Vescrutia: Legacy

It had been nearly three days since Okoye departed from her new home within the Neovian Territory. The entire experience still felt surreal to her, almost like it didn't happen. Barely a week ago, Okoye escaped from a highly secure subaquatic prison following a few hours of swimming ashore. She arrived there, still weighed to the ground by the chains and shackles fastened around her body, in search of asylum of any kind; be it an inn, a bed, a barn, or anything vacant. She was far too exhausted to be picky, but to her surprise the first building she stumbled into was owned by a pillar of her youth, Zero Venkage. And even more surprising, the man welcomed her into his home with open arms.

Despite growing up in Arcturus, Okoye never met the man behind the legend during her time there. He was a founder of the Village, yet she would only watch him from the stands as he tortured his foes down in the sands of the Grand Colosseum. And if she were to be honest, her first encounter with him initially unnerved her.. and not at all for the reasons she anticipated. For him to be so genuinely magnanimous contrasted with every script of his lore she'd been familiar with. The Zero she "knew" was a savage warrior, one whose prowess would have been adorned and worshiped within the Mazoku Empire. He couldn’t have been this humble man who, at the drop of a hat, furnished his abode to compensate for a complete stranger. She wouldn't have believed it to be him if she hadn't got the chance to fight him herself and their short bout verified his identity beyond a reasonable doubt.

Zero was as strong as every fable depicted.. only ten times as fast. And though she was lucky enough to land a decisive blow against him, the chasm between their abilities left a crater-sized dent in Okoye's ego. He was on another level.. Everything about him from the way his muscles worked, to his understanding of Naten left her inquisitive mind blitzed. Every chance she could, Okoye' over analyzed their little dance; visualizing every detail and theorizing a hundred different scenarios. What could she have done differently? What worked against him and what didn't? Despite her bravado, she never imagined she would actually win, but fantasizing about how she could get closer was the only thing she could think about from the minute she woke up that day, to the second she fell asleep the next. She lost, horribly.. but at least now she understood where she stood. Zero showed her the bar and now she couldn't be more obsessed with reaching it.

Okoye already had high ambitions; Usurping the Mazoku Empire was of course her top priority, but her encounter with Zero certified that she wouldn't sniff success if she couldn't get stronger. It was why she was here, camping in the middle of a violent storm, within the heart of an unfamiliar forest. She was dressed for the occasion; before she left Neovia, Okoye sold her Dairhino earring to a local merchant in exchange for traveling materials; a tactical backpack, rations, a medical kit, and a pair of clothes built to endure the elements. She was looking for someone. During the brief time she spent within Zero's Athenaeum, Okoye was able to sift her nose through volumes of information indispensable for reaching current goals. The man possessed a catalog of knowledge in every discipline she imagined; from cooking and foraging, to articles discussing Vescrutian ecology and its impact upon animal behavior. She could have spent days trying to digest every scroll and ledger from Zero's collection, and while she planned to do so one day, she did well focusing on the task at hand. Okoye was looking for someone or someone(s) rather, skilled enough in the arts of Shinjutsu to relay those teachings to her. And her research in Zero's Altier brought her attention to the Voduani Tribe, an ancient clan whose methods of channeling natural energy differed greatly from the Mazoku. In contrast, the Voduani believed that natural energy does not originate from the physical plane of existence, but rather it seeps out from something.. adjacent. The Unseen. A subtle realm beneath all else, through which all energy travels and eventually "dies". It was known as the spirit world to those unfamiliar with the nuances; but in truth, it was a layered universe where ghosts, demons, djinn, and phantoms apparently existed parallel to the physical universe.

"...."

Okoye was trying to get some sleep beneath this thunderous maelstrom, huddled and cramped within some hollowed out tree. She was swaddled tight in blankets enchanted against the harsh elements, but still her thoughts were keeping her wide awake. She was having trouble believing in "ghosts". So much so that she was beginning to doubt why she ever bothered embarking on the journey in the first place. The girl was a slave to empirical evidence, so having blind faith in something literally termed the Unseen just didn't sit right with her. If the Voduani's methods were truly sound, why wasn't the Mazoku Empire aware of them? Ghosts and demons were supposed to be totems of fairy tales, told to human children for odd disciplinary and religious motivations. But despite all scientific evidence to the contrary, could they truly exist?

Then she heard something. A rustling in the bramble beyond the veil of crashing raindrops, just outside of the hollowed tree she was nestled in. The rabid downpour masked its scent beneath a blanket of petrichor so dense she couldn't sense it coming until it was too late. The creature carried a floral scent; sweet and powerful, like a concentrated sap. But beneath its alluring pheromones, Okoye's heightened senses caught the rotting scent of days old human flesh, still trapped beneath quaking paws. Angry, quaking paws that were currently tearing through dampened earth en route to its prey, en route to her. The beast had gotten so close, Okoye could hear its breath sizzling like hot steam despite the storm's cooled air.

She didn't even have time to remove her blankets before the hungry beast was upon her with a full frontal assault; a primal tackle strong enough to bash through the massive oak she'd been sheltered in with ease and snatch her body into its jaws. Her assailant was a native predator of this forest; a species Okoye had never seen before, but one she would never forget beyond this day. Its form was majestic; a creature made equally of flesh, bone, and flowers. Despite their allure, Loticores were vicious predators known to hunt in droves during the storm seasons. Massive creatures, nearly five feet tall and six feet long. This one in particular was dragging Okoye through the mud and leaves with its powerful jaws locked around her arm.

The battle lasted hours. Four other Loticores were hiding in the shadows of the storm, licking their chops at the chance at Okoye's neck once their alpha had taken his pound. Their packs were tightly knit, bound by a power hierarchy that rewarded the deadliest of their number with the most food, as well as first pick of prey. Aside from an unbelievable bite force, Loticores possessed unique control over earth based magics. They were capable of melding into the environment as a means of escape or even pursuing their prey. Their fangs and claws possess a powerful venom that dissolves flesh and paralyzes their target once in contact with blood. They are born with moss-like fur that secretes gasses capable of disabling the adrenal glands of other organisms. Which especially sucked if for animals who depended on their sense of smell.

Okoye knew nothing of these exotics hunters, but their physiological traits made them formidable foes against Mazoku in particular. She thought they were worthy of studying, and would have been intrigued and excited to do so if they weren't forcing her to fight for her life. By sunrise however, the battle had passed and Okoye was the last animal standing amongst a scene of carnage. Her struggle for dominance railed through the Southern Shadelands like a hurricane; flattening oak, earth, and the lives of smaller organisms caught in the wake of the battle. The corpses of the five deadly Loticores were scattered about the blood stained forest, bludgeoned and brutalized by their superior opponent. But not without branding Okoye for the rest of her days.

The Mazoku prided themselves on many things, but the strength of their hides defined a warrior's ethic of work like little else. The piezoelectric properties of their skin allowed them to literally get stronger with every blow they endured, so long as they could endure it. Like an evolving armor, It equated every scar or wound to trophies of growth; concrete accolades of their body's abominable strength. But today, Okoye's "suit of armor" was damaged beyond repair. Her face, her chest, her back, hell her entire body was covered in lacerations.. and her left hand was completely gone; gnawed off and dissolved at the bone from the corrosive venom of her attackers.

But of course, the prideful young lady wasn't going to let an ambush from deadly beasts distance her from her goals. She was on a mission to become an Emperor and locating the Voduani Shrine was the first stop on her list! Flesh wounds, regardless of how dire, would only swell her ego further once she finally realized her dream. After the dust had settled, Okoye leaned her battered body upon a tree undamaged from her battle and checked what remained of her medical kit; a shattered bottle of organic ointments, a few concentrated opioid pills, and a medical gauze to treat her wounds. After the minor gashes were taken care of, she prioritized her left arm. She bit down on a nearby branch as she wrapped her bleeding nub up tight with gauze and tourniquet so she could stop the bleeding and immediately continued onward through the forest. She wanted to use as much daylight as she could, but after a few steps, the Loticore venom violently cascading through her veins made it increasingly difficult to maintain her footing. Before long dusk was upon her and by then fatigue had ignited a full on rebellion within her muscles. She couldn't see that far through that shadowy thickets, but she was far too exhausted to continue to try. Laying still in the dampened soil was all she could do before she totally succumbed to the poison.

.

Okoye' couldn't remember much else about that night, but why would she? She was certain she was going to bleed to death out there in those forsaken woods, which would explain her transfixed expression when she found herself tucked beneath a fine silk comforter, dressed in clothes she never owned, resting on a bed she'd never seen before. She did her best to remain calm; relying on her breathing exercises to maintain a sound thought and composure, but their effects were mostly aesthetic. Being kidnapped or imprisoned again was the last thing she wanted to experience, so she was ready to jump out of this incredibly soft mattress and dart full speed through the closest wall as quickly as she could.. But instead, she decided to discern her situation first. Her eyes silently traced every corner of the modest room; Walls of carved stone with a company of windows, chipped rustic paint coating the outer surfaces. It wasn't a cell, but it was empty with no appliances or furniture. It was quaint, unassuming. She went to remove the silk sheets and found aside from her torn clothes being replaced, someone had properly bandaged and tended to her wounds. Her left hand was still gone, but a comfortable cast was dressing the knub. Immediately, she felt her nerves ease up a bit.

"..."

Clearly she wasn't in danger. Whoever found her, found her half-dead. If they had any ill intentions, she figured they would have bound or chained her. Instead, they were willing to aid and shelter her. But the question was who? And where the hell was she? Her senses returned to her slowly as she made her way out of the room. The hut was about the size of a small cabin and was equally as empty as the room she awoke in. No furniture, no pictures, no tables, no lights, and no people. The only features were plenty of windows built into the cobblestone walls and the natural light that came with it. So when she couldn't smell or see anyone else inside, Okoye calmly bee lined for the exit.

Stepping from the stone hut returned Okoye to the fertile soils of the Maalukian Woods, but standing before her was an enormous temple. The building's celestial appearance stunned her for a moment. The gate blocking off the entrance inside was too large to be hidden by the surrounding trees, built upon enchanted rock that lifted the building further toward the clouds. It was impossible for her eyes to drink it all in at once, still she craned her neck trying to do so anyway. And aside from its eloquent design and jaw dropping architecture, Okoye was looking for any distinguishable emblems drawn into the structure. Maybe a flag? Or a sigil? Any sort of marker that may have given her a clue as to where she was. The clothes on her back were plain and ambiguous. They held no symbols or emblems, no scent or stitching errors. There was absolutely nothing outside of the building, and she couldn't hear anything aside from the gentle scythe of the wind through tree branches.

And then she saw it. A small tiny speck that seemed to be sitting at the apical point of the dwarfing, crimson gate. Her nose was strong enough to draw her toward him before her eyes latched onto it. The tiny speck smelled of work, dirt, grit, and antiseptic chemicals. She thought that they must have been the one to patch her up, but at this distance, she couldn't be sure. She didn't think it wise to just barge into the massive temple, considering the measures taken to protect the sanctity of whatever was guarded behind the gates. The least she could do was respect their boundaries. So Okoye' steeled herself and held her ground, confident that her presence would be addressed. And it was.

The tiny speck looked to jump from his towering position and descend toward the ground below in free fall. They landed maybe a dozen yards away from her and barely made a sound, save for the soft "crunch" of leaves beneath their feet- which didn't make sense considering their bearish stature. As they moved closer, Okoye estimated the mysterious figure to be easily 6' feet tall and nearly three hundred pounds of intimidation. They were adorned in a long flowing ivory robe bound at their waist with enchanted chains. Their legs looked more like stilts, dressed beneath a golden sash knitted from the same material as his robe and pants. Their hands were gloved and their feet were fastened comfortably in pristine white socks and sandals. And most notably, their face was hidden behind a golden mask that was covered in runes and inscriptions carved upon its surface. She couldn't understand any of them aside from the symbol etched onto the center; it was the same crest she discovered at Zk's altier and the same one that kicked off this four day journey. She had arrived at the gate of the Voudani Tribe.

"..."

They stared at each other without either saying a word to the other. It was incredibly awkward, but it gave Okoye a second to think. Yeah she managed to find the place she was searching for, but now what? How did she anticipate this happening? Did she plan to threaten them with violence if they didn't teach her Shinjutsu? She couldn't verbally introduce herself without her voice generating a catastrophe, and she never tried using VSL (Vescrutian Sign Language) with only one hand.. She looked up at the robed titan of a man, hoping he would break the ice instead. At least question her as to why she was here. But the two of them looked like a pair of inward facing statues. They stood perfectly still until the mysterious figure broke its mold and tilted its head toward the ground, toward her bandaged hand. It was a short inquisitive glance before the golden face turned away from her entirely and began walking back toward the gate of the temple.

"..?"

Okoye's face scrunched up in confusion watching them just.. walk away. Dismissively.. But just as she went to tug on their clothes like a neglected child–

"Tiny Emperor!?! Seven hells, is that you lass?"

Her head swiveled on her shoulders toward the gruff, jubilant voice calling from behind her. She immediately recognized the cadence and tone to belong to the only voice she was happy to listen to for the past four years. Setting eyes upon him subconsciously curled her lips into a smile, it felt like she was being reunited with a loved one, or someone she held dear. But considering her history with her estranged family, Eliios was the closest thing she had to either.

Eliios was a wide man; his pelt-like coat barely stretched across his hulking frame. The hair on his head was a flowing river of crimson and silver. Several braids were woven unto his mane, which was tied back and reaching all the way down to the center of his massive back. His beard held darker tones, stopping just above his pumped out chest and the Voudani sigils drawn upon it. Okoye' met this man in a subaquatic prison; he was a fellow inmate and his friendly face was the only one that wasn't directed toward trying to kill her or fuck her. She barely recognized him outside of his chains and jumpsuit. He was returning from the thicket of the Maalukian Woods, encumbered by the weight of the beast draped over his shoulders. It was the broken body of a dead Loticore, one bigger than any of the familiar beasts that chewed off her hand. The sight widened her eyes to dinner plates. She never saw him fight outside of the light sparring session they held to pass the time in their cells, but judging from the many techniques he taught her, she always imagined he was a deadly warrior. Still, she never thought she would see him again, let alone at the gate of a prestigious tribe of demon hunters.

Regardless, Okoye's smile returned his enthusiasm as she spun around to properly greet her friend.

"By the gods that be, it is you!!"

He roared, dropping the massive beast onto the ground as he swept Okoye off her feet and into his arms with a loving embrace. His log sized arms would have snapped her in two if he wasn't careful. And, when the nostalgic fog wore off, the old man suddenly remembered that Okoye' wasn't the "hugging" type and immediately let her go. Still, his smile was so wide it squinted his eyes into tiny slits. It was as infectious as always.

"I never thought I'd see you again, my friend! Your explosive escape from that hellhole literally sunk the entire facility! You freed thousands of others– granted, most of them were dangerous and bloodthirsty killers, but ya' freed me, lass! So I'm sure the powers that be will givd ya'pass on judgement day!"

Okoye's smile dimmed as her pinky tried to keep her ears from ringing. His voice was always so loud. Thunderous and loud, like he was addressing everyone in the room at all times. It was as endearing as it was annoying. Maybe a bit more endearing considering his personality.

"I never thought I'd be able to repay ya'.. But the gods brought you here just in time for dinner, so we can start there!"

He said with an incredibly heavy handed pat on her back before he picked up his kill, and started off toward the temple gate.

"C'mon! You can tell me why the hell you're here, as well as what happened to your hand.. I'm afraid braised Loticore's not gonna fix that, though. "

After being invited in, Eliios gave Okoye a modest tour of the rather expansive building. The Voudani Compound, guarded by the enchanted crimson gate, used to be home to hundreds of men, women, and children. The inside of the temple displayed all manners of history decorated on tapestries and banners hung from the high ceilings. Statues, models, tools, weapons, Okoye felt like this place resembled more of a museum than a dwelling of any kind.. until he ushered her into one of the many dining halls.

Aside from being freakishly vacant, she found it aesthetically breathtaking. The amount of effort expended into capturing Voudani culture into the architecture conveyed a deep passion for the task. Or at the very least, the people who were designed to enjoy it. Similar to the foyer, an exhibit or art and sculptures ornamented the spacious venue. Even the table and chairs felt expensive to the touch. However, that was not to say she didn't notice the unsettling volume of dust and neglect clinging to the corners of the hall. As mentioned, Okoye's senses were progressively returning and still she couldn't hear, smell, or sense anything for at least a few miles. Aside from Eliios and thr aroma of searing Lotricore flesh wafting through the torch-lit corridors, Okoye was sure that this compound was completely empty. Regardless, she took her seat.

Upon Ellios’ return, he offered a smorgasbord of food and the two of them ate until their bellies were swollen. He filled the lengthy table with a variety of soup bowls and plates all filled to their dimensions with delicate cuts of Loticore. Okoye was floored by the man’s expertise in delicious cuisines. Granted, his cooking was the first home cooked meal she’d eaten in half a decade. The explosion of flavors and palate riveting tastes eclipsed any dish she'd ever enjoyed or prepared herself.

-After clearing the table, the two of them convened and began a rather extensive conversation. Ellios provided Okoye with a pen and paper so that she would be able to communicate without speaking. She went on to explain the happenings following her escape from prison; including her journey to Arcturus, her encounter with Zero, up until her own Loticore experience. How they ambushed her while she slept and took away her hand before she took their lives. In her mind, being able to defend herself from five of those deadly beasts at the cost of one hand should have translated to glory in any language. But Ellios couldn't help laugh.

“Well that explains a few things. For starters, you described a man that gave you directions to this place.. Long pointed ears, pristine skin, and a unique avian companion almost tethered at his sides? Ay, sounds like a native of the Gafran Tribe- I do believe he set you on a path in hopes the dangers of the Maalukian Woods would kill you somewhere along your journey. The Gafran Tribe are among the few human civilizations capable of tracking a herd of Loticore during the storm season, and he managed to put you in direct path of their hunting grounds.. Damn, I guess their hate for the Mazoku runs as deep as they say!”

Whenever Eliios laughed, he did so from the bottom of his belly. And in this massive temple, his voice filled up the echoing halls with a chorus of teasing chuckles. Okoye was privy of the Mazoku's history to understand that everyone who knew who they were, usually hated them. In recent generations and even in those passed, they'd be feared as colonizers, conquerors, and religious bloodthirsty zealots… particularly by humans. The look on her face conceyed Okoye didn't know who the Gafran were until Eliios spoke of them, but she would be sure to commit that man's face and features to her photographic memory.

“Ha! Oh, cut the poor merchant some slack tiny Emperor.. I don't have to remind you of ya’ own history, but ever since The Mazoku tried to stake Manifest Destiny on the Jaida Coast and its people, I'm pretty sure you all made it to the top of Neovia's shitlist. I mean, the two tribes absolutely hated each other before the Empire came along.. Now they just hate outsiders.”

Eliios said with one of his massive hands picking at his beard, while the other soothed his swollen belly. He looked as if he were recalling the events from experience, like he was among the masses when her father declared Vescrutia to be entitled to the strong, but Okoye only read about it in the history books. The B'halian Acquisition- the event of “manifest destiny” he referred to occurred thousands of years ago, during the Mazoku’s initial steps toward global unification. Which meant, if he were truly a witness, Eliios was the oldest living human she had ever seen. Like thousands of years old.. How was that possible?

“So try not to blame them too much for trying to kill ya.. I'm sure it wasn't too personal. They must've seen your tail and lumped you in with your brothers and sisters. They didn't know you hated them too.. How could they have known about your mission?”

He said, his smile slowly receding into a far more stern line that was barely visible beneath his voluminous beard. Okoye felt a shift in his demeanor and for some reason, his drop in tone caused her to sit up in her seat. She could tell from his tiny nuances that the conversation was getting serious.

“Which has brought you to me– well, not necessarily to me, but to the gates of the Voudani Tribe. Your desire to learn the art Shinjutsu- a sacred and highly selective discipline you consider to be more of a birthright, ripped away from you. Okay, I want you to humor me.. Let's say I don't need much convincin’.. Let's say I help you, yeah? You unlock yer’ hidden potential and turn your fury on the people that ostracized you, and you emerge victorious. What then, lass? What do you plan to do about that faulty system that created you? Their scorned Empress.. Your father and the Mazoku Empire have made it clear that their plans of global unification, no matter how harmonious and prosperous, have no plans to involve humankind. Well I'm human.. my people are– were human. Hell, they thought you were human, right?”

Okoye could smell the tension in the air. She'd never seen this man so somber, so deadly serious. Not even in prison. The face he wore now was alien to her. His hands were gently clasped on the table, but the passion behind his voice caused tremors to shake the foundation from the ground up.. and not once did he raise his voice. And he didn't need to for his words to resonate with his audience.

“My people dedicated everything.. everything to the preservation of all life on Vescrutia. All life. Humans, elvs, insects. All living things. I consider you a friend, so I wanna be honest with ya’.. I've never agreed with your father either. I've even had to kill a few of ya’ relatives when their acquisition brought soldiers to the Astral. And while I don't feel comfortable aiding those terrorists in any way, I'm not so old and delusional that I think I can change the methodology of an entire Empire. So I ask you this; if I help you, can I at least trust that my fealty will secure a place for humans in your utopia–”

Eliios was cut off by a sudden and violent coughing fit that nearly forced him out of his seat and onto the floor. Okoye was shocked to her feet and immediately motioned to assist him,

“No.”

Eliios extended his hand in defiance. He wanted her answer first. Above all else, he wanted to know where she stood. In four years of companionship, this was the most either of them had ever spoken. In the past, they chose to avoid each other's baggage as a means of sustaining their ties. No religion. No politics. Up until now, all they needed to know of the other was that they could trust them. But today, Eliios needed more. He needed assurance.

“First.. I need your answer, Tiny Emperor. Do we have an accord?”

He asked as he stood from his chair on his own power, cleaning the blood from his lips with one hand while extending the other toward Okoye. His silver eyes glistened with focus as he waited with baited breath for her response. As if he didn't already know the answer.

“...”

“What would she do when she attained the power she sought?” She’d ask herself every night.. How would she handle the weight behind that throne, and the responsibility that came with it. Okoye had all but manifested her future, so much so that accomplishing it felt more like an inevitability than an ambition. But she never imagined herself an agent of change. Sure she had ideas. Goals. Thing’s she always dreamed of doing.. But the nuances always felt a bit muddled. Was revenge the only thing that mattered to her?

“...”

She took her hand into his, firmly, as if to answer her own question. They shook on it and nodded in unison. Okoye was not her father.. Not even a little bit. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she could see herself molding the Empire into something that she could identify with. What that was exactly was to be determined, but the first thing she could agree with was abolishing racism.

“Brilliant!!”

Eliios’ infectious smile returned in full form as he slapped Okoye's shoulders in excitement.

“Then you best get some rest then, lass. We have a long road ahead of us..”

After dinner, Eliios guided Okoye to one of the many modest bedrooms offered within the Voudani Temple. The furnishings mirrored that of the stone hut from before- one bed, plenty of windows and little else. Not that she expected much from a collective of ancient warriors. She could care less about the lack of amenities. The young lady immediately fell asleep that night with her belly heavy and full from a meal three times her body weight. But she rose before the sun did on the following day, well rested and incredibly eager to begin her training.

-Okoye leapt out of bed the second she opened her eyes, and dressed herself as quickly as she could before rushing to the training arena. She remembered from her tour that the venue was located at the center of the compound, sealed behind a door that was by all means ordinary, aside from a cluster of talismans attached to its surface. And while she was a bit unnerved by the cautionary symbols literally warding her in the opposite direction, Okoye didn't hesitate to twist the knob and tread inside.

Visually, she was stunned by the illustrious combat chamber. Crimson, silver, and gold decorated every piece of metal and stone amassed in its creation. The platform beneath her feet was at least a hundred yards in diameter while above a glamorous, crystal ceiling window captured the beauty of Vescrutia's rising suns stretching night into dawn. Eliios was waiting for her arrival at the center of the combat chamber, comfortably seated in a meditative position.

“..it has been so long since I've stepped foot in this room. Alongside my brothers and sisters, this is where we were taught the fundamental principles of our tribe.”

He said softly, but the acoustics of the chamber projected his baritone from every angle . His legs were folded and his back was turned, facing the entrance. Without his shirt, Okoye thought his abnormal musculature gave Eli an almost monstrous appearance. He looked like a boulder of flesh, decorated in white ink, sculpted craggy surfaces, and striated grooves of power accumulated from years of teeth grinding hard work. He was daunting.

“The Voudani discovered that, as humans, we were born with transcendent power at our fingertips and through discipline, training, and sacrifice, we learned to coalesce it into a tool. A practice that unmuddled the veil between life and death, and the limitations that lie between.”

He used his hand to push himself from the ground, a benign act that somehow sent tremors through the building that tickled Okoye's feet from more than twenty feet away.. She stood at the threshold of the ancient venue as if she were waiting for permission to enter.

“.. Our elders would host at least a hundred of us at a time, and from sunup to sundown, the old bastards gave no reprieve. You are early, tiny emperor.. There are still three hours before sunrise. I may not be as cruel as the elders, but as the last surviving member of the tribe, it is my duty to ensure our teachings are not lost to the sands of time. What that means is this training is going to be far more thorough than anything you--"

“...”

Okoye sucked her teeth as obnoxiously as she could before approaching the center of the arena, unfettered by the Eliios’ foreboding words. She stopped and steeled herself about five feet away from him and lifted her middle finger in response to being patronized. Coming into this, Okoye was more than confident I'm her abilities to surmount any task placed before, but the fire in her eyes conveyed it was beyond that. She was determined to prove to herself that was worthy, that she was more than the cruel monikers and labels associated with her childhood shortcomings. Her father, and all of his wise oracles, barely gave her a chance before they branded her as weak. Genetically inept. Eliios could feel that fire before him and merely nodded his head in response.

“Ha! Very well! We shall begin at once!! But first, a history lesson.”

He said before slapping his hands together and holding them in place. The shockwave wave generated from his clap resonated with the room, causing all sorts of symbols etched into the ground to begin to glow bright red in color. Okoye's eyes leapt over her shoulders, startled by the sudden light show, but not distracted. Her focus quickly returned to her host as she loosened her shoulders and filled her lungs with oxygen. It was time to get started.

“Take heed! If you are to immortalize our ancient teachings, you must first understand the nuances of our legacy. Shinjutsu– known as H'ruki to our people, is the mastery and control of one's To'u, which is the principle force shared by all organic lifeforms that bind them and everything else in the universe.”

Eliios’ eyes adopted a celestial glow. It was mostly demonstrative, but Okoye immediately felt the magnitude of his Naten shoot through the roof and alter the entire room. The air grew heavy and thick. Standing straight up became a chore she struggled to accomplish.

“...”

She crumbled to knee in defiance. Refusing to be dropped to her face by Eliios’ display of power, but unable to maintain her integrity during the struggle. She could barely look up at him.. let alone hear whatever the hell he was saying.”

“You look confused.. Perhaps a comparison, eh? For comprhension's sake.. The Mazoku art of Shinjutsu channels the natural energy fluctuating throughout the planet. Your people manipulate Naten found within the soil, the atmosphere, even the energy given off by the stars and weaponize it to their whim. A unique, and powerful practice.. But unlike your predecessors, the Voudani believed this quintessential fuel to not be limited, or even native to the physical world.”

Ellios immediately dropped to his knees, suddenly overwhelmed by the weight of his own power. His lapse in focus relieved Okoye from the crushing force of his To'u as blood spilled from his lips in-between a chorus of throat splitting coughs.

“We.. believe this force to be ethereal in nature– it is the frequency generated from our souls. Our abstract, immaterial selves and the intrinsic power found inside us.”

The two of them gasped for air together at the center of the arena, but Eliios rebounded first. He was accustomed to the toll these techniques glean from his body, but even a warrior of his caliber fell victim to time. He groaned and whined as he lifted his heavy muscles, worn and torn by overuse.

“Learning to sense and draw forth this energy will be our first order of business! It is the utmost basic technique.. However, there is one small hitch. H'ruki can only be practiced by individuals who have reached their absolute physical peak.. and uh, I hate to point out the obvious lass.. but.. that arm of yers’ isn't looking exactly peak condition.”

He chuckled lightly as Okoye's eyes settled angrily on her wound..

"..."

As if she wasn't pissed off enough. Her angry growl emulated a vicious predator far larger than her 5'8" frame.. But instead of immediately blowing a fuse and snapping off, Okoye took a breath and began signing with her only remaining hand.

"I'll be fine, and stop condescending me.. I'm here to work. I came all the way here to work. I'm ready. Cut the shit, Li."

Aside from catching some Zs, the young Empress spent most of her free time last night teaching herself how to sign with only one hand. Eliios'was fluent enough in VSL to understand just how much effort went into making such an extensive discipline into an overnight task. Again, he acknowledged her volatile moxie with a nod before he continued on.

"Ay’, then let's get started.”

As if cued by those words, a humanoid figure landed directly behind Eliios. The figure was as tall, though not quite as round, and abnormally built. Okoye recognized them as the masked figure that greeted her at the temple gate. Their expression was hidden by the golden face plate, but even still, Okoye wasn't sure the thing in front of her was exactly human. Disregarding their freaskish physique, her acute senses couldn't even hear them breathing beneath their mask.

“...”

She drew a stance. Eliios crossed his arms.

“Allow me to introduce you to a Voduani artifact! One of many you'll be tasked with gathering and protecting by the end of all this.. This bag of bones and fabric is a “Jizou”. One of the tribe's mummified elders who has committed their soul to the preservation of our temple."

“...??”

MUMMIFIED?! Okoye's face twisted in confusion.. and fear. She did her best not to loosen her stance, or wet her pants, but her train of thought was throttled by the description of the 7’0” being towering over her. Was this really a zombie standing in front of her? She wanted to scoff at the idea but Eliios was deadly serious.

“Ha! Yes! This perhaps a bit unsettling for you, eh lass? Did you think your first lesson would be a fight against me?? Ha! No, first I want you to try and land a decisive blow against the Jizuo. Just one.. no more, no less. Not hard for our future Empress!!

Eliios announced as he walked past Okoye and toward the exit of the arena.

“By the time you've succeed, your body should've achieve a level of physical aptitude the likes of which you've never seen. The thing is.. this could take you a very, very, very long time. The Jizou is knowledgeable in every martial art and fighting style taught in our tribe. It is easily a few thousand years older than you are, with over ten generations of wisdom sealed inside it. I shall return when you are dead or done.. Good luck, tiny emperor!"

Eliios departed immediately after that, shutting the door behind him with no intention of returning until the end of the day. He retired to his bedroom where he retrieved an hourglass no larger than his palm and flipped it upside down. Steaming on his counter was the hot concoction he prepared this morning. He took a sip and felt its medicinal properties soothe his bevvy of ailments and took this opportunity to rest his body. It was going to be awhile before he saw Okoye again. From sunup to sundown was not just an expression he told her in jest, but there was more to this training regiment than Eliios decided to mention.

The room where Okoye's conditioning was taking place was known as the “Akhra”, and aside from being a living monument of Voudani culture, it was perhaps the most mystically charged room in the temple. Upon designing it thousands of years ago, the hands that molded the chamber intended it to be used as a forge for the mind, bodies and souls of the tribe's future generations. In doing so, these forerunners bestowed powerful wards and charms upon the vaulting walls that enchanted the room into a self sustaining pocket dimension. Where within its magic walls, days could pass, weeks before an hour worth of sand collected outside the talisman covered door Ellios sealed shut. It was where he and hundreds of other acolytes were trained and tempered into masters of H'ruki, but not before their bodies were conditioned into peak condition by a division of Jizou sentinels. It was a necessary prerequisite. A rite of passage all acolytes were demanded to endure, and endure alone. But the training was ruthless. Eliios got chills from simply stepping foot inside the arena after so many years. He felt some of his old scabs begin to itch. Mentally scathing memories he was happy never relieving again were flowing forth like scratches at the back of his head. He remembered spending nearly a year within the Ahkra's before the Jizou deemed him worthy, but outside its doors, barely three days had passed. Okoye could spend an eternity polishing her skills without needing food or water. The Ahkra would sustain her body as she remained inside, but Eliios imagined muscle fatigue and mental exhaustion would wear her down far sooner than that. She was strong, sure. Stronger than anyone he'd ever met at her age. But her To'u was weak. Raw and unbalanced. She had the potential that her Mazoku clansmen were known for, the question he mediated with was how long would it take him to draw it out?

**

As time passed, Eliios slowly succumbed to the curative components of his herbal elixir and soon felt his eyelids grow too heavy to keep open. On account of his worsening condition, he'd been experimenting with a stronger concentration of the rejuvenating materials. But his age soiled his tolerance more than just pain. By the time he opened his eyes, Dusk had long since darkened the skies above the temple and the moon was sitting at its highest point. He overslept. Big time. The sand in his hourglass had fully collected at the bottom bulb, conveying that at least six hours had passed since Okoye's training began. But Eliios could tell by gazing at the celestial positioning of the moon through his window that it was closer to eight, a realization that triggered the oldman unto his feet, and toward the Ahk'ara with haste.

Panic tugged at the wrinkles beneath his beard and swelled his eyes wet with worry. He'd nearly forgotten the hazards involved with utilization of the ancient dojo. The dilation of time within the pocket dimension magnified the longer an individual spent within its realm. The first six hours followed a predictable pattern; one hour inside allowed for two days worth of training, six hours inside translated to three days. Beyond that very strict threshold, entropy increases exponentially, and time distorts far more randomly. Seven hours could translate into three years. Eight hours could mean she'd die of old age. Ellios never felt so irresponsible in his life! Well, at least not in a while.. He was never intended to be an elder, and wouldn't be if his clansmen had a say in the matter. Even as a child, Ellios was known for his recklessness and blatant disregard for Voudani tradition. His strength was exceptional, but his will was lacking. He was a far cry from the prodigal son of the Tribe. That was his brother, a powerful man and a true candidate for the position Eliios found thrust upon him. But E'zlen was dead, slayed in battle along with the rest of his tribesmen, and Ellios was not. He escaped death that night, so it was his duty to make sure their legacy would not die along with them. But at the moment, he was failing miserably.

What a fool he was to accept a pupil. At a hundred and thirty five, Eliios knew he was not fit to mold a predecessor. Though this was not a matter of his will to do so, but a matter of his declining health. His training and dedication to his people accrued centuries upon centuries of wisdom, and experience that would otherwise be lost to the sand of time. But his access to the volumes of Voudani secrets he worked so hard to preserve were dulled by a fading mind, cursed by encroaching dementia. And this was a direct result of that. His incompetence. The shame could have struck him dead, but the guilt of his failure possessed his body with purpose. He needed to save her. If nothing else, he needed to recover what remained of her body before it was aged into particles of dust smeared on the tiles.

Eliios arrived at the door of the Ahk'ara and nearly destroyed ita only passageway in his urgency. He twisted the knob and pushed forward as swiftly as he could. He couldn't believe what lied before him. The first thing he noticed when he opened the gate was the gnarly smell wafting past him. It was a cocktail of sweat, blood, musk, grime, and work. At first, he thought the smell was Okoye's corroding body. But to his surprise, he found the young woman was very much alive, and she'd grown considerably since the last time he saw her.

For starters, she was taller. Not by much more than half a foot, but her frame was notably thicker and cut with more definition than she previously had. She stood at the center of the arena opposite of her opponent the Jizou sentinel, locked in a battle that continued as if Ellios was never there. Punches, kicks, flips, parries, their dance progressed as if neither party saw an ending in sight. Eliios could see the Jizou’s body was covered in scars that tore through its protective garb, meanwhile Okoye’s body was a drip with sweat and blood. Her face was split by gashes and bruises, some older than others. And the Sentinels' hands were painted red with the blood she spilled, as was the ground at their feet. Puddles of red juices, speckled with rags of tattered clothing and broken dental fragments.

Eliios was shocked. Not only to find that the young woman survived, but she barely looked as if she aged a day.

“Okoye!!-”

He roared over the sounds of their clashing blows, pausing her and her opponent in their tracks. It took a moment's reprieve from combat for Okoye to divert her attention from her foe, but her stance and her expression immediately lightened at the sight of her friend.

“...”

He wanted to ask if she was alright. If she needed water or some degree of medical attention. But judging from her appearance, Okoye was looking better than ever. She didn't even look tired, let alone any older. Instead, she looked stronger. Tougher.

“Jizou! Do you certify her progress?”

Eliios asked the mummified Arbiter of his clan, and its response was a humble bow that conveyed its approval. Okoye took the reprieve as a chance to FINALLY catch her breath, but Eliios was already moving to smother her with his embrace.

“Haha!! Ya did it lass! I didn't doubt ya’ fer a moment!”

He drew body into his arms with a crushing bear hug. Okoye's fatigue kept her from putting up any sort of resistance, but she found it nice to see someone else other than her deadly foe. But once the excitement of her survival passed, he couldn't stave off the questions that haunted him.

“How did you survive?”

He pleaded.

“Have you any idea how long it's been?”

Okoye shrugged her exhausted shoulders in response. Thanks to the ever-sustaining qualities of the Ahk'ara and Okoye's obsession with perfection, she lost track of the passage of time long ago. She was just training. Honing her skills against an opponent immune to her staggering strength, and growing respectively. But unbeknownst to her, nearly four months had passed since she rested her body. Eliios did his best to carry her without instigating further injury, but Okoye winced and groaned at the slightest touch. She was lucky to be alive.

"Nevermind that-- You've done well.. Come, you've earned a full night's rest. The rest of your training will wait until you've healed.”

Okoye fell unconscious the second her adrenaline stopped pumping.

According to Eliios, she'd been fighting and training within the Ahkra for nearly a year, sustained solely from the mystical energies generated from the surrounding symbols etched into the walls. But she didn't even notice. For the most part, Okoye found herself possessed by her will to succeed during the initial phase of the crucible. The Jizou outclassed her in every way. Strength, speed, even its reflexes shamed her well honed talents. That pissed her off of course. And that jealousy and ambition coalesced into a primal obsession that went beyond simply landing a blow on her mummified target. She yearned to deform it. An obsession so blinding, she was ready to die before she left this battlefield without her pound of flesh. But the Jizou sentinel was, by design, an insurmountable foe. A metaphorical mountain the Voudani tribe erected as a means of gauging the strength of their acolytes. It was never intended to be brought to a stalemate by someone unversed in H'ruki, let alone an outsider. It was unheard of for an acolyte to do more than land a single blow on the Jizou, and here the sentinel stood with its ancient garbs covered in tatters. Eliols thought it a truly remarkable accomplishment from an acolyte, but the toll of Okoye's success brought into question its worth.

With just a glance, Eliios could tell the young woman suffered a clinic's worth of injuries. She had six broken toes, several fractured ribs, severely fractured ulnas in each of her arms, and a bundle of torn ligaments in all four of her extremities. He never saw someone endure such a beating from a Jizou, but they were just glorified puppets afterall, designed to fight for as long as they were engaged with unrelenting drive. Their technique was flawless, and each of their attacks were decisive and deadly. It was a true wonder Okoye survived as long as she did.

Eliios knew for certain that the Mazoku possessed unique regenerative capabilities that saw their kind survive wounds that would otherwise kill other organisms. Still, the extent of her injuries and the sight of her initial condition left him wondering about the nuances. He personally never trained in medicine, nor did he study the anatomical nuances of the body, but he figured he could expedite Okoye's natural recovery process with his extensive knowledge or H’ruki.

Eliios carried her from the grounds of the Ahkra to her bedroom, where he tended to her wounds to the best of his ability before laying her swollen body in a cradle of blankets and bandages. She slept soundly for almost three days while Eliios sharpened his knowledge of Mazoku biology at her bedside. There, as he flipped through one of his clan's archaic volumes of Mazoku Physiology, he witnessed Okoye's injuries mend themselves in real time. Slowly, meticulously. It was both remarkable and unsettling to see with his own eyes, but above all it relieved him to know her condition was improving. By the time she opened her eyes, her body was fully recovered, albeit a bit sore from the sudden increase in muscle mass. She put on about fifteen pounds, most of it collected along her legs and shoulders. And she was a few inches taller than when she arrived, as well.

After Eliios convinced her to eat something, Okoye insisted that they continued her training as soon as possible. Despite being at peak physical condition, she treated her new found strength more like a consolation prize. It wasn't enough. Not even close, and Eliios couldn't help but acquiesce to her insane pace of development.

--------

The next stage of Okoye's training led the two of them beyond the temple grounds and further into the Maalukian Woods. Both of the Vescrutian suns were hung at the center of the sky, illuminating the normally darkened biome. And without the chaos of the storm, Okoye found the area incredibly beautiful. She had never been here before, and only recently did she learn of the area prior to seeking out her mentor. But she was taken aback by just how vast the magical forest truly was. It was bigger than any jungle or amazon she explored on B’halia and teemed with an exhibit of exotic creatures skittering beneath the branching towers of arbor. Eliios noticed her fascination and smiled. For the first time since they met, she looked distracted.. focused, rather on something other than her warpath toward her future throne. And for a moment, she looked more like the child she was, than the warrior she convinced herself she needed to be.

“Just a bit further lass! We've almost arrived..”

He thundered with excitement as he guided them to a clearing just beyond the coppice of trees. There, Okoye’ set eyes on a clandestine waterfall that was hidden by a thicket of moss, vines, and shrubbery. The water crashed into a large pond about thirty feet in diameter that was currently being used as a watering hole by a host of different animals. Okoye’ stood motionless for a moment, taken aback by a sudden surge of euphoria.

”What is this place?”

She signed to Eliios, who took a seat near the watering hole, among the exotic collection animals. They responded peacefully, they even made space for him to indulge if he so chose. Ellios took the opportunity to fill up a vial before he gestured that Okoye joined him on the ground.

“Ay, it's a beautiful plot of green it is. The soil here is fertilized by the water, and both are enriched by a natural deposit of Naten that runs off from a nearby geyser into this waterfall ya see here.”

He used his hands and fingers to emphasize his enthusiasm. He pointed in the direction of the wellspring of natural energies he mentioned, just beyond a mountainous knoll of grass beyond the horizon of the blistering suns.

“The animals native to these woods seem pretty privy to its wealth of nutrients and often partake in this divine nectar in harmony as soon as the suns are up. They seem to lose sight of predator prey relationship within proximity of the waters, which was always odd to me. As a child, I often wondered what made this particular watering hole so special, but I eventually caught on. Ay’, I've seen what it does to them.. makes them stronger, faster, hell it damn near evolves whatever species that drinks or baths in it.”

Okoye followed his hands as he gestured to the many exotic creatures flying and skittering about. His words explained why she had never seen some of them before, and she was beginning to understand just why he insisted her training be conducted here. Which caused her to cut his sentence short with a firm wave of her hand.

”Stop right there. I don't care what that pool of water is supposed to do, I am not drinking or swimming in a petri-dish of Maalukian wildlife bacteria. It's not happening.”

Eliios bursted out in boisterous laughter, frightening some of the smaller mammals from the area by mistake.

“Oh trust me, normally ya’ wouldn't want to go swimming in there. But just by sitting so close to it, you can still feel its properties. This place, down to the dirt that fills my hands, is rich in natural energy.. Which is why I've brought us here, Tiny Emperor. Your job today will be learning to feel the ebb and flow of these ambient energies.”

Okoye's gaze was laser focused at this point, she was totally fixated on Eliios' explanation of the cycle of natural energies, despite the fact that she was aware of most of the details already. She knew that natural energy circulated all throughout organic creation; humans, animals, the planet, the sun, even elements of water were each indirect vectors of this prevalent source of power. Although it was otherwise imperceptible by the naked eye, the Mazoku were naturally attuned to its frequency. By blood they were incredibly sensitive to its presence, those who could not see could recognize its scent in a vacuum. But not her. Despite her rigorous attempts and grueling studies, she is simply inept. Even now, at the maw of this incredibly enchanted lands, she felt nothing outside of a warm breeze. This subconsciously caused her to sink her head in shame. It reminded her of why she was exiled from her home.

“Drink this.”

Eliios said plainly with the vial of the enchanted waters extended toward her, knowing full well the outrageous request would draw her out her somber stew. And it did. Her face almost broke from the amount of cringing she did. She couldn't help but shudder at the volume of germs and bacteria propagating within that watering hole. She could literally see wild animals bathing in it!

”No.”

Is what her eyes said, but Eliios’ smile insisted.

“I wouldn't lead you astray, my friend.. The concentration of natural energy found within these waters is so potent, no species of harmful bacteria can survive within it. It sterilizes itself, lass. Trust me, you could dirty these pools with oil and these waters would remain crystal clear.”

He said convincingly enough for Okoye to take hold of the glass chalice which was spilling at the rim with the questionable liquids.

“I understand that the Mazoku are naturally perceptive of these energies from birth, but you were not. And while this may be unheard of where you are from, it is not an uncommon occurrence among humans. What you are experiencing is called a “Ko'l” by my people. A blockage of spiritual nature and by drinking this you might be able to purge this blockage from your body, along with anything else disturbing your innate sensitivity. However, a bit warning before--"

Okoye's eyes widened to the size of small moons. She honestly couldn't believe what she was hearing, but before her mind truly made sense of Ellios’ words, Okoye had already chugged the entire vial of the mystical waters. Her apprehensions surrounding the potential antigens within it were immediately dismissed at the mention of its rejuvenating qualities. For years she searched and studied for some form of cure to her disability. Meditation, drugs, black market enhancements, none of it took. Okoye would cut off one of her limbs if the deed would grant her access to Shinjutsu, so she had no problem drinking the primal concoction if the results were similar. Surprisingly, she didn't mind the taste. It was crisp. Shockingly so, yet incredibly refreshing like arctic spring water.

However, what happened next was anything but pleasant. Initially, she felt fine. But immediately after she wiped her lips clean, Okoye's stomach started to twist and turn. It became so intense, so painful, she couldn't move. Until she suddenly started vomiting, violently at that. Soon she filled the air with the sounds of her guttural croaks and throat splitting yelps as she covered these sacred grounds with puke.. And no matter how hard she tried to control herself, the volume only intensified. It felt like she was spitting up acid and it lasted far too long. Eliios looked on with a hardened expression; As experienced as he was with healing properties of the H'ruki Spring, he always hated this part, and took no enjoyment in her suffering. The Voudani tribe discovered it long ago and had since used the waters to heal various ailments of the Soul. It was necessary, he told himself as he allotted her the space needed to release the impurities dampening her spiritual network. That.. and he simply didn't want to be in the splash zone.
The torrential process was vile and disgusting, to her fortune however it wouldn't last much longer.

By the time it was done, Okoye looked as if she'd lost a third of her body weight. Exhaustion crippled her down to her knees and forearms in a stew of sweat and vomit. Her clothes were slathered wet and every inch of her was trembling and confused. She was unsure if it was truly over or if she would start again the second she dropped her guard. That fear kept her shackled in place as she struggled to catch her breath in the interim. Eliios began to approach her soon after.

"I tried to warn ya, lass. But the worst of it has passed. And that pool of shit you're sliding in is what's left of your weakness. Now, the only thing blocking you from attaining your birthright, is you..”

He said with his arms folded and pride stretching his lips to his ears. She had survived the grueling process, and Ellios noticed her efforts were already paying off. Even as she writhed in pain, he could feel a level of power radiating from her that he had never observed before. It was frightening, appropriately so considering her lineage. But it was terribly unfocused.

“Can you stand?”

He asked plainly, but Okoye was unresponsive. Like she couldn't hear him pass the sounds of her wheezing gasp for air. Breathing hurt so bad, she imagined just rolling over and dying would be simpler. And trying to stand up was an entirely different monster. After she puked up her “impurities”, her body felt unimaginably heavy, as if she were underwater at the crushing depths of the Freshwater Sea. Or as if gravity suddenly multiplied a thousand fold. Either way, her bones were snapping under the weight of it.

“...”

It took every ounce of her strength just to shake her head “No” in response. To which Eliios replied with a chuckle.

“What you are feeling is the culmination of Natural Energy in the vicinity. Me, the animals, the soil, as well as that warerfall. You are feeling all of it. Mazoku cells are naturally receptive, far more so than human cells.. but yours have been starved and empty all of your life. Right now, they are in shock from the sudden exposure. It will take time for you to adjust, which is why we needed your body to be at its strongest before we proceeded this far. When you find the strength to stand, we can continue.”

Hours would pass before Okoye managed to move an inch amidst the constant bombardment of natural energy. Ellios had long since departed, however he intended to return later with a clean set of clothes for her to change into and sustenance for her tired body. But that was hours ago, and both Vescrutia's Suns had long since set behind the Alps of Chaos since then. It was incredibly dark now. If not for the light of Kyrin and Bako, Okoye would be surrounded by nothing but rustling darkness and its hungry inhabitants. The gentle creatures that originally amassed here only seemed comfortable doing so in the light of day. During her time here trying to attune her body, she watched all of them scurry away as the shadows of the Maalukoan Woods grew taller. This made Okoye think of the nocturnal predators privy to this enchanted oasis, and how territorial they must've been over such a powerful resource. She could feel them somehow. She couldn't explain it in words, but she could feel them. Each of these encroaching predators skulking about the primal blackness, licking their chops at the opportunity to assert their dominance over their territory. Okoye could feel their carnal desire to feast upon her like it sifted from their pores, and while she couldn't see shit through the blanket of night, she knew where they were.

“...”

She needed to move quickly before the hungry shadows encroached any further. But her body refused to respond to even the simplest stimulus. Her teeth were grinding like gears as she fueled her efforts with fear and anger. She was drooling, grunting, razing an internal inferno in her futile attempts to defy this ubiquitous force, until she discerned that brute strength alone was only going to get her so far.

Okoye shut her eyes. She took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart and soon, it began to make sense to her. This was not just a test of sheer might. Immediately, she stopped wasting her time trying to assert her dominance and quelled the inner embers of rage. She needed to be calm to exist among this turbulent storm; mind, body and soul. She needed to be centered to catalyze the natural energies, but to properly coalesce them within, she needed to maintain an unyielding will. She needed balance, and this fundamental analysis bore fruit almost instantly.

The darkness of Maalukian Woods shifted the second Okoye found her footing. In a flash, her recently weakened body leapt from the ground onto her feet, springing a rustling among the bushels of nature. As if each stalking pair of eyes were startled by this sudden display of tenacity from what they assumed they assumed to be prey. That, followed by the faint thrashing of retreating hooves in the darkness, assured her they also recognized a predator when they saw one..

“...”

Taking the first step was the hardest. She felt weightless. Unbound and untethered. It caused her to fall on her face multiple times, but she stubbornly meandered about the clearing until she felt the earth stable beneath her toes. Her bearings returned in the following minutes, as did her more primal senses. And all of them were stronger than ever. Was this how they felt? Her siblings and uncles.. This euphoric sensation compounded with every breath she took. Every subtle breeze against her skin seemed to strengthen her muscles. She could almost taste the minerals in the soil betwixt her toes and almost giggled from the oddity of it all.

“Is that a smile I see, lass?”

Eliios mentioned as he melded from the Woodard shadows, carrying a lantern to light his path as well as the clean pair of clothes he promised. Okoye nervously reached her hand to cover her mouth. She hadn't even noticed her mood shifted so drastically.

“I see you've found the strength to stand. Good, I expected nothing less from a pupil of my methods.”

He jested, setting the lantern unto the ground before he took a seat right next to it. The light bent the shadows around them, but he could see Okoye standing tall with her shoulders squared and her spine straightened. Aside from the vomit crusted on her shirt, the young woman looked unbothered by the arduous assignment he tasked her with. He expected a bit more of a struggle, to be honest. When he was an acolyte, Ellios recalled expending an ungodly degree of effort adjusting his body to the uncommon throes of natural energy, but then again, his body didn't possess a genetic predisposition geared towards metabolizing it.

“.. do not be content with meager success..

He contended, displaying a callous and sudden change in tone before he tossed Okoye her change of clothes.

“I would hope you could manage something as simple as standing up, but there still lies a chasm of work to be done before you should consider smiling. As I'm sure you know, the Forest of Resonance is a perilous dwelling, fraught with natural dangers and a multitude of veritable beasts, more than you could hope to count. And many of them are far too powerful for you to face in your current state. In fact, I would say.. hmm.. yes, about ten thousand different Individual creatures within these woods are more than capable of ripping you apart..”

He said with his hand caressing his chin and his eyes shut in contemplation.

“The majority of your training will continue here, in these very same woods. And you can trust me lass, you won't be getting much sleep at night if you're not working as hard as you are now.”

Okoye's eyes tightened in light of his words, but the cocky crease along her lips never waned in the least. Despite the tribulations she already faced and conquered so far, Okoye was excited to proceed further. Given her progress, she could feel the worth behind all of it. All of the work. All of the sweat. She could already taste the fruits of her labor paying off. Sleeping was the last thing on her mind.

”Ten thousand is oddly specific, Ellios.. How can you be so sure?”

She signed, to which Ellios replied with a rather eristic chortle muffled behind his beard.

“Ah ho! How indeed, Tiny Emperor..! The answer involves one of many H'ruki techniques that you must learn to master before our time together comes to a close, which believe it or not, approaches faster than we think.”

Okoye's brow lifted in confusion at his words, but before she could dissect the cryptic remark, a sudden wave of violent tremors threatened to toss her from her feet. It sounded like a stampede was heading their way.. Her head spun around her shoulder vigilantly, but a second of concentration drew her toward the cause of this disturbance. It emerged through shadows maybe a hundred yards behind where Eliios was sitting; a six legged, scaly beast, covered in an armory of protruding horns and over several thousand pounds of primal muscle. It was another creature Okoye had never laid eyes on before this day; it was larger than the lotirocre by far, and looked a thousand times as resilient. Only this beast didn't travel in a pack. R'hignors were lone nocturnal predators, far too territorial to share its resources or adhere to a pack mentality. They were among the aforementioned predators that frequented this biome and this one in particular practically owned these sacred waters. Ellios and Okoye's presence here was a direct front to its authority, and death was the only punishment it dolled out.

It charged them like a vector of destruction. The planet quivered beneath its scaly hooves, boiling the soil into molten upheaval in its wake. Okoye could sense the magnitude of natural energy cycling through its flesh, and the sheer volume forced her a foot backwards in retreat. Ellios however did not move from his position. His legs were comfortably folded, as well as his arms.. He didn't even bother to open his eyes to perceive the incoming threat.

“Listen very carefully, Tiny Emperor. As I've mentioned, natural energy resides within all living things. Animals, fae, elves, and humans alike. It is their “presence”.. “aura”.. “soul.” Shinjutsu, as your people believe, is the manipulation of this quasi limitless reservoir of energy, found in ambient abundance within the environment, by using their bodies as conduits. In doing so, natural energy not only strengthens their power, but allows them the power to influence the terrain, the atmosphere, and even their immediate biome if I'm correct. This is where it differs from what you will learn here today..”


“...!”

She opened her mouth as if to warn him, but she knew she couldn't scream without probably destroying the entire area. So she readied herself to intercept the incoming R'hignor herself, knowing full well she was probably going to get slaughtered in the clash. Ellios continued however, still unbothered by a creature literally twenty times his size in stature.

“The Voudani believe this energy to be existential in its purest form, no different than the soul or will. And this practice does not draw power from any outside source of energy, but instead is harnessed from the soul of the user. Mastering this will unveil true strength, Tiny Emperor! Strength unlike anything you have ever seen.. Until today.”

He said, finally lifting himself from the ground just as the charging R'hignor was closing the distance. It approached his rear with its head lowered and muscled bolstered by rage, aiming to skewer both of the invasive creatures that stumbled onto its territory. Okoye's troubled expression looked to Ellios, but his eyes were still closed. He still locked in a speech that the young woman was struggling to pay attention to.

“Another demonstration is in order, I see.. Heh, very well! Take cover.. and pay close attention to what you see.”

He said with an air of confidence so compelling, Okoye couldn't help but comply. She jumped as quickly as she could unto a nearby tree branch as the R'hignor's horn neared its prey. Thirty feet.. Twenty feet.. the beast was nearly ten feet away at this point but Ellios refused to even turn around to face it. To the contrary, the oldman crossed his enormous arms across his chest as if he were simply waiting for the collision. Okoye's heart was beating through her chest from anticipation. Watching and waiting for him to respond at the last second, but that didn't happen. He was just standing there with back turned, defiantly dismissive of certain doom. Then it happened. She didn't see it, but something stopped the deadly R'hignor in its tracks before it within five feet of Ellios. The impact of which quaked throughout the Forest of Resonance for hundreds of miles in every direction. When the dust settled, Okoye could see the beast barely drawing breath on the ground. Its horns were shattered and its skull fragmented as if it ran head first into an immovable object. Meanwhile, Ellios didn't have a scratch on him.

"Did ya blink, lass!!?"

He opened his eyes as he roared with a fervor that woke every slumbering critter in the area. Okoye leapt from her perch and landed with her jaw slacked in awe and her face beaming with reverence.. and perhaps a bit of confusion. She was watching carefully. Closely to every detail prior to the collision, and yet she still couldnt believe what happened. How?!, screamed her quivering eyes as they raced back and forth between Ellios and the dying R'hignor at his feet. She could tell by listening to his heartbeat that the old man didn't even trigger his Naten let alone tense his muscles. He literally never moved an inch. Okoye's struggled to wrap her mind around it. Even with Shinjutsu, the user needed to be focused on the threat to properly engage them. You needed to be vigilient. Aware. Eliios was neither. Did he truly use his "soul" to attack?

"Both of the techniques I used are just fractions of H'ruki's capabilities. Which once mastered, can akin even an old man to a godlike being."

"Wait.. Both?"

Okoye thought to herself.. Just how much happened in that split second? Her confusion only worsened, but she hung unto his every word following his grand disaply. Ellios took a seat atop of the dead beast as he continued his lecture. He seemed fatigued, despite not having moved from his position. He took a moment to catch his breath before he spoke again.

"The first technique I used will be the first one you master. It is known as "O'giru" and it is how I was able to know just how many animals within this forest are more powerful than you. It allows the user to feel the prescence of another creature to a supernatural level. Mastery will enable them the to perceive enemies who are otherwise hidden from plain sight, or even beyond the physical realm entirely. And as you can tell, the range of my O'giru is not limited to what lies infront of me."

He said using his finger to point to his eyes.

"My eyes can be closed and I could tell how and where my enemy plans to strike should they be within a hundred meters of me. It could be considered a sixth sense of sorts; but it's a hundred times more vital and reliable than sight or touch, or any of your other senses combined. Many of the elders were so proficent with its use, they developed a degree of precognition that bordered psionic foresight."

Ellios then held up another finger.

"The second technique, the one you seen kill this R'hignor I'm sitting on is known as Rru'ku, and it by all accounts it is the measurement of the soul's physical strength. In its purest form, it permeates around the user like a barrier of unimaginable pressure. At my current state, the range of my soul can extend up to nearly forty meters and makes me otherwise unapproachable to anything unable to match my full strength. I might be pretty old, but the condition of the condition of the Soul is unaffected by time. My T'ou is as strong as it was in its prime! Strongest in the tribe they'd say!"

He commented as he flexed his bicep in jest.

"But now I'll be passing that mantle on to you, Tiny Emperor! I hope you're ready to discern the depths of your potential. We won't be leaving these grounds until you've fully comprehend both techniques, so get comfortable! And find a tree! We will begin first thing in the morning--"

Interrupting Ellios' words was Okoye's growling belly. With all the excitement, she barely realized just how hungry she'd been. Ellios laughed outloud and stood straight up.

"Ha! But first, we eat! How much do you like R'hignor meat? It's a bit gamey if you were to ask me, but it's full of all the protein and nutrients we'll need for the next month if need be!"

Over the course of the next few weeks Okoye fully committed herself to the Voudani's training regiment.


Hours would pass before Okoye managed to move an inch amidst the constant bombardment of natural energy. Ellios had long since departed, however he intended to return later with a clean set of clothes for her to change into and sustenance for her tired body. But that was hours ago, and both Vescrutia's Suns had long since set behind the Alps of Chaos since then. It was incredibly dark now. If not for the light of Kyrin and Bako, Okoye would be surrounded by nothing but rustling darkness and its hungry inhabitants. The gentle creatures that originally amassed here only seemed comfortable doing so in the light of day. During her time here trying to attune her body, she watched all of them scurry away as the shadows of the Maalukoan Woods grew taller. This made Okoye think of the nocturnal predators privy to this enchanted oasis, and how territorial they must've been over such a powerful resource. She could feel them somehow. She couldn't explain it in words, but she could feel them. Each of these encroaching predators skulking about the primal blackness, licking their chops at the opportunity to assert their dominance over their territory. Okoye could feel their carnal desire to feast upon her like it sifted from their pores, and while she couldn't see shit through the blanket of night, she knew where they were.

“...”

She needed to move quickly before the hungry shadows encroached any further. But her body refused to respond to even the simplest stimulus. Her teeth were grinding like gears as she fueled her efforts with fear and anger. She was drooling, grunting, razing an internal inferno in her futile attempts to defy this ubiquitous force, until she discerned that brute strength alone was only going to get her so far.

Okoye shut her eyes. She took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart and soon, it began to make sense to her. This was not just a test of sheer might. Immediately, she stopped wasting her time trying to assert her dominance and quelled the inner embers of rage. She needed to be calm to exist among this turbulent storm; mind, body and soul. She needed to be centered to catalyze the natural energies, but to properly coalesce them within, she needed to maintain an unyielding will. She needed balance, and this fundamental analysis bore fruit almost instantly.

The darkness of Maalukian Woods shifted the second Okoye found her footing. In a flash, her recently weakened body leapt from the ground onto her feet, springing a rustling among the bushels of nature. As if each stalking pair of eyes were startled by this sudden display of tenacity from what they assumed they assumed to be prey. That, followed by the faint thrashing of retreating hooves in the darkness, assured her they also recognized a predator when they saw one..

“...”

Taking the first step was the hardest. She felt weightless. Unbound and untethered. It caused her to fall on her face multiple times, but she stubbornly meandered about the clearing until she felt the earth stable beneath her toes. Her bearings returned in the following minutes, as did her more primal senses. And all of them were stronger than ever. Was this how they felt? Her siblings and uncles.. This euphoric sensation compounded with every breath she took. Every subtle breeze against her skin seemed to strengthen her muscles. She could almost taste the minerals in the soil betwixt her toes and almost giggled from the oddity of it all.

“Is that a smile I see, lass?”

Eliios mentioned as he melded from the Woodard shadows, carrying a lantern to light his path as well as the clean pair of clothes he promised. Okoye nervously reached her hand to cover her mouth. She hadn't even noticed her mood shifted so drastically.

“I see you've found the strength to stand. Good, I expected nothing less from a pupil of my methods.”

He jested, setting the lantern unto the ground before he took a seat right next to it. The light bent the shadows around them, but he could see Okoye standing tall with her shoulders squared and her spine straightened. Aside from the vomit crusted on her shirt, the young woman looked unbothered by the arduous assignment he tasked her with. He expected a bit more of a struggle, to be honest. When he was an acolyte, Ellios recalled expending an ungodly degree of effort adjusting his body to the uncommon throes of natural energy, but then again, his body didn't possess a genetic predisposition geared towards metabolizing it.

“.. do not be content with meager success..

He contended, displaying a callous and sudden change in tone before he tossed Okoye her change of clothes.

“I would hope you could manage something as simple as standing up, but there still lies a chasm of work to be done before you should consider smiling. As I'm sure you know, the Forest of Resonance is a perilous dwelling, fraught with natural dangers and a multitude of veritable beasts, more than you could hope to count. And many of them are far too powerful for you to face in your current state. In fact, I would say.. hmm.. yes, about ten thousand different Individual creatures within these woods are more than capable of ripping you apart..”

He said with his hand caressing his chin and his eyes shut in contemplation.

“The majority of your training will continue here, in these very same woods. And you can trust me lass, you won't be getting much sleep at night if you're not working as hard as you are now.”

Okoye's eyes tightened in light of his words, but the cocky crease along her lips never waned in the least. Despite the tribulations she already faced and conquered so far, Okoye was excited to proceed further. Given her progress, she could feel the worth behind all of it. All of the work. All of the sweat. She could already taste the fruits of her labor paying off. Sleeping was the last thing on her mind.

”Ten thousand is oddly specific, Ellios.. How can you be so sure?”

She signed, to which Ellios replied with a rather eristic chortle muffled behind his beard.

“Ah ho! How indeed, Tiny Emperor..! The answer involves one of many H'ruki techniques that you must learn to master before our time together comes to a close, which believe it or not, approaches faster than we think.”

Okoye's brow lifted in confusion at his words, but before she could dissect the cryptic remark, a sudden wave of violent tremors threatened to toss her from her feet. It sounded like a stampede was heading their way.. Her head spun around her shoulder vigilantly, but a second of concentration drew her toward the cause of this disturbance. It emerged through shadows maybe a hundred yards behind where Eliios was sitting; a six legged, scaly beast, covered in an armory of protruding horns and over several thousand pounds of primal muscle. It was another creature Okoye had never laid eyes on before this day; it was larger than the lotirocre by far, and looked a thousand times as resilient. Only this beast didn't travel in a pack. R'hignors were lone nocturnal predators, far too territorial to share its resources or adhere to a pack mentality. They were among the aforementioned predators that frequented this biome and this one in particular practically owned these sacred waters. Ellios and Okoye's presence here was a direct front to its authority, and death was the only punishment it dolled out.

It charged them like a vector of destruction. The planet quivered beneath its scaly hooves, boiling the soil into molten upheaval in its wake. Okoye could sense the magnitude of natural energy cycling through its flesh, and the sheer volume forced her a foot backwards in retreat. Ellios however did not move from his position. His legs were comfortably folded, as well as his arms.. He didn't even bother to open his eyes to perceive the incoming threat.

“Listen very carefully, Tiny Emperor. As I've mentioned, natural energy resides within all living things. Animals, fae, elves, and humans alike. It is their “presence”.. “aura”.. “soul.” Shinjutsu, as your people believe, is the manipulation of this quasi limitless reservoir of energy, found in ambient abundance within the environment, by using their bodies as conduits. In doing so, natural energy not only strengthens their power, but allows them the power to influence the terrain, the atmosphere, and even their immediate biome if I'm correct. This is where it differs from what you will learn here today..”


“...!”

She opened her mouth as if to warn him, but she knew she couldn't scream without probably destroying the entire area. So she readied herself to intercept the incoming R'hignor herself, knowing full well she was probably going to get slaughtered in the clash. Ellios continued however, still unbothered by a creature literally twenty times his size in stature.

“The Voudani believe this energy to be existential in its purest form, no different than the soul or will. And this practice does not draw power from any outside source of energy, but instead is harnessed from the soul of the user. Mastering this will unveil true strength, Tiny Emperor! Strength unlike anything you have ever seen.. Until today.”

He said, finally lifting himself from the ground just as the charging R'hignor was closing the distance. It approached his rear with its head lowered and muscled bolstered by rage, aiming to skewer both of the invasive creatures that stumbled onto its territory. Okoye's troubled expression looked to Ellios, but his eyes were still closed. He still locked in a speech that the young woman was struggling to pay attention to.

“Another demonstration is in order, I see.. Heh, very well! Take cover.. and pay close attention to what you see.”

He said with an air of confidence so compelling, Okoye couldn't help but comply. She jumped as quickly as she could unto a nearby tree branch as the R'hignor's horn neared its prey. Thirty feet.. Twenty feet.. the beast was nearly ten feet away at this point but Ellios refused to even turn around to face it. To the contrary, the oldman crossed his enormous arms across his chest as if he were simply waiting for the collision. Okoye's heart was beating through her chest from anticipation. Watching and waiting for him to respond at the last second, but that didn't happen. He was just standing there with back turned, defiantly dismissive of certain doom. Then it happened. She didn't see it, but something stopped the deadly R'hignor in its tracks before it within five feet of Ellios. The impact of which quaked throughout the Forest of Resonance for hundreds of miles in every direction. When the dust settled, Okoye could see the beast barely drawing breath on the ground. Its horns were shattered and its skull fragmented as if it ran head first into an immovable object. Meanwhile, Ellios didn't have a scratch on him.

"Did ya blink, lass!!?"

He opened his eyes as he roared with a fervor that woke every slumbering critter in the area. Okoye leapt from her perch and landed with her jaw slacked in awe and her face beaming with reverence.. and perhaps a bit of confusion. She was watching carefully. Closely to every detail prior to the collision, and yet she still couldnt believe what happened. How?!, screamed her quivering eyes as they raced back and forth between Ellios and the dying R'hignor at his feet. She could tell by listening to his heartbeat that the old man didn't even trigger his Naten let alone tense his muscles. He literally never moved an inch. Okoye's struggled to wrap her mind around it. Even with Shinjutsu, the user needed to be focused on the threat to properly engage them. You needed to be vigilient. Aware. Eliios was neither. Did he truly use his "soul" to attack?

"Both of the techniques I used are just fractions of H'ruki's capabilities. Which once mastered, can akin even an old man to a godlike being."

"Wait.. Both?"

Okoye thought to herself.. Just how much happened in that split second? Her confusion only worsened, but she hung unto his every word following his grand disaply. Ellios took a seat atop of the dead beast as he continued his lecture. He seemed fatigued, despite not having moved from his position. He took a moment to catch his breath before he spoke again.

"The first technique I used will be the first one you master. It is known as "O'giri" and it is how I was able to know just how many animals within this forest are more powerful than you. It allows the user to feel the prescence of another creature to a supernatural level. Mastery will enable them the to perceive enemies who are otherwise hidden from plain sight, or even beyond the physical realm entirely. And as you can tell, the range of my O'giri is not limited to what lies infront of me."

He said using his finger to point to his eyes.

"My eyes can be closed and I could tell how and where my enemy plans to strike should they be within a hundred meters of me. It could be considered a sixth sense of sorts; but it's a hundred times more vital and reliable than sight or touch, or any of your other senses combined. Many of the elders were so proficent with its use, they developed a degree of precognition that bordered psionic foresight."

Ellios then held up another finger.

"The second technique, the one you seen kill this R'hignor I'm sitting on is known as Rru'ku, and it by all accounts it is the measurement of the soul's physical strength. In its purest form, it permeates around the user like a barrier of unimaginable pressure. At my current state, the range of my soul can extend up to nearly forty meters and makes me otherwise unapproachable to anything unable to match my full strength. I might be pretty old, but the condition of the condition of the Soul is unaffected by time. My T'ou is as strong as it was in its prime! Strongest in the tribe they'd say!"

He commented as flexed his bicep in jest.

"But now I'll be passing that mantle on to you, Tiny Emperor! I hope you're ready to discern the depths of your potential. We won't be leaving these grounds until you've fully comprehend both techniques, so get comfortable! And find a tree! We will begin first thing in the morning--"

Interrupting Ellios' words was Okoye's growling belly. With all the excitement, she barely realized just how hungry she'd been. Ellios laughed out loud and stood straight up.

"Ha! But first, we eat! How much do you like R'hignor meat? It's a bit gamey if you were to ask me, but it's full of all the protein and nutrients we'll need for the next month if need be!"

- --------

Over the course of the next three or four weeks, Okoye was fully entrenched in the Voudani's method of training. And as Ellios promised, her first lesson in harnessing her spiritual energy was learning to perceive it. She'd done well so far just feeling natural energy fluctuate from the soil and trees. But in order to properly utilize the O'giri, Ellios made it clear she would need to strain all of her other senses to awaken it. To accomplish this, Okoye was obligated to wear a blindfold that Ellios enchanted specifically to smother her sensory capabilities and she wouldn't be allowed to remove it until their time together was done. She was to sleep in it, eat in, hunt, and fight with it. And for the first few days, Ellios found her failures comically astounding.

Okoye couldn't see or hear shit while she wore it. It was as if she existed in a vacuum separated from the world she remembered. She couldn't feel her feet touching the ground anymore when she walked. She couldn't hear her own heartbeat, or even feel her lungs swell with air when she tried to breathe. But those were the conditions of the exercise; straining her senses beyond their limits. During which, she and Eliios sparred daily. Rigorously. And for the most part, it was maddening. She couldn't see the sun or feel its warmth, so eventually the passing days melded into an endless night. Her sparring sessions with Eliios regressed into helpless beatings. Before long, Okoye questioned if she wanted to continue. It felt pointless. However, Eliios assured her of the methods behind his madness.

Awakening O'giri, while a fundamental aspect in learning H'ruki, was perhaps the most difficult feat for an acolyte to accomplish. Developing it called for the body to abandon its basic instincts and forced it to rely on an abstract muscle it didn't know it had; the soul. Ellios explained how it often took years for humans to properly cultivate the technique, which in his case, translated more to almost five. Despite the biological advantages lended to her from birth, Eliios fully anticipated her sluggish progression. This test was arduous and grueling by design; intended to sharpen the sensory capabilities of the soul by first muddling the mind and body into a malleable paste.

The young lady soon learned this was not an obstacle she would hurdle with ease. And it didn't matter the amount of talent, pride, or sense of urgency she approached with. For weeks, this task denied her entitled efforts at every turn. It was frustrating, infuriating.. To a point, it felt downright impossible, but these were expected results. This sense of dread and hopelessness was necessary, as it was indicative of a tenacious will. Anyone brave enough to embark down this path had to crash head first into their limits before they could surmount them, for Okoye it simply happened a lot sooner.

About a month of ineptitude tested her resolve. But from that point, Eliios noticed a dynamic shift in her development. He saw it as she began to correct her awkward movements on her own until there was no more meandering through the woods behind her blindfold. She no longer needed to guide her with the sound of his voice. Soon she was completely independent, and could forage for food on her own. The way she adjusted, it was clear to him that she could truly feel the world around her. Their routine sparring sessions became far more constructive; she was adapting to his strikes and countering his movements as if her hands could sense his weakest point. He found himself on the defensive far more often than a sensei should have been. But he wasn't truly convinced of her ascension until the night she brought home dinner. While he slept, Okoye hunted, killed, and returned to their designated campsite dragging behind her the gutted body of an adolescent R'hignor. It was then, waking up to the sounds of her teeth snapping through its resilient gristle and bone, that he became confident that she was ready for the next step.

—

They returned to the temple soon after this impression was made, where Eliios directed the two of them to a room different than any of the others she'd visited before. They both sat at center of the room, covered in filth and grime. They looked weathered and exhausted, with bodies that reflected a dense ethic of work. Especially Okoye. The young woman was covered in scars that would be short lived thanks to her enhanced physiological traits, but there were also other discernible differences about her that werent just skin deep.

“This is a momentous occasion, Tiny Emperor! You are no longer a mere acolyte, a feat you've managed to accomplish faster than anyone before you! An impressive feat for someone with only one hand, not to mention you arent native to our teachings. But do not be complacent with meager success.”

Ellios said, filling the metrics of the mystical training room with pride. Okoye looked too downtrodden by her aforementioned triumphs to boast like she truly wanted to.

“You may remove your blindfold, but I want you to keep your eyes closed..”

..Ugh, finally..

Okoye thought to herself as she immediately began untying the knot behind her head. She'd barely been able to wash her face with that filthy rag on the entire time. Honestly, she'd been a bit afraid to check what might've grown underneath it. Eliios magics made sure the blindfold remained perfectly attached to her head throughout her training in the Maalukian Woods, no matter how sullied or damaged it might have gotten along the way.

She kept her eyes closed, but simply removing the enchanted fabric from her face immediately restored all of her sensory capabilities. Her sense of smell, her sense of touch, her ability to hear, all of it was returned to her in an instant euphoric rush that nearly knocked her unconscious. And each of them felt nearly ten times stronger than they were before. Most notably, her hearing. Her ears were ringing from the excess sounds she felt were assaulting her from every directions; tiny, menial noises were amplified beyond measure. She instinctively covered her ears to dampen the intensity, but it barely made a difference.

“It'll be alright, lass.. Allow your body time to adjust. It has to catch up to just how much your T'ou has grown. Still yourself and just breathe..”

Eliios’ calm remarks only added to the malevolent concert of different sounds. But as he predicted, her ears began to adjust on their own until they properly filtered out collateral frequencies.

“Well done. Now tell me, with your eyes closed, what can you see?”

“...?

He asked plainly enough, but that didn't detract from how odd of a question it was. Okoye quivered her brow in confusion as her hands dropped back to her sides. Naturally, she couldn't see anything behind her eyelids. It was just blackness, just as it was for anyone else who shut their eyes. But as her ringing ears started to settle, that formless darkness behind her eyelids soon began to take form.

“…”

It took a moment for her to make sense of what she “saw”; She counted millions of tiny lines stretching infinitely through abstract darkness, weaving intricate networks of webs, undulating crests and distinguishing silhouettes. She didn't know how to describe it with words or sign language.. But the longer she focused, the less abstract the darkness became.

“Waves.”

Is what she signed using her only hand. That was the most accurate interpretation of what she found behind her eyelids. Waves. Quakes and visible vibrations; Not dissimilar to the method in which most nocturnal animals see in the dark. Even without her eyes, she knew exactly where Eliios was sitting.

“That is your O'giri merging with your natural eyesight. Similar to that shock you experienced with your ears. You’ll want to open your eyes slowly.. less the future Emperor wishes to go blind.”

”..I'm gonna keep them closed for a bit longer.”

She signed with a nervous smile as she turned her head from side to side.

”Where are we now? I know we're within the temple, but I can tell I've never been in this room before–.”

Before she could finish signing Eliios began coughing violently and continuously. He covered his mouth but was barely able to keep himself composed. Blood spilled out from his palms and more came from his lips until he stopped coughing. Okoye instinctively opened her eyes as she moved forward to help him. But he reached his bloody hand out to stop her before she got any closer.

“No! You mustn't.. I'm..alright.”

No he wasn't.. Okoye knew he was lying and with her O'gir now fully awakened, her eyes could see just how much he was withholding from her. She could only maintain it for a moment, but in that instant she could see the flow of his mana in his circulatory system, all the way through to his skeletal structure. And she could tell he was dying.

”Save it. Tell me what's happening to you.. To your organs.”

“Ha! I see your O'giri is in perfect form! And.. I guess I haven't been truthful about my.. condition.”

Eliios used his wrist to clean his lips and cleared his throat with a guilty chuckle. He righted himself in an upright position. Okoye was no longer sitting across from him, she was standing straight up with her arms firmly folded. She looked distressed and worried, but vexed from his deceit.

“You deserve answers, lass.. I thought I had more time.. Didn't want this to slow us down. But I.. overestimated myself..”

His breathing was hoarse and slow. Like he was fighting as hard as he could not to erupt into another bloody coughing fit. He spoke during the reprieve as clearly as he could.

“My people.. the Voudani tribe.. Our methods toward harnessing spiritual energy is directly tied to our obligation in protecting the physical realm.. from the Unseen. Beyond the great divide, there exist.. creatures beyond comprehension. Entities, malevolent and eldritch in nature. Demons.. Ghouls.. They feed on the souls of humans, elvs, and fae alike. From what we understand.. spiritual energy is a sustenance for them. And allows them to tether their presence in our world.”

Okoye's face contorted and twisted as she connected the dots of Eliios’ explanation. She didn't want to believe it.. not a word of it eased her mind. Ghosts?! Demons?! She'd only read about the Unseen in her adolescence. Fairytales and Mazoku folklore referred to it as Ho'rai, or the “The Spirit World”.. but their civilization was far too scientifically driven to put stock in the existence of djinn, ghouls or demons.

“This room.. The Ishdal Sanctorium.. Is where the elders kept records of the most malicious entities that have crossed over from the Unseen, as well as a collection of proper totems and acherons in which to exorcise them.. or bind them forever. You will need to commit.. each of these scrolls to memory, as they will arm you with the knowledge you need.. to defeat them. Including the bastard.. that killed my people with a necrotic curse they placed upon my soul.”

Curse?!

Okoye thought to herself as a shudder chilled her spine. Subconsciously she took a single step back, away from her old friend and the cosmic pedigree of responsibility he was forcing upon her. She didn't sign up to be a demon hunter.. Even now, her empirical mind refused to acknowledge their existence. Ellios had organ failure, she saw it with her own eyes. She couldn't properly diagnose him, but she'd believe some sort of pathogen was responsible. And after hearing that it wiped out his entire Tribe, her instincts told her to distance herself.

“Heh, you needn't worry.. only those who share my blood are affected. As you've seen, this curse rots my vitals from the inside out.. and spread to my family like a sickness. It was why we met where we did.. I tried to land myself in the most secure prison I could.. perhaps it was a penitence for my failure. The day you escaped.. it gave me hope that I could find this monster before I died.. But as you can see.. I overestimated myself, again..”

He said weakly, using the ground force himself to his feet. Okoye was humbled by the pain in his eyes. She wanted to comfort him, but she didn't know how. She wasn't accustomed to familial relationships.. Hell, she barely had friends outside of the old man dying in front of her. Okoye literally was never one for words, nor did she like physical touch. But everything in her wanted to console him.. He was the closest thing she had to a relative. Her hand reached out to him, but once he found his footing, Eliios moved about. Possessed by the urgency of his own fleeting life.

“There is so much I wanted to teach you.. give to you before we finished. But I know someone.. an excellent teacher.. who can show you more than I–”

Okoye slammed her foot on the ground. This shook the entire Temple at its foundations and perfectly emphasized her dismay with finding another teacher. Eliios couldn't help but loose a chuckle at her rebuttal.

“Heh, yes I know you're upset, Tiny Emperor.. Trust me, I'm not keen on dying either.. sadly, it's not up for negotiation. I'm going to be dead soon, lass.. and once I am gone, you will be the sole heir to our practices, our methods, our knowledge, and most importantly to you I'm sure, our resources.”

Eliios moved to retrieve one of many scrolls lodged into the shelves along the walls of the Sanctorium as well as what seemed to be a tiny jewelry box.

"My mind has succumbed to the sickness as well, so I couldn't tell you where to look or what to read. But this room contains the locations of powerful artifacts that will arm you with what you need to take on the colossus of your fathers empire, as well as excorcise deadly djinn you may encounter along the way."

"..."

"Djinn and demon alike are attracted to those with strong To'u, and they are usually hidden from sight. You will need to train your O'giri to perceive them, and strengthen your T'ou to defend yourself from curses or possession."

Possession?!?

Okoye couldn't even hold a poker face anymore.

"And they love fear.. They can smell the shit and it makes the stronger. If they weaken you enough, they can infect your soul and take control your body forever. But fear not lass, I'm going to give you something just fer' that."

He said as he handed her a box of earrings that she immediately fell in love with.

"These earrings are powerful totems. They will protect you from the possession of both your soul and your mind. Once you put them on, they will be sealed and unable to be removed by any hand other than yours. And there's another trait they grant you that I can't quite remember.."

Okoye put them on as quickly as they were handed to her. She absolutely loved jewelry, especially earrings, rings, necklaces, anklets, bracklets.. Needless to say she was enamored.

"They're beautiful!"

She thought to herself, to which Ellios agreed.

"Yes, the material and composition of the crystals are unknown, but they are certainly not of this world.

Okoye froze in that moment, shocked and confused as to how Eliios knew what she wanted to say.

"H-how did you? Can you hear my thoughts?! Are listening right now?!"

"Oh that's right! They allow the user to project their thoughts unto anyone they can see, but only at the behest of the person wearing it. I wont be able to hear you unless you wished it, but this way, you won't need to use sign language anymore unless you want."

"..I don't know what to say, Eliios.."

"Ha! I've never heard your voice before today.. but I'd love to hear it say the words, 'Thank Ya, Ellios! Maybe You human ain't so bad afterall, Eliios'!"

"..."

Okoyes face swelled red with emotion. But she immediately turned away from him, as though to hide her rubied cheeks and welling tears.

"If I find and kill this demon, will it save you? Will you survive?"

".. defeating that creating will be no easy task. I don't mean to doubt your skills--"

"Save it, Eliios! Answer me..

"Yes. Killing the beast will release the curse on me and every other soul it has damned in the past. But in your current state, you wouldn't stand a chance, you wouldn't stand a chance lass."

"Where can I find it?"

"...."

"Stop playing games, Eliios! Tell me where to find the fucker before I kill you myself!"

She said as she spun around to face her stubborn friend, only to see that his usually jovial expression had gone stone cold. He wasn't even looking at her anymore, his eyes were glaring toward the wall as if he could peel through several layers of stone and rock. His demeanor was pensive. It worried her so much she subconsciously drew her guard.

"What's wrong?"

"Someone.. a lot of someone's just breeched my perimeter. I can see them with my O'igiri. Ten, twelve, I count nearly two dozen souls approaching the temple. All of them strong, too.. One of them's even stronger than me.."

"Who are they?"

"I dunno'. But from the look of them, I'd say you might recognize a few of these ugly faces. They're wearing B'halian armor-"

"M-mazoku?!"

The strength in her posture immediately went limp. As if all of it drained into the ground. Her shoulders and knees started to buckle.. she wasn't ready to face them this soon.

"How did they find me?! Fuck, it doesn't matter we have to get out of here, right now. No way we can take on twenty Mazoku soldiers---

"Still yourself.. Your fear will weaken your T'ou. None of them are Mazoku, but they brandish their colors and wave the B'halian crest on their flags. I've faced deadlier enemies, but you are right. We mustn't allow them to reach the Temple. We must leave at once..”