The young man sat cross-legged on the coastline. Stripped topless, his skin was layered moist and salty, whether that was from the sea vapour or his own sweat that was induced from the intense breathing. Even now, although he had mostly gotten used to the adjustments done to his body, a slight movement would still give him the feeling of discomfort.
"How are you holding up?" His trainer approached him from behind.
"Better. But my mouth still feels sour," he replied in one breath.
Randolf helplessly scratched his head. "Hey, look, I'm sorry. It's just—"
"You don't need to apologize. I know what you had to do. Thinking rationally, I was just being stubborn. Sometimes a man has to put aside his pride for something more important. I can learn how to handle that weapon any time. But if my stubbornness causes Suzume to suffer the unimaginable, I'll live my entire life regretting it. Being one step behind him is better than the alternative."
"You don't have to think of it that way. He doesn't use a third generation weapon either. Rather, you being able to achieve the evolved state of such a robotic contraption itself is a praiseworthy feat. Him being chosen by a weapon is just his luck. Just think of it as the two of you running down different paths."
"It would seem so. I just didn't think it would happen so soon. But maybe it had already started to happen as soon as we set foot in this place and I just didn't see it. Even though we are best buds, he felt so distant that I thought he was slipping away. After the loss he suffered, he lacked motivation. I desperately tried to compete with him in things both of us could do so that he could still strive for something and not lose himself. A reason to carry on, you could say. But now I don't have to fulfill that role anymore. He already knows what he has to do. So it's about time I really walk down my own path. It's just that these past few days of separation made me realize it, that's all. And now that it's already happened, I feel like things could've been better if I acted sooner instead of being stubborn."
"Sooner, as in?"
"If you told me about the fourth generation the day you met me then… no." Shin shook his head. "It wouldn't be right to tell a kid you don't even know to sacrifice his bones to make a weapon for him. And I probably wouldn't have agreed even if you did tell me. Rather, the only way I could've acted sooner if I could've realized the changes earlier. Maybe I actually did notice, but brushed it aside. There's no use in thinking about it now. I can only move forward and work hard from here on out."
"That's quite mature of you. Definitely unlike the kid I started to teach on the first day. Is your airhead personality a facade?"
"Hehe, airhead? Now that stings a bit. But… no. That's definitely real. Isolation just strips away the cheerfulness from you. Ah, don't misunderstand. You're a nice guy, but you're not really those guys, you know what I'm saying?"
"I get it, idiot!" Randolf pressed down on Shin's head. "As if a little sentence from a kid like you will make me feel bad! Get real! You're a decade too early to say that to me!"
A chuckle made its way out of Shin's mouth as Randolf loosened his grip. He looked up and finally saw him carrying a long black case.
"Is that…"
"Yup. It's ready. Wanna take a look now, or…?"
"Hell yes, I wanna look now!" He jumped up.
The case was opened and Shin beheld his new weapon, but it left him in confusion. So far, he was used to handling a longsword, whether that was using one or both hands. It would make sense for Randolf to order the creation of something similar. But what he was looking at right now was a pair of slender and long blades that were each three-fourth or three-fifth the length of White Lightning.
What was Randolf thinking? Time was already over. Shin did not have the liberty to learn a different fighting style in the little time remaining.
"Um… this is…"
"Oh, I see you're confused. Don't worry. These are actually separate for ease of portability. If my memory serves me right, when your weapon evolved, it turned into something like this, right?" Randolf picked up both of them and held them together at the hilt. "If that was the case, it means that's more suited to you. Remember, the weapon evolved according to the user's style, right? So instead of going through the hassle, might as well have you start off with the weapon you're more suited to."
"Hmm? Wait, but something's not right. Even if this weapon is similar, it's not the same as the evolved state, right? If I use Raze, wouldn't it still transform anyway?"
"Er, no. It's not that simple." Randolf sighed. "More like, this weapon can't transform no matter what type of energy you use."
"Eh? Aren't fourth generations supposed to be more advanced?"
The third generations, 'Crystal Weapons,' were a step closer to attaining the perfection of the first generation, excluding the cursed aspect. But because they are merely an attempt at an imitation, people had to become more robotic when handling them. Not just that, there were numerous other complications such as synchronization errors, compatibility, versatility and much more. Since first generation weapons were actually living breathing creatures, like contracted beasts, such issues did not exist. Even now, third generation weapon developers, such as craftsmen, blacksmiths and engineers constantly made small iterative improvements over the existing tech. No matter how much better the tenth iteration was compared to the first iteration, nobody would dare to call it a fourth generation.
But a few people dared to call a brand new model as such. Even though not many people used it and it still had its problems, it was indeed a feat much closer to that of the first generation than any third generation made so far. Since the first generation weapons were actually living beings in the form of weapons, the line of thought led those people to make weapons out of the living as well.
Since there were many kinds of crystals that served a myriad of functions, there are those that can emulate certain functions of a living organism. And to have maximum compatibility with the user, what better way was there than to make the weapon out of the user themself?
In other words, these weapons could be considered, quite literally, extensions of the user's body. But if that were the case, shouldn't it be much easier to bend the form of the weapon to the user's will?
No. Although the weapon was forged from the user's body parts, they weren't created nor forged by the user themself. Even in the case of third generation weapons, the evolved state was not generated by the user's power. It was brought about by the image, or perhaps, the compatibility of the user that the weapon read, and also through the infinite aspect of Raze. The user's will itself had nothing to do with it. Meaning, as long as Shin himself did not know how to change the form of a weapon, it would stay as it is. And it was for such a weapon, that Shin sacrificed all four of his hanging ribs.
"Yes, but… how do I explain this. Remember that your weapon evolved, but it had nothing to do with you wanting it to change? And that it changed on its own?"
"I guess so, yeah."
"It's like that. Since this weapon is made from you and not like third generation weapons that are made to fit specific checkboxes in the industry, it would only change if you are capable of making it change. You can't really change what your arm is like, right? It's like that. You can bend your arm however you like since it's a part of your body, but that's it. You can't turn it into a sickle just because you picture your arm to be a sickle."
"So I can use it however I want as long as it stays the same? Isn't that just a normal weapon?"
"I said it will only change if you are capable of changing it. Meaning, you aren't, right now. Nevermind the complicated stuff that'll go above your head. You already tried touching one of the blades in the initial stage, right? You know how well you'll be able to handle this. As far as the disjoint is concerned, try pouring in your energy and watch the magic!"
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Like this, Shin would spend the remaining time… getting used to his weapon and readjust to the changes in his own body.
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"Your training is done. Congratulations on graduating from hell." Sheng Hu slowly clapped with a hint of sarcasm.
"Eh? T-t-this isn't a prank, right? You're not going to tell me to go around the mountain again?"
"I suppose if your inner masochist is surfacing, then I can—"
"NO THANK YOU!" Hannah plopped onto the floor on her back. "It's finally over."
"But you do have free time. Spend it however you like. My work here is done."
"So you're going to leave once we get back?"
"Believe me, I'd love to. I'm a businessman, not a fighter. I have nothing to do with this. And yet, I have to handle all this mess for some weird ancestor tampering with our genes. How selfish! Not just training you lot, we have to go with you and see this whole thing through so nothing bad happens! How unreasonable! This is all because this has to be done covertly and we don't have any influence to use minions that we can quickly shut up!"
"Looks like you have a lot on your hands as well." Hannah awkwardly smiled.
"I don't need you to tell me that. Despite being the next heir of the Rose family, you've grown quite soft through the training course."
"Um, what?"
"Don't pretend you didn't notice it yourself! Before you were a worrywart, sure, that was annoying, but you also had your eyes on everything you felt responsible for!" Sheng Hu pointed fingers. "Now you're a child with just one thing in mind! As if you were completely relieved of your responsibilities!"
"That's not true!!!" Hannah shot back immediately. "Indeed I've mostly had saving Suzume on my mind, but that doesn't mean I'm ignoring everything else! I've thought about this, okay! Right now, my priority is the task at hand! I can leave the rest to Grandpa until I return! But if I fail to save Suzume, then…"
The place went silent for a good while. Both parties were collecting themselves as a cool breeze continued to sway their hair and clothes.
"Go around the mountain again."
"EXCUSE ME???"
"You don't want to fail, right? Then it's better to go even further. There's nothing new I can teach you anymore. Your main problems have been dealt with and your agile fighting style is formidable on its own as long as you don't make mistakes. You're also good with your weapon even at this height. What more can I possibly teach you?"
"Then as a final lesson, teach me how to use Raze!"
Sheng Hu knitted his eyebrows and looked at Hannah properly again. "You… what did you just say?"
"I said teach me Raze! I'm definitely satisfied with Natura expertise, but Natura inherently has its own limits, right? That's why I want to learn Raze! It's also important as the Rose heir! My father learnt Raze when he was even younger than Marvin, so I'm already behind. To be honest, it's humiliating. So just teach me! I'm willing to do anything!"
"You're… not seriously saying that right now, are you? After you've reached this point?" Sheng Hu said as his arms slackened.
Hannah was confused at what he meant first. But looking closely, she soon noticed his expression of utter disbelief, as if he was shocked that she wasn't aware of something. The confusion only strengthened in this vast emptiness, and underneath that confusion, crept up a tint of anxiety, discomfort and fear.
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"Have you ever been afraid of your own identity, Mr. Arnold?"
"I'm more afraid of your growth, to be honest. Where is this coming from?"
"We barely know each other and yet you're helping me like this. All of this might seem like a very natural progression to you since you all have been aware of the enemy looming over, but from our perspective, it's pretty unnatural isn't it?"
"That sounds like something one would say when they're about to back out. But you don't seem like the kind of person to do that. What's your point?"
"What is it, I wonder. Everybody thinks we're just a bunch of kids who unfortunately got roped into this mess. But what if those kids are much more than that? What if they're vastly more different than they thought they were and they themselves didn't know about it?"
"So it's not that you're hesitating in the mission, but that you're anxious about yourself? You're really an odd one. Normally kids like you would be incredibly happy if you're improving so quickly, and here you're having an anxiety attack?"
"No, Mr. Arnold." Yukio shook his head. "This kind of anxiety… it's not me overthinking things, but the truth slowly resurfacing. What if… I'm not even human?"
Arnold raised his eyebrow. He never thought Yukio would say something so excessive all of a sudden. Attempting to take his words seriously as a token of the time they spent together, he said, "Sit down. Speak your mind and I'll hear you out."
In the next few minutes Yukio briefly described what had been going through his head. He explained that the most distant thing he could remember was waking up to Diavolo and Shin on the shore of Cosmic Island. He had no idea about his identity nor his origins and simply accepted his new life in that place. Those two were his best friends and guardians. He never once felt anxious about his identity nor his lost memories, but it all started to change during the attack against the Sea Duke.
Back then, they were just short flashes he could ignore but throughout the course of their training near the waterfall, Neon and Argon seemed to be giving him hints about something. He didn't understand them at first but later when he started to think that they were hinting at his "lost memories" he started to take things seriously. They knew something but didn't want to force him into it. Those two wanted to achieve a particular outcome and were probing into him carefully.
There was no concrete evidence nor proper fragments of memory. The only things that he could muster were broken images that nobody could decipher and piece together. And as the day would go by, he would forget them again like one forgets a vivid dream soon after they wake up. Even so, the thought that he wasn't a normal person, that he wasn't 'human,' was a preposterous thought that felt very realistic to him. Something inside him told him so. He was sure of it but didn't want to believe it.
It wasn't that he was afraid of not being a human, not at all. Rather, it was more along the lines of "What do I do about it?" After all, just what was someone supposed to do in that situation? What scared him was not this, but something else. A memory that deeply engraved itself in his subconscious. An occurrence like that of a nightmare that nobody would like to think of. The sense of guilt and loss would at times overwhelm him and distract him from keeping his powers under control. Despite feeling guilt and remorse, during those instances, the carnal desire to rip everything to shreds would creep up beyond his control. And that shock of oneself to something else would bring him back to his senses. 'That beastly person could not have been me. Why was I thinking of such things?' The disconnect he would feel for himself, as if he was looking at his own body from somewhere else, was terrifying. What would happen if something like this happened during a crucial moment? It would be entirely his responsibility.
Arnold exhaled deeply.
"I didn't sign up for this, damn it."
"Mr. Arnold?"
"You've really got something going with you, lad, and I can't help you with it."
"I'm sorry. As I thought, it's pretty selfish to ask for answers out of the blue, right. Especially something as weird as this."
"I can't help you with your problems, but I can tell you something where you were wrong. You thought this was all natural for us, but you're terribly mistaken. Just like how you're a bunch of kids going to school, I'm just a fisherman. The others as well. Sheng Hu's just a businessman, Chipo's just a village helper and Randolf's just a doctor. None of us have extensive combat experience nor are we very powerful. The only one who's incredibly fixated and cautious about this is Arashi. The one who planned for us to cooperate was her. The one who trained herself for this purpose was also her. But ironically, she was the only one who couldn't push herself to get stronger," he said as his words seemed to drift away.
"She can't get stronger? What do you mean."
"Nevermind. It's up to her if she wants to say it. What I wanted to tell you is that, we're just as "roped into this" as you kids are. We have to suffer through this unreasonable fate just for this ancient lineage thing that we don't want anything to do with. We don't have a choice. As long as this blood keeps coursing through us, we will always find ourselves clashing against these enemies. But you know what? We still decided to come here and help you all out. It's easy to close one's eyes and ears and face away, but none of us would be able to live with the guilt. As adults it's the responsible thing to do. We need to do things even if we don't want to. So… if what you're facing is as big as you think it is, don't turn away from it. Face it when the time comes and be responsible about it. That's all."
"Being responsible about it…"
Arnold stood up. "I don't know what it's like to lose memories, so I'm no help there. But if it's a problem, it has a solution. You're just happens to be a little weird. Just treat it like any other problem and you should be fine."
Yukio giggled awkwardly. "Treating this as just any other problem would be a bit…"
"S-shut up! I'm no good with these okay?! Come ask me for advice if it's about cooking fish! I'm gonna make dinner!"
While Arnold busied himself with the food for the end of the day, Yukio decided to take another dip into the river.
A quick dive for refreshment and then he resurfaced. Standing straight on the surface, gently bobbing up and down like a boat, he faced the waterfall. A glint appeared in his eyes and he twisted his body. A pair of snakelike streams of water jumped out and connected themselves with his bands-turned-gloves. As if he was a motorized speed boat, he launched himself straight towards the waterfall, unafraid of the rocks behind it. Even under the crushing weight of the water, he was neatly able to envelope himself in a buoyant cover that both gave him protection and acted as a spring to redirect the energy from his launch. And just like that, he was able to slither upstream with expertise exceeding migrating salmon, leaving a trail of his aqueous cover behind him. If one saw him, they would think he transformed into a translucent snake that had conquered the waters. Once he finally reached the top, he burst out five meters into the air, the whip-like water still connected to his arms springing above him like a majestic and divine arch under the moonlight.