Heavenly Mortals-Act One

IV-Qi'ra

"Ugh..."

A girl was lying in a sickbed, her arm in a cast. On the nightstand was a pile of healing ointments and cotton swabs.

She remembered what happened to her. She gritted her teeth in an effort not to scream.

A man in red robes, a black cloth tunic and thick, red-dyed rope as a belt was sitting at a low table in the room, sipping a cup of tea. The girl immediately got up from the bed—even though she was still in pain—and kneeled, "Master Ikori, I apologize for my-"

She was cut off by a slap to the face. She knew better than to make a peep about it and shoved down her pain. She remained bowing.

"Oh, Qi'ra, I'm sorry," Ikori stroked her cheek. "I did not teach you well enough. The blame always falls on the teacher."

"I assessed the duel," he announced, "The Katari disciple was faster than you, had better technique than you. This made it easy for him to react accordingly with whatever attack you throw at him." He paused and turned towards Qi'ra. He lifted her chin to face him, "But he cannot do so, if he cannot see you,"

He picked up a large, dark-brown pill an seed a scroll from the table and placed the scroll into Qi'ra's hands, "Second chances are rare. This is the fabled Aimaina Kagé technique. It allows you to blend in with the shadows and use them to travel. No monastery has this technique save mine. And this," Ikori gave her the pill, "Is the Matsutazu pill. It will greatly boost your capabilities and allow you to master the Aimaina Kagé technique in a short period of time."

Qi'ra uneasily looked at the pill and scroll, "I thought these were forbidden in the martial world. They were supposed to be lost forever,"

Ikori looked her in the eye, "Not in my world, Qi'ra. You have two hours to master the technique and prepare. You will duel the Katari disciple again. And this time, you will bring me his head."

"B-but Master, how will I challenge him when he's asleep in his cabin?"

"You have your orders. Bring me his head. That will be proof that you are my grand disciple, and that Ikori monastery is the greatest in the martial world. Kill everyone in Katari monastery if you must,"

Qi'ra knew not to push further. She kneeled to Ikori, "Yes, Master,"

"And meet me in my quarters ten minutes before your deadline. I will give you a new weapon to replace your katana, which was fractured in the first duel,"

"Thank you for your generosity, master," She lowered her head once more.

Qi'ra stepped out of the sickroom. It was past curfew. A few of her fellow disciples were still training as punishment for their incompetence—if it could be called that. Qi'ra never questioned her Master Ikori's standards, even though she knew they were too high for anyone to reach. That is, before they experience the gruelling punishments. They shot dirty looks at her, which she returned with a flick of dirt to their faces. They knew better than to react. They had to keep training.

She walked to the Ikori monastery training hall. Only a part of it was lit, probably for her. There, she sat on her knees and flattened out the scroll, scrutinizing its every word and image. She choked down the pill, and felt something-power-flowing through her. She cracked her cast open and found that her arm had healed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The shadows around her darkened.

Travelling through shadows was a surreal experience. When Qi'ra sunk in, all she could see was darkness. Strange sounds, like voices, whispered in her ear. Her whole body felt cold, like she had been submerged in strong medicinal ointment. She emerged at the other side of the dimly-lit training hall.