In a land where eclipses ruled the skies, blurring the line between day and night, a massive mountain stood tall.
Nestled on this mountain was a sprawling estate, its grounds extending far and wide, with imposing structures that seemed to merge with the peaks they rested upon.
This was the home of one of the strongest families on the planet The Orpheus Family
Deep within a corner of this vast estate lay a secluded training ground surrounded by trees.
Dust scattered into the air with each vigorous swing of the young man's wooden katana.
Sweat trailed down the side of his face as he chanted faster repeatedly, His deep, raspy voice cracked with each chant, the strain in his tone echoing his labored breaths.
Halting his actions, he stood completely still as he took one last deep breath to calm his ferociously beating heart. Positioning his katana next to him as if he sheathed it, he closed his eyes and felt the soft tickle of his hair brushing against his ears from the soft breeze.
With steady breathing, he slowly slid his left leg back across the dirt before gripping the handle of his katana. Bending his right leg he lowered his center of gravity as he let out a long exhale.
Harmonizing himself with his surroundings, his ears twitched at the soft rustle of the quiet trees.
Listening to the gentle symphony of nature's embrace—the melodic calls of birds, the scurrying of small creatures, and the persistent hum of insects. All these sounds were familiar yet distant as his ears honed in on one distinct sound.
'Rustle'
Far in the distance the rustling of the trees quickening echoed into his ears, tightly gripping his katana his muscles tensed.
As the rustling got closer, his breathing stalled before switching rhythm, mimicking the sound of a slumbering dragon's breath. He pivoted to his right in the instant before the rustling arrived.
When the rustling arrived, it became clear that it was just the next incoming gust of wind. With its arrival, he slashed forth like a dragon awakening from its slumber. His wooden katana sliced through the air no slower than the wind it traveled with.
'Swhoosh'
"True Dragon Style: 1st Technique - Awakening of the Slumbering Dragon," he spoke in a voice just barely above a whisper.
It seemed like an illusion of a dragon roaring after a long slumber appeared behind the young man.
The young man's blade moved like a beautiful dance, each slash painting the space with the essence of a dragon. An aggressive and domineering aura danced on the tip of his blade, revealing the true nature of dragons with each stroke.
As the wind began to calm, so did the young man's speed. His movements became more sluggish, and his breathing became disorderly.
As the wind eventually ceased, the young man completed his technique with a final swing of his blade. This was a common practice for katana wielders; it was a way to remove blood from their blades before returning them to their sheaths.
Twirling the katana in his hand as an extra display of skill, he returns it to his side where it would normally be sheathed, if it were not wooden.
It was only a second later that the young man collapsed, landing on his back. His heavy breathing followed.
"Hahh, Hahh"
His body, drenched in exhaustion, trembled from over-exertion. His chest heaved with labored breaths, each rise and fall a battle against the fatigue gripping him.
Beads of sweat trickled down the side of his face, dripping off and splattering onto the ground beneath him, as he fought to steady his breath, his lungs burning with every desperate inhale.
His lips pressed into a tight line, eyes narrowing as he fought the urge to curse aloud. 'Damn it, that wasn't it. It was supposed to feel like the gust of wind formed when a dragon takes flight.'
In frustration, the young man barely lifted his aching arm before slamming back onto the ground with great force.
'Bam'
Underneath his fist, a small crack had formed in the packed dirt that made up the training field.
What the Young man did not realize, was that many in his position wouldn't have done nearly as well when learning a new technique.
In just two days, he had achieved a small mastery over a technique that others would take months, if not years, to learn
Even more so for a technique that includes the true essence of a race or species. Without the true essence, it would be just an imitation technique meant to mimic the race or species it was made about.
Just as the rhythm of his breath began to stabilize, his ear twitched as he picked up on the almost inaudible sound of something moving by a bush.
Jumping up his exhaustion vanishes as adrenaline kicks in, sharpening his senses., the young man stretches out his hand into the space in front of him. Directly in front of him, space seemed to rupture and crack as a space rift opened up.
"Come, Dark Solitude," he beckoned.
A handle wrapped in black and gray leather appeared from within the rift followed by the weapon's dark metal tsuba featuring ever-shifting patterns.
Grabbing hold of the handle he pulled the rest of the weapon from within the rift revealing the sheath crafted from reinforced black leather.
The weapon he wielded was known as Dark Solitude the weapon of the Shadow King. A katana meant to follow the Shadow King endlessly throughout his days of Solitude in the shadows.
Raising his guard to the maximum the young man's dull gray eyes darted left to right and he scanned the area.
His cold detached voice echoed into the surroundings, "Who's there"
He waited for a response but there was nothing, not a peep or sound just complete silence.
'Silence,' he thought. The sounds that once filled the forest seemed like an illusion as the entire forest was blanketed in an eerie silence. No trees swayed, no birds chirped or flew overhead, and the scurrying of forest critters and humming of insects had completely vanished as if they were hiding from something.
The tension in the air began to thicken with each passing second. The young man's nerves seemed to get the best of him as he tightened his grip on his katana. The sound of his heartbeat grew louder and louder in the oppressive silence.
'Rustle'
Hearing the sound of movement the young man's eyes darted toward the source as he yelled "Come out!"
Only to be met with silence.
The young man hesitates, 'what could be in the bush what if it's a magic beast'
Shaking his head the young man gives himself a pep talk "Come on you got this, you've been preparing for this. How could you avenge her if you are scared of a magic beast"
Slowly edging closer to the bush in question, traces of hesitation could still be seen in his movements as he held tightly onto his katana prepared to cut anything that jumped out.
His hand hovered over the cool, rough surface of the bush's leaves. His heartbeat thudded in his ears as a shadow launched from within. Reeling back at the unexpected movement, the young man quickly slashed toward it.
'Swish'
Just when the blade was about to connect it halted stopping just above its head.
Letting out a sigh of relief looked at what stood beneath his blade. "Whew, It's just a small critter"
Luckily, he stopped his blade when he did or this poor critter would have paid the price for his blunder. Staring at the critter the Young man raised a brow.
'It makes no sense' He thought
'The forest wouldn't have gone completely quiet for this little guy, he's not even a magical beast let alone anything that could be a threat, so then what caused it' he pondered as he gently petted the small critter.
The more he thought about it the more he felt something was wrong, he couldn't get rid of this unnerving feeling that something more dangerous had arrived something that could change his entire life.
Slowly the young man's eyes opened wider and wider in realization as he shot up swinging his katana behind him, but nothing was there.
Continuing to stare in that direction the young man thought he felt a presence he was sure of it there was no way he was wrong.
But unbeknownst to him a shadowy figure cloaked in darkness had already quietly appeared behind him.