The sky was darkening as the two of us walked underneath the headlights in the street, substituting the warm light of the sun with the rigid and artificial illumination of the man-made lamps. The wind was blowing as the temperature cooled down, but it was not strong enough to be a bother. The sensation of being stroked by the air’s light movement was relaxing me though, as the worries of our imminent competition started coming to my mind.

Syl had left us. She wanted to train. I would have liked to go with her. No specific reason other than letting go some of the energy I had been storing this evening. But Kai said He wanted to have a chat with me. The emotions had been piling up since the Idea of the Challenger’s path had gotten into my head. Excitement, insecurity, determination, fear. It was a contradicting bunch, but the conversation we just had at the café had had the effect of both boosting my confidence and relieve my inner doubts. I didn’t consider myself the kind of person to barge into a fight without properly thinking everything through. Kai had made sure that I would not make the mistake of concentrating on the wrong aspects though. My usual self would have started debating which was the best course of action for guaranteeing our victory. His attitude was relaxed instead. It seemed like the planning stage was unnecessary for him. I would have still held my doubts if it wasn’t because it was him I was talking with.

We were in one of the main roads of the city. The commercial district. Shopping centres and a good number of restaurants, shops and cafes were what drew so the crowds to this place. It was comfortable. Seeing so many people around was uncommon at other times of the day. But it seemed like we weren’t the only ones that had heard the call of the night. Families, groups of friends and couples distracted me from the more pressing issues my head was filled with. A good distraction to be fair. It reminded me I wasn’t alone in this city, detaching myself from my usual self-centeredness.

Kai’s posture was the usual. He walked confidently, as if he knew exactly where to go at any specific moment. Hands in his pockets and an expression of curiosity. It didn’t look forced. It might have if it had been the first time we met, but having known him for so long helped me understand it wasn’t pride that drove him, but rather excitement. His eyes always looking for anything interesting going on. He was good company for me in the sense that while my head was filled with plans for the future, his was more immediate and present.

His spiky hair was waving in the wind. His black strings of hair pointing outward in no particular direction. I don’t think he ever took care of it. He wasn’t the kind of person to spend more time than necessary in the bathroom. But it fit him.

His decisive gaze and stern look were characteristic of him. Good match with the black leather coat and the chains he held for decoration. He had made them with his image, but I wasn’t fully sure why. My first assumption was that they were there just to give an apparent toughness, but he wasn’t the kind to worry about his looks, so they might have served some more practical purpose.

—Why did you want to talk, Kai?

He didn’t reply at first. Maybe he didn’t want to tell me. But it was probably because he just didn’t know. One of those decisions on a whim of his. He averted his gaze though. He was doubting, unsure how to start the conversation.

—What’s your opinion on Syl?

What!? Where did that come from? Did he notice something specific?

—What do you mean!?

—I’m not exactly happy with your story… I guess those weapons do really have some kind of image. But are you guys really going to be fine without a proper ability?

Oh, that’s what he was worried about.

—Well, we’ve been training for a while by now. We are quite skilled with the weapons on their own, but their abilities seem to be quite versatile. Especially Syl’s.

He didn’t seem happy with the reply.

—Listen —I said—, our developments have made us competent fighters at the very least. I am quite able to put up a good opposition to anyone we could meet in the Path. And if you’re worried about Syl you shouldn’t worry at all. She has grown confident with the swordsmanship, and even more with her reflection abilities. I think you shouldn’t underestimate us. Especially Syl. She has worked hard these last months and she has surprised me more than once already. I don’t think you have the right to look down on her.

His worries were unfounded. Jon had trained us quite skilfully. His methods were uncommon, but not any less effective because of that. More than once we had had to heal serious wounds he had dealt out to us himself. His relentlessness with us had increased over the course of our training as our skills caught up to him. It was never apparent to me how hurting us like that would have made any difference. But as we grew tougher, I believe it had turned out for the better.

Kai had not been present during our training; it was normal for him to hold some doubts about our strength. But I wasn’t willing to hear him complain about our lack of strength.

—Nath…

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He hesitated. That wasn’t like him. He was usually direct with me. If he was doubting, there must have been a good reason for it.

—This year’s participants are dangerous. While you guys were training in the forest, I had the habit of walking through the suburbs of the city. The controls there are not as strict. It is hard to control so many people, each with a different and potentially dangerous ability. The Guard does not involve itself with any business down there, they work differently.

That was something I was already aware of. It was common knowledge to stay away from the more abandoned areas of the city. The controls there were loose. If you maintained the general appearance of a good citizen while in front of the enforcers, they wouldn’t get involved with your life.

—I wanted to learn more about images and their origins. Curious of how I could improve my own. So, what better place to train than one where images are not strictly surveyed. I wanted foes. People to use for my training. Looking for violence. And for that, I started dealing withnot the best kind of people.

He opened his jacked with his left, while he pulled down the neck of his shirt to let me see a big white rip in his skin. The scar reaching from underneath his shirt, to all the way over his sternum and shoulder.

I was impacted by that. I had never imagined he had gone to such lengths for his training. But it made sense for it to be something like that. He had gone too far and gotten involved in the wrong fight. It was impactful, but I couldn’t expect much else if he had gone to the suburbs looking for a opponents.

—So yeah, I was kind of asking for that to happen myself. But this is not what I wanted to talk about with you…—So there was more— This happened the first month after you guys started your own training. And I decided not to stop after that. They wanted a fight, and I gave them one.

I could only imagine where this was going.

—I remembered the face of the bastard, so I decided to look for him. Time passed as I started knowing the area better, and with that, people started recognising me. I ended up finding the man, and he had already heard I was looking for him. He laughed at me. It was ten men. I wiped the floor with their asses.

That sounded like something Kai would have done. But there were still some issues to talk about.

—Kai, get to the point —I pressed him.

—So… I ended up learning some stuff from them. They belonged to a wider organisation. Not exactly the nicest of them. Image trafficking and stuff like that. What I wanted to talk to you about, Nath, is what I found in their base. Or rather, who.

He left me expectant.

—I had obtained some information from the men I had fought, and apparently there was an especially strong member in the higher ranks of the organisation. I hadn’t learnt my lesson, so I thought it would be interesting to go check him out at their hideout, an abandoned factory in the middle of nowhere. The thrill of the fight was building up in me as I was reaching the building. But what I saw didn’t quite fit my expectations.

»There were no guards around. The place was completely abandoned. Which, at first sight, makes sense considering you want your hidden base to stay hidden. But when I found the entrance there was no one to receive me. The rooms were completely empty. No activity. I kept looking into that labyrinth of a place. And at some point, I heard a loud hit resound in the air.

»I found the room the sound had come from. There were a bunch of people laying on the ground. Probably unconscious, maybe dead. And in front of them, a man. His back facing me. He was wearing a jacket with the colours of the Academy of image, tainted by blood and torn to pieces. I only met his gaze when he looked at me over his shoulder. Seeing my job had already been done, I left.

—Who was it then? Did you talk to him?

—I didn’t know for sure back then. His affiliation to the Academy of image seemed obvious considering his white and blue uniform, but I wasn’t sure back then. Until I saw him in the transmission of a student tournament happening here in Marenia. Apparently, he is a big fish in student competitions, he’s been winning tournaments around the country collecting trophies like they’re stamps. But I have a bad impression of him. His strength seems obvious to me, and I’m scared he and his group might become an issue for you during the tournament if you become an obstacle to him. There are no rules for limiting violence in the end. The Challenger’s Path is a harsh experience for anyone joining in for the first time. And you will be no different.

I thought of his story for a second. It was impressive that the man had been able to deal with so many people in an enclosed space like that. I wasn’t sure if I could do that myself. Also, because criminal organisations tent to orbit around men with powerful images. But he managed to beat them on his own.

—He was strong Nath. I didn’t see him fight, but it wasn’t only the mountain of unconscious men that gave me this impression. I could feel his bloodlust in his stare. His red stare, his posture… He wasn’t tired… He just stood there, like he was waiting for more…

—But what about you, then? Are you not worried for yourself? —I asked.

—I already told you I’m going to open you a way to the top, haven’t I. Besides, I am aiming to face a Captain during the tournament, If I can, even a Guardian. If I want to at least try against people like them, such a man should not be an issue for me…

I chuckled to that.

—As overconfident as always— I taunted him.

He tried hiding his annoyance. His side eye made nothing but fuel my laugh.

—These past couple of years have helped me understand my image better —He said— My previous skills serving as a base for something completely different. I wasn’t too interested in the Challenger’s Path to be honest, and it really wasn’t the fact that Haze is going to be participating that made me change my decision.

» My objective is not to grow stronger or show off my skills. I will have fun in this tournament, and I want to see how much you and Silvia have grown since we last faced each other. It wasn’t much of a challenge last time… —He pulled his tongue out as he made that joke about my imagelessness.

—You better start running away already. I will beat your pride out of that stupid head of yours as soon as I get the opportunity.

We kept talking for a bit after that. The evening had turned out nicely. His company was always welcome since his stubbornness was a kind of medicine for my doubting self. What we had talked about seemed to be an issue, but it made nothing but excite me. If I was able to face a strong opponent like that man, I would get much closer to my objective than before.

—Nath, I am excited to see you and Syl fight. That is the only reason why I agreed to join the tournament. You better not disappoint me.

And with that, we parted our ways and decided to meet the day after. Expectant for the starting ceremony of our first official tournament.