The morning sun cast long shadows over the training arena, where weapons clashed and footsteps echoed against the firm stone. Darion stood at the center of the arena, his breathing steady, his hands firm on the hilt of his sword. In front of him, his father, Patriarch Valtherion, observed with the intensity of a predator analyzing its prey.
Darion slid his sword into a defensive position, his legs bent, his weight balanced. Despite having been trained since childhood, every movement felt clumsy, as if something invisible was holding him back. He didn't remember this sensation, this obstacle that made him vulnerable. "In three years, I will be a shadow of what I could be," he thought. But why? What would make him so weak, so unworthy of the Valtherion lineage?
"Again," the emperor ordered, his deep voice firm.
Darion advanced and unleashed a series of thrusts. Each strike was easily deflected by his father with one hand. Valtherion didn't even seem to be exerting himself.
"Faster," Valtherion said, his tone bordering on impatience.
Darion adjusted his stance and tried to increase his speed, but again he felt the resistance in his movements. As if his muscles refused to obey him.
Suddenly, a counterattack. Valtherion spun his sword and struck Darion's with controlled force, pushing him back several steps. The young master stumbled and fell to his knees, gasping.
"Get up, you cannot afford to be weak."
Darion rose again, his legs trembling. His mind was a whirlwind of doubts. "Something is preventing me from improving," he thought. And for the first time, in his second chance at life, he began to formulate theories.
"You have something on your mind," Valtherion said, crossing his arms.
Darion hesitated. "It's... nothing."
"When we fight, we battle not only with the sword but with the mind. If you are distracted, you have already lost. Now tell me, what troubles you?"
Darion looked into his father's eyes. He was an imposing man, with a gaze that seemed to pierce through any lie.
"I feel... something strange in my movements," he confessed. "It's as if something is holding me back."
Valtherion frowned and walked around his son.
"Hmmm... And what does that mean to you?"
Darion swallowed hard. "If this continues... in three years, I will be nothing more than a burden to the empire."
The emperor observed him in silence for a moment before replying:
"The future is not yet written, but weakness is not tolerated in this family. If something is holding you back, find it and destroy it! There is no other path for a Valtherion!"
The words struck Darion's heart like a storm. Whatever was binding him... he would uncover it. He would not be a disappointment. Not this time.