Chapter Forty-Three: Let Him Cook
Yozora readied his katana, sliding it back into its sheath, his mind racing as he analyzed his next move. But then, Sirius did something unexpected. He stood up and casually waved at Yozora, the intensity of the spar dissipating in an instant.
“What is Sirius doing?” Yozora thought, his brow furrowing in confusion as his opponent’s demeanor shifted.
Sirius, as usual, smirked with that signature mischievous grin. He strolled toward Yozora, hands relaxed, completely unbothered by the heated battle they were just engaged in.
“No funny stuff,” Yozora warned, his tone cautious.
“Yeah, no funny stuff, I promise,” Sirius replied, still smirking, but suddenly flinched toward Yozora as if about to throw a punch. “Two for flinching! Haha!” he teased, before his expression turned serious. “But really, I stopped because I wanted to test a theory.”
Yozora tilted his head slightly, intrigued but wary. “A theory? What kind of theory?”
Sirius leaned back, resting his spear on his shoulder, his expression turning thoughtful. “To keep it simple,” he began, “remember the last tournament we participated in?”
Yozora’s eyes narrowed, recognizing the familiar topic. “You mean the same tournament I beat you in?” he interjected with a devilish smirk, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Sirius rolled his eyes, letting out an exaggerated sigh. “Yes, that tournament. Shut up about it, you ass. Let me get to the point.”
Yozora chuckled softly, but his curiosity grew. Sirius always had a way of breaking things down, noticing details others would overlook. If he had a theory, there was always something deeper behind it.
“In that tournament, and during our sparring just now,” Sirius continued, “I noticed something. You have a slight delay when switching between different weapon types or suit forms. It’s small—most of your opponents never lived long enough to figure it out, but it’s there.”
Yozora raised an eyebrow, intrigued but not entirely sure where Sirius was going with this. “And what does that mean?”
Sirius paused, pacing slightly, clearly searching for the right words. “Yozora, you were a legend—the Boy with Starry Eyes, the Emperor of Combat. You hit your peak at an incredibly young age, even before S.T.A.R.S recognized your full potential. But then, after you were zeroed, a void was left behind. People studied you, dissected your fighting style, and now... things are different.”
Yozora felt a strange pang of nostalgia and frustration hearing this. He remembered how dominant he once was. But something in Sirius’ tone told him that wasn’t the end of the story.
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“You see, Zora,” Sirius continued, locking eyes with him, “beings like us—our abilities, our achievements—get analyzed, especially after someone like you disappears. And while you’ve regained a lot, it’s been six years since you were in your prime. That half-second delay when you switch between weapons... it's a weakness. And in the tournament, or even in real combat, that half-second can be the difference between life and death.”
The weight of Sirius' words sank in, hitting Yozora harder than he expected. That slight delay? He hadn’t even noticed it himself. But now that Sirius pointed it out, it made perfect sense.
"Wait... are you saying everyone in the tournament could use this against me?" Yozora asked, frowning.
Sirius nodded. “Eventually, yes. You have a target on your back. People will do anything to take down a legend like you. But don’t worry—I have an idea.”
Yozora raised an eyebrow, curiosity overtaking his earlier concerns. Sirius always had ideas, usually brilliant ones, and Yozora could tell this one was no exception.
Sirius stopped pacing and smiled, his confidence returning. “The concept I’ve been working on is called Temporal Forging.”
Yozora blinked, intrigued. "Temporal Forging? What the hell is that?"
Sirius grinned, clearly enjoying the moment. “Let me break it down. You remember the technique I used at the waterfall, right? How I created that time distortion to increase the water’s force? It’s kind of like that, but on a much bigger scale.”
Sirius explained how the core of Temporal Forging was based on manipulating time itself within a confined space. It wasn’t about simply speeding up the natural forging process—it was about creating a self-contained bubble of time where hours, days, or even years could pass in a fraction of a second from the outside.
“Using this technique,” Sirius continued, “you could forge weapons inside a time bubble, effectively eliminating that half-second delay.”
Yozora’s eyes widened as the implications of Sirius’ idea sank in. “So... you're saying I could forge my weapons instantly, without any downtime? Like a continuous flow of creation?”
“Exactly!” Sirius said, excitement bubbling in his voice. “By using a Temporal Distortion Core, an ancient artifact I found, you’ll reverse-engineer it into your Toro, embedding the concept of time manipulation directly into your crafting process. That way, you can forge without losing any time—hell, from an outside perspective, it’ll look like you’re pulling weapons out of thin air.”
Kova stepped forward, holding a small ornate box. "Here it is, sir," he said, handing the box to Sirius.
Sirius smirked, opening the box to reveal a glowing core, pulsing with a faint, golden light. “This is the Temporal Distortion Core. It’s incredibly rare, and no, you can’t keep it, Zora. But I want you to reverse-engineer its properties into your body. Specifically, you’ll etch the temporal mechanics into your arms and palms, allowing your Toro to generate small time bubbles at will.”
Yozora looked down at his hands, imagining the power that would come from mastering such a technique. The ability to forge weapons without any delay—to always be one step ahead—was beyond anything he had ever imagined.
“And there’s more,” Sirius added, his grin widening. “S.T.A.R.S only ever taught us about Toro and Hindo. But there are other energies out there—chakra, ki, spiritual energy, and aether. These are all derivatives of Hindo, but each can be harnessed in different ways. Aether, for example, allows you to craft weapons that Hindo alone can’t. By using aether in conjunction with your Toro, you could mentally project designs, abilities, and skills directly into the forging process, creating weapons and suits that are tailored to any situation.”
Yozora’s mind raced, absorbing everything Sirius had said. The possibilities were endless, and for the first time in a long time, Yozora felt the thrill of the unknown—the excitement of pushing his limits even further.
“Are you ready to take this next step?” Sirius asked, holding the Temporal Distortion Core out toward him.