That same place... that vast and endless dreamscape filled with darkness. The same land from before, beneath me the same black soil that had never known light. Again I wandered, unsure of where I was, until eventually I reached that same exact unique place were I had been before in my dream.
It was exactly the same as before a field filled with swords. Every single one of them black, covered completely in darkness. And among them stood a lone, creepy tree, that black tree, but what made it creepy were the unusual white cracks running along its bark. Just like before, a sound drew me toward it, and like an idiot chasing after candy, I followed it
When I finally arrived at the source, I saw those same dark orbs in the sky, each the size of a small mountain, floating in the air. Beneath them stood the old man clad in black robes, but what changed in this dream were the reflections not exactly one old man, but many. All of them resembled each other completely, like perfect reflections, running around, vanishing and reappearing.
I watched him for a while. Then suddenly he stood still. I remembered what had happened last time, and I froze in place. This time, the old man didn't move, but instead, one of the orbs above him drifted toward me, creating a large shadow beneath where I stood. The darkness was already overwhelming, and now I stood in an even deeper shadow
"Ha... what the?"
Before the words could fully leave my mouth, the orb began to fall from the sky. Looking up, I laughed. "Hahaha!" I stretched my hand toward the falling orb, waiting for it to hit me. In just a few seconds, it was right above me. I closed my eyes, waited several seconds, then opened them just to see the orb...entering my body !
"What!... the hell is.... happening here?" I muttered as I watched the orb vanish completely into me
Memories that were not mine flowed into me like a flood, just like the last time. Again, I couldn't escape the dream.
"Memories?"
These memories held a technique and one hell of a fascinating and interesting one
---
—— PRESENT
"Hahaha!" The red-eyed man laughed
"What an interesting trick you have there," he said while looking at my headless body
Those words were meant to fall from his mouth an obvious response you could say that, to what he was seeing. In truth, I now had four bodies, two of them flying in the sky and one headless on the ground
The technique I had learned from that dream was called "The Shell." It actually allowed me to create copies of my body. But in truth, this technique wasn't just limited to creating my own forms. From those memories, I had only learned to create copies of myself, but that old man in the memories could create much more than just his own body... far more.
One thing that bothered me was that I had died... even if it wasn't my original body, I had been killed. And it hadn't taken him much efforts to do it
From above, I looked down at my headless body. It felt weird, but not much beyond that
"An interesting parlor trick," Crimson said, nudging my fallen shell with his foot. Then he took a few steps back and raised his hand toward me. I wasn't high in the sky, just ten meters above the ground
As seconds passed, out of thin air a sword appeared not a real sword, but one made of pure energy that glowed blue
My remaining shells and I looked stunned for a moment, but without giving me time to think, the sword shot toward one of my shells. It moved faster than an arrow, and the shell barely managed to avoid it. Thinking about the risks of staying in the sky, and knowing that flying limited my ability to attack, I realized the only thing I could do was defend and the difference between our power levels was so great that even defending was difficult
With this in mind, all my shells and I landed on the ground. My shells could think and act on their own; they didn't need my guidance or orders. One shell rushed from the left, one from the center, and I approached from the right, with my three beads hiding behind me
Crimson barely moved. With just a gesture of his hand, three swords began to take form in the air. One of my shells used the Neither steps, forming the square to appear behind him, swinging its blade in an arc. But Crimson moved his hand casually, deflecting the blade with ease before kicking the shell in the ribs. The impact sent it flying backward, but Crimson didn't pause, sending one energy sword toward the airborne shell
As the sword was about to hit, my other shell blocked it, but even after successfully intercepting the weapon, the force sent them flying back as well. My two shells collided with each other, stopping their momentum.
I stood a few meters away from Crimson, studying him
"This bastard luck of mine," I muttered cursing my luck
I rushed toward him, tightening my grip on my blade. The remaining two swords flew at me, and I analyzed them as they approached.
"For a perfect deflection there are a few key principles: timing, angle, minimal force, and momentum redirection. If I can manage all of these, I can deflect without harm."
In simple terms, imagine someone throws a ball at you—if you catch it straight on, the impact will push your body back. But if you lightly swipe the ball sideways as it reaches you, it will fly harmlessly past with almost no force touching you
As the two swords came close enough, I applied all these principles with a simple touch, deflecting them. But I hadn't anticipated the risk those two swords crashed into the ground, their impact so great that they created large holes on ground
"Fuck." This word isn't appropriate for a kid at my age, but in this situation, I just muttered, "This fucking old man." When I turned my head to look at Crimson, his fist was already in front of my face and the blow sent me flying backward, crashing into the ground and coughing blood
I hurried to my feet as my two shells also stood there looking at crimson
"It's a good thing I wrapped Tai energy around my face, or else my head would have been blasted away with that punch."
I looked at the wooden blade at my hip, then grabbed it, now holding two blades in my hands i stood there feeling the cold air touching my wounded body
"Let's see where I can go with my current self !"