"William, you've come far, but not far enough. You have to push yourself even further. You have to push your body to the point where you can't move. Only then will you grow stronger," HE yelled at me.
I rose from the ground, knowing HE wanted me to be the best fighter I could be. However, I didn't understand the necessity of it. Why did I need to be strong when the king had HIM? With HIM around, the king was untouchable, so my strength seemed redundant.
"William, stop spacing out and get into your fighting position."
I sighed and asked, "Why do I need to grow stronger when you're here? YOU could take out entire kingdoms if YOU wanted to, so what's the point of me becoming strong?"
HE sighed deeply, crossing HIS arms.
"William, what I'm about to say stays between us, understood?"
"Yeah, sure," I replied, feeling confused.
"The reason I want you to reach your peak power is because Agnes had a vision when you were born. In her vision, she saw the world being conquered by beings not from this planet, and I couldn't defeat them all. We don't know when the invasion will happen, so I need you to become as strong as you can. With you by my side, I'm confident we can stop the invasions. So, if you want to keep the King, Arthur, and the Princess safe, you have to start getting serious," HE said gravely.
I stood there, unsure whether to believe him. If HE was telling the truth, why hadn't anyone mentioned it? Was HE just trying to motivate me?
"William, I assure you I'm telling the truth. The king didn't want you to know until you were at least 23, but now it's clear you need some motivation."
"How do I know you're telling the truth and not just lying?"
"Go see Agnes. She'll tell you the same thing," HE said.
"Fine, I'll go ask her right now!" I yelled, rushing off to find Agnes.
"Come back when she confirms it, and we'll begin our training," HE called after me.
I ran off, opening two metal doors, and then, suddenly, I woke up in the infirmary. I sighed, recalling how scared I felt when Ms. Agnes confirmed the same thing. My goal had been to get as strong as possible to keep everyone safe. But now, my goal was to kill HIM. I decided to worry about the invaders when, and if, they arrived. Reflecting on it, maybe HE had asked Agnes to lie to me. Regardless, I needed to start attracting the wind mana.
I looked around and saw only Evelyn sleeping. Following my routine, I headed to the mountain for water, freshened up, and waited for Malikor. I contemplated having a breakfast bar but decided against it, knowing the intense training might make me throw up. Over the past three days, I kept losing, enduring the pain of having my limbs torn off and reattached. The only frustration was that I still couldn't understand how Malikor used his wind mana.
"Good morning, Whisk," Evelyn greeted me as she left the infirmary.
"Good morning, Evelyn," I replied with a wave.
"I'm going to the mountain for water. Do you want to come?" she offered.
"No, thanks. I've already been. I'm just waiting for Malikor. He should be here soon," I said, turning back.
"Okay, I'll be quick," she said, running off.
I sat there, trying to attract the wind mana, but they didn't come. They got close and observed me, which seemed like progress. I continued this until Malikor showed up.
"Are you just going to sit there, boy?"
I opened my eyes and saw Malikor ready to train. I got up and assumed my fighting stance, still focusing on attracting the wind mana. Evelyn said today might be the day they come to me; I just needed one wind mana to start the flow.
"BEGIN!" Malikor commanded.
Immediately, he lunged at me with a punch. I barely dodged and countered with a left-handed strike to his ribs. Predictably, Malikor dodged and grabbed my arm, pulling me in and elbowing me in the face. Normally, his blows to my head didn't hurt much, thanks to the mask. I decided to exploit this and let him strike my face repeatedly, hoping to make him think it was my weak spot. Malikor then stepped back.
"Tsk, boy, are you just going to let me hammer you with punches to your face? You know that's the part you need to protect the most, right?"
I was taken aback. Was Malikor giving me advice?
"I thought you weren't going to help me," I responded.
"Tsk," Malikor spat on the ground.
Evelyn arrived, and I grinned, preparing to strike Malikor. I wanted to take advantage of the mask's protection and land a punch straight to his face.
"BEGIN!" Malikor yelled again.
Like before, he attacked first. I dodged and threw a punch, which Malikor blocked and countered with an elbow strike to my face. Seizing the moment, I punched him in the chin with all my might, sending him flying. The thrill of landing the blow was immense. I saw blood trailing from his chin as he hit the ground. Evelyn gasped and rushed to heal him.
Standing there, filled with pride, I watched Malikor.
"GET OFF ME, GIRL!" he yelled, pushing Evelyn away.
Then, without a second to realized Malikor getting up a sudden pain in my stomach made me look down. Malikor had punched a hole through me. He didn't stop, continuing to attack mercilessly. I barely held on to consciousness, hearing a female voice yelling. I didn't care; I had hit Malikor without Mana, and in my mind, I had won.
Evelyn:
All I could do was watch in horror as Malikor punched a hole in Whisk and beat him senseless. There was blood everywhere, and I wasn't sure if Whisk was still breathing. Had Malikor killed him? I snapped back to my senses as Sergeant Caitlyn yelled at me, carrying Key, who appeared to be unconscious. I ran towards Sergeant Caitlyn and desperately asked her for help.
"Sergeant Caitlyn, please, you have to help Whisk! Malikor has lost it. He's beating Whisk to a bloody pulp. If he doesn't stop so I can help, Whisk is going to die."
She looked at me worriedly, put down Key, and told me to lead her to them.
I ran towards the scene, and Malikor was still going at it, relentlessly hitting Whisk's mask. Sergeant Caitlyn's voice boomed, demanding and authoritative.
"MALIKOR, THAT'S ENOUGH! LET THE BOY GO AND STAND DOWN!"
Malikor stopped and glared at Sergeant Caitlyn, his eyes full of rage and hatred. Even he knew he was no match for her aura of power.
"Don't get involved in my training, Sergeant. I'm just teaching this pup a lesson," Malikor said callously.
"Well, from where I'm standing, it looks like you're trying to kill the boy. I've let you do as you please until now, thinking you might see the value in the change of power. But clearly, you still align yourself with the old ways, the old council," Sergeant Caitlyn retorted.
"Yes, you're right. I still believe the old council knew best, especially about where the trash belonged," Malikor sneered.
Sergeant Caitlyn immediately activated her lightning spell, covering her entire body, while Malikor prepared himself for an attack. I couldn't wait any longer; if I did, Whisk would lose too much blood, and I wouldn't be able to heal him. So, I ran past them and started to heal Whisk, surprising both of them and halting their confrontation. Sergeant Caitlyn spoke coldly.
"GET OUT, Malikor. I'll be coming by later to discuss your behavior today."
Malikor left without a word, and Sergeant Caitlyn turned to me.
"Sorry, Evelyn. I thought Whisk could break through to him, but I was horribly wrong."
I didn't respond, focusing all my attention on healing Whisk. I wasn't connected to any of the four elements, so my method revolved around the technique I taught Whisk, the method my mother gave me. I asked the earth Mana to form healing mana, and they responded, helping me heal Whisk's stomach wound. Exhausted, I asked Sergeant Caitlyn to take him to the infirmary. I laid there and slowly closed my eyes. Healing such a large injury had taken more out of me than I expected, and soon after, I fell asleep on the ground