"Alright, that's enough"
Said Amada before grabbing Shu by his arm, pulling him out of the small puddle of water
"W-what the hell was that"
Said Shu, as he regained his skin color, his body relaxed and his veins sank back into his muscles
"Your training"
Amada replied while washing her hands off of Shu's hair
"My training? I nearly almost died, and all I did was walk in, how is this training?"
Shu questioned while pointing at the water with a look of annoyance
"Well, while the water tries to mercilessly kill you, you'll maintain that form of yours, that'll improve your control, while—well you know, you try to keep your life. Like Yorujo used to say 'A near-death experience is the fastest way to get stronger' "
Amada replied while patting Shu's head before smiling
"Well then, I'm off"
She added while making her body shrink back to its size, floating over to the wall, and unlike Shu, she didn't have to do anything, the wall spread apart, giving her space to fly off. And so she did, leaving them confused and annoyed boy behind
"Alright well, since I know where everything is, I don't need my Spiritual Awakening for light"
Said Shu to himself, and soon after his hair turned back to its silver color, his pale skin turned back to its normal tone while his eyes stopped glowing
"Oh, by the way, I suggest you keep that form of yours on, or else, you'll face consequences"
Amada's voice was heard as her small head peeked into the secluded space, before disappearing soon after
"Wait what?"
Shu uttered, but before he could even process Amada's words, the walls began to shrink, tightening around his body as he began to breathe heavily, losing his air as the walls pressed against him like two boulders would a human
"I—I can't breathe"
He whispered to himself before closing his eyes, and then all of a sudden, his body began to shine, and right after the walls began to spread, giving him the much-needed space. He was again, in his energy-wasting form
"That was close, huff..huff"
He whispered to himself before sitting on the ground, throwing himself back, using his arms and hands to keep his upper body straight. His heart had accelerated, and so had his breathing
"Well, let's try again"
He would then stand up, stretching his arms, and in the process his muscles and joints, as if he were preparing himself for a marathon.
He then took a step forward, getting closer to the puddle of water, taking another, and another until his toes reached the water.
The boy took in a deep breath, exhaling a few seconds later, before stepping onto the water, lowering down to the water's level, sitting on the ground underneath. The water covered his legs and waist, and just like before, it began to pull at Shu's Energy
"Ughaaah"
He exclaimed in pain, his aura began to spread throughout the entire place. He was losing control of his Spiritual Awakening the more he stood emerged in the water. His muscles tensed up as the veins around his eyes, began to surround them. The veins in his arms popped out like a thick string, whilst the ones in his neck began to spread through his shoulders. It was a hard task to keep his energy in control and because of that, he unconsciously tried to use his physical strength to do so.
"I can't—I can't hold it in, it burns, it hurts, I hate it!"
He yelled before slamming his hand against the ground, cracking it apart as he would then attempt to close his fist, unwillingly sinking his fingers in the ground. But just like the walls, it regenerated, enclosing Shu's hand
"I...I"
Shu exclaimed in an attempt to utter a word, he was giving up, his body, mind, and energy couldn't take it, his pupils would roll up, the back of his eyes would take the front as his pupils took the back. His skin was becoming paler and paler, pale enough for his blood vessels to be seen.
But right when he was about to close his eyes, the voice that he heard back on his dream echoed throughout his head, causing him to quickly open his eyes as he would then pull his hand out of the ground, tightening his teeth while flexing his muscles
"Give it back you fucker!"
Shu yelled before the energy that surrounded the small place quickly traveled back into Shu's body, his skin began to regain its tone as a smile grew on his face, but that didn't mean he was strong enough to withstand the water any longer, and with that in mind he jumped out of the water, landing hard against the ground as the water around his lower body began to drip, wetting the ground he had just landed on
"This place is rigged, huff, huff. But.."
He whispered to himself as his smile soon turned into a smirk
"I was able to last a bit longer than before. If I try one more time, I might just be able to improve a little bit more"
Said the boy while spreading his arms, as he laid upside down against the ground. Looking at the wall.
Along with the smirk he had on his face, his eyes were that of excitement, he wanted to get stronger, and this was doing just that. He of course didn't want to die, but if being close to death meant he could get stronger he wouldn't think twice
"Alright"
He whispered as he sat up, closing his eyes as he sighed, opening them up a few seconds later to then clutch his hand, looking at his palm with a calm expression
"I'm getting stronger, but I'm not yet as strong as them. They were fast, powerful, and menacing, their presence itself was something great. Of course, they weren't nearly as strong as grandpa was but, for now, they're the obstacles I want to jump over"
He said to himself while picturing Reimi in his mind, standing by the boy whom Shu dubbed The Kinetic boy. This of course excited him, erasing that calm look he had before, being replaced by a grin.