Kaion stood there, face covered in mud, eyes twitching from exhaustion. The battle against the Avatar had drained him—physically, mentally, and emotionally. But as much as he wanted to collapse and never get up again, there was something more pressing to deal with.
"Okay, Kaion, time for training!" Grin said, clapping him on the back so hard that Kaion nearly faceplanted into the dirt. "We can't just let you wander into the next battle all wobbly and powerless. You need more… finesse."
Kaion shot him a glare. "I've been fighting giant cosmic destroyers, Grin. What makes you think I need 'finesse'?"
Grin winked. "Well, for one, you look like a marshmallow after a long bath in a lava pit. Not exactly intimidating, if you ask me."
Kaion blinked, confused. "Lava pit marshmallow? What are you talking about?"
Raya, who was already sitting on the ground sipping from a gourd of water, threw Kaion a sympathetic look. "He's got a point. You kinda look like you got run over by a herd of stampeding elephants. Again."
"Ha ha, very funny," Kaion muttered. "But seriously, Grin, I'm trying to recover here. How do you expect me to train right now?"
Grin grinned—naturally. "Simple. First, we start with the basics. I call this the Kaion Special Training Method."
"Is that just a fancy name for something that involves me running into walls?"
"Nope," Grin said with a wicked glint in his eye. "It's actually about you doing absolutely nothing for the next five minutes and letting me work my magic. You'll thank me later."
Kaion frowned. "I don't have time for—"
But before he could protest, Grin shoved a strange helmet on Kaion's head, so big that it made Kaion look like an alien with a way-too-large piece of modern art on his face.
"What is this?" Kaion demanded, tugging at the helmet.
"This, my friend, is a patented mind-control device," Grin said with a totally straight face.
Kaion's eyes widened. "Mind control?! You've got to be kidding me—"
"Relax. It's just a fancy name for a brainwave-enhancement helmet," Grin explained. "It'll help you focus, sharpen your mind, and give you the clarity you need to take on anything. Plus, it looks hilarious, so I get to enjoy this too."
"Clarity? I can't even see straight in this thing!"
"Yeah, that's the point. It's like working out for your brain, except with way more style," Grin replied, grinning like a maniac.
"Ugh," Kaion groaned, but there was no escaping it. Grin was already stepping back, adjusting some buttons on a remote that seemed to be connected to nothing in particular.
"Now, Kaion," Grin said dramatically. "You are going to focus and sharpen your willpower. Nothing but total zen!"
Kaion closed his eyes, trying to block out the ridiculousness. But all he could think about was how heavy the helmet was and how his head felt like it was about to explode from the pressure. In the distance, Raya was silently laughing, shaking her head.
Five minutes passed, and nothing happened except that Kaion's neck had started to ache from the weight of the helmet. He opened his eyes, only to see Grin standing there, staring intently at him.
"Did you fall asleep or something?" Grin asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're supposed to be in a zen-like state, Kaion. It's a state of pure mental focus."
"Pure mental focus?" Kaion repeated, blinking. "I can barely keep my eyes open, and now you want me to do mental gymnastics?"
"You know what? Let's just skip this and move on to something more… advanced," Grin said, completely unfazed. "Behold—Kaion's new greatest ally."
And out of nowhere, Grin produced a giant rubber chicken.
"A rubber chicken?" Kaion stared at it, totally lost. "What is this supposed to do, Grin?"
"It's for your 'advanced training,'" Grin said proudly, placing the chicken into Kaion's arms. "See, the trick is that every time you get hit with something, you must focus and then—"
The rubber chicken suddenly made an oddly loud honking noise, and Kaion flinched so hard that he almost dropped it. Grin just watched with a smug grin on his face as Kaion glared at him, dumbfounded.
"I'm supposed to fight this thing?" Kaion asked slowly, his tone as deadpan as possible. "Because I don't know how this is going to help me defeat an evil cosmic overlord, Grin."
"It's all about the mindset, Kaion!" Grin said, practically bouncing with excitement. "You'll soon see how much more powerful you become when you realize that sometimes, the true enemy is... absurdity."
Kaion sighed, not even knowing where to start with this madness. He glanced over at Raya, who was still trying to stifle her giggles, clearly enjoying the chaos.
"You see," Grin continued, "by accepting absurdity, you unlock your true potential. Embrace the weird, my friend!"
Kaion gave him a look of pure disbelief. "And this is somehow going to make me stronger?"
"You'll see," Grin said with an unsettling amount of certainty.
Before Kaion could protest further, Grin snapped his fingers, and suddenly a series of random, bizarre obstacles appeared out of nowhere—rubber chickens, balloons, and… a giant inflatable duck?
"Okay," Kaion groaned. "This is a new level of insanity."
Raya stepped up and punched Grin lightly in the arm. "Don't listen to him, Kaion. Just keep that helmet on, and you'll eventually figure it out. Trust me. The weird stuff actually works—sometimes."
"Sometimes?" Kaion raised an eyebrow. "Great. So now I'm training to fight an evil overlord while dodging inflatable ducks and chickens."
Grin dramatically flung his arms wide. "Exactly! You see, Kaion, you can't fight the greatest forces of darkness in the universe if you don't first learn how to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all."
"I can't believe I'm actually doing this," Kaion muttered, but there was a strange feeling stirring in his chest. Maybe, just maybe, this weirdness wasn't as pointless as it seemed.
Grin gave him a thumbs up. "That's the spirit, my friend! Now, let's do some serious training."
Raya slapped Kaion on the back. "You'll be fine, I promise. Now go, face the chickens of doom!"