-EARTH-
-Week 5, Day 31/Tuesday, Mayort City-
-Time: 8:45 A.M.-
The duel was accepted by Sasha, more than happy to fight Kroma, so they went to one of the arenas in their Dojo.
"As per regulations of duels in the Dojo, the first one to be knocked out or forfeit loses. As this is a normal duel, killing or vital injuries are a sign of disqualification and loss. All that stuff, blah blah blah, just beat this guy, I'm hungry." Eska who was doing the referee job said completely disinterested in the matter.
Due to their respective reputations in the Inner Area, the duel between them attracted quite a crowd that was now eagerly waiting for it to start.
"I placed my bets on Kroma, the guy has pulled off some unbelievable victories before."
"Hmph! Are you stupid? The Thug Queen is known as the Angel Of Violence, I don't think you are quite sure of who you're dealing with at all."
"They are both in the 5th Layer of the Martial Apprentice Realm, there's not too much of a difference here."
"Are you stupid? She's in the mid of the 5th Layer and he's in the High! It's clear she has no shot of winning."
"If that's the case, why did she enter the Cultivation Exchange Event team and not him? It's clear she's stronger… I even heard the elders took a liking to her."
"Whatever the case, we'll know after this fight."
"You guys are underestimating Kroma, he's known as the Phantom Blade for a reason. A body cultivator like her has no chance."
"You fool, she's a double cultivator, body, and soul, he's the one who doesn't stand a chance."
"Hmph! We'll see about that… I should have not placed my bet on him… my money!"
The disciples in the crowd were curious to see which one of the two had the upper hand, and who was ultimately stronger.
"It's Kroma, The Phantom Blade Of Arbella versus, Sasha, The Angel Of Violence. Begin!" Eska announced the beginning of the duel.
The combatants stood in front of each other at a distance of 5 meters as the match began.
"Don't worry, I won't aim for the face." Kroma declares as he swings his katana 3 times casually aiming it at her without moving from his spot as he spoke to her.
"I don't need any mercy from you, and I would recommend going for my face, cause yours is not safe." Sasha replied but her eyes were not focused on him, but instead what she saw coming at her.
She weaved from nothing as most of the crowd could only look at what was happening in confusion, wondering why she would make such unnecessary moves.
At the same time, Kroma continued to swing at her much faster this time as he seemed to get a bit more serious.
"So you can see them, I guess the rumors about you being a double cultivator were true! Then let me see how long you can last." He smirked as he continued to swing at thin air.
In response, Sasha's moves speed up as she dodged out of the way of nothing, further confusing most watching as to what was happening.
"What's going on? I thought they would fight, this looks like a street performance."
"I think they are trying to fake a duel to make a quick buck of the bets."
"Boring! Fight! I didn't come here for this!"
"You guys are such newbies, you don't even know what's going on. I almost pity you people."
"What are you talking about?!"
"Man, I came here expecting some action."
"I'm surprised so many people haven't clued in when his name is literally Phantom Blade… I'm starting to think I'm smarter than I thought…"
(Most people here don't seem to know much about Soul Cultivation and why it's terrifying. It's the rarest type of cultivation and the heavens did so for a reason. Since they can interact with the Astral World, they can affect it and attack your soul directly. For anyone who isn't a Soul Cultivator or any something that makes their soul stronger, it's a weak point.
(Even a cultivator at the Martial Fighter realm could be defeated in one hit by a much weaker soul cultivator because their soul is still mortal, but worse of all, if your soul gets destroyed there is no coming back, even reincarnation or Death are no longer options.
(That's the terror of a soul cultivator. They can launch attacks invisible to anyone who doesn't dabble with souls and permanently erase you for good even if you are much stronger than them.) Eska thought to herself as she watched her friend dodge thin air.
"So this is a soul cultivator… wouldn't I be dead before I knew it? Even though I'm at the 7th Layer of the Energy Martial Apprentice Realm, I can't beat someone at the 5th Layer of the same realm? Where's the logic there?"
"There is none, the people born with rare cultivation types just stand above us, no matter how hard we work…"
"Hmph, I would still beat him. So long as he doesn't hit me, I can still win."
"That's a very crazy disadvantage, if your opponent only has to hit you once and you die."
"You guys don't know anything, that's not how soul cultivation works. My father is a cultivation scholar, your soul is like your physical body, but instead it's an astral body. So to kill you, a soul cultivator would still have to hit a vital spot."
"Wait… So, what if they cut off your limbs?"
"… It's obvious… Of course you can guess it."
"Nope, tell me."
"I… I don't know…"
As the discussion between various members of the audience went on, so did the fight, as Sasha was busy dodging his attacks.
From her perspective his attacks were not invisible but more like air slashes he send out of at her, something she was waiting on, seeing as her opponent was bound to get tired from attacking so much.
"Just stand still for a damn second!" Kroma tried to hit her time and time again, but she was avoiding his every attack with finesse.
This was something new to Kroma as he had never in his life faced another Soul Cultivator, so to him, the idea that an enemy could see his attacks coming was preposterous, simply a lunatic's cry.
Surely she would get hit if he kept attacking, there was no way she would not get hit by a single one of his attacks. He was Korma the Phantom Blade, and even adult cultivators much stronger than any of his fellow disciples feared him.
(This girl! Her luck will soon run out! Even if she's a soul cultivator in the same realm and layer! I'm still a tier above her! She's nothing! Nothing!
(I have defeated many cultivators stronger than me! and even killed a Martial Fighter realm cultivator before! She's just a weakling who will fall to my power soon!) Kroma was increasingly frustrated unable to understand how someone weaker than him could do this when he had brought those stronger than him to their knees before.
That back and forth continued as Kroma refused to change his way, fully convinced it would work, but his limit caught up to him before victory could.
*Huff* *Huff* *Huff*
As he fell to his, sweat going down his face, Kroma could not believe this was happening to him, it had to be a nightmare, nobody weaker than him could ever possibly do this to him, it was just too unfeasible too moronic to be true.
However, reality did not care for how he felt or what he believed, it simply was, and to cement that truth in his mind, as the executioner of his judgment, Sasha walked up to him and looked down at him.
*Bam* *Crack*
Without a single word, she stomped his head straight to thf ground causing small cracks to form, and she had her foot on his head while looking down at him.
"I was honestly disappointed. I wanted to beat you up, but you're too weak for that. I'm not one to bully the weak… At least not unprompted, and you just aren't worth it.
"I mean, I could have ended this fight at any point, but I waited for you to get serious until I realized that you were serious, and I couldn't believe it. I guess this is why I got into the team and you didn't, without your soul cultivation, What can you do?" Sasha narrowed her eyes looking at him very somberly as she questioned him.
"I… I can… I…" Kroma tried to find an answer to that question but his mind went blank, this moment just didn't make sense to him at all.
There was no way it was real, right?
"I thought as much. Don't talk to me again until you can answer this question otherwise, I'll cripple you." She said and then without another second to waste stomped him out increasing the cracks in the arena slightly as Kroma lost consciousness.
"Finally! Sasha is the winner!… Now, let's go eat, I'm in such a sushi mood today. Come on!" Eska announced then ran up to Sasha and went off with her after collecting the money she made by betting on her friend.
The ones left behind at the arena were more or less speechless.
"That was the most disappointing fight I've seen in a while…"
"Can you even can that a fight… I could probably beat Kroma blindfolded with only one arm after that."
"My money! Why did I bet on that loser?!"
"I think this was a nice waste of time."
"What else did anyone expect from this?"
"I've seen Kroma fight before he would always win without moving from his spot, just swinging his katana. It was nice to see him get owned."
The people there were mostly left dissatisfied with the end result of the match as it was a total disappointment to them.
Meanwhile, Sasha and Eska were at the cafeteria of the inner disciple area, each of them eating enough for 5 adult men.
"Did you really have to do all that? Why not just one-shot him from the beginning?" Eska asked as she munched on a chocolate croissant.
"Because he didn't know what he was doing at all. Someone like him would probably challenge me again if I didn't make him understand he's really weak, he just had a very good advantage he used to beat everyone else. I mean, do you think you could beat him?" Sasha replied as she enjoyed some moshi.
"Honestly… it's hard to say. If he fought me like he did with you, yeah, easy. However, if he actually tried against me, I would probably die. That would really be a pity, I still have so many sweets to try." Eska ate the next chocolate croissant whole.
"I hope he learns something and stops bothering me. It's unnecessarily pushy guys like him that really grind my gears." Sasha complained as she now started drinking a coffee.
"That's funny coming from you, isn't your oh-so-dear husband a pushy guy? He sounds like one." Eska pointed her spoon at Sasha as she began eating a pudding.
"It's not the same! He's different… You know what I mean." Sasha blushed at Eska's words not expecting to be called out.
"Yeah, of course. You're totally under his spell, it's almost scary. Maybe there's some brainwashing involved… I'll have to check." Eska narrowed her eyes as she theorized.
"Don't even! You're way out of line." Sasha rolled her eyes at the comment, her arms crossed.
"Fine! Anyway, what are you planning to do about the Cultivation Exchange Event?" Eska turned a bit more serious as she changed the subject.
"What about it? It's a pretty good opportunity to rise in the ranks, plus I will definitely get at least one good technique out of it." Sasha replied as she took a bite off a cinnamon roll.
"Hmph! That's not what I'm talking about. This is a bit suspicious. Why do they only want Inner Dicisples for such a grand event? Even more, why not just choose all the strongest disciples if that's the case? It feels fishy." Eska pointed out as she grumpily munched on a chocolate bar.
"I just think they are trying to give the newer weaker generation a chance, unlike a lot of the other disciples we still have a lot of time and potential, many of the stronger disciples in the inner area have long reached their upper limit." Sasha responded clearly not worried.
"I don't know about that. The new Dojo Leader is a sketchy guy, I miss our old Leader, she was at least fun. This new guy is too rigid." Eska commented.
"I just feel your fangirl mind taking over now that your favorite lady is off the table. The lineup was the same before she stepped down from the position anyway." Sasha answered.
"True… I don't like it anyway! The five great families of Mayort have no business inviting a bottom of the top 10 Dojo like ours to their big yearly event. It feels wrong." Eska insisted.
"You say that about everything. I remember when we joined the Dojo you thought they wanted to harvest our organs." Sasha sighed.
"I'm telling you, they just changed their minds because we had some talent. You can't actually trust any of these people, right?" Eska looked at her friend with total and complete worry.
"Of course, I don't trust them, but I'll make the most of any opportunity I get. I'll survive if something sketchy goes on, and if I get captured I'll just escape. Finally, if there's nothing I can do myself, I know hubby will take care of it." Sasha smiled widely as she expressed herself.
"You're starting to actually make me worried." Eska had her eyes narrowed and could only look at her friend not sure what else to say.
____________________________________________
-???-
In a foggy place where nothing could be seen beyond the fog, there was a young man lying on the ground as his eyes began to open.
"… Gosh… I'm dead again?… How unfortunate. I just keep failing at each turn no matter how I choose to act, am I that bad, or is this some sort of curse?" He asked looking at the fog above him not bothering to move a muscle just lying there.
The silence was overbearing as he lay there with holes in his chest, simply existing.
"Who should I have been? The old man who lost in life? The supposed Hero? I was in my second life? The guy who finally got the chance they wanted so they tried too hard? Or maybe the failure who lost 3 times already but somehow through sheer luck got a fourth chance?" He asked himself feeling more so tired than anything else.
"None of them really worked for me. After all, that happened to me, I don't know who I am. One would think that living so much would help me, but it's so much more confusing…
"I'm not even sure if I'm still the same or just some memory data that got uploaded in a new body. Does it even matter?… I'm just tired of things going wrong even when I try." A sigh left his mouth and his tired eyes watered but nothing ever came out, just there looking at the fog.
There was nothing there, no life, no friends, no family, no lust, no system, just him.
"It feels nice just do nothing and feel no pain, but even now, I don't feel at peace. What do I want? Why do I feel this way? What should be my purpose?" He asked question upon question but he had no answer for himself.
Anything he had set to be before this point had no meaning during this moment, where he just wanted to find something to build upon, a foundation for him, as it seems he lost the last one.
"Even if I'm dead, I'm still somewhere… Am I getting a fifth chance? Why? What makes me deserving of any of this? Am I somehow immortal? Is that why I don't stay dead?" The questions didn't stop and continued to pile up.
The silence gave no answer, only more space for thought.
"I guess in the end, I'm the same as I was when I started all of this, a loser. Back then it hurt me to see that, but you know what, you have to start from somewhere. I tried to jump a few steps of the way, and here I am, back at the bottom. Hahahahaha, I love the irony." He smiled to himself even though his tired eyes begged for rest at every moment, they too laughed with him.
Was there a correct answer to his questions, maybe a few he thought to himself, but at the end of the day, these were decisions he would have to make and live with, there was no perfect formula on who to be, there were guides, pointers, goals, drives, motivations, life experiences, philosophies, actions…
There was life, but no matter what, he would have to decrease for himself that was a fate he could not escape unless he wanted to become someone who lived as a puppet once more.
"I hate it. I really don't want to make this decision to live… unfortunately for me. It's too late for such thoughts.
"I'll have to deal with whatever comes next, so let's try this again, and this time, I might be lucky enough to know who Nivril Armondis Mortalis is by the end of it. If I do ever get out of here, that is." He didn't smile and instead just looked tired, and in a way, almost expressionless.
Taking in a deep breath, he let out an exhale before just relaxing.
"This place... It's kind of familiar, isn't it?" He asked yawning.
"You seem so much calmer than last time, that's cute." A voice could be heard from within the fog.
"Ohh… So, I'm here… It seems I didn't die yet. What a pity, I was almost celebrating a new beginning…" Nivril joked as he realized where he was.
"You're a very weird kid, you know that, right?" The voice asked him.
"I guess you could say that or you could just say I have a unique flow, sounds much more vanguard." He didn't move from that same spot.
"To get pared up with you is something else, I would have stopped being a guardian if I knew you would be my next protegee." The voice was slightly scolding him.
"My dear Energy Guardian… What's your name?" Nivril asked seemingly unbothered by the words said to him.
"Kullis, that's the name. You should really treat people with more respect, you know that." Kullis replied.
"I see, it's nice to see you again, Kullis. So, am I alive?" He continued to ask another question.
"Of course, you are, you would not see me in death, not now at least. You got lucky though, that thing in your soul almost killed you for good. I had to pull you out of there in the last second." Kullis responded.
"Thanks! I appreciate that. It's actually pretty nice to be alive, though I would rather not wake up now, how do I do it?" Nivril nodded his head before asking.
"I would focus on the holes in your soul first. If you go back outside like that you will die anyway." Kullis explained.
"Of course, I would. It would not be me if it didn't almost kill me to be alive. I guess some things will never change." He finally got up and sat instead of lying there, stretching himself out to lose the stiffness.
"Not even frustrated?" Kullis asked.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, I am, 'cause this is not an ideal situation by any means, but at this point just lay it on me and teach me how to get this done. I have a lot to do in the outside world." Nivril smiled lightly his eyes as tired as ever.
"Somethings didn't change I see. Then allow me to guide you this time." Kullis say down with him and began the teachings.
The world continued to move as it always did, such was the nature of life, as Nivril got ready to once more join the cycle.