Riku woke up to water droplets falling on his face. He murmured, “Yelmin, stop messing with me. Let me sleep in a bit longer.”

He turned over on his side and groaned; he felt run down and tired. After sometime, reality set in and he remembered the events that led to his current condition.

“I’m sorry, Yelmin, you deserved a better end. Wait for me in the afterlife; I will join you once I avenge you and kill that son-of-a-bitch whose lust for power turned our peaceful life upside down.”

Having made his resolve, Riku opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He had collapsed at the cave entrance near a pool. Groaning loudly, Riku rolled over onto his side to get closer to the pool and see his reflection.

“Holy shit, I look terrible,” Riku said.

Bruises covered his face and arms. He attempted to move his legs and yelped in pain. He looked down in shock: a branch had inserted its way into his left thigh. Multiple gashes covered his legs, but his flesh was wiggling, healing at a visible rate. His gaze proceeded upwards; and observed that the hole in his chest had all but fully healed.

“What’s happening to me? Do I have some super healing powers now?”

Riku decided to test out his theory and ripped out the branch from his leg. Blood gushed out of the wound. Within a few minutes, the blood clotted.

“That old bastard will be in for a surprise when we meet again.” Riku smiled evilly. “Now let’s go and explore this cave some more.”

Grunting, Riku rose to his feet, scanned his surroundings, and wandered deeper into the cave. He observed some strange markings on the right cave wall depicting a dance of some sort involving a staff and sword. With his hand against the wall, he traced the images depicted on the wall until he reached a dead end.

On the wall was an inscription that read, “What price would you pay for power?”

Riku walked up to the wall and placed his hand against it. He felt a prickling cold sensation on his palm and tried to pull his hand away; he couldn’t move his arm at all.

He heard a voice in his mind stating, “Good luck on your trial.”

When the voice finished speaking, tremors filled the cave, Riku’s hand was freed, and he tumbled down a hole that opened up beneath him. When he got his bearings back, Riku noticed that he had ended up in a cavern—in the center of a circle. Around the circle, the pictures Riku observed were scattered around the cavern.

Clang!

A sound reverberated around the cavern, startling Riku. His head snapped upwards and was shocked by a pitch-black sword and a clear-blue staff floating in midair one on either side of the cavern.

Words appeared out of nowhere around the weapons, “A millennia ago, two legendary figures challenged each other to see who was strongest. They fought for thirty days straight only to collapse at the same time, their fall to earth created a huge hole in the ground. With their remaining energies, they created this cavern to pass down the skills that they had created over their lifetimes. You have the opportunity to become one or both of their disciples if you choose to undergo three trials. Will you sacrifice everything for this opportunity?”

“Yes.”