Damnation: Dawn of The Apotheosis

SWORD AND MAGIC

After learning a little of the nature and identity of his mortal enemies, Ashviel had his full attention on studying magic. Master Vauxall had also restructured their trainings, positioning their focus more on magic than the other pillars. Of course, they still practice the circulation techniques almost constantly.

Utilizing magic while sparring with swords was not easy, and Ashviel and Kael chose to specialize in fire and wind respectively.

By the end of the first month after their introduction to magic, Ashviel could easily call up Rek from almost all parts of his body, having formed several portals in different parts. Surprising his opponent with a blast of fire was a move he relished.

Conversely, Kael preferred improving his movements by subtly applying wind Rek, making him nigh impossible for Ashviel to strike. As for swordplay, they have both gone as far as being able to make little apparent feints, though they were yet to master the skill.

One evening while they sparred, Kael exhibited a set of skills that amazed his companion. He told Ashviel to brace up for the coming attack, which he did, raising his sword high in anticipation of the strike. Somehow, he felt Kael’s sword hit him sharply, sending him sprawling on the rock floor. He had not seen Kael unsheathe his sword, let alone notice the lunge.

H stood up groggily, groaning as he tried to get back on his feet. Before he could raise a protest, he heard Master Vauxall clap in acknowledgement of the attack.

“So you’ve managed to learn the Zeroszen Ultimate move. For a person of your age, wet behind the ears as you are, and of the mediocre Zeroszen class, that is very interesting.”

“Not quite as you think,” replied Kael, managing to hold back his glee at the Master’s praise. “I’ve only learnt the first form to an extent.”

“Regardless, it is impressive,” said Master Vauxall.

“The Zeroszen Ultimate move is a part of the Zeroszen Ultimate technique. The move basically consists of drawing your sword, attacking your opponent, and then returning the sword to its sheath, all in a fragment of a second.”

The idea seemed vague to Ashviel, and had he not witnessed the move, he would not have considered it doable. He gazed on in disbelief at the sword that had just hit him sitting calmly in its scabbard.

Master Vauxall turned to him. “As for you, you cannot achieve such, not in the next few months. I suppose Kael must have spent years honing the move.”

“Of course,” said Kael in affirmation.

Master Vauxall then left the two to spar together until dusk. While they trained, Ashviel could not help wondering what the technique was all about, and how exactly did Kael learn it.

When they took a break, he seized the opportunity to ask the questions bothering him.

“You said your father was not an elder, how then did you learn the Zeroszen Ultimate move?”

“It is true he was not an elder, but his sword skills terrified the elders themselves. He was not an especially powerful mage, a master at most. The elders were archmages and grandmasters, quite a number of them were even masters like him, but they were from families of elders. You don’t know much about magical hierarchy, do you?” he paused to ask Ashviel.

“No.”

“After the knights, we have masters, then grandmasters, and finally archmages. I hear they are some known as sages, but I reckon it’s just a myth. As for Master Vauxall, he must be a grandmaster or even an archmage, I believe.”

Ashviel thought of the reason an archmage would prefer to spend his days with two young men on a mountaintop. “Go on,” he said, more interested in Kael’s story than Master Vauxall’s own.

“As I said, my father was one of the best swordsmen of the Zeroszen. From a young age, he had instilled the move in me, teaching me at his free time. I understood that to rise from the mediocre, I had to get stronger. We practiced in secrecy, because the elders frowned on teaching the core of the Zeroszen skills to anyone who was not their direct descendant. He intended to teach it all to me, but I was exiled before that happened. With the blade he gave me, he hoped I would learn it all someday.”

“With Master Vauxall’s aid, you should be able to learn it, though I think that would take a long time.”

“Yes, one day, I will learn it, just like my father.” Kael said, beaming with determination.

“I notice you don’t say much about your mother, is she not with you?”

“She has been terminally ill for a long long time, ever since she birthed my sister.”

“You didn’t tell me you had a sister.”

“I have a sister,” Kael said emphatically. “And I will meet Nisa again someday.” Then he realized that he had been too hard.

“I’m sorry, I did not mean to—”

“Oh it’s okay,” said Ashviel. “I’m sorry about that too, and your mother. I don’t even know mine anyway.”

“You grew up without one?” asked Kael.

“No, I had a foster mother. I had no idea she was not my real mother, until my dad told me some weeks before the attack. She showered me with love, and I had a hard time believing she was not my real mother. Just for Capricorn to—”

“So you know nothing of your actual mother?” Kael asked, just in time to stop Ashviel from going into a fit.

“My dad said she left when I was just two months old, but he did not tell me the reason, he simply said he remarried after then,” said Ashviel.

“Perhaps you will find out in the future.”

“Perhaps,” he said. “So, how was life like in the Zeroszen demesne?”

They chatted deep into the night, with their intimacy rising as the night wore on.

“Which of the forms of Rek do you deem most useful?” Master Vauxall asked his two students.

Quickly, Kael chose wind Rek, while Ashviel went for fire Rek.

“You are both wrong,” said Master Vauxall. “The most useful form of Rek would be shadow, and the best in combat could appear to be force Rek.”

Force Rek hardly seemed of any use, and shadow Rek proved to be of even lesser advantage, thought Ashviel and Kael.

“You see,” Master Vauxall got up and drew his sword, “you can transmute weapons with force Rek.” He lifted the wooden sword up, and Ashviel noticed that its blunt end had become suddenly sharp.

“With a single leaf and a mastery of force Rek,” Master Vauxall continued, “you can slice a man in half.” This time, he added no further demonstration.

“Then, can we learn it now?” Ashviel hurriedly asked. If he could not learn the Zeroszen Ultimate move, then he should be able to learn the technique the master was speaking of, he thought.

“Quick on the uptake, aren’t you?” replied Master Vauxall. “But you have to first learn techniques and spells.”