's words about the thousands he killed, about the brutality of battle that does not distinguish between a child and an old person, about the terrifying edge he had not yet reached, about the disguised human monsters, the more his body shivered.
'This is the last time in today's training, the third chance'
He raised the wooden sword with his trembling hand with difficulty, a new feeling of heaviness added to its physical weight, the heaviness of the dark truths he had heard. His focus was different now, not just on avoiding Kyle's blows or trying to hit him with a blow, but on staying standing. The smell of damp soil and pine needles filled the air, but it could not remove the faint smell of sweat and blood that had clung to his clothes and skin over the past two weeks.
Kyle stood opposite him at a distance, his wooden staff in his hand, his steady gaze examining every movement, every tremor in Theo's body.
The signs of severe pain and exhaustion on the boy's face were not hidden from him, nor the confusion brewing in his black eyes after the truths he had revealed to him.
He had poured a large part of the dark experience he carried into the soul of this young boy, revealed to him a side of the world he would not see in his worst nightmares.
'I deeply shocked him, this is good, he must know the truth from the beginning, he must face the harshness of the world early, he doesn't have the luxury of time to perish in illusions of naive innocence'
Now, the last battle in this brutal training day, just a conclusion to a brutal training session, but it will be a final test of Theo's ability to absorb the lesson, to transform the shock into will.
'Will he freeze in place and surrender to terror, will he try to respond with blind recklessness as usual, or will he show me the spark I saw in him, will he try to apply what he just learned?' thought Kyle as he saw hope in Theo.
"Are you ready", roared Kyle, his voice like rock forcing the boy back from his painful wandering.
"No magic, only muscles and mind, I don't want to see a flash of shadows around you, I don't want to feel mana in the air, the battle now is between your body, your mind, and your will"
Theo took a deep breath, tried to calm his racing heart that was pounding in his ribs as if it wanted to break through his rib cage and escape. "Yes, I am ready, even if my body is not", he said in a relatively steady voice, although his whole body was trembling silently and involuntarily.
"Then begin", roared Kyle, and his staff moved with lightning speed, not directly towards Theo, but with a wide, deceptive circular motion. Theo rushed to face him, not with blind recklessness as he had done in the previous times, but with calculated caution, and intense focus, despite the pain that was gnawing at every part of his exhausted body.
He tried to remember everything at once, relax your shoulders, maintain your balance, use your body weight with the movement of the sword, watch Kyle with your eyes and mind, try to predict, to read beyond the visible movement. Kyle was moving with amazing fluidity, his staff defending and attacking in a flash, his voice coming with every movement, "Slow", "Error in balance", "Your intentions are exposed".
Theo tried to block an incoming blow to his right side, based on a slight tilt he noticed in Kyle's shoulder.
'This is the blow, coming from this direction, I will block it at an oblique angle'
But Kyle was faster, or perhaps Theo's timing was off by a fraction of a second, Kyle changed the direction of his blow at the last moment, bypassed Theo's expected defense with perfect ease, and struck his left leg with a swift and precise movement.
Theo fell to his other knee, a new sharp pain surprising him in a leg that was not yet injured with the same severity as the other, he groaned more loudly this time, the air coming out with great difficulty from his lungs that still ached from Kyle's punches to the chest in the previous rounds.
'No, again, I fell for the third time, I failed to hit him, I failed to stand firm'
He tried to get up immediately, but his body no longer responded with the sufficient speed that his mind commanded. He felt the weight of the wooden sword in his hand as if it were a real iron sword, and the weight of defeat falling on his young shoulders. He looked at Kyle who stood before him, his staff steady, his evaluating gaze piercing his soul.
"Slow", Kyle said in a voice devoid of emotion, but carrying heavy weight.
"You are still slow in connecting reading and action. Your mind sees the signal, your body tries to respond, but the time gap is too large, and this is enough in real battle to lose your life before you even understand what happened".
He saw Theo trying to predict, applying a lesson from the deep conversation they had, this attempt in itself was important, a sign of grasping the lesson.
'He hasn't completely collapsed after the shock, the spark is still there and burning, even if it is faint now'
"Today's training is over, Theo".
The words "today's training is over" were like a very heavy load being lifted from Theo's young shoulders, he felt a wave of overwhelming relief wash over him because he was no longer forced to endure more physical and psychological pain at this moment, mixed with deep disappointment because he did not succeed in hitting Kyle even once in this last round.
He did not succeed in proving his strength as he wished. But he did not faint this time immediately as he had in the previous rounds, and he tried to apply what he had learned at the last moment, this was a small bright spot in the sea of darkness he felt. 'I tried, I tried with all I had at this moment'. He got up very slowly, leaning on his wooden sword as if it were a crutch, his whole body groaning and protesting against just standing.
"Go", Kyle said in a voice that had become slightly calmer, as if releasing the pressure after the test was over. "Go home. Clean your wounds."
Theo nodded silently, still unable to speak due to exhaustion, pain, and shock. He looked at Kyle with a short gaze, containing a mixture of deep respect for the harsh trainer who had taught him so much, extreme exhaustion from his harshness, and tension. He turned with difficulty and walked away from the training ground, towards the village that now seemed like a peaceful refuge compared to the hell he had left behind. His steps still carried the traces of physical and psychological pain from the past training, from Kyle's shocking words, but they also carried a new determination that had begun to grow within him, a determination to face the bigger challenge that awaited him, even if it was terrifying and unknown. The cold air stung his skin, but his thoughts were boiling in his mind.
Not long after Theo left the training ground, perhaps ten or fifteen minutes at most, Celia appeared at the other edge of the ground, walking with confident, calm steps, as if she were part of the surrounding nature. She was wearing her usual dark green cloak, her black hair reaching her shoulders, and her face bearing the marks of wisdom.
She was carrying an old book with a worn leather cover in her hand, the same book in which Theo saw the stories of great fighters and the philosophy of ancient magic.
She approached Kyle who was still standing in the middle of the ground, his hands crossed over his chest, his eyes following the dirt path Theo had taken towards the village, as if watching his shadow move away.
"You spoke with him", Celia said in her calm voice that carried a hidden strength and an authority that could not be ignored, her voice was not a question, but an acknowledgement of prior knowledge. She did not need Kyle to ask her.
"Yes", replied Kyle, his eyes still following the path Theo had taken. "I told him the truth he must be aware of, about the reality of the outside".
Celia sat on a large rock located at the edge of the ground, and placed the book beside her on the grass. She looked at Kyle intently, assessing his physical and spiritual state, assessing the overall atmosphere of the ground after the violent confrontation. She saw the marks of training on the worn grass, felt a faint energy of scattered mana in the air, and saw the exhaustion in Kyle's stance, despite his apparent toughness.
'He seems tired, not just physically, but spiritually and psychologically, revealing all this darkness at once was difficult for him too, not just Theo', thought Celia as she examined Kyle with her eyes.
"How was his performance today in the last round after your talk with him".
Kyle sighed a light sigh, carrying the depth of years of experience. "He tried to predict. For the first time, I saw him trying to apply what I told him moments ago about reading the early signs in my movement, about anticipating not just reacting. He failed to apply it, of course, he was too slow in connecting understanding with action, and I still see the signal in his eyes before his body moves. He fell for the third time as I expected. But he tried. And he didn't completely collapse after the words he heard".
'This is the crucial point, he didn't break, he didn't surrender to the shock, but he tried to apply the lesson immediately'. Kyle thought while smiling in his imagination.
"The spark is still there and burning inside him, Celia".
Celia nodded slowly, she understood what Kyle meant. 'Yes, the spark, that inner strength that does not die easily'
"That was very harsh talk, Kyle. You revealed to him a dark and brutal side of the world he couldn't imagine even in his nightmares. You revealed to him truths about killing, about human brutality, about the necessity of harshness to survive. I saw him walking away, he was carrying the weight of the whole world on his young shoulders, as if his childhood had evaporated in an instant".
'My heart aches for him, was it necessary to do it in this sudden way'.
"He had to know", Kyle said in a steady voice, devoid of hesitation, as if delivering a final judgment. "The illusion of innocence and safety here in the village will not protect him in the outside. Challenges will come to him sooner or later because of his strength and perhaps because of his origins and true identity. He must understand what he is truly preparing for, he must know that the world is not fair, not merciful. It is not just fighting monsters as children think, but fighting humans who are sometimes worse than monsters, fighting the darkness that wears different masks, hides in the shadows, attacks from where you don't expect. The sooner he understands this harsh truth, the greater his chances of survival in facing those forces".
'I know this dark world well, I spent my life fighting in it, I don't want him to discover its brutality the hard way without any prior warning'. Kyle thought and his eyes were looking at blood on the ground that did not seem to dry anytime soon.
Celia was silent for a longer moment this time, looking at the tall pine trees that extended their branches towards the sky, as if drawing from them the calm, patience, and wisdom necessary to bear the burdens of the future. "I know your wisdom in this, Kyle", she finally said in a low voice, carrying the weight of the difficult task that awaited her. "And I know that you do this only for his own good, but he is still a child, Kyle, he is still twelve years old. Too young to carry all these burdens at once. The power he possesses, the darkness latent within him, and the power he seeks, is a double-edged sword, it can save him or destroy him".
"Every true strength is like that, Celia", replied Kyle in a voice that had become slightly calmer, but still carried a tone of harsh experience.
"But the spark in him, that iron will that I saw burning in his eyes even when he could barely stand on his trembling feet under the weight of pain and exhaustion, is what makes him able to carry this sword without completely breaking", Kyle paused as he took a breath before continuing. "He still does not possess the essence of the fighter who never gives up, who gets up after every fall. What he needs now is tempering, the right guidance for his power, and facing the fire that will make him harder and stronger. The fire that I cannot ignite for him here with enough intensity without completely breaking him".
Celia looked at Kyle intently, with eyes that held a long shared story. "The place you are talking about, the place you will send him to, are you sure it is the right place specifically for him, Kyle, you know its harsh nature, you know the lurking dangers there, you know the types of people he might find there, some of them might exploit his strength or try to destroy him".
"I know all the dangers, Celia", Kyle said seriously and sternly. "I know the nature of the place very well, because I grew up in it and spent many years within its walls and among the people who lived there. It is harsh, it does not spare the weak or the naive. But it is the only school I know, the most effective school, that can prepare this boy for what is truly coming in the outside world, it will teach him how to use his latent power in ways we haven't imagined here, how to control his growing darkness without being consumed by it, how to fight not only with body and mind, but with soul, and how to rely entirely on himself in the most difficult circumstances when there is no one to save him. The place will temper him and make him stronger, or it will break him and destroy him, there is no middle option there. He must be strong enough internally to endure".
"You grew up in it", Celia repeated the word quietly, as if recalling a painful shared history. "The place that shaped you and made you what you are today, a rare fifth-rank fighter with a fist that can crush rock. But it also left deep scars on your soul, Kyle, scars that never fully healed. Do you think Theo will endure those scars, do you think his young soul will not break under the weight of the place's harshness and the dark truths of the world he will discover there".
'I don't want him to go through the same suffering you went through' Celia was thinking as she looked at Kyle standing before her.
Kyle's features darkened, lines of deep sadness and pain appeared on his stern face for a moment before he covered them again with his usual harshness.
"No one comes out of there without scars, Celia, true strength has a heavy price. Scars are the price of survival, the price of learning, the price of strength. The question is not whether his soul will break, but whether he will know how to heal from those breaks and scars himself, how to become stronger than the scars he carries within him and on his body. I saw the spark in him, that will. It is strong enough to keep him standing in the face of the storm, but the outside world is ugly and brutal beyond anyone's imagination here, and the choice will ultimately be his alone, either to become a strong hunter or an easy prey, either to carve his own scars on his enemies to leave his mark on this world, or to become just a scar that others pass by indifferently".
Celia was silent for a longer period this time, looking at the grassy ground, thinking about the very harsh words, about the potential fate of this boy she loved as her son. She loved him as her son, she saw in him a touching mixture of his childhood innocence that had not completely left him. But she also knew that Kyle was right in the essence of his words. The quiet village would not be able to protect him forever from the serious challenges that awaited him because of his unique power.
"I will talk to Elena", Celia finally said in a low voice, carrying the weight of the difficult task that awaited her.
"Convincing her to send her only son away to a dangerous unknown place, to live alone and face a harsh world, will never be easy, Kyle. You know how much she loves him and fears for him after losing her husband". Celia's eyes looked at the sky as she continued.
"A mother's heart holds onto her flesh and blood more strongly than anything else. But she trusts me, and she trusts your wisdom too despite your harshness in training. We will explain to her the necessity of this matter, and the dangers Theo faces by staying here without the necessary tempering. We will show her that this path is for his protection in the long run."
'I hope she understands, I hope she agrees, I hope she forgives us one day for this request' thought Celia, her eyes shifting between pity and regret, and she felt guilty.
"Do what you see fit, Celia", Kyle said calmly. "But the sooner he leaves, the better prepared he will be for the dangers that may appear suddenly. Time is not always on our side.", he looked again towards the dirt path leading to the village, imagining Theo talking with his mother and aunt, the difficult conversation he would face, the fateful decision he would have to make at this young age.
'I hope they are ready, they too, this decision will leave a scar on their hearts as well'
Celia got up from the rock slowly, and picked up her old book. "I will go to them now", she said in a voice that combined hidden determination and deep sorrow.
"I will stay", replied Kyle, and did not change his posture, his hands remained crossed over his chest as if he were a solid rock. He looked at her as she walked away with steady steps towards the village, a tall, slender figure carrying a dark cloak and an old book, carrying much wisdom and many burdens.
'Celia, she too carried a lot on her shoulders. Her magic is incredibly powerful, more powerful than many even here in the village know. Yet, she chose this relatively quiet life, to take care of Theo, to protect him from afar'. He remembered the confrontation between them years ago in completely different circumstances, the immense power she showed with her brutal magic, the defeat he suffered against her in that crucial moment.
"Celia" Kyle called out suddenly, his voice was calm but loud enough for Celia to hear him. Celia stopped in her place, then turned and looked at him, waiting.
"That spark is the hope of breaking through to the fifth rank", Kyle said before he also turned and left, he seemed as if he was leaving for a while.
The sun was now higher in the sky, sending its rays almost vertically, warming the air and the ground, but the quietness was not complete for Kyle. In his mind, he heard the echo of Celia's words, the echo of his own words, the echo of old battle cries that never left him. He was thinking of Theo, of the scar that training and truth had carved into his soul, of the difficult and unknown journey that awaited him.
'He possesses the spark, that is all he needs to start, the spark and the iron will'.