endless path, infinite cosmos

chapter 67

While Hephaestus was working hard to prevent future troubles, Vahn was currently wrapped up in the present issue that presented itself. Tsubaki had elevated his training to a new level, and instead of just sparring and developing his physical abilities, she was now having him fight against her with weapons. The two stood five meters apart from each other, and all the hairs on Vahn's body were raised as his senses screamed for him to flee.

Tsubaki was in a low stance with her hand resting slightly above the hilt of her katana. Her body was perfectly still, and from Vahn's perspective, she didn't even appear to breathe. The only thing he could focus on was the intent within her eye that made him unable to move. It wasn't the predatory look he had seen in people that wanted to exploit him; the only thing Vahn could see from that singular, uncovered, eye was absolute confidence. A confidence that told him there was nothing he could do to stop what came next.

Seconds passed like minutes, as the two held their stances and faced off. Vahn held his sword in front of him preparing to receive the strike, while Tsubaki maintained her lowered stance with her katana still sheathed. The sweat on Vahn's brow slowly made its way down his face until a drop rested on the edge of his nose. He could feel it tickle his skin every time he drew breath until he eventually tried to dislodge it by exhaling quickly.

The moment Vahn breathed out, Tsubaki's body seemed to tilt ever so slightly before the image Vahn could see began to blur. He immediately understood the phenomenon as her after-image since he had seen it several times since their new training began. Vahn quickly stepped back and prepared to receive the yet unseen blow. His eyes darted around his front as he swept his back with his domain.

As his focus increased to the pinnacle, colors slowly faded away from the surroundings as time itself seemed to crawl. From his perception, Vahn could sense the approaching blade and, even though it had not yet reached, he experienced the illusion of the blade winds tearing apart his body. He twisted his hips and reoriented himself towards the blow and tried to parry, but to his surprise, the only thing he saw was Tsubaki still in a low stance.

Vahn's parry collided with nothing and passed through the air leaving a gap in his defenses. Tsubaki used that exact moment to plant her foot into the ground as an incredibly loud sound of metal against metal began resonating in Vahn's ears. At this point, from Vahn's perspective, time itself seemed to halt for everything except the blade movement before him. A beam of light seemed to trace Tsubaki's eye as the katana carried an unstoppable momentum towards Vahn's neck.

The katana came within millimeters of separating Vahn's head from the rest of his body when the seemingly unstoppable force suddenly dissipated. The blade now rested a hairsbreadth away from his jugular and Vahn just stood in absolute stillness as the blade was slowly lowered. Tsubaki sheathed the katana and the fiercely confident look on her face was replaced with a friendly smile.

"Your reaction speed is improving rapidly. You need to focus on making the proper decision after seeing what your opponent is doing instead of just trusting your initial reaction. If I had attacked normally you may have been able to parry my attack but, since I was able to fool you with my intent, you created a gap which I was able to exploit." As Tsubaki explained his flaws, Vahn still just stood there blankly. It wasn't until she patted him on the shoulder and told him to take a break that the tension finally subsided and he collapsed to the ground.

Naaza, who had been waiting at the side came to Vahn holding a warm towel and a cold container of water. She had been asked by Tsubaki to handle the after-care of Vahn's training to killing intent. Every time their training came to an end, Vahn would end up in a semi-frozen state as his brain processed that he was still alive against all expectation. It was Naaza'a job to help him relax so the training could continue.