Lyon POV:

My feet slid into a stance as I stood opposite Zane. The trees rustled gently while a lone leaf descended down from the sky. It swayed back and forth, gracefully continuing its descent as the tension increased.

I watched his arms unfold while the leaf drew closer to the earth below. I narrowed my eyes, pushing my concentration to the limit as it continued to fall.

The moment the leaf touched the ground—it began.

‘!’

Zane disappeared from my view, and I immediately activated the Mark of a Pantheon. I barely managed to enter the Defensive Stance by the time his fist smashed into my face.

“Keuk!”

I crashed into the trees behind me as I quickly rolled to the side; narrowly avoiding his foot shattering the ground beside me like glass.

I jumped back to my feet, switching into the Offensive Stance as my hands flickered. Zane stood still and parried all of my strikes with one hand.

I dropped down low, attempting to sweep his leg, but he smacked my foot away with his heel. It felt like a mountain collided against my ankle, forcing me to recoil backwards as I winced in pain; trying to widen the distance between us.

“Dig deeper. Your opponent won’t wait for you to recover.”

Zane reached me before his words did while I hastily threw my arms up. He threw a heavy high kick that disregarded my guard, launching me off my feet in the process.

“Ugh...”

I hit the ground with a loud thud as I struggled to get back up. My arms visibly shook from the force behind Zane’s kick while I slowly shifted my gaze toward him.

He stuck out his finger, pointing it away from me. I followed its direction with my eyes until I saw the gravestones of my parents.

“...”

I clenched my teeth tightly, balling my hands into fists as I shot back to my feet. I immediately switched to the Ghost Stance and charged in.

Red lines appeared in my vision while I attacked accordingly, but... My fists never reached Zane. They were either blocked, parried or hit thin air. It didn’t take long for me to start panting heavily, followed by my arms slowly coming to a stop.

“Lyon, is this the best you can do?”

My heart sank as I stared into his deep brown eyes. His words were cold in comparison to yesterday when we spoke about many different topics.

Zane looked... disappointed.

I threw another punch out of pure desperation, but still, it didn’t connect. Zane spun, and his foot crashed against my solar plexus with pinpoint accuracy.

“Heuk!!”

My body crumpled forward before being blasted away. I smashed through countless trees as I disappeared into the vast forest before crashing into a large boulder.

“Ugh...”

My head flopped forward and my consciousness left me.

This was Combat Training.

***

Two weeks passed by in the blink of an eye, and the intensity of the training steadily increased. I had made some progress, but the number of my mistakes didn’t decrease.

I slept less and less as more time was spent on combat training. It was a gruelling experience.

“Keuk...”

I collapsed to the ground holding my stomach as I wheezed. Strength left my body while the feeling of wanting to close my eyes was denied by Zane.

“Get up, Lyon. If this were a real fight, you would have died.”

“Why didn’t you dodge? Are you trying to get yourself killed, Lyon?”

“I didn’t give you permission to rest, Lyon. There are no breaks in battle unless you die.”

He had started saying things like that a lot. Zane was always direct, but this... this was different.

At first, I took it as encouragement, but over time, his calm words began to strip away the little confidence I had built up enduring the initial training phase.

Whenever his gaze rested on me, he looked disappointed. It felt like his eyes were telling me that I’d never be able to live up to his expectations.

It hurt me.

I used my knee as support while I got up slowly. His finger once again pointed toward the gravestones of my parents.

‘Was that really necessary...?’

The veins on the side of my head bulged faintly while my blood began to boil. My fists shook as I charged back in.

‘I may be far from your ideal, but why do you keep bringing them into this?’

My punches whiffed as I swung wildly. I tried everything in my power to land one punch—just one punch...

“Unacceptable.”

Zane stepped inside; his palm striking my chest, forcing the air out of my lungs as I coiled over in pain. What was I supposed to gain from this? I knew I wanted to become stronger, but I just... don’t know anymore.

I laid there on the ground exhausted while expecting Zane to berate me, but his voice never came. By the time I got back up, he was already gone.

***

I entered the 3rd month of training and immediately noticed that Zane was more distant than before. The reason for this change was most likely because I tried to hit him out of pure anger.

Even though I didn’t think I was completely in the wrong, I still tried to apologize on multiple different occasions. However, he would always cut me off.

Zane began to care less and less about my mistakes as our sparring sessions continued. Perhaps I was approaching my limit? Was this really as far as I could go without a Ki Center?

I looked across the tranquil lake while my fists trembled. Effort. I thought if I put in enough effort, I’d reap the rewards, but looking back... That was never the case.

During the 1st month, I never improved. I made improvements in the 2nd month only because of the Mark of a Pantheon, but even those gains began to stagnate.

I unclenched my fists while closing my eyes. I stayed like that for some time before letting out a deep sigh.

“It’s time.”

I stood up at the sound of his voice and got into position. It was time for the last training drill of the day: Combat Training.

A surge of Ki enveloped my body, flooding it with strength as I activated the Mark of a Pantheon. It was a comfortable feeling that I had become accustomed to.

I kicked off the ground, meeting Zane in the middle while we exchanged blows. As expected, I was pushed back, unable to keep up with the constant pressure he was applying.

“!”

Zane’s fist flickered out of view before crashing against my jaw. I shot backwards, skimming across the lake while the world around me blurred.

‘What the...?’

By the time I regained my senses, I had already crossed the vast lake. I hit the ground hard, bouncing back up as my back crashed into a nearby tree.

“Keuk...”

I was confused for multiple reasons. The main one being why was Zane using so much force today?

My head throbbed while I shifted my gaze to the sky as I saw Zane descending at a breakneck speed.

‘Seriously?!’

I used everything I had to jump out of the way, but there was no impact. There was no disturbance in the air or any other kind of indication that Zane had followed through with that attack.

‘?’

Before I could raise my head to make sense of this situation, his hand grabbed hold of it. He dashed me back across with such force my lips rippled violently, revealing my teeth beneath.

A loud bang shook the area as a small crater formed with my body at its epicenter. Aches and pains assaulted my mind, leaving me unable to summon up an ounce of strength to move.

‘This is as far as I go. This is my limit.’

I knew it. I knew all along that in life, there are some walls you just can’t climb over; no matter how much effort you put in.

I bit my trembling lip.

I had denied it again and again, day by day, but seeing that disappointed look on Zane’s face only helped reaffirm those thoughts.

‘I guess the talent he saw didn’t amount to much in the end.’

My eyebrows curved inwards as I gazed at the gravestones in the distance. I recalled the warmth of my mother and father briefly before looking away.

‘It’s fine. It’ll take years, but once I can use Ki, I can progress along a more normal route.’

I struggled to hold back the heavy feeling welling up in my chest. I struggled to stop the shaking of my arms while I looked up at the vast sky.

‘I really can’t go on anymore. I tried my best.’

I was lucky enough to not only meet but speak with Keo ‘The Superman’ Yeboah. I was fortunate enough to be trained by one of the top 5 families in Efros; the Pantheons.

How many people in this world could say that? I wouldn’t be surprised if you could count them on your fingers.

I closed my eyes as a wave of fatigue washed over me. It contained all of the exhaustion built up from the last couple of months.

“Is this what you think your limit is, Lyon?”

My eyes flashed open, and I saw Zane standing at the edge of the crater, looking down at me. He slowly folded his arms as his gaze swept over the state of my body.

I was sure he was going to tell me that I’m done being his disciple. I had noticed the signs, and I had accepted that outcome. However, I still couldn’t answer him.

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

His eyebrows dropped down slightly, but that change alone was enough to make me flinch.

‘Here it comes...’

I tried to prepare myself mentally, but my hands kept shaking. I watched Zane’s lips part slowly as sweat ran down the sides of my forehead.

“A disciple of mine cannot be limited by their mind. The moment you say to yourself: I can’t do it, it’s too hard or this is as far as I can go; you place a restriction on yourself. You turn a possibility into an impossibility.

Your conviction turns to doubts. You begin to contemplate what ifs—about what you should have done, but it’s already too late.

That time has passed.

Some people get second chances. Others even get third chances, but how many do you think you will get?”

My pupils dilated to the extreme as I watched his eyes turn golden brown.

“Stand up, Lyon. Don’t run away from the obstacles in your path. Run through them.”

Zane jumped down into the crater and stood in front of me.

“What good is effort when you already believe, deep down inside yourself, that you can’t do it? You aren’t lacking in effort, but strength of mind. Now is the time to change it. If you choose to get up now, you can never look back, Lyon.”

Zane peered down at me with folded arms while I observed the faint glow of his eyes.

“!”

I was speechless. His words had penetrated my core, giving me a feeling of clear realization. The scenes of my training rapidly floated to the forefront of my mind.

I remembered the struggle of each day vividly. I remembered how I would tell myself I could do it, but in the back of my mind, I would always say no, you can’t.

Zane was right. I was content with waiting three more years, but how far behind would I be then? How much growth would I have missed out on?

I knew I would definitely regret not standing up here, right now. The imaginary chains shackling me down gradually began to disappear as I got to one knee.

“No!”

My eyes widened slightly as I saw a figure appear in front of me. He had pale skin and soulless black eyes that grew darker while he yelled.

“You can’t do it. Some people are chosen, some people are discarded. This was an opportunity that was never meant for you in the first place. Quit now before you embarrass yourself later on. It’s for the best.”

His words pressed down on me; they were familiar, yet foreign at the same time. Too scared to go forward, and always content to blame the past. This was the crossroad of hope or despair.

It was time to decide. It was time to make a final decision.