Blood, sweat, tears, and pain. The key components of what Ezekiel Valerio and Bagani Panganiban's intensive training throughout the past 2 years. Their skills have sharpened to an extensive amount ever since then. With their ever so depleting stamina day by day, the trials shaped them to who they are as of today. Ezekiel asked for Bulawan's help in his training with the sorcerers stone.
[9 months ago shortly after the 'Udom' incident] (Ezekiel's part)
"Hey, high geezer," Ezekiel called Bulawan. "Teach me a bit about the sorcerers stone."
"I told you to train on your own," Bulawan said. "My help is not needed to master the sorcerers stone. Especially since the stone your holding only has a basic transformation."
"Transformation?" Ezekiel asked.
"Oh yeah, you're not familiar with the real world yet." Bulawan teased. He then went on to explain. "Casting an ignited ball of stone as big as houses, Summoning barriers to protect oneself from harm, and bringing back the dead. Sorcerer's stone has a lot of variety. Your stone only taps into a natural transformation."
"Well, you already taught us yesterday. It wouldn't hurt to teach me more today, would it?" Ezekiel bargained.
"No." Bulawan quickly answered the Ezekiel's plead. He walked away, lighting up his cigarette that he picked up from his pocket.
The young man rushed to Bulawan. He kneeled on the ground, slammed his fist on the shaped cobblestone floor, and begged. "Please teach me."
Bulawan looked at him, his eyes shined with fascination as the arrogant human bowed his head upon him alone. "Well, you got my interest indeed." Bulawan thought to himself.
"Damn it! I did absolutely nothing against him and that was the best strike I ever had. I don't care if I have to swallow my pride. I will save everyone in the village!" Ezekiel grunted to himself.
"Alright then." Bulawan accepted Ezekiel's proposal.
"Really?" Ezekiel gasped in excitement.
"Take it as pity. You seemed so desperate." Bulawan teased.
He told Ezekiel to stay in the lobby. The giant hopped away to grab something from the numerous rooms of the temple.
"I wonder what it will be. Another stone? A device? A piece of equipment?" Ezekiel asked himself several questions out of curiosity.
Bulawan walked back coming from the direction of the well, he was holding to buckets of water, filled, dripping with every step he took towards the lobby.
"Water?" Ezekiel asked disappointed. "What am I to do with water?"
"Put your arm you use to aim there," Bulawan ordered. "Then fire a lightning bolt."
"Wouldn't that just electrocute me?" Ezekiel asked hysterically.
"I said put it and fire a bolt," Bulawan ordered once again. "You said you wanted to learn, didn't you?"
"Okay, here we go..." Ezekiel took a deep breath and placed his arm inside the water container. He charged a mediocre lightning bolt and fired it inside the bucket.
"Huh?" Ezekiel felt a solidified space as he fired the bolt. In a short moment, the thought of electrocution began to subside, but after a few seconds, the discharged water took its poll back to Ezekiel and only slightly electrocuting him since the charge was weak.
"What was that supposed to do?!" Ezekiel shouted.
"You didn't fire on full power, did you?" Bulawan alleged his student.
"Of course I wouldn't fire on full power that's going to hurt a lot," Ezekiel spoke back. "Shouldn't we start small first?"
"Do it again and fire the entire power of the lightning bolt." Bulawan commanded.
"But it's not-" Ezekiel tried to argue.
"Do it!" Bulawan loudly ordered.
The apprentice does as he was told and tried once again. He charged one big strike of lightning and fire in the bucket. This time he felt an even bigger solid space inside the bucket. He slightly moved his hand and the water completely went upwards out of its container and splattered towards Ezekiel. As expected this electrocuted him.
"There are you happy?" Ezekiel asked with his most of his body cramping due to the shock.
"Follow me," Bulawan ordered. "Its time for the second part of the training."
He took Ezekiel on the farthest room on the left-wing of the temple. As they walked, the lanterns began to decrease, the hallway began to get darker, the thick air swallowing their lungs as the dust began to step in again unlike the lobby.
"Where are we?" Ezekiel questioned.
The two reached the final room. It had an iron door, the place was dusty, and the feeling of isolation lingered. Bulawan opened the door and the two went inside the room. As big as the lobby, it had four gray walls encasing it, there were target dummies to be seen everywhere. Bulawan stomped his foot which caused a patch of floor to once again rise. He then carried a dummy and placed it behind the lifted stone.
"Fire at the dummy," Bulawan ordered. "Full power as always."
"But the floor is blocking it," Ezekiel argued. "Should I go around?"
"You need to pierce through the stone using your full power with the stone," Bulawan stated. "Only then can your whole training be complete."
"Again I can't go full power yet since I can't control it." Ezekiel talked back once again.
Without any further questions, Ezekiel sighed and tried. He charged up the lightning, crawling from his belt up towards his arm the full power strike began to form into a bolt. "Here goes nothing," Ezekiel muttered to himself. "Fire!" A medium-sized bolt came rushing out of his arm and into the target. The bolt caused the floor to crack a bit but only to a puny extent. The rest of the charge ran back to Ezekiel and discharged into his body once again.
"Do it again," Bulawan ordered. "Learn."
Once again Ezekiel tried but with the same results. The day ended with Ezekiel learning nothing at all except there was an empty room filled with dummies. "He could've told me about that room long ago..." Ezekiel muttered to himself as he walked to the kitchen for dinner.
"Hey, are you alright?" Bagani asked as they met in the hall.
"Yeah, it's just the giant ordering me around with painful stuff," Ezekiel replied. "I asked him to train me but it doesn't even feel like training at all."
"That's kinda unfair that he's training you solo." Bagani pouted. "Well, you shouldn't have blindly challenged him yesterday."
"Yeah, my bad on that part. I'm sorry by the way." Ezekiel apologized.
"Whoa, that's new." Bagani gasped. "How did you get him to train you anyways? Didn't he deny since he told us to train by ourselves?
Ezekiel chuckled, they went along and ate afterward. A new day starts once again, another repetitive training for Ezekiel as he does the bucket and dummy test with Bulawan once again.
"Hey look, if this is punishment for whatever I did to you I apologize," Ezekiel stated. "Let's train for real please."
"Do it again with full power," Bulawan ordered. "This is the training."
As expected, Ezekiel followed. The pain of shock surging all over the body, cramping the muscles, and the shaking of flesh afterward. Ezekiel went through the same training every single day for a couple of months.
"Again," Bulawan ordered while Ezekiel fires bolts in the water buckets once again. "Learn to control your power."
"Oh, I would love to see you try!" Ezekiel finally snapped. "All you ever do is flex your mastery with the guard symbol, which doesn't even cost anything! You can't hold a sorcerers stone, you don't have power when you exit this place, do you even know what you are talking about when it comes to these items or are you just relying on book knowledge?!"
Bulawan then stood up and walked to the middle of the lobby.
"What a fight again? I already know I cant beat you. What's the point?" Ezekiel queried.
"Fire at full power once again." Bulawan confidently asked.
Ezekiel shook his head and fired at full force once again. His body got used to the electrocution to the point where the shock doesn't hurt that much anymore.
"There it's done. What did I learn from that huh? I'll tell you what. Nothing! Absolutely nothing! This is all I did these past two months and to no avail!" Ezekiel shouted.
"What did you feel when you fired that bolt in the bucket?" Bulawan asked.
"Well, I got electrocuted as expected." Ezekiel dismissively answered.
"What did you feel when you fired that bolt in the bucket?" Bulawan repeated himself.
Ezekiel sighed. "I did feel a solidified space in the bucket."
"Try to not let go of that space," Bulawan suggested. "Do it!"
Ezekiel once again tried. He placed his hand under the water, he focused and charged up energy from his sorcerers stone up to his palm, as the bolt fully formed he fired it. A solid space from within the bucket was once again felt. Ezekiel placed his hand firmly on the space. He stared in awe as the water bucket didn't break loose and spilled all over him.
"H-hey, I did it!" Ezekiel celebrated.
With the distraction of overwhelming joy his hand slipped away from the solid figure inside the bucket, this caused to once again pop and spray the charged water. This then causes Ezekiel to be in shock due to the electricity once again. Bulawan then rushed to him.
"The sorcerers stone doesn't only allow you to fire electricity but to control it as well. You have to notice every single detail when practicing. Once you leave this temple you will continue to learn. Teach yourself." Bulawan latched unto Ezekiel's arm and scolded him. "And yes I do rely on book knowledge. Because I wrote them myself."
He then walked away to smoke on his favorite tree to lay on. "Once again you will be training by yourself. Repeat and learn kid." Bulawan added.
Ezekiel decided to entirely put down his pride. He went on and train the same way every single day. After repentance of failure day by day, Ezekiel slowly learned.
"After focusing to charge up the bolt, I need to focus on controlling it. The water makes it easier to sense and it will probably bad to rely on it. The dummy training is a good trial to not be dependent on the buckets of water." Ezekiel thought to himself.
With patience, he challenges himself to hold the bolt for over 3 hours.
"Charging..." He mumbled to himself as he prepared to fire a bolt inside the bucket. "Fire and hold!" He shouted and closed his eyes. He then opened one of his eyelids and saw his success. "Yes! Now I just have to hold this off."
The sound of Bagani smithing, the smell of smoke from Bulawan's cigar, the itching feeling as mosquitos bit him. He stayed intact in his positions as the fear of failure lunged into him. "Just a little more..." He thought to himself while counting down the remaining minutes and seconds he still has to sit through. Sweat, impatience, and anxiety lingered as he waited.
"What if I pull my arm out now?" Ezekiel thought to himself. The temptation of giving up became indistinguishable as time passed by. "No. Not now I've come too far."
With sheer resolve he got through the trial he set upon himself. He quickly pulled his arm out which prevented him from being shocked. Ezekiel then slammed his fist into the ground. "Yeah!!!" He shouted as loud as he can and celebrated.
"Not bad kid," Bulawan smirked while resting on a tree. "You did the first trial, but how will you do in the dummy test?"
The second trial came next. To pierce through stone yet a thick one is no easy achievement without tools. Ezekiel went into the dusty room alone. The unpleasant feeling of being watched was undoubtedly sensed. As he opened the iron door, there stood the lifted floor Bulawan sent, it was fully fixed once again since Bulawan could control the temple and instantly fix it. The young man breathed the thick air as he prepared the trial.
"You already got the first step. You got this." He talked to himself.
He pointed his palm to the stone's direction. He could control the power of the projectile he would fire, but to break the lifted stone and hit the target is another problem. The power to do such feat requires a mastery of skill in using the sorcerers stone. As he charged his weapon, Ezekiel imagined the solidified object he felt in the bucket. He took a deep breath and focused. A bolt of lightning flew out of his hand and landed on the stone wall. Though it seemed like a perfect shot, the lightning bolt didn't go through. There was only a medium-sized crack, about the size of an average head of a person.
"That's good. It's only the first try so I wouldn't myself that harshly." Ezekiel stated.
Months passed with Ezekiel repeating his routine. His skill with the sorcerers stone became abundantly well, as time passes by his strikes became much more powerful.
"The sorcerers stone depends on experience. One cannot master it in an instant. If that is the trade-off for not having a cost except a petty cooldown it's pretty worth it." He thought to himself
It was now near the second year of training. The end of their practices is near. Ezekiel stepped down and declared his day of completion to himself. "Today I will complete it."
A slow walk towards the farthest room on the left-wing of the temple. As his steps echoed in the hallway, he remembered his purpose, the things he went through to even get his hands on the item. Ezekiel felt a sense of the tingling feeling of shock surging through his arm without even charging his sorcerers stone. He opened the iron door as he does every day, but the touch felt somewhat different. Dust enveloped his lungs once again as he took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"No turning back now!" His soul lit aflame, inspiration from his struggles and trauma from the past couple of years risen, and Ezekiel was ready to finish his goal he worked so hard for. He stared at the fully fixed risen floor once, with a fierce look he set his palm towards the barrier and the target. Lightning crawled from his belt up towards his arm, the sensation of a mild cramp, and with enough imagination, he could feel the solidified space turn into a ball.
"Argh!" Ezekiel screamed and fired the charged bolt. A blinding light appeared as he took his shot. With the loudest struck of thunder, anyone in the temple has ever heard of, an explosion sent the room into a fog due to the smoke. With the mixture of dust and smoke enveloping his lungs, Ezekiel coughed as he stood up to check the crater he left.
"No way..." His legs began to shake as he saw no crack at the lifted floor.
"Yes, way." A voice suddenly appeared from behind. It was Bulawan once again carrying his trusty tobacco and smoking. "I thought that you would be here so I automatically rearranged the stone back to its normal form once you destroy it. I suggest checking the dummy."
Ezekiel rushed towards behind the ascended floor to check the target. His eyes shined in the mixture of happiness and shock. The dummy got disintegrated with only its stand surviving.
"I did that?..." Ezekiel fell to his knees. Tears came streaming down his face, his training was now completed. "All the hard work these past two years weren't in vain. I did it!"
[9 months ago shortly after the 'Udom' incident] (Bagani's part)
"It's said that the metal you'll be using to create your sword is not called runic steel. It is called 'Astigamite'." James stated to Bagani as he reads a book from the library.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Bagani sarcastically replied. "If it would help in smithing that is!"
The Asulhero's patience wasn't intact for he knew Bulawan was teaching Ezekiel.
"Calm down Bingo. Ezekiel might be learning how to use the sorcerers stone with Bulawan, but all we need to do is smith these swords and you're good to go." James uttered. "All we need to do is read. You have a great understanding of the world and vocabulary already. Once you get out ill continue to read about the things I am yet to understand."
Bagani sighed. "Is there even a book about sharpening swords?"
"Isn't it already in the blacksmith guides?" James asked.
"Trust me I already tried all the things said inside those books. Yet the swords I craft still seems like it can only be used to cut bread." Bagani complained.
James crossed his legs and thought about their current situation. "Well, I also wasn't that good at farming the first time I tried it as a child." He thought to himself. "It's probably all about the experience with your crafts." He stated.
"What do you mean?" Bagani asked.
"No one is ever good at what they do the first time. We already know that this is trial and error, but I never thought that it was purely about it." James explained. "Starting tomorrow we should start smithing more than one blade a day."
"But I have the mountain test in the morning." Bagani reasoned.
"Do it faster then. You don't want Ezekiel all the glory in finding the Buhayostine would you?" James ordered him to inspire Bagani in his training.
The day after, Bagani started rushing to climb the mountain path. He ran with a smirk on his face, breathing heavily whilst stomping through his path like an animal. "I will complete this you fools..." He ran down the hill three times as fast as expected. Reaching the temple he slammed the library's door open and shouted. "Let's go!"
"Shhh." James silenced him. "Were inside a library."
Bagani squinted his eyes. "Am I the one whose less intelligent here or are you? You do realize that only four people are living in the temple right?"
"Erm..." James was silenced in awkwardness. "You know what let's just go."
They reached the smithing area early in the afternoon. With the heat of the sun added with the burning feeling due to the furnaces, Bagani got pumped up and began to smith his blade quickly. Embers grazed him as he continuously hit the molten metal. He placed the steel into a bucket to let it cool down with the liquid.
"Hopefully this is good," Bagani mumbled to himself. "Im ready to waste all my time to create this."
He pulled out the cold blade and placed it on the table.
"The same result huh," James uttered. "Well, that's why we started early."
With multiple attempts throughout the day, Bagani became exhausted. "I may have an enormous amount of stamina but it still gets depleted you know. I'm going to make a last blade before I hit the off the hay."
He summoned all his remaining strength and slammed down on the last molten metal. Since he was fatigued he unconsciously crafted in a different style. As he finished and place the steel on the table after cooling it down. Bagani shook his head and blinked. "Hey, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" He asked in suspicion.
The blade he made was decent. It could be used in battle if the opponent was a person as well.
James sighed and chuckled. "You bastard, you did it!" He patted Bagani on the head. "Well, tomorrow is going to be the same schedule. With enough training, you'll get through with no problem."
A new day starts and it was just the same events like yesterday. The mountain trial aced by the speedrunning Bagani, trial, and error in smithing, and the fatigue that causes Bagani to perform exceptionally well and make a decent sword. It became like this for several months until Bagani finally snapped and decided to do extra work.
"It doesn't seem like I'm moving forward with this..." Bagani grunted. "James you go ahead and sleep I'll be staying in the library for tonight."
"Yeah sure just don't overexert I guess," James said and yawned. "I'll meet you tomorrow."
Bagani sat down and began to read. With his trusty metal cup filled with coffee he got in the kitchen he managed to spend a couple more hours before collapsing. "Come on not yet..." Bagani muttered to himself as his vision darkens.
The banging of metal made Bagani open his eyes. "I'm smithing?" He asked himself as he saw an anvil in front of him with a hammer held by his right hand.
"What did you learn?" An unknown voice was heard from a distance.
"Who's there?!" Bagani shouted for he was startled. He began to question reality as looked upon his surrounding and saw total darkness. "What?..." He muttered to himself.
"Focus on the blade." The voice ordered.
"But I can't do a decent blade consciously yet..." Bagani thought to himself.
"You don't need to be worried if it's bad." The voice comforted him. "Close your eyes."
Bagani was hesitant at first to follow the voice but he obeyed afterward.
"The anvil is your foundation. Feel it."
Bagani touched the said thing. "The surface is smooth yet there are dents due to the hammering. I only noticed that now..." Bagani thought to himself.
"Take the hammer, firmly grab it in your grasp. The hammer shapes the blade you need to be careful with it."
Bagani followed and grabbed the said item.
"Firmer." The voice commanded
Bagani loosened his grip with the hammer. "It has a light wooden handle yet the top part is heavy due to it being steel." Bagani thought himself once again.
"Take the blade using the tongs and smith."
Bagani once again followed but he stopped at the last second. "I might hit my hand with the hammer. I don't think it's a good idea to keep my eyes closed."
Bagani then felt a sensation of touch behind his arms. "Trust me Bagani..." The voice said calmly.
The Asulhero took a deep breath and began to swing his hammer. Slow but steady he swung lightly as his firm from the hammer.
"Shape the sword as you like. Feel it. Become it. The blade is taken care of by the emotions of its user's emotion. There is no such simple trick in smithing for it varies from crafter to crafter. You are none like other Bagani."
"I can feel the sharpness even though I'm not holding the blade... How?..." Bagani muttered to himself.
"Open your eyes."
Bagani obeyed. His eyes lit as a light stood upon him. The blade he made switched forms of different weapons in half a second each, some blades even legendary.
"You shape the blade by yourself and how you feel. A sword is not a temporary item that can easily be replaced, a sword is a companion we have and it is the thing that describes us for who we truly are. You are the blade."
The light went off but the surroundings got less dark, items that he used such as the anvil and hammer disappeared into dust, and he wasn't in total darkness anymore he was in a room of mirrors.
"So tell me Bagani..."
Bagani then turned his head around, he saw his reflection slowly walk towards him.
"Who are you?"
"Bagani!" A familiar voice was heard.
The light started to shine as he opened his eyes.
"Hey, blue freak. You're late for your daily mountain stuff." James woke up Bagani.
The Asulhero looked around in his surrounding. Struggling to get a grasp on reality he asked. "Is this real?"
James sighed he mustered up the courage and slapped Bgani on the face. "Now tell me. Is that real?"
Bagani now with a sore face replied awkwardly. "Yes... Please don't do that again." He completed his daily training just as he did every day. Since woke up late he finished the mountain trial at late noon even though he runs very fast.
"Let's begin." Bagani hurriedly slammed the library door open and called James.
They went to the smithing room as usual as ever. Bagani's feet instantly went to a halt for he feels everything he felt inside his dream except for the heat of the furnaces. "Feel the anvil." He whispered to himself. He began to smith. Firmly grasping on the hammer with his right hand as his left roughly grabs on the tong and heated metal. Bagani closed his eyes and imagined every scenario.
"Hey, this isn't time for showing off!" James screamed.
Bagani very focused on his work disabled his other senses, thus making him not hear James. He continued his blind craftmanship. He opened his eyes and threw the heated steel into a bucket after shaping it with the hammer. He grew impatient as time passed by. Bagani pulled the blade at the exact right moment not taking time to let it cool off more. "It is real..." His voice shook as he saw the blade. It was extraordinary. The blade was so finely crafted, it was a weapon sharp enough to pierce through armor.
James with his eyes widened turned his head towards Bagani. "Let's try again. Maybe we're just lucky."
They attempted to do it again about four more times. The blades were completely different from one another but they were crafted perfectly, suitable as semi-legendary weapons. They did the same thing for months, polishing Bagani's skill even further along with it. After a while, they were ready to smelt the Astigmite that Bulawan gave him. They melted the steel into the furnace and placed it in a cylinder. James noticed something along the way.
"Bagani take a look at this." He called. "You can make more than one blade with this steel. Bulawan gave a lot huh."
They waited six weeks for it to cool down and was now ready for smithing.
"Perfect timing isn't it?" Bagani chuckled. "It'll be two more days before the end of the two-year training."
Bagani begged for James to give him this moment to craft alone. As he walked towards the room a sensation of heaviness in his chest began to be felt. "I'm gonna miss this place, aren't I?" He then opened the door and took the steel out of its cylinder. With its high heat resistance, Bagani spent the whole day banging his hammer unto the blade. The outcome was a sharp straight one with a bluish edge. Bagani fell to his knees and celebrated.
"Are you sure one blade is enough?" James asked as they ate.
"What do you mean?" Bagani asked.
"I mean you could craft two blades with that much of steel," James stated. "It's up to you anyways."
The next day Bagani once again rushed to smith. He was hesitant with the second blade but he decided to make it anyways. As the pushed his hammer down to the anvil and Astigmite, anger came flowing down as he remembered the incident of his sister. He screamed in anger as the embers grazed his face. He violently threw it in the bucket and waited. It came out a curved blade with a fiery red glow. Even though unsatisfied with his work, Bagani still decided to keep it.
"Its kinda dull but it looks alright." James criticized the blade.
"Should I throw it?" Bagani asked.
James hysterically declined. The two were now ready with their weapons and what's to come next. James served them a feast and congratulated the two.
"Hey, Bagani. Wake up." Ezekiel shook him.
"What?... Why?..." Bagani asked still half asleep.
"We should try out our weapons. Let's have a friendly battle what do you say?" Ezekiel whispered with a smile.
Bagani stared at him with disappointment, but he couldn't help but agree due to Ezekiel's enthusiasm. They decided to pick a short hill outside the temple. "This place good enough?" Bagani asked.
"Yeah, this should do," Ezekiel replied. "Ready?"
"Its just a friendly fight right?" Bagani asked. "Nothing more?"
Ezekiel nodded his head and they posed as they prepared to battle. Ezekiel fired off a bolt. It missed Bagani And hit the ground. The dirt exploded upwards and rained over the two. "Friendly huh?" Bagani uttered.
The Asulhero charged with his swords. He named the sharp blue sword 'Hait' and the curved red one 'Dugo' at dinner. He used his spirit energy on Hait, the sword glowed, even more, it felt lighter and sharper as ever. He charged at Ezekiel with the quick attack, Hait grazed Ezekiel and put a small scar on his face. Ezekiel ran around, waiting for the cooldown of the sorcerers stone. Once it was ready, he rolled and quickly shot at Bagani. The Asulhero blocked the strike with his blade and charged once again. This time he tried using Dugo as an attacker. As he sent his life energy unto the sword, it felt heavy, pulling him down with it and causing Bagani to trip.
"Useless sword..." Bagani muttered.
The fight went on for a couple more hours, both using the same mediocre moves and dodging one another. They both collapsed due to exhaustion after reaching their limits.
Ezekiel woke up with his head aching. "What? Where am I?"
"Yes friendly fight without my permission." Bulawan teased. He carried the boys back to his temple after the two went unconscious. Ezekiel woke up in his bed in the morning. "James already packed both of you things. Now get out of here you rascals."
After breakfast, the two suited up for their journey. They took their bags and went to the gate.
"I'm gonna miss you old man," Ezekiel said to Bulawan. "With the endless commands and your annoying attitude with it."
Bulawan smirked. "You too kid." He noticed Bagani in the distance bidding farewell to James. Bulawan walked up to the Asulhero with an item on his hand. "Take this." Bulawan handed out a handkerchief to Bagani. "Fold it to an eyepatch and cover the Eye of Bathala. That is if you don't want to be hunted down."
"Thank you," Bagani said as he accepted the gift. "Though I still think I'll be hunted for being an Asulhero the towel still makes a big difference."
As the duo marched of the gate with the sun on their back, a new journey rises. Separated once again, Ezekiel and Bagani got ready for more adventure to find the legendary stone the 'Buhayostine'.