Truth… What is truth?
That was the first question Kyle asked Arthur as the evening light touched the treetops and birds began returning to their nests. The atmosphere on the hill was calm, with only the wind speaking through the leaves.
After the incident where Kyle destroyed the enemy in the blink of an eye, Arthur's eyes were opened. Thinking about himself and about his master. His teacher was a hidden Master.
"You must understand the meaning of truth," said Kyle gently, his voice like drops of water that cooled the soul. "Some say truth is belief, others say it is the line that separates confusion."
"When a person is confused, they cannot see the truth clearly. Their hearts are closed, like eyes looking into the darkness of night without light. That light is truth, and the night is confusion."
Kyle looked at Arthur, the young man seeking meaning in the remnants of vengeance. His gaze was soft, his smile calm. "Truth is the opening of the heart. Even dust is truth, if you understand its meaning. Seek the truth within yourself."
Arthur closed his eyes. In that instant, his heart, once narrow and trapped in a cage of vengeance, began to open, expanding like an endless sky. He no longer saw his master as merely strong, but as a mirror of his own lost self.
He slowly knelt, tears falling to the ground. "Thank you, Master."
"To be a cure for a confused heart is more valuable than writing ten thousand books," said Kyle, placing a hand on Arthur's head.
"You have found yourself. Vengeance is just a cage. Now, you've left vengeance at a crossroads, no longer your destination. Time is your most loyal ally. The moment to act will come... but do not rush blindly into revenge."
Kyle walked toward a tree, broke off a branch with his fingers, and in the blink of an eye, it became a simple wooden spear.
"From today onward, this is your weapon. You will train with this spear until you reach your fate. Not with metal, but with this fragile wood."
Arthur looked at the spear with doubt. It seemed fragile, nothing special. Yet in his chest, Kyle's voice echoed.
"This is the path of truth and understanding. If you hesitate, you lose time. If you doubt, you fall behind."
Arthur took the spear, gripping it tightly. He bowed with resolve. "I understand, Master."
Kyle looked at Arthur, and silently, a realization sank into his heart. Though once betrayed and stabbed by his own disciple, his heart remained free from hatred.
Then a question pierced the boundaries of right and wrong: what is truly right and wrong? Is sincerity without revenge weakness, or is it the truest strength?
In this world, people are often taught to be firm in their decisions, Some people call it Path With No Return. But firmness and resolve without wisdom are like a bird with no feet.
It may fly higher than others, but when the time comes to land, it realizes the sky is not its home. It will fall and perish.
Because time never looks back, every step must come from a clear mind and a steady soul. A path with no return is only for those with sharp thoughts and unshaken hearts.
---
Days passed.
Arthur trained without rest. Every technique, every motion, every drop of sweat became one step closer to enlightenment. He practiced the spear art from his family, Rank 2 Martial: Great Mountain Spear, but now with a new approach, not just technique, but soul.
Nights came and went, the full moon appearing and fading. Yet Arthur did not stop. On the hilltop now named Dust Mountain by Kyle, life began to change.
The cosmic energy that was once still now flowed stronger around the place, as if drawn by Kyle's presence.
"today you step on grass," Kyle said one morning. "Tomorrow, you will step on the sky."
He was not lying. Arthur had grown more agile, not just in strength, but in understanding. Every movement of his spear now seemed to speak with the wind.
---
A month later…
The land that was once forest became a training ground. Stone floors were neatly arranged. A small hut was built from forest wood and mountain stone.
Kyle sat beneath a shady tree. His eyes closed, his breathing calm, his body in harmony with nature. Every breath exhaled fine particles of cosmic energy.
Strangely, every day Kyle would sit like that all day. He only stopped when taking walks around the hill or when eating.
Arthur gathered courage. He walked slowly and bowed. "Master, please guide me. I wish to understand more."
Kyle opened his eyes and smiled. "A bird does not sing to answer the world but it sings because it is its nature."
Arthur paused, pondering the words, but he did not understand. "What do you mean, Master?"
Kyle replied, "What I mean is, you do not train just to become strong, but to understand the meaning of that training. To understand your weapon, your surroundings. To understand your breath. To understand your purpose"
Kyle called the wooden spear from Arthur's hand. It floated into his grasp. In the blink of an eye, cosmic energy enveloped the spear.
Kyle raised his hand, then swung the spear toward the sky.
The sky… split.
The clouds divided in two, light piercing through the cracks in the heavens. Arthur was stunned.
"It is not strength that decides a battle. Not technique. But will," said Kyle. "Will is the voice of the soul that does not bow to the enemy."
Imagine a venomous snake.
The venom that flows through its body can kill a human in a blink. Yet why does that venom never kill the snake itself?
Have you ever wondered?
The answer is the will to survive.
The snake knows, if it is weak, it will be eaten. If it is careless, it will perish. So it stores that venom, not for itself, but as a weapon to survive in a cruel world. It lives with its own poison, embracing the danger that dwells within its body for one thing..survival.
The will make you stronger.
A book appeared in Kyle's hand. Its cover was dusty, but beautifully inscribed: Forging Technique.
"You will forge your own spear. One day, one hundred spears."
Arthur froze. His eyes widened. "One hundred?"
"Your mind must be sharp, your heart must be patient. Forge not only spears, but yourself," explained Kyle.
---
That night, Arthur sat under the open sky. His hands blistered, his body tired. But within his soul… a small spark of will had begun to glow.
Kyle watched from afar, with a calm, moonlike smile.
"Humans are not created perfect… but they possess limitless potential."
---
It had been two months since Arthur began living with Kyle. Time flew quickly. Every week, with his master's permission, Kyle would go down to the nearby town to buy materials for forging spears.
Arthur was lucky to still have some savings from his family. He used everything he had to buy materials, and each week, he sold the finished spears to a weapon shop. The profit was used to buy more materials. A continuous cycle of investment, all in pursuit of his dream.
Every day, he crafted one hundred spears. The burden made his arms feel like they would split apart, yet his spirit remained unbroken. Within him, the will to grow stronger continued to burn, as hot as the flames in his furnace.
And after a month had passed, Arthur finally forged a spear unlike any other.
Rank 2 Cosmic Weapon.
Arthur gripped his own creation tightly. In the blaze of fire and drops of sweat, he had forged not just a weapon but his destiny.