In a place shrouded in darkness, the ground glowed a sinister red. Demonic creatures roamed around, their forms barely distinguishable in the dim light. In the center of this desolate landscape stood a pyramid, ominous and foreboding.
A creature resembling a human but with red skin, wings, a long jaw, and sharp claws approached the pyramid. It pushed open the massive gate and stepped inside, the darkness thickening as it moved further in.
In the depths of the pyramid, a glowing red throne became visible. Seated on the throne was a figure, its face obscured by the shadows.
The figure spoke, its voice resonant and commanding. "Naru, what news do you bring?"
"Lord Null, I have both good news and bad news," Naru replied, bowing slightly.
"Start with the bad news," Null commanded.
"Sir, the bad news is that the angel Lun has split his power among humans. These specific humans, known as the Angelic, are now poised to fight against us," Naru explained.
Null chuckled darkly. "That is not bad news to me. No matter how powerful humans become, they can never reach the level of an angel. Have you forgotten that I defeated Lun with ease? It's amusing that you think I should fear humans wielding Lun's divided power."
"Well, Lord Null, there are rumors that humans with angelic power can potentially become more powerful than angels," Naru added hesitantly.
"Enough of that nonsense," Null snapped. "Now, what's the good news?"
"The seven pillars are nearing completion. The Pillar of Lust has already surpassed its limit today. Soon, we will be free," Naru reported.
"Excellent," Null said, a note of satisfaction in his voice.
"Lord, what will be your plan once you are free?" Naru inquired.
"Plan? It's pointless to devise a plan without knowing the current situation. There will be no plan for now," Null replied, his tone dismissive.
Naru bowed again, retreating into the shadows as Null remained on his throne.
**One Day Later -**
Samiul and Lu-12 are walking beside a crop field.
"Come on, give me a break. I just woke up from that dream. Where are we going?" asks Samiul, rubbing his eyes.
"We are going somewhere empty, where you can do your training," replies Lu-12, marching ahead with purpose.
"By the way, I want to call you only Lu. Is that okay?" says Samiul.
"No, all the other Angelic crows have names like Lu-11, 12, 13, so if you call me just Lu, it will cause confusion. You can call me by a different name," says Lu-12.
"Okay, I'll call you Smoke then," says Samiul.
"Smoke? Why?" asks Lu-12, tilting his head.
"Well, because it's winter, and you dragged me out here before sunrise. Fog is everywhere. I can't name you Fog because it sounds like Frog, and I hate that. So, I named you Smoke," explains Samiul.
"Okay, I'm fine with the name, but I still prefer Lu-12," says Lu-12.
"No, Smoke is better. I'll call you Smoke from now on," insists Samiul.
"We're here," announces Smoke.
They reach an empty clearing, surrounded by trees.
"Can we change the place?" says Samiul, looking around skeptically.
"Why, what's the problem? This place is the best I could find in your town," replies Smoke.
"It's just... it feels too remote. What if something goes wrong?" asks Samiul.
"That's precisely why it's perfect. There's no one around to get hurt, and you can practice without any distractions," says Smoke, his tone firm but reassuring.
"Well, actually, some boys do drug activity here every afternoon, so this place might make me uncomfortable," says Samiul.
"Why's that? It's not like you'll be here in the afternoon," replies Smoke.
"Forget what I said. Just tell me the training process. I want to end this dream as soon as possible," says Samiul, impatience creeping into his voice.
"First, let me tell you the difference between you now and you before I pooped on your head," says Smoke.
"Is knowing that important?" asks Samiul, raising an eyebrow.
"Not exactly, but I want you to understand the meaning of being strong," says Smoke.
"I already know my changes and the importance of being strong. I was the weakest boy from primary school to high school, and now in intermediate college. They used to bully me, and now they want to use me because of my weakness. So, I want to be strong. More importantly, I want to get out of this dream. I also want to save people who are weaker than me," says Samiul with determination.
"Okay, okay, I get it. You don't have to explain everything," says Smoke, waving a dismissive wing.
Smoke pulls one of her feathers, and the feather turns into a piece of paper.
"What's that?" asks Samiul.
"It's your training and daily routine from now on," says Smoke.
Samiul reads the paper:
**Day 1**
Basic Workout:
- 80 push-ups
- 80 sit-ups
- 10-minute plank
- 100 jumping jacks
- 5-kilometer run
Training:
- 1000 punches
- 1000 kicks
- 50 reflex attacks
- 2 minutes underwater without breathing, 6 times
- Poison, 6 minutes
Seeing this, Samiul says, "Well, it looks easy. But I didn't get the last one. What's that?"
"First of all, it's not easy. Second, the last one is poison, which will cause your body pain from the inside, and you have to survive it because it has a possibility of death. Lastly, the training will change every day," explains Smoke.
"I have no problem," says Samiul resolutely.
"Another thing, it's good for you, and it's this," says Smoke, showing a fruit.
"This is gabu, a fruit from heaven. It's for healing when an Angelic is seriously injured. After the poison session, I'll give you this; it will remove all the pain from the training. It's a stress reliever," says Smoke.
"Oh, alright. I'll start with the punches then," says Samiul, readying himself.
"No, you will follow the order on the paper," says Smoke, adding, "Now, do 80 push-ups."
Samiul starts doing push-ups. He easily completes them.
"Impressive," thinks Smoke.
Samiul starts doing planks. He tries for the first time and manages to hold for 43 seconds.
"It's hard. How? How will I ever do it?" says Samiul, his body trembling with fatigue.
"Do it again, until you can do 10 minutes at once," says Smoke firmly.
"That's impossible. No one can do that," retorts Samiul.
"You are not like other humans now. You are stronger than any regular human," says Smoke.
"That's bullshit. I can't do it," protests Samiul.
"Look who's talking. You said it was easy, right? Now what?" counters Smoke.
"Well, I did push-ups easily, but this is hard," admits Samiul.
"You did push-ups easily because you have angelic fluid inside you. However, I'll spare you for now. I'll count the total plank time instead," says Smoke.
"That's great. Now it's easier," says Samiul, relieved.
Samiul does five more sets, bringing his total plank time to 4 minutes and 32 seconds. Exhausted, he lies on the ground.
"It's too hard. Can I try something else and come back to this later?" asks Samiul.
"No. I know normal workout experts would say this isn't how you should train, but I'm just looking at your consistency," says Smoke.
After doing eight more sets, Samiul finally completes the total 10-minute plank time. He collapses on the ground, utterly spent. The sun starts to make its appearance, casting a warm glow over the field.
"Look, you wasted a lot of time doing just two workouts," says Smoke, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
"Now get up and do the next workout," commands Smoke.
Samiul, panting heavily, slowly gets to his feet. "Alright, what's next?" he asks, steeling himself for the next challenge.
Samiul started doing jumping jacks and, with medium difficulty, completed them.
"Alright, now for training. It starts with 1000 punches. I hope it's easy," says Smoke.
"I don't know. I'm exhausted," says Samiul.
"You still have to do it," insists Smoke.
Smoke pulls out one of her feathers, which transforms into a large rubber object.
"Now punch it. I will change its position every time. Hope you can punch it properly," says Smoke and starts moving the rubber object around.
Samiul, struggling, starts punching the rubber object. After an hour, he completes the 1000 punches.
"Alright, now for kicks," says Smoke, changing the position of the rubber object each time.
Samiul continues, and after another hour, he completes the 1000 kicks. The sun is now fully visible in the sky.
"Please stop, I can't do it anymore. It's morning already. My mom will look for me," pleads Samiul.
"That's an issue, but you still have some small training left, like underwater, poison, and reflex training," says Smoke.
"I have running left too. Let's change the time to the afternoon," suggests Samiul.
"Alright, so you want to split the workout time. In that case, you won't get the recovery fruit until the afternoon session ends," says Smoke.
"Yes. Now, please stop. I want to go home," says Samiul.
"Alright. By the way, your home is three kilometers away. Why not run until you reach home? It will help you," suggests Smoke.
"Alright," agrees Samiul and starts running.
Samiul's mom opens the door and asks where he was.
"Well, Mom, I was just out for a walk. Thought I'd see the sunset," Samiul replies.
"You should've notified me before going," says Tanisa.
"Actually, from now on, I'll do it every day, so... Yeah, don't worry," says Samiul.
"We'll talk about that later. Get in quick. It's cold outside," says Tanisa.
---
**Afternoon**
Samiul starts running in the park. After a while, he sits on a bench and asks, "How many kilometers are left?"
"200 meters," says Smoke.
Samiul stands up and starts running again, finishing his run.
Completing it, Samiul asks, "What's the reflex attack?"
"Well, we need an empty place with no humans around. Without that, we can't do it," says Smoke.
"Change the routine. About the workout, I can do it anywhere, but I can't do the training everywhere. From tomorrow, I'll do training in the early morning and workout in the afternoon," says Samiul.
"Hmm, that's actually a good idea," says Smoke.
"What about the poison?" asks Samiul.
"Well, you can do it at home, maybe," says Smoke.
"Great, now for today, my remaining problem is underwater and reflex training," says Samiul.
"Yes," says Smoke.
"Can I skip those?" asks Samiul.
"No, but it's up to you. I can't force you, so yeah," says Smoke.
Samiul reaches home.
"Close the door so that no one can hear your scream," says Smoke.
"Scream? Will I scream?" asks Samiul.
"Yes, you will. It's actually harder than you think," says Smoke.
Samiul enters the storeroom and locks the door, saying, "This room is safe then."
"Alright, here you go," says Smoke and pulls out a white feather, pressing it to Samiul's body.
"I don't feel anything," says Samiul.
After a few seconds, his skin starts to turn red. He begins to feel an intense pain inside his body. Samiul's entire body feels like it's on fire, the pain becoming unbearable. He collapses to the ground, writhing in agony. His blood feels like it's boiling, causing excruciating pain with every heartbeat. His sexual desire becomes overwhelming, adding to his distress.
Samiul bites down hard, trying to suppress his screams. He grips the ground, his nails digging into the floor as waves of pain crash over him. Minutes feel like hours as the poison courses through his veins, testing his will power and endurance to their limits.
"You are feeling sexual desire because it's part of the training. If you can control your lust, you can master self-control," says Smoke.
Time passes, and the pain of the poison intensifies. Samiul's screams grow louder.
After ten minutes, Smoke takes the Haven fruit and puts it in Samiul's mouth.
Samiul's body starts to return to normal, the intense pain subsiding quickly. Within moments, Samiul feels rejuvenated, his body back to its untired state.
Samiul stands up. "How was that? Easy, isn't it?" says Smoke with a hint of sarcasm.
"No, it wasn't. It felt like those ten minutes would never end. I thought I wouldn't make it, but I did. And now, I feel better than normal after eating the fruit," says Samiul.
"Alright then. Since you don't want to do the remaining training, I'll be leaving," says Smoke, and disappears.