The days passed like endless torture. Dust, sweat, and bruises became daily companions for Lucas, Blade, and Niko. However, without them realizing it, their bodies had begun to adapt. Their breathing became more regular, their muscles denser, and their minds no longer easily distracted by pain.

  ?Until finally, that morning arrived.

  ?Master Jiren didn't order them to grab the grass root ropes, rotting twigs, or iron shards. The old man stood at the peak of the rocky hill with his hands folded behind his back, his cloak fluttering in the morning wind.

  ?"It seems your vessels have begun to form," Jiren's hoarse voice broke the silence. He looked at his three students who were now standing upright before him, no longer complaining of backaches like the first few days. "Now, we will prove it. Release that energy."

  ?Lucas and Niko's eyes instantly widened with joy. Finally!

  ?"We will start with the katana user," Jiren pointed at Blade. "Try channeling your Lux into your Katana. Use the sharpness of intent that you learned from the rotting twig the other day."

  ?Blade stepped forward. Without a word, he slowly drew the hilt of Yami-Kiri from its scabbard. The sound of scraping metal rang cold. Blade closed his eyes. Instead of gripping his sword with an anger-fueled hold like before, he held it relaxed, focusing his entire consciousness on a single point of intent: Absolute sharpness.

  ?Instantly, a pale blue light ignited, coating the blade of Yami-Kiri. But this time was different. The light no longer flickered dimly like a candle blown by the wind. The Lux flowed incredibly dense, stable, and as sharp as ice crystals.

  ?"Whoa..." Lucas muttered subconsciously, his eyes sparkling in awe.

  ?"T-The stability of his Output increased drastically!" Niko exclaimed while adjusting his goggles.

  ?Blade opened his eyes. Seeing the layer of energy surrounding his sword, the corner of his lips unconsciously pulled upward, forming a satisfied smile he rarely showed. This is true power, he thought.

  ?"Not bad. For a beginner," Jiren commented flatly, though there was a glint of appreciation in his eyes. "Now it's your turn, Bookworm."

  ?Niko gulped. He stepped forward nervously and took a stance.

  ?BEEP-boop! Bzzzt! ROT flew in circles around him, emitting a blinking green light as a form of moral support.

  ?"Focus," Jiren instructed. "Center your consciousness on a single point. Inhale, feel where your soul resides. Once you can grasp it, pull that energy slowly into your Storage."

  ?Niko closed his eyes. He recalled the sensation of dodging pebbles on top of the pillar. Calmness. Slowly, he began to feel it. A warm pool of energy inside his chest. He successfully performed the Input.

  ?"Good. Now release it. Push the energy from that Storage to flow through your blood vessels," Jiren continued.

  ?Niko furrowed his brow. Cold sweat began to drip down his temples. He tried to push the energy out, but it felt like pushing against a steel wall. The atmosphere grew tense. Blade and Lucas held their breath, cheering their friend on from their hearts. ROT even stopped beeping, waiting anxiously.

  ?Come on... I have to do this, Niko muttered in his heart, his breathing growing ragged. I have to become strong... I don't want to be a burden!

  ?However, the harder he tried, the murkier his mind became. The words 'Strong' and 'Powerlessness' triggered something in the dark corners of his memory. Suddenly, behind his closed eyelids, Niko no longer saw the flow of energy.

  ?He saw flashes of fire. He heard the sound of heavy iron boots destroying the door of his home. He saw the pale faces of his parents, filled with terror as Thor's envoys dragged them away. And there, little Niko could only hide in a dark place, shivering, helpless, and hugging his own knees together with ROT.

  ?That fear swallowed him alive once more.

  ?The remnants of energy that had just gathered in Niko's chest instantly evaporated like smoke blown by the wind. Niko fell to his knees, panting heavily as if he had just been drowning in the ocean.

  ?"It's pretty hard, huh..." Niko laughed bitterly, covering up the tightness in his chest. "I... I can feel the flow, Master. I know there's a vessel in there. But when I try to release it, it feels locked."

  ?Jiren walked closer, then flicked Niko's forehead quite hard. Thwack!

  ?"Ouch!"

  ?"Doubt is the soul's worst enemy, Boy," Jiren said firmly. "Your mind cannot branch out into the past or the future. You must be in the present. Focus on a single intent and purpose. If your inner self is still chained by fear, Lux will never respond to you."

  ?Niko looked down deeply, rubbing his red forehead. Fear, huh... he thought softly. Lucas patted his best friend's shoulder gently, giving him a warm, encouraging smile.

  ?"Now it's your turn," Jiren turned toward Lucas.

  ?Niko and Blade immediately stepped back, staring intently at Lucas. They were incredibly curious to see the results of the young man's "pulling a minecart with grass roots" training.

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  ?Lucas took a deep breath and stood calmly. He closed his eyes. Unlike the tense Niko, Lucas's posture looked very relaxed. He remembered the rhythm of his breathing on the hill. Inhale... hold... release.

  ?As he performed the Input, Lucas felt something detonate softly inside his chest. The sensation was exactly like an old airplane engine that had just been reignited after sleeping for decades. It roared in his ears.

  ?Now, flow it into storage, Lucas thought, guiding the energy.

  ?From the outside, Niko and Blade were transfixed. The wind at the top of the hill suddenly stopped blowing, as if nature was held back by something.

  ?Master Jiren narrowed his eyes. The tip of his tobacco pipe even stopped smoking. What is this energy...? Jiren thought, feeling an aura that was incredibly ancient, wild, yet somehow felt so pure. He had never felt a soul resonance this strong.

  ?Lucas's skin began to redden. Thin smoke billowed from the surface of his body due to his drastically rising body temperature. Small pebbles around Lucas's feet began to vibrate. And slowly, Lucas's black hair lifted upwards, as if gravity around him had lost its meaning.

  ?Now... Output! Lucas shouted in his head.

  ?Lucas's hands were instantly enveloped by an explosion of bright blue Lux. The energy was so dense and blazed fiercely like a bonfire burning in the middle of the night. The crackling sound was even clearly heard in the air.

  ?Lucas slowly opened his eyes. He stared at his own two hands with his mouth agape.

  ?"Whoaaaa... I did it!" Lucas exclaimed, his face instantly returning to that of a giddy village boy. "Look at this, Blade, Niko! My hands are glowing! This is super cool!"

  ?BEEP-BEEP-BEEP! ROT flew around in circles in the air, firing its toy laser as a form of celebration.

  ?Blade smiled faintly, while Niko stared with sparkling eyes. "You're awesome, Lucas! Your Output is amazing!" Niko said in awe, then clenched his own fists. "Congratulations! But watch out, my Lux won't lose to yours. I will definitely catch up!"

  ?"Of course!" Lucas replied while extinguishing his energy, patting Niko's shoulder hard. "We have to become strong together!"

  ?On the other hand, Master Jiren remained silent. He stared at Lucas's recently extinguished palms. This kid... what kind of monster did I actually pick up? he thought, a complicated premonition creeping into his heart.

  ?Jiren cleared his throat loudly, regaining his composure.

  ?"Enough celebrating," Jiren reprimanded, making the three young men line up neatly again. "Now that you can produce Lux Output, the next step is to focus on mastering one basic technique that best aligns with your fighting style."

  ?"Only one?" Niko protested, raising his hand. "Can't we learn more than one technique at the same time, Master?"

  ?"I acknowledge your ambition, Bookworm," Jiren answered. "But dividing the soul's focus is not as easy as flipping your palm."

  ?"He's right," Blade suddenly chimed in, crossing his arms over his chest. "I've tried it myself."

  ?Lucas and Niko turned toward the swordsman.

  ?"I tried using Force Boost for speed, simultaneously with Force Armament on my katana," Blade explained. "The result was a mess. My focus was split, the energy flows clashed with each other, and both techniques shattered in a matter of seconds."

  ?"Exactly," Jiren nodded. "That is why I suggest you master one technique to the point of instinctive reflex, before you greedily eye other techniques."

  ?"Aww... and here I wanted to learn how to put up a Barrier while punching," Lucas scratched his head that wasn't itchy.

  ?"Before dreaming of doing that, I have to be able to produce an Output first," Niko muttered gloomily, lowering his head. Lucas and ROT immediately rubbed Niko's back to comfort him.

  ?"Alright, that's it for today's training," Jiren said, turning back toward the shack. He then pointed at Blade and Niko. "You two, and that toy robot. Go to the city now. I usually go down to the market once a week to buy food supplies."

  ?Blade and Niko's faces instantly brightened. Going to the city meant they were free from training and could relax for a bit!

  ?"Then what about me, Master?" Lucas asked with a wide smile, getting ready to leave.

  ?"You," Jiren pointed at Lucas's nose with his tobacco pipe. "Clean this entire shack. Inside and out. If this house is still dusty by the time I return, you won't eat for five days."

  ?Lucas's smile collapsed instantly. "HAAAA?! Why me?!"

  ?"Because your muscles are the most resilient for mopping," Jiren answered casually, then went inside the house.

  ?"Yesss... alright..." Lucas answered weakly, looking down with a gloomy aura. Meanwhile, Blade and Niko hurriedly rushed down the hill before Jiren changed his mind, leaving Lucas to lament his fate.

  ?[A few hours later.]

  ?"Ugh... this is such a mess," Lucas complained as he swept thick dust in the corner of the shack. Cobwebs were everywhere. "Does Master Jiren have a hobby of collecting dust? It's like this place hasn't been cleaned in a hundred years. Even though I really wanted to tag along with Blade and Niko to buy snacks in the city..."

  ?While continuing to grumble, Lucas moved a pile of old bamboo mats. Behind the mats, he found a carved wooden box that was extremely worn and moldy.

  ?"What box is this?"

  ?Driven by curiosity, Lucas opened the lid of the box. The sound of rusty hinges creaking could be heard. Inside, there was a pile of thick books with yellowing pages, along with several strange, disorganized tools.

  ?Lucas began taking the items out one by one with the intention of organizing them.

  ?As he pulled out a deerskin-bound journal, an old photograph fell onto his lap. Lucas picked up the photo and brushed off the dust.

  ?His eyes narrowed. In the black-and-white photo, he saw Master Jiren—who looked much younger than he did now—standing side-by-side with a young man around Lucas's age. The unfamiliar young man in the photo had his arm around Jiren's shoulder with an incredibly wide, cheerful smile.

  ?"Whoa, who is this?" Lucas muttered. "His former student? Or his son? He looks like someone very close to the Master."

  ?Lucas placed the photo aside, then reached back into the box. He lifted a very heavy, thick book. When he opened the pages at random, a folded sheet of parchment paper fluttered to the floor.

  ?The paper was extremely old, its edges brittle, and the ink on it had faded into a rusty brown color.

  ?Lucas picked it up and slowly unfolded it. The bottom of the paper appeared unevenly torn, as if someone had forcibly ripped off half of its contents.

  ?Wiping the sweat from his temple, Lucas read the cursive handwriting on the paper.

  ?At first, he only read it casually out of curiosity. However, as he spelled out sentence after sentence, his eyes grew wider. His heart suddenly beat faster. A cold chill crept up his neck, making his hair stand on end.

  ?On the worn parchment, it was written:

  ?"When the time comes, three young men will knock on the door of your destiny and seek your guidance. From them... "

  ?The sentence was cut off right at the torn part of the paper.

  ?Lucas's hand trembled slightly. Three young men? Seek guidance?

  ?"What kind of... coincidence is this?" Lucas whispered to the empty room.

  ?Was the presence of himself, Blade, and Niko in this shack not a coincidence? Did Master Jiren already know of their arrival from the very beginning? And what was the continuation of that torn message?

  ?Outside the shack, dark clouds began to cover the sun, leaving behind a mystery that now settled within the young man's chest.

  ?To be continued...