Through The Fractured Lens

Lucian

As I was entranced by the giant room that spanned for what looked like miles, I couldn't help but wonder how exactly this was made.

On the outside, this entire house looked like a traditional cabin from my first life. Something you'd use as a getaway in the mountains, or in some cases, live in, if you are in a more remote area. The entire house seemed average, and wasn't all that surprising.

However this was something entirely different.

It was fields of endless dirt and sand mixed with a slightly crystalized texture ceiling.

There was plenty of different amenities around as well. Training logs, along with resting stations, fountains, and more.

"Pretty amazing right?" Kurou asked, nudging me slightly.

I continued to look around, taking in all the bizarre surroundings. "Amazing is a bit of an understatement. How exactly does this... work?"

"Beats me. Definitely can't find this type of magic on the streets," he finished.

"Yeah... probably not."

After a moment of silence, Kurou began walking across from me. When I attempted to follow, he held out a hand, telling me to stop.

Not too long after, Kurou stops facing me, directly in front. However he is quite a bit away, which does suggest that he wants to attempt to spar with me. I wasn't exactly well rested for this, but I knew I couldn't make up excuses for any of this anyway.

"Time to stretch these old bones," the old man remarked with a chuckle.

"Now, let's fight boy," Kurou shouted.

Before I could react, Kurou vanished into thin air, letting out a slight breeze that seemed to shovel some of the sand in the area away with a quick push.

He reappeared beside me near instantly, swinging his leg around straight for my chest.

I quickly reinforced my entire left side, blocking the brunt of the hit. However, due to my naturally lower spirit supply because of my age, I was still forced to take some of the impact, knocking me back slightly.

"Your reaction speed is impeccable. It's a shame you're limited by your own growth however," Kurou spoke, slightly shocked.

Instead of letting me reply, the old man vanished once again, this time re-appearing in blurs of different directions.

His speed was tremendous, leaving afterimages in his own wake.

I was... unable to track him.

Finally, I felt an odd sensation rile up inside of me. All hairs on my body began to stand, and I felt a slight shiver as I constantly adjusted my gaze around the room, attempting to locate his presence anywhere.

For the first time in a while, I was afraid.

An arm suddenly touched my shoulder, making me slightly flinch, however I didn't dare to move a single muscle.

"And... you lose!" Kurou exclaimed, as I finally was able to look behind and see him standing right there, scratching the back of his neck.

"How did you do—"

"Ah! Don't worry too much boy. I got all that I need from fighting you," he finished.

I kept my bold stare at him, curiosity and confusion mixing. "You basically toyed with me. How did you properly gauge my strength?"

"I think you can answer that question yourself."

Before I could reply, he began walking back off to the exit.

"Anyways, Drav was right. You are quite interesting, and I would like to learn more about you. For that reason, I'll train you."

Shocked by his answer, I quickly rushed to catch up with him as he began exiting the room, where I saw Draven nearly passed out on the couch, fresh alcohol stains splotched around his clothing with an empty flask loosely held in his right arm.

Kurou walked over to his side, before kicking him in the back, startling him awake from his half sleep, making him drop the flask onto the floor with a loud thud.

"What do you want now?" Draven asked, looking up over at Kurou, then at me.

Noticing the few scratches that seemingly appeared on my arm from the fight, which even I hadn't noticed until now, Draven seemed to acknowledge the fact that we had sparred just a moment ago.

"So, will you train him?"

"Yes, I will. However, I owe you nothing after this one I hope you know that," the old man spoke as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah, I figured as much," Draven began. "How long will you have the kid for then?"

"Who knows. He'll stay here with me, though," the old man said as he helped shove Draven's things into his bag. "You of course, won't be though. Can't deal with you any longer!"

"That's a shame. At least you agreed, though, I appreciate it."

"Save it," Kurou sighed.

***

The moonlight shun bright upon the tall grass below as I stood in front of Draven, who was towering above me.

"You ready for this, kid?" he asked.

I looked over at the moon. "Can't quite say that I am, but, if I want to improve, this has to happen one way or another."

Draven let out a chuckle followed by a supporting grin as he readjusted his backpacks sling around his shoulder, tensing his muscles slightly.

"Well, can't say I'll miss you, but I'll miss the extra hand," Draven remarked.

I let out a laugh at his reply before looking back at him. "Can't say I'll miss the smell of alcohol either, but don't worry too much. I'll be back in your hands eventually."

"Definitely not looking forward to it."

Draven shuffled his hand around in my hair before he began walking away into the forest, becoming nothing but a silhouette.

Then, in a matter of a few seconds, he was gone.

I heard the creak of the floorboards coming from the open door of the cabin behind me as I watched Kurou step out into the light.

"Come inside and get some rest, kid. We'll begin tomorrow."

"I understand," I responded as I followed him back into the house, closing the door behind me, which resulted in feeling the spell around the house reactivate and shroud it from visibility.

Still in confusion, I continued to look around. "You mind if I ask you something?"

The old man looked back. "What is it?"

"Why exactly do you keep this house hidden? I mean, sure, privacy is one thing, but being out here is privacy in of itself. You won't exactly have people disturbing you," I asked.

"These areas are more dangerous than you can think of, kid," he began explaining.

He let out a sigh before continuing. "While the exact reason is still beyond my knowledge, don't underestimate the land around here, or else you'll die regretting it."

His answer shocked me, not really understanding what he had meant.

In the few years I spent adventuring with Draven proved fruitful in understanding more about the continent, while also learning a few tricks. However, the forests never really proved to be any sort of danger to us.

Outside of the occasional bandit spotting—which had a tendency to more close to smaller villages and towns, it was very quiet at night.

There were animals, but nothing that struck out as a threat.

Despite my burning desire for more answers, I decided to leave it for another day. I don't exactly want him to get annoyed with my constant pestering before my training even began.

Kurou led to me a guest room in a peaceful silence. Once I entered, I slumped down on the bed once the old man closed the door behind himself.

'I wonder what all I'll learn from this,' I asked myself, questioning.

Regardless of the circumstances, my body yearned for sleep, which I couldn't avoid any longer.

My eyes began to close as I felt true excitement for the coming days.