Gim hit the ground hard. The fall knocked the wind out of him. The only thing he could dee was darkness, unable to see even his own hands.
"Get up," D's voice echoed from somewhere above.
Lanterns along the chamber began to light as D snapped his fingers. D stood a few feet away, and Chen Xing beside him.
"What the fuck was that for?" Grim asked as he picked himself up off the stone floor.
"Lesson one," D said. "Always be prepared for anything."
Chen Xing approached carrying what looked like metal bands. "Arms out."
"Why?" Grim asked, not moving.
D's red aura flared slightly. "Do as he says, or I'll make you."
Reluctantly, Grim held out his arms. Chen Xing snapped the metal bands around his wrists, ankles, and waist. The moment they locked in place, Grim fell to one knee. Each band weighed at least twenty pounds.
"What is this shit?" Grim gasped, struggling to stay upright.
"Weight training," D explained. "You'll wear those at all times. Now, give me fifty laps around this chamber."
Grim looked around. The chamber was huge, at least a hundred feet across. "That's impossible with these weights."
"Then you'll die here," D said with a shrug. "Your choice."
Grim gritted his teeth and started moving. Each step was agony, the weights pulling at his limbs. Grim managed to do three laps before collapsing.
"Pathetic," D spat. "Again."
"I can't," Grim panted.
D nodded to Chen Xing. Grim could no longer see him. Suddenly, Grim felt himself yanked upright by his hair.
"You can, and you will," Chen Xing said, his voice cold. "Or I'll drag you around by your hair."
Grim pulled away and forced himself to continue. By the tenth lap, his legs were shaking uncontrollably. By the twentieth, he was crawling. Somehow, he managed to complete all fifty. So much time had passed that he couldn't tell how long it took.
When he finally finished, he lay on the ground, unable to move. His muscles burned like they were on fire.
"Water," he barely managed to say.
"No," D replied. "Now, sit up. We begin mana training."
"Are you insane?" Grim asked. "I can't even move."
"Sit. Up."
Something in his tone made Grim obey despite the pain. He forced himself into a sitting position.
"Draw in mana," D instructed. "Fill your second heart."
Grim closed his eyes and tried to focus. His concentration was shot from exhaustion, making it nearly impossible to control his mana flow.
"Your circulation is all wrong," D said, circling him. "Who taught you this garbage?"
"My father," Grim managed to say.
"He wasted your potential. Here's how it's done properly." D placed a hand on Grim's back. A jolt of energy shot through him, hot and painful, forcing his mana to follow a new path.
Grim cried out in pain. It felt like his insides were being rearranged.
"Pratice that for one hour."
It was like trying to hold back a flood with his bare hands. It was painful and not easy to do.
"While you do that, recite the basic forms of the Aurora Flash technique," D said.
"I don't know them," Grim admitted.
"Then listen and memorize." D began reciting a series of movements and positions, occasionally having Chen Xing demonstrate. Despite his exhaustion, Grim tried to commit every word to memory.
When the hour was up, D allowed him to release the mana pattern. Grim collapsed backward, his entire body trembling.
"Hungry?" D asked.
Grim nodded weakly.
Chen Xing tossed him a small piece of bread and a strip of dried meat. "Eat quickly. You have five minutes until the next exercise."
The food barely took the edge off Grim's hunger, but it was better than nothing. He chewed the tough meat desperately, trying to gather strength for whatever came next.
The "next exercise" turned out to be standing in one position, holding a wooden sword at arm's length while balancing on one foot. The weights made it near impossible. Every time Grim's sword arm dropped or he lost his balance, Chen Xing would strike him with a thin bamboo rod.
Hours passed this way. Grim was unable to tell whether it was night or day.
"Can I sleep now?" Grim finally asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
D considered him for a moment. "One hour. Make it count."
Grim didn't need to be told twice. He collapsed in a corner of the chamber and was unconscious almost instantly.
It felt like mere seconds had passed when he was awakened by searing pain across his chest. His eyes flew open to see Chen Xing standing over him, hands glowing with green energy.
"What the fuck?" Grim yelled
"Sleep time's over," Chen Xing said with a smile. "Defend yourself."
He attacked again, and his movements were fast. Grim barely managed to roll away. The weights were making every movement sluggish and awkward.
"Stop! I'm not ready!" Grim shouted as another attack grazed his shoulder.
"An enemy won't wait until you're ready," D's voice came from the sidelines. "Fight back or get beaten."
For the next twenty minutes, Chen Xing toyed with Grim, landing hits that were painful but not lethal. Grim couldn't land a single blow in return.
Grim's body had a series of blueish and purple welts on his body.
Finally, D called a halt. Grim collapsed to his knees, bruised and exhausted.
"You survived the first day." D announced.
"Day one?" Grim croaked. "How long did that take?"
"Eighteen hours," Chen Xing replied. "You get six hours to rest before we begin day two."
Grim didn't bother to move from where he'd fallen. He closed his eyes, expecting Chen Xing to attack him again.
"Oh, and boy," D added. "I never said you could sleep during your rest period. You'll be doing mana training. '
[They're trying to break you,] the voice in Grim's head commented.
"No shit," Grim thought back. "Why?"
[To rebuild you, I suspect. This is how legendary warriors are forged.]
"I might die first," Grim thought.
[You won't. You're too stubborn to die from training.]
Despite his exhaustion.
Chen Xing attacked him twice during the "rest period" because he began to fall asleep.
By the time day two began, Grim felt like he was already dead. The weights seemed even heavier than before.
Day two started with mana circulation exercises that left Grim feeling like his insides had been scraped raw.
Grim only received enough food to keep him functioning. Water was given in tiny sips, barely enough to survive.
The pattern continued into day three. At some point, Grim stopped counting the hours. He stopped complaining, too. He just did as he was told, moving through the exercises like a puppet, driven by nothing but stubborn refusal to quit.
On what he thought was the fourth day, something changed. The weights that had been on him felt even heavier than they did on the first day.
"Your body is adapting," D noted, watching Grim complete his balancing training. "Good. Now we can begin the real training."
"That wasn't the real training?" Grim asked hoarsely.
D's smile was cold. "That was just preparation. Today, I'll be teaching you how to kill."