Master Khal looked straight at Thorne. His piercing eyes bore into Thorne's own, and the room's atmosphere immediately became tense.
“There are multiple reasons.” Master Khal spoke in a low tone.
Thorne looked up at him—expectant and excited.
“For one.” Master Khal began, “I did not wish for you to rely on the system.”
Thorne nodded as his assumptions became confirmed.
“Secondly, the system is…” Master Khal trailed off, and for the first time, Thorne saw the indomitable master seem uncertain.
“The system is unique and not as perfect as people say it is.” Master Khal concluded.
Thorne looked up at him and was struck by a nagging feeling that the Master cultivator was leaving some rather important details out, but he decided not to probe too much, for now.
Instead, Thorne posed a general question to Master Khal, “What do you mean by that.”
“Hmm.” Master Khal mused, scratching his chin, “Simply put, do not rely on the system; it is not your friend, that is all.” A dark lull filled the small cockpit after Master Khal spoke.
‘Dolar spoke about the system in such high regard, yet Master Khal is so skeptical.’ Thorne thought, confused about what was going on.
Instead of continuing on the unsettling topic of the more abstract properties of the system, Thorne decided to question Master Khal on the more practical aspect of it in his own life, “Will I acquire the system?” He intoned.
“Yes.” Master Khal responded, a disheartened tint to his words, “Every student is required to get it, and so will you before the expedition starts.”
“What is the process like?” Thorne inquired. He hoped it wasn't that tortuous, but based on his previous experiences, Thorne did not have high hopes.
“It’s rather simple.” Master Khal responded, “You are placed unconscious via safe chemicals and a violet-spectrum, grade three mind cultivator, as well as a bronze-spectrum, grade three metal cultivator; delve into your mind and install the system through advanced energy combination techniques.”
“Is it painful?” Thorne inquired, a solemn expression shadowing his face as he remembered his first experience in the Zupu world, his very painful awakening.
“No, it is perfectly fine as long as you stay unconscious during the installment.” Master Khal said.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Thorne finally leaned back in his chair—relieved to have at least learned the barebones of the ever-mysterious system.
“Thank you, Master Khal,” Thorne uttered in the silence of the cockpit.
Master Khal looked over, a strange expression on his face. He said no words and only nodded slightly in response, but that was all Thorne needed to understand that Master Khal understood his gratitude.
His gratitude for information and training. Allowing him the opportunity to grow strong and become self-reliant. It may have been painful and arduous, but it was a true gift.
The engines began to rumble louder as Master Khal began the takeoff process, and Thorne took solace in the peaceful lull of the ship.
‘Hmm, this is my first peaceful moment in months.’ Thone realized, ‘The only other times I have been relaxed were with Bluey…wait, where is BLUEY!’ Thorne's eyes widened in shock, and he franticly looked around the ship, but it was to no avail.
"Master Khal, do you know where Bluey is?” Thorne stuttered out in panic.
Looking down, Master Khal’s expressionless face confirmed Thorne’s fear, “Not here.”
Grabbing his head in his hands, Thorne’s mind raced furiously, “Can we turn back? I need Bluey!” He almost shouted at Master Khal.
“No.” The master responded bluntly, “You do not need the bird.”
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Thorne’s rage almost exploded; that bird had been the only peaceful aspect of the wilderness, and he would not lose it just like that. He began to open his mouth, ready to shout and threaten Master Khal.
“Shut up and don’t speak.” Master Khal ordered, his authority wafting into Thorne's mind, immediately cutting off what Thorne was about to say, “The bird was a pain reliever.”
The master continued, “a temporary treatment to your loneliness and subsequent insanity. If you want to become strong, resort to your fellow cultivator in moments of mental weakness, not some fluffy animal.” Master Khal bit out, a harsh tone of disapproval clear in his voice.
“What!” Thorne growled, and he withdrew his sabers from the spatial storage! In the back of his mind, his logic told him that Master Khal was right and that he shouldn’t have to rely on some bird to not fall prey to insanity. Yet, his logic failed to take control, and Thorne charged at the bulky Master Khal.
Sighing, Master Khal lifted one finger at the saber-wielding Thorne and shot a small, transparent beam of energy right at Thorne’s head.
‘What is that?’ he thought out in panic before being hit by the beam and falling to the ground, unconscious.
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Shaking his head, Master Khal sighed upon seeing the boy plop unceremoniously to the ground. ‘He still has much to learn.’ He thought as he finally started the takeoff process for the ship.
The ride was plain and uneventful, as only silence permeated the ship's cockpit. Master Khal sat still in his seat while a drooping unconscious Thorne hugged the pristine black floor.
After only a couple hours, Master Khal could view the city skyline on the precipice of the hazy horizon. Towering metal monsters reaching into the heavens —all so individually unique, yet, when seeing them from a distance, they blended together—losing their individuality.
Master Khal grimaced upon seeing the city; ‘it's good that this one won't have to live in the city for too long.’ He thought as he cast a sidelong glance at the still-unconscious Thorne. Master Khal exhaled a heavy sigh, ‘He won't understand.’ He realized, ‘I shouldn’t be with him when he wakes lest that completely cuts him off from me.’
Master Khal maneuvered the hovercar with great skill, and in no time at all, he docked the ship at one of the many academy-designated harbors. Carrying Thorne's sleeping figure, he walked firmly toward the nearest teleportation platform. No one bothered him as it was late at night, and no one was walking the harbor.
Teleporting into the amber spectrum dorm buildings, Master Khal quickly navigated to where Thorne’s room was. He silently opened the door and tip-toed through the room, not waking the sleeping Zal. With great care, Master Khal nestled Thorne onto his empty bed.
Sighing, Master Khal retrieved a metallic card from his spatial storage, and in the night silence, he used his energy to inscribe something, a message. He gently placed the card right into Thorne’s robe pocket as he rubbed his nose in fatigue.
‘I can't ruin his impression of me,’ Master Khal thought to himself wearily, knowing that he needed to stay away from Thorne and allow him to realize the intentions behind Khal’s actions, ‘I’ve invested too much in him for it to all be thrown away.’
Master Khal turned from the sleeping boy and, shadowed by the room's darkness, left in silence. No soul was disturbed or woken by his presence—almost as if he was never really there.
----------------------------------------
‘What!’
Thorne's eyes shot open, immediately assaulted by a horrible light.
‘Where am I…’ Blinking as fast as possible, Thorne tried to take in his surroundings, but his eyes did not take well to the horrible light.
‘Wait!’
Thorne almost shot up in a total panic!
‘Where is Bluey…Where is Master Khal…Where am I?’
Without even being able to properly see, Thorne retrieved his sabers in a swift, practiced motion. Holding them in front of him, Thorne fully paid attention to his ears as he allowed his eyes to acclimatize to this strange environment.
“Calm down.”
Thorne’s head swiveled at lightning speed as his ears located the position of the sound. Before even thinking, he lunged forward and struck! His blade struck out with jagged fury and was fully attempting to kill whatever was in here with him.
‘Wait, that’s not Master Khal.’ Thorne realized, but it was too late.
His blade struck out, but it did not meet flesh; instead, a loud clang resounded through the space as the saber struck another piece of metal.
“Celestials be damned, what the hell is wrong with you?’ An annoyed voice cut at Thorne.
In response, Thorne jumped back away from the sound—confused. ‘What is that…or who is that?’ Thorne thought, totally unfamiliar with the voice.
He blinked as fast as possible, and soon he had some semblance of vision. Squinting, he looked forward in anticipation, excited and a bit worried to learn who this mysterious person was.
“Zal?” He croaked in disbelief.
The fluorescent light shone directly at his eyes, creating a shadowy portrait of a seemingly human, spear-wielding figure.
“Is that you?” he asked, unsure if his eyes were telling the truth. How could he be in the academy? What happened on the ship? Did he fall unconscious? Did Master Khal take him here? ‘So many questions again.’ Thorne grumbled to himself. Master Khal had just answered his previous list of questions, and now he had so many more.
Oblivious to his thoughts, Zal, who was standing in an amber-colored bathrobe glared at Thorne, “Yes, it's me, Zal, how the fuck are you here? Are you a space cultivator or something celestials be damned? You just go up and disappear without a trace, and now here you are! Attacking me out of nowhere!” He shouted out, his face red.
Thorne flinched back at the scathing words. He hadn’t expected people to care too much about his departure, but it seemed that Zal rejected his assumption, even if he only cared due to his anger.
Thorne put away his swords under Zal’s ferocious glare and rubbed his forehead—his kind exhausted by the constant twists in his life. “I don’t know,” Thorne stated in exasperation. “But we need to talk.”