“Spar within your groups, you know the drill,” Elder Kiri said, waddling around the field and looking both imposing and weak in the way only he could.

“How about some girl-on-girl time?” Cecilia giggled.

“I think I’ve had enough of that for today, “Niva said, mentally cursing Faye to two thousand years of pain. ”But sure.”

"How exactly are you going to box, though?" Niva asked. Although it wasn't visible at first glance, Cecilia was blind. It had taken Niva by surprise, and she only discovered the fact when Cecilia asked her to describe what moves the elder performed.

"Don't worry about me; I have my ways."

“If you say so.”

Common sense would suggest that she should go easy on Cecilia. Niva didn’t operate by common sense.

Thus, raising both hands in front of her face, Niva took a boxing stance and watched her opponent. Not only did Cecilia give off a relaxed air, but she also even appeared to invite Niva to engage her.

She’s bluffing me, Niva thought. Then, let’s test that proposition.

In the next moment, a clean straight made its way towards Cecilia’s face followed by a left hook feint that turned into a right kidney shot.

Cecilia’s hands near blurred as she blocked the three-part combo.

“Guess I didn’t have to worry,” Niva said, whistling.

“If anything, it’s my job to worry about you,” Cecilia said, throwing a low kick.

“Oh, how so?” Niva dodged the cheap punish by lightly elevating her leg.

A cheeky grin plastered itself over Cecilia’s face. “I’m a scout.”

Niva staggered a little, causing her to eat a jab. “Of everything you could be,” Niva said as she recovered. ”I least expected a scout role.”

“Then what did you expect me to be, a supporter?”

"Yep." Niva jumped back to avoid a one-two.

“Then what are you? Let me guess, single target destroyer.”

“Area control, actually.”

“Color me surprised.”

"You're blind. Do you even know what color looks like?" Niva gave Cecilia a dead-pan stare, belatedly realizing that she was an idiot —she mentioned it just now, the girl couldn't see.

“Nope.” Her teeth now inserting themselves into her smile, Cecilia got into Niva's face and tried to throw an elbow. However, she overshot and instead barreled into Niva, causing them to fall on the ground.

Niva groaned and spit out some sand before she heard clapping to her left.

“Exemplary display,” Raymond applauded them, his partner in Ezra looking wholly uninterested.

“Shut up, you ogre,” Cecilia said. She heaved herself off the ground, stammering out an apology and helping Niva up before another grin formed on her face. ”Guess what role Ray has. One chance.”

There’s no way, Niva thought as she stared at his flapping sleeve. Niva stammered as she turned Cecilia's way, and the girl almost couldn’t contain her laugh.

“Don’t tell me he’s a tank.”

"Indeed, I am," Raymond spoke, puffing out his chest. "From this day on, you are in my capable hands, or should I say hand?" A genuinely thoughtful look adorned his face, and he stroked his chin.

“So, my effort to find some teammates has led to me joining a group of disabled. Great,” she sighed.

“Look on the bright side. Ezra is normal,” Cecilia said. “Sort of,” she added.

“Sort of?” Niva asked, looking at Ezra who only raised his shoulders in response.

“He’ll tell you if he feels like it,” Cecilia said.

“Don’t forget to switch partners,” Elder Kiri yelled.

Cecilia waved her goodbye before joining Ezra, which left her with Raymond.

“So, Raymond–”

“Ray is fine.”

“Ray,” Niva said, paying attention to his flapping sleeve, “Are you going to tell me I don’t have to go easy on you either?”

Ray snorted as he raised his right hand. “Let’s see if you can keep that attitude up.”

In the next moment, she raised her eyebrows. For, she didn’t know how, the air around Ray became heavier the instant he took his stance. Right away, Niva understood that a beast stood in front of her.

She needed to tread carefully or–

Without seeing it, a jab hit her. Afterward, an impact took her in the stomach, causing her to bend over slightly.

What in the mother’s name? She thought. How fast is he?

Refocusing, she strained her eyes. First things first, she had to see the movement before she could dodge it.

However, Ray's left sleeve grabbed her attention. Her entire being was screaming that the impossible was going to happen and that a mean left hook would take her in the face. If she didn’t pay attention to it, it would spell her end and of all that she held dear and–

The sleeve harmlessly flapped in the wind as she watched, almost in slow motion.

She screwed up.

A soft hit, way softer than she expected, she absentmindedly thought, turned her head sideways, and Niva took a few steps to recenter herself.

She stared at Ray in disbelief, her eyes wider than the surface area of a lake. "Explain," she demanded.

"Maybe another time. When we've gotten friendlier," Ray sneered.

“Tch,” Niva tutted. “Fine. Let’s start this instance.”

“Where are you guys from?”

“Eager to know my secret, heh? No matter. I’ll kick your butt a few more times before I spill the beans."

"We’re from a nameless city in Bruma, by the way.”

“That sounds familiar,” she rubbed her chin. She vaguely remembered Bruma being mentioned in her education early on. However, she couldn’t place it.

“Bruma was one of the first war heroes, right after the Age of the Blind ended.”

Niva wanted to hit herself on the head. How could she forget that? That period was one of the enigmas of their history. It was the name scholars of the Empire used to refer to the time cultivation didn't exist. That is, not a single cultivator walked Cella.

In and of itself, this wasn't that interesting. What made it intriguing, however, was that cultivators were documented to exist before then, which meant that cultivators had died out at some point. And no one knew the reason for that.

Only when the first emperor, Zebulon the Wrath, discovered a long-lost text in humanity's hour of need did cultivation become a thing once more.

“You do seem to have a propensity of getting lost in your thoughts and staring out in front of you,” Ray said. “You’re not mentally disabled, right? Because that would complement our group very well.”

His deep, hearty laugh made his intention clear. So, Niva allowed the boy his fun at her expense. She no longer cared about her habit since she would most likely keep doing it until the day she died.

“I think we should continue sparring, though,” Ray said, having had his fill of laughing for the day.

The two continued for a few more rounds. Niva desperately tried her best to discover Ray's secret, but Elder Kiri announced the end of their lesson before she could make any leeway.

“Better luck next time,” Ray said, walking toward Cecilia and Ezra.

She pouted as she followed him, not saying anything because he had beaten her every single round.

“I wouldn’t worry too much,” Cecilia said when Niva and Ray got closer. ”I can’t beat him either.”

Not a fair comparison at all, Niva thought as she let out a sigh; all her senses worked perfectly fine.

Regardless, she placed the ordeal behind her and added the fuel to her emotional storage. She'd get him another day. For now, she needed to find a way to increase the bond between them.

“Are you guys perhaps doing something during the afternoon?”

Cecilia looked Ray's way, and he murmured positively. "We are," Cecilia said as her voice took an excited cadence. "Most of the time, we hunt around the very edge of the green zone where there are more territorial species."

Oh? That required some confidence, especially since they hadn’t had enough time to learn their arts yet. In fact, she didn’t even know if the three of them already formed their dantian. Even though she knew how to hide her own fluctuations, she couldn’t sense that of others.

Wait.

She turned toward Ray. There’s no way he did what he did without having formed his dantian, right…?

Her curiosity almost bested her. Still, she refrained from asking him because she was afraid of the answer. She sincerely hoped she hadn't sold her soul to a monster in joining this group.

"Can I join you?" Niva asked as she shivered, pushing down her memories of Ray's fighting.

“Of course. Do you already have a weapon?” Cecilia asked, briefly turning Ezra’s way.

The boy in question's face turned red, and titled her head at the display.

"No," Niva said. "I was going to ask Elder Kiri for one, well, two weapons, right after this."

"Great!" Cecilia clapped her hands –Niva noticed the girl had a peculiar way of clapping that made the sound high-pitched, yet still clear. "Then you and Ezra can pick one up together and make your way over to the gate afterward."

“Aren’t the three of you hunting together? How come he doesn't have a weapon yet?” Niva asked, watching Ezra’s face become redder than she thought humanly possible.

"He skipped us, until now," Ray said.

Ezra's short, black hair whipped back and forth as he shook his head, denying Ray's statement.

Cecilia sighed. “Ezra is a little shy, which is why I act like his mother most of the time. You’re likely going to fulfill that role as well, sooner or later.”

Act like his mother? Niva thought, pressing her eyebrows together.

“I just think of him as a little brother,” Ray said as he took a bite out of his apple that Niva hadn’t seen him take out of his bag.

Ray’s evidence-of-being-a-monster list just gained another entry.

“It’s fine, I suppose. How about we leave right away?” Niva showed her palm in an inviting gesture and Ezra walked to her side, not saying anything.

"In a few weeks, we'll start our formal training of weapons," Elder Kiri yelled out as if on cue.

Wasting no time, Niva made her way over to the elder, Ezra walking two steps behind her to her left.

“Elder Kiri,” Niva called out when they got close enough. She bowed.

The Elder looked her way. “Here to apologize for your friend?”

“Not at all, elder.”

“Good, because I would’ve suspended you too, then.”

That was overly harsh. However, she did her best not to show her thoughts.

“Although I’m not here to apologize for her, I did want to ask for a training weapon. For the both of us.”

The wrinkles on the Elder's face rippled. “You young bucks and always rushing things," Elder Kiri ranted. "You can’t even use your feet and hands to save your life, yet you want to use a weapon.”

Keeping her mien amiable, Niva vigorously nodded, her eyes closed, wholeheartedly agreeing with the old man.

Elder Kiri snorted. “Whatever, not my problem. Two tickets?”

After she cranked her neck backward, she noticed that Ezra had nearly caved in on himself. Moreover, he stood five steps behind her instead of the initial two.

“Three, please. My friend over there needs one, too.”

The elder turned Ezra's way, and Niva swore she had never seen someone look away that fast. Had Ezra developed an art for it?

“Emperor, have mercy,” Elder Kiri said, throwing up his hands. He handed Niva three tickets before quickly pacing away. “Take these to the distribution center. Mio will handle the rest.”

She had no clue who Mio was, but she assumed she would find out soon enough and walked over to Ezra.

“You okay?” She asked when she arrived at his side.

Ezra coughed, his bony physique trembling with the entire action, before he squealed out an affirmation.

Should she give him some words of encouragement? Niva thought as she raised her hand to perhaps rub his shoulder.

That's what her mother did whenever she felt uncomfortable. At least, that's what her mother used to do. It had changed in later years.

Ultimately, since she didn’t know if it was appropriate. So, she lowered her hand and simply started walking over to the center located in the middle of the outer ring of the sect.

Even though they called it a center, Niva found 'spiky dome' a better descriptor.

Wooden posts in all sorts of shapes poked out of the walls for some reason she couldn't decipher, and Niva imagined an arena lay on the other side of the door big enough for three rhinos to enter side by side.

She walked up and knocked.

Although she saw her hands impact the door, no sound reached her ears. How was that possible? Moving her face closer to the door, she repeated the action multiple times. Nothing significant adorned the door that could possibly cause this.

Interesting.

“Stop knocking, I hear you,” Niva heard a decidedly male and irritated voice speak into her mind.

After she moved back in a jerk, the door opened to reveal a person wearing an all-black mantle that covered his entire body. It went so far that his hood only left a part of his eyes and mouth visible.

"Greetings, Elder…"

“Mio,” Elder Mio said using his physical voice this time, and he looked over her shoulder.

She heard Ezra whimper behind her, which gave her enough information.

“Elder Mio, we came to collect some training weapons.” Because his mood seemed extremely poor, she tried to give the elder her warmest smile.

It had the opposite effect, and she saw the elder's lips turn down into a scowl.

“Do I look dumb? What else would you be here for?” Elder Mio said as he accepted their tickets, nearly ripping of her fingers as he did so.

“Sorry, elder” Niva apologized.

Elder Mio waved her away. “Follow me. The quicker we’re done, the faster you can leave again.”

Deciding not to comment on the elder's attitude, she went along with his instructions.

The elder took her through a series of corridors before he stopped in front of a door that had runes all over it.

Belatedly, Niva remembered she had a teammate, but shuffling behind her put her at ease, and her attention returned to the beefed-up door again.

Some of the symbols on the runes transitioned between lighting up and going dark until all the runes rotated, opening the door, the hinges creaking dangerously as it did.

She went inside. If the runes didn't signify the room's worth, the interior certainly did.

Glass containers filled with weapons littered the room, and images of martial artists taking different guard stances adorned the front panes.

Although the hundreds of containers made for an impressive sight, they failed to catch Niva's eyes as much as the next object.

A Guru, she could tell immediately. In a space full of items whose primary purpose was slaughter, the statue radiated a sense of inner calm.

Seated in the lotus, it held a polearm in one hand while the palm of its other hand faced outward.

“Guru Dae Shim, the weapon saint,” Ezra breathed, his eyelids nearly traveling into his skull, so large were his eyes.

“A saint?” Niva asked in a surprised tone, both because saints were rare and because she nearly forgot that Ezra could speak.

Ezra spun on his heel and faced Elder Mio, his hands clasped in front of him face. “Can we please take a closer look?!”

“Sure…,” Elder Mio said. Niva couldn't see much of his face, but he sounded completely taken aback by Ezra’s sudden burst of passion.

All but bounding into the guru, Ezra parked his face at the base of the statue. “Niva, look at this!”

She walked over as Ezra told her to hurry up.

A passage occupied the front of the rectangular block the guru sat on, and as Niva read it, an image formed in her head. One of the guru holding a spear against her throat. The steel felt so cold that she feared it would tear her skin off simply by moving backward. Yet, she couldn't take her eyes off the being holding the weapon.

The Saint wore a robe that seemed to swim in the air of its own violation and the wind hummed so sharply that it pierced her as he spoke.

In the beginning, Strife birthed the Spear.

The Ender of all disputes. The Destroyer.

For to hold one is to hold the power over Life and Death in one’s hands.

Cry, plead or beg for forgiveness.

Yet, it comes down upon all.

Without mercy.

The sudden release of pressure caused by the fading of the image made her fall on her bum, and she released the breath she didn't know she was holding.

Ezra rested his head on the passage, perhaps thinking it would then insert itself into his brain. “Legend goes that he could use two weapons simultaneously. One using his hands, the other using his mind.”

She shot Ezra an incredulous look from the floor. When he didn’t elaborate after a few seconds, she turned to Elder Mio. “Is that possible, elder?”

“Making weapons float is possible utilizing essence, albeit difficult. However, no one has ever been able to replicate controlling one solely wielding their mind. But in my humble opinion–”

A drop in temperature caused condensation to form on the glass panes next to her, and Elder Mio's blazing red eyes, directly contrasting the chill, appeared to bore through her physical form and stare right at her core.

“Yes.”