[Huh? What is this? Another victory for the Red Runaway? Keep an eye on him folks, I have a feeling we may have a dark horse on our hands! What are his ambitions? Will he fight for eternity in the Gauntlet or will he challenge the Cardinal League? Regardless of his fate, it will surely be decided right here in the Theokasima!]

The announcer annoyingly yelled as Akairo stood over his opponent while breathing heavily under the steering heat of the sun.

He touched a small cut on his neck and realized that if something was sharp enough and moved with enough sped, it could cut through the protective barrier.

Fortunately, the barrier reduced the damage significantly so even if someone were to get hit with a serious attack, a skilled healer would be able to patch him up.

Akairo nodded to himself before making his way to the changing room where he was met by his fellow competitors.

“Good fight, kid! I still can’t believe that the guy who holds the longest losing and draw streaks is now gunning for the longest win streak.”

Someone commented.

“Yeah but I think a certain someone will have something to say about that.”

Akairo ignored them as he changed back into his uniform.

He then made his way to the lobby where he met Zabu.

The two walked towards the exit but they were stopped by a certain tall, flashy man who had a popsicle in his mouth. He still wore pure white baggy pants that were adorned without countless chains and pieces of jewellery and had his muscular torso exposed.

His bright hazel eyes looked both Zabu and Akairo over before settling on Akairo.

“Hey, kid. Long time no see. I watched your match and I simply must say you are doing an absolutely decent job. What was it? Fifty consecutive losses, twenty sequential five draws and if you keep up your current rate you’ll have thirty back to back wins in no time, just like me!” The man or Khatuu, as Akairo remembered him, warmly smiled.

Akairo glanced at Zabu who simply nodded.

“Err... Thanks?”

“No worries- hey, about this? The next match might be your thirtieth win, right? How about I be your opponent? It’ll be a most momentous occasion.”

Akairo once again turned to Zabu.

“One week.”

“And who are you, little man?” Khatuu raised a brow.

“I am Akairo’s master.”

“Oh- I see. Let me guess, you want one week to make sure little Akie is as prepared as possible, right?” Khatuu asked with what as obviously a mockery of a concerned expression.

“Yes.”

Khatuu nodded before placing his large hands on both Akairo and Zabu’s shoulders.

“Alright. I’m counting on you two to make it something to remember. There’s nothing I hate more than boring people.” Khatuu sighed with a stiffened expression.

He then let go of the two and made his way to the coliseum.

Akairo and Zabu stared at each other for a moment before simultaneously sighing.

“This was inevitably going to happen.”

“What do you mean?” Akairo asked.

“You were bound to face someone strong.” Zabu said while walking up the stairs that led out of the coliseum grounds.

“Mmm.” Akairo sounded while following closely behind.

“So... What now?”

“Simple. More training. Khatuu is a Forcepath user so he probably hits about as hard as a nuke but that won’t be a problem if you can outmanoeuvre him. I’ll show you a few of his matches when we get home but he, like everyone else, has a limited amount of Tal uses.”

Akairo nodded before thinking back to the first match of Khatuu’s he ever saw.

A match which was over before it truly ever began.

.

..

Akairo watched, with wide eyes, one of Khatuu’s matches via Zabu’s small projector which he had set up moments after getting home.

The two were seated against the wall and had both of their eyes locked on the display.

“Khatuu is a show off so he always starts matches with a dramatic move that usually knocks out or scares weaker opponents.”

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Akairo nodded and just like Zabu said, Khatuu started the match they are watching with a massive attack that affected the entire platform, sending his opponent flying off.

“What was that?” Zabu asked.

“A Level 5 attack.”

“How do you know?”

“He didn’t move his body and I’ve seen him do it before. Although, he was just yawning back then.”

Zabu nodded.

“That’s your first task. You need to learn how to deal with attacks that affect wide ranges of space. Let’s watch a few more matches.”

The two then watched a handful of matches and Akairo realized that no one had ever gotten into melee range of Khatuu.

They all threw various ranged attacks at him but those attacks were destroyed by what Akairo initially assumed was a Level 5 technique that forced the attacks onto the ground or into the air but in some matches, Khatuu used it several times.

Akairo asked Zabu about it.

“That’s simply the effect of his shadow. Why do you think he wears so many belts?”

“Because... He’s a stylish man?”

Zabu shook his head.

“The shadows of Forcepath users can exert a force equivalent to their maximum amount of Tal. If he were to do a Shadow Expansion, his opponent could potentially be flattened.”

Akairo nodded in understanding.

“How does one counter that?”

“You simply need to be confident.” Zabu said while standing up.

“Huh?” Akairo sounded in confusion as he followed him out of his home.

“What is Tal, Akairo?” Zabu asked as they walked down towards the garage under the dim light if the evening sky.

Several children ran up to him and he high fived them as they ran by.

“It is... The Essence of everything.” Akairo answered.

“And how do we manipulate it?”

“Using our Wills.”

“And just how effective do you think the attack of a weak will person would be?” Zabu asked as he led Akairo into the garage.

“Not... Very effective.”

“Exactly.” Zabu said while spinning around to face Akairo.

“Remember when I insulted your fireball all that time ago?”

“Umm... Kinda.”

“Well, what we’re going to be doing for the next week is training not your body but your mind or more accurately... Your will.” Zabu said as his eyes flashed blue.

The garage was then engulfed in a dark shadow and the air turned a dark blue.

“Create a fireball.”

Akairo nodded and created one in front of him but, as expected, it was starting to fizzle away under the weight of Zabu’s shadow.

“If that ball of fire dies I’m gonna spend the next twelve hours beating your ass into a pulp!” Zabu barked but no matter how hard he concentrated, it grew smaller and smaller before eventually disappearing.

“If that ball represented you, you would be dead.” Zabu said while stretching his arms.

Akairo dreaded having to fight him but he wasn’t going to back away.

He did, however, want to know how to sustain the ball and so he asked.

“It all goes back to what you are fighting for. If you believe in it, if you believe in yourself, your fireball will sustain itself or even grow more powerful.”

Akairo nodded but just he did, Zabu sucker punched him in the gut.

Akairo gasped for air but couldn’t hunch forward in pain because Zabu was sending another fist his way and so he dashed backwards.

“Twelve hours to go!” Zabu grinned while dashing towards Akairo again.

.

..

Twelve hours had passed and although Akairo was quite tired, this was less than half as long as he and Zabu usually fought for.

He stood in front of Zabu once again and, after being engulfed in shadow, Akairo created a fireball.

He then thought about his goal.

The stars.

Freedom.

His eyes widened as the ball grew smaller and so, with shaking eyes, he turned to Zabu who rolled his eyes.

“It’s not that hard, dammit! Just think about something or someone you love!”

Akairo pictured Engel’s face and after gasping as pain filled his heart, the fireball suddenly doubled in size.

“Kekeke! There you go!” Zabu celebrated but Akairo barely heard his words as he thought back to all the time he had spent with that woman.

This inevitably led to him remembering the red sky and this doubled the fireball’s size to where it almost touched the ground and ceiling.

“Alright, that’s enough! Destroy it!” Zabu yelled but again, Akairo couldn’t quite hear him as his body was bathed in the bright light of his creation.

His body was spared from its flames by the power of Zabu’s shadow.

A power that suddenly increased, forcing Akairo onto his knees.

His fireball was also affected and had been reduced to half its size although it looked like it was burning just as powerfully.

Akairo glanced at Zabu to find that both of his arms were raised and his eyes were glowing brighter than ever.

He then brought his arms together and clasped his hands, making the world of shadow even colder and heavier.

The fireball grew smaller and smaller until it eventually disappeared.

Zabu’s eyes returned to normal along with the world but just as he walked to Akairo, someone called out to him.

“Yo, Master Z. What the hell is goin’ on over here?”

Akairo stood up and turned around to find two guards standing by the entrance of the garage. Their faces were hidden by the dark of night and Zabu refused to buy lights saying “You need to learn how to fight under all kinds of lighting conditions!”.

“Yeah, sorry about that, guys. I was training this here pupil of mine but things got a bit out of hand.” Zabu chuckled while walking towards the guards.

“Yeah, well, keep it down. I know you and lil' Red over there are up to something big and I am grateful for- ahem! It’s just that sensors keep flaggin’ ya and that’s a problem what with terrorists running around as freely as they are nowadays.” The guard coughed.

“I completely understand. However, can we wrap up this exercise today? Pretty please?”

The guards glanced at each other and simultaneously sighed.

“Alright. Oh- and thanks for the wonderful match today.” The guard said nodded.

Zabu simply bowed as the officers turned to leave.

He then returned to Akairo’s side and looked the young man over.

“That fire... Life hasn’t been easy on ya, huh?”

Akairo’s eyes fell.

“It’s alright. You’re here and you’re fighting. That’s all that matters. You up for more?” Zabu asked with a gentle smile and Akairo nodded.

Zabu returned to his previous spot and engulfed the garage in shadow.

“Alright. This time, keep your self upright for as long as possible.”

Akairo nodded before suddenly getting forced onto his knees.

“Remember what I said!” Zabu barked.

Akairo bit his teeth and thought back to the red sky and the being that had robbed him and countless others of everything and in doing so, let out a breath that was made of a fire that spread heat even in the world of Zabu’s shadow.

He squeezed his fist and felt his heart pounding, furiously at his chest but that’s exactly what he needed to know that he was still here, that he was still alive and that he could keep fighting and so, he slowly stood up although it felt like he was being weighed down by an incredibly force.

He then looked into Zabu’s glowing blue eyes with his own fiery red ones and grinned.

“Is that all of your power?”

Zabu tilted her head.

“Of course not.” He scoffed before tilting his head and just as he did, Akairo fell to the side and was forced onto the ground by a force that was several times stronger than the one before.

“Don’t make me repeat myself and focus on your level, got it?” Zabu asked as the force of his shadow squeezed the air out of Akairo’s lungs.

“Al...right.” Akairo squawked.