The endurance of pain is not merely a test of the body but a forging of the spirit. In training pain resistance, we push beyond our physical limits, fortifying our resolve and cultivating an unyielding strength that transcends mere endurance.
Principal Zatya Malakov
5th Academy grounds,
Sector 5, Ragnarok.
----------------------------------------
Aodhán awoke to the sound of claws raking against his window, and when he opened it, he found Varéc floating before him with a blue conceptual core delicately held between his fangs and the half-disintegrated body of a Roc, whose wingspan almost rivaled Varéc's, held between his hind claws.
Aodhán created a storm platform and jumped out of the window before leading Varéc to the rooftop.
“What is this?” He asked as they descended, and Varéc placed the core before him, although he kept the carcass for himself. Varéc growled, narrating his adventure through a series of emotions and mental images.
When he finished, Aodhán had gotten the gist of the entire matter. Varéc had returned above veil, and as he’d soared through the skies, he’d gotten into a fight with the Tier 21 Roc, and although he’d sustained injuries in the process, he’d obviously won.
Aodhán picked up the core and sent it into his spatial storage without analyzing it. He was aware of the impurities already within the core and had no intention of adding to them by absorbing a conceptual core, no matter how tempting it was.
Perhaps he could exchange it with someone else or sell it whenever he got out of the academy. He raised a questioning brow, his gaze darting from Varéc to the half-disintegrated carcass tightly clutched between his claws. Varéc followed his gaze and looked back at him innocently.
“Do you want to explain to me why you still have that?”
Varéc growled, clutching the carcass tighter, and Aodhán frowned. “You’re familiar; you do not need to eat.”
Varéc growled in disagreement, and Aodhán motioned for him to go ahead with a mocking smile. Varéc turned his gaze to the carcass and sniffed it, but recoiled in disgust and belched out what Aodhán could only describe as a ball of condensed lightning that disintegrated what was left of the roc.
Varéc sniffed in contentment, and Aodhán frowned, wondering why Varéc had picked up the carcass in the first place. Familiars didn’t eat, and they didn’t need to absorb cores as they grew alongside their bond.
Perhaps it was the thrill of the hunt that Varéc craved? Aodhán wondered if he should let him out more often; if nothing, he would at least gain a core or two from these hunts.
Varéc returned to his spirit, and Aodhán floated back to his room. It was only a few hours past midnight, but Aodhán doubted he could go back to sleep, so he went to his training room, took up a meditative pose, and began honing his control.
For almost a week now, he’d been stuck on nineteen strands, but he intended to push it up before morning. As he refined his control, his mind wandered to the principal and what she had in store for him today.
He hated to admit it, but now that he’d accepted the situation, a part of him was looking forward to it, anticipating...
He stood up a few minutes past dawn, feeling slightly sleepy, but a cold bath solved that problem, and after dressing, he made his way to the principal’s office. She’d asked him to report to her office by 7, and although he still had half an hour to spare, he couldn’t wait any longer.
On any other day, the streets would have been filled with students rushing to the various classes or to the gymnasium, but today was a free day, and many used it as an excuse to sleep in, but he wasn’t afforded such luxury.
He arrived at the principal’s office with about fifteen minutes to spare and found the door slightly ajar. He slowed, trying to listen in on the conversation going on inside, but the principal called out. “Come in, Aodhán.”
Aodhán sighed. How foolish of him to think he could hide from the senses of a Mythic. Not bothering to hide anymore, he pushed the door open and walked inside.
There were three other people in the room aside from the principal, two of whom he recognized. One was Rahim, who stood at the right of the principal with a slightly worried expression, and the other was Eldrith, who stood beside the third man, another Mythic, who was dressed in a pristine silver robe that Aodhán soon found out was actually enchanted steel.
Unlike the principal, who always radiated an aura of power and mysticism, the man could have been mistaken for a sleeper if it weren't for his pupilless eyes, which were the color of steel.
Rahim waved him over and placed a hand on his shoulder as he came to stand beside him. The man hummed as he scrutinized Aodhán. “So, this is your new pet project, Zatya. He is indeed a curiousity.”
Principal Zatya agreed. “That he is, Berion, and that is why I need the help of your student to train him. He’s a little rough around the edges, but I believe we can sharpen him up.”
Berion nodded and turned his metallic gaze to Eldrith. “That is, of course, if Eldrith agrees; as you know, I do not force my students to do anything against their will.”
The principal’s expression tightened slightly, but she nodded and looked at Eldrith, who was staring at Aodhán with a completely blank expression, not betraying the fact that they knew each other.
Eldrith remained silent for a moment before nodding. “I’ll be honored to be of service.”
“Great, then we shall begin immediately.” Principal Zatya grinned and waved a hand. Aodhán frowned in confusion when a portal shimmered into existence. This was the second affinity he’d seen her use so far; the first was time, and now space?
He chalked it all up to a sort of mythic voodoo as she turned back to Eldrith and said, “You know what to do.”
Eldrith nodded and gestured for Aodhán to follow him. As he moved, though, Rahim’s fingers tightened subtly on his shoulders as if he were hesitant to let him go, but the next moment, he pushed him forward and smiled. “Have fun.”
“I'll try.” Aodhán replied and followed Eldrith into the portal.
They appeared in a training room many times the size of the halls within the training center, densely packed with energy, so much so that tiny crystals of energy condensed around the edges of the room.
In a sense, they were cores, but the energies they contained were so chaotic and wild that directly absorbing them was sure to damage a person’s pathways. The portal closed behind him, and he turned to fully take in the room.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Unlike the concrete walls of his personal training room, this room had wooden walls, but even at first glance, he could tell that the wood wasn’t ordinary. The brown wood glowed faintly with golden energy, and although he couldn’t sense any runes within it, he knew they were there.
He took in a deep breath, and energy rushed through his pathways and into his core, jolting his body and spirit until he was as alert as an owl at midnight.
“It is nice to see you again, Aodhán Brystion, although I didn’t realize it would be so soon.”
Aodhán turned to see Eldrith standing casually at the center of the hall and replied. “I’m sorry it’s not under better circumstances.”
Eldrith dismissed his apology with a wave of his hand. “One can’t help it if the great Zatya Malakov decides to take them as her pet project.”
Aodhán scowled. “I’m not her pet project.”
“Oh, but you are.” Eldrith replied, and his gaze softened. “Trust me, you’re not her first, nor will you be the last, but if Raol wills it, she’ll forget all about you when someone more interesting comes along.”
Aodhán frowned, not sure something so merciful would be happening in his case; he was a transmigrant after all. What was more interesting than that?
Still, something about Eldrith’s words tugged at him, and he asked. “Were you once her pet project?”
Eldrith shrugged. “Three years ago, just like you, she took a shine to my affinity, dumped Viscelis Crowborn, and assigned one of the 4th years at the time to train me. Want to guess who it was?”
It only took a moment for Aodhán to connect the dots, and he sighed. “Rahim.”
“Bingo.” Eldrith replied as he walked closer. “She’s ever searching for the perfect weapon or killing machine to mold, and when you fail to meet up to her impossible expectations like I did, she’ll dump you, like she did me, and very recently, Erdania Lockwood in the second year.”
“What expectations?” Aodhán asked, and Eldrith shrugged. “It’s different for everyone.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
Eldrith shook his head, staring at him with a hint of pity in his expression. When he finally replied, his voice was a whisper, almost too low to hear.
“Because I see you, the real you. From the first day I saw you in the library, I knew that this day would come, even though I didn’t realize it would be this soon.” He frowned in thought, scrunching up his face as he tried to find the right words. “You have that spark that she loves, that steel of determination, the poorly hidden need to stand out, to be better, to be seen, noticed, and loved.”
Aodhán’s expression hardened as Eldrith continued. “I do not need an empath to know that you’re broken and traumatized by a past that still haunts you. I can feel your pain, and if there’s one thing Zatya Malakov loved more than molding her pets, it’s fixing the broken; unfortunately for you, you’re a perfect blend of trauma and power.”
Aodhán pushed down his pain as long-buried memories resurfaced. Pain and anger roiled within him, and he growled. “Why are you saying this? I thought we were friends!”
Eldrith shook his head sadly and raised a finger. “Because we’re in a training room, and this is training.”
The finger moved suddenly, too fast for Aodhán to follow, and the next instant, pain exploded in his chest as he was flung backwards. He crashed against the wooden wall and fell to the floor, clutching his chest as the pain intensified.
“For today’s training.” Eldrith began, his voice flat and unfeeling. “I’ll limit my strength and speed to Tier 24, but this torture will only end when you either strike back or the principal herself intervenes.”
Aodhán gasped as he struggled to get back up, but Eldrith flicked his fingers again, and pain like he’d never known ripped through him until he fell to the floor, unconscious.
….
“As astounding as I remember.” Zatya Malakov smiled at Eldrith as she took out a jug of water from her spatial space and dumped it on Aodhán’s unconscious form. “Your affinity for pain truly is extraordinary.”
Eldrith didn’t respond; instead, his gaze remained on Aodhán, who was yet to stop twitching even after he’d stopped channeling {Amplify Pain}. Eldrith had been just like Aodhán three years ago, naïve and innocent, save for the fact that he’d loved and enjoyed the principal’s attention.
He’d wanted to be her weapon—the terror she’d always wanted to forge—and her personal killing machine, just so he could keep her attention. As one of the numerous illegitimate sons of Duke Solaris Valerion, he’d been scorned and ostracized, kept with the other unwanted and unloved children.
The only reason he hadn’t been thrown to the streets was because the duke insisted on keeping all his illegitimate children. The duke had even spent a week with him after his arrival, but after that, Eldrith had been promptly forgotten. His life had been hell after that, and when he finally got the chance to escape his home and attend the academy, he’d seized the opportunity. The principal’s attention had been a dream come true. She’d loved him and esteemed him to the point that she’d taken time out to train him personally, but like those before him, he’d fallen short of her expectations, and she’d directed her attention to someone else.
Now, she only bothered to check on him once in a while; he was still her project, after all, just a failed one. When she’d asked him to train the pain resistance of her newest pet, a part of him wanted to refuse, but a part of him also craved this: her attention, their conversations, and the way she complimented—an affinity that almost everyone else hated.
“He doesn’t seem to be waking up.” She mused as she gently poked Aodhán's unconscious form.
“I might have gone a little overboard.” Eldrith admitted, and when she frowned, he scoffed. “Oh, he’ll be fine in a minute or two.”
“You were supposed to take things gradually and ease him into it. I want to mold him, Eldrith, not break him further.”
Rather than respond, Eldrith touched Aodhán’s head and channeled {Absorb Pain}. He didn’t even hiss, as all the pain Aodhán was feeling rushed into him.
When he stopped twitching, Eldrith sighed. Out of jealousy, he’d gone slightly overboard, more because he actually liked the boy, but it was better if Aodhán failed to meet Zatya’s expectations now, so she could turn her attention elsewhere before she became too invested.
Aodhán jerked awake the next moment, and Eldrith dodged as a condensed beam of lightning shot through the space where his head had been barely a second ago.
Aodhán roared as he rose to his feet, his voice rumbling out like thunder, and Eldrith turned to see that the principal had vanished, most probably watching with glee as a great amount of willpower erupted out of Aodhán and covered him in a thick reddish haze.
Eldrith raised an eyebrow, shocked by the immense willpower Aodhán was expending. He expected Aodhán to collapse from exhaustion at any moment, but to his dismay, Aodhán surged forward, sending a dozen lightning spears hurtling toward him.
Eldrith dodged easily. Even when utilizing Tier 24 speeds, he was still much faster than Aodhán, who was still at Tier 18. A storm cloud rumbled into existence above them, and it expanded to cover the entire roof in less than a minute.
Eldrith channeled {Inflict Pain} again, but grimaced when the haze of willpower pouring off the boy interfered with the skill. He dodged as a literal rain of lightning spears descended, all aiming for him.
He smirked. Aodhán’s control was good, great even, and although he tried to reduce his control, Eldrith was still an advanced class awakened, which meant his control was leagues above Aodhán’s own.
The spears struck the floor with so much force that he was sure they would have at least nicked his skin had they hit, and although they fell in hundreds, Eldrith weaved between them easily.
He channeled {Inflict Pain} once more and frowned when the skill refused to take hold. He needed to get rid of the willpower haze if his skills were to have any effect, and although he disliked using this ability, Aodhán had given him no choice.
This time he channeled energy into {Inflict Pain} and then {Transmute pain—Emotion}. Instantly, Aodhán cried out and stumbled, clutching his head as painful memories resurfaced with vengeance. The haze of willpower around him disappeared as his concentration wavered, and the storm cloud broke apart as his energy grew turbid.
Eldrith grimaced at the sheer emotional agony Aodhán endured and promptly activated {Transmute Pain—Physical}. He focused on Aodhán’s ankles, causing him to scream as the skill cut through his depleted willpower.
Before Aodhán could pass out from the pain, Eldrith immediately channeled his innate skill, {Manipulate Pain}, and reduced the pain to manageable levels.
Aodhán collapsed to the floor, shuddering as his muscles spasmed, while Eldrith sighed.
Already, he could feel Zatya’s displeasure from wherever she might be. He’d let himself get carried away again. He was supposed to train the boy’s resistance, not beat him to death because he was jealous.
Eldrith walked towards Aodhán and knelt beside his shuddering form. “I know this hurts, and I’m sorry, but this is the only way I can think of to train your pain resistance.” It wasn’t a lie, technically. This training would do wonders for Aodhán’s pain resistance; it was just more painful than the alternative.
He wasn’t evil, not truly. This method would provide Aodhán with more benefits than the alternative, so in a way, this was for his own good. When Aodhán didn’t respond, he sighed. “This training isn’t meant to kill you, but to help you, and if you cooperate with me, we can do this in a very reasonable manner.”
Aodhán turned to face him, his entire body shuddering and soaked with sweat. When he took in Eldrith’s calm gaze, he wondered how he’d missed the insanity lurking within him, and in a hoarse whisper, he rasped. “I will kill you.”
“Maybe.” Eldrith grinned and raised a hand to help him up. “But first, you must kill pain.”