Jin found his way to a hotel nearby and walked in to the counter, where he saw an older man sitting reading what seemed to be a newspaper. "Can I…" Feeling embarrassed about even asking this but decided to anyway due to Stella asking for it. "Can I have a room for one with a decently sized bed in it?"
The older man put his newspaper down and slid a key over to Jin, "This room is down the hall on the left side at the very end of the hallway. It'll be 50 bronzes a night."
Jin pulled out a piece of silver and slid it to him. "… I'll take two nights then." He said taking the key. The older man picks up the silver coin and puts it away in his pocket and nodded, going back to reading his newspaper.
Jin walks back over to the clinic and knocks on Stella's door before walking in. "... I got the room…" Stella looked up clearing seeing Jin embarrassed about it but doesn't say anything but gets up and walks over to him with her new katana. "Then, let's go, Jin!" She said confidently, still flustered from suggesting it but keeping her cool even thought she's secretly extremely nervous and embarrassed about this. Jin sighed and closed the door behind them and shows Stella the way to the hotel before entering and begins walking down the hallway to the room.
The old man stops Jin for a small talk between them. "Remember to keep it down for the other tenants. I know how young couples can be. However, be respectful of those next to you." He said.
Jin became even more embarrassed, and had started to be flustered about this whole situation, and couldn't even reply, just slowly nodded and walking off before he gets to the door and opens it. Letting Stella walk in first, then follows her in before closing the door. "So… I got the room, I'll sleep on the floor, and you can have the bed, Stella." Jin said about to sit down on the ground before he felt Stella's hand on his and looks up. "Are you okay?" He asked, worried something might've happened.
"I-I'm fine, it's just… If you bought the room, we might as well just share the bed, right?"
Jin closed his eyes and began to slowly breathe and thinks to himself, "Master, why did you not teach me anything to… deal with this type of situation." He opens his eyes a few moments later and sighed. "Alright, fine…" He looked at Stella and saw her smiling.
"Hey, Jin, how much longer are you going to stay up for?" Stella asked, still having her hand on Jin's.
"I'll prob just stay up meditating… for a few hours, since I haven't done it properly for a while. Is there something you want to do instead?"
Stella took her hand away from his and sat down on one of the 2 chairs they have in the room. Jin sits down on the other one looking at her gently, "Something's bothering you right? What is it?"
Stella looked up to Jin, "There was something else I wanted to do…" Her face started to get red a little. "I-I wanted you to be there tonight…" She looks up at Jin, her gray eyes sparkling with the moon shining in and lighting up her dark blue hair as she looks at him.
Jin couldn't help but agreeing to her request after seeing her beauty in such a way. "A-alright. Sure." He said softly, looking at Stella in a way he has always tried to avoid. He slowly got up and walked over to her before kneeling slightly, looking into her eyes, wanting to learn more about her.
Stella slowly grabbed his hands and couldn't help but feel her heart skip a bit around. Neither of them knowing what to say, just stood still, staring into each other's eyes, admiring the other's and the beauty each held in their own way.
After a while of staring into each other's eyes, they both walked over towards the decently large bed but only took up a small portion of it as Stella laid in his arms looking up at him, not wanting to let go. Jin, who was staring down at her, felt his heart do something it had never done before. It skipped a beat looking at her, it felt as if nothing else mattered presently besides her. He wrapped his arms around her slowly, and constantly looking at her for any uncomfortable signs, and never saw one.
"J-Jin…" Stella said softly in a low tone, one that Jin had never heard until this moment. "Yes?" He replied softly. Stella slowly pushed herself closer to him and closed her eyes. "… Thank you for showing me something I've never had." Feeling a sort of comfort and safety she had never felt before, a sense of protection that was greater than any other she had known. She laid in Jin's arms for what felt like hours before slowly falling asleep. Listening to his heartbeat, knowing it's beating in such a way because of her, made her smile to herself.
An hour had passed by and Jin was still awake thinking about everything. From the events of his palace being destroyed, to his master sacrificing himself for his sake, to finding Stella, Gray, and Abel. The month-long training turning into a year's worth. All the memories he made with Stella across that long year. He couldn't help but smile and feel proud of himself for doing things differently than he wanted to last year.
He had lived the first few months only wanting revenge, and now he's in a crossroad, unsure of the future. Jin slightly chuckles to himself and thinks again. "What the hell man… How did I get myself into this? It's not like I mind it… It's just not exactly what, I thought, would happen." Jin looks down and sees Stella asleep closely, snuggled up to his chest and sleeping peacefully. After seeing her like that, all comfortable, safe, and from what he thinks, happy with how things went. He had made another vow to himself. The vow was to protect Stella, no matter the sacrifice he had to do. "Maybe… I'm more like my master than I thought, though I won't give up my path of revenge… just for this. " Jin said, whispering.
After a few more minutes of his thoughts and Stella's breathing, he held Stella tighter in his arms and fell asleep on his side looking down at Stella.
"It's ready."
"That's good, have the preparations been completed on time?"
"Yes sir."
"Go and prepare the armies. Today we're having an all out war against "Shadowless Tavern" Clan. We cannot have a single failure or a single death until much later within this rampage. Do you understand?"
"Sir, yes sir!" He said with passion, as if looking up to the greatest commander of the era. He left the room to gather the army.
This mysterious figure turned around. "Abel, have you completed the task I gave you?"
"I have, and I have the reports right here." Hands the reports over to someone dressed in all black.
He flips through the pages and saw a few interesting things. "We haven't seen that Stella brat for a while… Do you think she's entered the circle stage yet?"
"It is most likely possible considering it's been over a year." Abel looked over at the figure again, "Gray, do you think this is something worth worrying about? It's just that it's been so long and there's no need to worry about her anymore due to our mission changing."
Gray sighed and looked at the old man. "This mission to eliminate the Shadowless Tavern Is indeed a lot more of a threat than just one miserable girl. However, I still wish to have updates about her whenever possible."
"Alright… just a small problem, during the entire year they've been away, we haven't received a single response from any of the teams that were supposed to be looking for her at all the main cities." Gray sighed and threw the files down. "Alright then… just tell them to return instantly! We need all the manpower we can get for this."
After a few minutes, Abel activated his ki and stabs Gray in the back before contacting someone over a ki link. Gray falls backwards from the sudden and unexpected stab. "W-What the fuck are you doing… Y-You idiot!" Gray barely holding his wound intact overheard Abel speak, "Yes young master, I have given them the information about "Shadowless Tavern". They'll surely fall tonight and if not…they'll be weakened for us "Mount Lilies Sect" to easily win against both.
Gray heard this and tried to establish a ki link before getting a knife was thrown at his throat, killing him before he could even activate ki to attack back.
As the sun began to shine into the room, Jin opened his eyes slightly and looked around before looking down seeing Stella still asleep. After a few minutes, Jin softly shook Stella to wake her up.
She looked up at Jin after waking up slightly. "I-I has the weirdest dream…" She thought to herself before her eyes focused enough and saw Jin smiling at her and her face instantly went red and looked away. "J-Jin? I-I." Not knowing what to say Stella decided to just not speak at all.
Jin sighed, suddenly putting a little more force into his arms. "Don't worry, everything is fine." He said softly, hoping it would somewhat help Stella to calm down.
After several minutes, she began to calm down and looked up at Jin. "… C-can we start training today?" She said hoping to get pass this as soon as she could, well, from embarrassment.
Thinking about it for a few minutes, "Sure, but let's only do meditation until the doctor says you can begin physical activity again, deal?" Jin said, looking into her eyes again.
"… Sure then, just meditation and nothing else." She said confidently. Jin lets go of her slowly. Stella felt something in her stomach when Jin had let go of her and wanted to tell him not to, but she knew he had to if either of them would make any progress at all in their training.
After saying this, they both got up and Jin was trying not to focus on anything that happened between due to wanting to train properly but couldn't help it a few times. They had both gotten into their meditation positions and began, though. Jin used his "Inner Conviction" to check on his inner self.
Stella had begun on her meditation and slowly gathers ki around her.
Their room was filled with a dark blue ki and mixed with green ki.
Inside of Jin's inner self,
"A world filled of horrifying secrets, drenched with endless evils. This is the remnants of such a world." The figure in black said, picking up a great sword.
"Damn it… why am I here with this person." Jin thought to himself, grabbing his tanto and unsheathed it. "I just wanted to check my vitals and my ki flow…"
The figure staring at Jin, but it didn't feel like it was staring at him, more so, the figure was staring into his soul.
"The soul of one who is in contradiction of itself, come and sit." The figure said laying down the great sword and sits down. Jin on guard kept his weapon up but slowly moved in and sat down across from the figure, sill having his weapon out in a guarding position.
"Why do you debate with yourself? The path you should follow is obvious. This world you see is the path you're seeking the most. Look around." Jin looked around him, he saw a river, the dead grass from before had revived, a few trees slowly being grown, and he saw a few other animals lying around next to the river.
"This is what your soul wants, yet you seek a path of bloodshed, a path of only death waiting for you sooner in life than you should die. I must ask, why?" The figure looking somehow confused by the debate Jin is having with his self.
Jin clenched the weapon's handle tighter and replied slowly, "The path I want is one where those bastards all die. Every single one." He said, his ki leaking out, turning a dark red color. The figure spoke up. "Then let me ask you something else, what will you do after you achieve such a goal?"
Jin took a moment to reply, not really considering that. "… I-I'm not sure, but what does this matter to you?"
"You would rather a pick a path of bloodshed, a path with only death waiting for those around you, just not to know the answer of what to do afterward, is that correct?"
Jin sighed, "I guess so."
"Then what about that girl? Can you give her up completely if it meant to achieve your goal? To forsake every memory with her for power to keep your "vow" that you made to kill them all?"
"H-how do you know… about her. Who are you?" He asked with anger but also a hint of confusion in his tone.
"I can help you achieve the power you're seeking. I will help you achieve your goal; however, you must be willing to sacrifice everything around you. Could you do that? Are you willing to sacrifice everything you've known, every memory, every emotion, every single painful and joyful moment of life?"
Jin, who was at a loss of words, thought and kept thinking for what seemed like hours to him. The figure looking into his soul, knowing the truth of what he desires, yet his thoughts kept distracting him of finding his most peaceful self he could attain.
"Make your decision. Will you accept my offer and forsake everything for the sake of your goal, or will you be truthful to yourself following what your soul actually wants and be able to live with those you love even if you cannot accept the concept of "love" as of now? Think about it and return once you have your answer, Jin, no, Jin Wolfshrine."
Suddenly, he found himself in the real world again and somehow knowing his ki flow and vitals perfectly fine, even though he wasn't able to check it. He looked over at Stella, who was still concentrating on her meditation, and smiled, "Could I really… just for my own personal goal? I-I'm not sure." He said to himself before beginning to meditate again, this time slower, gathering the ki around him to build up for the next stage breakthrough.