With a haze of light, his vision cleared as he saw a losh forest surrounding him, with a river flowing a little ahead of him. Unable to contain his craving for water, he ran forward towards the riverbank.

Reaching the riverbank, he got on his knees before leaning forward to scoop some water. Inevitably, his gaze landed on his reflection in the water.

Scabs and scars littered his body, with some wounds still bleeding.

In response, Arkhan gave a bright smile before scooping up some water. Droplets of water rolled down his tongue and through his throat, bringing life back to his body.

However, the satisfaction he desired never came. Instead, the meagre amount he drank stirred his thirst. Feeling the process of scooping up water before sipping to be slow, he bent down to drink directly from the river.

His throat bobbed up and down as his thirst died down. A sense of relief washed over him, causing the worry occupying half of his heart to lessen considerably, giving ample space to the plant-like Courage to spread its leaves.

With the sense of relief, all the fatigue he had accumulated hit him at once. His eyelids felt as if they weighed as much as boulders, shutting themselves in a few moments despite Arkhan’s meagre resistance.

The world Arkhan saw turned to a shade of black along with his consciousness as the last thing he felt was the temperature of his surroundings dropping sharply, reaching a comfortable level which dragged him further into a deep sleep.

Closing the book with a thump, Zack threw his head back before drawing a long breath.

Zack thought: If Arkhan had stopped, maybe even hesitated for a little longer, what if a Difficulty sprouted from beneath him? He would’ve died right there and no one would’ve remembered him anymore…

He felt a cold chill thinking, till here. His eyes couldn’t help but dart towards the closed book resting within his palms.

Shaking his head to dismiss his current train of thought, he continued, But what is here is quite right. It’s hard to change.

He couldn’t help but look down at his hands as the light in his eyes dimmed. The smile on his face grew stiffer by the moment.

The figurative clouds looming over his heart grew denser. He couldn’t help but feel the surrounding air becoming thin, making it harder to breathe in. He got up, his knees wobbling as he did.

In the next moment, his fist clenched.

With a muffled impact, his fist landed on his cheek, dragging him back to reality. He gulped in air while controlling his racing head.

No, they’ll be worried again. I shouldn’t cause them any more trouble. I… shouldn’t. Atleast, not here.

Shaking his head, Zack dismissed the gloom in his heart.

Arkhan was right. If I stop here… would there be any meaning in all this I am doing? And will I even get to… No. I would never. Not until I get stronger. And to do that, I must… I must—

While his rationality came to a standstill with the gloom covering his heart to vie for supremacy, a third force broke the stalemate, rising to the top.

A feeling of rage uncharacteristic of him welled up inside his chest.

No, I need to. If I am afraid of hurting anyone, I would reach nowhere. Killing is also hurting someone as well. And more than one person. If I hesitate now, will I ever be able to kill that man? Even going by the thing from earlier, like Arkhan, do I even have time to be hesitating? Will all this time not pass away all the same if I don’t win against Samuel? Then wouldn’t it all — everything that happened — be meaningless?

The boy’s fists shook, and before long, the trembling spread to his body.

He felt something akin to a large hole growing inside his chest, making it feel numb. His lone eye grew moist, turning the room into a blur of overlapping colours.

I knew this would happen. I knew, didn’t I? Good thing none of them are here or they would’ve worried.

A shaky breath escaped Zack’s mouth as he fell to his knees with a thud. His face as his hand reached for the bandages covering the left side of his face. As if to focus on the feeling of cloth though his fingertips better, he closed his eye.

I should’ve accepted it from the start. It wouldn’t be as bad then. And… No. I wouldn’t let it all be meaningless.

A feeling akin to a burning flame seemed to tear away at his heart, making him feel a sense of urgency he had no recollection of feeling before outside of one single occasion.

To his ears, the sound of his beating heart was never as clear as this instant.

*Thump*

Following the beat of his heart, his fist hit the floor with a muffled thud. Pain coursed through his hand. However, unlike a usual frown, his face had a mild smile.

Yeah, I’m late but not by a lot. This feels… oddly refreshing.

Spreading his palm as if to dig through the wooden floor, he put force into his hand. Pushing himself forward with an impulse, he got up.

With a dull yet fiery glint in his eye, he walked outside with a newfound energy.

It’s difficult, but as Aunt said, it’s not impossible. And that’s all that matters. I’ll just have to work that much harder then.

As if possessed, he began a mad series of exercises. And when he felt he couldn’t continue, he’d sit down on the spot before turning to meditation in hopes of getting accustomed to Ki and taking the first step into the world of Ki arts while his body recovered.

To his delight, he could feel himself getting better at sensing the strands of Ki with every try. However, he still had no clue on how to manipulate into moving as he wanted, let alone anything afterwards.

Regardless if his body wanted to or not, he forced it to move. As ke kept cycling through a ten-minute run, a set of pushups and a set of squats followed by half an hour of meditation, the sun flew by overhead without gaining his notice.

With the sun approaching the horizon, sounds of leaves getting crushed filled the air.

The noise distracted Zack — who was in the middle of a pushup — causing him to fall face first on the ground.

Covering his nose, he rolled over as he writhed in pain.

A tired voice floated to his ear, “So… what’re you doing? Playing in dirt? But aren’t you too old for that?”

He removed his hand that blocked his vision to see a boy with bright chestnut hair and azure eyes standing in front of him, giving him an amused look.

Zack smiled as he said, “About time you’re here. Let's settle some scores while we’re at it.”