After the first day was done, Raion was hauled off to bed. Doriama and Umashiro took that time to rest also.

“Wake up Raion!” Doriama busted through the door and dragged Raion out of bed.

“Ughh...” Raion’s face was pale from last night. “Where are we going?”

“Where else?”

In the far distance Raion could hear music playing and loud shouting.

“Oh no...” Raion’s body was writhed with pain.

The second day of drinking began. It was full of excitement and fun just like last night. There were more people involved and the celebration was bigger. Another three hours passed and Raion was left passed out again after finishing the fortieth barrell.

“Ohh...I didn’t think he’d actually finish it.” Umashiro sipped his drink.

Doriama sat back in his chair and took a sip of his drink. “Same. The boy has heart, I’ll give him that, but the hard part starts tomorrow.”

“Mhmm.”

Umashiro and Doriama touched glasses and chugged their drink down before retiring back into their rooms for the night.

Morning came around. Doriama, Umashiro and Raion were out in the fields getting ready to begin the transferring of the mark.

“Alright so to recap all those drinks you had the last two nights were to prepare you blood and energy for the invasion of energy. Your body now has the necessary ingredients in it to be able to take in my energy, however, your body hasn’t had the time to properly absorb the ingredients into your system. So be prepared for some excruciating pain.”

Doriama looked at Raion with a serious face.

“Also once we begin, we can’t stop. If we stop, you’ll have to wait another week for me to do the transfer again, but by that time the tournament will be over. So are you prepared for this?”

Raion took a deep breath.

“Yes.”

“Alright let’s get started then.”

Raion sat down first. Doriama sat behind Raion and placed his hands on Raion’s back. The processes of transferring energy had begun. A light slowly formed around the two. Raion’s body started to grow hot. An intense flash of pain kept coming and going. At first it would come every now and then, but slowly the pain came in faster and faster. It reached a point where Raion’s body was engulfed in pain and heat.

Raion’s energy started to waver.

“This isn’t good Doriama.” Umashiro looked at Raion’s condition. “Tsk, not only is his body not fully conditioned for this, but it looks like his energy isn’t compatible with the Rooster’s Mark.”

“Don’t stop.” Raion was able to murmur those words.

“Kid, you’re going to die if this keeps going.” Umashiro interjected as he walked towards the two. “It doesn’t look good, I’m going to stop this Doriama.”

Raion’s energy fluctuated rapidly before becoming stable again.

“Don’t.” Raion’s eyes were intense, he had made his resolve and was not budging from his decision.

Umashiro looked at Doriama.

“Boss...”

“It’s alright, he’ll make it.”

Umashiro sighed and continued to watch over them.

Five hours have passed since they started. Raion was showing visible signs of suffering major damage.

“..gh..”

“What was that Raion?” Umashiro moved closer.

Raion couldn’t hold it back anymore. Blood slowly spilled from his mouth.

“BOSS!” Umashiro shouted. He reached in to pull Raion away from Doriama.

“Stop Umashiro!” Doriama shouted. “Don’t pull him away, we’re almost done. Get in here and balance out the energy with yours. This is the final stretch.”

Umashiro nodded and sat in front of Raion. He placed both his hands in front of Raion’s chest. Slowly the light surrounding the two eventually engulfed all three of them. Raion’s condition was getting worse, he kept coughing up blood. Doriama and Umashiro both exerted an enormous amount of energy to help keep Raion’s fluctuating energy in check.

After an excruciating amount of time, the mark properly form on Raion’s chest over his heart. Both Doriama and Umashiro stopped channeling their energy to regain their composure. Raion passed out and fell on the ground.

“That was dangerous boss, any longer and he could’ve lost his life there.” Umashiro picked up Raion and threw him over his shoulders.

“But he didn’t though.” Doriama had a smirk on his face. “If he couldn’t pass this than the tournament would be impossible for him.”

“But...the mark isn’t compatible with his energy.” Umashiro had a disheartened look on his face. “All that trouble only to be gifted with a curse instead.”

“Nothing to fret Umashiro, even curses can be turned into a gift in due time.” Doriama stretched his limbs and yawned. “Now time to get to rest, the real thing starts tomorrow.”

“That’s if he wakes up.” Umashiro eyed towards Raion.

“Don’t worry we’ll get C-Collette to watch over him.”

Umashiro’s face suddenly turned pale. “A-are you sure...?”

END