Ikrei P.O.V.
I opened my eyes. The ceiling typical of the underground training circles welcomed me.
“You are awake. Please serve yourself, you’ll need it.”
I stood up from the bed. I realized I was in the special training circles for the masters, the elders and the lords. A wide arrangement.
“You suffer from what is called post traumatic disorder. And that’s putting it mildly. Your mind is making you sick, soul alteration trauma.”
The main grandmaster healer of Malaktaraf was here, as with all the awakened in the castle, she was beautiful, specially her blue hair. She was dressed in her full healing ward attire.
The tables were setup with plenty of things: delicate foods, strange unknown orgon dilutions and pills. Hundreds of pills.
Whatever Sochu gave me was extremely effective, I was fine. The dark thoughts and the hurt, pain from the previous experience had vanished.
“I really don’t feel like following orders or suggestions right now, lady Mikros.”
She just smiled.
“Have it your way, Sachear.”
The term Sachear sounded revolting to me, currently. She just stood there waiting, a four-cubit distance from the bed.
The silence was severely uncomforting given the situation. I decided to speak.
“What’s going on?”
“We are waiting for your instructor.”
‘Instruction? Training?!’
“Who is it?”
“You’ll see just wait a little.”
Eventually I ate some deer and belgar juice.
An hour later after the wolf down.
“A little late, I was busy and there were plenty of things to prepare.”
The strikingly beautiful pirate patch bitch made her appearance. No cloak just the andurian training cloth, the same one I was wearing. It was the premium version, orgon infused runic fabric. Boots and gloves included for her.
Runecraft.
Another round of quietude occurred. A stare down.
“I’m pretty sure you got many things to say. Today you will get some answers.” A calm and warm voice.
She gesticulated for lady Mikros to do something.
Two pills were placed in my hand. One for her.
“I’ll start with the clarifications. You are no longer under the risk of death but you are far off from being free from the interference. I’m sure you are wondering why is it that you have been put through such an ordeal. The short answer is your previous lives.”
She took the blue pill, swallowed in one go.
“You were and will become a chaos magician. A fighting hybrid version of your old and your current self, this time.”
I felt the energy around the training circle activate. The covering of a time dilation, not too dissimilar to the one tricky muscle fuck used inside the rift. Lady Mikros was inside the circle as well.
‘Chaos magician? What?!?’
The curiosity was eating me.
“Do tell, Freslia.”
“You will take the blue pill; it is a humanization pill. We will spar and every time you land a hit. I will tell you another truth. Of course this is only the start of the training. We will keep going and increase the difficulty until you are deemed ready.”
‘She took a humanization pill?’
“Maybe I can land a hit right now.” I whispered without thinking too much.
Lady Mikros energy expanded like a warm blanket.
“Take your pill.” Mikros eyes were not friendly.
‘Damn it! I had a free punch on her ass, maybe not, Mikros is here.’
Diffidently I took the pill. I didn’t want anything to do with what was happening. Regardless, there was a chance to put some hurt on somebody and I wanted answers.
‘I have a chance on equal footing. Inhale, exhale, release.’
Six breaths. The pill’s effect became active; I couldn’t feel my core energy.
“Heeyah!”
‘Time to imitate a certain cute little lass to catch eye patch by surprise, maybe.’
I dashed to her position, I tried one of Yun Hee’s takedown combos.
It ended as quickly as it began, Freslia put me down with a side step and a Manji kick.
My head was completely jumbled up. There’s a huge difference in getting wacked while being awakened or being normal. Mikros was infusing energy on my head within half a breath.
‘So, that’s why she is here?’
“It is going to hurt. I may be normal but my skeletal and muscle reconstruction cannot be undone. I can strike you like a man. Don’t expect physical advantages. Iron Horse body versus Star Body, the art of the Andurin.”
Settling myself up again. I gazed upon her with resentment and stress.
‘Inhale, exhale. Release.’
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Second round. Dash, faint right punch, into the right flank and a left hand wrist grab. Reika permutation seventy-two, Pricks Krigs version. I was going for a pull and a finish.
I wanted to hit some flesh, once at least.
Freslia executed a hard pull back, full body weight down and another kick. A spinning back kick.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
I bounced on the floor. Mikros again. I stood up.
“Sheez!” All that I could say.
‘You can do that?! Brutal pivot foot strength! How am I going to hit her?’
“We have the same height, almost equal bodyweight. Lever principle, Sachear.”
I needed to keep trying stuff, there was no point in giving up. Anger can be a great driver even if she was going all out.
Third round. A careful approach, slow steps, close enough for an easterner style exchange of Aikido. Submission without hurting the opponent.
One of the martial arts Yun Hee taught me, demonic cultivator version. Uke and Tori with a twist.
PHOW! PHOW! PHOW! PHOW! PHOW!
A furious exchange of straight jabs, head weaves, grabs, counter grabs and two handed blocks. I knew westerners don’t really know this martial art since it is defense only. For once I had the advantage.
“Ouch!”
‘What the hell?!?’
I still lost.
Freslia got close and went for hooks in her combination but the trick lay in the heavy foot stomp she used on my pivot foot. It hurt like hell.
PHOW!
A full body punch and I was on my back feeling Mikros hand over my forehead.
‘Fucking games these bastards play!’
----------------------------------------
Freslia P.O.V.
‘That’s it, keep it up. Time for him to get a hit.’
“Out of ideas?” I needed to poke his anger.
‘Whatever he has taken for his mental stability should be running out anytime now.’
The humanization pill dilutes many things. Very expensive Runecraft alchemical products.
Seventy fifth round. Ikrei charged, he wasn’t happy, he was exasperated filled with all the negative emotions we had imprinted on him through his training.
‘It was like looking at a young Eriel, some things will never change.’
PRACK! PHOW! PRACK! PHOW! PRACK! PHOW! PRACK! PHOW!
He was copying my style, kicks and punches. A mirroring.
I intentionally overextended one of my kicks. He immediately went for the punish.
I reset my legs as fast as I could and took the hit.
PHOW!
One fully extended arm touching the floor for support, I looked up. He enjoyed it, he was happy he punched true. Mikros healed me instantly with a hand to the cheek.
‘You need that too.’
I stood up. I started expounding a little more about the previous incarnation of Ikrei, Eriel.
“The Andurin are many things, some are close to being saints. Others are close to being demon butchers. The order houses a wide array of interesting characters. You were such a character, an overcomer of the dark path, very rare. The path of Tohuwabohu.”
Ikrei was absolutely enthralled with the words about his old life. Also shocked and many other things, I recognized a shred of my former brother in him.
“Tell me more.”
His understandable resentment had turned him into a demanding little prick.
“Just keep hitting me, Sachear.”
Even humanized, his reactions showed the intent to manifest kinetic energy.
‘I guess he is closer to his old self after the ritual.’
“I don’t like any of you treacherous evil bastards. Are you going to keep giving me the drip?”
Ikrei was tired, pissed off and unsatisfied with my words. The effect of whatever he took definitively wearing off. A traumatizing event like the ritual can be one step too far for most.
Eriel was not most.
“What If I am? What can you do? Less complaining and more training.” I specified evilly.
I set myself up for another go.
“Fuck all this shit.” Ikrei sat down on the floor.
‘Yes, that’s it, get angry. The more used to dark energy the better.’
I gave Mikros a nod. She accented.
WHISH! THUD! WHISH! THUD! WHISH! THUD!
Ikrei flew up against the isolation time dilation barrier and back down several times. Mikros initiated her art that is very similar to telekinesis with core energy. She started to heal him up the second he was about to land, the last time.
“You don’t have a choice in here, Sachear.” My evil tone intensifying.
He had resentful eyes. The deep kind.
‘Just you wait, later on you’ll be in a more desperate state.’
Many, many minutes later he finally readied himself for more sparring.
----------------------------------------
Ikrei P.O.V.
“How long have we been going?” I asked frustrated.
I couldn’t believe I wasn’t able to land another smack on the one eyed demon.
“Don’t worry about that, we get to eat after this round. Come on.”
Freslia pointed Mikros towards the table. The dome barrier was wide enough to cover almost the entire place. One of two grandmaster circles in the castle. I had heard that the lords love training here. Incredibly intricate formations on the floor and the walls, orgon everywhere.
We went for a round of grappling. My mirroring was pretty ineffective after a while, I decided to try a mix of submissions and elbow breaks or whatever I could get.
Mikros was here and I wanted some payback.
‘One, two, three.’
I tried an arm grab while being on the lookout for a counter grab, a stomp or a kick to the knees. All things one eyed demon had previously done.
Failed attempt number three hundred and fifty, approximately.
“Shit!” Curses uttered, one hundred and twenty.
My right arm got pulled after a very nimble double step faint. Freslia was on my back before I could tell she was there. Sleeper choke time.
A perfect press on the carotid arteries, I was losing consciousness and I had gotten no more answers.
‘That won’t do. Screw you, trickster!’
One of the things that remained from that dammed ceremony besides my incongruent memories of other people and the suffering was the remnant of the spirit’s transformation.
Hard as metal nails. I was saving them for later but there seemed to be no later with the mad pirate.
I pressed with all my might against her gluteus middle muscles and a sliver of her gluteus maximus muscles with the nails in my hands on either side. I was trying to cut into her cloth.
It didn’t but it did. No cut but I did manage to feel her body parts through the fabric, barely. Not enough to hurt, just the feel.
“Hey! How dare you!?”
Freslia decided to put extra pressure but it gave me the split second I needed when she wanted to readjust.
Thud!
I gave her a hard right footed stomp. I returned the favor.
Two breaths later, she released the choke.
“Huff!” I was glad that worked.
“That’s a hit. You can ask a question. I’ll answer if I can.” She said.
‘Typical, always a catch.’
Adjusting my cloth and checking my body I thought about the most pressing question in my mind.
“Why?!? Why did I have to do a ritualistic kill like that?!”
“Because through the ritual you sealed the thing that was trying to kill you. That’s how we can talk now and you are not bleeding on the floor near death. And your subconscious level of mastery of the dark energies deepens as your feelings get strained and they must be unto the absolute. Your memories, your lives will consume you and destroy you if you cannot bear it. You are singular. Well, not that singular anymore, your little cultivator firecracker is similar to you.”
‘Wait. What?!? I am not quite following everything.’
“I got more questions now.” Was all that I managed to say.
“I know you do but many of them are for your master. I’ll tell you what you need, if you want more, hit me. My job is to make sure you are ready for what is to come.”
The blue eye demon from the Andara forest made its reentry. Cold, merciless, calculative.
“Food is served.” Lady Mikros ushered us to the table for a munching.
Freslia sat next to Mikros and motioned for me. I nervously joined.
‘I came with anger, pain, resentment and hatred. Now, I’m filled with dread and worry plus anger, pain, resentment and hatred. Shit!’
Freslia and Mikros ate leisurely. I couldn’t process a bite. The time dilation covering remained active, a monstrous training circle, only for the best of the best.
‘How does this work? How long have we been here already?’
Giving me that icy stare that is equal parts unnerving and unforgettable, she said.
“You can always leave and become a great Shadow Warrior with the cultivators after we are done here. But if you stay you can be a great one, a blade of Andukir, chaos form. In terms you can understand a Chaotic Shadow Magic Blade, a very special magic swordsman. There are few like that in history.”
Mikros’ eyes were the same.
I gulped.
‘Crazy bitches!’
“Not everyone can stand with a chosen one. Tohuwabohu is also known as the path of the left hand.”
Her final words sunk in like a ton of rocks since not everything was processing adequately due to the beating and my charged feelings. I was starting to understand a thing or two about the left hand moniker.
The two of them chatted while I was left with my thoughts and eventually a lot of marinated chicken with Thruskan.
‘Monsters, I tell you, monsters!?!’
“Wait! Dark energy magi, the previous me was really an evil son of a demon?!?”
Yeah, everything that was happening had dulled me into near stupidity.
I dropped the chicken breast on the floor.
‘No more heavy drinking.’