The Broken Blade

  ?When Blade woke up, he found himself in the room he had rented. After a while of contemplation, he stood up and looked out the window, only to see it was currently night. How long had he been asleep was one of his first thoughts, yet for now, simple relaxing would be enough.

  ?He wasn't really sure about anything anymore. About himself, about his own strength, about the Origin Realm in general. It wasn't like he was questioning it, more like he was doubting himself.

  ?Even if the voice from the Abyss had calmed him and relieved him of most of his worries, doubt still festered inside him. Was he truly fit to be here? Did he deserve standing by them?

  ?As he pondered on it, his mind continued going back to Iris and Indra. They both seemed so sure of what they were doing, and maybe he also desired such confidence, at least enough to let him be sure of himself in times like these.

  ?Indra had said he was born without fear. If he was born without it, could he have handled her differently? Would he have been able to push further? To force her to break?

  ?The answer was simple. It would not have mattered. Indra was not strong because he was born without fear, he was simply strong. What he was doing now was making excuses, trying to rationalize his loss, but the conclusion was simple. He had lost. Beaten and pushed much further than he ever could expect. It was about time he stopped applying his logic to this place, as the fact stood that they were holding him down. He had to forget everything he knew to be able to move forward in this place. It was the only choice.

  ?Yet it was no easy process simply forgetting everything he knew. It would take time. With nothing better to do, he decided that taking a walk would help him now. So, after checking his clothes, he would go. He was happy that the mora clothes could be easily repaired by using mora. When his clothes were done, he walked to the door to head out, but he stopped as a sudden thought hit him.

  ?Where was his sword?

  ?Blade was sure it had been broken in his fight with Raiden, yet he was also sure that he had held onto it even when he fell unconscious.

  ?If that voice from the Abyss was the one who had placed him here, then he should still have had it in his hand when he woke up, and if someone else brought him here, then they should have placed his belongings nearby. Yet his sword was nowhere to be seen. He doubted he could have let go or dropped it while being transported. The only real explanation was that it would have been stolen, but he did not want to come up with that conclusion without properly looking.

  ?Blade checked everywhere in the room, yet he found nothing. Where could it be?

  ?That’s when he saw a glimmer that caught his eye. And out there on a tree branch, stood a woman, who noticed him staring, then ran off.

  ?Blade couldn't just stand still, jumping through the window and running after her.

  ?She wasn't running quickly, so he caught up after just running a short distance, and then he saw it. the blade glinting in her hand.

  ?And so he jumped up to meet her, creating a sword and covering it with mora, and as he reached her, he went to slash. Only for the woman to do a spin and dodge, before slamming her arm down at the blade, making it shatter and sending Blade back down. Yet as he fell, he managed to retrieve his broken sword from the woman’s grasp.

  ?“Who are you, and what do you want with my sword?”

  ?Blade asked, both confused and irritated that this random lady tried stealing it. Now that he saw her clearly, he saw she was wearing a black short kimono, with grey lining, and had long dark grey hair. Her voice was cold and disdainful as she said.

  ?“Your blade? All I see is a broken boy carrying a broken blade. Fitting, is it not?”

  ?And suddenly she was above him, with a kick aimed at his face. He barely managed to move his head away, yet his cheek was still cut.

  ?Blade touched the thin line of blood on his cheek. The precision, speed, all of it was as if a blade of unparalleled mastery had struck him. Yet there was no blade anywhere to be seen on the lady, let alone her leg. His confusion was palpable yet he had no time to mull over it.

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  ?“Not totally useless, I see,”

  ?The nameless woman commented before charging at him.

  ?Blade barely managed to block the first attacks, yet each time a hit graced him, he was cut. It was as if he was fighting an opponent wielding a sword, and one who was too precise to not be a master. The thing putting him the most off, though, was the fact not a single weapon was visible on her. He didn't understand, so as he jumped back to gain distance, he had to ask.

  ?“How are you cutting me? I don't understand. What's your problem with me?”

  ?“How should I know? Maybe it's just your face?”

  ?She said as she lunged again.

  ?Barely getting out of the way, Blade avoided decapitation, as he managed to react to the kick in time, only to almost lose his eye to the cut that appeared, as the blow still grazed him. He tried to counter but was only met with a block as she almost stomped his head, only for Blade to create a dagger trying to stab her, yet all it did was shatter on impact, before a kick connected with his shoulder as he was sent back.

  ?“This feels like more than that. What problem do you have? I don't even know your name.”

  ?Blade said as he landed, having avoided losing his shoulder, yet the rip that appeared was by no means good. It wasn't too deep though and he managed to stitch it closed with the few seconds he was given.

  ?“Well, isn't that a problem now? You do not know my name, yet I know yours. Strange, is it not?”

  ?She replied sarcastically as she lunged again. Blade was ready this time and jumped out of the way, only to look back and see the ground cut from her kick. But as he looked back, he suddenly saw another incoming danger, as she was already on him again with another kick.

  Minimizing the damage was the only thing he could do, as he was sent flying yet another time.

  ?Had she grown stronger? No, had she just begun trying harder? How wide was the power gap between them? And why was she after him?

  ?Blade realized he had no way of coming out of this alive if he only dodged. If he did, he would only stay a punching bag for her to wail on. Yet he saw no opening for him to use even when her posture seemed so relaxed.

  ?Gathering mora into his broken blade he went for a strike, yet the moment he did, she was suddenly in front of him, offsetting his slash to the air with a kick, before he felt his bone crack as she kicked him far back.

  ?“Pathetic individuals like you shouldn't use power they can't even use properly.”

  ?Blade clutched his stomach as he got up. He had managed to block the worst of the damage with mora, yet he still felt the pain terribly. It felt like he had been hit by a sledgehammer, yet the wound looked like one from a barbed dagger.

  ?“What are you talking about? Are you trying to kill me for using mora now?”

  ?“So what? I thought you accepted your pathetic death?”

  ?“Huh?”

  ?How had she known about that? Nobody had been near when he fought Raiden, and she couldn't have been the one who brought him here, as then why would she be trying to kill him now? Too many questions were left unanswered, yet she seemed unwilling to answer any.

  ?“How do you know that? Just tell me who you are?”

  ?“Maybe I already have. Maybe I have told you my name, time and time again, but you... Well, in the end, only those qualified to listen will ever hear it.”

  ?“What are you talking about? This makes no sense, I haven't even met you before.”

  ?Blade struggled to block a fist aimed at his face, before she grabbed the broken blade and tossed him together with it into a tree.

  ?“And why do you keep calling me pathetic?"

  ?“Well, what else would you call one with such childish dreams like yours? Would you prefer I call you worthless, or maybe stupid? Pathetic just seems fitting.”

  ?“Why do you get to decide that, huh? What do you know about my dreams?!”

  It was hard not getting angry. Who was she to just appear, try to steal from him, and then go ahead and mock him and his dreams, especially when she herself refused to elaborate on anything about herself.

  ?“Well, what don't I know? You're a pathetic human whose dreams are to protect everyone. How childish.”

  ?“How do you?”

  ?Though he didn't have time to question it, as she rushed him.

  ?“You’re Blade, an orphan trained by one of the best swordsmen in his dojo, from your world. He took you in, adopted you.”

  ?She said while they clashed, meanwhile Blade was barely managing to keep up, both with the information about his past coming from her, but also constant force she put behind each attack. She continued.

  ?“After a short while, it soon became known among the other students you had no talent for swordsmanship, yet you continued persevering. Then it also came up that you had an unnaturally large amount of mana, yet when they tested you, they found no compatibility with any of the elements. So there you were. With no talent in either swordsmanship and magic.”

  ?She said before sending him back, only to quickly catch up to him, grab his sword and knee his guts, before throwing him by his neck into the ground.

  ?“You're too disappointing to be called average, pathetic might be too good for you.”

  ?She said before kicking him into the air.

  ?When in the air, Blade tried gathering his bearings and sending a new mora slash at her, only for her to swat it away like a bug.

  ?He saw the slash cleave through the ground, before he was suddenly knocked down by a powerful force as he saw the unnamed girl beside him.

  ?“Didn't I tell you to stop using mora?”

  ?As he hit the ground, he turned to look up at her before asking.

  ?“What problem do you have with me using mora?”

  ?“Problem? Your incompetence is the problem. You believe yourself capable, yet you're totally useless. You hold no knowledge about the power you use like you deserve it. Have you ever wondered why Indra, Iris, even Raiden all named their attack?”

  ?Named attacks? Indra, Iris, and Raiden? What was she talking about? And how did she know about all of this? There were too many variables, yet no answers to find.