When they passed through the dense bushes, a massive clearing revealed itself to them. It was covered with a soft moss-like carpet and above them, a series of vines and leaves prevented most of the sun's light from reaching the ground. As soon as he stepped forward, similar vines moved to cover the wall behind him.

"This is where we'll practice, Serena designed it to be as safe as possible. It should be hard for me even to damage it," he pointed up. "Go position yourself on the other side," he continued, nodding towards the thick vine wall on the opposite side of the clearing.

"I want to help you control your Awakening so that you can feel it and use it at will." He had noticed. Every time he tried to use it, he had to dig through his knowledge and understanding. "I want you to let your subconscious take control of the thinking. I know it might be hard for you. Are you ready?"

"Ye…" a chill crept down his spine. Ah, come on, he didn't even get the chance to finish his words. Kolya appeared right in front of him, his eyes flaming red. Instinctively, Slava put his arms up in a guard. The last thing he saw was Kolya’s red lightning-covered fist launching him backward into the wall. He was about to pass out when a vine extended from behind him tickling his nose.

“We aren’t done, we haven’t even started yet, you better do better than this or you’re gonna die Slava,” hearing this, he weakly looked up as the vine entered his nose. Kolya was staring at him intensely, he could feel the bloodlust in his glare. This bastard was actually trying to kill him, he thought grinning.

Slowly losing consciousness, he felt the vine release something into his nose. Breathing it in, he was instantly reinvigorated. His eyes snapping open, he fell onto the ground. Gasping for air, his thoughts raced through his head.

It seemed like Kolya’s wife really had planned for everything. The vine had probably released some kind of stimulant into his nose. It was outstanding how much she could do.

Kolya wasn't going to be an easy opponent. He had to make sure to increase his reaction time, but there was no way he could keep up with Kolya's speed. What if he tried to…

"Too slow!" A voice said above him. Smiling, he looked up, coming face to face with Kolya's foot. Reversing momentum, from plus to minus he thought as white lightning covered his entire body.

Before Kolya's foot could land on his head, Slava's body moved on its own. In an instant, it moved back, seemingly reversing time. By the time Kolya's foot landed, Slava was already way out of the way. The impact was tremendous. It created a shockwave that spread in all directions through the moss.

When Slava shifted his body to let his feet land on the wall, the shock wave spread through it, destabilizing him. At the same time, Kolya dashed toward him. How was this fair? Who would fight on an unstable floor like this? In time to see his friend's glowing fist graze his cheek, Slava found a foothold on one of the vines. Rotating his body, he rode one of the shockwaves driving his fist into Kolya's abdomen.

It was rock solid. Gritting his teeth, white sparks flashed across Slava’s eyes, spreading all the way to his fist. In the next moment, Kolya's body hit the opposite wall. Closing his eyes, Slava took a deep breath.

"Good! Good! Give me more!" Kolya said, his red eyes shining through the cloud of spores. Slava still couldn’t understand how he could let “his subconscious take control of the thinking”, but he started to feel his domain and how Kolya’s influenced it. He could even feel Serena’s permeating their surroundings. It was subtle, yet omnipresent and when he tried to grasp it, chills were sent down his spine, as if he was facing an unfathomable existence.

“I shall indulge you then,” he finally said, opening his eyes as the lightning around him was reinvigorated. If he was able to affect his outer momentum while moving, didn’t that mean that he could also control his inner momentum? In other words shouldn’t it be possible for him to accelerate his metabolism? That was what Slava was trying to do. Feeling his wounds healing at a rapid rate, he smiled. Seeing this Kolya laughed and when their eyes met they both dashed toward one another.

In the beginning, their battle looked more like pinball than anything else. They would ping-pong each other across the massive arena never really successfully evading or deflecting their opponent’s moves. Eventually, their exchanges became longer, they no longer seemed to be mimicking a tennis match but rather an intricate dance of graceful movements intertwining with each other.

As the fight progressed Slava got faster, not because of his speed but because of his almost instantaneous acceleration. Learning through battle helped him use it far more efficiently and he was starting to do it instinctively which was amazing. In their last few exchanges, they would often end up close to the ground where he would evade Kolya’s fists that would end up hitting the ground creating shockwaves that he could ride to feed his momentum.

He was riding one of the waves, preparing to strike when he suddenly felt something purple reaching him. What purple what? He wasn’t used to it yet but he was almost certain that this was his domain, he had noticed someone new intruding upon it. This feeling was familiar, purple just like… His thoughts were interrupted as he was sent flying.

“Haha, amazing! You learn so fast! Seems like you’ve noticed that you haven’t been the only one fighting!” Exclaimed Kolya watching him hit the ground.

“But…” Slava tried to interject, swiftly getting back up.

“Don’t worry,” Kolya interrupted him, “as soon as she passed out I figured this kind of training would be best for her, Serena knows exactly what she’s doing, besides doesn’t Sasha always learn best when being thrust into the unknown?” He looked to the side as if gazing through the trees. “I’m sure she’ll have fun,” he said shifting his gaze back with a grin. “Now come, we still haven’t finished our fight yet.” He was right, Slava had been slightly worried about her these past few days because she would undoubtedly dive into investigating her uncle. He knew this whole situation was way more complex than it already seemed, so if Sasha got into some shit, he’d probably be dragged in as well.

“Focus Slava!” Hearing these words, he narrowly escaped a deadly blow, letting Kolya’s massive fist hit the ground instead, creating a shockwave and beginning the cycle once more.

After a while, Slava began feeling his mind strain more than usual. He’d noticed that Kolya had been training him to use his newfound strength. It seemed like he could also feel that his control was loosening because he adjusted his attack patterns accordingly. But now, he was running dry.

“Let’s end this for now,” Kolya said, suddenly looking back. “Seems like our time is up, we’re about to get some unwanted visitors. You need some time to recover before that happens.” Slava was about to interject when he witnessed the vines of the walls shift to reveal a hole from which Serena and Sasha soon appeared.

Serena no longer had her lab coat while Sasha’s suit was ripped all over, revealing a ton of gashes and wounds that were still healing. The suit was slowly spreading over them. For the suit's reaction to be this slow, it had to have gone through some harsh treatment.

"Thank you for your insight Doctor," Sasha suddenly said, lightly bowing her head. It looked like Sasha had grown to respect her in the brief time they'd spent together.

"I told you, just call me Serena, I do not wish to be so formal with my husband's friends," she told her, letting her vines carry her to Kolya's side. Her movements were elegant, almost seamless. Seeing this, Slava glanced to his side, his eyes crossing Sasha's. Her expression was serious. She seemed to be thinking the same thing he was. They'd known each other for years, but they'd never heard of Kolya being in a serious relationship, not to mention getting married.

"I think we have some time right dear?" Seeing his wife nod, he continued, "I believe I… we owe you an explanation," he said, glancing to his side. "To be honest, we've been courting since before I even met you Slava. I was quite reckless back then."

Kolya rarely talked about those times, so Slava's ears perked up. At the same time, the forest closed in around them and with a flick of Serena's finger, an organic table rose from the mossy floor. One after another chairs grew behind them, inviting them to take a seat. When everyone was seated, Kolya continued.

"After the monks kicked me out of the temple, I was livid. I couldn't believe they would simply force me out with a few simple words; 'We have nothing more to teach you, go find your own path'. My teacher wouldn't even bid me farewell. When I think back on it, it was quite foolish of me. I regret leaving with such bitter feelings. When I later came back, the temple was gone, replaced by an AITF research facility," saying this, he grit his teeth. Kolya never really talked about the monks or his teacher. All Slava could remember was that Kolya had said he was an orphan that had been picked up by some monks in a temple. He always found it hard to believe, though he never questioned it. The only evidence of his time there was his astonishing talent, discipline, and prowess when it came to anything remotely related to his body.

"Never mind that, I'm getting sidetracked. What's important is that back then, I was angry, and not being able to vent my frustrations led me to join various tournaments where I was eventually picked up by General Michels." So that was how Kolya met his adoptive father. Slava always wondered, he was personally handpicked by one of the greatest Generals so why did he leave? His career would've been unimaginably successful.

General Michaels, one of the Army's greatest, oversaw countless operations in Africa in his younger days which led to the capture of various resource points. His father would never stop singing his praises.

"When I enlisted, I was extremely aggressive, constantly picking fights. Every time, I ended up in her care," nodding towards his wife he warmly smiled. Slava had rarely seen him display such a smile.

"Our relationship grew from there, I think we changed each other for the better. She'd already been Awakened by then but I would learn about that later. But that's when I met you guys, Sasha through the numerous meetings our guardians had and Slava when you joined the platoon," he sighed.

"But why did you decide to leave then?" His warm gaze soon turned into a smile. Serena snapped her fingers and some vines grew out of the ground presenting everyone with filled cups.

"Slava always with the questions huh? Well, at least I can answer you now," taking a sip he signaled for them to do the same. "It's a nice herbal concoction that will help you relax." Waiting for them to start drinking, he sighed once more. "There were multiple reasons that lead me to leave. I started to feel restricted by the environment. On top of that, there was no longer a reason for me to stay, fighting was no longer my priority. But more importantly….” All of a sudden, Slava began feeling dizzy. “Ah, it seems like the effects have started to kick in, Serena should they make it in time before our guests arrive?” He heard him ask.

“Yes, they should make it,” she answered coldly.

“What did you do?” He managed to whisper. He could already see Sasha passed out next to him, green veins pulsing around her eyes.

“You’ll understand soon enough, I think my actions will speak louder than words.” Kolya’s words were the last thing he heard feeling the vines on the chair restraining him as his vision slowly turned black.