Luka’s entire body locked up.


    His fingers trembled against the hilt of his katana.


    Sun tilted his head. “Alright, kid. We kill them, and the mission’s done.”


    Luka barely heard him. His ears were ringing. His pulse pounded against his skull.


    They were here.


    Onix.


    His nightmares. The monsters that destroyed his home. The creatures that took his family.


    Luka’s breath came in short, uneven bursts.


    “There’s only three of them,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.


    Sun laughed. “Of course, it’s just three. This mission is for you, after all.”


    Luka turned to his master in shock. “Wait—what?”


    Before he could react, Sun shoved him forward.


    Luka stumbled, nearly tripping over his own feet as he landed in the open field.


    “Master?!” Luka spun around, panic rising in his voice.


    Sun just smiled. “Go on. Erase them.”


    Luka’s heart hammered against his ribs. He turned back—


    The Onix had noticed him.


    Their heads snapped toward him, and a low, inhuman growl filled the air.


    Their movements were eerily smooth as they slowly circled him, their elongated limbs stretching as they prepared to pounce.


    Luka’s grip on his katana tightened.


    His body screamed at him to run.


    His knees locked. His breath shuddered.


    Sun watched from a distance, arms crossed casually. “What’s wrong, kid?”


    Luka clenched his jaw. Everything is wrong.


    He wasn’t ready.


    His legs were shaking. His hands trembled.


    And now—


    It was him versus three Onix.


    He didn’t know if he would survive this time.


    Luka’s breath came out in short, shallow bursts. His fingers tightened around the katana’s hilt, but his grip was unsteady, slick with sweat. His muscles tensed, locked in place, as the three Onix circled him like wolves sizing up their prey.


    Their grotesque, mask-like faces twisted in eerie, silent grins. Their long, gangly limbs bent unnaturally as they stalked forward, black claws dragging across the ground, carving deep scratches into the pavement.


    Luka’s heart pounded in his ears.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    “I can’t do this. I can’t—”


    Then—


    The first Onix lunged.


    Luka barely reacted in time. He twisted his body, throwing himself sideways as the creature’s clawed hand whistled past his face, slicing through the air where his head had been moments ago.


    Fast. Too fast.


    Luka’s feet barely found purchase on the cracked ground before the second Onix was already leaping at him.


    “Move!”


    Luka ducked, rolling beneath the incoming strike. The moment his hands touched the ground, he pushed off, flipping backward just as the third Onix slammed down where he had just been, splintering the pavement beneath it.


    No time to think. No time to breathe.


    He barely had a second to steady himself before the first Onix recovered and came at him again.


    This time, Luka wasn’t fast enough.


    A sharp pain tore through his arm as black claws ripped into his flesh, cutting deep. Blood splattered against the ground.


    Luka let out a strangled gasp.


    But then—


    The wound was already closing.


    The torn flesh knitted itself back together in seconds, leaving nothing but the bloodstains behind.


    The Onix cocked its head, confused.


    Luka’s chest rose and fell rapidly. His legs wobbled beneath him. He barely felt the pain, but the shock of it rattled his mind.


    “I—I’m going to die.”


    From the sidelines, Sun watched, arms crossed casually. “What’s wrong, kid?” he called out, voice dripping with amusement.


    Luka’s head snapped toward him, desperation flashing in his eyes.


    Sun’s expression was unreadable beneath the mask, but his tone was sharp, cutting straight through Luka’s panic.


    “Control. Remember your training.”


    Luka’s breath hitched.


    “Control.”


    Luka squeezed his eyes shut for half a second, tuning out the pounding of his heart, the burning in his lungs.


    These creatures weren’t Jōki users. They had no auras, no presence that he could sense. They were nothing.


    Luka squeezed his eyes shut for half a second, tuning out the pounding of his heart, the burning in his lungs.


    The Onix had Jōki. He knew that much. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel the absence where its energy warped reality around it.


    A void in the air.


    A black hole in his senses.


    There—


    He twisted just as another claw came for his ribs.


    Luka inhaled sharply. His hands still trembled around the katana, but this time—he focused.


    His power wasn’t something wild, uncontrollable. It wasn’t just a force of destruction.


    It was his.


    It was part of him.


    The Onix screeched and lunged again.


    Luka didn’t run this time.


    He moved.


    The moment its claw came down, Luka shifted his body, dodging at the last second. Instead of retreating—he stepped in.


    He swung his katana.


    But instead of the weapon vanishing into nothingness—


    It cut.


    The blade sliced clean through the Onix’s arm, severing it.


    The creature shrieked, stumbling backward as its limb erased into black dust.


    Luka’s eyes widened.


    “I did it.”


    But there was no time to celebrate.


    The other two were already closing in.


    Luka’s feet moved instinctively. He ducked under the second Onix’s wild swipe and used the momentum to pivot, slamming his katana into its chest. The blade struck true—but it wasn’t the metal that finished it.


    The moment his Jōki-infused weapon connected—


    The Onix erased from the inside out.


    The creature convulsed violently before its entire form crumbled into nothingness.


    Gone.


    Luka’s breathing was heavy. Sweat dripped down his forehead. His pulse thundered in his ears.


    But he wasn’t scared anymore.


    He turned to the last Onix.


    It hesitated now.


    Luka took a step forward.


    The Onix snarled, slamming its claws into the ground, sending cracks splitting through the pavement.


    Luka’s grip on his katana tightened.


    He exhaled slowly.


    Then—he charged.


    The Onix swung its arm—


    Luka slid under it, twisting his body at the last second.


    He pivoted, slashing upward.


    The blade sang through the air.


    The Onix’s mask cracked.


    For the first time—Luka saw something behind it. A glimpse of shifting darkness. Of something wrong.


    But he didn’t stop.


    His Jōki flared—void-like, formless.


    And then—


    The Onix disintegrated.


    Gone.


    The air was silent.


    Luka stood there, panting.


    His hands ached. His body burned.


    But for the first time since his awakening—


    He had won.


    Sun clapped slowly, amusement lacing his voice. “Well, damn. Took you long enough.”


    Luka barely heard him.


    His fingers curled tighter around his katana.


    He could finally control his Jōki.


    And he had killed Onix.


    The fear that had haunted him for so long—


    It wasn’t gone.


    But it was no longer in control.


    Luka’s hands ached. His fingers felt raw, his arms trembling from exhaustion. His body could heal, but the pain was still fresh. He clenched his katana tightly, staring at the ground where the Onix had once stood. The weight of his first real battle lingered on him.


    Sun leaned against a broken wall, watching him. “Well, you’re alive. That’s a good start.”


    Luka exhaled, his shoulders slumping. “Master…” He hesitated. “Will I ever be… fast like you?”


    Sun tilted his head. “Fast?”


    Luka nodded, gripping his sword. “You always move like you’re weightless. No hesitation, no wasted movement. I want to be like that. But… I can’t even swing this sword properly without feeling slow.”


    Sun hummed, considering Luka’s words.


    “Technically, we can’t enhance our bodies like normal Jōki users,” Sun admitted. “Our power erases, not amplifies. It doesn’t boost strength or speed like the Enhancers do.”


    Luka’s grip tightened. “Then how do I catch up to you?”


    Sun smirked beneath his mask. “Who said we have to follow the rules?”


    Luka blinked.


    “Our Jōki may not enhance us… but that doesn’t mean there aren’t loopholes.”


    Sun raised a hand, flexing his fingers. A strange ripple of energy surrounded his arm for a brief second before disappearing.


    “What was that?” Luka asked.


    “Null Energy is supposed to erase,” Sun explained. “But I found a way to borrow from it instead. Think of it like…” He tapped his head. “Imagine a math equation. If normal Jōki users multiply their strength by 2x, we take a negative equation and force it into a positive. For a short time, we can bypass our natural limits.”


    Luka frowned. “So… we can enhance ourselves?”


    “Temporarily,” Sun admitted. “It drains us way faster than regular Jōki enhancement, though. If you push too hard, you’ll burn out before the fight’s even over. But—”


    Sun smirked. “If you master it, you’ll be untouchable.”


    Luka felt something stir in his chest. Excitement.


    A real path forward.


    Sun suddenly clapped his hands together. “Alright, kid. Since you’re all fired up, let’s start your next training: breaking our own limits.”


    Luka nodded eagerly.


    Sun’s smirk widened.


    “Oh, you’re excited now,” Sun said, stepping forward. “But let’s see if you can still stand after this.”


    Luka felt a chill run down his spine.


    There it was again.


    That sadistic side of his master.


    This training was going to hurt.