Rain poured from the sky like a hail of bullets, devouring all sounds in a deafening roar accompanied by the sudden flashes of light which for a moment cut through the darkness of the thick black clouds.
The earth seemed to rumble at the sound of thunder but moon stood there in the barren field unmoved and unshaken.
He raised his wooden sword and in a single moment the blunt blade cleaved through the air spliting apart a single rain drop in it's descent. This was the fruit of all his training.
In the past few weeks moon had pushed himself through rigorous training to not only sharpen his skills but to also sharpen his senses, turning him to a deadly weapon has far has normal humans were concerned.
In his sparing sessions with celeste it was clear that he had Improved tremendously but still yet he wasn't able to get a solid hit on her nor was he on par with swordsmans who had been training all their lives , shedding sweat and blood but he had come surprising far in an extremely short amount of time.
But he didn't just achieved such a feat by training, he read alot of books too, books on human physiology, behaviour patterns, swordsmanship and weak points.
He was undoubtedly a genius in his own right.
And still yet all this was still not enough to get him to his goal.
Yes it was frustrating, yes it made him feel bitter and angry but he could feel himself improving each day and for now that was enough for him.
He lowered the wooden blade and smirked to himself "tomorrow, definitely tomorrow"
Saying that and feeling his body start to shiver, he turned around and walked towards the old raggedy house in the distance, chuckling to himself.
He had a fun surprise for celeste tomorrow.
....
After his training session in the pouring rain moon returned back to his room and instantly jumped unto his bed not even bothering to take off his soaked clothes.
He closed his eyes, hoping and waiting from his mind to fade away but sleeps sober embrace never came instead he was left in the darkness.
And in that darkness his imagination took form portraying memories of his sparing sessions with celeste, trying to remember and study her movement and using that knowledge to determine how his fight with her the coming day would end in his victory.
But he knew that all of his predictions would defer vastly from reality infact he would be lucky to land a single blow much less win against her.
That was just the kind of genius she was or to moon the kind of monster she was.
Even though it was meaningless his mind kept replaying those scenes over and over again until he gave up on sleep and started practicing sword swings in his small room.
By morning, heavy bags hung beneath his eyes, his entire body from his muscles to his bone and even his head throbbed with pain.
'Damn it, couldn't sleep because i was too excited, what am I, a kid'
Now his body refused to leave his bed, it felt like he was bound by invicible indestructible ropes.
Moon frowned, deeply annoyed with himself, not only had he ruined his chances of winning but if something like this was able to keep him in bed, he must have truly become soft.
He sighed "oh well, might as well try to get some sleep"
After some time Atlas barged into the room and dragged him out of bed, telling him something about the city but moon was way too tired to pay attention.
And before he knew it he was standing in the slums still groggy from sleep with Atlas and celeste.
Moon looked around, the entire city seemed to be shrouded in a thick fog, he could barely see ahead. By now they had arrived at the main market place of the city.
Moon could hear numerous voices from the fog even in this weather the place was still crowded, filled with two kinds of people, the people selling the goods and the buyers who were headed to the factory.
The factory was situated at the centre of ground city, if one was to gaze down at the city from the sky above, it would look like a circle within a circle with the great wall being the outer most circle, the boundary of barren fields being the outer circle, the slums being the inner circle, the market place being the inner most and the factory at the centre.
The factory was a complex structure completely made out of strewning metal pipes, each pipe transporting a special and poisonous type of steam used to purify magic stones for the sky kingdom.
Apart from being rich enough to become a trader or being among of the ground gang, this was the only other way to earn money on the ground.
But the problem was death was a constant in that place, moon was sure at least one or two people died every day, get injured which was no different from death or get sick from the poison which was worst.
Suddenly moon didn't feel sleepy or tired anymore, it had been a long time since he step outside into the city, all his memories of this place came flooding back.
Needless to say, they were all bad.
He felt something brush against his hand, he looked down then saw a child, the child flashed him a smile then ran off.
Moon could recognise that infectious smile from anywhere, it was the same child Atlas gave candy to and his headed towards that deathtrap.
Why you ask?
Because the factory didn't care about age, they just wanted workers. The children only think of the pleasures of the sky kingdom has fairy tales to them this is just how life is and what it's ever going to be.
'Disgusting, utterly disgusting'
After enjoying those pleasures himself, moon now knew that ignorance was bliss but dying in ignorance was pitiful.
Deep inside he wanted to plunge those bastards in the sky into the hell they created but he had no intention to live for revenge even his current revenge was just a means to an end.
Noticing moon's mood Atlas put his hand on his shoulder and said with a smile.
"Today is a special day, brat, because today is the start"
Moon simply nodded then followed Atlas and celeste lead with grim expression on his face.
'I don't give a shit, today I'm getting that hit'.