"CONDENSE!" Zen's wings and the aura on his hand converged into his fist, he punched Hyasu with all his might.

Holding his middle finger up, Hyasu blocked the attack.

The black aura moved from Zen's hand onto Hyasu's.

Hyasu's hand decayed, falling soon after.

Zen pulled his arm back, aiming for another punch.

Hyasu let go of the staff he held underneath his armpit, hitting Zen with a punch of his own. He was thrown multiple feet away.

"Lune Celesta - Quatro", Hyasu spoke, raising his hand, pointing at one of the moons.

'!'

Four of the moons shattered, this time, however, Zen ran before the beam could even touch him.

"Did you not look at the sky?", Hyasu asked, calm as ever.

"What do yo-

"Four moons shattered this time.", Hyasu spoke, three beams hit Zen.

He ran out of the rays just in time, he looked as though any more time within those beams would kill him.

*Pant* *Pant* *Pant*

Zen's vision went blurry, he fell to the ground, blood fell from his arm onto the 'ground'.

The 'Gaiga' around Zen and Hyasu shattered like glass and withered away, they were now in the forest they were in a few minutes ago.

3 months later..

It was almost dusk, the sun had begun to turn red.

It appeared as if Zen and Hyasu had just stopped sparring, Hyasu's hand had now grown back.

The ground outside the cave was uneven, staff marks on the ground made it apparent that Hyasu dodged more of Zen's attacks than he blocked.

Zen's topless body was covered in sweat, his staff, onto which he barely held on to, looked battered, the wooden part had multiple marks and indents while the golden part had now lost its luster.

"You're almost past the middle stage. All you need now is just a little push to achieve your Gaiten.", Hyasu spoke, as they both headed into the cave, Hyasu quite a few steps behind Zen.

Zen fixed his robe, which was hanging down from his waist.

"Hey, Hyasu...", "What is it that I fight for?", Zen asked, as he turned around and looked Hyasu in the eye.

Hyasu made a sudden face expressing surprise, which morphed into a more sinister and serious expression quickly after.

"You must've forgotten, after all, I have been suppressing your emotion for the past three months.", he stretched his hand out and gripped Zen's head.

"Don't you think it would've been troublesome if you ran off for revenge?

Zen's pupils started to turn gray, his previously tired body now looked better than ever.

Space around them distorted, turned blurry and.. changed?

They were now floating high above a large sect, the same sect that the past Zen once fought Abaddon in.

"What is it that you fight for? As if I would know. Why don't you try and find out?", Hyasu threw Zen on to one of the buildings.

"WHAT THE FUC-

Zen tried to get up but one of his hands had now been almost snapped, its bone visible.

"INTRUDERS!", a distant voice screamed.

"You're on your own.", Hyasu disappeared into thin air.

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"Reform.", Zen spoke as he moved his broken hand up. his bones joined themselves together, a layer of blood enveloped the bones, tendons and skins soon covered the blood. His hand was back to normal.

"WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER?!"

"Gelug Sect Main Technique: Drifting Screen."

A tall woman in all black clothing jumped onto the roof, her face covered with a translucent black veil, only her eyes visible.

Both her hands tightly held a straight sword, which she swung on to Zen, a gray trail followed her sword.

Zen's eyes turned back to normal.

"Sable.", Zen's staff was now enveloped by a rough pitch-black aura.

The woman's sword had now almost reached Zen's neck, just a moment more and he'll be-

He swung his staff onto the woman's head, bursting it open, her lifeless body dropped.

A black centipede-like tattoo started forming on his newly healed hand, wrapping around the hand as it formed.

The mark turned red.

"Why does this feel-

"THE INTRUDER IS A BLOOD CULT SURVIVOR!"

'!'

Zen located the distant voice, nearly a hundred meters away, in a tall watch tower, there stood a man with a spyglass.

The man looked closer at the roof.

Zen held his staff up, like a javelin, and prepared to throw it at the man.

The man's eyes widened, realizing that the boy was really going to throw his staff at him, he quickly tried to jump down the watch tower.

The attempt, though, was in vain, the staff was thrown, Zen jumped soon after throwing it, onto another roof close by.

It pierced the man's head, stopping halfway thru.

Zen maneuvered thru the air, soon reaching the watch tower, pulling his staff out the man's head.

*clap* *clap* *clap*

"!", Zen looked back at the roof of the building he just jumped from, sighting a tall and slender man, walking gently on the roof, towards him.

'I.. couldn't sense his Qi?!'

The man had lines for eyes, his clothing, too, was black, but it was looser than the others wore, two, thinner than usual, Daos were strapped to the back of his waist, both facing the opposite direction.

"Didn't know the head of the Blood Cult was such a small boy.", he spoke, unsheathing both his Daos.

"Tell me.", Zen said, turning around and pointing his staff at the man.

"What is the Blood Cult?", the sable enveloping his sword disappeared.

"Ah, don't play dumb with me, Mister Blood Cultist.", the edges of his Daos was now lined with a thin, bright red strand of Qi.

"After all, I am the head of the strongest assassination organization after the Blood Cult was destroyed."

"Assassin you say?", the mark on Zen's hand began turning black.

*blink*

The man was now behind Zen, both Daos held up to his neck.

"Don't move a muscl-

Zen now stood a few meters away from the man.

"I'm sure I was just behind yo-

"I remember. I remember it all, from the Black Fact- ", Zen said, the mark began to.. constrict Zen's arm?!

He quickly created distance, dashing behind.

"This is a battle of Qinggong, come at me, I won't use my Kyon.", Zen said, jamming his staff into the building.

"..."

"What's Kyon now?", the man asked in a genuine manner.

"Wel-

"YOU FELL FOR THE OLDEST TRICK IN THE BOOK!", the man closed the distance just enough that his swords would reach Zen, but not the other way around.

Zen took a single step forward, before the man could swing his sword.

He swung his left hand with all his force onto the man's chest, following soon after with his right hand to the man's face.

The man bled from his nose and coughed blood.

*Shlick*

Ignoring all the pain he just suffered, he jammed both his sword through Zen's torso, the first went through his navel, the second narrowly missed Zen's heart.

"I missed the heart didn't I?"

*Cough*

"Y-Yeah you did.", Zen gripped both the swords with his hands, his fingers bled, but he did not stop, the next thing the man knew, they were shattered.

"Haah, you'll have enough trouble with him.", the man spoke under his breath.

He let go off his swords, appearing behind Zen.

"Nice try, bitch."

Before the man could do anything, Zen stabbed the man's head with a piece of the sword he just broke.

The mark constricted Zen's hand harder as the man's body fell.

"Reform."

The shattered blade inside Zen dissolved, flesh and skin soon replaced the empty space that was created.

"O Fallen One, Lucifer, Satan, Bringer of Midnight, heed this call. By the shadows' embrace, let thy presence materialize...", a distant chant echoed.

Although he had been hearing this chant for as long, it had just now gotten louder.

Zen closed his eyes for a moment.

"Found you."

He maneuvered around the buildings, soon reaching a large one, from where the chant seemed to be echoing.

"..In whispers and shadows, manifest, dance 'pon the edge of realms. Grant me thy arcane covenant. Descend upon our plain."

"Sable.", the staff was, again, enveloped in the black aura, his hands, too, were now under Sable's effect.

"Innate Kyon Release: Frost-Flame Unity."

The black aura expanded, rippling "flames" emitted from the staff, as he stretched his hand out, preparing to jam his sword into the ceiling.

*Smash*

*Smash*

Zen's staff broke through the roof, another ceiling below it, too, was broken.

The hole created, though, was much too small for Zen to fit thru it.

He jumped down the building, as, one by one, he felt all the Dantians within the building fade out.

*Seee*

A loud, high pitched noise replaced the chant that echoed.

He dashed a few meters away from where he landed, fixating on a position.

Zen looked at his arm.

"This is.. the chills."

"!"

The tens of dense and well refined Dantians Zen sensed inside the building had now seemingly fused into one, extremely dense one.

"RETURN!"

The black aura surrounding Zen's arms grew to an enormous extent, the part of the building that faced Zen was mostly covered in it.

It shrank at the same pace at which it grew, Zen's staff was now in his hands, tightly gripped.

"WHICH MORTAL DARES TO-

He ran into the building, making a passage thru the wall.