Hope Within

Chapter 15 Way Of The Warrior (Test of Strength)

Von looks around in this environment wondering what is happening to himself. He looks at the clear light blue sky, Von feels a temperature difference like it was getting colder. Lucy gets up and smirks suddenly. It's like she is waiting for someone.

"What are you smirking for?" Von said, looking at her very confused.

"Well Von it's because she is waiting for the rest of us to get here. And I told her I'll be here first before anyone else." Ostrythe responding back to his question. He was sitting on a branch relaxing in the shade. Then he backflip off and landed on his feet and right after he gave Von their secret handshake. Von looked off into the distance and saw Raven. She is with Ryder and Tiga as well but he saw another one more person with them. When they got closer Raven and Tiga gave him a hug.

"It's good to see you awake after three days Von." Tiga said, smiling at him with delight.

"You sure take your time getting up after a battle." Ryder said, leaning on a tree and gave a sigh of relief.

"We're glad that you're awake. However, we gotta cut this reunion short, our new friend has plans to help us kill the people behind the attack on you." Raven stated as she looked at Mimi.

"I am Mimi. Welcome back to the land of the living Von. So I'll cut right to it, why are you here? This is a secret training facility that we're in. Don't bother asking where this is, because I will not tell you." Mimi said, looking at the sky, Von nodded his head and waited for her to continue.

"You're probably wondering how I can replicate the sky and the forest right? Well this place has four different environments: Arctic, Desert, Grassland and then there's Forest Which we are currently in right now." Mimi explains, Von walked up to one of the trees and punched it. The tree just fell down and Von saw the roots of the tree as if it's real.

"So is this your Soul world Mimi?" Von asked her kneeling down to inspect the tree's roots.

"So you have an understanding of the Soul world that's good. But to answer your question this isn't my world. This is the Soul plane...This is the planet's second plane where the souls pass through and wait until Judgement Day." Mimi responded back to him. Von is taken back by this new information and has more questions about the Soul plane.

"There is a lot more to this plane but we can get into more detail when you all are better prepared for it. Fortunately Von you don't need to pass the breathing test in this plane." Mimi said, smiling and giving him congratulations.

"What do you mean breathing test?" Von asked, looking very confused.

"She means that your body doesn't need to adjust to the intense atmosphere and gravity here. Since you have been in your Soul world. So you skipped the harsh step." Ryder explained but Raven and Ostrythe both disagree with him.

"Ryder you're very close but not correct. Everyone, the first lesson is battle sight. To activate it you'll have to close your eyes and sense the aura within you." Mimi said, crossing her arms as she waited for them to mimic her posture. Everyone closes their eyes and silence fills the area. They could hear the wind blowing through the trees and the sound of water running down the river. That moment Von could feel the world spinning around him faster and faster. Then he opens his eyes and sees the plane in a dark blue color. He looks at Ryder first and sees that his aura is yellow. Then he looked at the others Raven aura her's was red and orange mixed, Tiga's aura was Lemon, and finally Ostrythe's aura is silver. But Von couldn't see his own aura. Everyone else opens their eyes and their eyes color match with their aura.

"Good you all did it and you see the power that flows within you." Mimi said, clapping for them.

"Why can't we see Von's aura?" Tiga asked as she went closer to him. Von examines himself to figure out what's going on. Mimi chuckled at Tiga and shook her head at Von. Everyone looked very confused and trying to understand what's funny.

"You can't see his aura because he won't let you see it... simple. I bet he can't even see his own aura." Mimi explained, then she started walking to a great tree that is very tall. The rest of them follow her and as they continue to walk Lucy grabs Von's arm and holds it tightly. Von tried to break free but couldn't do it. Ostrythe went behind Raven and gave her a hug from behind.

"Y'all are cute! I Hope I can get a loving hug." Ryder said, Tiga started to speed up to Mimi. Ostrythe shook his head at them.

"You guys are the cutest couple out here Ryder. But I am not going to say anymore on the matter. Mimi where you are taking us?" Ostrythe asked, Mimi pointed to the tree. When they got there Mimi gave them all a watch that they put on.

"So what this device is a power tracker. And yes it tells time as well. Anyway there are ten stars above the zero you see, when you sense a powerful opponent nearby. To reach one star You to surpass hundred thousand points. A very well fit man can only endure rank two stars hit." Mimi explains, Von walks up to the tree and looks up at it.

"This is what I call The way of the warrior. For this test I only want Raven, Ostrythe and Von. To strike the tree with all your might. If I see you aren't trying then I'll personally knock you out." Mimi said, then giving them a smile.

"I'm assuming you can tell who's holding back with your battle sight right?" Raven asked, shrugging her arms.

"Yeah no. I'm just good at telling if someone is trying to bullshit me." Mimi responded and smiled at Ostrythe.

"Why is that directed at me!?!" Ostrythe shouted as he shook his head. Von went up first and he focused his hand for something.

"You need a..." Lucy said trying to finish but a heavy gust of wind blew everyone back but Von.

"Come to me Anxiety..." Von whispered to himself and his greatsword rose from the ground. Von grabbed and started to charge up. Everyone looked at him with shock but instead Ostrythe looked concerned for Von.

"Dark Slash!!" Von screamed out as he used his right arm to do a heavy vertical slash on the tree. The impact causes a huge blastwave that even pushes Von away from the tree and Anxiety vanishes. Everyone looked at their watch and Von scored Thirty-two thousand points.

"That was great, never thought you would be able to be that powerful already but good job Von." Mimi said, then she helped him up. Ryder and Tiga was surprise and was about to say something but Lucy shush them. Ostrythe was next and Mimi tossed a katana to him.

"Alright Rev let's see if this works." Ostrythe said, he quickly went into a samurai stance and started to charge up his attack. His aura started to spin around like a vortex and started to grow. This was drawing everyone closer to him but everyone was holding their ground then suddenly.

"Sonic Burst!!" Ostrythe calmly said, releasing a horizontal slash which caused a huge impact that blastwave that was in front of him that pushed the tree 24 inches. This left a slash in the tree. Everyone looked on their watch and Ostrythe scored fifty thousand points.

"Impressive so you are a lot more powerful than I thought Ostrythe."said Mimi, clapping for him. Ostrythe tosses back the katana and Mimi catches it. Finally it was Raven's turn. She stretches her arms and goes in her pocket and pulls out one fingerless glove that had a fiery skull on it. She puts it on her right hand and places her left hand on the tree and slowly closes her eyes. The temperature started to rise and the tree looked as if it was burning. Everyone started to sweat and Von and Ostrythe took a closer look at Raven,their eyes widened as they saw that Raven's aura was all in her right hand. She planted her feet and quickly brought her right arm back.

"Ragnarok." Raven said, then released a full right handed strike that shattered the tree and turned it to askes. The aftermath of the strike caused everything in front of her to shoot 3 miles away from her. Mimi and the other looked at her with awe and looked at their watch. There was a shiny red star that glowed brightly.

"Wow, that tree was able to withstand one hundred thousand points. And Raven just set a new record of one hundred seven thousand points. The next test will explain how much you're able to store up for your strikes. But wow!!! Raven that's some craziness right there" Mimi said, cheering her on. Von turned away and walked to cool off. After realizing that he is the weakest. Lucy looked at her watch and looked at his record number.

"If only you understand that there's more to you than you think." Lucy muttered, then she saw a dark star underneath his score and shook her head.