Yun stepped out of the cave slowly, the sound of the waterfall crashing behind him fading into the distance as if it belonged to another world. His mind wasn't on the forest or the path or even the pulse in his chest. It was on him, that man, his presence, his control, the way he stood there as if everything around him had already been decided. Yun clenched his hand slightly. He had never felt that kind of pressure before, not even close. His grandfather stood among the trees exactly where Yun had left him, as if he had never moved. Yun walked straight toward him and said without hesitation, "Who was that man?" The old man looked at him and for a brief moment a faint smile appeared. "Don't you recognize him?" Yun frowned immediately. "Why would I?" The old man turned slightly. "He's your friend's father." That answer made Yun pause. "…Which friend?" A few seconds passed in silence, then a memory surfaced, the forest, the lightning, the intensity. Yun's eyes widened slightly. "…Sharma?" The old man nodded. "Yes." Yun stared at him. "But he doesn't have a star." "No, he doesn't." "And he's still that strong?" "Yes." Yun's voice dropped. "…How?" The old man exhaled quietly. "Not all power comes from stars. Some humans are born with natural energy. Their bodies adapt to it without needing an external source." Yun stayed silent as the idea settled. "…So there are people who are strong naturally?" "Yes," the old man said, then added, "but don't confuse them with those who carry stars." He tapped Yun's chest lightly. "What you have is different, deeper, more dangerous. Star energy, what we call Nak energy, is not something you simply use." Yun felt the pulse respond faintly. "It changes you." Yun looked down slightly. "…Then even if I train…" "You're still at the beginning," the old man said calmly. Yun didn't like that answer, but he didn't argue.
"Finally found you!"
They both turned as Serna stepped out from between the trees, slightly out of breath and clearly annoyed. "You two just disappear and I'm supposed to track you down?" The old man replied calmly, "You did find us." She shot him a look, then turned to Yun. "And you? You could've at least left something behind." "I didn't think you'd follow." "I was going to anyway." She paused, studying him. "You look like something happened." Yun didn't answer, and the old man stepped in. "You came at the right time. Yun is going with you." Serna frowned. "To where?" "The Warrior Machine." Her expression shifted instantly. Yun looked between them. "…What is that?" The old man started walking, forcing them to follow. "It's not just a training device. It reads your balance, your reaction time, your stance. It shows you your weaknesses before an enemy does." Serna added casually, "If you think you're strong, it'll prove you wrong." Yun glanced at her. "…Did it do that to you?" She smirked. "Repeatedly." The old man continued, "Your power alone won't save you. If your body reacts poorly, you'll lose before your strength even matters."
They returned to the hidden base and instead of heading to the main hall, the old man led them down a narrow passage Yun had never seen before. At the end a circular door opened and inside was a massive chamber. At its center stood a black metallic platform, and on it a humanoid figure made entirely of dark metal. It had no real face, only two thin glowing lines where eyes should be. Yun stopped instinctively. "That's it," Serna said. "The Warrior Machine." The old man activated it and the platform lit up as the machine began to move slowly and deliberately before turning its gaze toward Yun. For some reason that alone felt like a challenge. "Step forward," the old man said. Yun did, and the moment he stood in front of it, it moved fast, a single strike hitting his shoulder and pushing him back instantly. "Wrong," the old man said. Yun steadied himself. "That was your stance."
The training began, and it had nothing to do with brute strength. It was about position, balance, and control. Every mistake Yun made was corrected immediately by the machine with precise strikes that forced him to adjust. He learned the fundamental stance, how to ground his feet, distribute his weight, keep his knees loose and his body ready. Then came defense. "Guard isn't a wall," Serna said. "It moves." The machine attacked from different angles and Yun learned to deflect instead of block, to redirect instead of absorb, to protect without freezing. Then came movement, side steps, short retreats, diagonal shifts. "Move too much, you lose control," the old man said. "Move too little, you get hit." Yun adapted slowly, painfully, but steadily.
After that came techniques, arm deflection, body slips, guard rotations, short evasions. Only after all of that was he allowed to attack. Palm strikes, close-range elbows, low sweep kicks. But the hardest part was timing. "Don't strike because you can," the old man said. "Strike because it's correct." Yun began to understand.
Then everything changed.
"Now use the pulse," the old man said. Yun looked at him. "…Here?" "Yes." The lights dimmed and the room grew quiet. The machine moved again and Yun reacted, block, step, shift, counter. Then he felt it, the pulse, not exploding, not overwhelming, but moving with him. His defense sharpened, his balance stabilized, his reaction improved. Serna noticed immediately. "You felt it." Yun didn't answer. "…It moved with me." The old man nodded. "That's alignment."
The training intensified. Faster attacks, harder patterns, no hesitation allowed. Hours passed before it finally ended. Yun dropped to one knee, breathing heavily but not broken, just different. Serna handed him water. "You were terrible at first." Yun smirked faintly. "Thanks." "…But you improved." The old man stepped forward. "You learned five things today. Stance before strike, guard before confidence, reading before attacking, movement before power, and alignment before control." Yun repeated them silently, fixing them in his mind.
Then suddenly the lights flickered.
Serna looked up. "…What was that?" Another flicker followed by a low vibration. The old man moved instantly, faster than Yun had ever seen. "One of the barriers was touched." Serna's expression changed. "That's impossible." "I know." Yun stood. "…An enemy?" The old man didn't answer, and that alone was enough. Another flicker came, then silence.
On the wall a small dark point appeared.
Not a hole, not yet, but growing.
Serna whispered, "…It's getting in."
The old man's voice dropped. "Stay ready." Yun clenched his fists, but this time he didn't think about power. He thought about stance. The point expanded slowly, something was coming through, and whatever it was… had already found them.