Vayu was still sore from his own fight when he woke up in the morning. After eating his breakfast, he tied the straps on his tunic, ready to go out. His mother glanced at him from the corner of the room.
"You're heading out this early? The elders gave you seven days to rest" his mother asked him.
"I know but Rajat… he didn't look good when they carried him off. I want to see how he's doing".
She stopped kneading the herbs in her hands and studied him quietly for sometime. Then, with a sigh she reached for a small cloth pouch and began filling it with fruit's from a basket.
"You are barely healed yourself, and now you're worrying about others." her tone softened as she tied the pouch "Here take this" as she handed him the pouch filled with fruits.
Vayu accepted the pouch his mother and smiled faintly, though her eyes were still worried she said " Come back home soon , and no practicing, you have to take proper rest"
Vayu nodded and said "I promise".
Her gaze lingered as he stepped toward the door, she whispered after him "Take care".
Vayu tightened his grip on the pouch and set off toward the infirmary.
The infirmary sat right next to the training hall so injured students could be treated quickly. As Vayu crossed the courtyard, he spotted Aspen leaning against the wall, arms folded, his smirk present as always.
"Where are you going, mutt?" asked Aspen.
Vayu replied without stopping "None of your business, Aspen".
Aspen pushed himself off the wall and started following Vayu at a lazy pace. After a few steps, Vayu stopped and turned.
"Why are you following me Aspen?" Vayu asked.
Aspen grinned and said "Could laugh watching all those losers groan in bed."
Vayu shook his head but didn't argue further, letting Aspen tag along.
Inside the infirmary the smell of herbs and ointments hung thick in the air, mixed with the faint sounds of groaning. Beds lined against both walls, each occupied by the injured competitors. Vayu's eyes scanned the room until he found Rajat on the second-last bed, asleep with his arm bandaged heavily.
Vayu stepped in and sat softly beside him. The shift in the weight of the mattress stirred Rajat awake. His eyelids fluttered open, confusion clouding in his face until he recognized who it was.
"Vayu? What are you doing here?" Rajat asked hiding the surprise in his voice.
Vayu smiled faintly "Just wanted to check if you're still alive or not".
Aspen who was standing nearby replied in a girly voice "Such a soft heart, you'll make me cry" and started laughing loudly.
Vayu turned his head towards Aspen and said " why do you always make trouble for everyone?"
"You sound like my grandfather, you should retire before the semifinals" and he started laughing again.
From the bed nearby, Siddhartha groaned and turned towards them, his ribs wrapped tight in bandages.
"If sarcasm could heal wounds, Aspen you'd be the greatest doctor alive" Siddhartha said.
Everyone started laughing loudly and even Aspen chuckled under his breath. The tension in the room seemed to ease for a moment.
The elders had given them seven days for rest and it was a chance to heal battered bodies, to let the brokens bones set and wounds close. Vayu too spent his days quietly eating, resting and letting his thigh wound to heal and it was almost closed under his mother's care on the third day. But he was not just sitting idly, when the night came, his rest became a battlefield.
Every night he lay on his bed, his eyes closed but instead of sleeping he started his mental training, soon the arena came alive again in front of his eyes.
Today he choose to become Aspen his opponents Shri and Bhoomik.
The clash of axes and spears filled his mind.
He stood as Aspen, axes heavy in his hands, the thrill of rushing instead of waiting. He felt Shri face getting plummeted against his fists, he felt the thrill and the bloodlust rose up inside him for the first time he wanted to kill someone but Vayu controlled his emotion as this was not his real nature.
Soon he want onto the next fight, this time Aspen had waited that confused Vayu a lot but soon he understood that throwing his weapons at start this time would have been a fatal mistake because Bhoomik was not unexperienced like Shri. He felt the brutal crack of his forehead slamming into Bhoomik's skull, the surge of dominance as blood sprayed, the merciless rhythm of his knee and elbow crashing onto opponents body . He felt powerful, wild and untamed.
Then, he switched places and the next breath, he became Bhoomik as he looked down he saw spears in hand, nimble, sharp, but trembling under sheer force. He felt his knees buckle, his defenses torn open, the headbutt made his head spin but Vayu moved differently as Aspen went for a step back kick, his hand shot up, gripping Aspen's outstretched leg in a desperate but precise grab.
In the same motion, Bhoomik stomped his own foot hard onto Aspen's supporting leg, pushing his body backward. Aspen crashed onto the dirt with a painful sound coming out from his mouth, his body distorted like he was forced into a split. Then Vayu quickly grabbed his spear putting them on Aspen's neck as he said "surrender" but the elder without waiting for Aspen's reply announced "Bhoomik wins".
He continued gaining experience from there fights as he felt different emotions different view points
As Mei, he felt the grace of her movement, the cold fury after the slap, the burning pain of a blade in his shoulder — yet still pushing through with ferocity, turning every wound into fuel. Her agility, her sudden flips, her ruthless precision making every strike ruthless.
As Vamika, he felt the rage, the humiliation of being disarmed but he also felt her desperation and how anger blinded her.
As Ryan, he felt the panic of arrows running out, his clever mindset of turning a bow into a club, this was something he would never think of in midst of a fight.
As Vijay, he felt vengeance burning in his chest. Even when struck down, sheer will pulled him back up, fueled by hatred and desire for revenge.
ON THE SIXTH NIGHT
That night, Vayu let the arena take shape again in his mind. But this time, he was Rajat.
He felt the spears gripped tight in his hands, his emotions to crush Vayu as fast as possible. His body lunged, stabbing, slashing, driving forward with speed and precision. And Vayu his other self dodged lightly, his face unreadable.
"Yes… a rat" he thought. "Just running, just buying time, trying to tire me out".
So he set the bait. He left his front wide open, daring Vayu to come. When the boy stepped in, he snapped his knee upward only for Vayu to halt just short, slipping away.
"Damn it" the thought snarled through his mind.
He pushed harder, pressing, circling, trying to drive him into the boundary. But no matter how fast he moved, Vayu refused to be cornered. His irritation flared into desperation, and desperation into frenzy. His grip shifted into the icepick hold, his strikes growing wild, horizontal, savage and ruthless.
At last, the point of his spear sank into his flesh. "Got you, rat!" his heart pounding, confidence swelling.
But Vayu's face remained blank, untouched by pain or fear.
"You can't fool me" Rajat realized that calm was just a mask his leg was injured now ,no more running its over for Vayu.
He rushed in for the kill, spears flashing in one final attack only to see Vayu step in his dagger slide along his shaft. A spark, then he felt pain, unimaginable pain. His palm split open, like his hand was on fire. His vision blurred.
Still, he lunged forward, he couldn't lose, not to him, Not to a rat.
But his body felt different unbalanced, another flash of steel, a burning line across his chest, and then his thighs, the daggers plunging deep. His confidence shattered, his strength vanished.
The world tilted. Darkness swallowed him.
Blackout, it was a very eerie experience fighting himself expressionless, but he had learned a lot, he was good at dodging bur when it came to attacking that needed more work. He continued fighting them all, one by one with no panic his moves, he moved without hesitation, stayed calm in every situation whether he was winning or losing, slowly finding his own way as he countered, redirected, endured, struck his opponents. Because he did not fight to kill, not to win, but to understand.
By dawn, his body laid still in his bed, his wound wrapped in bandages, it had healed on the fifth day but his mother insisted to keep it wrapped in the bandages.
When he finally opened his eyes, it was time for the semifinals.
7 DAYS were over.