Rain poured like the sky itself was crying, casting countless needles down upon the academy training grounds. Thunder rolled far in the distance, but it was not enough to drown the steady rhythm of a sword slicing through the air.
A lone figure stood in the middle of the field.
A young boy, no older than fifteen, moved with slow, deliberate precision. His blade swung again and again and again, each arc a silent scream. His clothes clung to him, drenched. His black cloak, heavy with water, dragged slightly behind with each step. Yet he never stopped.
Anazitis.
From beneath the canopy of an old training ground,igetis watched in is training under the rain,a fellow academy student, wiped the water from his brow and narrowed his eyes at the lone figure.
"Why is he out there in this storm?" he muttered.
He knew the boy's name, of course. Everyone at the academy had heard whispers about Anazitis. The boy who came from a burned village. The boy who never smiled. The boy with the empty feeling but it never be Surprise the academy has more than one anazitis every student come from different story the academy master hooped to create a place that every one could recover.
Igetis hesitated, then stepped into the rain. The chill bit at his skin, but he didn't stop. The storm didn't matter. Not compared to what he saw in Anazitis.
Pain. motionless, unhealed pain.
He approached carefully. "Hi anazitis it's raining a lot today did you forgot your umbrella?"
No answer.
Anazitis' eyes were distant. Void-like. Like his soul had wandered far from his body and never returned. His face was blank, untouched by emotion. In his left hand, he clutched a black, rune-covered book. The cover pulsed faintly, reacting to the energy in the storm.
Igetis tried again, more softly. "Let's wait it out under the tree. It's coming down hard I've been Trying under the rain to make my movement more steady but you don't need to walk in the rain comes let's go over there."
Still no response. But Anazitis heard him. Inside anazitis, something stirred a thought blink in his mind.
He wants to help me... make me feel something. Is that what kindness is supposed to feel like? But this world already took everything. My family, my home, my warmth. All gone.
Still... if there are people like him, maybe this world isn't completely broken. Maybe... if I can reshape it, make it like what my grandma was studying but i need more information about it in my memory bu i can't understand it , if i understand it i could make the world better. A world full of people who smile, like him, a word full of eternal happiness.
But he didn't speak. He simply turned, and walked. Past Igetis. Past the chance for connection.
Igetis watched him go, rain washing over his face. Not even the storm seemed to touch Anazitis. He moved through it like a ghost.
"He didn't even feel the rain," Igetis whispered, sadness thick in his voice. "I want to help him... but how? Why should I think of him
Frustrated and helpless, Igetis returned to the tree. But his heart was restless. He kept watching thinking about anazitis.
Then, something caught his eye.
A shadow, slinking in the rain, going where anazitis has go.
His instincts flared. He moved without thinking, keeping low, silent.
Near the old great tree at the forest's edge, Anazitis sat with his book in his lap, unmoving.
And behind a thick trunk, a figure watched him.
Tall. Gaunt. Dirty robes clinging to a twisted frame. His hair hung in greasy tangles. His nose crooked. His eyes narrow and filled with venom, his ears large. He held a strange, rotting book in his misshapen hands.
He whispered with a voice like rotten wood. "Perfect... He looks miserable enough. A broken soul... just right for my poison bug he will make me more fortune."
Igetis felt the fury rise in his chest.
He jumped.
The man turned, barely dodging Igetis' blade as it cleaved through the space where his shoulder had been.
"Who dares?!" he growled.
"You prey on him? On someone who's already suffering? I won't let you!" Igetis roared.
The man grinned. "So emotional... Good. The angry ones are easier to manipulate I was right to let's him hear me I will finish him quickly then get back to my plans."
He hid his book under his clothes and drew a curved dagger, its edge laced with a sickly green glow. "Let's dance, boy."
Steel met steel.
The two clashed, blades ringing through the rain. Sparks flew. The man moved like a serpent, slithering between attacks. Igetis countered, his sword fueled by fury and conviction.
Then the man vanished.
"Coward!" Igetis shouted. "Show yourself!"
"As you wish..." came the whisper.
Dozens of the man appeared, illusions or summoned doubles, circling Igetis.
"Let's see if you can handle this."
Igetis took a deep breath. His eyes glowed gold, fierce and unyielding.
"Soul of the Phoenix!"
Flames burst from his sword, and he sliced through the illusions, one after another.
The man growled. "Impossible... How did you break the spell you should not know my real place?!"
"Because I've strained hard every day under the rain under the sun just for this moment to get rid of pests like you.
Igetis charged. Blade glowing, heart pounding, he struck the man over and over.
"People like you don't deserve to walk free! You twist your power and knowledge to hurt others! I couldn't save Anazitis from his past, but I can save him from you!"
The man staggered. Fear replaced malice in his eyes.
But Igetis kept going, fury blinding him.
Until—
"Enough!"
A powerful voice cut through the storm. An old man stepped between them. His robes billowed, and his presence stilled the air.
"Igetis! Stop!"
Igetis froze, sword raised.
The old man stepped closer. "This isn't protection. This is vengeance. This is madness this is not what you want remember he said with a soft voice."
Igetis turned, tears mixing with the rain. "That's all I have! That's all i can ،I can't make people smile! I can't take away there pain! All I can do is fight for the, all i have is my strength i use it to get rid of pests like him, I've tried but.
The old man placed a hand on his shoulder. "You told me you wanted to protect every smile in the world. You may stop people like him from hurting other but you will not protect a thing."
"Then tell me how!" Igetis cried, what suppose I do.
"Start by making him smile," the old man said gently. "Start by reaching him, not just fighting for him even a smile could change destiny Don't do our mistake you could be better."
Igetis stood in silence, the rain easing around them. He looked toward the tree where Anazitis still sat, his gaze distant, unaware.
He took a step.
But how?
How do I save someone drowning... when I don't even know how to swim through my own guilt?
And still, he walked. Toward the tree. Toward the boy. Toward the hope that maybe, just maybe, two broken souls could save each other.