Luka woke up to a boot lightly kicking his side.
“Wake up, kid. Training starts now.”
Luka groaned, barely opening his eyes. His entire body felt heavy, his limbs refusing to cooperate. Dark circles sat under his eyes, proof that he barely slept the night before. He was still processing everything that had happened in the last few days—his awakening, his power, the mission, and now… training.
He blinked up at his masked master, who was already fully dressed and standing over him.
Luka frowned. “Do you really sleep with that mask on?”
Sun laughed, crossing his arms. “Of course. It’s comfortable.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
Luka sighed, sitting up. He wouldn’t get used to it. But he also knew he wasn’t getting any answers if Sun didn’t want to give them.
“Come on,” Sun said, tossing a black hoodie at him. “Put this on. We’re going outside.”
Luka quickly got dressed and followed him out into the cold Undermaze morning. The streets were already awake, filled with the usual flickering neon lights, the smell of metal and smoke, and the distant shouts of people trying to survive.
Luka thought they’d head straight into combat training. Instead, Sun led him into a quiet, abandoned tunnel near the outer district. It was a large, open space, dark and eerie, with faded graffiti covering the walls.
Luka looked around. “…What is this place?”
Sun cracked his neck. “Your new training ground.”
Sun sat down on the ground and motioned for Luka to do the same. Luka hesitated but followed, crossing his legs.
“Before you learn to fight,” Sun started, “you need to understand your own power. You didn’t awaken Jōki like a normal person, so you won’t use it like a normal person either. That’s why your training starts here—with your senses.”
Luka furrowed his brows. “Senses?”
“Yeah. Normal Jōki users feel energy. They can see colors, heat, and even read emotions. But you? You erase. Your power is the absence of energy. So instead of learning how to see Jōki—”
Sun flicked Luka’s forehead.
“—you’ll learn how to sense when something is missing.”
Luka rubbed his forehead, scowling. “How?”
“Close your eyes.”
Luka obeyed.
“Now,” Sun continued, his voice calm, “breathe in. Feel the world around you.”
Luka did. He listened to the distant hum of the city, the way the air moved around him, the faint dripping of water from somewhere deeper in the tunnel.
“Good,” Sun said. “Now, I’m going to move around you. Tell me where I am.”
Luka’s eyes snapped open. “How am I supposed to do that?”
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Sun smirked. “Figure it out.”
Then—he disappeared.
Luka tensed. His master was silent. Completely silent. No footsteps. No breathing. No presence at all. It was like he had vanished into thin air.
Luka’s pulse quickened. He squeezed his eyes shut again, trying to focus.
Nothing.
No sound.
No shift in the air.
Then—
A sharp poke jabbed his shoulder.
Luka flinched.
“Wrong.” Sun’s voice came from somewhere behind him.
Luka clenched his fists.
Again.
A poke to his back.
Again.
A flick to his ear.
Luka gritted his teeth. He hated this. It wasn’t training—it was humiliating.
But then… he noticed something.
There was a strange emptiness before each hit. Like something was missing in the air.
Luka’s fingers twitched.
He waited.
There—that feeling again. A blank space in the air, like something wasn’t supposed to be there—
Luka ducked.
A second later, Sun’s finger swiped through the air where Luka’s forehead had been.
Sun chuckled. “Huh. Not bad.”
Luka smirked. He was starting to get it.
Sun stood up, stretching. “Alright, now that you have a little awareness, let’s move to the next step.”
Luka got up as well, feeling more awake. “What is it?”
Sun gestured in front of them. “Try using your Jōki.”
Luka froze.
Just like that?
“How?” Luka asked.
Sun sighed. “Did you already forget? Your power is Null. It doesn’t flow like normal Jōki. It devours.”
Luka still didn’t understand, but he lifted his hand, focusing.
He remembered the feeling from before, when he erased the Onix.
That moment where his fear turned into emptiness.
He clenched his fists and reached for that same feeling.
At first, nothing happened.
Then—a strange sensation.
Like something inside him was shifting, pulling. A slow, consuming void.
Luka exhaled sharply, watching as a faint distortion flickered around his fingertips.
Sun’s voice cut through the moment. “Stop.”
Luka blinked, startled. “What? Why?”
Sun crossed his arms. “If you let it grow too fast, it’ll consume everything. Even you.”
Luka swallowed hard.
So that’s why Sun made him do sensory training first.
“So what do I do?” Luka asked.
Sun smirked. “You control it. Starting now, you’ll train every day to suppress it—to turn it off and on at will.”
Luka nodded, determination setting in.
He didn’t just want to be strong.
He wanted to understand.
Sun suddenly lunged forward.
Luka barely had time to react before Sun’s palm stopped just inches from his chest.
“Lesson three,” Sun said, his voice calm. “You can’t rely on your Jōki alone. Because Null doesn’t enhance your body.”
Luka stared at him.
“So,” Sun continued, stepping back, “we start hand-to-hand combat. Get ready, kid. You’re gonna be covered in bruises.”
Luka exhaled, rolling his shoulders.
He could handle that.
Sun smirked. “Good. Then let’s begin.”
Luka barely had time to blink before Sun moved.
A sharp kick slammed into Luka’s stomach. Pain exploded through his ribs, and before he could even gasp, his small body was already airborne.
He crashed onto the cold concrete, skidding back. The force knocked the breath out of him, his vision spinning as he clutched his stomach.
What…?
That was too fast.
Luka tried to push himself up, but a boot pressed down on his chest, pinning him.
“Lesson one,” Sun said, voice completely calm. “You’re slow.”
Luka struggled beneath his master’s weight. He hated this. His body screamed in pain, but he barely had time to think before Sun removed his foot—
And slammed his fist directly into Luka’s face.
His world went white.
A sharp, cracking pain shot through his nose, and his head snapped back. Blood splattered across the ground.
Luka gasped, stunned.
For the first time in his life—he was in a real fight.
“Lesson two,” Sun’s voice came from above him. “Your body heals fast. But that doesn’t mean you’re invincible.”
Luka gritted his teeth, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. He tried to focus through the pain.
Then—a strange sensation.
His wounds stitched themselves together. His nose reset. The blood that had dripped onto the floor slowly dried.
Luka inhaled sharply. His body had already healed itself.
Sun smirked under his mask. “See? You’re good as new.”
Luka staggered to his feet, still dazed.
Sun waited.
Not attacking. Not moving.
He was giving Luka a chance.
Luka lunged forward.
He didn’t know any techniques—but he swung his fist with everything he had.
Sun dodged effortlessly.
Luka’s punch hit nothing but air.
Then—a palm strike to his ribs.
Luka choked on air.
Before he could recover, Sun’s elbow smashed into his back, sending him face-first into the concrete again.
His body convulsed from the shock of impact.
Pain.
Pain.
Pain.
Then—it disappeared.
His bones realigned. His skin knit back together.
His breath came back.
Sun crouched next to him. “Are you starting to understand?”
Luka coughed, spitting out blood. He forced himself to sit up.
He was hurting. But…
He wasn’t scared.
He was angry.
Not at Sun.
At himself.
He hated how weak he was.
Sun suddenly grabbed his collar, lifting him up.
Luka instinctively swung his leg— but Sun caught it mid-air and slammed Luka down again.
Another sharp crack. More blood.
Luka gasped.
Then—he healed.
Faster this time.
Sun stood over him. “Lesson three—”
He kicked Luka in the ribs.
“—You can’t rely on healing alone.”
Luka gasped.
He could barely think. His body felt like it was being shattered over and over again.
But every time—it put itself back together.
His body was learning.
Sun cracked his knuckles. “We’ll keep going until you start moving properly.”
Luka panted.
Then stood up again.
His legs shook.
His hands trembled.
But his eyes burned with something new.
Determination.
Sun smirked.
“Good.”
Then he attacked again.
And again.
And again.
For hours—Luka was beaten to the ground.
And every time—he stood back up.
The pain never stopped.
But neither did Luka.
He was going to survive.
No matter what.