PART 4 :-
THE TRAINING START
MC perspective :-
[ At the training place for Bright in the forest. ]
"Ahaaa…"
I failed again. I can't release my Aura. It's so frustrating.
"Hey, where are you? Show yourself—I know you're here!"
I screamed.
"What's the reason for all that shouting, hmm? You're disturbing the peace of this forest."
Juha said this while sitting on a tree.
"I'm not able to understand Aura. Give me some guidance."
"Ahaa… impatience and demands in every breath. Do you even know what Aura actually is?"
"It's a part of our power system…"
"No… no. I don't want to hear a child's answer. I want to hear what it actually is."
"I don't know."
"You're trying to master it without even knowing what it actually is?! You are the most thick-headed student I've ever had."
"Listen carefully!"
"As you know, Aura refers to the visible field of energy radiating from a person or object. It is a mixture of your spiritual, mental, and physical energy. However, Aura is not limited to that—it also depends on your mental state and emotions. For example, if you are in an angry mood, your violent attacks, like fire, become more effective than in a normal state. Similarly, different types and colors of Aura can vary depending on your emotions."
"Then how would I be able to use every part??"
He punched my head and started talking again.
"Just like I said, a man without patience can't reach great heights."
"It hurts!!"
"For using it, we need to combine every part of Aura—spiritual, mental, and physical energy. In a normal state, we use physical energy, but when we are able to combine it with the other two, we can transfer our physical energy into Aura, or more precisely, we can evolve our physical energy into Aura."
"How can I combine everything?"
"By starting with meditation."
"What!!"
"When we meditate, the connection between our mind, soul, and body grows stronger. At that point, you will be able to connect your spirit, mind, and Qi. And if you are able to do that, you can master Aura."
I sat on the ground and tried to meditate.
"There are so many things coming into my mind—how will I concentrate?"
"For a beginner, try focusing on an object or a person in your mind, like a rising sun, a burning candle, or someone you love."
I started trying to picture a rising sun in my mind.
[ In Bright's mind. ]
"Did you know how it's feel like when you are in crowd but nobody noticing you?? You are also cursed than why you have friends but not me?? You can never understand what it's feels like."
"Why do I remember him?"
"Who do you remember? Is it the girl I met before? Ahaa… youths are so interesting," he said excitedly.
"No. There is a boy named Erebus in our class who is also cursed, just like me. After everyone found out, the whole class—even his friends—started avoiding him."
"That's something new. What made you remember him?"
"Do you remember there was a time when you told me that I should try to understand others' feelings as well?"
"Yes, I remember that."
"The thing is, he told me that I would never understand his feelings. He asked me why I have friends who support me, but he doesn't—even though we are both cursed."
"Aaahaa… and?"
"I understand him. I know how it feels when people avoid me. They don't even want to touch me."
"What do you want now?"
"I want to tell him that I understand how he feels. I know what it's like when people start avoiding you, when they don't even notice you."
"You don't know his past—you only know that he is cursed. You don't know how his life is going or how he lives. To truly understand him, you first need to know everything about him. Only after fully knowing him, if you are able to accept him, then you can assure him that you understand him as well."
"For now, focus on your training."
...….
PART 5 :-
BOND'S NEW TEACHER
Bond perspective :-
[ In the market. ]
"What should I choose?"
I was a bit confused. I had come to the market to choose a weapon for my future. I didn't have any problem riding animals because Bright and I had spent so much time in the forest—we both understood them well. For me, controlling Aura was difficult, so I wanted to focus on the armed warfare section.
That man… I had seen him before.
"Oo… kid, it's been a while."
He was the man who had saved Bright and me during an argument in the market against Dex.
"I never thought I would meet you again, sir. And I'm not a kid anymore."
"Not a kid, but you still need supervision. Did your friend take good care of you?"
"Yeah, he takes care of me very well—someone has to make sure I don't turn out like you."
"Hahaha… I like your sense of humor," he said, laughing.
"What's your name, sir?"
"People call me Sagurd. What are you doing here?"
"I want to buy a weapon for my future."
"Are you in the academy?"
"Yeah."
"As far as I know, the freshers are in Aura training, not in the warfare section. So why do you want a weapon instead of focusing on your Aura training?"
"I'm not able to perform Aura well, so I want to focus on the next stage."
"Without mastering Aura, you can't conquer Furusiyya. Didn't anyone tell you that before?"
"I don't have much knowledge about how to master Aura yet. Bright will teach me after he masters it. Until then, I have to prepare for the next step."
"You depend on your friend that much?"
"So what? It's not like I have anyone who's going to teach me. I have neither money nor the reputation of the upper clans, so no one is going to teach me. That's why I have to rely on my friend."
"If you have this many problems, then why did you want to become a warrior in the first place?"
"There are some people who destroyed my past, so I'm going to destroy their future—so that nothing like that happens to other children."
"A path of revenge."
"It's pointless, kid. You can't change your past, so don't destroy your future because of it."
"You will never understand what I've been through until you've faced it yourself."
"Your name is Bond, isn't it?"
"Listen, Bond. Don't let your past win and destroy your present. If you choose the path of revenge, in the end, you will be left alone."
...
Sagurd perspective :-
"There are some people who destroyed my past, so I'm going to destroy their future—so that nothing like that happens to other children."
He chose revenge. That's not good. A teenager shouldn't choose darkness.
"Listen, Bond. Don't let your past win and destroy your present. If you choose the path of revenge, in the end, you will be left alone."
"So, you're telling me that I should forget what they did to me because it's not a good thing? I'm not as big-hearted as you."
"It looks like you don't know the difference between right and wrong. You said you don't have any teacher to guide you. From now on, I will be your teacher."
"Why do you want to teach me? And why do you think I would accept you?"
"I will make you powerful enough to take the revenge you seek. But I will also teach you the difference between right and wrong. After learning that, if you still choose the path of revenge, I will not stop you."
"You will teach me everything I need to become a warrior?"
"Yeah."
"Then it's fine."
"Come to my shop tomorrow morning. I will train you to master Aura."
"Really?! Alright, I'll come tomorrow morning," he said excitedly.
He left the place.
"I know you're hiding there. Come out now—he's gone."
"I never thought you would do that."
"You knew that from the beginning, didn't you, Chiron?"
"Well, there was a possibility that you wouldn't. So I came here to make sure that didn't happen."
"You can train both of them if you want. Why not?"
"When you told me about them, I watched them from the shadows. Bright is different from the others—he needs someone like me. His dream and soul are important. But that kid, Bond, is not like Bright. He chose revenge, and there is no one better than you who knows the consequences of it."
"I understand about that kid named Bright. His power needs to be watched by someone. But why Bond? What's special about him?"
"In the future, he is going to play a very important role. Bright needs him, and I can't take that lightly."
"What do you want?"
"For now, just make him strong. Oh… wait—give them money from time to time as well."
"Why?!"
"I talked with that moron. He said they are not in Joyful anymore, so he's not going to fund them."
"What a drag."
...
PART 6 :-
THE PROBLEM
Erebus perspective :-
[At the far end of Memphis, behind a ruined house. A few days after Bond's meeting with his master.]
"I'm so tired… Even after the whole day, I still can't master it. What should I do? If I can't master it, I'll be finished."
"What are you doing here?"
"I want to master Aura, brother."
He instantly punches me.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me 'brother'? You are the reason we have to live like this. Didn't I tell you that you would never be able to become a warrior?"
"But I want to… so that everyone acknowledges me."
"Don't you understand? From the day you were born, nothing has gone right for our family. Now go to the market and bring food. Otherwise, we won't get anything to eat today either."
[On the way to the market]
"Why do I have to live like this? I didn't choose to be born with this curse. I feel hunger… I feel pain… just like everyone else. Then why is it always me? I wish I had never been born."
[Inside a restaurant]
"Hey, did you hear? There's a new kid who's also cursed."
"Yeah, I heard that too. It's a shame another cursed kid has joined the academy."
"I don't understand why the authorities don't just kill them."
They must be talking about me…
"Please give me four packets of meat curry and rice."
"That will be twenty Debens."
"Hey—what are you doing here?"
My classmates… What should I do now? If they tell others, it will only make things worse for me.
"You guys, I want to buy some food."
"What?! Hey, shopkeeper—did you just give him food?"
"Yeah… what's the matter?"
"He's cursed! What am I supposed to do now? I eat food from here too!"
"What did you just say?! How dare you enter my shop? Give that food back!"
He snatches it from my hands and throws it into the dustbin.
"If you ever come to my shop again, I'll kill you."
"Then give me back my money. I need it to buy food somewhere else… otherwise I'll go hungry."
"What money? Do you think I'll let you take it back and curse it too?"
He kicks me out of the restaurant.
[At home]
"What?! Do you realize what you've done? They will punish us for this. How many times have I told you that no one outside our family should know about your curse? Because of your mistake, we'll both go hungry tonight."
"I'm sorry…"
"Get out of here before they return. And never come back."
He kicks me out of the house.
[In the forest — a child sitting on the ground, crying]
"I'm so hungry… What is this? It feels like hell out here. I've never killed anyone, never done anything bad… so why do I have to suffer like this? Why is this my fate?"
I hear a noise from the bushes.
There's an animal there… Am I going to die without fulfilling my dream?
"A crying child, alone in the forest at midnight… I saw you earlier in the restaurant. Why are you here?"
A man appears, wearing a mask.
I tell him everything.
"Don't you want to destroy this hell… and create a paradise?"
"I'm not strong enough…"
"First, tell me… don't you want to destroy those who mistreated you? Don't you want to tear down this society that has caused you so much pain?"
Until now, I couldn't see his eyes behind the mask—they were hidden in darkness. But suddenly, they began to glow red.
And then… I started seeing everyone who had ever hurt me.
"Yes… why should I be the only one to go through that hell? Everyone else should feel it too."
He takes something out of his pocket and hands it to me.
"This will give you the power you need to destroy everything. Now go… take it, and crush everything."
I touch it. A dark aura rises from it, wrapping around me.And in the blink of an eye… everything turns black.
...