"So let me get this straight. You plan to teach me how to use my echoes by blowing me up with a grenade launcher?"

"First lesson."

Cyanide aimed the barrel of the weapon at Arik and pulled the trigger. Arik's eyes shot open in visible panic before a loud but hollow sound boomed from the thick tube of the weapon. A small but powerful force lodged into Arik's chest and rocked him back, falling on his rump.

Cyanide fancifully looked at the gun. "This may be an M-32 grenade launcher but it's firing LTL today."

Arik grabbed at his chest and winced at the new accompanying ache that pressured his breath.

"What the hell, man!" He stood up carefully. "That was kind of uncalled for, don't you think? You could have just told me about this.. LTL?"

"Less Than Lethal. Referring to the round of course. They won't kill you if used correctly in most circumstances. But that doesn't mean they can't kill you if need be."

Arik's heart missed a beat at the thought of getting repeatedly shot by that thing.

"Regardless, they hurt like a bitch. And I wanted you to know what you're up against as a little motivation, that's all." That shit eating grin spread along his face once again.

Emotions began to boil in the recesses of Arik's shielded thoughts. He didn't know what was going on anymore. He hadn't for a while at this point. Everything was just so hard to eat and digest that it was just piling up in a twisted traffic jam of confusion and disbelief. But there was no disbelief in what he had been clearing seeing for some time now. Arik didn't know how to come about any of this. Even a man twice his age would be completely at a loss.

Cyanide was an incredibly polarizing being to Arik. He had done such terrible things to him in the past that he barely had time to process it let alone let it go. But the man was still standing here plain as day appearing to try to help Arik. He spoke with flippant remarks and gave ample information when asked. But Arik still wanted to be mad at what happened when they first met. He wanted to be mad at Cyanide for showing up at Celesti's and for knocking him out like that.

If anyone was to teach Arik how to use his powers better, it would be this guy. And who knew the next chance Arik would get at something like this. But why Cyanide?

'Hell. Why me?' he thought to himself.

"Look," Arik piped up emphatically, standing erect in spite of the pain. "I understand that you may be trying to help me, but don't get it twisted, I don't like you nor do I trust you. In fact, I kind of want to knock your head off for all the shit you have done to me."

Cyanide nodded and shrugged. "Yeah, that makes sense. I'd be mad too."

Arik was slightly thrown off by his menial and understanding response. "Good. Then how about next time you want me to shut up or test me, you don't knock me out or try to kill me? That's not how normal people communicate."

Cyanide walked over to a stump and sat on it. "Unfortunately, we aren't normal, Arik. We never will be. And anyone who approaches you that knows of your gift in the future is going to try the same as me. The only option is to get stronger. If not for yourself then for the ones you love." He stared through the ground for a moment like an old Vietnam veteran having an episode from the past. "While you still have them at least."

"And just what does that mean?"

"There are two types of deathless, Arik. Those who see our powers as a gift, and those who see it as a curse. But regardless of which side you align to, you are still immortal. Through time, you will lose everything and everyone close to you."

"And just which are you?" Arik scrutinized, trying to pick the brain of the subject matter expert.

He seemed to mull over his words a few moments before responding. "We aren't all bad. We can do great good. But there are always people who won't let that happen. So take that how you will."

Arik felt a genuine sadness radiate from his answer and the tension in his anger inevitably soothed a bit.

"Cyanide, I still have dozens of questions."

"I'm sure you do. But we literally don't have all day. I'll give you three questions and then we have to kick it into gear with this training."

"Okay." Arik had so many questions jumping around in his head that sorting them into an order of importance was daunting just to think about. So instead, like an idiot, he just asked the ones that came to his head, scattershot style. Any answers were mouth watering at this point, like a staved man getting a bite of a big juicy steak.

"So, how many echoes do you have?"

"You mean how many times have I died? Well first off that's like asking a fat woman her weight. You'll have to learn deathless etiquette sooner than later."

Arik awkwardly nodded but was almost too confused to feel truly sorry. 'I've been hearing too many things for the first time lately.'

He continued. "Most people lose count after a while. While it's never fun to die, I suppose it just kind of loses its meaning. Or perhaps they'd rather forget. Me myself, I'm proud to say that I'm the most accomplished deathless of my time when you consider my relatively low number of deaths. A magnificent 15 is what I'm sitting at."

Arik scratched his head. "Doesn't having less deaths technically make you weaker? Seems like a weird flex, but okay." He sucked his lips into his mouth as he realized he had just asked his second question.

"Sometimes yes, sometimes no. When you amass enough echoes, it begins to become very taxing on the mind, almost like they take up memory on a hard drive. Focusing on all of them as assets is like trying to intensely focus on everything in your vision at the same time all the time. Not feasible. So you data dump them and they dust over with time.

"I on the other hand don't have nearly as many echoes as a member of the Ministry or Bellanode for example. Therefore, I can focus on what I have in its entirety. I'm faster and more precise with my echoes. Couple that with the particular echoes I have and the length of time I've been alive, and you'll learn quickly how respected I am amongst the deathless." The man exuded more pride in himself than an LGBTQ+ flag.

Some of what Cyanide said made Arik have to bite his tongue in curiosity. He only had one question left and he wanted this one to count.

'Should I ask about the old man? Bellanode? This ministry he just spoke of? Dammit, this seems hardly fair. Maybe I should just ask why we can't leave now.'

The bear creature now across the field from the two was watching a butterfly flutter past its face, same smile as always.

"Okay what the hell is that?" Arik compulsively spewed from his mouth.

Cyanide followed Arik's alerted finger point as if at a loss of what he could possibly be speaking of.

"Oh! You mean you haven't pieced it together yet? That's my Ru-Bear Soldier husk. My very first echo."

"What? If that thing is just an echo then how is it moving all by itself? You were inside of it earlier."

"Aye, I was. But he is a very rare echo type known as a husk. Husks are like magical suits of armor you can cast on yourself to aid you in combat. When you master the echo, you learn to summon it as an individual from you to fend for itself as a secondary on the battlefield."

Arik stared, dumbfounded and jaw open. He couldn't believe that powers like this existed, and his mind raced with what else was out there.

"A-and, it's made out of rubber?"

Cyanide shot from his stump and stretched his non-golem arms into the sky. "And that is a fourth question, my pupil. You'll have to earn that one with a little experience. But I think you'll learn soon enough."

He put his fingers in his mouth and blew a deafening whistle. "Rupert, time to play!"

The bear in the distance snapped its head toward the two and began shuffling slowly forward, it's heavy arms swinging side to side in front of it like blunt pendulums. With every step it took, it's speed increased. Within a few seconds it was in full terrifying sprint. And just when Arik thought the lumbering horror's movement couldn't get any worse, it fell to its front arms and began running like an actual bear.

"Second lesson," Cyanide called out, his chill face a direct opposite of Arik's. "Fight the bear.”