The next morning, I trotted to the library, inn, and the hospital to ask Alden, the manager, and Dr.Cratus for the day off.

Granting me my request instantly, they watched with worried eyes as I bowed to them, circles underneath my own eyes, and saw me off as I went back to the Hoard.

Standing outside the Hoard, I looked at the blue sky and sucked in a deep breath.

Then, decisively, I entered the Hoard and went straight to the garden.

Looking fondly at the flowers, I walked to a tree that stretched out to the heavens; underneath which sat Sir Leonidas, my teacher.

My teacher, who had hoped to see his disciples surpass him and reach the rank of wargod.

My teacher, who now had to destroy his disciple’s future, only for him to reach iron-rank.

The irony was rich, but I cared not a whit for it.

As my teacher looked at me with a forced smile, I myself smiled a brilliant smile as I walked with determination to join the teacher underneath the tree.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“I’m ready,” I nodded.

“It’s going to hurt really badly. Are you sure?” the teacher asked, worry in his voice.

Patting my chest, I said, “I do not fear pain and I will accept it even if it means I have to hold up the world,” and I felt a strange sense that I had spoken those words confidently once before too.

Shaking my head to free it from the thoughts, I seated myself cross-legged at the tree’s base, opposite to the teacher.

Closing my eyes, I steadied my breathing, and slowly began circulating my warforce.

As I neared the end of the circulation cycle, my heart began contracting painfully as most of the warforce flowed to the last part, away from the heart.

At this moment, the teacher leaned forward and placed his hand on my heart, and pushed! He pushed in the warforce in such enormous amounts that I gasped out loud.

Then the pain hit, as my heart reeled and pounded powerfully. In fact, it was the loudest I’ve ever heard it beat.

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Face contorted into a grimace, I bit my tongue, and focused on the circulation of the warforce cycle; which now felt like the momentum of ten carroballista bolts had been fired continuously at me.

Then the teacher sent in an even more enormous surge of warforce, and I screamed as my nerves cracked and blood began rising to the surface of my skin.

Still, I grimly guided the out-of-control warforce through my circulation path, destroying my nerves as the warforce galloped onward.

Sucking in a deep breath, his face set in hard lines, my teacher then placed both hands on my heart, and then he sent in all the warforce he had in one continuous river that raged as it flowed into me.

My body jerking about, I spasmed as my heart began to beat out of control, the warforce now rampaging through my body; all guidance forgotten.

Then, my body began to swell up. Slowly at first, then faster and faster, until I was twice the size that I used to be.

Yelling out, Teacher urgently said, “Get up, and use the warforce, now!”

Ponderously, I got to my feet; the pain ripping through me like a thousand daggers slashing all at once.

Then I took a step forward, and I exhaled as I punched.

Golden mist flowed out of my mouth and tried to coil around me, but failed.

Taking another step forward, I kicked high, and a golden trail was left in the air which quickly exploded into a bloody mist as my pants burst apart and blood sprayed into the air.

Foot landing on solid ground, I stumbled and thrust forth with both hands, and a plant a meter away was diced into pieces, along with the webbing on my hands as it split apart and blood flowed.

Standing, I howled at the sky, and a golden red aura burst forth as reddish black tattoos began crawling up my arms and across my body like chains.

As quickly as the aura came, it receded and what replaced it was blood flowing from all of my orifices as I swayed where I stood.

Then everything went black, but my body glowed bright gold mixed with blackish white spots.

Stunned, I watched dazedly as I traced the path of the bright gold as it rampaged through my body, brushing aside the blackish white spots aside as though insignificant flies.

I watched as the biggest concentration of the bright gold color slowly turned red in my heart.

And then, lifting my head, I howled again as pain became my existence, and I became pain.

I howled and howled and this time my vision flickered and everything truly went black.

But I didn’t fall.

I stayed upright as the reddish black chains flared in bloody light and even unconscious, my mouth was opened in a scream as a million ants savaged my body along with the warforce.

I was not able to see Sir Leonidas’s stunned expression or the running Sir Galen who tried to send warforce tendrils into me, only to jerk back as though scalded.

I was not able to see the look of panic that stayed set on their faces as they tried desperately again and again.

But I was able to hear the sound of a woman whispering gently, “I will help you this once, but I will sleep for a long, long time after this, child. My gift to you.”

Then, I knew no more and the screams that sounded out were silenced abruptly as I truly fell into oblivion.