Silva's eyes widened as he watched his Uncle transform, in an instant his humor and easy going demeanor vanished without a trace replaced by a chilling and brutal aura that practically soaked the air in a red mist.
Before Silva existed an entity separate from his Uncle, separate from the Disciplinary Elder of the Khan Clan, before him existed the Bloodflame Fiend.
Like the claws of a great beast, Fal's hand was outstretched, his fingers splayed wide to grab a hold of anything that came within reach. Silva almost didn't react in time, his body practically moving on its own. Thousands of repetitions formed a subconscious connection between thought and action.
Silva shifted his stance and shoulders, narrowing his profile as he stepped towards Fal. At the same time Silva used the back of his hand to guide Fal's grab over and past his shoulder leaving his Uncle exposed.
Following his muscle memory, Silva retaliated, his hand forming a blade with the edge of his palm as he chopped towards Fal's neck using his uncle's own extended arm as a guide. Silva executed the move perfectly, countering at blistering speed without so much as a conscious thought.
But it proved to be all for nothing as Fal's other hand struck like a viper grabbing Silva's offending hand by the wrist stopping it dead before his attack could land. Then in a flurry of motion Fal's leg snapped out kicking the inside of Silva's knee making him stagger before Fal pulled back his other hand, the one silva had originally blocked, and formed a fist the back of which he slammed into Silva's unprotected torso.
Silva's eyes shot open as each of Fal's blows hammered against his body, not only with a shocking amount of strength, but with the unmistakable weight of Qi. Had the blow been purely physical, Silva might have been able to resist with his baptized physique, but without being able to bring out the hidden natural laws inside, Silva was at a severe disadvantage.
Nevertheless, he fared far better than most would have as his Silva's conditioned mind resisted the influence of pain and the soothing heat of vitality kicked in to heal the blunt trauma.
Gritting his teeth, Silva forced himself to remain standing as he swung his back leg up and around in a sweeping kick. Fal glanced at Silva's leg and, instead of blocking, chose to retreat, pushing off the floor and dashing back.
Achieving his goal of creating space, Silva took a step back to resettle into a defensive stance with his hands raised and body tensed.
Meanwhile, Fal simply stood with his hands folded behind his back as if taking a stroll, "You reacted, good. But you can't just react, you need to think, you saw my move but not the counter. Every action is a possibility with countless responses; you need to choose the right one that leads to your survival."
"And how do I accomplish that?" Silva asked, though he didn't lower his guard, which only made Fal grin, "That is the one answer I can not give you, only through failure will you learn!"
Fal punctuated his sentence by throwing himself at Silva once more, racing across the floor with a flurry of steps that were almost too fast to count. But Silva managed and for his efforts he was rewarded as he caught the moment Fal pushed off the ground and jumped while kicking out with his leg.
Silva dropped to the floor and rolled, letting Fal sail over his head. Coming out of the evasive moment Silva popped right back onto feet hoping to catch his uncle off guard as he fell back to the earth, but Fal remained one step ahead.
Fal's hands shot up and he grabbed an exposed support beam using it as an anchor that he swung around and landed atop of before turning to stare down at Silva, "Your opponent is only one aspect of the battle, the environment, the setting, the ability to use them to your advantage is crucial-"
Before Fal could complete his sentence, Silva suddenly bent his knees and jumped, the floor beneath him creaking dangerously as it was momentarily subjected to the immense force generated by Silva's body.
A gust of wind ripped through the study as Silva disappeared from his position on the ground and appeared before Fal, his fist already in motion.
Instead of being insulted by his nephew's impudence, Fal grinned as he felt the wave of air being pushed by Silva's fist. Crossing his arms in front of him, Fal took the brunt of Silva's punch which sent him flying back.
Borrowing the momentum bestowed upon him Fal flipped through the air righting himself to land deftly on a neighboring beam, "The flow of battle is one of every changing tides, you must know when to seize control with aggression and when to recede and guide your opponent into the depths, where they can be swallowed by the waves made in your wake."
With another jump Silva landed on the same beam as Fal and with a quick shuffle of his feet moved within striking distance. With an explosive exhale Silva struck, throwing a punch with a concussive pop of air.
Fal blocked redirected Silva's punch instead of meeting the blow head on, but before he could counter Silva's other hand was already moving following right behind his opening strike.
In the blink of an eye Fal was suddenly on the defensive, as Silva rained a flurry of punches with blistering speed all while steadily moving forward forcing Fal to give up ground.
But despite his seeming dominance, Silva never once came close to touching a hair on Fal's head as his uncle parried and swayed out of the way of every single punch, all while looking perfectly at ease. If Silva had any misconceptions in the difference between their strength he might have felt some level of frustration. Instead he focused on the experience, the errors, what he could learn from and grow.
So Silva continued his assault watching Fal's movements knowing that while he couldn't break his uncle's defense there was no harm in trying. That was until Fal decided that it was time for another lesson.
If Silva had blinked he would have missed it, and ended up wondering how he had lost so suddenly. Fortunately with his attentiveness Silva was able to watch every step of his demise, and realize there was nothing he could do to prevent it.
In a perfectly timed manner Fal's left leg slid back while his right leg remained firmly planted on the beam forcing him into a deep lunge. Silva's punch sailed over Fal's head and before he could react to the level change, Fal's hands drifted down to his left hip in a practiced motion that felt slow, but in reality happened within the span of a breath.
Then without warning Fal's empty hands suddenly held a sword, sheathed in a polished wooden scabbard. There was nothing special about the weapon but the moment Fal's hands moved Silva understood that he was watching a master practice his craft.
What happened next was simple and practical, but with Fal's expertise simplicity became refinement, and practicality became efficiency. With one singular motion, Fal drew his sword out in a diagonal arc, slicing across Silva's entire body, bisecting him from hip to shoulder.
Then with a second breath Fal stood up and swiped his sword through the air before vanishing the blade back into its sheath as if it had never left to begin with.
Letting his fists drop, Silva stared down at his chest just in time to watch the top of his robe separate cleanly along the cut Fal had made with his sword exposing his perfectly unblemished skin beneath.
"So…that is how easily death comes," Silva muttered mostly to himself as he reached down and traced where his body should have been divided into two halves.
"No," Fal corrected his voice, taking on a softer tone, "When death leisurely strolls you'll never be aware of its presence, it will simply take what you believe to be another breath and make it your last."