Maxi opened the towering main castle doors, stepping inside. The moment he crossed the threshold, the weight of the main house pressed down on him like a tidal wave. His knees buckled slightly, but he straightened his back, forcing himself to adjust. Behind him, Angelina entered with ease, the invisible pressure washing off her like rain on steel.
"Alright," Maxi muttered, trying to compose himself. "We're going to see Sunwu first. Do you know where he is?"
Angelina blinked a few times, her red wolf ears twitching like old radio antennas scanning for a signal. After a brief moment, they perked up, and she nodded. "Follow me."
Maxi obeyed. They ascended a long staircase, then took a sharp right. With each step upward, the air grew heavier like walking into a storm. Maxi's breath became labored, his chest rising and falling as if he had sprinted miles.
Eventually, they arrived at an ominous pair of doors reinforced with layers of blackened iron, streaked with a strange white-and-green-tinted metal. Atop that, thick slabs of dark oakwood completed the barricade. The sheer intimidation of the door itself made Maxi question whether it was meant to keep someone in or everyone else out.
"Is this for his protection... or ours?" Maxi asked, staring at the door.
Angelina didn't hesitate. "Most likely others."
Maxi glanced at her. "Okay, also how did you even know where to go? No offense, but you don't strike me as the type to remember room numbers unless you're forced to."
Angelina smirked. "You're right. I'm not."
"Then how?"
She pointed to her ears. "The shaking. You might not feel it, but I do. It ripples through the whole castle straight to the main library."
A chill ran down Maxi's spine. He swallowed. "Could you... open the door for me?"
"Nope," she said with a teasing smile.
Maxi groaned, shoulders slumping. Of course not. He reached for the handle, hand trembling, and pulled the massive door open.
The room inside was empty. Silent. Void-like.
When Maxi turned to Angelina, he saw her eyes darting in every direction, rapidly scanning the space like someone chasing a fly. Then she frowned.
"I can't track him," she whispered. "He's too fast."
"What...?"
Maxi turned back just in time to see a shadow shift and suddenly, there he was.
A dark brown skinned man sat in the center of the room, legs crossed. He wore a sleeveless sea-wolf waistcoat over his bare chest, a vibrant red-and-orange tiger pelt wrapped as a belt. An orange sash with golden animal emblems hung at his side, matched by loose, buggy pants. His golden eyes opened sharp, predatory, almost divine in intensity.
Before Maxi could even think, the man was right in front of him.
A staff pressed to Maxi's throat, decorated with emerald and gold etchings, humming with unspoken force. Then came the wind a brutal, roaring wave stronger than any hurricane, slamming into Maxi's body like a beast of nature. He would've been blown away had the man's voice not pinned him in place like an anchor.
"What do you want?"
Maxi couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. The man's presence alone made every cell in his body scream danger. His voice wasn't a question it was a verdict waiting to be passed.
Angelina remained near the door, untouched by the wind, merely brushing her dress as if it were a formal occasion
"I... I..." Maxi stammered, trying to form words. "I w-wanted to know... if... you'd train me..."
The man scoffed. His voice was a blade, calm yet deadly.
"No."
With a light shove of the staff, he knocked Maxi to the ground. The boy landed hard on his back, winded and humiliated. Looking up, he saw the man Sunwu. Golden-brown hair, golden eagle eyes, sharper than swords and deeper than oceans. His gaze pierced through Maxi's soul, like it could unravel every lie, every weakness he had.
Then, without a word, Sunwu turned and shut the door behind him.