The world seemed to slow down as Lieren, his mind and focus stretched to its absolute limit, draining him of all his energy and mana, felt his edge coming closer and growing nearer.
With an electrifying chill that sent cold shivers that shocked his entire body into submissive attention, Lieren brought his right foot forward and down, planting it into the floor with a determinative glare as perspiration flowed down his face from the mental and physical stress that this prevaricate training drill that made him feel decades older than he already was, doing whatever is possible to stay just a second longer, while maintaining whatever piece of his shrinking sanity intact.
Like earlier, like always, another invisible arrow that caused faint disturbances in its surrounding space flied by where Lieren was just a second before, rupturing the enchanted tree behind him and gouging out its massive trunk with a mystical implosion that caused a sizable part of the tree's trunk to collapse in on itself, leaving only a small piece of condensed wood in its place, which fell unceremoniously on the ground with a light thud.
As Lieren watched this unfold out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but be mesmerized by the spell's unique ability to attract anything within its immediate area upon impact, as well as the various restrictions and conditions, rules and theories, the spell's construction that caused destruction, and most importantly of all: how the need to make such a powerful ability came about, along with the mentality of its user—his Aegis.
Harita, however, was not having any of it, mercilessly letting loose multiple arrows every second or two. This caused great stress for the boy, leaving him with a slowly debilitating psyche. Children, most of them, were not meant to undergo such a hellish training regimen without any warnings whatsoever.
Nevertheless, Lieren was not one to back down, especially with something as enriching as this.
Reconfiguring his simple Enhancement spell and making certain of its stability, he dashed away from his current position with agile precision and deadly intuition, barely dodging a dozen or so invisible arrows by a hair's breadth. Lieren could feel the attractive force of his Aegis' spell trying to tip him over: to bend his will and resolution. Each shot was made with the cruel—but not murderous—intent that the unseen archer had as he used the enchanted forest's natural vegetation to conceal his presence, leaving him relatively safe as he mercilessly shot dozens upon dozens of arrows at the ten-year-old boy.
Following Harita's advice, Lieren had used the towering trees to his advantage, using feints to bait shots near him and dash behind an enchanted tree and use it for brief cover, granting him a couple of moment's reprieve, using that small window to think of his next actions and map out the terrain mentally to have a better grasp of the dark battlefield.
'This is getting ridiculous. I need to get closer.'
Finally taking notice of his severe disadvantage and lack of leeway, he resolved himself for full-frontal attack. Not the brazen kind where he dashes without thought, but an attack that properly takes note of the risks involved and diminishes them as much as he could.
Without even catching his breath, Lieren skipped to the side, noticing an invisible arrow enter his perceptive range and properly dealing with it at a moment's notice. He circled to the other side of the large tree, taking notice of when and where the arrows were shot, making a mental note of each.
This continued for a few seconds more until Lieren's movements became monotonous, easily predictable. The arrows that were shooting at him grew faster and more accurate, hindering his movements and restricting his possible actions.
Things were not looking good for Lieren.
However, the boy was determined. Desperate, even. He needed to be, otherwise his aching legs and sluggish body would not have been able to last very long. In terms of will alone, he was confident of his ability to last even through such dire circumstances, having absorbed the daily carnage of the world and the dark creatures that regularly partook in it.
His body ached as muscles he didn't even know existed were doing its best to wring out as much energy it could from him, much more than ever before. His mind felt increasingly sluggish as time went on, every second a sizable bite to his lucidity. Everything felt on the verge of collapsing and utter deconstruction.
Despite all this—despite everything—the boy stood strong and powerful, taking one foot over the other as his body screamed from every step that he took. The pleading cries never ceased, despite his fervent wishes.
That's when it hit him.
'There!'
With a sickening groan, the boy weaved through the quickly approaching invisible arrows. His eyes were wide-open through pure will alone, feeling and absorbing the world with every sense still available, desperately dashing despite all odds, gritting through the unbearable pain assailing him from all sides.
As far as he knew, he could've already been dying. Nevertheless, the present stayed the same.
"AaaaaaaaRRrrrgggggghhhhhh…!!!"
Pushing forward with a power beyond himself, the boy let out a scream that pierced the skies and all that was in it, his voice resounding throughout the enchanted forest of Karan. Howls and roars of distant beasts echoed from within the darkness.
Everything came to a blur once again, melting into one background as his eyes narrowed in on one shadowed figure hiding behind a thick wall of dense vegetation, his eyes piercing through what seemed to be reality itself as the distant clamor of chains echoed with in the plane of promises.
An barrage of invisible arrows rushed for his vitals, aiming at his arms and legs to incapacitate—maybe even kill—him. Should the worst come to.
'Just like I thought.'
Fortunately, Lieren had seen this coming from a mile away. Anybody with a brain can see the obvious vulnerability that his reckless charge presented. Only a fool would miss such a delicious opportunity.
He felt the mana inside of him writhe and convulse, nearing its limit. And with such realization came inspiration.
A short passage from a world religions book that Lieren had read popped into existence inside of his mind in a moment of insanity.
"The Great Arcana responds to desire, regardless of the situation. Everything comes at a cost, and everything must be repaid. All shall be granted soon, and all shall be taken later."
His sapphire eyes glimmered with vibrant blue as his pupils began to emanate a light blue glow. Pressure began to fill up his head and eyes specially, dousing his head with an ice-cold substance as he neared his mental and physical limit.
Without anything else to do, he pushed the pressure out, feeling it intricately leave his body through the invisible channels that connected his mana to his body as he shot the power out with desperate vigor.
"...!!"
He wanted to scream, shout something quirky, but came out, only furious intent and desperate desire.
"…Wha—?!"
There was an audible gasp from somewhere, but Lieren was too preoccupied to take notice of it. Pushing the pressure out already took a heavy toll on him, which waned his focus considerably.
The invisible arrows imploded midair, bending the space around them, creating a mesmerizing scenery of distorted space and dimensions. He was too busy to care about this for now, already struggling to keep his eyes open through will alone.
His heart skipped a beat as adrenaline pumped throughout his body and kept it moving, rushing forward to his opponent while keeping his body in motion. Despite its never-ending protests.
With gritted teeth and bloodshot eyes, the boy brought his hand down on a surprised Harita's face. It was covered with intense shock and proud astonishment.