"So this is what death feels like."
"I have no tune to any of my senses."
"I can't move or hear or see or feel anything."
"All I am capable of is thought. But even with that, I feel my consciousness slowly fading."
"hmm?, what's that?"
Up in the distance, a circular luminous ball darted about in irregular patterns.
It turned around as if it noticed Leo's gaze before zooming in at an incredible speed, appearing right in front of him.
Suddenly, Leo could see an old man hovering upside down just inches away from his face.
"Found you, hehehe." The old man said in that old, icky tone of the old.
"Are you death?" Leo asked the old man in a gloomy voice.
"Hehehe. You really sound like a dead man."
"No, I am not death, and what I am does not matter."
"But there is something you must see."
With that, the old man hit Leo on the head with his walking stick, which appeared out of nowhere.
"OWWW!!! That hurt," Leo said, rubbing his head.
"Wait, how am I moving?"
Looking around, Leo could finally see where he was.
"What is this place? It seems to be made of shadows."
Looking at his arms, he says, "Even I am made from shadows."
"Come along now, we don't have all day," said the old man.
"Where are we going?" Leo says, following the old man.
"Into your memories."
"My memories?" Leo said, inwardly confused.
Light takes the form of a door in front of the old man, and he walks in.
Leo reluctantly follows.
They find themselves in a dojo.
It was over 20 square metres, its floors made from polished white stone. On its walls were weapons of different types and different designs. There were armour stands to the side as well.
In the middle, a figure stood clad in silver-coloured segmented armor, wielding a wooden sword. Opposite him was a young boy who looked at least 9. He had sun-golden blonde hair, radiating ocean blue eyes. He wore a white gi. He also wielded a wooden sword.
"I remember this," Leo said in astonishment.
"CLANK!! CLANK!! CLANK!!!" resounded as wooden swords collided.
"When Erwin used to train Arthur."
"HAAAAA!!!" little Arthur screamed as he swung relentlessly at Erwin, who simply deflected his attacks to the side with little effort.
"This isn't going to work, change tactics," said Erwin in a stern voice.
Arthur stopped his assault and took a few steps backwards. Beads of sweat formed on his face, but he did not show signs of fatigue.
He began darting around in different directions, circling Erwin.
Bursting with great speed, he appeared right behind Erwin, about to deliver a devastating blow to his neck.
Erwin simply lifts up his sword without even looking behind him, blocking the attack.
The recoil of his own attack makes him lose his balance.
He trips as he lands back on the floor but quickly regains his balance before dashing backwards.
Huff, huff, huff.
"Why can't I get even a single hit?" Arthur struggles to say, exhausted from the fight.
"Well, your movements are sharp and you leave very little openings."
Taking one step only, he appeared right in front of him.
Arthur's eyes widened in shock.
"If it were a regular soldier, you might have one."
Hitting his sword to the side, he continues, "But I am far stronger."
Erwin then trips, but as he was about to fall, grabbed his gi.
"And far faster than most," he continues before letting him fall.
"Show-off," Arthur grumbles.
"WOW," an even younger boy says in astonishment.
"Would you like to give it a try?" a beautiful woman with golden-blonde hair and deep ocean blue eyes similar to Arthur asks the child.
"ROSE!" Leo says in shock as a mixture of emotions flood his mind.
Empathy, sorrow, anger, hatred, regret, helplessness.
"She's not real. Remember, these are your memories," said the old man.
"Hmmm." The little child says as if contemplating whether to join them.
"No," he says, shaking his head.
"I might get hurt."
"Classic Leo," little Arthur replies, still lying on the floor.
A door opens out of thin air and the old man walks in.
Leo hesitantly follows.