Chaus remembered every scene of the fight. He remembered the way Carnak moved. He remembered the way Carnak fought. He remembered Carnak's footwork and spearmanship. He even remembered the way Carnak integrated his soul into his physical body.
Chaus started thinking about what he should focus on Chaus believed the most important thing in a battle was footwork. Without adequate footwork, Chaus wouldn't be able to get close to an enemy or dodge attacks.
Chaus began practicing the footwork Carnak used. When Carnak moved, his entire body weight shifted towards the direction he was moving. This increased the speed at which one could move. The problem was that it would be hard to come to a stop since the entire body weight would be leaning towards a single direction. So how did Carnak manage to stop and change directions so quickly?
Chaus replayed the scene of Carnak's footwork. Whenever Carnak used his footwork and changed directions, a slight ripple went across his body into the ground. The ground would then tremble, and sometimes even a dent would be made. Chaus realized Carnak was using the ground to mitigate his momentum. By doing so, Carnak was able to go into a neutral position, allowing him to move in any direction he wanted to.
Chaus understood the fundamentals of Carnak's footwork, and it was time to put it into action. Chaus tried to mimic the way Carnak shifted his body weight, but Chaus just fell into the dirt headfirst. This was miles harder than how easy Carnak made it look. Chaus spent an hour attempting to mimic Carnak's footwork, but every time he fell into the dirt. Chaus grew frustrated. He was making no progress. Maybe he was starting at the wrong place. The footwork Carnak used was something he refined and evolved through years of practice. He didn't start off with that footwork, but rather something simple. Chaus decided to start simple and improve from there.
Chaus started with a simple front to back and side to side movement. After feeling comfortable with that, he started moving diagonally. While moving, Chaus imagined he was fighting a human. He imagined he was swinging a sword, parrying, counterattacking, dodging, and striking. For the entire day, Chaus worked on his footwork and imaginary striking.
Suddenly, while working on his footwork, Chaus was teleported back onto the platform. It was nighttime. Chaus remembered Dru saying he would be sent back to the platform during nighttime. Chaus wanted to continue working on his footwork, but he needed to sleep. He was only nine and his body was weak. Chaus decided to put a pause on his training and went to sleep.
The next day Chaus woke up with an urge to go back to training. He quickly got out of bed, ate, and moved towards the door. He touched the door, but nothing happened. He frowned in confusion. He tried again. Still, nothing happened.
[It can't be broken, can it?]
His question was answered by the expansion of the platform. The large stone platform expanded tens of meters. The air fluctuated on the expanded platform.
[Dru?]
A sword appeared in front of Chaus. Quickly following the appearance of the sword was a human. The human looked a few years older than Chaus. He had blonde hair with blue eyes. This was unlike Chaus who had dark black eyes and pitch black hair. A sword also appeared in front of the blonde teen. The blonde teen picked the sword up and looked at Chaus. Just as Carnak had done, the blonde teen charged towards Chaus. The difference this time was that Chaus could clearly see the teen's movements.
Chaus had no idea what was going on. He didn't know why the blonde was charging towards him, but one thing was for sure, the blonde was aiming to kill him. Chaus raised his sword and prepared to engage. His heart was thumping. Adrenaline filled his entire body. This was Chaus's first real fight.
Chaus was able to observe his opponents movements before they collided. His opponents footwork was terrible to say the least compared to Carnak's footwork. Then again, the people who had footwork like Carnaks could be counted on 10 fingers. Chaus's opponent raised his sword and swung down at Chaus. Chaus instinctively raised his sword in an attempt to block it.
The sound of clanging metal vibrated through the air. Chaus grunted in pain. His opponent's power exceeded Chaus's own power by more than 50%. Chaus backed away from his opponent but his opponent continuously attacked Chaus.
Everytime they clashed, Chaus's arms shook. His hands were numb from the continuous clashing. He was frustrated at not being able to do anything but defend. Chaus needed to find a way to counterattack but he didn't know how. Even after practice, Chaus's footwork was sloppy at best. It wasn't suited to be used in battle. Chaus tried to use magic, but he couldn't cast spells while moving. Everytime he tried, his soul energy didn't go where he wanted it to and the spell ended up as a failure. Chaus grew nervous. He was slowly losing energy and his opponent was getting faster and stronger.
Chaus's opponent proceeded to stab Chaus. Chaus sidestepped and dodged it. However, while sidestepping, Chaus noticed something. His opponent's soul was weak. No, it wasn't weak. His opponent didn't even form a complete soul yet. His opponent's soul was in the pseudo-initial stage. If Chaus could use his soul to his advantage, he could beat his opponent. Chaus remembered the way Carnak integrated his soul with his body. Chaus attempted to do that. He tried to integrate his soul into his physical body. 5%. 10%. 25%. Chaus could feel his body getting stronger and becoming more powerful. 40% integration. Then, it stopped. His soul and body couldn't integrate any further. Chaus grew confused at that but he had more important things to focus on.
The empowered Chaus had improved strength and agility. He was now faster and stronger than the sword wielding blonde. Chaus easily blocked his opponent's sword strike and swiftly counterattacked. The blonde tried to block it, but Chaus was too strong. The opponent's sword flew out of his hand. Chaus lifted the sword to his opponent's neck. "Who are you? Why are you trying to kill me?"
The opponent snarled. "Either you die or I die" He then took a knife out from his waist pocket and launched himself at Chaus. Chaus, surprised, instinctively swung his sword. The blonde's head went flying and his body crumpled to the ground. This was the first person Chaus had ever killed.
Chaus was visibly shaken. The adrenaline went out of his body and his soul integration reverted. Chaus collapsed on the ground. He started gasping for breath. Chaus wanted to take revenge on the Ziki, but killing a human, that thought had never appeared in Chaus's head. His mind was in disarray.
[I killed him. He was trying to kill me, but still, I killed him. Sh*t.]
It felt surreal. Chaus didn't know what he was feeling or what emotions ran through his body. He was in shock. Chaus stayed in this state for minutes until Dru appeared behind Chaus. Chaus turned around and faced Dru. Chaus felt a barrage of emotions. Betrayal. Anger. Confusion. "Why?"
Dru looked at Chaus as if looking at a pitiful animal. "Because this was your choice."
Chaus exploded in anger. "This was not my choice! I didn't want to kill him!"
"You chose the path of power."
At that, Chaus was shocked into silence. He remembered when Dru said the path he chose was one of pain and hardship.
[Is this what he meant?]
"The path for strength is one of endless bloodshed. You didn't expect to just gain power, kill the Ziki, and be done with it did you?"
That was exactly what Chaus thought he was going to do. Chaus looked down sheepishly.
"Have you ever wondered why a Ziki would attack your village? A village worth practically nothing."
Chaus shook his head.
"The Ziki are simply ants in the grand scheme of things. They were moved by a more powerful force. Whether that force was human or not, why don't you guess."
In the world of Tsirgia there were multiple species. Bellators: large 3 meter tall monsters. Ziki: creatures born from darkness best suited for assasination. Elves: a race that is one with nature. Dwarves: short creatures who excel in smithing. Humans: the most average but adaptable of the bunch. Giants: Massive creatures with absurd strength and almost absolute defense. Magus: servants born from the blood of dragons. Then last, but the greatest of all the races, Dragons, Kings of Tsirgia, ruler of all races. Boasting incredible magic power, defense, and offensive power.
Out of all the races, the humans were the most greedy. Their desire for power resulted in what was thought to be the extinction of the dragon and magus race. The humans also turned the giants into an endangered species. Although the humans were the weakest out of those races, they were the most clever and craftiest. The venomous plots they created that caused the downfall of the three great races were testament to that.
The elves, on the other hand, had no interest in worldly affairs while the dwarves simply focused on improving their smithing and craftsmanship. The giant race were too prideful to use lower species to do their dirty work, and the Bellators were too weak to control the Ziki. That only left the human race.
Chaus was shocked at the revelation. "Why." He whispered.
"Because of you."
"Me?" Chaus grew confused. "What do I have to do with any of this?"
"Everything." Dru stared into Chaus's eyes. " You are the son of Carnak and Veronica."
[Carnak?! The warrior from the illusion?! And who was Veronica?]
"Carnak was the greatest Dragon King. He was a quadra elemental who had the highest potential in three elements. Veronica was the greatest Dark Mage the world had ever seen. Her control over death was extraordinary. So extraordinary she could raise dragons from the dead. When Carnak and Veronica met, the Giants and Dragons were at war with each other. A single Giant was weaker than a Dragon, but the Giants had a faster reproduction rate, and therefore a larger population. Because of that, they fought the Dragons on even grounds. The humans watched the war from the sidelines, too weak to intervene. However, one human was different: Veronica. She wanted an end to all the bloodshed. She was kind, too kind. She realized from an early age only power could put a stop to the war. Thus, she indulged in the dark arts of death. She grew stronger and stronger until she could raise dragons that were claimed by death. She raised a dozen dragons and marched into the homeland of the dragons. Her goal wasn't to wage war on the dragons, but to show them that she could change the tide of war. She wanted to become a third party so that the Giants and Dragons would have to reconsider waging war. And there, in the homeland of the Dragons, Rianshard, she met Carnak."