Chapter 23: Conviction (1)

Just like all the other days, they train under Nathan’s command, pushing their bodies up and down, using their legs, arms, and cores, over and over again, until their limbs collapse, unable to bring up any energy against the pressure, and then they abuse them some more. The days grow warmer as the week passes, and today, the final day of their decision whether to rise to the challenge or faulter, all their efforts, of body as well as mind, seem just a little more strenuous than they did before. The sun hadn’t set when the students finished their final lesson, but even though they have not moved from the spot, darkness has engulfed the scenery, the grass only lit up by the weak moonlight passing through the clouds, while chilly breezes from the mountain site sent shivers across their bodies.

“He did change something.”, Marc aknowledges, gazing at the few stars not covered in the shadow of the clouds. “But, it’s not like doing the same things for a larger amount of time is going to change anything.”

Lark strains his neck to take a look at his defeated friends hiding behind his feet, disappointed by their dissatisfaction. “Guys, are you serious about giving up already?”

Marc lets his cheek drop on the dry floor in an attempt to turn his gaze towards his friend. “I don’t want to give up. I want to grow stronger, and I’m afraid of feeling so powerless again. But I’m just not sure if we are just wasting my time with him.”

“Same here”, Kaze agrees, in an unusually calm tone.

“Mhm.” Elaine would nod, were it not so exhausting.

The dark, silent night draws them into their thoughts again. None of them intend to just stop training, their pain has been too great to lose motivation so soon. But whether having one of the most skilled warriors to walk this world as their teacher is a good choice, or a great obstacle, just isn’t easy to decide. Deep down, they had all hoped he would lead them to amazing progress while waiting for their own deadline, but instead, they feel weaker then ever before. The sound of nimble, yet heavy footsteps drags them back to reality. Their minds grow alert in an instant, except for Lex. Unable to turn towards whoever is heading for them, their panic is reliefed the moment they hear Nathan’s voice.

“You still have not moved from the spot, despite the uncomfortable cold gusts of wind coming down here. It would appear that you are finally ready.”

‘What is that supposed to mean?’, is what’s going through all their heads. Lark is the only one to become truly excited, while the others still try to make sense of his words.

“All of you, turn around to lie face down.”

Without doubting the instructions, they do as he tells them to. A result of his assertiveness during training, no question. Nathan drops down on his left knee, and places both of his hands on the dusty floor underneath the dry grass. With the sound of electrical crackling, birght blue lightning shoots out above the grass, much brighter than the dim moonlight. They watch in awe as it creeps along the greeenery, forming a large circle around them, until it finally reconnects to it’s source. The instant the circle closes, everything inside is covered by sparks the length of a hand, continuously popping in and out of existence all over the place, a violent stream of Chi. Before they could even drop their fascination for the beautiful display to question what is actually going on, their faces are dragged into the dirt, and the electricity surrounds their bodies like chains trying to pull them into the underworld, making it feel like the force of gravity has just multiplied tenfold.

“Your task is very simple.”, Nathan explains in his usual calm, unconcerned demeanor, as their gasps for breath and struggles to remain above ground grow louder. “Stand up.”

Just like the before, the friends keep training under Nathan, destroying their bodies more and more, until one week passes. Today, on the last day of the deadline Marc, Elaine and Kaze had set set for themselves, they were trained even more brutally than the days before. The sun was still out by the time they were finished, but Darkness has already engulfed the scenery by now, lit up only by the bright full moon.

Nathan has left already, and they all just lay on the floor in the darkness, unable to get up.

“He did change something. But it’s not like doing more of the same thing really changes anything.”, Marc concludes, staring up at the moon.

Lark looks around at his friends, all of them boasting some sort of dissatisfaction in their body language. “Do you really want to quit?”

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“I don’t know. I don’t want to give up. But I don’t want to waste my time either.

“Same here.”, Kaze agrees.

“Mhm.”, Elaine too.

This short conversation is followed up by silence, with all of them staring into the night sky, when all of a sudden, footsteps catch their attention. Everyone, except for Lex, tries to get into some kind of confrontation-ready stance, but they’re unable to move around. The one who appears in front of them - is Nathan.

“Considering the fact that you are still lying her hours after training, I believe you to be ready.”

They express a mixture of confusion and excitement.

“All of you, get on your stomach.”

Without really questioning it, they follow his orders. This might have been a result of their training with him as well. Nathan gets down on one knee, and touches the floor with both of his hands. He closes his eyes, and then pushes both his hands into the ground. Whirr. Whirr. Bzzt. Sparks start forming a circle surrounding them, and then everything inside it begins to spark as well. In an instant, they’re all pulled to the floor as if their bodies had gotten ten times heavier.

“Your exercise is simple.” Nathan begins to explain as they all struggle to even lift their heads from the ground. “Get up.”

They struggle to even move a single part of their bodies.

“How the hell are we supposed to get out of here?! Our bodies can barely even move anything!”, Kaze complains.

“I will only tell you this once. This training specifically will help you become much more capable in combat in a very short period of time if you stick with it.”

“This feels like it’s gonna kill us!”

“It will not. Probably.” Nathan starts walking away again. “If you do not want to stay here until sunrise, I suggest you get out of that circle.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

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