The previously serene hall was now thick with a palpable tension, a volatile mix of fear, suspicion, and suppressed anger. Sensei, clearly displeased by the disruption to his sacred space, surveyed the agitated trainees with an unreadable gaze. He didn't like it.
"That is enough for today," Sensei announced, his voice a low rumble that cut through the agitated murmurs. He dismissed them early, but his final words were sharp, cutting. "Tomorrow will be our final lesson on Chi before you return to examinations with your previous mentors. Today was an exception. Do not step into this hall without the right mood tomorrow and sour my mood, for I can do worse to sour yours."
All the trainees, including John, stepped out of the hall with a collective frown etched onto their faces. Fear and apprehension hung heavy in the air. Sensei had been a rare breath of fresh air in the brutal regimen of League training, and they were about to lose that. Worse, they feared they had left a terrible impression on someone who had shown them an unusual degree of kindness.
Walking into the canteen and gathering his food, John noticed his usual table was empty once more. No one scrambled to sit beside him, a stark contrast to yesterday. He didn't mind. Instead, he stretched his senses, his ears straining to catch the trainees' whispers.
It seemed Sensei's parting words had been the final straw. They needed to vent their frustration and fear, and the hushed tones carried snippets of their anxiety. Amidst the worried murmurs, John caught a repeated whisper: his "trick" might have been what killed Anya.
"Did you see her yesterday?" a voice hissed from a nearby table, low but cutting through the general hum. "After she meditated with John? She was like a starved beast in here, hoovering down everything."
"And then this morning," another responded, the dread palpable. "Dead. Just... dead. And that assassin said 'no excessive force.' What does that even mean?"
"It means it was quiet," a third voice, colder, drier, cut in. "Someone took her out without a sound. And who was the last person with her, pushing her into that 'state'?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Kenji," a new voice, belonging to a sturdy trainee named Mara, retorted, her tone sharp with indignation. "You think John just... willed her to death? That's insane. And why would he? Anya wasn't a threat to him. He was helping her."
"Helping her to get so drained she was vulnerable," Kenji scoffed. "He talks about this 'trick,' this 'cost.' Maybe the cost was too high, or maybe he knew what it would do. He's always been... different. Too quiet. Too..watchful."
"He was just following Sensei's lead!" another trainee argued. "Sensei told us to push our limits. Anya was just the first to break."
"Break, or be broken?" a voice murmured, filled with dark speculation. "And if it wasn't him, then who? And why? Anya wasn't exactly the most popular, but who hates her enough to do that?"
Elias, who had been listening intently from a table across the canteen, finally spoke, his voice carrying just enough to reach John's ears without being overtly directed at him. "Perhaps it's simpler than you think. Perhaps her body simply couldn't handle the 'breakthrough' John pushed her into. Or maybe someone saw her weakness and took the opportunity. Either way, his 'trick' is what opened the door."
After saying that, Elias picked up his tray and made a surprising move that stunned everyone in the hall. He walked directly to where John was sitting and sat down close to him.
John glanced at him before returning to his meal. "Aren't you scared that I'll mysteriously kill you like I did Anya?" he asked, his tone flat.
Elias gave a small, humorless laugh. "If you were so 'killy-killy,' you would've done so when I first refused to teach you."
"You don't say," John murmured, his eyes sweeping the canteen, noting the dozens of eyes now staring at them.
"You'll lose points with others, and your friends, if you keep sitting here with me," John said to Elias in a bored tone, a subtle challenge in his voice.
"Friends matter not in the League," Elias countered, a sharp look flashing in his eyes before he quickly masked it. John caught it. "All that matters is survival."
John scooped a handful of rice and ate it slowly, giving Elias a feigned look of shock. "Weren't you the one scrambling to be my friend, last I checked?"
Elias laughed awkwardly. "I still do, even more so now that you have this trick for Chi training."
John, feigning surprise, said, "Do you still want to, even after what happened with Anya?"
Elias leaned closer, his voice dropping. "I do. I would be even more careful than her. She was foolish not bringing her food with her so she could refill after her session with you."
John stood up, finished with his meal. Before he walked away, he looked at Elias. "You know where and when to meet me." A happy, almost triumphant, look spread across Elias's face.
John dropped off his tray, picking up his takeaway order for the night, and walked out of the canteen. As soon as he was gone, his previous table was swarmed by other trainees, eager to question Elias about their conversation.
Night fell, cloaking the League compound in its usual shroud of silence, broken only by the distant sounds of training. In the secluded building John used for his private sessions, Elias was already waiting, his meal carefully prepared and laid out beside him. He sat, cross-legged, a faint smirk on his face but his heart was not calm.
John was known for his punctuality, his almost obsessive adherence to routine. Yet, tonight, he was late.
Unknown to Elias's, he wasn't alone in his anticipation. Other trainees, propelled by a potent mix of fear, suspicion, and desperate ambition, were already swooping into the building. They moved like shadows themselves, finding places to hide in the deeper recesses of the room, behind support pillars, or tucked into disused alcoves. They were there to see John's "trick," to ascertain if it was real, if it truly held the key to accelerated Chi mastery.
They even were here earlier than Elias himself, finding a perfect hdidng space and with their league training hid themselves.
Unknown to them, John was already there, ahead of them all. He stood perfectly still in the deepest shadows of a building close by, his presence utterly undetectable. His eyes, keen and unblinking, scanned the room, noting each new arrival, each furtive movement. He counted them, identifying faces, cataloging their hiding spots. They were all so predictable, so desperate. Their presence was not a new variable, but one he had already anticipated. This made his next experiment far more interesting.
After waiting a while, John saw no one else arrive. He took a deep breath, then stepped out from where he was hidden. His hands, his whole body, were shaking. The chilling realization of what he was about to do next was setting in.
Each step forward felt like an added weight, but he kept pushing, a cold determination overriding his trembling. He reached the door and opened it. Elias, who had been waiting patiently, looked up. John offered a small, awkward smile as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him.
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