'What is it that you want to do?' Suddenly, a long-forgotten conversation I had with my mother leapt into my mind. Every thought linked back to my past even further until I reached into my previous life.
'I don't want to do anything, Mom…'
'I'm not talking about your life; I'm saying right now. What do you want to do right now?'
'Right now… I want… Barbecue eel… And ice cream… And a hug…'
I remembered her just letting out a sigh and giving me a hug… It was so vivid I almost still felt how warm her body was, her hands still damp from washing the dishes… How I was so short I couldn't ever rest my head on her shoulders when she wrapped me up…
I slowly opened my eyes and stared out over the cliff's edge, letting a couple of tears trickle down but not bothering to wipe them. 'I wasn't expecting that at all…'
"I have a feeling you're getting close," Agis said softly from behind me.
Without turning, I answered him. "My sister's death… I never got over it, and then I was suddenly brought here. Living a new life, I never thought about it anymore… But that's not really the same… I… Really miss them…"
"I'm sure your parents will never get over your death either."
A sudden chill traveled down my spine as tears leaked from my eyes, thinking about my mom again and how sad she was just at my sister passing away. It suddenly made me cry instead of bringing me comfort. Instead of quiet my mind became louder than ever but without coherent thought, as though I was screaming my frustration to the wind. Finally, after what felt like even more hours had passed, everything went numb. 'I'm sorry, Mom… Though… To be fair, it's not entirely my fault I died since I was murdered…'
In the same thought, I imagined my sister apologising to me in the same way, only with an awkward smile instead of tears, and finally, my mind began to quiet down. After reliving a few more memories with them, I found complete stillness. It was like everything had stopped. My breath, my heartbeat. My eyes no longer blinked and weather I was warm or cold… I couldn't say…
"OK!" Agis shouted, chopping my head with his hand and sending pins and needles through my whole body. "Now it's time to get some real work in."
I slowly swallowed, my mouth feeling dry as I stood up, and moments later, we were standing across from each other in the flower field. "For the purposes of this lesson, and sense this is an arena of the mind, I will take on a mirror image to yourself, so as not to be able to overpower you."
True to his words his body morphed and changed shape until it was identical to my own. "Another invasive skill you have that leaves me incredibly unsettled…"
"Relax… Think of it like an illusion more so than actual shape shifting."
'That doesn't make me feel any better…' "So what's the plan…"
"First, quiet your mind; next, strike me. Repeat this process until you can do both at once, otherwise you'll end up on your butt."
'Of course…' I did as he asked, and before I could see what was happening, I was falling, but before I hit the ground I was suddenly standing across from him again. 'I should learn quickly… If I don't want to get serious vertigo…'
"Again!"
"Again!"
My eyes began twitching as they lost focus completely, but in losing focus, it suddenly became as if my field of view widened. Everything slowed, and I still lost, of course, but even the moment I lost blurred and flowed together like an endless stream. He would give lectures, adjust my stances, direct my movements, and all the while I was like an empty vessel that never so much as questioned or spoke, never thought, just absorbed everything I was hearing.
"Again!"
Finally, in some almost awkward combination of single and double-handed sword techniques, I unleashed a flurry of three swift strikes that tore his sword from his hand. It wasn't exactly fluid or really anything like a dance, how it normally felt to seamlessly connect strikes… But somehow… Well, it worked…
"Ah— Again?" I let out slow heavy breaths, turning to fog in the air as my entire body began to feel cold and my mind came back to itself, all the memories of my training suddenly playing in reverse before I relaxed my stance and looked across the field of now scattered petals that slowly fell to the ground, knocked up by our footwork.
"No…" He smirked, folding his arms as well. "That's quite enough… Sword Saint."
I took a deep breath, steadying my breathing as I reached back and untied my hair. "Sounds cool… So can I go back now?"
"Being a sword saint means you're 20% of the way to ascending. It's kind of a big deal, but yes… You can go back now… If you've improved this much, it also means you shouldn't suffer from things like mental shock anymore. At least within natural means, excluding things like magic."
"So I'm a saint now huh…" I slowly looked at my hands, unable to even feel the swords weight anymore, as though it became a apart of me.
"Well… No, not really."
"Huh?"
"You're a sword saint. A full-on saint is just another way to refer to someone like me, a divine or ascended being. So while I am the saint of swords, or the god of swords, they are very different titles from being a sword saint."
"Ah…huh…" 'I don't really care, so I should just drop it…' "I'm ready to go back…"