Reiki shouted from inside the house, “Rai, make sure you don’t cheat! You’re not allowed to use magic to do your chores!”

Rai shouted back from outside, “But magic makes chores easier!” He could never really understand why his mum wouldn’t let him use magic to help with his chores.

Reiki yelled, "No magic! You can use magic for fun, but not for doing chores!"

This time he had to chop logs into smaller chunks to use as firewood for the next few weeks, since the weather was starting to get worse. Rai frowned, “Fine I’ll do it the hard way!”

The eight year old Rai fiddled with the black bands on his wrists as he walked over to the storehouse. The axe that he'd need to chop logs was stored in there. As he was walking away from the house, Rai saw Jin tending to the crops in the distance. We'll have to take those to Acies soon. Rai didn't really enjoy working as a delivery boy. It was his mum’s old job, and now he had to do it half the time.

I wish Aunt Elly would come so we can do more magic lessons. Elira would come to the farm twice a week to help Rai with his ‘Studies of Mana’ as she liked to call it. She’d been teaching him since he could remember. Rai always enjoyed magic lessons. Though he still hadn’t done anything all that flashy yet, just learning to feel the flow of mana in his channels was fun to him.

It felt... freeing.

The storehouse was only a few minutes’ walk away from the house. It contained many of the tools they’d use for farming, and other miscellaneous tasks. As he neared the door, Rai tied his long black hair back into a ponytail with a hairband his mum gave him. He went into the storehouse and brought out the woodcutting axe.

There was a number of things that Rai couldn't fully understand. One of those things was why old man Jin wouldn’t replace his old tools. They were making enough money, but Jin preferred to maintain these tools instead of buying new ones. Rai shook his head and thought about his task as he walked over to the pile of logs near the house, with a single wide tree stump that he would place logs on to chop.

How on Zenith does that old man always chop down so many trees? Rai wondered to himself.

Jin was like a father to him, even though he was a grandfather in actuality. Rai sighed. Whatever, I’ll just get this done, then I can practice magic on my own.

Rai was used to physical labour, as anyone would be when growing up on a farm. He always tried to apply Jin’s teachings to whatever he did, and it was no different for chopping logs for firewood.

He placed a log segment on the tree stump in front of him. Focusing his lightning blue eyes on the log, he looked for the imperfections. Find the crack in the armour. He recalled Jin’s words. Tensing his muscles, Rai lifted the axe with relatively small, but somewhat toned, arms up above his head. Rai zoned everything else out. To him, there were only two things in the world at this moment. The log, and himself. As if he’d finished scanning the log and searching for its imperfections, his eyes aimed at a single point. At a single grain in the wood. In a flash, the axe fell onto the point he was aiming at and through the log.

A perfectly straight, clean cut.

Rai continued chopping the logs, and as the hours went by, the pile of firewood grew. He was so entranced in chopping the logs, he failed to notice that Jin was sat nearby, observing him chopping the wood. Rai reached for another log and seemed to grab thin air, which awoke him from his trance.

Jin cleared his throat, “You’re learning well. Maybe you could give the logs a little break though.” Jin chuckled.

Rai smiled at him, “Thank you. I just wish I could use magic to make things easier.” The twin suns were on their downward path, indicating it was past midday now. Rai was surprised at how fast the time went by. He'd started chopping logs in the morning.

Jin crossed his arms, “Magic would make it easier... but you’re developing your body far more effectively without using it.” Jin recalled from his own experience that the earlier one started developing their body, the better foundation they’d have to build upon later in their lives. Though that wasn’t enough to convince an eight year old boy who could theoretically complete the work with a snap of his fingers.

Rai rolled his eyes, “Yeah yeah. I’ve heard this a thousand times before, and I get that it's better for me. But I haven't even gotten a chance to use magic for useful things like this before.”

A child’s curiosity often leads them to choosing their path. Jin knew this all too well. After a minute of contemplation, Jin tenderly touched the scar that ran down his right eye. He posed the question to Rai as the boy was piling up the chopped up wooden blocks, “How would you like to see what magic can't achieve, but the mortal body can?”

Rai paused his organisation of the wooden blocks and stared at Jin. He was clearly confused. Magic can't achieve something that the body can? Is it even possible for magic to have a limit? But Aunt Elly said that anything can be done with magic.

Jin shrugged nonchalantly, “I know what your Aunt would have you believe. Yes, magic is incredibly versatile. But it cannot break the chains that bind one’s own body.”

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Rai was curious now, he wanted to know what could possibly be so great about one’s body that it could surpass the possibilities of magic, “Okay, I want to see.”

Jin told Rai to go to the open field just near the farm.

While Rai went and sat near the field, waiting for Jin, Reiki walked out of the house as if she’d been listening. She held her adoptive father's hand, “Are you really going to show him? The last time you did it, it didn't work out for you...”

Jin let out a soft laugh, “Is that what you thought little one? Perhaps I was a little rusty and out of shape, but even then his father couldn’t land a single hit on me.” He recalled the three days that Rai’s father hid on the farm. The entire time, he wanted to fight Jin. The result was just a little devastating for Rai's father. The fight ended without him landing a single hit on Jin. Jin laughed as he recalled Rai’s father begging for numerous rematches. Each time he lost faster and faster, unable to land a hit.

Jin let out a satisfied sigh after a good chuckle. He gave his adoptive daughter a hug, “The Dance doesn't take much energy for me anymore, so you don't have to worry. I'll show Rai, and then he can decide what he’ll do with what he sees.”

Reiki handed Jin a hairband, "Alright. Just don't hurt yourself." She had a worried expression on her face.

Jin pulled his long black hair back into a ponytail and tied it with the hairband that Reiki handed him after his declaration, "Haha. I'll be fine, little one."

He went into the house and came back out after a couple minutes with two sheathed blades at his waist.

Rai sat on the field, swaying along with the wind. Wonder what’s taking him so long... Rai thought to himself. Moments later, Jin walked past him and stood at a calculated distance away, then he turned to face Rai.

Rai's eyes widened.

He'd never seen the swords that Jin wore at his waist. The only types of swords he’d come across were the greatswords, straight swords, and rapiers or daggers that adventurers would show off whenever he was making his deliveries to Acies. Moreover, he’d never seen Jin wield any weapons before.

Jin's voice was surprisingly loud, but also carried a light serenity, “Do not look at what is in front of you. You must see it for what it is. Etch this into your heart, your limits can only be broken when you achieve true Balance.”

Jin closed his eyes, and placed his hands on the sword hilts, “These are swords that you won’t have heard of or seen. They're called katanas.”

Engrossed in Jin's words, Rai nodded. Jin was right, since Rai had never heard of such a weapon in his small experience of the world.

Jin continued, “The type of sword doesn’t matter. What matters is the person who wields it. Only they can push the boundaries of the body.”

He slowly raised the swords out of their sheaths. The sound of the metal blades grinding against the edges of the sheaths somehow echoed in the wide open field.

In an instant, as soon as the blades left their scabbards, they fell into what looked like a starting position. A stance.

Silence followed.

From what Rai could tell, Jin's stance was very open. There was no resting guard, like he'd see in the spars in Acies. Nor was there any intent of attack in Jin’s stature. He simply stood, holding the blades at either of his sides, with one foot in front of the other.

Reiki came and pulled up a chair behind Rai. She sat and watched her adoptive father alongside her son.

Jin’s eyes opened.

The bright amber wolf-like pupils were focused. In consecutive instances, the blades would shift positions quickly. Jin continued shifting stances as the blades moved swiftly through the air. It seemed the air was being sliced. Rai had to imbue mana into his eyes just to perceive all of the movements. The images that seemed to form from Jin’s stances shifted through Rai’s mind. At first they were animals: a tiger, a wolf, a dragon, a turtle, and a snake. Then images of other types of wildlife began to flow, it seemed like flower petals were forming in the air even though Rai knew they were in an empty field. Jin’s blades continued to fly through the air, as his body shifted to accommodate the stances.

The blade in his right hand would back up the blade in his left hand depending on where he shifted his weight, and the same could be said for the blade in his left hand. Was that what he meant by Balance?

Rai was far too entranced in the dance to think about that question.

These movements were all executed within the calculated radius away from Rai, he noticed. No matter what, the blade would never reach him, so long as he stayed where he was. Jin’s swords held a calmness and serenity that Rai wanted to experience himself, they were a beauty and spectacle to witness. A powerful dance. His footwork was no different. Jin seemed to be gliding along the ground, leaving no marks or indents from his movements.

Waves of wind would fly past Rai and Reiki whenever Jin would slice the air in their direction, but their gazes never faltered. Jin continued for a number of minutes, then the dance seemed to be reaching its conclusion. The katanas whistled through the air a final time and the dance finished with Jin holding the blades vertically opposite each other. He closed his eyes and slowly sheathed the blades.

Click! They made a satisfying sound as their guards met their scabbards.

Rai was sweating, he didn’t realise how much he’d been straining himself to keep up with Jin’s movements. Reiki fared no better, she held utter concentration throughout the dance. With what little mana she had, Reiki strained her eyes to keep up. Jin was the only one without a bead of sweat anywhere on his body. His eyes remained closed, “Balance. It can be achieved with one’s own body, not through the use of magic.”

Rai was blown away. Jin’s sword dance was perhaps the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his whole life.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Reiki was clapping for her father. A tear rolled down her cheek, “Damn it dad... you always make it look so good.”

Jin walked over to her and took a clean cloth out of his pocket. He wiped her tears and sweat away, “I’m glad you think so my child.” Jin smiled as his daughter hugged him. He turned to Rai moments after, “Do you see now Rai? Or is your vision still too limited?”

Rai was flabbergasted. How did he do that? It was so pretty... Is that Balance? Can magic really never be that awesome? It’s so beautiful. Rai knew that Jin was the same as his mum, even though they weren’t blood related. He had very little mana, and he had no divine form. Rai’s mind was flooded by numerous thoughts and questions.

But one thing was certain.

With resolve in his sparkling blue eyes, Rai looked up at Jin, “Teach me that Dance, please!”

Jin smiled warmly at him, "I'm glad you said that." He started strolling back to the house. After a few steps, he turned back to Rai and smirked at him, "Prepare for hell."

Rai audibly gulped. He mentally prepared himself for what he thought would be the hardest thing in his life.