The morning air was cold.
Dark clouds drifted slowly across the sky above the Barbarian base, casting long shadows over the massive stone fortress.
Only three days remained until the war.
Pride walked ahead without saying a word.
Jake followed close behind as they ventured deeper into the Barbarian territory.
The sounds of the base gradually faded until only the wind remained.
After several minutes, the buildings gave way to a vast stone clearing surrounded by towering cliffs. The ground was cracked from countless battles, while deep scars stretched across the towering rock walls.
Jake looked around in silence.
"So... this is your training ground?"
Pride stopped at the center of the clearing.
The wind itself seemed to fall silent.
He slowly turned toward Jake.
"Jake."
His deep voice echoed throughout the valley.
"From now on..."
"...you will abandon everything you believe you know about strength."
Jake instinctively straightened his posture.
"This training..."
Pride's crimson eyes locked onto his.
"...will decide whether the power sleeping inside you becomes your greatest weapon..."
"...or your greatest burden."
Elsewhere...
Catia looked around the Barbarian base.
The place was far larger than she had expected.
Training grounds stretched in every direction, and enormous warriors passed by carrying weapons bigger than she was.
"So..."
She folded her arms.
"What am I supposed to do now?"
A soft whisper brushed against her ear.
"My dear little Catia..."
Catia's entire body froze.
"...it's time, darling."
"A-Amanda?!"
Before she could even turn around, Amanda had already slipped behind her, gently taking her hand with a cheerful smile.
"There you are."
Amanda giggled.
"I've been waiting."
"W-Wait! At least tell me where we're—"
The space around them twisted.
A brilliant flash of light swallowed them both.
In an instant...
They were gone.
Silence.
Joshen and Kame stood exactly where they were, staring at the empty spot Catia had disappeared from.
Several long seconds passed.
Finally...
Joshen let out a long breath.
"Phew..."
"I genuinely thought she was going to eat me."
Kame glanced at him.
"I'll ask Catia to invent something so you won't feel that way."
Joshen nodded.
"Yeah..."
A brief pause.
"...Actually, no."
"I meant something that stops people from getting swallowed."
Kame sighed.
"That's... not how that works."
Before Joshen could say another word—
Thud.
Both of them looked up.
Thud.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the courtyard.
Thud.
A tall figure slowly emerged between the stone buildings.
A faint smile rested on their face.
"Hmhmhm..."
"Young man..."
"...you haven't changed one bit."
Kame's pupils shrank.
His breathing became uneven.
"...Impossible..."
Joshen frowned, looking between the two.
"You know this person?"
Kame didn't answer.
His lips trembled.
He stared at the mysterious figure as though he had seen a ghost.
"W-Who..."
His voice barely escaped his throat.
"W-Who are... you...?"
Jake stared across the vast stone clearing.
The wind drifted quietly between the towering cliffs, carrying nothing but silence.
No weapons.
No training dummies.
No obstacles.
Nothing.
He looked back at Pride.
"...Where's the training?"
Pride remained still.
"You're standing in it."
Jake blinked.
"...Come again?"
Without another word, Pride walked toward the center of the clearing and sat down on the cold stone.
He crossed his legs.
Then...
He closed his eyes.
Jake waited.
One minute passed.
Then two.
"...That's it?"
No response.
Jake scratched the back of his head.
"You brought me all the way out here... to meditate?"
Pride slowly opened one eye.
"If meditation were enough..."
"...every monk would surpass me."
Jake fell silent.
Pride rose to his feet.
"You misunderstand."
He placed a hand over his chest.
"Your body is not your greatest strength."
Jake frowned.
"...Then what is?"
"Your consciousness."
"The source from which every Shifter Force is born."
Jake looked down at his own hands.
"So if I strengthen my consciousness..."
"I'll finally be able to use my Shifter Force?"
Pride's expression remained unreadable.
"No."
Jake's shoulders dropped.
"...What?"
"You will become capable of finding it."
Silence.
Jake stared at him.
"...There's a difference?"
"A vast one."
Pride stepped closer.
"You possess more Shifter Force than most of the living Shifter."
His deep voice echoed through the valley.
"Yet you have never truly felt it."
Jake clenched his fists.
"...No."
"Because your consciousness has never reached it."
Pride slowly pointed toward the empty ground before him.
"Sit."
Jake hesitated before doing as he was told.
The stone beneath him was cold.
"Close your eyes."
Jake obeyed.
For a moment...
There was only silence.
"The first lesson," Pride said calmly.
"...is to listen."
Jake frowned.
"I don't hear anything."
"Exactly."
"...What?"
"You spend your life listening to the world."
"The wind."
"The voices around you."
"Your own thoughts."
"But never..."
Pride's voice grew quieter.
"...your consciousness."
Jake remained still.
Seconds turned into minutes.
The wind brushed against his face.
Birds called in the distance.
Leaves rustled softly.
His thoughts wandered.
What are Joshen and the others doing?
I wonder how Catia's training started...
This is boring...
"Open your eyes."
Jake did.
Pride looked down at him.
"You failed."
Jake blinked.
"I... what? I didn't even do anything."
"Precisely."
Pride turned away.
"You allowed your thoughts to control you."
"They should obey you."
Jake stared in disbelief.
"How am I supposed to control my own thoughts?"
Pride looked toward the darkening sky.
"When your consciousness matures..."
"...your thoughts will become quieter than the wind."
He looked back at Jake.
"Until then..."
"We begin again."
Jake let out a long sigh before reluctantly closing his eyes once more.
"...This is going to be a long three days."