For the second time in my life, I had died. I was certain of it. The damage to my skull was too severe for me to heal from. This sensation was all too familiar.
Shortness of breath.
Coldness.
Lack of sensation.
I was going to die.
And yet...
Small insectoid creatures ate away at my wounds, restoring my body to its peak condition. My body was warm, flexible, strong, and capable.
"Healing...?"
The rest of the team was healing as well.
"What...happened?" Mephi said, opening and closing her fists.
"This ability is a bit beyond all of you, but this is my Uniqueness, this will be the key to your training."
In the instructor's hand was a large book with indiscernible inscriptions and tattered pages. It radiated a blue, calming Mang that instantly put our minds at ease.
"That is instructor Yeoui's ability, Book of the End. It's an incredibly advanced healing type that can stave off even death itself, at least within certain conditions. If we wish to survive the expedition, we must injure Yeoui to pass."
"We have to injure this monster? Fat chance..." said Shin with a pessimistic tone.
No... that couldn't be true. This may have been a cruel test, but it was fair. There must have been a way to damage that guy somehow.
"Yin..."
"Yes, Derrick?"
"What are his weaknesses? You're the eldest among us, and you've supposedly been a part of Venizuma longer than the rest of us. If so, can you share anything that will let us pass?"
"...There is only so much information I am allowed to expunge, so I can only give you a hint."
I suppose I couldn't fault him for no revealing all of Yeoui's cards. He was likely informed before the test began to limit the information he was allowed to share, and potentially his strength as well, but damn was it annoying...
"Instructor Yeoui will not use his right arm. That is all I can tell you."
"Thank you, Yin. That's more than enough information."
Yin and I regrouped with the other members of the training course, but before we could formulate a strategy, Yeoui leaped into the air and unleashed a devastating axe kick directly into the concrete floor, crushing it as easily as clay.
"So, you know my restriction, what of it? I won't even get you the time to formulate a plan."
Of the trainees, Shin was the first to retaliate. His Mang was coarse, sporadic, and painful. Its texture was like sandpaper with a dark red hue. He ground away at Yeoui's defenses, giving us a clear opening.
I kicked the side of his right knee, causing him to lose balance and tilt to the right. Barrel followed up with a powerful uppercut, then Mephi finished with a downward strike that sent ripples through the air.
Despite our assault, Yeoui didn't appear to be fazed at all.
"The fact that you all have such great teamwork in a short amount of time is really impressive, but it won't be enough."
He effortlessly blocked every strike we threw at him. Perhaps he could have simply dodged them, but he chose to block them, simply to give us the hope of actually hitting him.
"Shin, you've got a few holes in your fighting style, so how about I teach you first?" He kicked Shin into the air with the force of a bullet train, sending Shin flying through the air.
"That unique Mang trait is quite interesting, but it's too unstable. You let your emotions run out of control and rely on brute force to win every encounter. That's not how you win a fight."
Yeoui leaped and latched onto Shin, shoving his face into the concrete floor as it ground his skull into a thin paste.
Mephi rushed to Shin's side, screaming his name with concern and fear. For a moment, she was able to keep up with Yeoui's movements. Her fighting style was fluid, technical, and quick. It was a beautiful display of experience, despite her outwardly silly and unserious appearance.
"This technique… I've seen it somewhere before. You aren't an ordinary fighter, are you Mephi? What district are you from?"
"I'd like to keep our relationship solely professional, Yeoui. If you wanna ask personal questions, you'll need to take me out atleast~"
I didn't wait for a signal. As Mephi danced with Yeoui—graceful, nimble, almost flirtatious in her footwork—I surged forward. My Mang stirred under my skin like something alive. It wasn't wild like Shin's or elegant like Mephi's. Mine simmered—quiet, deliberate. A slow breath before the plunge.
I dropped low and went for Yeoui's heel.
"Now!" I shouted.
Barrel didn't need anything else. He lunged forward and unleashed a devastating right fist to Yeoui's face.
"Hm...still too predictable." In an act of inhuman athleticism, Yeoui performed a one-handed handstand atop Barrel's head. In a perfectly balanced arc, his sole came crashing down, once again incapacitating them.
"Ba-"
Yeoui interrupted Mephi's cries with a hand around her mouth. "Nope! Not like that! Don't give me an opening!" He effortlessly lifted her into the air before unleashing a series of power stabbing blows into her abdomen, then throwing her to the side like litter.
Shin's Mang was hot, red hot. It's burned and pulsated with rage, exploding in a pure wave of energy. Rather than attack with physical force, he assaulted Yeoui with Mang itself in it's rawest form. It was something I had never thought to do.
"Haha! So you're a projection type, eh? You haven't even discovered your uniqueness yet, but you're obtaining some specialized skills."
Yeoui was being pushed back. He genuinely struggled. In order to neutralize the Mang energy, he exuded his own to smother and suppress Shin, ultimately crushing the young boy.
So far, nothing we did against this monster worked, and yet Shin's Mang was potent enough to stop him for just a moment.
"Lastly, I'll deal with you Derrick."
I can hear my heartbeat.I can hear my blood.I can hear the little things—the crawling, scraping creatures—swarming beneath my skin.Preparing to clean up the mess I'm about to become.
He sounded bored - tired even.
"Out of everyone here, I'd say you're easily the least talented."
I launch forward. Step-slide. Jab feint. Cross. Knee. Grab. Twist. Yet it didn't matter at all. He was barely even putting in effort against me, like I was a baby trying to fight a grown-up. It was infuriating, infuriating beyond belief.
"You don't have Shin's aggression and willingness to act. You don't have Barrel's physical dominance. You don't have Mephi's incredible skill, and you don't have Yin's...talent. What exactly do you provide for the rest of us here?"
"Quite frankly, if you can't keep up within this week-long training program, we're cutting you from the exposition."
In a sudden explosion of movement, he twisted his body, slicing my jaw off with a single well-placed kick.
We would repeat this cycle of death and rebirth for two more hours without a single bit of progress.
"Alright everyone, let's take a break."
Everyone was exhausted. Hours upon hours upon hours of death and fighting was enough to wear down even to the strongest of Fixers, and thus, Yeoui let us off.
That night, we all decided to walk home in silence. The tension in the air was palpable like butter. We couldn't bring ourselves to say anything against this humiliating defeat.
What exactly do you provide for the rest of us here?
Quite frankly, if you can't keep up within this week-long training program, we're cutting you from the exposition.
Those words stabbed at my heart.
Waking up.
Going to school.
Studying.
Going home.
Just living a normal life.
Over and over and over and over and over. Like an ouroboros; the serpent locked in a cycle of consumption.
No.
I couldn't bring myself to turn back.
Not after all this.
I can't go back to that place.