"We can't get him!"
"It's not working!"
"He's dying!"
The voices sounded distant.
Like they were underwater.
Everything around me was dark.
I wanted to open my eyes.
But I couldn't.
Then...
A bright light filled my vision.
I slowly opened my eyes.
The first thing I saw was a white ceiling.
"...Where am I?"
My body felt unbelievably heavy.
I looked around.
Beds.
Curtains.
Medicine bottles.
"A hospital?"
I slowly raised my left hand.
The Demon Slayer Mark...
It was gone.
"What happened?"
Before I could think any further—
"Tom!"
Suddenly, Marie and Tobisa rushed into the room.
The next thing I knew, both of them had wrapped me in a huge hug.
"You're alive!" they shouted together.
"Ow... easy!" I laughed weakly.
The two quickly stepped back.
Marie wiped tears from her eyes.
"You idiot!"
"You scared us half to death!"
I blinked.
"What are you talking about?"
Tobisa let out a long sigh.
"Yesterday, we found you lying in your bed."
"You were barely breathing."
"The healers thought you were already dead."
My smile slowly disappeared.
"...Seriously?"
Marie nodded.
"I've never seen someone in that condition."
"If Bhringi hadn't arrived when he did..."
She couldn't finish the sentence.
"...You would've died."
A chill ran down my spine.
I looked toward the doorway.
Standing there was a tall troll with broad shoulders and long black hair tied behind his back.
He smiled kindly.
"So you're finally awake."
I recognized him immediately.
He was one of the trolls who had been standing beside Shaivansh on my very first day.
"You're..."
"Bhringi."
He walked into the room.
"The head healer."
I scratched my head.
"So... you're the one who saved me?"
He chuckled.
"I simply did my job."
Then his smile disappeared.
"But don't think you'll be leaving anytime soon."
I had a bad feeling about this.
"You'll need at least one month of rest."
"...A month?!"
I almost jumped out of bed.
"What about my training?"
"What about Dorna?"
"What about Nature Breathing?"
Bhringi raised a hand.
"Relax."
"Dorna already came to see you."
"He told me your basic training is complete."
I blinked.
"...Really?"
"He said you've earned your rest."
For the first time...
I actually smiled.
I had done it.
After all those laps...
The push-ups.
The pull-ups.
The shooting practice.
The endless nights of Nature Breathing...
I had finally completed Dorna's training.
I slowly swung my legs over the side of the bed.
"Then maybe I can at least go for a walk."
Marie immediately frowned.
"Tom..."
"What?"
"You just woke up."
"I'm fine."
I stood up.
For exactly two seconds.
Everything around me spun.
"Oh..."
My vision blurred.
The room tilted sideways.
Then—
Everything went black.
When I opened my eyes again...
I wasn't in the hospital anymore.
I was standing inside a gigantic crater.
The ground beneath my feet was completely shattered.
Huge cracks stretched in every direction.
It looked as though an entire mountain had exploded.
A familiar voice spoke behind me.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
I turned around.
Senjuro stood there with his hands behind his back.
"Senjuro."
He smiled.
"You have a question."
I nodded.
"What exactly is... Dance of Nature?"
His smile slowly faded.
For the first time...
He looked serious.
"It is the true final form of Nature Breathing."
I frowned.
"But... I thought the seventh form was the final one."
"It is."
"For everyone else."
He looked across the massive crater.
"Dance of Nature isn't recorded in the book."
"I never wrote it down."
"Why?"
"Because it's too dangerous."
He pointed toward the shattered ground.
"This crater..."
"...was created by a single use of that technique."
I stared at the destruction.
One attack had done all this?
Senjuro continued.
"When Dance of Nature is performed..."
"It shatters everything around its user into pieces so small they're almost impossible to see."
"It happens within nanoseconds."
I swallowed.
"That's... insane."
"It is."
He looked directly at me.
"The technique is so powerful that anyone besides me who uses it dies."
My heart skipped a beat.
"So..."
"I almost died because I used it?"
He nodded.
"You didn't possess enough strength."
"The only person capable of surviving that technique..."
"...was me."
Silence filled the crater.
Finally, I lowered my head.
"I'm sorry, Senjuro."
He laughed softly.
"Don't apologize."
He placed a hand on my shoulder.
"You are my descendant."
"And..."
A proud smile appeared on his face.
"...my favorite one."
For some reason...
Hearing those words made me smile.
Maybe...
Just maybe...
One day...
I'd become strong enough to use the Dance of Nature without sacrificing my life.