In this world, strength is not a gift… it is the price one pays to stay alive.
The Kara is the vital energy that flows through all things. Some shape it to create, others to destroy… but all depend on it to survive.
When the breath of Kara fades, the heart stops beating, and the soul disappears into the eternal shadow.
The Tempio Zenith.
From the outside, it was merely a majestic temple floating in a dimension outside of time, a sanctuary of polished stone and ancient wood bathed in an eternal light. But inside, its secrets were infinite.
A massive door, engraved with constellations, slowly opened in one of the temple's silent corridors, pushed by Takashi Aomi. He gestured for Raizen to enter.
What Raizen discovered on the other side took his breath away.
It was not a room. It was a world. A soft, permanent starry sky overlooked a small, lush forest. The grass was soft under his feet, and the air smelled of moss and damp earth. In the center of this miniature forest, a majestic waterfall fell from an unseen height, its crystalline water crashing onto polished rocks before disappearing into a basin that never overflowed. The sound of the water was the only music in this timeless place.
Raizen, who had been expecting a training hall or an austere dojo, was left speechless.
Raizen Vithar (almost shouting):
This is... This is incredible! Where are we?!
BAM.
A sharp slap to the back of his head brought him back to reality.
Takashi Aomi (in a weary tone):
Calm down. We are in a library. Do not shout.
Raizen turned to his mentor, looking completely lost.
Raizen Vithar:
A library? But... this is a forest! There's a waterfall!
Takashi let out a long sigh, the kind of sigh from someone who has to explain the obvious to a child.
Takashi Aomi:
Follow me.
He led him through the soft grass to the edge of the basin, at the foot of the waterfall. The sound of the water was soothing, but Raizen's confusion only grew. Takashi sat on a flat rock, while Raizen, still standing, turned his back to the waterfall to face him.
Takashi Aomi:
So, you cannot see it.
Raizen Vithar:
What? What am I supposed to see? Books growing on trees?
Takashi ignored his sarcasm. Slowly, he reached his hand into the empty space beside him. His fingers sank into the void, as if passing through an invisible surface. When he withdrew his hand, he was holding an old, rolled, and sealed scroll.
Takashi Aomi:
This.
He handed the scroll to Raizen. The young man took it, his eyes darting from the object to the empty space from which Takashi had pulled it.
Raizen Vithar:
What the hell is this?
Takashi Aomi (in a perfectly calm tone):
There are thousands of books floating around us. Entire shelves of archives.
Raizen scanned the forest, seeing only trees and leaves.
Raizen Vithar:
And how am I supposed to see them? No... why can't I see them?
Takashi Aomi:
It's completely normal. It's a defense mechanism. You see, all these archives are concealed with Kara. It is done this way to protect our history and knowledge, just in case... The only way to see and touch these archives is to guide your Kara through your eyes. Without that, you can neither see nor touch them.
Raizen clenched his fist, a glimmer of understanding in his eyes.
Raizen Vithar:
Okay, I get it now... And I have an idea of how to do it.
He closed his eyes, shutting out the visible world to focus on his inner one.
(I'm sure that to succeed, I have to do it the same way as with the door. I must not force it. I just have to make this Kara concealment accept that my own Kara is not a threat.)
He took a deep breath, letting his energy flow freely, not towards his hands, but towards his eyes. He did not try to see, but to perceive. He felt the same resonance as with the door, a subtle vibration that wove a veil over reality. He tuned his own Kara to this frequency, like a musician tuning his instrument.
Then, he opened his eyes.
The world had changed.
Raizen Vithar:
Wow...
The forest was still there, but it was now intertwined with thousands of points of light. Invisible shelves supported rows of books and scrolls that floated gently in the air, each glowing with a faint bluish light. It was like standing in the middle of a galaxy of knowledge. The sight was breathtaking.
Takashi, who was watching him, couldn't suppress a thought.
(He understood immediately. This kid's intelligence impresses me more and more.)
Takashi Aomi:
Well done. You did it on the first try. Interesting. Now, take off your top and go stand by the waterfall. Your second training can begin.
Raizen, still amazed, obeyed. He removed his jacket and shirt, revealing a muscular and scarred torso, then walked to the edge of the basin, the icy spray of the waterfall whipping the air around him.
Takashi Aomi:
Good. This training is simple. You will have to slice this waterfall with your blades. But...
Raizen Vithar (with a confident smile):
What, just that? Indeed, that's simple.
Without giving Takashi time to finish, he activated his power.
Raizen Vithar:
Celestial Kara: Twin Blades!
Two blades of pure, long, and shining energy erupted from his forearms. With a war cry, he rushed towards the waterfall, his blades ready to split the water.
The exact moment his Kara blades touched the curtain of water, a colossal and invisible force struck him head-on. He was thrown backward like a rag doll, flew several meters across the small forest, and crashed violently against a tree.
Raizen Vithar (spitting, pain radiating through his entire body):
Argh! That hurts...
Takashi slowly rose from his rock, an expression on his face that said I told you so.
Takashi Aomi:
...but complex. Come on, get back here. And listen to the end, this time.
Raizen painfully got up, rubbing his ribs, and returned to his mentor, his arrogance completely evaporated. The second lesson had just begun.
Takashi waited for him, impassive.
Takashi Aomi:
As I was saying. You will have to slice this waterfall. To do so, you will need to master your Kara with absolute precision. This waterfall is also imbued with Celestial Kara. It is alive. If you strike it with brute force, it will reject you. If your intention is not pure, it will break you. You must cut it without harming it. Concentrate.
Raizen gritted his teeth. Cut without harming. It made no sense. But he nodded.
And hell began.
First attempt. He focused, tried to feel the resonance, then launched his blades. BAM! Thrown back.
Fifth attempt. He tried a gentler approach, a more fluid motion. BAM! Thrown back even further.
Tenth attempt. Frustration began to gnaw at him. He screamed in rage and put all his strength into the blow. The impact was so violent that he spat blood as he crashed against a rock.
The cycle repeated. Again and again. His body became covered in bruises and cuts. The ground around him was marked by the impacts of his falls. He was out of breath, his muscles screaming in pain, but each time, he got back up. Slower. More painfully. But he got back up.
Takashi watched him in silence, sitting on his rock. He said nothing, offered no advice. He let Raizen slam against this insurmountable wall.
After what felt like an eternity, when Raizen's body was nothing but a mass of pain, Takashi stood up.
Takashi Aomi:
That's enough for today. Stop.
Raizen, on his knees, panting, shook his head. Blood trickled from the corner of his lips.
Raizen Vithar (in a hoarse voice):
No... One... one last time.
Takashi looked at him, and for the first time, a glimmer of concern mixed with admiration crossed his eyes.
(I should have known. This training is extreme for him. Of all the pure Celestial Zeniths, only Duck, the duck, managed to do it on the first try. Even I didn't succeed on that day. This kid is destroying himself...)
But he said nothing. He let him be.
Raizen got up, staggering. His body was on the verge of collapse. He closed his eyes. He no longer thought of strength, nor of gentleness. He no longer thought of the waterfall. He thought of only one thing: his blade.
He remembered the shard of metal he had thrown. A pure intention. A direct path.
His Kara began to pulse. Not an explosion, but a rhythm. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Like a beating heart. His blue aura grew more intense, more focused, wrapping around his arms not like armor, but like an extension of his own skin.
He opened his eyes. They shone with an icy light.
Amidst the turmoil in his heart, a voice echoed in his memory—calm, composed, unforgettable. The voice of Kuro, the master of the Celestial Zeniths.
The Kara is the primordial vibration hidden in every living being. It is neither good nor evil. It reflects the intention of the one who wields it.
If your heart is pure, the Kara will be bright and orderly. If your mind is troubled, it will be dense and destructive. And if you fail to harmonize the two... your body and mind will pay the price.
He took a step.
Then another.
He walked towards the waterfall, slowly, deliberately.
He raised his arm. A single blade of Kara formed. It was thinner, denser, purer than any he had created before. It did not shine; it absorbed the light.
He arrived before the wall of water.
And with a simple, fluid, almost lazy gesture... he sliced.
The world seemed to stop.
The sound of the waterfall vanished.
The curtain of water, which had been falling for eternities, split in two. A perfect, clean, silent cut. For a second, one could see through it, the empty space between the two walls of water suspended in mid-air.
Then, with a deafening roar, the water fell again, crashing into the basin in an explosion of steam and foam.
Raizen stood there, arm outstretched, his blade slowly dissolving. Then his knees gave way and he fell forward, exhausted, collapsing halfway into the icy water.
Takashi was frozen. His usually impassive face was a canvas of total disbelief. A silence. Then another.
And suddenly, a laugh erupted. A frank, powerful laugh, full of pure joy.
He rushed to Raizen, pulled him out of the water, and, in a gesture he had never made before, he placed his hand on the young man's soaked head, ruffling his hair with almost paternal affection.
He looked up at the library's sky, as if addressing someone miles away, and shouted, his voice echoing throughout the forest:
Takashi Aomi:
HEY, DUCK! YOU'RE NOT ALONE ANYMORE! SO GET READY!
Takashi's cry, full of pride and defiance, was lost in the sound of the waterfall, which had resumed its eternal course. Raizen, still half in the water, looked up at his mentor, an exhausted but sincere smile on his lips. For the first time, he no longer felt like a mere apprentice, but like a true partner.
Sudden transition
The Burning Lair.
The air was hot, dry, saturated with the smell of sulfur and Black Kara. Johan Traken stood in the center of the training arena, his freshly repaired mask showing no emotion. He was motionless, like a statue of obsidian, his gaze fixed on nothing.
Suddenly, a whistle tore through the air.
A figure plunged from the cavern ceiling with terrifying speed and power. The impact was so violent it created a shockwave, raising a cloud of dust and ash. The wind from its descent made the rivers of lava below ripple.
The figure slowly rose from the crater it had just created.
Tall. Calm. His face neutral, almost bored. It was Feynord Raki, the leader of the ten elite Burned Bloods. He nonchalantly dusted off his shoulder, as if he had just taken a simple leap.
He did not look at Johan right away. His incandescent black eyes settled on him, without warmth or animosity. Just the gaze of a superior addressing a subordinate.
Feynord Raki (in a flat, emotionless voice):
Master Shiro assigns you a new mission, try not to disappoint him.
He did not wait for a response. There was no need.
Johan, who had not moved an inch, remained silent for a moment. Then, slowly, a smile began to form under his mask. A smile that did not reach his eyes. A smile of pure predator, a grin that promised the hunt, suffering, and death.
The game was about to begin again.
End of Chapter 21