The tension in his muscles burned, each push-up harder than the last, but it was a welcome burn, a reminder that he was rebuilding from the ashes, stronger and more focused than before.
*****
Two days melded into one another under a relentless sun and the whisper of wind through the trees.
Feng Chen's world had been reduced to nothing but training and raw determination.
Every muscle in his body throbbed with exertion, each heartbeat felt like a hammer strike against his chest.
He moved with the rhythm of a warrior in battle... sprints through the dense forest that left a trail of broken branches and displaced earth, followed by cliffside climbs where only his willpower kept his trembling arms from giving out.
The sun climbed and fell in the sky, casting long shadows that turned into darkness and then into the soft light of dawn again.
