''What's your name, boy?''
The Elder spoke, and Shane said his name, his voice trembling a bit. Just standing in front of such a fearful man almost made him shit on himself.
''And where are you from? Shane.''
''I… I cannot remember, sir. I can't remember a thing. '' For a second, Shane feared lying to the Elder. What if he could see through his lies?
Shane's heart banged against his chest as he stood under the intense gaze of the Elder.
''You may leave.'' The Elder said, and the dwarf took him away. After some time, the dwarf returned to the Elder sitting on a couch.
''There's something odd about the child.'' He said; ''But it is something I cannot see. He indeed has no mana, just an ordinary human.'' The elder breathed;
''But then, only a Servant, one who was born of a demon, can turn healing waters black. ''
At the words of the Elder, the dwarf's eyes widened; ''but it can't be. He's not a servant.''
''Certainly. He has no mana or powers, but there is something not right about him.'' he said and thought for a moment; ''Keep him around, and don't alarm the others. We have to keep a close watch on him,'' The Elder said after which he stood up and walked away.
Shane walked back to his dorm, confused about why they had asked to see him. As he approached the door, he saw Tatiana waiting for him. When she saw him, she ran to him;
''What happened? Why did he call for you?''
''I do not know. He took me to meet an Elder. I think it's something serious. ''
''An Elder asked to see you? Then it must be serious. Did they say anything else?'' She asked and Shane shook his head; ''Nothing else. I hope I'm not in any trouble,''
He said and Tatiana heaved; ''I hope so. The Elders are only called on important matters, but let's pray it's not something serious. ''
…
The next day, Sky was assigned to a martial arts team. He felt a little welcomed as everyone there had no special powers, except their tutors who had powers and also practiced martial arts. Shane was terrible at training, as this was his first time. They started with basic judo, and even at that he was an epic failure.
By the end of the training, he was in pain. He barely reached his dorm before Tatiana came to remind him he had a training session with Nyx that night.
''I can't. My whole body is in pain. I have to skip. ''
''You cannot skip, Shane. Nyx would take it as you not being serious. Do you think she has all the time in the world to train you at your own leisure? Go first, then if she sees that you're not well, she might let you go.''
Before Shane could reply, there was a knock on the door and Tatiana went to check who it was;
''Is Shane in?'' It was Luna. Tatiana shook her head; ''No, he's not back yet. '' She lied without a second thought. Luna hesitated before she turned around and left.
Tatiana locked the door and Sky folded his arms in front of him; ''Now I think about it, Tatiana, you're being a little overprotective of Shane. Please, don't tell me you're starting to feel something for him?''
Tatiana stared daggers at Sky; ''You know that's not true. I'm just helping him out. As a friend. I'll do that for you too,'' she said, avoiding Shane's eyes as she sat down on Finn's bed. He was not back yet.
Sky laughed as he continued to tease Tatiana. All the while, Shane was thinking about how he was going to train with Nyx that evening, completely missing Tatiana's red face.
9 pm came faster than Shane expected. After exercising a little, he left for Nyx's room.
''You're here already. '' She said as she tied her hair up in a tight bun. Shane nodded.
''Let's go. '' Nyx said and walked forward. Shane followed behind. They went along a pathway. As she passed, she raised her hand and lit the torches on fire.
Shane watched in awe. It was nice to have such powers,, and he wished he had one. It was terrible being in this strange world, but more terrible to be with no powers.
''We'll be using this place for your training. People rarely come here at night and I can beat you to a bloody pulp, and no one will hear you scream. '' She said with a slight smile. Shane looked uneasy and then she laughed; ''Don't worry, you won't die, not by my hands anyway. ''
It was a small field, not the general training area. Shane figured the higher-ranked descendants used this site to train, away from the others.
''Okay, now for the basics,'' Nyx said, folding her hands behind her. ''Punch me as quickly as you can.''
Shane hesitated and then attempted to punch her, but made sure not to hit her face. His fist came close but stopped in front of her face. Nyx did not move, her eyes did not even flutter. In the following second, she struck him with a powerful blow that sent Shane tumbling across the ground.
''Arrrghh!''
''I asked you to actually punch me, not to pretend to. Get up. ''
Shane's insides were on the verge of rupturing from the punch. He had not expected that her tiny hands to convey such a severe blow. As he stood up, he huffed and puffed, trying to take a breath.
''Again, punch me hard and quickly. ''
This time Shane tried to hit her face, but she evaded his punches swiftly, then the next second, she held his hand, stopping it halfway, and with her leg, she kicked him in the stomach.
Shane writhed in agony as he fell to the ground, wriggling in pain.
'' You're too weak. Descendants have super speed and heightened senses. I can predict every move you'll ever make, so how can you learn?''
Nyx asked, folding her arms. Her words angered Shane, and a sudden rush of adrenaline filled him, and he leaped to his feet and dashed towards her, but before he could reach her, Nyx disappeared from in front of him. Shane stopped as his eyes widened. She was in front of him now…
Before he could make sense of what happened, Nyx had knocked him to the ground.
''Let's try again tomorrow. This is enough for the night. '' She said and walked away, leaving Shane lying helplessly on the grass.