"Zzzzz.... Zzzzz...."
Ryu was sleeping on the cold, hard floor when all of a sudden, a pebble was thrown onto his face.
"H-huh...?"
Ryu was awoken, he stood up, rubbing his eyes, as he saw Sven.
"G-gramps!"
His eyes lit up, maybe he could beg for food and water, or even some advice.
Sven spoke up, "Have you manifested it yet?"
Ryu goes silent, then responds, "Not ye-"
His words were cut short when Sven walked away.
"W-WAIT, GRAMPS!" Ryu pleaded.
Sven stopped and without looking behind, he tossed a gourd of water at him.
"Good luck."
Sven walked away, disappearing from Ryu's sight.
"Urk... That bastard..."
Well, at least he gave water... At least.
Ryu immediately ran towards the gourd and picked it up.
"Finally... Water!" Ryu celebrates.
Though his grandpa was a bastard, at least he cared enough to give water-
It was empty.
The gourd was fucking empty.
...
...
...
Ryu threw the gourd at the wall and screamed at the top of his lungs.
"GRANDPA, YOU BASTAAAAAAAAARD!!!"
...
Hungry, thirsty, with no progress, and on the brink of insanity. Ryu has had enough, and punched the wall, though this time, he didn't feel the pain, and he kept throwing punches at the wall. His fists were going red and bruised, but he didn't care, he was absolutely going nuts.
"RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
Ryu headbutted against the wall, and his vision suddenly darkened... He was knocked out for who knows how long...
...
...
Hours later, he found himself facing the dark ceiling of the cave. The weak light of the sun was no longer present. It was nighttime.
Tears flowed from his eyes, losing hope of everything. Was Sven gonna abandon him there? Or was he gonna pick Ryu up tomorrow? Ryu could only wonder.
Maybe he should just give up adventure and live a normal life after all...
...
...
"Whether I die here or not, I won't stop trying... That demon... That bastard..."
At the mention of the demon, his tears were more visible, he was breaking down.
Mixed emotions swirled inside him. Anger, fear, regret, sadness, everything was going down at him, like a boiling water shower.
"Mom... Dad... Your names..."
He already forgot about his parents' names, but he remembered that night, that cursed night.
He cried out at the cave.
"Mom and Dad..."
He let out a weak sob and covered his eyes with his forearm.
"I... I don't want to be here..."
He goes into hysterics. He didn't really care if he looked weak, no one is here anyway.
His voice was shaky, often interrupted by sniffs and sobs.
"Dad... Why did you have to leave us..."
He questioned why his father disappeared.
...
"Mom... *sniff* I'm... I'm so sorry for leaving you... I... I could've done something..."
He blamed himself for his mother's death.
"I... I should've been stronger... I should've at least put up a fight..."
But what could he have done at that time? He was just a kid, even against a wild boar he wouldn't stand a chance, how much more a demon?
But he overlooked that fact and blamed himself for all of it.
"I... I'm gonna murder that guy..."
He recalled the small talks he had with his father, and remembered the name 'Jisei'...
"Jisei... The one who attacked the village..."
Even though he forgot the names of his mother and father, he could never, ever forget that damned name.
"I'm gonna murder that bastard."
...
Once his tears dried out, he wondered if he'd ever get out of this cave.
"Aura..."
He remembered what he was in for in the first place, to search for strength... But...
"I'm hopeless."
He cried weakly.
Not even the cave could hear his sobs.
...
He felt his eyelids droop, and his consciousness faded away...
...
2nd Day Complete
...
...
...
Ryu opened his eyes, and he saw the weak sunlight enter the cavern once again.
His determination for strength yesterday completely disappeared.
He can't feel his aura, not even a single bit.
"What am I here for..."
And just like that, he lost his purpose. Maybe he was just destined to be a weak man. Maybe he was just born into the world to be trampled on by cruel fate.
He stared at the ceiling absentmindedly. He's completely lost hope in his search for power and his grandfather's arrival.
All of those thoughts completely overshadowed his thirst and hunger. He barely had any motivation to move his fingers.
"I wanna sleep..."
But then, a silhouette appeared above again.
"You alright there, Ryu?"
It was Sven, and he asked casually.
"..."
Ryu didn't care anymore, he could just die there and sleep fore-
"I SAID ARE YOU ALRIGHT THERE?!"
Sven asked loudly.
Ryu was startled.
"Y-yes..."
Sven went silent, then asked, "Did you find your power yet?"
Ryu stood up and looked down, defeated.
"No..."
...
"Aura... Isn't something you can just get on a random day... You can only find aura when you've hit despair..."
Ryu went silent.
Sven asked,
"What are you trying to fight for?"
That question hit something in Ryu's mind. He looked up at Sven.
"I said... What are you trying to fight for?"
...
"Power.... I want power-"
His words were cut, as Sven loudly exclaimed.
"I said, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO FIGHT FOR?!"
...
Ryu remembered... His mother's words that one night...
...
"Run..."
...
His mother's final words...
He remembered it clearly, the whole reason why despite the huge wound on his little body, desperately crawled to the river.
....
"I hated it... I hated my mom's last words... I HATED IT!"
Ryu furiously yelled.
"My mother... My mother's final word shouldn't have been that... She deserved to say more than that..."
Ryu broke down crying...
Sven nodded.
"So?" Sven asked.
Ryu was curled up silently...
"So what do you really want...?"
Ryu remained quiet, dark thoughts overshadowing his mind
"I said, WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
That hit his mind.
Ryu's eyes widened. He felt... Strange... His palms were slowly starting to show glowing symbols, kanji specifically, like a tattoo... The symbols slowly covered up all of his body. Each writing held significant meaning. His body was plastered with blue, glowing writings.
"I want... I want to be strong... Not to kill... But to survive."
Then, the writings stopped and instantly disappeared.
Only the writings in his hands were glowing, corresponding to his desires.
Sven smiled.
"That's your Aura... That's the foundation of your own Aura."
Ryu looked at him, confused.
"W-what?"
Sven replied, "Every single Aura fighter's auras are all unique to them... To their ultimate goal or desire... And now, you've found yours."
Sven smiled like a proud dad.
Ryu looked at his palms, glowing with writing.
...
"You're good to go, kid," Sven said, tears from his eyes.
Ryu looked up at Sven and threw his fist up in the air.
...
3 days and 2 nights... And now, Ryu has found his 'Aura'.
...
3rd Day Complete