Gift

Chapter 9: A Scaly Meeting

The Hidden Cave. Months before the Entrance Exam.

Kaito was pacing back and forth in front of Ajal, who was sitting on his knees, staring at Kaito with a look of deep concentration. The training had started two weeks ago—and the results were already notable.

Ajal's face was red from exertion. His breathing was ragged, and sweat was dripping down his forehead in a torrent. But there wasn't a hint of fatigue in his eyes. They were filled with an unwavering determination that only became more intense as Kaito kept up his ceaseless pace.

Kaito stopped pacing and clapped his hands together. "Well, your scythe skills have improved enough to the point I can't teach you anymore on that front. I'm not a scythe user, so from here on out you're gonna be developing your own sort of fighting style with it."

"So... what do we need to focus on now?" asked Ajal.

Kaito nodded. "The main one you'll be focusing on is Divinity control."

"You mentioned Divinity before. What exactly is that?"

"A source of power, energy, life, anything you can think of. It is something that flows through all sentient beings of the Middle Domains. For Gift usage specifically, we use it to unlock special abilities that our Gifts hold. That's why you gotta start being able to control it yourself. You've got some ability to do that already, but you haven't been putting it into practice yet. And if you don't learn how to control it properly, then nothing will come out when you use your scythe."

Ajal stood up and approached Kaito. "Then let's get started."

Kaito grinned widely at Ajal. "These next few weeks will be focused on you simply channeling your Divinity. After that, we can worry about abilities."

2 months later, Ajal still struggled to grasp controlling his Divinity.

Ajal was panting heavily as he lay sprawled out on the ground.

"This sucks!" He yelled out in frustration.

Kaito was sitting on the ground next to him, his legs crossed, with his elbow resting on his knee and chin tucked into his palm. "You'll be just fine, Ajal. You gotta learn to stop taking life so seriously."

Ajal turned his head towards Kaito. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Good question! Maybe I mean you should be more like me. Cause I'm awesome."

"I'd rather die."

"That's the spirit!"

***

"Ajal. Hey. Ajal, can you hear me?" Jean whispered, grabbing Ajal's shoulder.

"Oh hey, Lawn. When did you get here?" Ajal said.

Ajal, Jean, Arc, Yumiko, and Ezekial were all sitting behind bushes that connected to more shrubbery to form a circular ring around a clearing in the forest.

"We've been here the whole time, waiting for you to get your head out of the clouds."

"Yeah, what was that about?" Ezekial interjected.

"Just remembering some things." Ajal answered. "So where are we?"

"We were following you!" Jean hissed.

Yumiko was sitting behind Ajal, holding back her laughter.

Jean calmed himself and looked at Arc. "Are you OK, Arc? you've been awfully quiet."

"Yes, Master Jean. Just watching her. She hasn't moved yet."

Arc was peeking over the Hedges, staring at a figure of a colossal stature, standing tall above any normal person. Their skin was white like chalk with scales covering them from head to toe. Defined muscles proved they were more than athletic. It was as if she was built for battle. Her tail swished too and froe behind her as she had her eyes shut, hidden behind the façade of a beast's skull surrounding her head. Their entire upper body was bare, save for the cloth wrapped tightly around their forearms and chest. They wore pants that were ripped at the ankles and legs, with black boots completing the ensemble. Around their waste were more bandages, carrying multiple Artifacts. The artifacts had different and varying letters inscribed into them.