Elias seemed not to notice John's strange mood. "You're late," he remarked, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "That's so unlike you."
"My bad," John replied, an awkward laugh escaping him as he walked closer. "I fell asleep. Didn't realize how tired I was, and Anya's death hit me harder than I thought."
Elias shrugged. "Alright, bro. Show me your trick."
In response to his words, John's voice dropped to a casual, almost conversational tone. "You killed Anya, didn't you?"
Elias took an immediate step back, surprise flashing across his face. "What are you talking about? I didn't... kill her." His voice wavered on the last word.
John took a step closer, his voice dropping to a whispering tone that was nonetheless loud enough to be heard clearly in the quiet room. "You need my help, Elias. And for me to do that, and continue to do that, I will need your honesty."
Elias, still stepping back, shook his head. "I didn't kill her, man. You're scaring me, bro."
"I see," John said, his voice flat. "I'm tired. Why don't we do this tomorrow?" With that, John turned and began to walk away, but a hand clamped onto his shoulder.
"Alright, wait," Elias said, his grip firm.
He took a deep breath, his voice dropping to a slight shudder. "I didn't mean to kill her. I only wanted to threaten her, to make her back off and stay away from you. I didn't realize she was so weak that when I struck the back of her head, she fell and just... stopped responding. In a panic, I ran away."
John took a deep breath, turning fully to face Elias. "Why would you do that? Why would you want her to stay away from me? Did you like her?"
Elias frowned at the last question. "No, I didn't like the bitch. I wanted her to stay away from you because I don't know what she did for you or said that made you choose her again for another session." His voice grew tight. "We all... I wanted to learn Chi to survive. I believed there was no hope until you talked about your trick, and then Anya tried it, saying that it worked."
"I observed her during yesterday's session with Sensei to see if it truly worked, and to my surprise, it did. While she didn't sense Chi like you did, she appeared to have found something. I wanted what she found. Many others wanted that. To my surprise, you chose her again." Elias's voice was low, gritted with resentment.
"We are all on a fucking timer with the League, man," Elias continued, his frustration boiling over. "I can't stand by and watch her hog all this free time where something could be achieved. Hence, I approached her, and it mistakenly led to her death."
John listened, his expression unreadable. Elias's explanation, fueled by desperate ambition and the League's relentless pressure, perfectly fit the pattern of human unpredictability he had overlooked. This wasn't about him or Anya, not truly. It was about perceived advantage, about survival at any cost.
"So," John began, his voice devoid of emotion, "you attacked her because I chose her again? Because you believed she was gaining an edge from me that you weren't?"
Elias nodded, his face a mix of shame and fervent conviction. "Yes! We're all in a race here, John. Every scrap of advantage matters. I saw you with her, saw her eating like a fiend, then saw her in meditation this morning... she was calmer, more focused than anyone else. I just wanted to scare her off, make her give me a chance, or at least share whatever she had. I swear, I didn't mean for her to die." He looked genuinely distressed, the full weight of his accidental murder settling upon him.
John watched him, cold calculation replacing the earlier disarray in his mind. Elias was a known quantity now. Ambitious, reckless, and desperate for an edge. And he had just confessed to a murder that John needed him to do.
"I see," John said finally, his gaze piercing. "So, you want my 'trick' for Chi training. You want to survive."
Elias swallowed hard. "More than anything, John. I'll do anything."
"Good," John said, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touching his lips. "Because I can help you survive, Elias. I can give you that edge. But it will cost you." He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a near whisper, ensuring only Elias could hear. "You will be my first subject for advanced training.
As soon as John's words were finished, he didn't wait for Elias's response. He immediately dialed up his internal switch, boosting his own adrenaline. The familiar surge of strength and heightened senses welcomed him, his ears picking up the slight, nervous shifts of the trainees hidden in the shadows. He knew they were watching.
John moved with a sudden, fluid grace, wrapping around Elias. It was the Serene Coil, Elias's own martial art, twisted into something terrifyingly efficient. John's body became a living vise, his arms and legs coiling around Elias's torso and limbs, squeezing with immense, unnatural force. Elias gasped, a choked sound as the air was brutally forced from his lungs. He struggled, his muscles bulging, but John's grip was like steel, tightening inexorably.
As Elias's face began to purple, his struggles weakening, John slowly, deliberately, turned his head. His gaze swept across the room, fixing on the shadowed hiding places where the other trainees cowered. His eyes, cold and unwavering, met the terrified, unseen eyes in the darkness. He held their gaze for a long, agonizing moment, letting them witness Elias's silent, desperate end.
Elias's body gave a final, shuddering tremor, and then went limp in John's embrace. There was no scream, no dramatic struggle, just the quiet, efficient cessation of life. John released him, and Elias slid to the floor, a crumpled, lifeless heap. The silence that followed was absolute, filled only by the ragged, terrified breaths of the hidden witnesses.
A chilling silence hung in the air, thick with the scent of fear and the recent stillness of death. John stood over Elias's body, his chest heaving ever so slightly, the last tremors of his adrenaline-fueled strength fading. This was his first time. The finality of it, the cold, heavy weight of a life extinguished by his direct hand, settled over him. For a brief, disorienting moment, under the raw reality of what he had just done. A flicker of unease, a foreign sensation, tried to take root in his precise mind.
But John wouldn't allow it, not now when he is under watch.
With a deep, controlled breath, he began to dial down his adrenaline. The intense clarity and unnatural strength receded, replaced by a profound, almost dizzying wave of calm. His heart rate, which had pounded like a war drum, steadily slowed. His muscles relaxed, the rigid tension melting away. He felt the familiar, almost serene quietude wash over him, a state utterly contrary to the predatory focus he had just embodied. The turbulent thoughts that had plagued him since Anya's death began to smooth, aligning themselves once more into a cold, hard logic.
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