Ryu could sense the two demons in front of him were on a completely different level from what he had fought to this point as he began to break out into a cold sweat. Jinsoku was attempting to appear unfazed, but he could hear the slight shake in his voice as he said, "The security was so bad here that I just had to figure out what you guys were guarding when I stumbled upon this place. I am pleasantly surprised to see one of the royals for the trash present in front of me." Ryu barely tracked the blur of Kurayami as he materialized in front of his teacher. He was barely a foot away from his face as he stared intently at him. He suddenly started to laugh so hard that he had to wipe a tear away as he tried to collect himself before pushing his bangs back to reveal his eyes. To Ryu's surprise, his left iris was a light grey while his right was light brown. Kurayami pivoted around while yelling, "Hey Denki, you are not going to believe who this. Somehow, the former Twin Blade Hero has managed to stagger into our operation here. How ironic that he is calling us garbage when he's the coward who was too scared to fight Taika."
Jinsoku swiftly drew his weapons and viciously swung them at the demon general with lightning speed. Kurayami effortlessly blocked both of them and was seemingly unimpressed with the attack. A floating shadowy shaped sword had appeared out of thin air that stopped the blade aimed at his neck while his rapier intercepted the other one that was targeted at his abdomen. Ryu could not believe how seamlessly he had thwarted his masters assault. He suddenly sensed his own life was in danger as he quickly casted three powerful Barriers and a Protection spell on himself. He had no time to act after casting his magic as Kurayami's other rapier comfortably stabbed through his attempted block like a knife through butter. He was sent flying across the floor of the chamber before smashing hard into the wall on the far right side of the cave roughly twenty yards away. A cloud of dust, dirt, and rocks blasted into the air as Jinsoku tried to disengage from the demon general to go check on his student. He was quickly forced on the defensive as he blocked and dodged nine successive strikes from Kurayami. The darkling smiled while saying, "Not so fast deserter, I did not say we were done yet." He suddenly stopped before leaping backwards as he evaded multiple fire arrows that were chasing after him. The bolts whistled out of the dust cloud were Ryu had yet to emerge from. Several explosions followed the general as he deflected the projectiles with his shadow blade before coming to a stop near Denki. Jinsoku swiftly moved over to Ryu's side as he stepped out of the dissipating haze. He had managed to get back to his feet and launch the sneak attack on Kurayami successfully forcing him to back off for the moment. He suddenly fell back to one knee, and his hair was matted with blood. It was running down his face and dripping off of his chin onto the ground as he started casting High Heal to restore himself.
Kurayami curiously stared at him before sheathing his rapier and motioning with his hands that he wanted to take a timeout while saying, "Let's take brief intermission in our little battle here. I have some questions." Jinsoku continued to watch him as he whispered out of the corner of his mouth to Ryu, "How are you doing kid?" He was still nervous as he cracked a grin while saying, "It was nothing teach. You have hit me way harder than that in practice." His master nodded before yelling across the atrium, "That was a pretty cheap shot, but how else would a pathetic demon win a fight." Kurayami wagged his finger at the quip as they started to walk over to them. They came to a stop roughly five yards away before he said, "You aren't going to rile me up Twin Blade because we will settle this with our swords soon enough; however, before we do that, I want to know more about your apprentice here." Ryu morphed his bow into a katana before taking a defensive stance similar to Jinsoku as Kurayami continued, "What is your name?" He cleared his throat as he answered, "My name is Ryu Seki." The darkling bowed for a second before standing straight and cracking a friendly smile at him.
Denki anxiously interjected himself in the silence as he said, "Sir, can we please get to it?" The general shook his head while chuckling before saying, "You are always so impatient Denki. I promise you will get your chance to fight very soon, but I want to know what this kid is hiding. I can tell something is different about him, isn't that right Ryu?" He quietly gulped as his teacher said, "He is just some brat I have been training and nothing more." Kurayami pushed his bangs back again while tsking several times before pointing at Jinsoku and smartly saying, "If a former powerful hero has taken the time to teach him, then that is enough proof for me that there is something special about him." Ryu attempted to deflect his suspicions by saying, "I was able to prove my potential to him, so he took me in. It's that simple." Kurayami dropped his hair while frustratingly saying, "Ughhh. Fine, do not tell me then. How about we do this instead before we recommence our fight. We both drop our magic control real quick so we can see your power against mine." A pitch black aura started to suddenly lap off of his body before filling the space around them almost reaching all the way to the roof. It was so dense in the air that it was making it harder to breathe as Ryu let his suppression go. A brilliant gold energy lit the chambers as it pushed the darkness back. As they lapped against each other, it was clear he was not as strong as the general.
Kurayami whistled in surprise as he stared because he had never seen such a high aptitude in a young human. While his magic still overwhelmed Ryu's, he was certain with time that the kid could hone his skills to a level that would rival his own. While he was distracted admiring the golden hue, Jinsoku launched himself at the demon general while enchanting both of his swords with a wind spell before swinging them. Denki quickly threw his chakrams blocking the strikes intended for his distracted leader before swiftly firing multiple lightning bolts at him while his blades chased after him. Jinsoku was forced to retreat far to the left away from his student as Kurayami looked back down. He was eerily expressionless causing Ryu to get goosebumps from the air turning cold as he listened to his voice that was full of malice as he said, "Time for you to entertain me kid. You better fight with everything you got otherwise you will die before I have been thoroughly amused." Ryu quickly casted several Buffs on himself while trying to distance himself from the darkling. As he tried to determine the best strategy to fight him, several of his shadow blades raced after him forcing him to evade while utilizing various elemental attacks such as Fireball, Ice Shard, and Wind Cutter to destroy the swords in pursuit of him. He morphed his katana back to a dagger since he would rather have his movement unhindered. He was certain he would need the ability to rapidly maneuver around if he was going to be able to block continuous strikes from Kurayami.
Just as he was contemplating a way to land a hit, the demon general materialized in front of him. He managed to block the rapier that was aimed at his neck with his dagger while stopping the other one targeted at his abdomen with multiple Barriers layered on top of each other. He swiftly casted a powerful fire spell called Dragon Fang as two sharp rows of teeth made of molten hot lava engulfed Kurayami. He briskly slide out of the way to the side while morphing his dagger into a short sword. As he swung it upward in front of himself, an epee flashed through the air smacking his blade away with incredible force. He flew through the sky and smashed into the wall near where he had been hit into the first time. He had managed to utilize Gust while airborne to push against his body. It effectively slowed him down enough that he was able to avoid a major injury. Meanwhile, the rapier he had deflected plunged deep into the rock face about fifteen yards away from him. Across the open hall, Jinsoku was chasing Denki who was using his chakrams and lightning to keep him distracted. Whenever he tried to get close to the demon captain, he would pull his blades back in and use them to block all of his swings before creating distance between the two of them again. Several bolts of electricity were engulfed by his gales as he tried to defend himself. Various flashes of bright light streaked across the roof of the atrium as they continued to fight.
The two appeared equally matched, but Ryu was slowly seeing cuts beginning to form across Denki's body as his regeneration ability started to fail from his magical reserves running low. His teacher was working hard to overwhelm the darkling with sheer speed and stamina, but Ryu was worried how much longer he could hold out against Kurayami. He healed his side from where the rapier had sliced through his shield earlier as he watched his flames exploded off of the general and dissipate. As he emerged from the smoke, his black sphere of condensed energy started to fade away from him. Ryu quickly went on the offensive before he could attack again. He conjured four copies of himself with two on each side before switching his weapon back to a bow. He started to launch a barrage of elemental strikes at Kurayami with his clones. Electricity crackled throughout the atrium as the earth moved around the demon general forcing him to retreat. His ice spells exploded into clouds of dust and smoke filled the air from every fire bolt of his blocked. Ryu was desperately trying to land a blow on him, but the darkling continued to deflect and evade all of his attacks. It did appear he was keeping him from being able to go on the offensive though. He was trying his hardest to overwhelm him with his magic as various blasts of his elements shook the cave. While it appeared there was no strategy to his onslaught, he was actually carefully executing an all or nothing plan that he was successfully concealing from Kurayami.
He was starting to break out into a sweat as he quickly consumed his MP. He was beginning to feel a physical strain on his body as his reserves got closer to zero. Meanwhile, the demon general gave the impression that he was still unfazed as he flew around the chambers with a creepy grin on his face. He was staring intently at him while appearing to enjoy watching him struggle. As his magic sank below a thousand, he suddenly fell to a knee. Kurayami utilized the opening to vanish into the shadows before emerging right in front of him. He plunged his rapiers deep into each of Ryu's shoulders while his shadow blades impaled all of his clones through their hearts. He cried out in pain as the darkling lifted him up off of the ground with his swords. On the opposite side of the room, Jinsoku had finally forced Denki to his knees but was struggling to finish the fight. The captain refused to yield an inch as Jinsoku suddenly yelled out, "Leave the boy alone Kurayami! Your fight is with me." The general laughed as he watched them battle before saying, "You just wouldn't have been entertaining. This kid has real potential unlike you, a washed up hero." As he turned back, he conjured two shadows to hold his rapiers, so he could free his hands up. Ryu gritted his teeth in agony as he desperately tried to avoid breaking his concentration because his plan had yet to come to fruition. Kurayami suddenly put his hand on Ryu's head causing excruciating pain to instantly shoot throughout his entire body. As dark magic flowed into him, he tried to scream out in anguish but was unable to make a sound. Every nerve in his body was on fire as the evil aura flowed throughout his blood.
Kurayami suddenly let go of him while shifting to his right just as a Void about the size of half a person materialized out of thin air. The demon generals left arm was caught in the spatial magic and vanished as the spell disappeared. Ryu fell to the floor as the shadows holding him evaporated. Meanwhile, black blood started to spew out of Kurayami's wound and splatter the ground. He had failed to realize the trap he had been lured into until Ryu's concentration was broken from the harrowing pain. He had conjured a fifth clone and hidden him when the demon general was on the defensive from his barrage earlier. As soon as he created his last copy, he had casted a multitude of spells on it that include Conceal, Light Refraction, and Wind Cloak. All of his tricks to protect his replica had fallen apart at the last second as he struggled to focus long enough to have it spring the trap. His clone vanished shortly after the attack because his creator lacked the ability to channel magic to it anymore. As he laid on the floor, he was unable to move as his vision grew fuzzy. He struggled to stay awake, and his entire body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds from him overexerting himself. He was still bleeding from the swords that were stuck in him and every nerve inside him was still on fire as the dark essence circulated through him.
Jinsoku suddenly appeared in front of him before kneeling down and pulling the rapiers out of his shoulders. As he tossed them to the side, Ryu could barely hear them clatter across the ground as his ability to listen became disoriented and muffled. As he looked up at his teacher, he was genuinely surprised to see him smiling. He tried to apologize for being defeated, but no noise came out of his mouth as his lips barely moved. Jinsoku put his hand on his arm while gently saying, "Don't worry Ryu, you exceeded all my expectations today, and I want you to know from this point on, you will only achieve what I never could." Ryu started to cry as Kurayami angrily yelled across the atrium, "Round two is about to begin, and there will be no games this time! I will torture the two of you till I have completely destroyed your will to live for what you did to my arm!" His limb had almost completely regenerated, and his captain had almost healed all of his wounds. It suddenly felt like Ryu was on a cloud as Jinsoku used his wind magic to lift him up off of the earth. As he started flying toward the entrance, Kurayami screamed, "You think you can leave here alive!" Multiple of his shadow blades raced toward Ryu, but his master quickly cut them all down as he protected him. As he flew back through the entrance of the chamber, his teacher came to a stop while looking back at him and saying, "Make me proud kid."
Ryu was unable to move as he watched Jinsoku cast Shattering Winds to collapse the hallway. All he could think about was how he wished with every fiber of his being that he could stop him from sacrificing himself. As the air carried him away, the earth caved in behind him till he had reached the smaller atrium that they previously had been in. A cloud of dust and dirt exploded into the chambers as he continued to float all the way back out of the hideout. As he emerged outside, he was gently set down on the grass as he watched in slow motion as Chinmoku and Megami ran up to him. He barely heard Megami as she said, "Ryu, what happened!? Are you…" His eyes shut and he fell asleep unable to stay awake any longer. Several weeks passed as he remained bedridden and unconscious. Chinmoku, Kasai, and Megami had came together and created a schedule to ensure that someone was there for him every day. Megami would frequently fall asleep at the desk next to his bed at night as she tried her best to comfort him through his night terrors. He would get these violent fits were he would start lurching and break out into a cold sweat while whispering to himself as if he was stuck in a terrible nightmare. Finally, early one morning he woke up and immediately winced. He grunted in pain as he turned his head to see Megami in his room sound asleep. He attempted to move his hand, but it still felt like his entire body was made of stone as he faintly said, "Megami, wake up." Kasai suddenly entered the room to bring them their breakfast when she abruptly screamed in joy as she noticed him finally conscious again. The yelling startled Megami as she fell out of her chair onto the floor in a heap of frazzled blonde hair. Ryu smiled before trying to laugh but quickly stopped from the pain.
Megami rubbed her back while annoyingly asking, "Why are you screaming Kasai?" She pointed at Ryu while happily saying, "He is finally awake!" Megami shot to her feet and started to cry as she jumped on Ryu. As she hugged him, she said, "I was so worried about you. I am so happy you are alive." He almost passed back out from the agony caused by her affection. Kasai could have sworn she saw his soul living his body as she quickly yanked her off of him before she sent him to the afterlife for good. Ryu quietly said, "Thank you" as Megami apologized for hurting him. Kasai quickly took charge and ordered Megami to retrieve Chinmoku and Souatari immediately. She nodded before racing out of the room while Kasai turned back toward him. She started to explain to him the current state of things as she said, "First, let me catch you up. You were badly hurt when you guys got back to the city. They said you were touch and go the entire way. Apparently, your wounds would not heal with magic, so they dressed your wounds the best they could and stitched you up. It was very hard for me to watch them every time they tried to move you because you would scream in terrible anguish from the slightest of movements."
She wiped her tears away as she finished while Ryu softly said, "I am sorry I made you worry Kasai." She waved at him to stop that nonsense as she sat down and asked, "What happened to Jinsoku?" As he started to remember what had occurred a few weeks ago, he winced in pain as all his nerves felt on fire again. He broke into a cold sweat as tears filled his eyes, and he recalled the sacrifice his master had made for him. He finally answered her as he said, "He trapped himself in the cave with the demon general and his captain in order to get me out safely. I was too weak, and I let him down when he needed me." She leaned over and grabbed his hand while gently squeezing it. Her voice was reassuring as she said, "I promise you that you did not let him down Ryu. Jinsoku would never admit it to you, but he talked about you all the time, so please try not to beat yourself up too much." He nodded slightly just as Souatari burst through the doorway to his room while saying, "Ryu! I am glad to see you managed to stay in the land of the living with us." Chinmoku followed behind him and decided to add on, "I would not have let him truly die. If things had taken a turn for the worse, I would have just turned him into a vampire."
Megami quickly objected to the proposition as she said, "There is no way I would have let that happen! You would have been Ryu's sire, and that is unacceptable." Chinmoku grinned as she teasingly said, "You only oppose the idea because he wouldn't be your servant." Megami blushed before turning away and looking out the window. She did not want to respond to the accusation as she thought about Ryu serving her every need. Chinmoku started laughing while Kasai giggled before saying, "I will leave you guys to your discussion and go get breakfast ready for all of you." She ruffled Ryu's hair and smiled because she was glad to have him back. She quickly left the room while closing the door behind herself as Chinmoku plopped down on the floor. She leaned back on the bed as Souatari sat down at the desk and Megami settled in next to Ryu. The guild leader finally decided it was time to get the answer to the highly anticipated question as he asked, "Now that we are all settled, what happened in their kid? Where is Jinsoku?" Ryu took a deep breath before he started to explain to them everything that unfolded after they had separated from Megami and Chinmoku. He started with how they discovered the Demon Captain Denki in the chambers at the end of their hallway greeting the Demon General Kurayami who had just arrived through a teleportation point.
He then told them how they were discovered instantly, and that Kurayami was intrigued by him and made him display his magical ability. He then informed them of Jinsoku's failed attempt to strike the demon general while he was distracted before describing his risky plan to lure the darkling into a trap to land a potentially deadly spatial magic strike. Meanwhile, his master was unable to disengage from Denki who refused to let him interfere with their battle which allowed Kurayami to suddenly go on the offensive and impale him with his rapiers. As neared the end, he said, "I was able to maintain my focus through the pain, but he then put his hand on my head and started to force his dark magic into me. That is when every nerve in my body felt like it was being stabbed with a hot poker. I still managed to launch my attack, but I dropped the stealthing I had on my clone right before I had it cast the spell." His hand started to shake as he tried to hold back tears the closer he got to his teachers sacrifice. Megami grabbed his hand before holding it with both of hers as she said, "It is okay Ryu, take your time. We know the whole situation for you was very distressing." He wearily smiled as he continued, "Kurayami was able to recognize my duplicate and move in that split second to avoid being completely consumed by the Void, but I still managed to get his entire left arm. I was unable to control my magic when I casted it though, so I accidentally poured more MP into it then I had available causing me to go into the negatives for a brief time."
Kasai suddenly entered the room with multiple plates and cups. She quickly distributed everything before handing Megami a smoothie and asking her, "Can you help Ryu drink this? It is important he gets his energy back." She blushed while smiling to herself before nodding that she would as Kasai left the room again. Souatari cleared his throat before saying, "Please resume Ryu." As Megami pulled his shake away, he continued, "Jinsoku had finally managed to hurt Denki enough to abandon his battle with him to come to my side. We were lucky enough that Kurayami had retreated back to his captain, but I was barely conscious and I couldn't move. Jinsoku decided to use his wind magic to carry me back to the entrance while defending several of the demon generals shadows from killing me. As he sent me back down the tunnel, he collapsed it behind me with Shattering Winds." Everyone sat in silence for a few minutes as they all tried their best to eat breakfast after hearing that news. Souatari finally put his knife and fork down before wiping his mouth. As he threw the napkin down, he said, "Try not to blame yourself for what happened kid. It is impressive that you managed to actually contend with a demon general in the first place. There are very few humans alive that possess the ability to injury an enemy of that caliber like you did."
Chinmoku had turned around after Ryu had finished speaking and had silently being peering over the blankets at him as she curiously asked, "Now that we are all on the same page. Why is your left iris red and your blood smell funny?" Megami quickly used her magic to create a mirror for him as he took a look at himself. He was shocked to see his own eyes and how goofy his hair looked wrapped in the bandages. Souatari decided to answer the question for him as he said, "When Kurayami touched you, he was trying to convert you into a demonoid. This has caused your aura to now be stained with darkness and alter your appearance." Chinmoku and Megami seemed worried while Ryu had only become more curious on what this meant for him. Their was a brief pause before the guild leader concerningly said, "Once infected by the cursed energy, you have to be careful to not allow yourself to be overwhelmed by it. The evil power will lurk inside you feeding on negative emotions and tempting you to tap into it for a new level of strength. If you spiral into the abyss, you will lose your identity and will forever be changed." Ryu had a confused expression on his face as he asked, "I thought demoniods were one of the weakest. Why was Kurayami saying I was an interesting prospect and trying to convert me then?"
Megami shook her head while pushing her glasses up her face before saying, "A powerful human can be turned into a demonoid and have their abilities amplified to a level that could rival that of a captain or general. The possibility of this happening though is extremely low because it is incredibly difficult for them to capture a person of that caliber. Also, only a demon stronger than them can control them." Chinmoku started to get frustrated because she was confused on if he was turning into a demonoid or not as she ruffled her hair and said, "My head hurts from all this info. Can somebody just let me know if he is still one of us or not." Souatari stood up and patted her on the head while saying, "He is still one of us since the process was not completed, but he is stuck in the middle now. If the darkness starts to overwhelm him, we could lose him forever." He paused and turned toward Ryu while giving him a reassuring smile as he continued, "We do get an opportunity that is typically not afforded to us though. We have the ability to bring you back from the dark side as long as you are not completely gone yet." Ryu sighed as he said, "Great." The guild leader turned to leave while motioning for both women to follow him. Megami started acting like a little kid throwing a tantrum because she wanted to stay. Souatari quickly shut down the notion though as he said, "Our top adventurer is gone, and his apprentice is in no shape to fight. That means the guild needs you two to step it up. You can come back when your work is done today." She frustratingly murmured to herself while stomping out of the room behind Chinmoku.
Ryu quietly chuckled at the sight of her before wincing in pain as Souatari suddenly stopped at the door. He started patting himself down before pulling out an envelope. As he placed it down on the desk, he said, "Jinsoku wanted me to give this to you in case something happened to him. I have no idea what it says, so I cannot provide you any insight, but you should give it a read once you have healed up a bit." Ryu nodded as the guild leader weakly smiled before exiting his room. Several days passed before he was able to start moving his arms and legs again. Chinmoku, Kasai, and Megami continued to visit him every day to check on him. A little over two weeks elapsed before he was able to sit up in his bed. After a month went by, he finally regained enough strength to stand but still required assistance to walk around. Finally after two months of rest, he was able to surprise all of them one afternoon. He slowly made his way down the hallway leaning on the wall the entire way till he got to the stairs where he gingerly made his way down. Sweat was starting to drip down his face as he got to the halfway point before stopping for a moment. As he listened to them laughing and talking in the dining area, he took a deep breath before continuing.
As Kasai got up from the table to go retrieve their dinner from the kitchen, she caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye. She was instantly concerned as she yelled across the inn, "Ryu, what are you doing!?" Megami quickly jumped to her feet while Chinmoku turned around to see what was going on. The two of them ran over to him as he waved with his free hand that he was fine. As soon as they got to the stairs, he told them, "Please stay there. I need to do this on my own." They anxiously watched as he finished his descendant before Megami grabbed his hand and assisted him over to the table. Chinmoku had a devilish grin on her face while watching her help him as she said, "He was fine on his own Megami. You just wanted to hold his hand didn't you?" She started blushing and became flustered from her jab as he sat down. He decided to add fuel to the flames as he smiled at her while saying, "Thank you Megami." His words instantly push her over the edge as her faced turned completely red, and she took off to the kitchen to help Kasai get the food. He was certain he saw steam coming out of her ears as she disappeared. Meanwhile, Chinmoku started laughing before saying, "Aww. It is so fun to mess with her." A brief silence fell between them before she turned to him and asked, "How are you feeling?" He quickly wiped the sweat away from his forehead before uncomfortably saying, "Ughhh. Chinmoku, you do not understand how hard it was for me to walk down those stairs. Practice is going to be terrible when I finally am able to start again. I am going to be so rusty."
She perked up at the mention of training as she excitedly said, "You can spare with me when you are ready. I think I could learn a lot from you plus I think your fighting style is awesome." Megami happened to hear her proposition to him as she got back with Kasai. She became very jealous as she angrily slammed Chinmoku's plate down while saying, "When Ryu is healthy again, I will be working with him to get him back into shape, so you can fly off into the night like a good little bat girl and leave him alone." They stared daggers at each other because neither was willing to budge as Kasai interjected and said, "You two stop it. He will need all the help he can get to regain his full strength, so it is probably best if he trains with both of you." Megami puffed her cheeks while crossing her arms and going "Hmph" before she sat down and started to eat. Ryu silently mouthed thank you to Kasai who smiled back as they all started to dig in. As they finished enjoying their meals, Kasai started to say, "I have a question for you Ryu. Have you opened the letter Jinsoku left you yet?" He sat his fork down while slowly shaking his head as he said, "When I go to open it, the pain in my heart starts to come back, and I stop." She gently smiled at him while saying, "I understand that you are still feeling anguish from what unfolded, so I will not pressure you but promise me you will read it soon. I am not sure of its contents, but I know Jinsoku wanted you to read it as soon as possible if something happened to him. It is important for you to be able to overcome your sorrow before you try to start your journey again."
He nodded knowing she was right as he vowed to her that he would read it. After a brief pause, she clapped her hands and started to issue orders to everyone, "Chinmoku help Ryu back upstairs to his room. Megami help me gather these dishes and clean up." Megami frustratingly went "Ugh!" before saying, "Why can't Chinmoku help you with the cleaning, and I help Ryu." Chinmoku giggled as she stuck her tongue out at her but instantly regretted it as Kasai said, "As soon as you drop him off, I expect you back down here to dry the dishes Chinmoku." As Ryu listened to their banter, he started to smile because he was glad to have his friends around while he recovered. As they made their way up the stairs, he found himself struggling more to climb them then to go down them. He was leaning heavily on her, but she did not complain as they made their way to his room. As she opened the door for him, he grabbed the wall and let go of her. She tried to assist him to his bed, but he waved her hand away as he made his way over and sat down. He thanked her and bowed before she said, "No worries. Sleep tight." She quickly turned around and ran downstairs afraid of making Kasai mad if she delayed getting back.
As he sat on his bed, he leaned over and grabbed the letter off of his desk. He stared at it for several minutes as he tried to build himself up to open it. He finally took a deep breath and tore the envelope open as his eyes got watery. As he pulled the piece of paper out, a beautiful white gold necklace fell out of it with a silver pendant of a leaf hanging from it. He held it up in front of himself and admired it for a seconds before sitting it down. As he unfolded the note, he started to read it while picturing his master saying the words written.
"Kid,
I want to start with thanking you for everything you have done for me. I was in a dark place with no sign of hope for the future when I saw you that day standing up for that demi human. I know I pushed you hard in our trainings, but I never once doubted your ability to keep up with me. Your determination, intelligence, and power can truly alter the future of this entire world. I secretly knew you came from a far different land then our kingdom, but yet, it appeared it did not matter to you. You stood up for the weak regardless of the fact that you were weak. You gave me the strength to strive to become a hero again when I had lost my way. Please accept this necklace as thanks. It is enchanted to make you lighter and faster like the leaf falling in the forest. If you are reading this, then that must mean something bad has happened to me unless that old man got sentimental on me and gave you the letter behind my back to prove to you I cared about you more than I would ever admit to anyone. Anyways, continue to grow and become stronger for me Ryu. I was too weak when I truly learned what was going on in the Empire, but I believe in you to accomplish what I never could in my life. I will let you discover for yourself the true state of these kingdoms and make your own decisions like I had to, but I will part to you this bit of advice. Please be careful who you trust and make sure to watch those around you to learn the truth hidden in the shadows. On that note, you need to become as powerful as possible as soon as possible, so I urge you to travel to the capital to join the Army of Heroes if I have not already told you to go do this. You will get plenty of opportunities to fight formidable enemies with them, and it will allow you to develop exponentially faster. Good luck kid, and I want you to know it was an honor to be your master. I am excited to watch the path you walk regardless if it is next to you or from up above."
Ryu cried the whole time he was reading the letter, and his eyes were now red and puffy as he wiped his tears away. He set the note back down on the table before putting the necklace on as the guilt he had been carrying for the past two months melted away. He clutched the pendant as he promised to himself to work even harder now to ensure that he was making his teacher proud no matter where he was. As he laid down on his bed, he stared at the roof and struggled to fall asleep. He started to anxiously think about Jinsoku's warning. He was very curious by what he meant when he said, "The true state of this land." He eventually fell asleep with a smile on his face though because the fire inside himself had been reignited. He was determined to get back to full health as soon as possible and start learning new techniques from his friends. As the God gazed down upon him, he watched the darkness circling around him like sharks in the water. He could only hope that Ryu would be careful in the decisions he would make otherwise he would fail to navigate through the evil lurking in the shadows on his path. He was relieved that Ryu had met Jinsoku because he had learned so much from him in such a little amount of time together. As rain clouds rolled into the city of Unemi, a light rain commenced for several hours. Unbeknownst to the people, it was the God shedding a tear out of respect for Ryu's master.