"Stop running, ya fool! I'm not teaching you how to be a coward!"
"Oh."
Elyas stopped near the far end of the dojo and stood attentively a distance away from Leon, who was near the door.
"Don't stop there, stop here!" Leon snarled.
"Oh."
Elyas continued jogging until he stood face to face with Leon, staring up at him as if he were in the army.
Leon stared back derisively, then sighed and whacked him on the shoulder again.
"Ouch!"
"I'm not a goddamn sergeant, brat! Stand normally!"
He relieved his tense body, his shoulders slumping back, and his legs widening a little.
"Good."
Leon clicked his tongue, stomped his cane twice, and removed his top hat.
"Now boyo, let's establish the first rule: Do not go about mentioning your training to anyone, ya hear?"
Elyas nodded.
"Yes, sir."
"Second rule! From 6 am to 7 pm, if you have no classes, then you will be in the dojo! At the weekends, at the same time, you will be in the dojo! During the holidays, you will be in the dojo! When you're dreaming, you will be in the dojo! Do I have to go on?!"
Elyas faltered with his answer, eyes widening in horror.
'Wha- what! That's all... always! He has to be exaggerating, right? Right?!'
A whack.
"Ouch!"
"I asked you a question, brat!"
Elyas pursed his lips indignantly and mumbled,
"Yes, sir."
"Third rule! No fighting! I hear them bullying you, and you can get slapped around and cry yourself to sleep for all I care, but I better not see you laying ya scrawny hands on anybody outside that tournament, ya hear?!"
Elyas had no problem with that whatsoever.
"Yes, sir!"
Leon ambled about the dojo contemplatively, then swivelled to him and pointed his cane.
"Did your ol'man give you something before he got rid of ya?"
Elyas hesitated a little, then nodded.
"How did you know?"
"Eh, Laith is quite the shrewd fella."
'Were they friends in the past?'
"Now, now, hand it over!"
Elyas reeled back a little.
"Sorry, what?"
"What are you, deaf?! Hand it over!"
"You mean... You mean I have to bleed now?"
A whack.
"Ouch!"
"Of course! Scared of a little nick now?!"
Elyas shook his head, then raised his hand and looked around, searching for a sharp edge.
Well, he was in a weapons room.
"Here."
Leon chucked him a grey and milky fang, polished and sharp as a razor.
He caught it frantically and inspected it in fascination.
"Your ol'man hunted a nasty beast and saved this for you."
"Not a claw?"
"Claw?! Pft, everyone has a claw, you fool! It's an easy find. A fang is not. Now appreciate that gift of yours, because it's worth more than your whole pathetic life, I tell ya!"
Elyas cradled the fang close to his chest, then bowed in gratitude.
"Thank you, old man!"
A whack!
"Ouch!"
'Oh, I deserved that. Let my thoughts slip out.'
"Let me hear you call me an old man again, you wrinkled rat! I'll send you back to the infirmary before the day is over!"
"Sorry, sir!"
He nicked his hand on the fang, bled, and shook Leon's large, coarse hand, blood mingling between them.
Name: [ Elyas ]
Coherency: [ ... ]
Coherency Level: [ ... ]
Anchors: [ Brass Mask, ... ]
Blood Potency: [ 100/1000 ]
Elyas focused on the Brass Mask, and it once again floated before him, spinning about itself slowly.
But then, he had no clue what to do.
"Ahm, Professor Leon, how do I give it to you?"
"Focus on it, and after it displays itself, will its severance. Feel the need to get rid of it, and the system will give you an option."
Elyas closed his eyes, still seeing the Brass Mask before him, and desired to get rid of it reluctantly.
< ... Are you certain you wish to relinquish this Anchor?... >
< ...Yes... > < ...No... >
He focused on the 'yes' option.
< ... Relinquishing Anchor. Please Wait... >
< ... Anchor [Brass Mask] relinquished successfully... >
Leon inspected his system, then nodded in satisfaction.
"It's done, boyo. Well done. You're not close to Imitation, are you?"
Elyas shook his head regretfully, but to his surprise, Leon seemed happy with that answer.
"Good, good. Laith really is a devious old slagger."
Blood then flowed out of the old man's palm fluidly and coalesced into the shape of the Brass mask, giving it life.
And oh, how unsettling its life was.
Leon regarded the mask in his grasp with a frown.
Hanging limply and organically from his hand were the thin, serpent-like brass tubes, jostling together, almost fussing for an owner.
But its beady, unnerving eyes were the opposite. They were still and cold. They stared with regretful remorse and inevitability.
It was that same expression that haunted Elyas, but even more alive.
"Tsk, but I tell ya, he really does have horrible taste," Leon said.
He couldn't agree more.
"So why is it good that I'm not near Imitation?"
"It will help us with your training. One of the purposes of the mask is to circulate your blood. It will provide temporary blood enhancement while ensuring your Coherency attains perfect compatibility with your blood upon Imitation. But the most important purpose for now is that we will find out what your Coherency is."
"What?! Now? We'll find out now? Do I also get my powers? I'm confused?"
"Just wear the damn mask, brat!"
Leon shoved the cold mask in Elyas's grasp and took a few steps back.
Elyas handled the mask disgustedly, feeling the pipes writhe unnervingly in his arms, but the old man's impatient glare was also too intimidating.
He stared at the mask and it suddenly felt as if...
'Huh?'
As if the mask was calling to him, almost yearning to be worn, so he pressed it to his face and felt its cold, comfortable embrace as if it were tailor-made for him.
Its edges mystically extended to envelope his whole chin and jaw, his ears, and certain parts of his neck, like tree roots spreading their territory.
His eyes glowed a faint ashen grey, and thin brass pipes coiled about him like a group of little, slithering serpents.
An eerie, wheezing, mechanical breathing sound resounded softly from the pipes and the small nose-like protrusion. Dark, bronze-streaked hair falling over his nose languidly like tattered curtains.
But then, existence blurred and-
Pfit!
Elyas was no longer in the dojo.
The ventilation humming and distant chatter faded away.
The still, damp air disappeared.
And he was standing alone in a void of interminable darkness.
He blinked a few times, but nothing changed.
'What's going on?' He thought, dread creeping in.
He tried walking a few steps to where he had last seen Leon standing, but nothing changed.
It was as if space didn't exist.
Elyas began to panic.
He reached for his mask, but felt nothing except for his sweaty skin.
'Where the hell did it go?!'
But then the stillness changed, and the darkness trembled.
For a few moments, everything remained as such until something gently patted the dark ground, sending ripples across the whole void.
Tears blurred his eyes before they crawled down his cheek and fell to the ground.
They were viscous tears.
Amber tears.
Devastated tears.
'Huh?!'