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Japan, Ozunu Orphanage

January 2 2007

The children stood in a line, their eyes fixed on the floor in front of them. The room was silent, save for the soft rustle of their clothes and the occasional muffled sigh.

They were taking turns crossing a floor rigged with pressure points, a single misstep triggering a loud, jarring sound beneath the floorboards a metallic string that echoed through the room a clear indication of failure.

The real punishment, however came afterward. Their heels were punished,each being struck with a bamboo stick, leaving deep raw cuts. the pain rendered them unable to walk, a stark reminder of their failures.

Violet, her eyes brimming with tears, gritted her teeth, enduring the pain of the cuts she'd already received from Ozunu's punishment. Garrett sat beside her, his face mirroring her pain.

They both watched anxiously as Lucian, the youngest and most enigmatic among them, prepared to step onto the floor.

They harbored complicated feelings for Lucian. He was the youngest, yet the best of them all. They even suspected he was a supernatural creature something they loathed, given that their parents were hunters in Beacon Hills, killed by a werewolf.

The most important thing was that Lucian had more scars than any of them. He was the best but he was also the one receiving the punishment the one who seemed to be hurting the most. The other children didn't appreciate that.

For Lucian, perhaps his scars reminded him he was getting stronger, but for them, they were a reminder of their enemy, a constant reminder of their own weakness.

Lucian, oblivious to their thoughts, began walking across the floor. He didn't walk carefully, but with a steady, almost careless stride, as he usually did.

He thought to himself, 'Am I so light? It's not effective on me? Otherwise, how can I do this?' He moved across the floor, yet he didn't trigger any traps.

Maybe it's not working, he thought, stopping to scratch his head.

"No, it was working before.Violet failed and she got punished" Cortana said in his mind.

Ozunu stood up, his bamboo rod resting on his hands. He observed Lucian, then looked at the floor, knowing it was working.

"How did you do it?" Ozunu asked, his voice cold and sharp.

"I just did, Master Ozunu," Lucian said, genuinely confused. He didn't know how he had managed to avoid the traps or how the the floors didn't work.

Ozunu looked at Lucian's face, searching for any sign of deception. He thought 'He's not lying. If that's so then he will be a perfect ninja but I need to make sure he is human'

Ozunu nodded at Lucian. "Go back. You don't need to do this anymore."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Yes, Lord Ozunu." Lucian answered with a bow.

Lucian walked towards the door, thinking to himself, Should I practice or meditate?

"Meditate. Maybe you can get into the soul space by yourself." Cortana said.

Lucian mentally agreed with her and left the room.

The other children watched him with a mixture of shock and resentment. He was just too talented, too good at everything.

Ozunu, sensing their emotions, looked at them with a blank face.

"Rest and continue." he said, his voice cold and emotionless.

The children sighed, closing their eyes to rest. They had learned that in this place, there was no room for weakness,

only thing that mattered was constant training and the relentless pursuit of perfection.

Lucian was already in his room, sitting cross-legged on his tatami mat, his eyes closed. He focused on the soul space but another thought intruded.

"Do you think it's because of my mother that my body is like this?" he asked Cortana. They both knew that his mother was not normal, that she could sense them.

"It's possible." Cortana said.

"But that's until we figure out what she is first." She continued.

"Focus, you keep thinking about other things, taking away your focus. That's why you can't get in."

Lucian obediently closed his eyes, focusing on himself. He pushed aside his distracting thoughts, and finally, he felt a relaxing feeling coming through his entire body, a feeling of calm and peace that he hadn't felt in a long time.

He opened his eyes and sighed with relief. He saw the illusory golden trunk, its roots disappearing into the transparent dark ground.

Then Cortana's voice appeared at his back. "I miss holding you like this." she said, hugging him around the neck.

Her chin rested on his shoulder, and he could feel the warmth of her presence, a comfort he hadn't realized he'd beencraving.

Lucian smiled. He missed how they bonded too. He reached up with his hand and held one of her arms against his neck. He turned his head towards her, wanting to kiss her lips, but Cortana gently pushed his face away.

"I don't kiss a minor." she said, her voice laced with a playful tease. She let out a soft laugh.

Lucian laughed. "Oh, fck you haha!" he said, only in his mind, of course. His soul form was small, the same size as his actual body, so kissing her in this size was a little awkward.

Cortana, still smiling, hugged him more tightly. She leaned down and kissed him softly on his cheek. Lucian smiled, happy to be in her company.

When the other children entered the room, they saw Lucian still sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. They didn't say anything. Their feet ached, and they just wanted to lie down. They went to their own sides of the room and settled onto their tatami mats.

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July 19, 2007

Lucian walked into a room with the other kids. They saw Ozunu sitting in the middle of the room. They all sat down in front of him, waiting for his words. They didn't know that the room was surrounded by mountain ash, a natural barrier against supernatural creatures. Ozunu was trying everything he could to identify if Lucian was a supernatural being.

Hearing the children walking in, Ozunu opened his eyes, observing his students. His gaze lingered on Lucian, a sense of gratification filling his eyes.

Ozunu sat far in front of them, his posture commanding attention.

"The body must obey the will." he began, his voice a low rumble, echoing through the room.

"Hunger and thirst, your bowels and breath, even the blood in your veins, are the bodies' weaknesses."

"Master it, then you master yourself." one of the older students said, repeating the Ozunu creed.

Ozunu slashed his hand with a knife, the blade cutting deep. A red line appeared, a testament to his pain. But then he squeezed his hand, and the wound healed before their eyes, leaving no trace.

"He's finally going to teach us how to heal like that." Lucian said to Cortana, his voice full of expectation.

"Although you can already control your body, you can't control it like him. You're going to suffer learning that." Cortana said, her voice a touch grim. She knew that to learn to heal, you had to intentionally hurt yourself.

"But it's worth it, isn't it?" Lucian asked, his voice laced with a hint of excitement. He thought that gaining an ability that could heal dangerous situations was worth the suffering.

"Just don't take it too far." Cortana said, her voice laced with a hint of worry. She knew that he might be tempted to start pushing himself to the limit instead of learning, that his eagerness might lead him to self-destruction.

Ozunu looked at all of them. He knew that only a few could achieve healing like that, and maybe they would achieve it when they were older. "Let's go." he said. He stood and led them into the training grounds, where they would learn to control their bodies, from skin to weight, to the very being of themselves.

The training grounds were vast, filled with different obstacle courses, each designed to push the children to their limits. Ozunu, a master of martial arts and a student of ancient healing techniques, had created a system that would test not only their physical abilities but also their mental strength. He believed that to control the body, one must first control the mind.

The first challenge was the "Path of Thorns." It was a narrow path lined with sharp, thorny bushes, designed to test their agility, balance, and pain tolerance.

Lucian, surprisingly, moved through the thorns with a grace and ease that surprised everyone. The thorns seemed to avoid him, as if they recognized him somehow.

"He's not human." whispered one of the older students, her voice filled with fear.

"He's just better than us." muttered another, trying to dismiss the thought.

But the doubt remained. Lucian, with his supernatural abilities and mysterious origins, was an enigma to them.

As they moved through the training grounds, they faced challenges that tested their strength, speed, and endurance.

Lucian excelled at each one, leaving the others in his dust. He was a natural, a prodigy. But this only fueled their resentment. They were all striving for the same goal, the same perfection, but Lucian seemed destined to reach it first.