"Wake up, man!"
Loud bells rang across the decks of the large Karada warship as it sailed towards Le'Lau. The people aboard were ordered to provide reinforcements to the Kokoro against the Seishin's rogue commander by utilizing their newly awakened Body Traits.
During that time, they every minute spent awake would be put to training.
Obai groaned as he slipped out of his bunk, patting Teddy on the shoulder.
Last night, all the victors had lined up to listen to the orders of their captains and each divided onto their appointed ships. There, Bolin had finally learned of the fate that his younger brother, Teddy, had received.
The tiny man had gotten incredibly lucky, having to face a young man with no training. However, unlike Bolin and Obai, Teddy looked much worse.
Actually, every recruit did. Each face was dark and horrified, mixed with the past hopes of joining the Karada's elite and becoming stronger. All of them, except for Bolin and Obai, had taken a life that day. For some, it was a first. For others, it may have been just another mark to the tally.
But no one enjoyed it. Taking the life of a potential comrade. Another man who was raised by the beauty of the Vweiyan Empire.
They all had committed a terrible sin in exchange for supernatural strength. If they refused, they would've simply become fuel for the others' own energy.
Bolin shed tears of joy that night, absolutely relieved that his brother had lived.
Others shed different tears.
Now, the sun climbed above the edge of the warm waters, announcing the start of their four days of training.
Bells continued to ring as the men flooded out from below deck, dressed in dark sleeveless uniforms. The only difference between them and the captain was the tattoo on the shoulder and a light belt around their waist.
Bolin and Teddy stayed by each other's sides, lining up to the right of Obai.
He would have preferred to keep to himself, but it seemed Teddy was obnoxiously tenacious and followed him everywhere, dragging Bolin along.
'I don't understand. Surely he knows I could've killed his brother.'
Sadly, they wanted to act as a group, hoping to stay strong together and keep themselves alive on the battlefield. It didn't help that Bolin learned Obai's name, which in turn meant Teddy knew his name too.
Obai sighed as the three lined up in front of Juno, who stood straight on a higher deck, staring at the incoming crowd of twenty people.
'As long as they don't get in my way, I suppose I'll just let them be.'
He looked up and squinted at Juno, observing the apathetic face of the beautiful man.
'The Body Trait must influence one's looks somewhat. This guy seems different from the other captains who guarded the initiation battles, though. Maybe their fighting style is unique? Or they could be more of a strategist, keeping away from battles.
Either way... I'll probably learn the most from the Karada by watching him closely.'
The air ceased its swirling as the soldiers fell still in a block of five by four. The array of eyes all slowly glimmered as the hope of acquiring new strength found its way back to their souls.
Juno slowly scanned the crowd and settled his eyes on Obai and Bolin. He clearly still believed that Obai should have been killed.
"Energy manipulation. The Body Trait. Ilka Merric has generously gifted all of you the chance to attain your true powers. True strength. Your true form."
Despite his frailer appearance, Juno still carried a commanding tone across the deck of the warship.
"But first, you need to be taught the basics. We don't have nearly enough time for any of you to master the Body Trait, so you'll simply be training to enhance your strength and endurance."
The silence of anticipation deafened everyone's ears. They were about to attain something that had simply been rumors just years ago.
Obai kept his eyes straight, not caring about the lecture on energy manipulation, instead trying to pinpoint anything that could hint at a weakness to users of the Body Trait.
"Traits. You may have questioned these once mysterious words during the night. Traits are the channels that compose every conscious being. They act as aqueducts for the divine energy that all humans possess within their bodies. However, each Trait is locked at birth, for reasons unknown. Over the span of history, a small group of individuals had been created without adhering to that divine rule, having been born with one of the Traits unlocked. The progenitor of the Merric family was one such human, having been born with an unlocked Body Trait. For other reasons unknown, they are the only ones able to unlock other people's Body Trait."
Obai subtly smiled.
'Seems that even their soldiers don't know the truth. I wonder if Juno is hiding it or if he simply doesn't know as well.'
"There are five Traits within every person. Spirit, Emotion, Mind, Heart, and Body. The Seishin are warriors with unlocked Spirit Traits. Body versus Spirit. That is the truth of the battlefield."
Juno paused, scanning the reactions.
"The Kokoro are ruled by the family of the Emotion Trait. We are allied with them, but we take the brunt of the attacks. This is because each Trait is unique. The Emotion Trait influences the emotions within oneself and their connections to the world, while the Spirit Trait influences a person's will, gaining strength through invisible concepts and achieving impossible means. The Body Trait influences a person's strength and shape."
Juno's eyes suddenly glowed with light as the air swirled again. The crowd shifted as they witnessed the change in energy within their captain's body.
The light glided its way along their right arm, then off of it, creating an outline that connected itself to an invisible form within Juno.
The next second, the light disappeared and was replaced by a dark and glossy material. It looked large and heavy, with spiky rocks jutting out from a fist like shape that was at least twice the size of a person's head.
What was once an arm made of human flesh was now a monstrous form made to destroy anything it touched.
The silence was destroyed. Gasps surged through the small crowd, and people's eyes grew wide, envious of the inhuman power.
Juno's shield of apathy broke, replaced by a grin that surprised Obai more than the appearance of the strange arm.
The captain's voice boomed across the rattled crowd.
"Understanding and manipulating your energy through the Body Trait will allow you to assume forms capable of crushing the world."