Time slowly passed outside the shadow realm, and the end of the course was approaching. Almost all the students had exited, except for four. Mr. Spinazola was aware of three of them, but he knew nothing about the fourth.
"Nobody is allowed to leave until I return," Spinazola shouted before slowly walking into the shadow realm.
"He should've come out by now," Jack said.
"Yeah, but it was his first time," Stefano replied. "Anyway, I don't think he's dead."
"I hope so," Jack said. "But it all depends on his luck."
A little further away, Damian joyously chatted with his group of friends. Knowing that his cousin didn't manage to get out of the shadow realm put him in a good mood. Mr. Spinazola took a quick peek at the three students he knew of and sent them a telepathic message that it was time to go out. Right after hearing it, the girl and two boys opened their eyes and exited the shadow realm, receiving loud applause from the students outside.
Then, Mr. Spinazola carefully approached Yan, who was still meditating.
'Has he passed?' Spinazola sent a telepathic message to the old spirit.
'Would I appear here if he didn't?' replied the old spirit in the same manner, displeased with the teacher's conduct.
He managed to pass on his first try. Good, that's pretty good, Spinazola thought.
'What's your name?' he asked.
'You don't have the tongue to pronounce it. But you can refer to me as the old spirit.'
'How old are you?' Mr. Spinazola asked, wanting to probe the quality of the spirit.
'Mark,' a deep voice sounded from his side.
It was Spinazola's guide, reprimanding him for asking what he wasn't allowed to. It was impolite to ask about the age of a spirit he didn't have any connection to.
'Forgive me, I was just curious,' Spinazola said, cupping his hands in respect.
'No harm,' the old spirit gestured for the teacher not to bother.
Sensing something, the old spirit stretched his hand thousands of meters deep into the black fog to grab something. Retracting his hand, the spirit held a little devil between his five fingers. A wide grin appeared on the old spirit's face as the little devil started to tremble.
Spinazola remained quiet, at a loss for words when he saw the old spirit pulling what seemed to be a piece of runic paper from the inner pocket of his robe. Then, with a total of fourteen fingers, the old spirit meticulously rolled the paper around the little devil, humming an unusual song.
Placing the newly made cigar in his mouth, the old spirit lit it with a small flame at the tip of a finger. The little devil let out a short cry before the fire silenced it. Puffing a few times from the devil-made cigar, the old spirit relaxed with a pleased expression.
Spinazola swallowed audibly, shifting his attention to where his own spiritual guide should be. But the latter never showed itself.
"What?" asked the old spirit, seeing the shocked expression on Spinazola's face. "Never seen someone smoking before?"
"I, I, I," Spinazola tried to find the right words.
"You, you, you?" the old spirit asked. "Came to take the little man outside, right? Then what are you waiting for?" the spirit said, sending a cloud of white smoke that made Spinazola dizzy.
This is too strong, Spinazola thought before sending a telepathic message for Yan to wake up and follow him outside.
After spending a few moments processing what his spiritual guide was doing, Yan decided not to bother with trying to find an explanation for such complex things and followed Mr. Spinazola back to the real world.
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Yan's P.O.V.
I can't really explain what happened; I didn't even understand it myself. But the second I stepped out of that portal, the second I returned to the light, I felt a surge of emotions raging inside me. I got excited; the blood inside me made me feel alive, like the sun itself had become the hottest girl I'd ever seen.
The shadow realm called me back, like my bed in the morning; it was difficult to cut the intimate strings connecting me to that place. The voices were still something I couldn't stand, but that wet, dark, and cold place had something that now made me want more.
Maybe I was acting like this because of all the energy I'd absorbed, but I was hard, and it felt so fucking good. I felt free, and even though I was conscious that I didn't have the strength, a part of me felt like fighting with all the people present at once.
This is definitely the most potent drug I've ever tasted, I told myself. Is this raw power?
Mr. Spinazola stopped beside me, definitely sensing the change in my energetic fields. My hand moved on its own, opening my shirt for the sunlight to kiss my upper chest.
The students all looked at me, their gazes transmitting different emotions, but I liked them all; I welcomed them all.
'I want to have a word with you,' I heard Mr. Spinazola's voice echoing in my head.
In the next moment, I felt myself in another dimension. Just the two of us, all the students disappeared even though we appeared to still be on the training ground.
"What is it, teacher?" I asked without a care in the world.
"Don't worry, you're under the illusion of power. The energy you absorbed from that place is affecting you, but don't let it control you," Mr. Spinazola said.
"I've reached the same conclusion," I said.
"Good, then. The effect should disappear in a few hours. Everyone experiences this differently, so don't go asking around for advice. You have to endure it. And no matter what you do, don't let yourself be controlled by it. The feeling of power is a dangerous thing, and it corrupts the best."
"If just the illusion of power makes me feel this way, then how good can true power feel?" I asked, not caring about what Mr. Spinazola would think of me.
"Behave yourself! You're not capable of understanding the dangers that path leads you to. You can lose it all, like the rest of the people who thought they could control it," Mr. Spinazola admonished. "If you manage to successfully control yourself and don't do anything stupid, I will give you a device that will help you achieve new heights. Do you understand? Only if you control yourself."
"Yes, I understand," I said, looking deeply into Mr. Spinazola's eyes.
I could see fear, the same fear I saw in my mother's eyes when she slapped me because she was afraid of losing me to darkness. But I wasn't sure if that was the actual truth or just my imagination. The veil descended, and I sensed myself becoming the center of attention once more. My lips arched into a bright smile without my mental command, but I allowed it to happen as it reflected my internal state.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
I descended the stairs of the portal's platform with lazy steps, shifting all my weight on one leg at a time. Just like a drunk person, only that I did it consciously, trying to get a better understanding of my state and incorporate it into my being.
Not once in my entire life was I afraid of power, and I had this same feeling a few years back. Only then, because I scared the people around me, I was forced to end it. Not now, though. I wasn't going to resist it, or listen to what Spinazola told me. For me, power only reflected what was on the inside, what was hidden in a person's heart, just like money did. And I knew what was in mine. In these moments, I could feel it.
Finding Jack staring at me from among the students, I walked directly to him.
"What happened? Are you alright?" he asked.
I placed a hand on his shoulder, firmly feeling his muscles.
"Better than ever," I replied. "Do we have a river or pool around here? I need to meditate on something, and water always manages to calm me."
Jack seemed to not believe that I was in good condition because he looked at Mr. Spinazola for confirmation. He couldn't understand that this was the real me, the truest part of me buried under people's opinions and society's rules living in my head.
Mr. Spinazola nodded, and I approved of his signal, waiting for Jack to answer my question.
"There's a small lake behind the dining hall. Students usually meditate around it as it is a quiet area," Jack said.
I nodded, patting his shoulder.
"Do we have an important course after this trial?" I asked.
"We actually have a break of one hour before lunchtime," Jack said. "We usually use it to read something at the library."
"Lucky me. Then see you at lunch, I'll go meditate."
"You're all free to leave," Spinazola said before disappearing from the spot.
As soon as he said that, everyone dispersed to do their own things, and so did I. However, I had no plans to just sit around and meditate or listen to what the teacher said. Only I knew it, but I was going to take a bath in that lake. Following the road that seemed to lead behind the dining hall, I reached my destination. There was a green space with some trees, flowers, and a lake. A few students were already there, meditating and even having conversations.
I scanned the surrounding area with a lazy gaze before proceeding to remove my clothes. Some of the students noticed me and even made rude remarks among themselves. But I couldn't hear what they said, nor did I care. Remaining in my underwear, I entered the refreshing water of the lake that wasn't as cold as I hoped it would be, nor as clean as I imagined it.
Floating on my back, I let myself be immersed in the embrace of the water, taking deep, nourishing breaths. However, my peaceful moments were not fated to last long as my dear fellow students started to voice their unimportant opinions.
"Hey, you're not supposed to swim here," someone shouted.
I never intended to respond to such obvious words; I wasn't a fool.
"Get out of there immediately! You'll get us all into trouble," said a girl.
I paid them no attention, keeping just my head, chest, and shoulders above the water.
"Are you crazy? Get out of there before a teacher notices," a familiar voice sounded in my ears.
A girl I slept with? No, she's the girl with the poor aim from that underground market. So she's a student here?
"You're disturbing my peace, everyone," I raised my tone. "I am not inconveniencing you in any way, so please mind your own business and let me enjoy my life. You can enter as well; there's enough water for everyone."
"Sister Zhou, don't bother yourself," said a man.
"This student, you're breaking the academy's rules. Please get out before a teacher sees you," said another student.
"It's my first day here. Do the rules say I'm not allowed to float in the lake?" I asked, genuinely unaware of the rules.
"You're not allowed to damage the property," replied the same student.
"Then thank you for your concern, but I'll remain here a little longer."
I wasn't damaging anything. I wasn't even disturbing the surface of the water by swimming. I was just floating; what was wrong with that? But someone must have been really annoyed by my presence because I felt the water moving around me, and when I opened my eyes, I saw a giant wave crashing on me.
Fuck off.
It was too late to do anything, so I just held my breath and prepared myself to be swallowed by the lake.
That definitely ruined my peaceful time, but for some reason, I wasn't angry. And even if I was, picking a fight here without knowing the power of my opponent was a stupid thing to do. However, that didn't mean I was going to forgive him. I would pay it back, sooner or later.
Sticking my head out of the lake, I gazed around at the students with nothing better to do than to admire my activities.
"Who among you was dropped on the head when little? Are you frustrated when seeing water because you're still wetting your bed?" I asked, trying to find the culprit.
"What did you say?" asked a girl I had never seen in my life.
So she is the culprit.
"Red face, why are you annoying me? You can earn my attention in other ways," I said, noting how her beautiful face became the representation of a demon.
"Is your head just for decoration?" she retorted. "Or perhaps it is just filled with shit, that's why you float."
Some of the students found her words amusing, and so did I. It made me smile and forget about what happened as I got out of the lake. Approaching the girl with a playful attitude and water dripping off my body, I prepared my next words.
"What's your name, angry face?" I asked.
"You're lucky because I can't start a fight here," the girl said, turning her back on me and taking her leave.
But I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass. With a mental command, I made a paper talisman take flight from my clothes on the ground and gather some water.
"I get it, you're not frustrated because you're wetting your bed, but because you don't. I have the remedy for that," I said, making a motion with my hand for the paper talisman to splash the little amount of water it gathered on the girl's neck.
She froze. The girls around covered their mouths with their hands, hiding their shock and amusement, while the guys retreated a few steps.
The girl turned in slow motion, not wanting to believe what I did. But I could see in her eyes that she imagined strangling me.
"What's your name?" I asked, unaffected.
"Hm!" she huffed, gathering fire energy in her palm. "You're gonna lose an arm for this."
"Don't puff at me, princess. And don't do something stupid. From the few rules I know, fights are prohibited outside the arena. I don't want to see you getting punished, even though you might deserve it for disturbing my peace."
Hearing my words, she clenched her jaw, which I thought was cute, and halted her attack.
"How disrespectful can you be?" asked a boy who placed himself before me. "Do you think we are the people at your farm to speak with us in such manner? To speak with her like this? Apologize right now for your beastly behavior and obscene words," he lectured me.
"Are you suffering from a lack of attention? No one asked for your opinion. Fuck off," I said, avoiding him and closing the distance to the girl who could very easily become my killer.
I had no idea who she was, if she could control herself or not, or if I would live another day. But I just did what felt right in that moment.
From my experience, no person who ever walked on this earth knew what they were doing or where they would arrive. As far as I was concerned, anyone could die in their sleep or in a split second without knowing what caused it. So if life was an uncertainty, why was everyone trying to preserve it? Preserving life meant being locked in a container or not even getting out of bed because it was dangerous and people could die.
On the other side of the coin were those who took risks, like the mobs, and were in constant danger. Those guys and the soldiers were the ones who danced with death in every second of their lives, and while many of them died, many made it to the top and enjoyed living. However, the same happened with regular people. Many died in stupid accidents or from health problems, and the rest continued to live. But then what was the difference between those who took risks and accepted that they could die at any second and those who tried to preserve their lives by being afraid even to drive a car? The difference stood in the quality of living, the thrill, and the joy life brought them. After all, they all die.
Many people took part in the second category, afraid to live and take risks, afraid of what might happen, and afraid of what others might think about them. I was the same, but at least now I felt different. I wanted to listen to my inner voice. So if she really was going to kill me, then I would at least not have any regrets.
"I apologize for making you angry, but I want to know your name," I said honestly, without hidden motives, trying to show that with my smile and through my eyes.
She studied me for a second before replying.
"Come to the arena. If you win, I'll tell you my name. If you lose, you'll have to kneel and apologize in front of all the students."
I raised an eyebrow.
"That's not good for me. You're the one who bothered me first, and now you want me to apologize in such a manner. That is not possible," I replied.
"Do you think I'll let you off so easily after you insulted me?" she asked.
"I insulted you, not knowing you were a girl, after you gave me an unwanted trip to the bottom of the lake. And you insulted me back. Then I threw some water at you. You never played with water when you were little?"
She opened her mouth to say something but held back her words.
So she can control herself and not just throw arguments like other girls. I appreciate that.
"If you really want to fight me to prove something to yourself, I can accept that. But in a simple fight, I won't win anything by defeating you because I don't want to tarnish your reputation. However, if you defeat me, I will lose face as a man. That being said, I am willing to accompany you in an official fight on the condition that the terms will be discussed by us in private. Or, we can have a few sparring matches without breaking the rules of the academy and without having other people watching."
"You can also say that you're afraid to embarrass yourself in a fight with her, and everyone will understand," said a girl, most probably one of her friends.
"I can say that such tender lips shouldn't speak words of mockery like a man," I said, shifting my attention to her.
When nobody said something, I considered it my win, and I took one last look at the girl I was interested in.
"Let me know what you decide, alright? You seem mature enough to understand the situation, and I don't want other people involved in what happened between us," I said, proceeding to take my clothes.
"I will notice you about how i want my apology," I heard her say.