After a few months of getting used to the immense pressure and pain that assaulted him every movement he made, it started to dim.
The pain, once vivid and determined, like a starving wolf, clawing away in a desperate attempt to devour its victim, was now receding its claws, knowing it couldn't affect him.
The frailness and malnutrition that had once been a loyal companion, was drifting away, becoming but a distant memory.
They say building the body is like building a house in a stormy place.
At first, it appears pointless, a storm could knock away the walls while building it. But eventually, the builders learn to adapt, reaching a point where the previously terrifying storm is nothing but a gentle breeze.
And now the house is almost done construction, a few more bricks are needed, but they will come with time.
The cacophony of creaks and tears were gone.
And now it was time to get used to wielding Aeos, to make it become an extension of his body.
The boy had learned how the soldiers trained from his childhood escapade, and each and every one of them had a sword strapped to their hip or in their hands for every exercise they did. And when they were sparring, the swords moved as if they were extensions of their own bodies.
Axel instinctively knew that this was not even the starting line, as he also knew that it would be rigorous.
But those were fleeting thoughts since all that mattered was repeating all he did till now again and again, but now with his Aeos by his side.
He started eating with Aeos
Sleeping with Aeos,
And even relieving himself and bathing with his Aeos always by his side.
Seeing the soldiers told him that Aeos must be more familiar to him than the back of his own hand.
And so more time passed.
Days started slipping away, not just trickling as before.
Each day was the same, pushing himself to his very limit, eating fruits and drinking freshwater from the stream.
Time was losing its meaning, but he kept counting the days.
If a bystander was watching, their first instinct would be to ask if they were being shown the same thing on repeat, a teen pushing themselves to exhaustion every day, and then some. With a wide smile adorning his face every day, seemingly serene, or something else.
…
A steady rate of improvement caused happiness to swell up within Axel, two years had passed since he'd reached this place and he stopped blaming every bad thing that happened on his former brothers and sisters.
His most recent achievement was causing a crack to appear on a small branch from one of his punches, they used to be indestructible, unless he used his sword of course.
The sword's weight was still too large to use it like the back of his hand though, but it could be used now.
To celebrate both his first year here and the crack in the branch, he wanted to see the other side.
Of the temple of course.
Let's see if I can get to the other side in 3 hours. The journey to here was about 80km*, so the journey to the other side should be around double that.
If a regular person heard him, they would deem the thought absurd and the person insane. But such was possible when one was diligent and had access to mana.
And so, the run to the other side started.
Axel chose to run straight, occasionally dodging an incoming tree. His speed was, while not bad, pitiful compared to the goal he set for himself.
But currently, the boy weighed 30 times more than what he should have, so his speed would increase.
The interesting thing about the weight increase was that he was the only one affected, his tattered clothes, weapon and supplies all were unaffected.
After the first 20 km, Axel felt incredible, everything felt possible now that his weight was slowly going back to normal.
On the way, he tried punching a tree with his full strength, and now an extensive web of cracks adorned the ancient being.
He was amazed to realize that the small improvements he had every day were compounding to this point.
It was exhilarating.
But he had to go.
Reluctantly, he reeled in his ecstasy and started running, making sure his speed wouldn't make him crash into a tree, even if he did, it probably wouldn't harm him too much.
The human body is incredible
Approaching the middle, a feeling of omnipotence rushed over him, his speed surpassed what a normal person could even dream of.
How did I miss this?
Blitzing past the trees, he felt he could complete the whole journey in an hour. The world started slowing down and eventually became a blur, causing the boy's perception to be forever changed.
What is power?
Strength? No,
Speed? Not entirely.
To me time slowed down at this speed,
Wait, what if time itself,
Was relative?
What if you could manipulate it?
That would be true power.
As his mind was busy, he reached the other side, and, due to moving in a straight line, was confronted with 3 rooms.
—-----------------------------------
*I chose to use standard units from now on for convenience