'Hmmm...' Kon thought for a while, carefully putting his words together. 'In simple terms, Natural Energy is the raw energy of the world.'
'It is everywhere. It flows through living things like trees and flowers, but it can also be found in inanimate things like rocks and dirt,' Kon explained further.
'Then, do humans have it?' Ren asked, his curiosity piqued.
'Of course, humans have it! But—' Kon paused slightly for dramatic effect before continuing, '—in living creatures, it is slightly different. Inside a body, it is no longer called Natural Energy, but rather Life Energy: Ki! The main difference is that Natural Energy is perfectly universal and neutral. It does not contain the concept of individual 'life' or a personal signature, the way our own internal Ki does.'
'Ohhh...' Ren breathed in sudden enlightenment, the pieces of the puzzle finally clicking together in his mind.
'Then... Kon, I felt the Natural Energy pulling on something deep inside my core. Was it trying to pull out my Ki?' Ren asked, recalling the strange, hook-like tendrils he had observed earlier.
'Ahhhh... You felt that didn't you? Sigh...' Kon sounded suddenly tired, though there was a deep fondness in his mental voice. 'I was not going to introduce the concept of Ki to you so early, since your physical body is still far too young and undeveloped. But since you have already managed to absorb Natural Energy on your own, I suppose you are ready to know.'
Kon paused for a moment before answering the boy's question directly. 'Yes. The reason the Natural Energy is pulling on your Ki is because it is instinctively trying to bridge the gap to harmonize with your spiritual power.'
'When Yin spiritual power, Yang Ki, and neutral Natural Energy are perfectly and fully harmonized... that is when you can truly call yourself a Sage,' Kon explained further, a hint of reverence in his tone.
'However, most Onmyōji are never able to actually achieve the Sage stage. It takes an inhuman amount of concentration and perfect balance to maintain it without dying. Instead, they usually just introduce a tiny bit of Natural Energy into their bodies solely to force their dormant Ki to awaken early. The other, more traditional way to awaken Ki is to train the physical body intensely, pushing it almost to the point of death. That is how the most powerful mortal warriors usually awaken theirs.'
'Woah...' Ren breathed in absolute wonder. 'So... am I going to become a powerful warrior?'
Thanks to his blatantly selective hearing, Ren had completely tuned out the profound, philosophical dangers of balancing three energies. All his young, desperate mind had latched onto was a very simple equation: Ki = powerful.
And raw, physical power was exactly what he needed right now to survive his duel with Riku.
'Ah... Hmm... M-maybe you will?' Kon stammered, thinking for a bit before answering. He didn't want to encourage Ren too much so early on, terrified the boy might grow arrogant. But the ancient fox also didn't want to lie. Based on the monstrous progress Ren had shown today, he was almost certainly destined to become one of the most powerful people in the world.
"Yes!" Ren cheered out loud, his voice ringing through the clearing.
For the first time since what felt like forever, it felt as though a blinding ray of light had finally broken through the gloomy skies of his desperation. He had finally found a guaranteed way out of his predicament. So, without a single second of hesitation, Ren released his mental grip on the absorbed Natural Energy, allowing it to violently yank his dormant Ki to the surface.
Instantly, a faint, pure white aura flared to life around his small body.
The change wasn't just visual. Ren clenched his fists in absolute wonder, feeling a terrifying surge of physical power flood his muscles. He felt an intoxicating rush, a wild illusion that he could punch a mountain to dust. Of course, he couldn't actually do that, it was just the temporary euphoria of a newly awakened Ki user, but the sheer density of the energy coursing through his veins was staggering.
"Wow..." Ren's eyes shone with a blazing, fierce confidence.
Without waiting for Kon's prompt, he marched right up to the heavily abused oak tree he had been using for target practice. Pulling his right arm back, he channelled his newly awakened Ki into his knuckles, planted his feet, and threw a devastatingly straight punch.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion of sound echoed through the woods. Ren stood frozen, staring in shock. He had actually punched a fifteen-centimetre-deep crater straight into the solid, ancient wood. Splinters rained down around his feet like snow. If that punch had landed on a normal human body, it wouldn't just break ribs, it would completely cave a person's chest in, or perhaps even puncture straight through them.
But the badass moment didn't last long. A split second later, a blinding, sharp pain flared up from his bruised knuckles.
"ARG!" Ren shouted, instantly dropping out of his cool stance and cradling his throbbing right hand against his chest.
'Ah! Idiot Ren! Why did you just punch a solid oak tree with so much force?!' Kon scolded loudly in his mind.
Of course, Ren was going to feel pain. He had just punched solid wood with entirely unconditioned, six-year-old fists. Even though his newly awakened Ki could protect his bones from shattering and keep his muscle fibres from tearing completely, allowing him to hit far above his weight class, it couldn't magically negate the physical shock of the impact. Physics was still physics, and punching a tree hurts.
'Idiot Ren! Go to the estate infirmary right now and get that checked out!' Kon reprimanded firmly, though obvious notes of genuine concern bled through his scolding mental voice.
"Ah! Okay, okay!" Ren cried out aloud, cradling his throbbing hand against his chest.
The stinging pain was so overwhelming that his concentration completely shattered, making it impossible to even form a telepathic link with Kon. Instead, he was forced to shout his replies to the empty clearing as tiny, humiliating tears pricked the corners of his eyes.
Despite the terrifying magical maturity and relentless determination Ren had displayed all day, moments like this were a stark reminder of reality. Underneath all that monstrous potential and stoic bravery, he was still just a six-year-old child in a very fragile body.
After having his bruised knuckles slathered in pungent ointment and tightly wrapped in bandages by a cold-faced estate nurse, Ren decided that today's intense training session was officially over. Exhausted but triumphant, he walked back to his room with a genuine pep in his step.
Somewhere along the way, the heavily drained Kon had silently slipped back into a deep, recovering slumber.
**********
The next day. 4:00 AM. The Staff Quarters Training Field.
The morning air was freezing and completely pitch black, but Tsumugi was already waiting. She wore the same crisp, practical training outfit as yesterday, looking as utterly valiant and immovable as a statue in the dark. As Ren approached, shivering slightly and nursing his bandaged right hand, her hollow eyes flicked down to the white gauze.
She didn't ask what happened. She merely raised her wooden longsword.
"Yesterday, you learned the four static guards," Tsumugi's flat voice cut through the chilling morning air. "Today, you will learn how to break them. In our system, there are the Meisterhäue—the Five Master Cuts. These are not simple swings. They are supreme techniques designed to simultaneously parry your opponent's blade while striking their body."
She stepped back, giving herself room, and smoothly hoisted her heavy wooden sword over her right shoulder into the Vom Tag guard.
"First is the Zornhau—the Wrath Cut," she stated.
Swish! She stepped forward with explosive power, driving the blade down in a brutal, diagonal slash aimed perfectly at an invisible opponent's neck. "It is a simple, overpowering strike meant to crush a weaker attack and instantly threaten a thrust to the face."
Without pausing, she pulled her blade back, twisting her wrists strangely. "Second is the Krumphau—the Crooked Cut."
Instead of swinging straight, she stepped diagonally off the center line. Her blade whipped out in a strange, windshield-wiper arc, the tip snapping downward to strike where an opponent's wrists would be. "It bypasses their blade entirely to break their hands."
She flowed seamlessly into the next stance. "Third is the Zwerchau—the Thwart Cut."
She raised the hilt high above her head to protect her own skull like an umbrella, while the blade snapped out horizontally, chopping viciously at the invisible enemy's ear. "It defends your head from a high strike while instantly cutting their temple."
"Fourth is the Schielhau—the Squinting Cut," she continued, her breathing perfectly even despite the intense exertion. She brought the sword up high, then snapped it down with the 'short' back-edge of the blade, stepping slightly to the side. "It is a deceptive strike that slips right through their guard and strikes the shoulder or neck."
Finally, she pulled the sword straight up, towering above her head. "Fifth is the Scheitelhau—the Parting Cut."
CRACK! Tsumugi brought the blade straight down in a devastatingly fast vertical chop, stopping the tip a mere millimeter above the frosted grass. "It is a dangerously long strike aimed directly at the crown of the head, designed to out-reach an opponent who is hiding in the low Alber guard."
Tsumugi slowly stood up straight, resting the heavy oak blade against her shoulder once more. She looked at Ren, her gaze locking onto his newly bandaged right hand.
"To master these five cuts is to master the Kunst des Fechtens," Tsumugi said coldly. "Pick up your sword."
Ren obediently reached down, using his uninjured left hand to grip the heavy wooden hilt. But before he could even raise the blade into the Vom Tag guard, Tsumugi interrupted.
"Wait."
"Hm?" Ren tilted his head at her in confusion.
"What happened to your right hand?" Tsumugi questioned. Her voice remained icy and flat, but a faint, betraying hint of genuine concern bled through her strict demeanour.
Realizing she was staring directly at his bandages, Ren sheepishly scratched the back of his head and let out an awkward laugh. "Ahaha... I was practicing a punch yesterday on a tree. I guess I punched a little too hard and scraped my knuckles. Haha..."
Tsumugi's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Practicing a punch? Is my sword training not sufficient for you?" she demanded, her tone sharpening with strict reprimand.
"Ah... um..." Unsure of how to explain his situation, Ren decided to just tell the truth. "Actually... I have a duel next month."
"A duel?!" Tsumugi's voice actually hitched. Even though her face remained a perfectly blank mask, the sudden stiffness in her shoulders revealed just how startled she was. "Why in the world are you duelling someone?!"
"I-it was Elder Gensai... he demanded it," Ren whispered meekly, dropping his gaze to the frosted grass. He didn't even know why he felt so incredibly guilty. The entire sequence of events wasn't his fault, yet under Tsumugi's intense stare, he felt exactly like a toddler caught stealing sweets.
"Elder Gensai..." Tsumugi breathed out, the name instantly extinguishing her rising anger.
Hearing that it was the terrifying Elder who had orchestrated this, a heavy, suffocating silence fell over the training field. As a mere maid of the Ritsuzen estate, her authority was less than dust compared to the main family. Her grip on her wooden sword tightened until her knuckles turned white, a rare flicker of bitter helplessness flashing across her hollow eyes.
But the suffocating helplessness only lasted for a moment.
A fierce, burning resolve quickly flooded back into Tsumugi's hollow eyes. 'If I cannot stop this duel ordered by an Elder... then I will just have to make absolutely sure he survives it,' she decided, her posture straightening with renewed, dangerous purpose.
"Use your dominant right hand to grip the sword," Tsumugi commanded, her flat voice leaving absolutely no room for argument. "A mere flesh wound cannot be allowed to stop my student."
"Uh... Yes, ma'am!" Seeing her usually blank face suddenly blazing with an intense, terrifying aura, as if her spirit had just been injected with pure adrenaline, Ren nodded his head so fast he looked like a little chicken frantically pecking at rice.
Ignoring his terrified agreement, Tsumugi stepped back and crossed her arms. "Now. One thousand repetitions of the Five Master Cuts I just demonstrated. Cycle through each of them in order."
Ren froze, his newly bandaged right-hand trembling around the heavy oak hilt.
"AH???!!!" Ren shrieked in absolute disbelief, his jaw practically dropping to the frosted grass.