The training ground that Akari had picked for Terios was a secluded forest full of tall trees. It was a usual area for her to train so it was natural for her to bring her brother here. She was standing on top of his back as he took his time doing push ups.
"15... 16... 17..." Terios struggled saying, sweat was seeping from his body and his clothes were soaked from his perspiration. He had only just started and he already wanted to quit.
"Come on, Teri-kun we just started."
"I can't help it! You're pretty heavy!"
"Hey! It's rude to call a girl fat you know!"
"I-I never said you were fat!"
"You might aswell, my feelings are hurt now, Teri-kun." She pouted after saying his name.
"S-sorry." Terios sighed and collapsed to the ground, his weight meeting the ground along with Akari's who stood atop. "Gaah! I'm drained."
"We can't stop now. Time for the next portion of your training." She hoped off of his back and offered him a bottle of water to which he took happily.
"Thanks."
'You don't really need water since your body survives on energy it produces naturally, but it'll still taste good."
Terios raised the bottle up as he chugged it quickly, feeling the cold liquid slosh down his throat leaving him with a cool refreshing feeling. He could also feel his energy returning to him. "Ahhh, so good."
"Now we'll focus on your running speed!"
Terios sat up from his sitting position, preparing to run before being stopped. She took the time to hop onto his back, wrapping her legs around him as she yelled out afterwards.
"Charge!"
"Aggh!" Terios took off sprinting, keeping a steady pace while his feet crashed along the muddy plain. Twigs and sticks snapped as his foot stepped on them. Akari casually repeated motivating words into his ear to keep him motivated.
His lungs felt like they were on fire and every fiber of muscle inside of him was burning. Basic training was probably needed for him, but he didn't think he'd be so far behind. Keeping his promise to Shiori would be hard difficult at his current level.
I feel like I'm going to die! I need to take a break or I'm going to die before I can even reach Isamu!
Terios tripped over his leg and landed face first onto the ground, groaning in pain his head lifted up revealing that his face was covered in mud. Akari couldn't help but giggle before getting off of him.
"Maybe we should skip the physical training for now and focus on your spiritual aspect."
"I like that idea. I'm all for it."
Akari had Terios sit in the middle of the forest with his eyes closed as he took in deep breaths. She was trying to have him learn about how to channel his own energy and be able to sense others.
"Teri-kun. You should master sensing other people's energies. It'll come in handy in the long run. It's pretty simple so just listen to me carefully."
"Alright, I'm listening."
"Silence everything and focus on the world around you. Focus on the energy flowing around you and try to pinpoint a certain signal."
Terios kept himself silent, quieting his mind and all of the noise around him. He focused on sensing around his environment. Everything from the birds around him to the worms that were crawling beneath him.
"It should come naturally for you. Given enough time you'll be able to do this without thinking too hard about it."
Terios could now feel Akari's energy seeping from her, it wasn't much, but it was still something she was able to produce. This must have been the signal that Nephilim's gave out. With this feeling it'd be easy to spot them all if he ever came across them.
His eyes opened gently as he looked up at his sister before he laid back onto the ground. His eyes were directed at the sky at this moment. "I can't believe I'm already beat."
"It'll get easier, trust me."
"I hope so."
After hours went by of nonstop training, Terios was exhausted. Akari escorted him back to his house and prepared him for the things to come.
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"We're making some progress, but, we're going to have to keep at it! Don't give up I know you can do it."
"Uggh, everything hurts." Terios mentioned.
"That's good that means its working! Meet me at the same time tomorrow!"
Terios sighed deeply knowing that he would have to do this all over again.
He wanted to stay true to his words and so he kept his head in the game. He ran with the added weight applied by Akari and performed numerous amounts of push ups. He mediated just like she asked of him and focused on sensing her energy signal.
This time she wanted him to get a feel for his ability of manipulating shadows and had him manipulate them for as long as he could. The only way to strengthen his ability was to use it as often as possible. He could feel the shadow as an extension of his body much like a limb he could move it freely. It was apart of him and under his complete control.
"Let me show you what my ability is, Teri-kun." She mentioned as she held out her hand and generated a light orb of light. "I'm your total opposite. Funny how isn't it? I guess we really are brother and sister."
"Hmm, looks like you have an edge over me."
"What do you mean?"
"When I was fighting Abner. I realized that my darkness wasn't very effective against his light."
"Ahh! Well he was most likely on a higher level than you. Enough darkness can even consume light. You just have to train more."
"If you say so."
"It's true!"
Their training went on for about two weeks, time seemed to move at a crawl as Terios performed his day to day tasks without much complain. His body was starting to get used to everything already. It was amazing how quickly his kind could adapt to things, or maybe it was simply because he was special.
Akari was also amazed at how easily he could carry her now, but she grew concerned for his well being with how strong he was becoming in such a short period of time. His sensing capabilities were on par with hers now and his physical stats severely increased.
Maybe he was reaching the same level that Isamu was at. Still, she didn't want to rush things now. Someone as powerful as Isamu wouldn't have a problem with someone like Terios who was still a beginner at things like combat.
"You've really improved."
"Have I really?"
"Yes. You've come a long way in such a short amount of time."
"That's good to hear. When do you think I'll be ready?"
"Let's wait two more weeks. That should give you enough time to perfect the basics."
"Do you really think I can win against him?"
"Of course you can. I know you can do it, Teri-kun."
"Well thanks for believing in me. It means a lot.'
After training was over, Terios decided to take Akari back to his favorite bakery. It wasn't long of a walk and soon they were resting in their seats while Terios made sure to order them both something sweet to eat. For himself he ordered a dozen of his sugar cookies while Akari ordered a blueberry muffin.
The waitress was kind when she placed their food down for them and gave them a warm smile. Terios quickly gripped onto the soft dough of the cookie and shoved it into his mouth, moaning softly before he swallowed Iit.
"Yummy! Everything's always so fresh!"
"You must really enjoy this place, don't you? I'm starting to get a bit worried about your eating habits..."
"Well now, you don't need to worry. I eat pretty healthy for a boy around my age. It's cute that you feel that way about me though, sis." He chuckled lightly after getting a kick from calling her his sister.
"You may be my big brother, but someone has to watch over you so you don't do anything stupid."
Terios blushed lightly, running his fingers through his oddly colored hair. A gentle smile enveloped his expression and he reached out for his sister's hand, holding onto it softly while she looked at him curiously.
"What's the matter?"
"Right now, nothing."