Arc 4: What families entail
Almost three weeks into Gray's time with Ryo, he stood within the falling snow near the top of the mountain. Spending each day training and training, holding the spirit mana within his own mana to get used to the feeling and burden, getting used to the extra senses granted from taking it into his body, and getting used to mana in general; Gray's time with Ryo was all about preparation. Adaptation, undoing the decaying paths of before to create a clear Gray Kyojin in mind. The Leviathan Knight, the Knight, somebody who could call himself a Hero. That Hero uses everything, his connection to the world, the power he was given, and the mentors who have given their efforts to help him rise, along with his friends and the world he left behind to run run run. Using a small layer of mana around him to slightly boost his abilities, jumping and throwing his arm toward a snowy branch.
Gray {Come on! Latch!}
Stretching out from his back was the Cloak of Darkness, sticking to the branch with its bubbling ooze, allowing him to grab hold and swing forward. Yelling in panic before breaking head first through a branch, landing face first in the snow. Getting up to do it again, to swing, to run, to climb the ladder of the world. The Cloak, like the sword, had to become another part of his body. It had to be a set of arms that could reach far longer than his own, stick and twist, turn and morph into what he needed. A multipurpose tool to fit in with his building toolkit. The manner that boosted his power, the spirit mana that boosted his senses and possibility, the sword that let him break through things his fist couldn't, and now a cursed charm to pull him the rest of the way. Slowly getting accustomed to the thinning, chilling air after living atop the mountain for almost two months. Spending more time here in Greenvale than he had in the rest of the world, and almost spending more time with Ryo than Musashi or Gordon.
Gray {Just gotta keep breathing, keep running. Focus on the wind, the spirits! Be a Spirit Knight!}
As he ran he burst with mana, attempting to pull in spirit mana while he made it through the forest. Unable to differentiate between his body and his mana, slowly filling both along the way. His purple mana slightly glowing blue, his eyes slightly darkening, and his senses slightly disorienting. Feeling the heavy burden and knowing its working. Trying his best to hold that aura while he jumped, grabbing onto a slippery branch and swung forward. Rolling and dashing forward, his mana still within. Stepping onto the dense slick snow with a bit of force, melting it with his aura and breaking through with his might, ensuring he wouldn't fall. But also giving him the grounds to leap once again, his shoulder slamming into the dense bark, his head breaking through another branch, but he still made it forward. Throwing his Cloak around the trunk of a tree to carry his momentum, flinging forward to slide across the snow. Stopping himself after almost falling into a deep icy chasm. Breathing heavily while the mana flowed out of him.
Gray: "Phew."
Ryo: "That was some good work. You're really progressing."
Ryo, having been watching, had dropped down gracefully with a smile. Crouching down and looking through the calm mountain while placing his hand over a laying Gray. As he laid there he allowed Ryo to pour spirit mana into him. Packing it on as he attempted to stand. More and more, almost collapsing to his knees immediately, shaking and shaking while it piled on.
Gray: "You're not gonna stop?"
Ryo: "I want to break your threshold."
Gray: "Oh god."
His eyes felt like they were clawing out of his skull, his blood was burning, his brain was stretching, and his OD was resisting. With more spirit mana within his body than he had ever felt, he quaked to his core while holding tight. Thinking of the shaking leaves, the many falling snowflakes, any nearby creatures, and the large presence of Ryo. Trying his best to speak through it.
Gray: "I see what you mean by this six-sense thing. I just kinda felt that you were near me."
As he got used to the sights they got less bright, discerning the different glows while forgoing unneeded ones. Seeing Ryo, who used to be a bright light, now simply gives off a great aura. Smiling and looking up. As he did, Gray's head was swarmed with a bursting sensation, ducking in fear. Barley dodging a Frost Bird, a small Low-Tier spirit beast with white feathers and a razor sharp ice beak.
Gray: "What was that? A Spirit Sense?"
Ryo: "Actually you're not far off. You have yet to reach the proper threshold, but taking in enough spirit mana will force you into the Spirit Sense. You are simply feeling the disturbances in the air more clearly, which means you're growing Gray."
His gentle voice made his burdens a bit lighter, making him feel truly happy with himself for once. Feeling the difference in pain, the difference in his mana flow, the difference in how he spoke and moved through the world, and truly felt as if he had moved past where he started. Not running away from who he once was, but taking the Gray Kyojin he is forward to become something more. So he continued, stepping forward and looking through the air to find where the beast was. Like a game of hot and cold in his head, looking around and feeling the thickness of the spirit air. While Ryo had taken him here to ease his ability to sense the mana, now that he was managing to do it, the level of which this mountain held it was becoming too much. Now forcing him to get better at differentiating them between each other.
Gray {I see it!}
The mental realization caused him to release his mana flow, distracting him before a flock of Frost birds squawked forth. So, flaring with mana, he flowed the cloak out from its charm and dashed forward to dodge the swooping birds. Sliding across the snow before twisting and pivoting back, leaping up toward the birds with his blade flinging wildly to scare them away. Rolling and landing face first against the snow while Ryo helped him up. Shaking off his mana and the pain surging through him from it.
Gray: "Why are you handing me my jacket?"
Currently he was wearing his Leviathan gear, and had discarded his jacket the moment he truly began his spirit arts training. However there it laid, cleaned up and within Ryo's soft hands.
Ryo: "I see you staring at it a lot. Yet you never wear it. Why is that?"
Gray: "I've had this thing for a while, I just wanted to take it back when I was ready."
Ryo took that and smiled, guiding Gray with him to train, walk, and talk. Flowing spirit mana into his body, leaving him to the ocean of static and haze, the disorienting anguish taking him while he attempted to speak. Sweating, trembling, almost slipping in the thick snow, but stepping on anyway.
Ryo: "The spirit is all about control. Connection. Taking in and giving out. To master taking spirit mana in, you must master your own body. Have a calm mind, focus, constant control, to the point it becomes second nature. Doing so many things all at once without thinking. That will only be the beginning to becoming a true master. So tell me about yourself."
Gray: "Only if you tell me about yourself too."
Ryo: "Deal."
Gray was a bit hesitant, and struggling to think through the rushing senses flowing through his psyche, but he managed.
Gray: "What do you want me to tell you? My childhood? My issues? What do you want?"
Ryo: "Tell me, a mix of both."
Gray didn't have any sorry feelings about his childhood. Acting similarly to how he did now. Loud most of the time, anxious and screaming at himself to do better, giving up every time somebody didn't shove him forward, but was a bit more naïve. At least that's what he would say.
Gray: "Alright. I didn't have a bad childhood or anything. I lived in a nice house, I didn't have that many friends but the few I did have were nice."
Ryo: "That's nice, were you in any kind of schooling?"
School itself was a subject sorry enough to fill Gray's mouth with disgust, pushing past the spirit mana. Whether it be the boring classes he couldn't force himself through, the idea of living so tiresome for so long without a motivation or goal to push toward, making school all the more of a burden.
Gray: "Yeah for most of my life, but where I come from you're forced to do that kinda thing. I was an average student but a lot of the stuff I learned there is pretty useless here. The written language, history, science, all off."
Ryo: "If all you do is downplay yourself you might turn into that person with enough time."
Gray: "Where were you when I needed you huh? Might have liked to hear those words back home."
Ryo: "You talk about Rosemary a lot. Is she your partner?"
Rosemary was far more than a partner, representing a beacon of hope and a rock to fall back on. Whether or not that was healthy, it was what he felt like he needed, what he couldn't live without. For the longest time he thought he didn't want a partner, he thought he could never love anyone, that he wasn't truly alive or couldn't live up to loving somebody. However from the moment he met Rosemary, through their trials and his own failures, along with their shared victories and losses, had made her the most important thing in his life.
Gray: "That was a big question shift. Um, yeah she's my partner or girlfriend whichever you wanna say. We got together kinda fast, but I think it's going as well as it can."
Ryo: "Do you love her?"
Gray: "Of course."
Ryo: "Does she know you?"
Gray: "I think."
But he couldn't help but look back to his meltdown at the castle. How he made Soku cry and never apologized, how he pulled at Edward's heart, how he left Rosemary standing alone on the street, how he screamed at Arthur and made them look like a fool, and how he screamed at Rosemary about himself. All things that stabbed against him over and over, thinking of it now making those wounds hurt even more. Pushing past the overwhelming pain of the spirit mana flowing through him.
Gray: " A while ago I went on a big rant to her about who I thought was the real me, or who I was. But I'm trying to change. I let Soku and the others suffer in silence. After Ophelia and the others died...I feel like I haven't done anything."
Ryo: "What do you think you should do?"
Trying to dodge the question he paused, pointing toward Ryo instead.
Gray: "Nah, you talk now. Age, history, how'd yah get here. I always liked lore."
Ryo would sigh, pushing enough spirit mana into Gray's body to leave him squirming on the ground. Letting it seep and set into his body, his astral form, his very OD.
Ryo: "I'm forty-one. I was born in Ravoria, given to the King and Queen when they discovered my high affinity. I was trained, sent around Saga and the World, and then when I joined the fight against the demi-humans, Walgonia, Valatroctius, and Athens during the Demi-human war."
Gray tried to keep up, but the spirit mana was becoming a bit too much. However he didn't want to give up, grasping his fists and gritting his teeth, continuing to let the mana seep into him. Since Ryo slowed its flow to not push him too far. As he opened his eyes, they began to glow, slowly turning black. He focused, trying to hold and flow it within his body like he did with mana outside his body. Trying to flow it as evenly as he could, trying to see and hear and think and taste and feel, trying to live, he sat up. His pupils glowing white against his black eyes.
Ryo: "My my, you've finally achieved it."
Gray: "What!? Damn, my head hurts!"
Gray held his ravaging head, the bombardment of senses and sounds clashing against his skull becoming a bit too much. However they were quickly quieting, the different things he could feel becoming more clear while everything he couldn't finally shut up. So, shaking his head and twitching, he was able to stand. Even if it was barley.
Ryo: "The Spirit Sense."
Gray: "Nice, but don't stop your story short."
Ryo would begin to pace around Gray, his hand on his head to assist with Spirit mana flow. Since Gray was allowing him to do so, Ryo could even it out, take it away, or pile on more, to insure this was a proper Spirit Sense. But still that hung down, so he took the constant despair pulling him down to even it out a bit. Using his experience of constantly moving while being held down by a weight he could never shed. A weight he had yet to even begin to fully chip away at. Trying to distract himself from the pain with pain and from that pain with even more pain, using Ryo's voice as the mediator between the overwhelming sensations of training and living.
Ryo: "I was recruited by Musashi and Gotsu, and I took their offer gratefully. After that I became a God of War, lived my life, and began to rest here. I've been training and training, and I'd say I'm far stronger than I was when I gained the title. But I haven't gotten into a proper fight in about twenty years."
With that Ryo's own eyes wavered for a moment. The tension in the air that was Musashi's existence became a burden. One holding him down more and more with his apparent passing, with his student right in front of him. The weight of becoming Walgonia's Sword in front of him for the first time in his life, a burden he may have to take whether he wanted to or not.
Gray: "Okay, but what about you."
Feeling surprised, he continued to move around Gray and assist with flow.
Ryo: "When I found my love and strong connection to the spirits I found my love for the world. So I want to help the people of this world, and sometimes you have to put down the people trying to destroy it. But I've always struggled with doing so."
Gray had killed Jeremiah, and as a knight, a Leviathan Knight for a country overtaken by a cult, he would surely have to do it again and again. What might be a pain now may become his only out, something that had to be done, something he had no say in. And that scared him deeply.
Ryo: " I was sixteen in the battle of God's Fall, and for sixteen years with Ravoria I absolutely despised it. However, I also despised myself, my own power, and what I had done. I was going to leave my army, I was going to leave this world until I met Gotsu and Musashi. Walgonia saved me."
Gray: "I can relate to that."
Ryo, smiling even more, would spin and throw out an instantaneous slash. Destroying a large Ice Golem in one shot, a Mid-tier spirit beast made completely of dense ice. Walking around with large icicles for arms, a headless body, and the dead skeleton of a lost villager within. Covered by dense frost, glowing purplish red.
Gray: "Dang."
Ryo: "Yes. But it's because you must be saved, you are Walgonia's next light. All of you are. You will save Walgonia as it saved you, I truly believe that."
Gray: "What about you?"
Ryo: "I fear I won't be ready when the time comes."
Gray would interrupt their conversation with a scream of devastating pain, rolling around in the snow while a torrent of bright blue mana would wash out of his body. Leaving him huffing and puffing while staring toward the sun. Getting blocked by the head of a worried Ryo.
Ryo: "It seems your limit on the Spirit Sense ran out."
Gray: "Oh really now?"
Ryo would lift Gray onto his back, leaping toward the trees to head back to camp. Letting Gray relieve himself from the strain for a bit to relax, the cold air like daggers to his torn muscles. Although Gray didn't mind that much, as the fact he was sore from over working himself meant he had truly worked for something. Like his dad always told him to do, like he had always wanted to do, what he read and watched about; Gray could finally say he was becoming strong. The farther and farther he got away from his great step forward in the castle, the harder and harder it was to stay true to himself. To not fall back into old hobbits, to not hold small things, to not think everything was going against him.
Ryo: "During the attack on the castle, there were reports of bodies being thrown out as husks. Killed in an instant. The same way Musashi was."
The instant change of the subject forced Gray to sit up a bit, changing his tone from thoughtful and tired to active and ready.
Gray: "What is necromancy?"
Ryo: "Maybe, but due to the nature of how that magic is performed, the Sect stray away from it. but this was temporary. However, it is the weapon that the Skeletal figure used. One of Godricks cursed charms, and through the centuries that same man has done the same thing to hundreds around Saga."
Gray: "Wait sorry Saga is the name of the continent right?"
Ryo: "Yes. But, If Musashi got his soul removed by that man..."
Gray: "Then he might be alive!? Or his soul at least!?"
While Gray's tone shifted to one of joy, it fell as Ryo stayed sour and filled with sorrow.
Ryo: "They might be holding him, keeping him until they need him."
Gray: "So you're saying that if we have a war with the Sect, then we might have to fight him?"
Ryo: "And if we do, I'll be there to try and help him. But be prepared, in a mission like this one you need to know yourself, your teammates, and your battlefield."
Gray: "Yeah…I hope they're safe in Athens. And if we need to, we'll take on Musashi."
While Gray knew the disparity of that statement, Ryo went against it in a completely different way. Trying to pull the lost conviction through the years to flourishing.
Ryo: "No. I will face him. You will not be forced to go against him, it is my fault we lost him, he is my dear friend, and I must let his soul rest with honor. Sorry, but it is something that -
Gray: "Nah I get it. It's fine."
Ryo's heart instantly felt lighter from Gray's answer, stopping their dash through the forest atop a thick branch. Staring off into the forest for a moment while Gray spoke.
Gray: "Tell me if I'm wrong but I think I get the gist of my whole mana situation."
Ryo: "Alright, tell me what you think."
Gray: "So if I can control, let's say five percent of my mana without feeling much pain. And if I use any more than that then it really hurts. But, if I go past ten and try to use it even more my OD shuts down and I can't use it anymore. Unless I force it out, right?"
Ryo: "Correct."
Gray: "Thanks, but I wanted to know, how far have I come along? Am I ready to go back to my friends?"
Ryo would look back to Gray's worried face, leaping back through the trees to land beside their tent. Letting him down by the firepit as he thought. Leaving Gray to continue staring at him with anxiousness.
Ryo: "You have about ten or so percent of your mana adjusted to your body, you have just begun the base level of the spirit arts, and you've gotten better at controlling your mana flow. However, your mana flow still hurts every time you use it, you usually fall back on overloading with mana instead of controlling it, and you cannot fight with spirit mana within you. Until you can, until you are a newbie level Spirit Knight as you'd say, I would stay here. Wouldn't want to go back to your friends half baked right?"
Gray: "Yeah, so let's get back to it. And I think you're right, getting to know ourselves does make this a little easier. And a little less awkward."