Within a vast, illuminated dojo laid a boy with golden hair, called Abel Gerbaut. The pure, white sunlight beamed through the pastel soji and white rice paper walls.
He was clad in white robes, that looked faded and over-worn and was sat cross-legged in the centre of a room amidst other students.
They all looked to be teenagers, and were cloaked by colourful, flowing auras. The only one in the room that had no aura at all was Abel.
In their hands were sheets of parchment with extravagant designs that glowed bright colours, which were the same hue of their auras.
The qi within their bodies activated what was called an inscription, that was in their palms. It allowed for them to cultivate, fortifying their connection to the unsullied soul.
Abel grasped tightly onto his own sheet of parchment, that had a similar pattern to his fellow cultivators.
However, the designs did not glow as Abel was totally devoid of qi.
By the age of 12 to 14, one would initiate their connection to the soul and form a dantian, which rested in the abdomen, but Abel was 16 and had still done no such thing.
Half an hour passed, and the students remained calm and unmoving. Cultivating qi required an empty mind and exceptional discipline.
"He actually has no qi." A student whispered to his friend, causing him to snicker.
They both barely opened one of their closed eyes, smiling with disdain for Abel as they saw his lack of an aura.
"What a waste of space. Why do they even let him come to this academy to take our resources?"
The room was totally silent, and the laughter started to intensify in the room. It was the only thing Abel could hear.
All he could do was sit there, and having no aura at this moment made him feel bare.
Unshielded from the mockery.
It was like rocks were being thrown at him and all he could do was sit there and endure it.
He looked down to his parchment with his eyes no open, to see not even a hint of a glow.
'I-I thought I was making progress...' He thought.
He felt that his heart was heavy with the looming darkness inside of him. Out of the tens of students sat here, he was the only one that had been cursed in this way.
A tear slowly ran down his cheek as he closed his eyes again, attempting to continue his meditation.
"Don't worry about them, Abel. Keep making progress." A boy said from beside him.
He looked to be slightly smaller than Abel was, and was a little leaner but still athletic.
He wore dark grey robes, with a red emblem on his chest, and he had pale, clear skin with midnight black hair. His robes lightly billowed due to the blood red aura that cloaked his body.
"Thanks, Zeke." Abel whispered back.
"You will get a dantian. It's only a matter of time." Another boy called Duncan said, with a reassuring tone.
Even through this darkness, he always found light from his friends. Their company would give him a certain warmth and safety, even when he felt empty and alone.
"Get back to your cultivation!" The teacher beside them called out, extending their staff to point at the three students.
"Apologies, Master Oscar." They simultaneously said back, before closing their eyes.
Other students had caused the chatter, but none of the original students were punished. His friends, Zeke and Duncan, may have had dantian but had very poor talent.
Zeke was an orphan, like Abel, and Duncan was one the least talented members of his family, being constantly ostracised and chided for his weakness.
He peeked at the boys that had initially mocked Abel, before looking back to his friend. Even if he was better off, it hurt him to see his friend be treated in such a way.
It was clearly unfair, but he could do nothing about it.
In such a dangerous period, power determined your value in society. That was just how the world worked.
After another 30 minutes, the students were now stood in a different hall. It was of similar size, and appearance, with extravagantly designed pillars in the corners of the room.
In the centre, was a large white platform, where students would spar and test their abilities.
"You have cultivated your qi and now we will continue with our sparring training. First up, I would like to have Abel Gerbaut and Bruno Eckbert." Their bald teacher stated.
He was around 6'2 and tall, but exuded this sense of authority and power that the students couldn't help but submit to.
He wore a pearl, off-white coloured robe with a black emblem across his chest. It was a tiger's head, with two swords behind it.
"Do not go all out on each other. Bruno, consider that Abel has no qi. This shall be a bout to test your techniques, not your power." The teacher stated, stepping back.
Abel and Bruno lifted onto the platform, and faced each other. Abel was around 5'11, while Bruno was 6'3. He was even taller than their master, and had a somewhat bulky frame standing at 200 pounds.
He had black hair and became engulfed in a dark purplish, black aura of qi. It looked sinister and dark, but somehow felt like the complete opposite.
Qi resided within one's dantian but could then be extracted from it, invigorating and enhancing the body to provide superhuman strength, speed, durability and more.
One's soul was pure, no matter the appearance of their qi. Feeling the pressure from one's qi always felt enchanting and purifying.
"Begin!"
Abel couldn't help but rush ahead, tightening his fist. He was one of the students that had been ridiculing him before and wanted to deal as much damage as he could.
Hurling forward his fist, he grunted to try and fuel the power of his punch with his anger but he missed completely. All he hit was the flowing qi aura surrounding him, and Bruno savagely kicked him in his stomach.
It was clear he didn't hold back much with that strike, and Abel had already lost the strength in his legs. Before he could even fully drop to the ground, though, he extended his arm. As Bruno did so, the black qi around his hand started to condense and form a black orb that resembled a black hole.
However, once he slammed it onto Abel's chest, it dispersed and released a massive repulsive force. Even Bruno himself slid back about a metre, but Abel was launched to the opposite edge of the white canvas entirely.
Blood already dripped from his mouth, and he held his chest in pain. Looking to his teacher for help, the master gave him scornful looks with disdain and no remorse. Bruno was going against what he had advised, but he didn't seem to care at all.
Abel felt like he was being pushed down by an invisible force as he tried to raise up. His legs felt a fraction as strong as they were before, and he stumbled back down again.
Master Oscar began to advance to conclude the match, but Abel gritted his teeth and forced himself up. He was tired of losing and being humiliated by these people.
If they wanted him to submit to them, they'd have to beat the life out of him!
One of Bruno's eyes raised as he saw the boy raise. An attack like that would hurt even those with qi. The fact that Abel was still conscious and able to stand up surprised him.
Nonetheless, this was not a bother. He knew that all he would have to do was apply pressure for a few more seconds and his opponent would be a goner.
Rushing ahead, all he had to do was land two punches to his face before Abel fell right back down to the ground.
Some students in the crowd chuckled after watching just how weak and helpless he was in the spar. Duncan and Zeke watched on, almost feeling the physical pain that Abel was having at the moment.
It frightened them to believe that their friend, with no qi at all, was being forced to take punches of that calibre.
The fact that Bruno was even allowed to utilise the qi from within his dantian in the battle seemed preposterous.
Abel looked up, with a bloodied face from his bleeding nose, mouth, and forehead. All he could see in his vision was Bruno towering over him, with his roaring black aura.
He slowly approached him and walked him down. As much as he wanted to remain fighting, the fight was over. His hands shook under just the weight of his upper body, and he had no qi of any form.
Without qi, he would be a regular, powerless mortal. In the face of someone with qi, someone like him could do nothing to resist them.
Why did it always have to end like this?
No matter how hard he tried, no matter how strong his will, it always came down to this.
All he was given was failure after failure. Loss after loss.
'No! I'm tired of it! I've had enough!!' Abel roared in his mind, glaring at Bruno.
His pierce stare exuded a certain boldness, fearlessness, and evil.
Bruno couldn't help but become startled. Stopping in his advance, he lifted his arms in a fearful manner and remained stood.
It felt odd, but something had changed about Abel.
Gleam!
His suspicions had been vindicated upon seeing his glowing, golden-amber eyes.
These eyes were like those of a beast, and Abel opened his mouth slightly to reveal enlarging canines.
Planting his hands on the canvas, claws soon started to grow and Bruno was the only person to see these features on his body.
Fwoosh!