Grisla, glad he wasn’t out for long made sure to check himself. Seeing if there’s damage he wasn’t aware of. The chair was nice, soft, and had the sweat of craftsmen baked into its construction. A sole lamp was alit inside. The night was deep, and the mountainous winds vaulted inside from the open window. He considered just letting things be as they may, and let the chair coddle him back into a smooth sleep. However, his insomniac Spiritual Sense had him in the know a second before opening his eyes, that he was not alone in his room.

Shu’s eyelids were closed, breathing peaceful. The moon’s light established themselves up the curvature of her cheek, complimenting shadow. Eyelashes pristine, Grisla couldn’t find where on herself that anyone, besides him, could isolate as an imperfection. Maybe at her hands—slender, color earning the jealousy of the sublime and beautiful. She, had a similarity to a porcelain doll. And it unnerved him.

For some reason, he wanted to preserve this. Stay as an observer—a journalist in the wild. As a guarantee, he matched his breathing with her own. Kept his Juva on a lid, not like he needed to much for that anyway.

He wondered what someone like her would dream about. Grisla didn’t dream much, he couldn’t. There were times he tried, but, he was being chased both in reality and in the fantastical realm. Could he learn her secret? Could it be taught through observation? His study continued.

It dawned on him, modestly, that he was out of it after the fight.

After his victory.

If it weren’t for the sleeping Shu in front, he’d have cracked himself silly with laughter. He, Grisla the Untalented beat a Jade Fate disciple two cycles above him. Had someone informed of this a year prior, he’d have strangled the individual. Grisla looked at himself, he didn’t need any special effort, there was a mirror just to the side of Shu. He didn’t look different, surely didn’t feel it either.

But in his actions, it happened. It was a change.

In the mirror, the medallion on him was blinking. Seri’s call would be answered. Just not now. She wasn’t unaware either, which is why she’s likely waiting until they’re alone.

Grisla wished he had a talent in something. Something besides a modest thing for fighting; like painting, or drawing. A perfect reference was here, and he could do nothing but let the moment waste.

Her lips parted; the shoulders flinching. Shu’s consciousness inside was getting up and out of its own bed, one part to the whole. Somewhere, in the twilight the dots were beginning to connect—link, the machine began to chug. To Grisla’s expectation, it was a brief awakening; the warrior inside every cultivator was sprung awake, and it showed in the light of her eyes as her Spiritual Sense instantly stuck to him. Before her eyelids had opened, she knew who was there, and who was awake.

“Creep,” Shu yawned. “I knew somethin’ was up from that chill I had.”

Grisla pretended he was more tired than he really was, “Hmm? Oh, apologies. I wasn’t sure… whether to wake you.”

“A maiden like me, caught in the room amid night, ogled by a scoundrel such as yourself, my ancestors weep.” Shu waved her hand, “Begone from my sight, I think I’m going to puke.”

“But this is my room.” Grisla said, tilting his head.

“’Course it is! What does that matter?” She pouted.

He sighed, standing up. “Well,” an idea came to Grisla, “I might as well be what you say I am, right?”

Shu had a sense of danger, aura rising, “What’re you doing? You want to die?”

A mischievous grin came to him, “I’ve cheated death before, what’s one more to the count going to do?” Grisla moved forward, and as expected, Shu’s two fingers, enwrapped by a wind, was a miniature version of the skill Hu Wing tried him with.

“Stay away!” She swiped. It was her turn to experience firsthand, at how fast the fourth cycle really was. Grisla evaded it, her target darted from her vision too soon to even registered it had happened, and— “This is… what Hu Wing was fighting against?” She muttered in shock.

He sighed inwardly.

This girl is vicious! Had I not sidestepped it, she would’ve beheaded me.

The wall in front of them took a familiar slash. Not as wide; not as deep. The message was there, though. The Jade Fate Sect’s martial techniques weren’t for show.

Grisla’s breath was on her neck. A warm wave, bringing a rhythmic reprieve from the chill of night. The two figures, shadowed in parts, illuminated on certain angles. He was sure she was going to whip around to behead him for real, and there wasn’t enough space to retreat from it. But, before he died, he had to say—

“Thank you,” Grisla said.

Shu didn’t turn. “For?”

“Not sure,” He shrugged. “I just felt like saying it. You dragged me back here, didn’t you? And tried to help me earlier, I… appreciate that.”

She did not say anything. Rather, Grisla could only watch as, strangely to him, she reddened up like a tomato, he could only see the phenomenon at her ear tips but, he had to know, “Ehrm, Receptionist Shu? Something the matter?” He tried walking back to her front but she turned away.

“Sheesh. I get it, back off. You’re so dramatic.” Shu turned to face him; redness gone.

“Apologies,” He bowed.

This time, it was Grisla’s turn to be ogled. And, to the surprise of no one, he felt like some strange specimen under observation. Shu’s eyes scanned him; looking for a something he couldn’t ask himself about, only that, through a perception independent from his own, one could surmise. She tried both Spiritual Sense and her own eyes to search it out. The former more invasive than the latter.

Had it been anyone else, Grisla would be obligated to face the inspection. But here, now, in private, he didn’t mind. It didn’t look as if she gleamed anything of worth anyhow, given the mild bewilderment crossing her face.

“Are you really Grisla Orlith?”

“Yes.”

“Member of the Orlith family?”

“Indeed.”

“Grittus clan member?”

“Sure.”

Shu gave him an eye, “Former… Chosen One?”

Grisla looked elsewhere. “Correct. You’re up to date.”

She looked as if someone spat in her plate, “Not a nugget of truth in that at all. You know what you did, and I know what I saw.” Shu crossed her arms. “I’ll ask you again. Are you really Grisla Orlith?”

“Don’t believe me?”

“What can I believe?” She spoke. “A fourth cycle faster than a sixth, and—brought one to a loss. Your cultivation’s telling me what you’re saying but, I just can’t—”

Grisla, knowing these types of questions would appear left and right, could only do what he could—shrug. He hadn’t made up a perfect excuse for it yet. So, the next best thing for a fifteen-year-old with an appealing girl in front of him? Well…

He shrugged. “I’ve got a bit of talent.”

—Showing off.

If only he were aware of the audience watching him from Limbo. Snickering all the while.

Shu, rolling her eyes, took herself to the door. He didn’t know what he’d done, did he piss her off by mistake? Step on a landmine he wasn’t supposed to, or was aware of? What’s even weirder is the fact that, he’d just met her. Why does he care? Before he knew it, he was at the door, standing with Shu.

“Listen, I just want to say—”

“I didn’t just drag you all the way here out of the goodness of my heart, it seems they’re not done with you.”

“They?”

She didn’t answer that. “Ji Nan has a message for you.”

Grisla sat in the lotus position; eyes closed, chest heaving up and down. In a windless world such as Limbo, sometimes one would wonder how any organism could breathe in this realm at all. In fact, Grisla hadn’t ever noticed it, but Limbo was devoid of oxygen. A dead space, uninhabitable to any except for the world-breaking creatures that dwelled here. Was it by design, or coincidence?

His core—still cracked, still weathered, was stable to a beggar’s requirement. He was leaking twenty up to thirty percent of his Juva during average activities: Running with Juva, Jumping with Juva, everything that entailed the normal but enhanced. If he didn’t offset the loss by regular rest and regenerative foods, his core would always be at rock-bottom levels for energy.

A big point of why he isn’t able—can’t be able, to last in extended fights. Or use explosive bursts of power in dire situations. A fatal weakness.

He shot up; head turning to aimless directions. Suddenly he threw his whole body left—in the spot where he was, a boulder parked there with a great rumble. Then, the world returned to silence. It was not a long wait, or a short one, for the Orlith boy wormed his way out of a gruesome end by boulder again. Two boulders came, he dodged that. Four, six—till there were enough to make the boy sweat and sit on the razor’s edge. Juva pushing his body to its upper limits, if one looked closely, a phantomlike mist emanated from his feet, tracing his speedy movement.

Grisla backflipped away from a boulder but didn’t see the last dropping overhead. When it was but a mere finger’s length away—it froze.

“Two minutes in the fourth wave,” A voice said.

Grisla turned.

“The improvement’s there.” Seri nodded.

“It’s still not enough,” Grisla muttered.

“Aye. It’s an impressive feat, with your disability considered.”

“As long as there’s people out there who can outfight me, I’ll never be safe here.

Seri snapped a finger; heeding to her command the boulders winked out of reality.

She watched as Grisla, with great difficulty try to bring air back into his lungs. His Juva was unstable, feeling like a dying wick, just waiting for the final blow.

“I need more than movement, Seri.” Instead of sitting properly, he let himself crumble to the floor. “I’m constantly getting pitted up against people who can outfight me. My current level’s not enough to match that. Yeah, I get movement’s important, but I need more. Something that’ll fill the gap.”

“You don’t need anything more,” Seri denied. “To be frank, to give you more than you can chew is setting yourself up for disaster.”

“There’s no point to teaching you any Esoteric Technique if you haven’t the reserves to make use of it, and let’s say you get a shot off or a hit in, what then? Your core’ll be as dry as the desert. An opponent doesn’t need to ‘outfight’ you if all that’s required to defeat you is to watch you put all of your energy into one attack, then pant like a dog.”

She shot a finger to his stomach, “What needs to be addressed is the most crucial—that core of yours.”

“Advancing to higher realms will require double—no, triple the energy required, to account for the continuous leakage from your core. If you even manage to reach the point where you can advance at all. You lucked out with finding some beast cores, but you’ll have to hunt every day for the next two years if you want to supplement yourself for the fifth cycle.”

“Two years you don’t have, I presume.”

Grisla gravely nodded.

“So, what’re you going to do?”

“What? How am I supposed to know?”

Seri sighed. “It’s your core, Grisla. I’m not going to be able to provide you with the solution for everything, nor will I. It’s up to your own undertaking to fix this bind. Waste our time and we’ll just find another candidate.”

“As expected,” Grisla snorted. “No loyalty whatsoever.”

“By the way,” She came to his side. “What’re you going to do about that?”

“About what?”

“Did you forget what she told you?”

Grisla, remembering now, “…I didn’t.”

“And?” Seri doubtfully said.

“Is this supposed to be a deliberating question?” He scoffed. “The answer’s no. Who would willingly walk into the plans of a person who’s motivated to see my corpse?”

“Who knows. It might work out for you.”

Grisla gave her a side eye, “I always had you pegged as the wise-and-shrewd type. Not living up to it.”

“I have you pegged as an idiot, still living up to mine.” Her devilish smile went from ear-to-ear.

Grisla’s eyes wandered over Seri. “…Flatboard.”

“What did you call me!”

“…Like a canvas.”

Ten minutes of agony later…

Grisla and Seri sat facing each other. “So, the idea is I take up the invitation for this expedition to some faraway land, for some faraway adventure, then what? I plead for mercy before or after we arrive there?” Grisla said.

Seri, checking her nails, spoke, “Who knows, you’ll think of something, I bet.”

“You should stop being so pessimistic. Smile a little, it’ll do wonders for your popularity,” she said.

Grisla’s blank stare told what it needed.

She did a light tap on his head. “You’re thinking of this all wrong—isn’t the opposite just as true?”

“It’s your opportunity to kill him instead.”

Grisla, beginning to make sense of things, said: “I’m following. Although we seem like friendly cultivators both traveling the Path. Secretly we’ll both be trying to kill the other on this trip. Each wanting to rid themselves of a problem. From what Ji Nan’s message, or the one delivered by Shu, it’s an opportunity for the juniors only. So, it’ll be the only time he’s unguarded.”

Innocently, “Yup! Just don’t lose or you’ll be dead for real! No take backsies! We’re not all-powerful gods, cheating death just isn’t in our reach!” Seri said.

“Fine,” Grisla raised his hands in defeat. “I’ll take up his offer, but I’ll need some preparations. And before all of that—I’ve got a book to read.”

“That boring thing?”

Grisla nodded. “That. Boring. Thing.”