Emberfall Chronicles

Rajiv and Liang Bai stood in the jungle clearing, their bodies drenched in sweat as they faced each other under the bright afternoon sun. The air was thick with tension as they prepared for another round of sparring.

Rajiv clenched his fists, frustration burning inside him. His movements felt sluggish, his energy weaker than before.

"Why...? Why am I getting weaker?" he questioned himself.

Ever since his battle with Anil, something felt off. His energy didn't flow the same way. His golden power—once a force of destruction—felt distant, like a fading memory. He had barely survived that night, but in the moment before he lost consciousness, he remembered something strange.

A dream. A vision.

In that instant, before everything went dark, a figure had appeared. A man unlike any other. He didn't speak, yet Rajiv felt his presence—ancient, boundless, beyond human comprehension.

And then... power.

Before Rajiv could think further, Liang Bai's voice snapped him back to reality.

"You're distracted," Liang Bai said, lowering his stance. "If you keep fighting like that, you'll never win against real opponents."

Rajiv exhaled sharply. "Tch... I know. But my energy—"

Liang Bai smirked. "I can already tell. Your energy is unstable. It's because you're forcing it."

Rajiv frowned. "Forcing it? What do you mean?"

Liang Bai sat down on the ground, crossing his legs. "My master once said: Energy isn't just power—it's flow. If your body doesn't understand energy, you'll never control it properly."

Rajiv crossed his arms. "That doesn't explain why I feel weaker."

Liang Bai tapped the ground. "That's because your energy isn't natural. You're using something that wasn't meant to be yours."

Rajiv's eyes narrowed. "Then how do I fix it?"

"By meditating."

Rajiv scoffed. "Meditation? You're joking, right?"

Liang Bai shook his head. "No. If you want to stop relying on unstable energy, you need to create your own. Meditation helps you understand your body's connection to energy. Only then can you control it properly."

He stood up and took a deep breath. His body shimmered for a brief moment as if he had become weightless. Then, in an instant, he moved—disappearing and reappearing several meters away in a blur.

Rajiv's eyes widened. "That speed—!"

Liang Bai smirked. "This is what happens when energy and body are in harmony. If your energy is chaotic, your body fights against it. But if your body adapts to the flow, you can move like this effortlessly."

Rajiv clenched his fists. "So my energy and my body... they're not in sync?"

"Exactly," Liang Bai said. "If you don't fix it, you'll never be able to use your full power again."

Rajiv exhaled and sat down, closing his eyes. He focused on his breathing, trying to sense the energy inside him. But as soon as he reached for it, it slipped away.

"Don't force it," Liang Bai said. "Let it flow naturally."

Rajiv took a deep breath and tried again. This time, he didn't chase the energy. He simply let himself feel it. Slowly, something began to stir.

As they trained, Liang Bai spoke again. "You know, all of this reminds me of a legend."

Rajiv opened one eye. "A legend?"

Liang Bai nodded. "A story about someone called Xeloris—the Last Sentinel of Energy."

Rajiv frowned. "I've never heard of him."

"Nobody knows where he came from," Liang Bai said. "Some call him a god, others a myth. But in the time of the Great War—the first war that nearly destroyed the world—he appeared. It's said that when the entire world was on the brink of destruction, Xeloris stepped forward."

Rajiv listened intently.

"He didn't fight with weapons. He didn't command an army. Instead, he used pure energy." Liang Bai's voice grew quieter, almost reverent. "With just his energy, he stopped nuclear weapons mid-air, silenced gunfire, and ended the war without spilling a single drop of blood."

Rajiv's breath caught in his throat. "That's... impossible."

Liang Bai smirked. "Is it? They say he traveled the world after that, sharing his knowledge with only a few chosen people. But then—he disappeared. No one knows what happened to him."

Rajiv absorbed the story in silence. A man who could control energy so perfectly that he ended a war? Could such a person really exist?

Liang Bai stretched. "Anyway, let's continue training. You need to figure out your energy before we head to the Junior Soldier Selection."

Rajiv stood up, a determined fire in his eyes. "Yeah. Let's do this."