I glanced at my surroundings. Except for the sound of the winter wind howling and the dimly lit cave, the one I found while searching for the assassins’ hideout the other day, there was nothing else.
With a nod to myself, I recalled the teleportation technique I’d spent the entire week mastering with Virion’s ’help’ - countless failed attempts, spatial disorientation, and more than a few embarrassing crashes into walls and floors.
I started channeling all of my aura and closed my eyes, searching for that elusive connection with Virion’s domain. My aura slowly began to shift, taking on that familiar void-like quality I’d come to associate with spatial manipulation.
The technique activated.
Reality seemed to fold in on itself, space compressing and stretching simultaneously. For a brief, disorienting moment, I felt as though I was being pulled through a tunnel of pure nothingness, my consciousness scattered across infinite distances before snapping back together with jarring suddenness.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself at the familiar training grounds, the one I had been beaten up at daily before.
Four familiar figures, the ones who used to beat me up, lounged not far from me.
One was methodically sharpening his sword with an absent-minded expression, another drawing silly shapes on the ground with his sai, the third absorbed in reading a thick tome, and the fourth lying flat on his back with a pair of ninchaku on his belly, seemingly napping under the eternal twilight sky.
The Turtle Brothers hadn’t even looked up at my arrival, as if spatial teleportation was the most mundane thing in the world.
Or they probably thought it was either Zephyr or Virion. And...
I raised my eyebrow in confusion mixed with curiosity as I saw droplets falling onto the pages of Dono’s book.
Is he reading tragic genius stories again?
I almost rolled my eyes, but stopped myself. After all, everyone had their preferences.
Then an idea popped into my mind.
"Wow," I said out loud, crossing my arms with a smirk. "Did the bookworm finally find a story too tragic to handle? Or-" I paused for the dramatic effect, "-did you actually miss me that much?"
Ralp, still lazily sketching the floor with his said, didn’t even glance at Dono. "Hey. He’s talking to you."
Dono sniffed, turning a page without looking. "Who?"
"I see." He continued reading while Ralp continued on with his ’art’.
Suddenly, both of them froze, eyes widening.
Then, in perfect unison, their heads snapped toward me.
Ralph, ever the helpful brother, reached over and slapped Dono square on the back - hard enough to make him cough.
Dono shot him a murderous glare, but Ralph just muttered. "Not a dream, then..."
"...Must be a ghost," Dono concluded flatly.
From the side, Leon sheathed his sword with a quiet shink. "No," he said, voice low and steady. "That’s Aman."
I had to duck as a pair of nunchaku whipped through the air where my head had been. Mike, now fully awake and grinning like a maniac, had lunged at me from behind.
I barely managed to sweep his legs out from under him, but he twisted mid-fall, knocking off the ground to regain his footing.
Before I could even stand properly, a shadow loomed above me. A bo staff came crashing down like a guillotine. With no time to dodge, I rolled hard just as the staff cracked the ground where I’d been.
The next second, I saw Ralph blur forward, his twin sai flashing as he struck with lightning speed. I barely had time to summon my daggers before the impact sent shockwaves through my arms.
The force of the collision sent me skidding back several meters. I twisted high mid-slide, flipping backward just as Leon’s blade sliced through the air where I’d have passed.
But Leon still followed up with an upward swing, the edge whistled past my neck, close enough that I felt the wind of its passage.
I landed in a crouch, only to find all four brothers already encircling me, weapons ready, expression ranging from amused to outright predatory.
I grinned, wiping a bead of sweat from my cheek. "Really, guys? Is this how you welcome a friend you missed so much?"
Ralph barked out a laugh, spinning his sai. "Oh, yeah! Because we only missed beating you!"
Then he lunged again.
With no ’choice’, I exhaled sharply and let instincts take over.
The moment everyone moved, the world snapped into perfect clarity. My body reacted before thought could form, dagger meeting sai in a shower of sparks as I pivoted into the clash.
I staggered, but not before slashing to his weak spot, my dagger grazing his shoulder, drawing a thin line of blood.
"Hah! Got you!" I grinned, falling back.
Ralph smirked, glancing at where I hit. "Lucky hit."
Leon was already on me again.
Our weapons clashed—once, twice, three times—before I feinted left and slashed across his thigh. He didn’t even flinch, countering with a pommel strike to my jaw. My vision swam, but I twisted away, narrowly avoiding Dono’s sweeping staff.
Our fight continued. And I wasn’t just defending but also attacking this time. I was even landing hits.
A dagger throw forced Mike to dodge. A spinning kick knocked Ralp’s sai from his grip for half a second. I even managed to disarm Leon momentarily with a well-timed wrist lock before he retaliated with a brutal shoulder check.
But they were four. And I was one.
Dono’s staff cracked against my ribs. Mike’s nunchaku wrapped around my ankle, yanking me off my feet. Leon’s sword came down. I blocked, but Ralph’s sai pressed against my throat a second later.
Panting, bruised, but grinning like an idiot, I raised my hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. You win."
Then my legs gave out, and I collapsed onto my back, staring at the twilight sky.
Ralph plopped down beside me, chuckling. "Damn, bro, you got good!"
Mike tossed me a waterskin. "Still not good enough though."
Dono adjusted his glasses, but I caught the faintest smirk. "You lasted longer than I expected. You’ve surpassed my analytics once again."
Leon simply nodded, his usual highest praise.
I laughed, exhausted but satisfied. "Yeah, yeah. Next time, I’m taking all of you down."
Ralp snorted. "Keep dreaming."
And just like that, it was like I’d never left.