《Strong Ones》


 Prologue 1&2

    Prologue


    Part I


    ¡°I was the strongest¡­


    My roar could be heard in every part of the world. My power could make everything cower in fear. My bloodlust alone could kill hundreds. A swing of my hand could flatten mountains. A swing of my sword could tear apart oceans. All this and I still think I¡¯m underestimating myself¡­


    No being alive could match up to me, not the demons, not the dragons¡­ not even the gods. No one dared to challenge me¡­


    I had everything¡­ power, money¡­ and the lives of countless in my hands. I even had many goals at one time, but soon there became nothing I couldn¡¯t accomplish¡­


    It was too easy, everything. People would do anything to get in my good side. Scholars would give up their knowledge, fighters would present their techniques and skills, kings would give even their own kingdoms. No one would fight with me anymore¡­ and I considered myself a fighting maniac because I liked fighting a lot¡­


    And so, at some point, without me noticing, everything had lost meaning. I didn¡¯t have anything to consider precious enough to watch over, something to give me joy. I realized too late, that the world that stood under my feet had become meaningless to me.


    I wanted something... anything to make me feel alive again.


    The gods heard my plea for help and sent the apocalypse¡­ No, actually they wanted to kill me, even if it meant destroying the whole world to do that. They wanted to kill me who could destroy them, so they joined hands.


    On that fateful day rained destruction. The world screamed in pain and agony. Pleas, cries, deaths, darkness¡­ That was one of the reasons I liked the apocalypse. It was so full of life. No, really, I mean it. In moments like this someone could truly see the essence of life¡­ though it was perishing.


    I bet I could have lived if I tried to and put some power into it, but I didn¡¯t. I let everything follow its own flow and never lifted a finger. I welcomed death with open arms and while waiting for it I actually started to imagine and fantasize about my reincarnation.


    I thought about the family I would have. This time I would make sure to protect and cherish them. I didn¡¯t want to be left alone and feel empty inside like in this life. I started to wonder about the other world (the gods would definitely create another) I would be born into. How strong I would grow in this next life, what would I become, how would I live. All sorts of things crossed my mind¡­ And then the end came.


    ¡­But this is a story of thousands of years ago if not more¡­


    ¡­Tch, I¡¯m so going to kill those freaking old men (the gods).¡±


    Part II


    Blood, red blood, the crimson red liquid covered everything, every part of the land, every wall, every tile, all of the bodies. Bodies, dead bodies, only corpses remained of the once living, and most not even whole. Body parts, somewhere a leg, somewhere a head, somewhere a heart, all covered in red with swords and arrows piercing everything, sometimes a back, sometimes a hand, sometimes an eye.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.Death¡­ If it had a smell it smelled like this, if it had a form it looked like this. Only death could be felt, only its shadow of destruction could be seen, like a sign of an end.


    The dead had hopes for a new beginning, but for the one left behind the figure of the death had etched itself into that one¡¯s eyes and later into his very mind and soul. However, it wasn¡¯t his end, only the end of the ¡®world¡¯ he had known.


    The child stood alone amongst the piles of corpses, at some point one would think he was dead, but he most certainly wasn¡¯t. Eyes empty and lifeless, face pale if not paper white.


    The silence of the starless night was suddenly pierced by a cry of pain.*tear* Tears wet the small face. Though already bloodied the crystal clear tears were clearly visible. The child did not try to hide them, nor did he try to wipe them. It hurt. It hurt too much. If only it had been pain of the flesh, it would not hurt so. He cried, screamed, shouted his lungs out but the pain never seemed to subside so he began to hit, break, shoot anything that was near, sometimes a fist, sometimes a kick and even a bite¡­


    The child couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. He wanted to run from it. He just wanted it to stop. And so, though wobbly, he began walking in whatever direction. Then the steps became faster and faster. Although still unsteady he began running at full speed, away from death, away from the end, away from the pain, because he thought if he continued standing there he would lose oneself.


    Nothing entered his eyes. He didn¡¯t see his surroundings, nor where he was going. He just run blindly and somewhat instinctively, far away¡­ farther away. At some point while running he lost consciousness and just like that fell in deep sleep.


    The dead of the night was nowhere near its end. It still covered the world and the cloudy starless sky was as dark as it could get, but slowly the wind was doing its job. The clouds dissipated slowly revealing two beautiful moons¡­ or there should have been two, but the Ruby moon had completely ¡®¡®eaten¡¯¡¯ the Diamond and on this night when the gears of fate showed their fangs, only the eerie red light lingered.


    On that night even the animals and beasts cowered and no one dared to leave safety even for a while.


    ¡­ It would be called the Bloodstained Night, the night the sky was painted red. Many died that day. People would say no one that was out that night survived and only the bloody red ¡®¡®lived¡¯¡¯ to tell the story¡­

 Chapter 1

    Author¡¯s Notes: This will be my first real chapter. I¡¯m a little bit of a noob¡­ no, I¡¯m actually a complete newbie so I apologize in advance for possible mistakes, errors and my naming sense (I think it is a little off). Also, English is not my native language so do forgive my use of it. Do tell if my writing is not understandable.


    About the chapter: How do you find it? Good/bad, short/long, etc?


    I would appreciate advices. I¡¯m open for comments, reviews and whatever, but please go easy on me. ?


    ______________________________


    Chapter 1


    The world of Sylvien, Year 5631.


    Forest of Verna. This ¡°ancient¡± forest had been around since the world was created.


    Travelers often describe it like this: ¡°Trees as high as the sky itself, the crown of leaves as dense as it can get, darkness even deeper than the night.¡±


    It is a maze for outsiders and insiders alike. It is a grave for those who are not careful enough.


    For the strong, especially the ones that live in there, this forest is like a garden where they can enjoy both, the calmness, greenery, protection and sometimes cruelness of mother nature, and also the vast number of play and hunt.


    For the weak, the ones who live in and pass by it alike, it might as well be living hell. Yet, the flames of this hell they¡¯ve gotten used to are far better than those outside of it, so many creatures if not all never try to leave this place.


    In this forest, the quiet usually conquers all. It is as if the noise is afraid to wake what lies in the darkness. This quiet is tranquil for some and fearful for others, but today it was different, a human could be heard.


    The panting was enough to break the silence of the forest, but breaking in between from time to time was a cough and even more rarely the sound of vomiting.


    The human kept running blindly in the deeper parts of the forest. The figure looked somewhat mad¡­crazy. It run at full speed, slowed down, run again at full speed, fell, crawled trying to stand up again and at some point gave up.


    It lied down, unmoving, for a while, forehead leaning on one of its arms just to prevent the dirt from reaching the eyes. Among the heavy breathing there were some sniffs and cries but as soon as they were heard they disappeared again.


    In those few moments the human had somewhat calmed himself down. With new found determination he stood up and tried to brush off some of the dust and dirt but he suddenly felt a sharp pain in one of his knees.


    The fall had caused him to cut his right knee at one of the many tree sharp branches in the ground. Being maybe somewhat numb from fear he hadn¡¯t felt it until now. As for seeing the wound, it was out of question because he was already too bloody to notice his own bleeding.


    The pain subsided soon. It was that shallow of wound anyway and it would probably heal by itself with a little bit of time.


    Having normalized his breathing too, the human, though still afraid, started for the first time to take in his surroundings¡­ Well, there wasn¡¯t much to take, only trees and darkness as far as the eye could see.


    He had been running for a day at least after waking up. Every step taken had brought him bad feelings and even worse memories and scenes playing nonstop in his mind.


    At some point while running, tears had started flowing like fountains and his head was filled with nothing but screams and shouts of pain in replay, slowly eating him from inside.


    He had tried to run from them. He had run like a mad man, wherever his feet took him, as long as it was far away, he didn¡¯t care. He kept running like that until he fell.


    Right now he was thankful for that fall. It brought him to his senses and at least now he could think a little more clearly.


    Examining his surroundings once more, only this time he noticed the eerie silence of the forest. Whatever he did the human was weak, he knew that, so no matter how lucky he might have been until now, that silence brought him only fear.


    If there were some noises, he would have at least been able to tell what kind of creatures lived in this forest but that quietness not only showed nothing it also scared the hell out of him.


    Staying in one place for long was the worst possible action to take, running might have been the reason he was still in one piece so he decided to move. The question was where to go¡­ Well, wherever is fine.


    Walking slowly, the human headed in the first direction in sight, the direction he was heading to until he fell. He didn¡¯t really put much thought into it and just went that way, but this time as quietly as possible, as though trying to match the forest.


    Having walked for one hour at most, he felt tired, both physically and mentally. It was a wonder he had lasted that long in the first place, but until some time ago he had not been thinking about much, and tiredness and hunger were part of that.


    Just like that he fell again, not even trying or wanting to keep moving his eyelids slowly but surely closed. No matter what one might think in this case, he might have been, no, he was in danger sleeping like that, but the pain and all that moving around would tire out an adult and even an experienced warrior, let alone a child like himself. (¡­Surprise! ...or had you already tied the parts together?)


    ¡­Morning. Well, it was probably morning. The density of trees didn¡¯t let even the smallest ray of light pass through. One wouldn¡¯t even know where to put his feet if not for the glowing moss and mushrooms here and there. Other than that the darkness ate everything.


    However, even the light sometimes planted fear in the hearts of the weak, because the only things that it brought were the shadows of who-knows-what or better-left-unknown or please-be-just-a-shadow.


    As for the strong, need it be told? Those ¡°guys¡± didn¡¯t even need to see. They could just destroy everything that stood in their way to open up a path. That¡¯s what it meant to be strong.


    Mornings usually brought new light for people but opening his eyes just to see a dark new day, gave birth to a feeling of hopelessness.


    Rising slowly, the child let his eyes adjust to the environment. The first feeling he had was a little bit of dizziness, the second was the thirst and hunger. He didn¡¯t remember the last time he had a proper meal or even something small to eat.


    Out of fear he hadn¡¯t tried any of the weird plants or mushrooms that were all around the place and he still didn¡¯t dare.


    A little bit of thirst and hunger didn¡¯t bother him that much. His life hadn¡¯t been that good in the first place, but what he had witnessed that night was the nightmare itself.


    The only thing that brought him a little joy right now was the fact that it wasn¡¯t too cold and that he had had a good sleep. As for the other things, he could handle them for a little while longer.


    His little bit of hope and happy thoughts were good for as long they lasted, which is a short few minutes. The first sound to hear in an unknown forest it could have been a cute rabbit or a bird but no, it had to be a howl, loud, scary, one lone howl enough to give someone shivers.


    As soon as he heard that, the child started to run. Frantic as he was, he just barely missed falling headfirst into the ground, but just at the right moment was able to prevent the fall with his hands and knees, scraping once again his right knee, which sent a sudden jolt of pain. That slight pain though, was nowhere near enough to stop him.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Heading the opposite direction of where the howl was coming, he hastened his leaps, but that thing had definitely noticed, no, it had been following him for a while and no matter how much he run, he wouldn¡¯t be able to stop it.


    With a few gigantic jumps the wolf-thingy blocked his path. It definitely looked like a wolf. It just was much bigger, blacker, with sharper and longer teeth than most. It was a good  2meters high at least and to that six year old child it looked monstrous.


    The wolf had been following the kid since about a day ago, while ¡°scouting¡± for his pack. Imagine its joy when it found a new kind of ¡°prey¡± that it could keep for itself as long as he told no one.


    It had gone closer to the small figure to inspect what it was. At first it was somewhat baffled by this crazy bloody-looking thing that run at a very slow pace (for the wolf). Then it realizing that it was a human it had started to follow. Why? Well, it was because the wolf was too prideful to attack something that wasn¡¯t aware or ready to fight.


    After following him for a while, the wolf had started thinking of the situation as a game and laughed (if a wolf can laugh) when the child fell and almost started to cry again. After a while the child calmed down and rose to his feet. Thinking of attacking him the wolf started to get ready, but then he started walking again and soon after he fell asleep just like that.


    Yet again, the wolf didn¡¯t do anything to him but waited. It would be even more shameful for it to attack a sleeping target so it waited until morning came and the kid woke up.


    One thing led to another and we came to this situation. The child looked at the wolf wide-eyed and scared. The wolf stared back looking amused and very cocky at that moment.


    It had every right to be cocky. As much as it concerned the wolf, it had had his fun watching a stupid human¡¯s reactions and now it would fill its stomach with that human.


    As for the human, right now he was shaking from fear. He had seen the death of who knows how many just few days ago and that death was now coming to take him who had escaped ¡°its¡± clutches one way or another.


    Seeing this, the wolf had this smug look on its face. Soon though, that face was replaced by a cruel smile (if wolfs can smile :p). It truly looked down on the kid, like the strong look down upon the weak, truly the laws of nature showing their fangs.


    ¡°No¡­¡± However this shook the child, like a cold shower it brought him to his senses once again. There was no one to save this time. Luck wasn¡¯t that sweet. If he wanted to survive, this time he had to get himself together.


    Even a rat when cornered will bite back the cat. This time though the rat couldn¡¯t try to bite carelessly or it would mean certain death. He had to fight with that in mind.


    Looking around the child was trying to find something, anything to ¡°bite¡± with. Except the tree branches there was nothing else, so they would have to do.


    Trying to reach for a somewhat-sharp-looking-branch he didn¡¯t notice at all the sudden blow that the wolf gave him. The attack caused him to fly a few good meters and crash to the nearest tree.


    ¡°Aah...,¡± the child let out a cry of pain. The crash probably broke one or two of his ribs, but he was lucky to be alive.


    The wolf still looked down on him and as a game it had entertained itself with for the past day/days, it didn¡¯t kill him that soon. Either way, the kid would end up in his digestive system.


    On the ground, the child was trying to get a clear view amidst the tears that were now flowing. He knew that he couldn¡¯t remain long like that so he at least tried to stand up but it was futile.


    The wolf put his claws on his two arms preventing him from getting up and once again it looked at him with that smug look.


    Slowly it released one of the kid¡¯s limbs, raised its claws and even more slowly neared it to his throat like a knife that would immediately cut him. Its face now more close than ever, the kid could even feel its breathing and see how it looked down on him.


    However he also saw a chance and was waiting for this right moment. His left hand now free reached for one of the many branches in the ground. The moment he touched one he griped it tightly, and as fast as he could stabbed the wolf in one of the eyes.


    The wolf let out a groan and loosened its hold on the kid for a slight moment. As soon as he felt this, the child stood and ignoring pain grabbed another branch¡­well, a bunch of them.


    With its eye bleeding, the wolf looked angrily at him and let out a threatening growl. It run towards the child and jumped at him with an apparent wish of killing and tearing him apart. However the anger had made his movement somewhat sloppy enabling the child to dodge one way or another by a hairs breadth.


    This was luck. And sooner or later it would end. If he didn¡¯t finish it off he wouldn¡¯t get out alive.


    Even more angry than before, the wolf was readying to attack the child again. Its plaything had actually wounded it. That, the wolf wouldn¡¯t forgive.


    Baring its teeth, it once again jumped at the kid that was now fearfully looking at him but still didn¡¯t dare to close his eyes and await death.


    To distract himself from the surge of fear, the child griped the few thin but strong branches even tighter causing his hands to bleed. The wolf was going to attack again. Knowing this he instinctively took a step back and another step the moment the wolf jumped at him.


    With its mouth open wide and teeth ready to bite, the wolf just for a slight moment rejoiced his victory as it neared the human child but then it felt the taste of blood in its mouth and with it a sharp pain suddenly pierced through, form its mouth into its very being.


    Right now its face had neither a smug look nor a look of anger. They were replaced by an utter shock and a face distorted by pain. It realized too late what had happened.


    The child had no chance of escaping so holding his wanna-be-knifes, the split second the wolf had jumped down on him opening his mouth wide, he had used the branches to stab him from his mouth right into his throat, a weak and soft enough spot even for those pieces of wood to pierce through.


    He had used the power of the wolf as it jumped down, to pierce through. As for him, he just had to hold on to those life-saving-branches and the moment they pierced through, the blood sprayed all over dirtying his hands and even his face.


    A loud groan of pain was heard. It would be the last time this wolf would make another sound.


    And the child? He stood on his knees near the now dead wolf and stared at the corpse while shaking uncontrollably yet, ignoring his own pain. It took him several minutes to calm down and the relief of being alive suddenly got to him. Without notice he started laughing, happily, freely, madly.


    ¡­He was alive. He had survived. He had escaped death again¡­


    ________________________


    Note that at some points I have referred to the child as ¡°it¡± meaning the figure and then as ¡®¡®he¡¯¡¯ meaning the human/child. I noticed this a little bit late so I didn¡¯t change it.

 Chapter 2

    Author¡¯s Notes: Sooo sorry for being this late but I haven¡¯t been home (It¡¯s summer and all). This will be the second chapter¡­ I hope it doesn¡¯t show that I¡¯m that much of an amateur.


    Thanks for reading¡­


    _________________________________


    Chapter 2


    *howl*


    ¡°Ahhhh! Who the freaking hell makes so much noise in the middle¡­ so early in the morning.¡±


    The howl of the wolf was loud enough to wake the entire part of the forest, if there had been anything on that part that is.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the idiot that actually dares to come to this place?¡±


    The voice was deep, rough and angry, very angry. It wasn¡¯t enough to get stuck in this place but he even had to be disturbed.


    However, curiosity took over soon. Nothing interesting had happened for a few hundred years but here was some idiot dog that had actually entered this place, alone.


    There could be only one explanation: he was probably following something.


    Approaching the noise silently (he did this without even trying to), the man¡¯s eyes caught first the wolf and then its prey.


    It was a human, a puny human child, bloodied all over, barely breathing and¡­ with that face.


    ¡°Now that is a nice face,¡± said the man somehow mockingly looking at the kid as his face was distorted by fear, no, terror and his eyes looked as if the ¡°grim reaper¡± stood before him.


    *howl*


    ¡°Shut up¡­¡± he shouted angrily (he wasn¡¯t heard) but after some thought he talked again. ¡°No¡­Better, keep it up. Let that puny kid see true fear¡±


    The sounded like he was having fun but in his voice there was a hint of disgust, disgust for the weak human. The first human in so many years was no different from the ones before, an insect so easily crushed.


    That disgust, however, was soon changed, first changed into a bemused expression then a look of surprise. That small human¡¯s eyes had apparently gained some determination.


    With new found curiosity the man took another look at the child.


    Dirty shoulder-long and badly-cut silver-blonde hair. Even more dirty bruised face. Even more bruised and the most dirty of all, the body and clothes (if those rags could be called clothes). The only thing one could see were the unusually bright green eyes, though clouded and bloodshot.


    And here was something he had noticed before but hadn¡¯t given it too much thought.


    ¡®¡®Why is the kid so bloodied? There¡¯s no way anything else entered the forest to attack the kid (except the idiot dog) so why is he¡­ and that¡¯s not his blood.¡¯¡¯ (careful observation)


    While thinking the man saw the wolf hit the child and slammed him into the tree.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­Sigh¡­ He didn¡¯t look like such a bad kid. Such a shame he died so young.¡± He said this looking a little sad for whatever reason but sounding a little indifferent if not to say fake.


    It¡¯s true after all. He didn¡¯t care about the human child at all, though it had been a nice change¡­ a human that had actually tried to fight. It put the others before him to shame, a five-six years old that had tried to survive. That thought made him laugh.


    He turned his back at the scene and went away (as silently as he approached). He lost interest pretty soon in whatever had happened and didn¡¯t intend to think about it¡­ that is until he heard it again.


    *howl*


    It sounded angry. It wasn¡¯t even a proper howl of a wolf more like a scream but it made him turn back and approach the noise once more.


    The kid moved. He was alive and not even that he had managed to attack, fight back, leaving the wolf with an eye less.


    The human child was bleeding. It definitely hurt but he stood on his feet with teary eyes, teeth clenching and hands holding some thin tree branches.


    Now this was something to be amazed at normally, but if he didn¡¯t survive it would become meaningless.


    The unexpected happened again though, and it took the man by surprise once again.


    The child pierced through the wolf¡¯s throat from inside and killed him.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s a lucky kid¡­¡± said the man somewhat thoughtfully and waited for what came next.


    For a few moments the child was motionless and stared into nothingness.


    ¡°He died?¡±


    That state of him however didn¡¯t last because after a while he started laughing loudly¡­ too loudly.


    ¡°Or he went crazy. Hey kid, shut up! Tch¡­ He can¡¯t hear me. No choice then.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Hey¡­ HEY!¡±


    The child at the direction the voice was coming¡­ His face went immediately pale.


    ¡°Can you her me now, brat?¡±


    Before him¡­ well, above him, a few meters away stood/floated a semi-transparent man with rogue-ish features and an angry look.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you answering me any time soon or not, you puny thing?¡±


    Being a not very patient type the man¡¯s face got angrier by the moment, until the child finally spoke some words with half a voice and somewhat resigned though not exactly what he should have said.


    ¡°¡­ Now a ghost. Sigh, I finally went crazy.¡±


    The man snapped.


    ¡°You little brat. And here I wanted to warn you. You can stay here and die for all I care.¡±


    At the word ¡°die¡± the child jumped a little. He looked at the ghost again confused and then looked at himself.


    He was bleeding, his body ached all over, his lungs couldn¡¯t take enough air. He was in a sorry state no matter how one looked at it and if he didn¡¯t do anything he would die soon with or without a ghost warning him, so what did the man-ghost really want?


    It didn¡¯t matter. For all he knew he might have gone crazy but that wasn¡¯t the problem right now. He was still clinging to life and if he didn¡¯t want it to end he had to get away from there before something else came.


    Thus the child stood up clenching his teeth, with one hand trying to support himself and the other keeping it against his wounds to try stop the bleeding for a while.


    The man-ghost watched him walk so slowly it was getting on his nerves, but with no other choice he followed the kid.


    After walking few steps he stopped, putting one hand against a tree to hold himself up and trying to breathe a little more regularly. Then he turned once again at the man-ghost.


    ¡°Can you talk to me?¡± he asked sounding somewhat shy.


    The man looked at him surprised.


    ¡°Now you¡¯re asking me to talk. Weren¡¯t you ignoring me?¡±


    ¡°¡­Talk to me please?¡± This was said as half a question.


    ¡°¡­What do you want me to say?¡±


    ¡°¡­Just talk¡­¡±


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Every word till now had taken quite a bit of energy from him. He was barely conscious and wanted the ghost to talk even if gibberish and total bullshi*t just to keep him from fainting.


    As if noticing this, the man-ghost started talking (no bullsh*t though).


    ¡°Then let¡¯s start with the warning. You better hurry up your step.¡±


    So the child did hurry up.


    ¡°¡­just not in that direction.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Hearing that, the kid came to a sudden stop, eyed the ghost suspiciously and gave him a now-you-tell-me look. Looking at the direction the ghost was showing him, he took insecure steps at first but not for long.


    ¡°You have noticed how this part of the forest is so quiet right? There are no animals, insects or whatever, just plants. No being dares to come here. In this side of the forest the predators are the trees.


    If you make too much noise you¡¯ll ¡®wake¡¯ the trees and when they wake they ¡®eat¡¯. If the woods in here notice you aren¡¯t plant they slowly start to devour your energy and without realizing it you become weak and slowly die leaving behind only your bones at some point and then nothing.¡±


    Once again the child shivered at the word ¡°die¡± (or death). He remembered those times he had been loud especially that mad laugh of his some moments ago. The thoughts made him hurry his steps some more.


    From time to time the ghost would show him trails and paths which led who knows where but his mind got more cloudy with every passing moment so he wasn¡¯t really able to think clearly and in way was walking blindly. If that ghost sent him to some cliff to drop him from there he probably wouldn¡¯t do a thing (because with the way he was, he wouldn¡¯t be able to tell what was happening).


    The only thing that kept his mind and feet still going was survival instinct (more like not wanting to die or frantically trying to live) and the talking of the man-ghost (really chatty for a dead man).


    ¡°Because they feed like that their bodies grow too strong, almost like steel and because they become too dense that strength can cause the branches to break each-other. That¡¯s the reason there are so many on the ground in the first place.


    ¡­That¡¯s why I said you¡¯re too lucky. If you had been in another part of the forest you would have probably met many other beasts and even if they were stupid like that idiot wolf earlier you would have never been able to actually harm that overgrown thing with mere branches.


    ¡­But seriously that dog was a real idiot. Who lets himself wide open to his enemy/prey even if it is a child.¡±


    As for the child, his eyesight got blurrier by the moment. He would bump into things (trees) and couldn¡¯t really be quiet even if he tried to. He wanted to cry but he didn¡¯t have enough power to do even that.


    The man-ghost kept talking all the way. From time to time he told the kid to hurry his steps, though right now he could only drag his feet and didn¡¯t properly walk. Half the time he couldn¡¯t even hear what the ghost said, only bits and pieces and if he actually got them is another story.


    One thing he understood was that the ghost had been there when he was fighting. There where?


    ¡°¡­If you¡¯re wondering how can you see me now, it¡¯s because I¡¯m possessing¡­ haunting you. (what¡¯s the right word in this case?) Normally no one can feel my presence.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    That explained a lot.


    ¡°You can rejoice¡­or rest. You¡¯ll be safe here.¡±


    This time the only word he heard was ¡°safe¡±. It didn¡¯t matter what the man told him now though. He had no more energy to take another step. He fell unconscious onto the cold stone floor (where was he?) and didn¡¯t wake for a long time.


    ***


    If he could, the man would have helped but he couldn¡¯t touch the human child. (not him and not anything else) However, there was apparently no need to do so. The bleeding stopped soon and the wounds began closing at an unusual speed, not that fast but fast enough.


    How?


    Probably the same way he was saved the time the wolf attacked him. That time he had thought him dead and hadn¡¯t bothered to check if this was true or not. The body of this human was special¡­ no he might not even be human.


    ¡°The trees were draining him from his energy and his body was trying to escape. Now that they can¡¯t reach him his body can focus on healing.¡± The man thought while watching the wonder before his eyes.


    This was a good sign¡­ a sign of salvation¡­ for him too.


    ¡­


    The kid had been sleeping for a day now and there was still no sign of him waking.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯ve been here thousands of years. Everyday so boring, I had thought¡­ but compared to now¡­ Now I¡¯m dying of boredom and my patience is running thin. Wake uuuuup stupid kid!¡±


    Nope, no sign of that.


    ¡­


    The child woke up only after another three days.


    First he sat up from his dead-sleep position and blinked a few times as if trying to adjust his view.


    He was confused. When had he come here?


    His surroundings had the form of a cave. It was wide but for a cave it was small (for a cave). There was nothing inside except some rocks, some moss and a lake¡­ well, a water source (much smaller than a lake).


    The ghost also wasn¡¯t there. Had he really imagined that? No, right? He didn¡¯t know those things about the forest¡­ Well, no matter.


    *sigh*


    It was a sigh of relief. His body didn¡¯t hurt much anymore, his wounds were still healing even now but most importantly he was alive.


    Trying to survive these past few days had made him forget the nightmare of that night. It was a good thing, a really good thing.


    He finally stood up to examine his state more carefully.  One look and he shuddered. One probably couldn¡¯t get dirtier even if he wanted to. He had to clean up.


    Looking at the mini-lake the child headed to it (more like run to it). First he drunk (of course he was thirsty) and then without thinking much he entered in the water.


    The cold water sent a shiver through him and then a wave of calmness. He rubbed his skin hard trying to get rid of the blood. After washing his skin he started washing his clothes. They weren¡¯t exactly in a wearable state but he didn¡¯t have any choice.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake. You bored me (not worried?) to death.¡±


    The child jumped at the sudden voice and turned to see man-ghost he had met before.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Kid¡­ You were a girl?!¡±


    ______________________________


    BIG SURPRISE!!! I had meant to make the character a girl since the beginning (I have a thing for strong girls :p ) that¡¯s why I kept referring to her as the child or the kid and never as the little boy or something like that.

 Chapter 3

    Author¡¯s Notes: To compensate for being late with the 2nd chapter I¡¯m posting the 3rd sooner. (¡­ somewhat sooner)


    Thanks for reading¡­


    Oh and I¡¯m going to put a character thoughts in ¡®¡­¡¯ to tell them apart from words.


    ______________________________________


    *sigh*


    It¡¯s a thing to sigh yourself and another thing to hear someone else to do that in the dead silence of the room.


    *sigh*


    And it¡¯s even more disturbing to hear it non-stop for the past few hours.


    *sigh*


    *si-*


    ¡°Tch, first a chatty ghost, then a crazy ghost and now a depressed¡­ no, depressing ghost¡­¡±


    For the first time in those last hours the man turned to face the girl, looking at her with hopeless eyes, whose place was taken over by a pissed off face.


    ¡°When I said I wanted a successor, I definitely asked for a boy¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­?¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, you¡¯ll have to do.¡±


    It took several hours for him to make up his mind but he didn¡¯t really have much of a choice except the one before him.


    ¡°Kid, from today on I¡¯m going to use you.¡±


    ¡°¡­Huh??¡±


    ***


    ¡­ Let¡¯s go back in time a little ¡­


    After coming back to the cave the man-ghost found out that the child was a girl. He was angry and that¡¯s putting it the nice way. However he wasn¡¯t angry at her but at someone/thing else and sometime in the middle of his fury he had looked up and started throwing curses and complains in unknown directions.


    ¡°You freaking old men! You dropped me in this f***ed up place. You let me here for some thousands of years probably laughing your asses off. You¡­ you made me a powerless thing, you weaklings who wouldn¡¯t have been able to touch me at all if I had not let you.


    How do you suppose I get out of here when you always take the good ones for yourselves.


    ¡­You know what?


    Just look at me. This kid¡­ I¡¯m gonna make her the strongest alive.


    I¡¯m gonna reach you soon and then I hope you find a good hole to hide in. I wouldn¡¯t want to kill you all too fast.¡±


    He almost spat out every word. Neither ¡®fury¡¯ would be enough to describe his feelings in those moments. If he could touch things he would probably be breaking and throwing them everywhere. So in place of that he kept shouting at ¡®¡®god¡¯¡¯-knows-what.


    After a very long time his anger cooled a bit and his shouts were replaced with continuous sighs for the next few hours and this brings us to the present situation.


    ¡°Huh??¡± The girl had looked at the crazy ghost for quite a bit of time¡­ Now she had completely lost it. ¡®Old men?¡¯ She had no freaking idea what the man-ghost was talking about and at some point during his earlier monologue she had even thought he may have been talking to other ghosts but for whatever reason she had soon discarded that thought. She considered herself crazy enough with one and didn¡¯t want to admit the possible presence of others.


    For now let¡¯s get back to business.


    ¡°Use?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m gonna use you to get out of here.¡±


    She stood silent looking at him thought fully. She might have been quite smart for a six year old but her ability to think straight had got considerably slower this past few hours. It took several seconds for her to understand what the man was saying and when she got the meaning of use she said flatly:


    ¡°No, thank you.¡±


    Yes, she added a sarcastic ¡°thank you¡± to the ¡°no¡±.


    The man-ghost snapped (again¡­That ghost had apparent anger issues).


    ¡°You¡­!!¡± He pointed at her. ¡°Don¡¯t you owe me for saving you?¡±


    ¡°Hah¡­¡± She snorted at him. "If you were going to hold it against me then why bother, really?"


    The man got even angrier. In reality his ¡°use¡± was not meant to be offensive but one such as him who didn¡¯t have much socializing skills, also didn¡¯t know how to express himself nor was he able to control his emotions. No one would be able to guess he had lived for some thousands of years and roamed around as a ghost for several thousand more. He was more like a teenager who couldn¡¯t hold his sudden bursts of emotion.


    One thing led to another and somehow the situation became worse.


    ¡°You little brat! You weak little thing¡­ weaklings don¡¯t even deserve to be alive. I should have let you die in the forest. I bet death would welcome one like you with open arms. As for the living, they probably wouldn¡¯t even care.¡±


    For the first time since she had woken up, the girl remembered once again that night some time ago, the black creature that had killed all but her, she remembered death and shuddered.


    Death. She was scared of ¡°it¡±, its appearance that night, its smell, its silence. She started shivering again. Her eyes were looking at something that wasn¡¯t there. Her mind was remembering the nightmare. She started crying, silently, so silently as not to let her location be known to ¡°it¡±. Trying to hold herself up, trying to not break down, she was gripping one end of her clothes as tightly as she could, the soles of her fingers white as a result.


    All this time the man was watching. When he had first saw her shudder a tiny bit of confusion had seeped through his anger. Then she had started crying and his anger completely dissipated.


    It suddenly dawned on him that the one before him was a mere child. He had seen her angry, scared (terrified) but not crying like this. It wasn¡¯t even the way a child should cry, those tears of complete helplessness, fear and¡­


    The man started to panic and for the first time in who-knows-how-many-centuries he felt a little prick of guilt. For someone like ¡°him¡± to feel guilt was unheard of but it apparently made that ¡°him¡± do something even more unbelievable. (It is once again the fault of his lack of human relation and understanding)


    ¡°¡­sorry.¡±


    What is better than a cold shower to snap you out of it? Well, now you know.


    The girl blinked a few times. Her ears had caught the ¡°sorry¡± and that was like a devastating blow of shock to her brain.


    She turned to watch him, as wide-eyed as an owl and shocked to such an extent that her tears froze in her eyes.


    To think that that high (higher than heavens?) and mighty and most prideful man-ghost had said sorry.


    That was a shock but she didn¡¯t know him well enough to be shaken only from that.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    It was the first time for her, the first time someone had said sorry. She wasn¡¯t a being others cared for and she knew that she was more like a thing to them so at some point she had started to think something like an apology was only an empty word said for appearances and never to someone like her. However now she felt it different.


    Looking at him, he was in a somehow panicky state. To make sure she heard him right the girl finally talked.


    ¡°¡­What did you say?¡±


    Now it was his turn to get shocked at himself. It was embarrassing enough to say it once. He would first die than say it again. (wait, he was already dead)


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Anyway¡­ Let me rephrase it. I¡­ need you to help me get out of here.¡±


    Yet another shock. Who was that? Now she was eyeing the man suspiciously.


    ¡°You, what did you do to the man-ghost??¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡­


    After considerable minutes¡­ Things somehow calmed down.


    ¡°Like I said I want you to help me get out of here and out of this state. In exchange I¡¯ll make you into the strongest human alive.¡±


    The girl listened to him intently. He was serious and that was reason enough for her to listen. His high and mighty attitude was nowhere to be seen (well, not exactly).


    ¡°Why would I want to get stronger?¡± She averted her eyes from him and instead looked at some corner of the cave. It¡¯s not that she didn¡¯t want to become stronger but¡­


    ¡°And how would you do that?¡± She added this in a lower voice than a whisper so the man wouldn¡¯t hear it.


    ¡°The way you are you can¡¯t even step out of this cave let alone get out of the forest. You have no choice but to become stronger. Even though I am like this I used to be the most powerful when I was alive.¡±


    He had apparently heard her whisper but she shot him an untrusting or more like dream-on look.


    ¡°You¡¯re a ghost, you know.¡±


    *pop* (If you¡¯re wondering what this is, it¡¯s the ghost. He apparently ¡°popped¡± a vein)


    This kid sure knew how to make him angry. He really was almost anti-social and wouldn¡¯t really bother with people but even for him this was too much. However he tried hard to hold it in (even though he wanted to punch her at least once :p )


    ¡°Those trees now recognize you presence so no matter how quiet you are they will hunt your energy. There are, however, two ways to get past those trees.¡± He went on with the explanation as to not actually try to punch her.


    The fact that there were two ways to get out of the forest got her hopes up. She didn¡¯t want to stay in that little cave for the rest of her life and become crazy for real. (One way or another she had deducted that she still wasn¡¯t.) That hope was good for as long as it lasted which is a until the end of the man-ghost few sentences.


    ¡°The trees can only get your energy if you are in contact with the land where their roots spread or if you touch them directly. Meaning if you float/fly through without touching any they won¡¯t be able to touch you.¡±


    ¡°Wait wait, what? Fly? And what about this cave, how come they cannot ¡®enter¡¯ here?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a cave. You can¡¯t expect their roots to grow on rocks, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­Yeah¡­ Since you can get through by flying how come there are no birds?¡±


    ¡°Because there¡¯s a roof of ¡®steel¡¯, of course.¡±


    She blinked as she remembered the conversation of some days ago. This forest could be considered impossible to impenetrate from above.


    ¡°And even if they entered they would have to stop flying at some time to rest and that¡¯s their end. This forest is quite wide after all.¡±


    The girl considered the idea again¡­ Flying¡­ Nope. Impossible.


    "I think I remember bumping into a lot of trees when coming here. Couldn''t you warn me earlier?"


    "I did."


    Silence.


    ¡°Anyway...What¡¯s the second way?¡±


    ¡°You beat the guardian of the forest and are recognized by all as the strongest of the forest. They won¡¯t dare to touch you like that.¡±


    She froze, then turned at him and watched wide-eyed (again).


    ¡°Huh?¡¯¡¯ (Yes, she said that again too.)


    ¡°What¡¯s the name of this forest?¡±


    ¡°Verna.¡±


    ¡°Yes, because Verna lives here. I don¡¯t expect you to actually beat that guy. I have no idea if you¡¯ll be able to anyway. Let¡¯s get back to the main point. Either way you want to choose is unavailable for you now¡­ because you are weak.¡±


    Ah¡­ that stung a little (but it was true).


    ¡°So you know what is that you must do first.¡±


    She nodded. For whatever reason, every word of his came in with a wave of confidence.


    ¡°First, I will get stronger than anyone.¡±


    No matter how you looked at it this may have seemed like a groundless wish with no real goal or meaning behind it but in reality this Sylvien was like its predecessor, a world where strength meant everything.


    Now there were smiles on their faces, proud smiles, happy smiles. (yes, he isn¡¯t angry anymore and she also is calmer)


    ***


    ¡°Oh yeah I never asked you, what¡¯s you name kid?¡±


    Silence.


    ¡°You think one like me has something like that. I was lucky if they remembered my number. (not cell phone ¡®s)¡±


    Silence.


    The man looked at her somewhat thoughtfully. His thoughts were soon interrupted.


    ¡°What¡¯s yours?¡±


    After looking at her for a while the man finally answered.


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell you that looking like this. That would be my greatest shame.¡± This time too he had that serious expression on his face.


    _______________________________


    And that is how their names will be man-ghost and kid for a while. This is definitely not because I¡¯m lazy. I have some ideas for the girl (none for the ghost -_- yet) but I will reveal her name in another (hopefully cooler) way as for the man I¡¯ll see and do.

 Chapter 4

    Author: ¡­Sorry for my broken time of release. (It will probably continue like this¡­sorry  TT )


    Thanks for reading...


    _______________________________


    Chapter 4


    ¡°So let¡¯s get to it.¡±


    ¡°To what?¡±


    ¡°Training.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but where??¡±


    As mentioned before their current location was a cave which was nowhere big enough to train in, the girl thought. Well, she was wrong. Apparently that part was only the ¡°hallway¡±.


    The cave was situated underground and (the funny thing) it was right in the middle of the forest of predator trees. The entrance was as big as normal door making it clearly visible and possible to enter but it wasn¡¯t as easy as it sounded.


    This cave was the man s¡¯ prison and castle. While it was sealed by powerful magic (yes, magic exists here too) to keep him from going too far, it was also a place where no one could enter without his permission.


    Back to main point.


    ¡°Do you know how to swim?¡±


    He asked her this while heading to the mini-lake at the end of the cave. She followed behind looking at him confused.


    ¡°¡­Yes¡­ barely.¡±


    ¡°Good enough for now. See this lake? Down to one side there are some rocks blocking an entrance. Remove them and then swim through to the other side. You can hold your breath, right? About one minute?¡±


    She nodded again wondering where the hell this ghost was taking her. She didn¡¯t complain though. If he had wanted to kill her he could have done so before bringing her here so she had started, though unknowingly, trusting this man-ghost.


    She jumped in the water. After floating for a few seconds to take a deep breath and fill her lungs with sufficient air, she dived in and swam to the direction the ghost had shown her.


    There was a pile of rocks put deliberately (or so it seemed) and quite inconveniently (for her) in front of what looked like the entrance to a small tunnel. At least the rocks were either small or somewhat medium sized so she could move them easily.


    After maybe 20 min the girl finally moved all the rocks revealing a big enough entrance for at least a grown man to pass through effortlessly. However she was dead tired. Swimming up and around without a break if not to breathe, she had no more freaking stamina.


    She swam to the shore and sat there with her feet still on water. She lied on the stone floor and took deep breaths trying to regulate her air intake.


    ¡°What?? Tired already?¡±


    The girl looked up to see the man-ghost floating around her head.


    Yes she was tired. It¡¯s not that she hadn¡¯t done physical work before. Moving the rocks was actually easy. For her the hard part was the swimming. She had never swam in her (very short) life and what she knew she had learned it by listening to others. Trying to move her body (hands and feet) according to the heard before explanations, that¡¯s how she swam and she wasn¡¯t used to it at all.


    ¡°No wonder.¡± The man-ghost talked again. ¡°With those swimming skills even a floating log would be able to pass you.¡±


    This ghost noticed the weirdest of things (not really¡­ the swimming was just that bad). He was unusually observant and probably knew a lot more than he let on.


    Anyway, the entrance was now open. Taking another deep breath the girl dived in again and headed to the tunnel. The other side could be seen luckily. It meant she could pass through without much trouble and so she did. From time to time (to compensate for the awful swimming skills) she used the walls of the small tunnel to push forward.


    *breathe*


    She got to the surface of the lake as soon as she reached the other side, swam until she reached the stone ground and lied down again (with her face this time).


    ¡°Finally! You got me so bored!¡±


    ¡°Hah¡­ I hope you die of boredom one day¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, after I¡¯ll revive, I promise I¡¯ll at least try to.¡±


    Yes, he said that with quite the visible tones of sarcasm.


    And that¡¯s how the tiring day ended¡­ Wait, what?


    Apparently the girl had fallen asleep just like that. (That was fast.) Though not visible inside the cave (or the forest), outside was already nighttime, sometime around midnight.


    Noticing her sleeping the man-ghost almost snapped again but didn¡¯t. The anger went away as soon as it came. He hadn¡¯t realized but he too had taken quite the liking to that little girl.


    ¡­


    The next morning.


    The girl woke up to find out the man ghost wasn¡¯t there again. Taking on her surroundings (yesterday she hadn¡¯t bothered to) she was surprised to see where she had ended up.


    That place was a ¡°castle¡± of nature, so beautifully made. It was wide to no end (well, she couldn¡¯t see the end), there were stones and rocks of different forms, minerals of different kinds giving it new lights (colorful ones). The lake in this side was wider and it connected with several small flows of streams that headed to who-knows-what-direction. Some of them followed a path to some of the few other tunnels (visible from where she stood) that led to other unknown places.


    *grumble*


    Oops! She had completely forgotten. She hadn¡¯t eaten anything these past few days. Her more-special-than-others body had kept her alive but it had been too long.


    ¡°What? You¡¯re hungry?¡±


    The man-ghost had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. (nice timing)


    ¡°Oh¡­ you¡¯re a human¡­¡±


    She gave him a now-you-remember kind of look which he shrugged off.


    ¡°Anyway, come here.¡±


    He led her down one of the many tunnels. After walking for some minutes they reached a room with a weirdly calming dim red light. That light came from some kinds of plants in deep red color (the light gets contagious here¡­ shining mushrooms, shining moss, shining plants).


    ¡°These guys¡¯ predecessors were called Dawnred. They shined red at the light of dawn. This variant of them somehow ended down here and adapted. What you see is how it became after adaption. Anyway, the geezer said these plants are eatable and they have lots of nutrients a human like you needs.¡±


    ¡®Geezer?!¡¯


    *grumble*


    ¡®Oh well, thoughts for later.¡¯ The girl took one of the plants with her hands and hesitantly took a small bite to taste it.


    ¡°It¡¯s sweet!¡± she said a little happy.


    ¡°Really?!¡¯¡¯ The man hadn¡¯t really tried them before so he couldn¡¯t comment much.


    After that, the girl gulped down some of the plants with apparent hunger. When she felt full she looked up at the man-ghost who was quietly floating close to her.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Thanks for the meal¡± she said looking at him with a small smile on her lips.


    The man watched her, a little confused by the words. He hadn¡¯t expected her to say something like that at all. A small smile lit up his face too.


    ***


    Later¡­


    ¡°Now let¡¯s get to this. We should have started yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡±


    *cough cough* Now that was even more unexpected and took the man off guard. He became embarrassed at the word. He had never had a disciple even when he was alive. However this girl had accepted him as a teacher. Yes, he was really embarrassed (once again it¡¯s the fault of lacking human relation and conversation).


    ¡°¡­Anyway¡­ Let¡¯s start with a question. What do you think a strong person is?¡±


    The girl was sitting cross-legged in front of the ghost, facing him and listening somewhat seriously. Hearing that question, however, she didn¡¯t know how to answer because she hadn¡¯t really thought about it before.


    ¡°One who has power?¡± (wow¡­ how simple) She said this as half a question.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kid me. What¡¯s with that answer? Try a little harder, would you?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°One who can beat others up?¡± Another half a question.


    *pop* (another popped vein)


    The girl noticed the tension rising in the air and tried to think of something fast. The beast of her nightmare showed up. ¡®That is a strong being, right?¡¯


    ¡°One that destroys everything that stands in its way. One whose path is soaked in blood.¡± She finally answered in a soft voice and somewhat sad-sounding.


    The man-ghost watched her silently this time. He talked only after several minutes had passed.


    *sigh*


    ¡°Is that what you think? ¡­I can¡¯t blame you¡­ I wasn¡¯t any different before but shall I tell you what I think now.¡±


    She looked at him expectantly and curiously.


    ¡°¡­A strong one is someone who can open up his way to choices.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°When battling someone who in terms of ability is weaker than you, if you can choose whether to kill him or not then you are strong, if you have no choice but to kill him then you are weak.


    Do you get me?¡±


    The girl was looking at him utterly confused. She had no idea what the freaking hell that man was talking about. He saw that and continued talking.


    ¡°Let me give you another example. You have to save your loved ones but you have been given three choices, to save either that one or the other or none. However if you are ¡®strong¡¯ enough you can open another choice for yourself. You can choose to save them both.


    Now, do you get me?¡±


    Little by little she really was starting to understand him. ¡®To open up paths, choices¡­¡¯


    A faint smile was visible on her face. She liked it, this way of being strong.


    The man-ghost noticed this (as observant as always).


    ¡°It looks to me you¡¯re more eager to get stronger now.¡±


    He said that with his higher and mightier attitude (it was thanks to him she became like that after all).


    As for the girl, her faint smile was now a wide grin paired with a look of readiness and confidence.


    ¡°However let me give you a warning.¡± (all serious)


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°To have a choice and to take a choice are two different things. Be ready for what comes after.¡± (more serious)


    She nodded looking back at him a little bit confused but otherwise she took every of his words to heart.


    ¡­


    ¡°Back to business.¡± (well¡­ his mood changes fast)


    ¡°Hey kid, what kind of main weapon do you want to use anyway?¡±


    This was another thing she had never thought about. Her life until then hadn¡¯t let much time for thinking about getting stronger at all so without putting much thought into it she said:


    ¡°¡­A spear?¡± (Another half a question)


    Now it was the man-ghost¡¯s turn to grin widely. (Care to guess why?)


    ¡°Kuhahaha¡­ Yes, yes¡­ Good¡± He said it so happily it seemed stupid.


    ¡°Fate is truly a peculiar thing.¡±


    (I think you¡¯ve already guessed.) The man also used a spear/lance as a main weapon when he was alive, though it was a weapon made only for him so it was a bit different from normal.


    ¡°So as you wish, I¡¯m going to teach you the ways of the spear.¡±


    ¡°... Isn¡¯t a sword better?¡±


    *pop*


    ¡°What?! Are you an idiot? You said spear.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­¡±


    ¡°Hah¡­ Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m going to teach you the basics of everything swords, knives and bows included.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Why?¡±


    He looked at her with an evil grin this time.


    ¡°Because when in war you can¡¯t always be picky about weapons.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Your main weapon, however, will be the spear¡­And next time don¡¯t say something like ¡®sword is better¡¯ *pop*. And you can¡¯t ¡®judge¡¯ a weapon like that. To a commoner a sword will only be a tool (to cut radishes for example :p ), to a skilled person it will be a weapon, to a real warrior and master it will become his path¡­


    This is true for any weapon so in the end it comes down to the one who wields it.¡±


    Once again he had suddenly become serious (he and his mood changes) so the girl too had listened to him seriously, the words once again taken to heart.


    ¡°¡­So we will first start with building a little stamina.¡±


    ¡°Huh?? What about the weapons?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®huh¡¯ me you stupid kid. The way you are, all skin and bones, you won¡¯t be able to hold a weapon let alone use it.


    ¡­So do for me 20 laps around the cave.¡±


    ¡°20!!! Hey, I can¡¯t even see the end of the cave!¡±


    ¡°Well, you better hurry up if you want to finish any time soon.¡±


    ¡°Hey¡­¡± She started to complain but she saw him giving her a serious look again.


    ¡°To hell with it!¡± She threw a final curse to who-knows-what and started running to the yet-to-be-visible end of the cave.


    ___________________________


    The END¡­ of the chapter. Thanks again for reading.

 Chapter 5

    Author: I put the blame on my vacations¡­ SORRY.


    I¡¯m not letting her training at the laps around the field part. I have added the martial arts tag to the story in the beginning however there will also be magic and things and other things¡­so I will use my own terms and system (which are completely different) to refer to everything. I don¡¯t even intend to put the term ¡°qi¡± in there since I feel that if I do that I will have to adjust the other terms too (and I¡¯m not confident in that no matter how many Wuxia novels I have read¡­ they aren¡¯t that many in the first place)


    Thanks for reading¡­


    ________________________________


    Chapter 5


    Two weeks had passed. During these very long weeks she had done all the things the man had told her to. Her stamina wasn¡¯t that bad but now it had got considerably better. It was one of the few good points of her body, that she adapted to things faster than most (add to that that she was a kid still on her learning stages).


    However, because of these past two weeks of getting tired to death, her impression on the man-ghost had got on a completely other level of suspiciousness and many times anger.


    Why?


    Because during the whole times she hadn¡¯t seen the ghost at all excluding two-three times. He hadn¡¯t been there, she knew that for sure.


    Many times during her much-awaited-breaks when her muscles hurt like hell, she had started thinking that he might have just put her to do those things to laugh at her and she had cursed at the man-ghost out-loud. Seeing as he didn¡¯t answer her taunts he probably wasn¡¯t there. Knowing his highest and mightiest attitude he probably wouldn¡¯t stand quiet after hearing them.


    Then why wasn¡¯t he there? She wondered this for awhile every time before her dead-like sleep took over.


    This ¡®training¡¯ of hers, however, had become a part of her (unknowingly) and no matter how much she complained she still kept on. Because of this training she had become a little bit more positive (just a little) because while her body worked she focused only on that and hadn¡¯t thought nor dreamt of her past.


    ¡­


    It had been two weeks and she was starting to get a bit lonely. Unexpectedly enough she missed the chatter of the man-ghost.


    ¡°Stupid ghost.¡± She shouted this. These last few days she had played this game. She said something loudly enough and her voice echoed back.


    Hearing her echoing this time she felt a bit satisfied. It felt a bit like there is this person you hate and you realize you¡¯re not the only one. (They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend.) That¡¯s how she thought of the echo, like a friend to keep her company. (Is it me or is this a sign of her going a little cuckoo in the head?)


    ¡°Who¡¯s a stupid ghost?¡±


    Speak of the devil. And then again what¡¯s with the timing.


    His voice was angry and in his semi-transparent head the girl thought she saw a vein but since the one before her was a ghost she wasn¡¯t so sure.


    Silence.


    No one was saying a word. The man was clearly waiting for her answer but ghost or not she just didn¡¯t want to anger him and felt right now like a guilty child that had pulled a prang at the wrong person.


    ¡°¡­I said toast¡­ stupid toast... I miss eating it a little.¡± (Is that supposed to be a nice cover¡­well¡­ it does rhyme)


    ¡°Oh..¡± (He believed that???!)


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Anyway take these.¡±


    Only now did the girl notice that the ghost had things in his hands. He dropped them at her feet and she saw what they were.


    Clothes.


    She was surprised and that¡¯s not all. No matter how she looked at them, they were brand new clothes and quite pretty at that, a pair of short pants in black color with a ¡°V¡± embroidered in the right leg and a flame-red blouse with the same ¡°V¡± on its back. The material was soft to the touch but it also seemed flexible.


    He was giving these clothes to her? She didn¡¯t remember wearing anything but her inseparable (from her) rags. She looked up at him wide-eyed. He in return watched her reaction.


    ¡°You don¡¯t like them?¡¯¡¯ he asked her a little worried and seemingly uncomfortable.


    ¡°I love them.¡± She answered him immediately without a second thought.


    His face showed signs of relief.


    ¡°Good. The geezer told me he could make you a dress since you are a girl but it¡¯s easier to move in these clothes.¡±


    She nodded, happiness clearly visible in her face.


    ¡®Wait, what geezer?¡¯


    It was the second time he had mentioned it but she had no idea who this person was and hadn¡¯t seen signs of another human or ghost around. As she was about to ask she was reminded of another thing.


    ¡°I thought you couldn¡¯t touch things.¡±


    ¡°Oh that. It¡¯s because of the soul energy that surrounds the clothes. I¡¯m after all a ghost.¡±


    ¡°Soul energy?¡± (and this is how she once again totally forgot to ask about the geezer)


    ¡°Soul energy of the second gate of the human body, Gate of death.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    She wasn¡¯t getting a word he was saying. ¡®Gate of death, soul energy? What the freaking hell are you talking about?¡¯


    The man noticed this and let out a sigh.


    ¡°Change into the clothes first. From today on we¡¯ll be starting new lessons. It¡¯s about time I get a little serious.¡±


    Yes, he was serious. Whenever he got serious, she couldn¡¯t help but get serious too.


    She changed into her new clothes (as happily as a little kid¡­oh¡­she was a kid). They were very comfortable.


    After that she hurriedly went after the ghost and sat cross-legged and looked at him expectantly. The man-ghost looked back at her and started talking.


    ¡°Today we will start with the basic knowledge.


    Every living being in the world can practice martial arts.¡±


    ¡°Everyone? Wouldn¡¯t the world be filled with martial artist then?¡± She said this with another ¡®what the hell are you talking about¡¯ face.


    ¡°To be able to do it and to actually do it, are two different things and even if you start doing martial arts to advance is a complete other matter.¡± He said this a little pissed off because of the interruption.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Seeing as she didn¡¯t interrupt him this time the man kept talking.


    ¡°Every living being is able to practice martial arts because the moment one is born he opens the Gate of life and martial power comes from the gates. Now you¡¯re going to ask what are the gates, right?¡±


    The girl nodded.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°¡­Well, in short is where your martial power comes from. In case of the Gate of life, it¡¯s even where your life power comes from. Without it you die.¡±


    *gulp*


    ¡°Magic power (mana?) also comes from gates but from different gates. The first of magic realm is the called the Gate of birth and it won¡¯t always open when you¡¯re born. If it doesn¡¯t open when you¡¯re born, there no chances (maybe) of it opening later so not everyone can do magic. You get me?¡±


    She nodded again.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s get back to main point. Magic is for later.


    The martial realm. As I said the first is the Gate of life and the second is the Gate of death. They both belong to the that big category that is called Truths of Body. To cultivate Truths of body is the very first and very important step to the martial realm.


    When you enter the Gate of death you can use soul energy however it is not recommended to use it until you reach and understand Truths of Soul. In here there is only one gate, the forever-inseparable Gate of heart and mind. One might think why are they together however that is for the best¡­¡±


    After stopping here for a while he observed the girl that was now watching him intently. Seeing the understanding in her eyes he continued.


    ¡°To have contradictions between your mind and heart causes one to lose control in many cases and a calm heart is what you need for martial arts thus they must stay together.


    I warn you though, when one enters the Gate of heart and mind he grows a little¡­ different¡­ No, he might change completely. Feeling and thoughts grow stronger here. If one normally gets a little angry when he is pushed by somebody unintentionally, he might just become completely furious. If one normally gets sad because he breaks his favorite toy he might jus cry in complete agony if he has entered the Gate of heart and mind. It is the same for other feelings. Some people have even gone crazy.


    However if you successfully cultivate in this Gate you learn the truths of the soul. What is left after the body dies will only be one¡¯s heart and mind or with one word the soul. If you understand the soul you can use soul energy better, until then you¡¯ll stick with life energy¡­ No buts.¡±


    ¡°¡­Ok.¡± She was a little disappointed at that. When she learnt that he could touch soul energy she wanted to learn it as fast as possible. Why? To punch that ghost once for heaven¡¯s sake.


    The man-ghost noticed this (he does notice things he probably shouldn¡¯t¡­as observant as ever) which is why he added the ¡°no buts¡± at the end.


    ¡°After the Truths of Soul there comes the Truths of World. You can use the world energy however that is another story.


    The first gate here is called Gate of other.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Yes. This is also one of the gates where changes happen. The way you perceive people changes. Also if the energy until now was based in you and your body, when cultivating this gate you can get affected by others easily¡­¡±


    Now she was looking at him confused.


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of like magicians and their parties. They won¡¯t make parties of a person that has fire attribute with one with water if possible, but one with fire and wind so that they complement each other.


    In martial arts we can¡¯t talk about attributes, but energy. Another¡¯s energy can affect your own for good or for bad.


    To breakthrough to the other gate here requires not only a lot of cultivation but you also have to master that particular skill of letting (or not) the other¡¯s energy to interfere with your own by your own will. You can also learn to interfere with others¡­ forcefully if needed. In the end it comes to the accumulated energy¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­But, there are different kinds of energy¡­Does it matter which one¡­?¡±


    ¡°I see what you want to know. I probably should have explained this first.¡± He said this somewhat thoughtfully.


    ¡°Hah¡± she snorted.


    *pop* (And here I was wondering when would I get to see another popped vein)


    ¡°¡­Anyway, the energies.¡± He decided to ignore it for now.


    ¡°All the energies are one and the freaking same. The human is born thus he gains life and that life can be said in a way that it supplies the life energy. When you reach Truths of Soul the energy in your body transforms in soul energy. Life energy is still there, however, as a part of the soul energy. Soul energy being a little different  begins to build its foundation when you are in the Gate of death, but while you are in that gate, life energy is still the one that occupies most of you source and it is at this stage separate from the soul energy thus if you use soul energy without entering the Truths of Soul you may damage your source. The world energy takes over only after you¡¯ve entered the Truths of world. Yet again the life and soul energy become part of it. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°I understand that you can¡¯t really have a career as a teacher forgetting the most important thing.¡±


    *pop*


    ¡°You little brat.¡±


    Ok, he was angry but still holding himself and being all serious. It¡¯s a good thing she left it at that.


    ¡°¡­¡­.Anyway¡­The other gate is called the Gate of black and white.¡±


    She eyed him suspiciously.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The black and white stand for opposites, water and fire, air and earth, war and peace, light and darkness, heaven and hell. This gate is troublesome in many ways so let¡¯s leave it at that.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    *ignore*


    ¡°The last gate of the Truths of World is called Gate of world. Cultivating up to this point one can be called stronger than most.¡±


    ¡°Than most? There¡¯s more??¡±


    Silence.


    He stayed like that for a while before talking.


    ¡°This one is different from the rest. You have to reach it to become the strongest¡­ however it is the hardest to reach and the harshest after you do get to it. It¡¯s called Truths of Being or Truths of Existence. First gate is the Gate of beginning. Last gate is the Gate of end, but there aren¡¯t only these two. However I won¡¯t explain it to you right now.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Why should I? My throat hurts from all that talking. We¡¯ll leave it for some other time.¡±


    He told the girl another thing with his eyes though ¡®Don¡¯t ask for it, not now¡¯ and she understood it.


    __________________________