Chapter 35: Training Regime

As Gray’s school day ended, he calmly walked towards Casanova’s warehouse.

The air seemed fresher; the grass seemed greener; and the sun seemed brighter.

He couldn’t help but smile, noticing the small details that had been clouded by his more underlying worries.

The birds’ chirping sounded happy, joyous, even; as if they themselves were being affected by his happiness.

The trees swayed gently, caressed by the chilly breeze permeating the city.

Many people walked across the streets, talking with their families, friends or even partners, creating a lively picture.

Gray silently noted his pleasurable developments, glad that his past worry of his future becoming only worse seemed more distant than before.

Nekare, although a Nephilim, was practically a normal girl; his finances were improving, thus making way for a future where Kathy would be able to go to school. His strength and endurance were getting better, creating the building blocks that’ll allow him to protect her.

He was also considered as genius in the art of Intra!

But although life was getting better, he didn’t dare to let his guard down, for The Monolith’s dangers and Genesis’ revelations were still looming in the background, hiding behind thick, shadowy clouds.

“If only I had that talent for Genesis…” he lamented. “By now, I would’ve had the abilities of Prometheus…”

It had been a long time ever since he enjoyed a lesson as much as he did in the hours earlier. He also hoped there would be other opportunities to hear about different myths.

He however, felt that his innate talent for Intra was something bizarre.

How come Gray, the weakest of the weaker Nephilim could do something that nobody had every accomplished before?

So, he began to ponder.

“Intra, as Casanova explained, is a heightened state of awareness and self-reflection, obtained by abandoning one’s Ego, as if walking through the thread of life and non-existence…”

“Although it wasn’t real, I did face death multiple times… So, since I was already familiar with having my Ego completely destroyed, is that why I was able to learn it so effortlessly?”

“While my theory seems plausible, shouldn’t every Nephilim who faced death to then come back to life have the same outcome?”

“Franz Kaldiri told me it was something unheard of, so, this theory of mine theory has to be untrue.”

“The Nephilim fight and kill each-other to ensure their own survival. In a world like that, dying to then come back to life—be it through supernatural means like healing or resurrection, or instead just by the simple use of medical means such as a defibrillator, it makes the event not-so uncommon…”

“Therefore, there has to be something else.”

He stopped in his tracks and sat on the sidewalk. Some passersby gave him brief glances, but he didn’t care about their silent judgements.

His leg bounced up and down as he tried to recall for the reason of his sudden uniqueness.

Could it have been a perk from becoming a witness to The Monolith or the Sigil Carver?

Although it was true he had met unexplainable beings, shuddering evils such as The Monolith, he felt that it wasn’t the right answer.

What would they gain from helping him?

So he began to focus on himself, especially about his own ability, Genesis.

He recalled the events of the Apocalyptic Dream, but even then, there wasn’t a reasonable development that would’ve led him to gain an innate understanding about Intra.

He thought that The Monolith had corrupted him, turning into a Nephilim, but that was just a coincidence, a sudden event caused by him witnessing the arcane.

And then, he recalled the events of his second dream which depicted the Boundless Void.

“This could be the answer!” he exclaimed out loud, attracting the attention of a small family who gazed at him back and down, wondering if he was a drunkard.

‘If non-existence were to exist, the place would probably look like what I’ve seen—a Boundless Void, devoid of anything material.’

‘And in a sense, after I saw my own figure, I became a witness of myself, my own Ego. So in a broader sense, I did give up on my own Ego!’

‘I also theorized about memories being hidden in the dream, maybe hidden behind other greater, amalgamation of shadows… As Intra’s rules dictate, one must give their past experiences to activate it!”

“By then maybe, I gained a subconscious understanding of Intra!”

‘This could be very well be a plausible explanation for the time being… Maybe, when I gain more knowledge, I might study this process more clearly.’

Satisfied with his self reflection, he stood up, dusted his pants, and made his way towards Casanova’s warehouse for his daily training.

Consistency was the key opening the doors to an hopeful future!

For the physical word, he trained his body; while for the abstract one, he honed his awareness!

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…

After no less than ten minutes, he made his way through the abandoned buildings that led to the warehouse. Most of them were ridden with graffiti.

Some pictured genitalia; some pictured pentagrams or leviathan crosses; while others depicted monsters with many eyes and many mouths.

On other buildings, some teenagers had written phone numbers followed by words in the lines of, ‘Call this number for free sex!’,

While the number may have belonged to their ‘friends’, ex-girlfriends’ and other people they hated with their whole self, Gray still felt it was unnecessary to go that far.

Deciding to stop paying attention to the edgy behavior of his fellow teenagers, he kept on walking.

The floor was cracked, filled with lone patches of grass fighting to survive among the strenuous chokehold of the asphalt.

As he walked, the echo of his steps echoed across the silent neighborhood. Some small animals scurried away after hearing it, fearful of the hairless monkey that was roaming inside their kingdom.

After a couple of minutes, he finally arrived and silently entered the orange-ish warehouse full of rust.

The miasma that permeated it was gone—it had been that way for every time Casanova wasn’t there.

If the man had important messages to share, the miasma would briefly appear, however.

Gray theorized it was a means to prevent information from leaking out.

He was completely unaware of how Casanova had that many abilities, but even then, he was a seasoned Nephilim, so it was normal for him to have many hidden tricks.

As far as Gray knew, he had Dusk Catcher, the yellowish scroll of paper, the miasma, and his improvement over his physical vessel.

Compared to him, it was a difference spanning from the heavens to earth.

Sighing, he walked towards his instruments.

There were many weight plates stacked per weight category, beginning from ten kilograms, to over a hundred of kilograms. Of course, he didn’t dare try to lift beyond his maximum capacity.

For now, he could bench press sixty-five kilograms in total.

It wasn’t as bad as before, but it still wasn’t a substantial, impressive amount.

Right next to the many weight plates there were many different dumbbells, starting from five kilograms to over thirty kilograms—his maximum was twelve kilograms per hand.

After he tied his hair, he found a song he liked and placed his phone on the yellowish, warehouse floor, so he could listen to it while exercising.

Satisfied, he picked the weighted, tar colored vest hanging over the rusted walls.

It had many layers, with dark, armor-like lines, stripes and crevices on it.

With a slight difficulty, he wore it, and immediately felt its hold on him.

As he walked, he could feel just how harder it was to do even the simplest things. Breathing was harder, and the same could be said for moving.

Regardless, he knew it had to be done, so he didn’t dare to complain.

Deciding to warm his body up before the more intense exercises, he picked the jumping rope—his favorite exercise.

If before he could jump continuously for six minutes without any breaks, now it was difficult to even reach two minutes without stopping even once.

Since his purpose was to just warm his muscles up, he listened to his body’s complaints and stopped when he needed to.

As he jumped, he payed attention to the music, as he discovered it would help him in furthering the duration of his workouts.

Depending on the song playing, he could also muster more strength, allowing him to go over his limits.

“Five o’clock in the morning, you ain’t home~”

“I can’t help thinkin’ it’s strange~”

“Baby, I just want you to know~”

“I won’t go through with it~”

Since Gray couldn’t remember most of the artists he listened to, he began to listen to the playlists he had made in the past, re-discovering his favorite songs, glad to be able to re-experience them for the first time.

His favorite artists and bands at the moment were:

Buck-Tick, especially the album named ‘Six/Nine.’

George Micheal, especially the song named: ‘Spinning the Wheel’—it was also the song he was listening at the moment, and the song that followed in the album named ‘Older,’ called: It Doesn’t really Matter.’

The Smiths, especially the song named: ‘I Know it’s Over.’

Radiohead, especially the song named: ‘Let Down.’

There were many more he liked, and even more waiting to be rediscovered.

Whip! Whip! Whip!

The whipping of the rope echoed within the confines of the warehouse, creating a constant stream of noise.

Every time he needed rest, Gray stopped for some moments and stretched his body.

And just as soon as his warm-up was over, he began with the more strenuous exercises.

He walked towards the edge of the warehouse, and there, he found the metal pull-up bar.

He was amazed and thankful of how Casanova installed so many infrastructure that would allow him to hone his body thoroughly.

And he was also paying him on top of it!

He wondered what the man was gaining from it, but even then, he didn’t bother on thinking about it too much, deciding to reap the benefits silently.

He jumped with difficulty, grabbing the metal bar with his hands.Taking a deep breath, he raised trembling chin over the bar.

Normally, he would only be able to do eight pull-ups in a row, but now, he couldn’t even do three.

As he reached his limits, he hung on the bar, trying to squeeze one more.

He gripped the bar with his trembling hands, and mustering every single ounce of his strength, he pulled himself up, succeeding in his task.

Satisfied, he released his grip over the metallic bar, dropping down on the floor.

Since he was incredibly tired and sweaty all over, he began to rest, texting Kathy about his whereabouts.

Ever since he began on his training, his excuse with her was that he began on hanging out with a new, fictitious group of friends.

She was suspicious and worried at first, thinking that he was hanging around with no-good people.

But after he reassured her, she calmed down.

Once he was finally rested, he picked two dumbbells weighing twelve kilograms per hand, and started to curl them, immediately feeling the strain on his biceps.

Just then, the warehouse started to become darker, and with it, Gray could feel a slimy sensation to his body that slowed his moments down.

He wasn’t afraid, for it meant that Casanova had important information to give him.

And just as he expected, Casanova’s ethereal, illusory voice began to echo through the warehouse, reflecting and refracting within its bounds.

“Good evening,”

“Good evening,” he replied. “Did something interesting happen?”

“In the next weeks, I will have some matters I must tend to,” the man said.

Curious about his so-called matters, Gray wanted to inquire for more details, but since it wasn’t his business, he refrained from doing so.

Just then, he realized that if something happened, Casanova wouldn’t there to help him!

“You may call me, but I can’t assure you that I’ll be free to respond.”

“I-I understand…” he replied, slightly worried.

“If you need anything, Franz, the Nephilim you’ve met, will help you. He’s also willing to take you in under his wing. He’s currently managing an antique shop, and he’s in dire need of help.”

“In that place, knowledge runs rampant. And if you are lucky, you may find matters concerning the Nephililm and their past.”

At first Gray was hesitant and wary, but after hearing the last phrase, he seriously began to consider the offer.

Franz Kaldiri was a Nephilim trusted by Casanova, that’s true, but if he were to become his boss, he would, in some way or another, come to learn about his residence, and most importantly Kathy.

Therefore, he had to bet on Franz loyalty to Casanova!

And to unravel the mysteries hidden within his future, he had to firstly understand the Nephilim’s past!

“I accept!” he exclaimed.