Max walked through the trees. For some reason, it was nighttime. Only the distant glow of the stars illuminated the path, while shadows grew longer under the undergrowth.
As he moved forward, flames burst from the ground, igniting an anguish that forced him to run desperately.
Upon reaching a clearing surrounded by fire, he encountered a towering figure, its back turned. The creature had hybrid features: a mixture of werewolf, ape, and lion. Its identity was unclear, distorted by the flickering light of the flames.
"Gouron's form…" Max muttered, stepping back, on guard.
The creature turned. Its eyes radiated evil. Slowly, its body took on a more human form, though it retained patches of fur, defined muscles, and a wild head of hair.
"No," Max exhaled, paralyzed. "It can't be... the worst-case scenario... the reincarnation of G's mind..."
But before he could react, the creature pierced him with a direct blow to the chest.
Max woke up with a start. Sweaty. Agitated. Breathing like he'd just run a marathon in the middle of hell.
"It was Gouten..." he murmured, bringing a hand to his mouth. "There's no doubt about it... it was Gouten..."
He was silent for a few seconds, processing what he had seen.
—Everything will go wrong if I don't teach him to master his instincts… right now.
<
Loud bangs echoed against the stall door, jarring Gouten and Oliver from their sleep.
"What…?" Gouten muttered, still with his eyes half-closed, as he stood up.
Barefoot, he approached the door, unlocked it, and opened it. But as soon as he turned the handle, a firm hand grabbed his wrist .
"Hey!? Hey!" he exclaimed, startled. "What the heck, Max?!"
"Get up, bums!" Max ordered sternly, storming in. "Oliver, you're going to train with Baldur."
He then turned to Gouten, his gaze becoming even more serious.
—And you will train with me… to master the wild instinct that that tail awakens.
Gouten raised an eyebrow, confused… and amused.
"Do you realize how weird all that "tail" stuff sounds?" he asked, holding back a laugh.
Max glared at him.
—Stop the nonsense and follow me!
Oliver watched as Max walked away, dragging Gouten with him, leaving him alone in the room.
"How strange," he murmured, his eyes still heavy from sleep.
Shortly after, he arrived at the main house. He opened the door and walked into the kitchen, where he found Baldur and Hanabi having breakfast.
—Good morning… —he greeted in a sleepy voice.
"Good morning," the grandfather and granddaughter responded in unison.
"And Gouten?" Baldur asked, raising an eyebrow.
"He went to train with Max," Oliver replied matter-of-factly.
"But without breakfast?" the old man replied.
—Supposedly training requires fasting…
"You guys are really curious," Baldur commented, sipping his tea again.
"What training? Why fasting? What are you talking about?" Hanabi interrupted, leaning toward them, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Baldur choked on his tea, while Oliver began to tap his feet nervously, realizing that he might have said too much.
"Gouten and Max are... further behind than Oliver," Baldur improvised, looking away. "And they need to practice on an empty stomach so they don't throw up during the... extreme training they're going to have."
"Then why am I eating breakfast?! I don't want to be left behind any longer!" Hanabi protested, standing up in her chair.
"You don't need fasting," Baldur replied quickly, raising his hands as if calming a beast. "We'll start slowly… Especially with you, who still don't know what a real practice is."
Hanabi frowned, suspicious. Baldur just sighed as he picked up his cup, determined to change the subject before he was cornered even further.
"Why do I have to train without breakfast? What's the point of that?" Gouten asked, following Max along a hidden forest path.
"What does an animal do when it's hungry?" Max replied, still walking, glancing over his shoulder.
"What a stupid question," Gouten snorted. "Obviously he's looking for food."
"You can complain all you want," Max said in a calm, almost philosophical tone. "But listen to me carefully, Gouten. We Senkaynes are animals. Beasts. Savage warriors… The goal of this training isn't to make us stronger. It's to learn to control our tails. To suppress our wildness. To master them… and use them at will."
Gouten looked at him, this time with something more than simple annoyance.
Then Max stopped.
In an instant, his pupils turned crimson, his muscles tensed, and his fangs lengthened with latent ferocity. Despite everything, his breathing remained controlled. His eyes fixed. His voice, steady.
—This… is the Kyodaina Fury . A symbol of our… controlled beast.
"Wow…" Gouten exhaled, unable to tear his eyes away.
"Wait a minute," Gouten interrupted, frowning. "You were the first to fight Gorgo four years ago… why didn't you use Kyodaina's Fury?"
Max was silent for a second. Then he looked down at the floor and took a deep breath.
"I was arrogant," he admitted. "I didn't accept that Gorgo was my equal... or even my superior. I thought I could dominate him without needing to use my full power. And when I finally accepted that I had to unleash my fury... it was too late. They injected me with a sedative and I collapsed."
Gouten opened his eyes in surprise. Max looked up and came closer.
—Promise me you won't make that mistake. Gorgo, Baldur... and many others are living proof that humans are not inferior to us.
"Remember when I told you you were stronger than the average man?" Max continued, his voice firm. "Forget that. Erase it from your mind. Today, you're the same… or even less . I'm not saying this to put you down, but to warn you . Your arrogance sometimes overflows… and that attitude could backfire."
"Yes," Gouten murmured, impressed. "When do we start?"
"That's the attitude," Max replied with a slight smile.
"Baldur already taught you the basics of ki control," he began to explain as they walked. "On Terra, we trained while dealing with hunger, concentrating the flow of energy along the tail… because in our pride, meditation was for the weak. But now we'll put that pride aside. Perhaps we'll find a more… efficient way."
—Literally, our training with Baldur was just meditation… although I don't know what it would be like to do it while hungry, Gouten confessed.
—Do you remember what Oliver said? About the gold and white sphere he saw during the meditation…
—Yes, but… I never saw any spheres when I meditated.
"Baldur explained that the golden sphere represents a pure connection to ki," Max continued. "But we Senkaynes are born with natural control. We are creatures created for war. We don't need to find the golden sphere."
—So Oliver didn't master Ki until his fight with Gorgo?
"Exactly," Max nodded. "But that's not your case. In your meditation, you won't see a golden sphere, but a red sphere . That will be your goal: to find it... and capture it."
—Were you really doing that while you were fighting?
—Yes. We were pushing our bodies to the limit, forcing ourselves to acquire power by force… while someone was trying to kill us. But now, by meditating, your mind will be free to focus on finding her… without some idiot beating you to death .
Gouten smiled with relief.
—I appreciate the change.
…
Baldur and Hanabi sat on two chopped logs, their eyes closed, motionless. Their breathing was soft and steady. The silence of the forest accompanied the scene like a silent melody.
Just like Oliver and Gouten did on the first day, now it was Hanabi's turn.
"Grandpa..." the girl whispered without opening her eyes. "What am I supposed to find with my eyes closed?"
"You'll know it when you see it," Baldur replied calmly, his tone as firm as it was compassionate.
A few meters away, Oliver was practicing on his own. He was precisely repeating the postures of the "Shorin-Ryu" style, his third style under the guidance of Master Baldur.
"Master..." Oliver called softly, respecting the meditative atmosphere. "Forgive me for interrupting the silence, but... how do you think I'm doing?"
"To be honest, Oliver," Baldur replied without opening his eyes. "You learn the styles very quickly... you're like a sponge. I could start teaching you a fourth style right now... but I'm not going to rush the training without Gouten present."
"I see..." Oliver murmured, lowering his gaze slightly, but accepting the answer calmly.
"But you could perfect the styles you've already mastered," Baldur added calmly. "It never hurts to practice refining them... even meditating. Try to find your own methods for training... forge your own style."
"A style of your own…?" Oliver repeated in a low, thoughtful voice. "How do you do that…?