Arcanas

The session resumed.

Conrad was woken up by the shock of ice cold water splashed over his face. Once again, his vision slowly came into focus with Meliora standing over him with a bucket of water in hand.

"It's still not over, huh?"

The second time around he was not bothered by her methods of waking him up. Perhaps the patchwork of bruises and aching muscles rendered him unable to complain anymore.

In a way. That cold water took part in soothing his pain a bit.

They resumed. Their wooden swords clashed. Every time Connie thought he had her moves figured out, she would switch tactics on the spot. Even though he was struggling to keep up, he still felt his swordsmanship improve.

However, that was not the win condition for this hellish training.

Connie struggled to regulate his breath as his body was already aching from the previous hours of relentless strain. His muscles screamed with every movement and each step forward felt like wading through quicksand.

_No longer human my ass_

Mel had said that he was far from being classified as a human anymore. Then why was he still feeling the backlashes of being human? Perhaps it was because he had not awakened yet.

That was the conclusion he decided on.

Mostly due to the relentless onslaught Mel was overwhelming him with. He could not afford to space out.

Whenever Connie thought he had found his footing, she would break through his defenses quite easily. Even though he managed to block a strike to the ribs, the one aimed for his legs swept him off his feet and landed hard on the floor with a thud against his already exhausted body.

Connie was on the floor. He expected another blow to the head but no, his ribs ached from where Mel's sword had struck, and his shoulder throbbed from a vicious blow.

He could feel the bruises forming under his skin.

_This feels hopeless. I can't beat her_

Just then, his vision faded for a moment. Icy water shocked his system and forced his eyes to stay wide awake. Like before, there she was with a bucket in hand nodding at him to get up.

_How many times will it be? _

He laid there, gasping for breath and his vision dimming around the edges. The cold water trickled down his battered body and soaked into his clothes. It was uncomfortable and it made him feel like a wet rat, but the pain in his limbs made him see past that.

They clashed once more. This time, he was fully exhausted. His sword swings were sluggish, and every block came in a split second too late. They sent a reverberating pain when they connected. This made it difficult to hold his sword, much less keep standing on his face.

_How long will this last? _

There it was again—the biting cold of water. With his stamina depleted, he had failed to defend himself.

He got up as Mel watched, her face as indifferent as ever. Connie had even wondered if she ever felt tired as he was, but there was no physical evidence which suggested that. At this point, Connie's body was a whole bruised up and bloody mess. His head was spinning, his face was swollen, nose and mouth dripping with blood.

Mel did not allow him to rest, at least not for too long. She probably waited for a specific time period to pass before ripping him back into reality.

It was one of the reasons he kept getting up despite his body's current condition. This was not going to end until he had achieved an awakening.

Mel was even getting impatient, her methods now seemed to be aimed at pushing his body past its limits rather than knocking him out like she was doing the first time.

He didn't blame her, the sunlight that penetrated the windows was twilight after all.

Even so, if things continued as they were, then he might…

_Here comes that sinking feeling again_

His muscles ached with every breath he took, his vision was blurry from exhaustion and probably the blows he took to the head multiple times. Then there was the sting of fresh bruises that covered him like a second skin underneath his soaked clothing.

He felt as if his body was reaching its breaking point and on the verge of collapsing. It screamed at him to stop, to give in. That seemed to be easy but—a strike to his arm left it numb and the wave of agony snapped him out of his thoughts.

Another blow caught him on the side of his head, the impact made his ears ring as he staggered back. His vision went white for a moment and in the next, he found himself drenched in water, gasping for air as he was dragged back to consciousness.

_They wouldn't allow me to die here. They need me, don't they? _

Yes. They would have Mae fix him up if he had managed to make it out or if he was on the brink of death. Then again, even if it did come to that. He would experience this same hell over and over again.

That thought sent a chill of terror through him.

Even after all the pain he had experienced prior to this session, he had not gotten used to it at all. It still hurt like hell.

Connie's hands shook as he gripped the wooden sword with his knuckles white from the desperate effort he forced out.

He grit his teeth.

_All of them. I'll kill them all! _

The terror he felt quickly turned into something else—he felt rage. From the depths of his soul ignited a rage that burned in his chest like wildfire.

_Starting with you! _

Mel landed a brutal hit to his midsection. The force made him double over the pain. His vision blurred from the impact, and he hit the ground as his body gave out.

***

Mel exhaled sharply as she stared at Connie's unconscious body. Again.

How many times had she knocked him out today? She lost count, but it was clear that she wasn't making any progress with him.

"What is it going to take? Nothing's working!"

She yelled.

A deep-seated irritation gnawed at her as she walked across the dojo. This was starting to frustrate her. The night had just settled in, at this rate, this would continue into the next day.

Every time she had rendered him unconscious, she gave him an hour of rest before dragging him back to consciousness with a bucket of cold icy water. Unlike her earlier methods, she had hoped enough abuse might force his Avatar to awaken, but that was far from being realized.

As she approached the corner where the bucket rested. She looked at it.

'This is pointless'

Before entering the dojo, she was informed on how Conrad had activated his power the first time. That being regenerating from being ravaged by an explosion beyond repair. So, she was given full clearance to be as rough as she needed to be with him.

However, that was not working.

Admittedly. She did not enjoy what she was being tasked to do. She didn't like torture, unless it was directed at those who deserve it. That man definitely deserved it, he was a thief after all. Still, wasn't there another way to bring out his awakening?

As she was about to pick up the bucket, she was abruptly cut off by a sudden wave of oppressive energy that seemed to set the very air ablaze.

Mel immediately turned her eyes to look at the source.

Conrad was rising from the floor in an unnatural way. His movements were slow, almost mechanical, as if he was a marionette being pulled by invisible strings. His once dull and weary eyes now burned with an eerie crimson light. And a dark red menacing aura swirled around his body like a living shadow.

'His body'

The wounds she had inflicted were rapidly healing with an unnatural speed. Mel immediately took a defensive stance and on her other hand, she held her Arcana Card. For the first time in this session.

She was on guard.

'Finally, he's done it. But something's wrong'

Before she could fully process the situation, Conrad lunged at her at speeds she did not expect. His fist dug deep into her abdomen with such force that the air from her lungs was driven out in a single burst. The world around her titled as she was sent hurtling through the air before she was slammed into the wall with a bone jarring thud.

"Gwuaargh!"

Crimson blood spewed from her mouth along with the pain that vibrated through her entire body.

No second later had she crashed into the wall. Conrad lunged at her again, his aura trailed from behind like a dark shadow. Fortunately, she barely managed to roll out of the way after regaining her senses.

It was a good thing she did because the force of that impact sent shockwaves that destroyed the wall where she had been.

'He's out of control'

As she scrambled to her feet, Conrad erupted from the cloud of smoke. Like a beast pouncing on its prey terrifyingly fast. However, this time around, Mel was ready.

As he lunged at her, she twisted her body, narrowly avoiding his hand which was now full of claws. In that instance, with all of her strength, she retaliated with a swift sword strike aimed at his head in hopes of knocking him out again.

Unfortunately, being in such close proximity with the dark red energy radiating from him, made her feel disoriented. This is what delayed the strike of her sword. Conrad took this opportunity to take a bite out of it with his now razor sharp fangs.

"Ah!"

Before she knew it, Conrad's clawed hand had covered her entire face. She was violently slammed onto the floor, the dojo echoed with the sounds of wood being shattered.

She was in a world of pain. She couldn't breathe and her face was being burned by the aura from his hand. Her glasses were completely shattered, but in actuality she did not need them, hasn't in a long time.

'King of Swords!'

In a flash of light, a sword materialized in her hand. And with one swift motion, the blade slashed off the arm that pinned her down to the ground. This sent blood spraying as she leapt back, opening a great distance between them.

'I've got no choice. I can't afford to hold back against him now'

As she gasped for air, she took an offensive stance. The arm Mel had ripped off showed no signs of regeneration as well as the blood that was pouring out of the wound was not stopping either.

"Eeeeeeiickkk!!"

His screech shattered windows and opened cracks in the floor beneath him, Mel protected herself by covering her ears. The dark red aura swirling around his body intensified, growing larger with each passing second. The claws on his other hand grew longer and more grotesque.

"Charge!"

Blinding aura erupted from the sword she held. It was a broadsword with a very wide blade. She tightly gripped its hilt as she prepared for her own strike. Her only means of knocking him out immediately rested on this majestic weapon.

With a primal screech, he lunged forward with his clawed hands outstretched.

Without hesitation. Mel lunged forward as well to meet his attack head on.

"Ha!"

She swung her great sword in a powerful arc.

Conrad's claws sharpened by demonic energy thrusted forward with deadly precision.

"That's enough"

However, before their attacks could meet. A figure suddenly appeared in between them, as if stepping out from the very air itself.

For a brief second, everything came to a halt. Both Mel and Conrad were frozen as if caught by an invisible force.

And then, the intense energy they had built up was reflected back at them with magnified force.

The last thing Mel saw was a flash of light that painfully consumed her entire body before being sent back flying across the room again. Their bodies crashed into the walls with a jolt inducing force.

The impact shook the building, leaving only dust and debris swirling in the air. The aftermath revealed both Mel and Conrad crumpled against the dojo's crumbling walls—both were unconscious.

Mel however, even though she was battered and bruised, still managed to cling on to the last seconds before losing consciousness. Through her fading vision, she saw a figure standing in the center of the room.

She caught glimpse of pitch black hair and a large black trench coat. For her, that was enough to deduce who that was. Her body finally gave in, and she passed out.

Her last image was watching the figure walking towards her and her last words were…

"…K-Kael"