Kaelo woke to the sound of running water echoing beside him. A cold wind whipped through the cavern, and he instinctively reached for a blanket, but his fingers only met the cool, unforgiving surface of the rock floor. The events of the past few days flashed through his mind as he sat up, shaking off the remnants of sleep.

  He looked around; Kano was nowhere to be found. More importantly, his presence was gone. When Kano was near, it was impossible not to feel him. He possessed an intimidating aura similar to Christian’s, but his energy reserves seemed far more vast.

  Or is it simply because Christian has superior energy control? Kaelo wondered. He had never imagined there were others as powerful as those two. They had to be outliers—glitches in the natural order.

  Kaelo stood up, determined. He focused, channeled his energy into his arm, and slammed a punch into the cave wall. His fist came away bloody. He stared at the red smears on his knuckles with a deep sense of disappointment, completely ignoring the massive crack he had just splintered into the stone.

  Suddenly, the air grew heavy. Kano’s presence had returned. Kaelo quickly ducked into one of the side chambers, searching for a bandage. Kano lived sparingly; for all its power, his fortress was still just a hollowed-out rock.

  Kano walked slowly toward where Kaelo had been lying. He observed the blood on the floor, then turned his gaze to the fractured wall. Residual traces of Kaelo’s energy still hummed within the cracks.

  He’s improved, Kano thought. I didn’t imagine he’d learn to cause this much damage with Enhancement so quickly.

  "Come out, Kaelo," Kano called. "I can feel you. You’re trying to shield your energy, but it’s still clumsy."

  Kaelo emerged, his fist wrapped in a makeshift bandage.

  "You’ve injured yourself," Kano noted calmly. "You damaged the rock significantly, but you made several errors."

  They both sat on the floor, legs folded in a meditative stance. Kaelo watched the older man with heightened intensity; he knew he was in the presence of absolute mastery.

  "Firstly," Kano began, "you leaked too much residual energy after the strike. Unlike Christian or me, your reserves are shallow. You must make up for that with near-perfect control, or you will run dry in minutes. This is your greatest hurdle: Lightning Transmutation burns through energy at an extreme rate. It is a hungry technique."

  Kano gestured to Kaelo’s bandaged hand. "Secondly, the goal of Enhancement is to concede zero damage while dealing maximum impact. Your body must be able to withstand the force it releases. You can maximize this by releasing a precise, timed burst of energy at the moment of impact. It consumes more energy than base Enhancement, but the results are devastating."

  Kano paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Spending yesterday reinforcing your entire body helped you feel the flow of Nature Energy through your veins. As a Transmuter, this internal awareness is everything. Depending on your proficiency, I may be able to teach you a new technique."

  That last sentence was accompanied by a rare, thin smile. Kaelo couldn’t help but mirror it.

  "Understand this, however," Kano continued, his voice hardening. "To learn this, you must display a level of control and application that rivals Christian’s. I am essentially asking you to become as proficient as the strongest man alive."

  Kano stood up, his aura expanding to fill the chamber. "Nature Energy is sixty-five percent talent. But that leaves thirty-five percent to hard work. I am going to help you max out that thirty-five percent—but only if you are ready to bet your life on your own potential."

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  Kaelo stood up. A six-hundred-year-old legend was putting his trust in him. The "rip" in his chest didn't feel like a wound anymore; it felt like an engine.

  "I won't let you down," Kaelo said, his voice ringing with conviction.

  "Get changed," Kano replied, turning toward the deeper tunnels. "We're about to begin."

  ONE WEEK LATER

  The central courtyard of Olumo Rock was silent, save for the rhythmic dripping of water from the stalactites. Christian stood in the center, uncharacteristically tense. He wasn't wearing his tactical gear—just simple trousers and a loose shirt.

  "No flames, Christian," Kano said, stepping into the light. He wasn't even in a stance; he looked like a man taking a leisurely stroll. "No flickering. No heat. If I see a single violet spark, we start the hour over."

  Christian wiped sweat from his brow. "You're asking me to fight like a civilian, Kano. It’s been years since we fought in plain hand-to-hand combat."

  "Exactly," Kano replied. "You’ve used your talent as a crutch for some time now. You haven't fought anyone truly strong in a while."

  Kano moved. It wasn't a dash; it was a blur of perfect efficiency. He used Enhancement so subtly that the air didn't even ripple. He struck Christian with an open palm. Christian tried to parry, but without his Nature Energy to boost his reflexes, he was a fraction of a second too slow. The blow sent him staggering back, gasping for air.

  Kaelo watched from the sidelines, his eyes wide. He was seeing the "Strongest Man" get dismantled by a six-hundred-year-old master using nothing but the physics of the human frame.

  "Watch his feet, Kaelo!" Kano barked mid-stride, dodging a desperate hook from Christian. "Martial arts is the geometry of violence. Nature Energy is just the ink. If the geometry is wrong, the drawing is worthless."

  Christian got back up, raising his palms into a defensive stance. Kano charged again. Christian narrowly dodged a left-handed punch aimed at his eye.

  "You do realize I can't heal myself, right?" Christian joked, finally finding his rhythm.

  "Ha! If a punch like that could hit you, I wouldn't call you my student," Kano shot back.

  Kano aimed a kick at the same spot. Christian parried with his right arm and attempted to counter with a flurry of punches. Kano deftly dodged each one. When Christian lunged with a left jab, Kano caught his arm and prepared to counter, but Christian wrenched his arm free and landed a solid kick on Kano's midsection. Kano easily tanked the blow with his passive Enhancement.

  Both men smiled, and the pace of the fight intensified. For an hour, Kaelo watched. He saw how Christian, even at a heavy disadvantage and stripped of his "cheat code" flames, displayed extreme dexterity. He realized that against any ordinary person, Christian would still be a monster. He might have even beaten Kano if they were both allowed to use their full power.

  Ultimately, the sparring ended when Christian took a sharp punch to the abdomen—his fourth reinforced strike of the session. He remained standing, but Kano declared the fight over.

  "It would take too long for either of us to go unconscious," Kano said. "But by these rules, I would eventually win."

  "As if you wouldn't lose in a fair martial arts fight," Christian joked, unbothered by the loss.

  "Don't get cocky, boy. I simply wanted to demonstrate the ability of plain martial arts to hold its own against an opponent with Nature Energy."

  The Gift of the Blade

  Later, Kaelo was performing his daily exercises outside the fortress when Kano approached and asked him to follow. They walked to the back of the chamber, where Kano pulled a long, cloth-wrapped object from a hidden alcove.

  He handed it to Kaelo. The weight was surprising. Kaelo unwrapped it to find a sword. It wasn't a flashy, ceremonial blade; it was made of a dark, matte-gray metal with a hilt wrapped in an intricate copper dragon design. The blade seemed to drink the violet light of the cave.

  "This is a Harmonic Edge," Kano explained. "It’s forged from the same obsidian minerals found in this rock. For most, it’s just a heavy piece of metal. But for a Transmuter of lightning, it is a lightning rod."

  Kaelo gripped the hilt. He felt a strange resonance, as if the sword were waiting for him to speak to it.

  "Your lightning is erratic because it has no path," Kano said, adjusting Kaelo's grip. "The air is a poor conductor. But this steel? This steel is hungry. From now on, you will not manifest lightning in the air; you will manifest it inside the blade. We begin your training with this weapon tomorrow."

  Kano looked deeply into Kaelo's eyes. "Of course, this doesn't mean you will stop mastering your technique. A blade is simply an extension of your lightning."

  Kaelo swung the blade experimentally. It felt like a part of his own arm—the first thing in this world that didn't feel like it was trying to reject him.

  "Thank you, Master," Kaelo whispered.

  "Don't thank me yet," Kano replied, his eyes reflecting the dull glow of the metal. "By next week, that sword will feel like it weighs a thousand pounds, and I will expect you to swing it like a feather. This is one of many powerful artifacts in this world, Kaelo. It’s time you learned how to use it."