Kai's legs gave out, and he collapsed onto his hands and knees, gasping for air. The dark violet liquid of the pool around him rippled from the impact, thick and almost otherworldly, clinging to his body like an unseen weight. His muscles screamed in protest, exhaustion tearing through every fiber of his being. His vision blurred, dark spots swimming at the edges, and his breath came in ragged gulps. Above him, the vast chamber stretched endlessly, its towering stone pillars vanishing into an unseen ceiling. The dim, flickering glow of suspended lanterns barely illuminated the eerie stillness of the space. And beyond the edge of the pool, lounging lazily against one of those pillars, was Umbra.
She sat on an elevated platform just outside the liquid, one leg draped over the other, her arms crossed as she regarded him with an unimpressed expression. Her jet-black hair, streaked with deep shades of violet, cascaded over her shoulder, and her golden eyes gleamed like twin crescent moons in the darkness. The shadows around her pulsed with a faint energy, almost as if they were alive....an extension of her presence. She exhaled, shaking her head. "Tch. Pathetic." Kai barely had the energy to glare at her. Umbra tilted her head, watching him struggle. "C'mon big brother, you're not actually done, are you?" She gestured toward him with an idle flick of her fingers. "Because if this is all it takes to break you, then you're never going to survive what's coming."
Kai clenched his jaw, his fingers digging into the slick surface beneath the liquid. His arms trembled from the effort of keeping himself upright. His whole body ached. Every part of him had been pushed past its limit, again and again, in this never-ending training. He sucked in a sharp breath. ".....How long has it been?" Umbra arched a brow. "What?" Kai swallowed against the dryness in his throat. "Since I got here," he rasped, forcing himself to look up at her. "How long?" Umbra held his gaze for a moment before sighing. "A few months." Kai's breath hitched. His arms buckled slightly beneath him, sending another ripple through the dark violet pool. His head spun. A few months?
He shut his eyes tightly, trying to process it. He had no way of measuring time here....no days, no nights, just an endless cycle of training, pushing himself, fighting, failing, getting back up, and repeating. His body had adapted, his stamina had increased, but his exhaustion had been piling up without him even realizing it. His fingers curled into fists against the surface below. "I.....I need a break," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. Umbra let out a sharp laugh. "A break?" She uncrossed her arms, leaning forward slightly, her golden eyes narrowing. "Oh, I'm sorry, did you think you had the luxury of stopping?" Kai gritted his teeth. "I've been training non-stop. For months." He forced himself to meet her gaze again. "Just.....just a little rest. That's all I'm asking."
Umbra stood, stepping toward the edge of the platform. She peered down at him, tilting her head, her long hair cascading over one shoulder. There was something unreadable in her expression...something between amusement and expectation. Then, she crouched down, resting her elbow on her knee. "And what happens," she murmured, "when you don't get one?" Kai blinked, still panting. "What?" Umbra's smirk returned, sharp and knowing. "What happens when you don't get a break? When you don't get a moment to breathe? When everything around you is trying to kill you, and you're forced to keep moving, even when your body is begging you to stop?" She tilted her head, her golden eyes glowing faintly. "What do you do then, brother?"
Kai clenched his jaw, his breathing still unsteady. He knew what she was saying. Knew exactly what she meant. But right now? Right now, he just needed a moment. Umbra watched him carefully, then sighed, rising to her feet again. "Tch. Fine," she said, stretching her arms over her head. "Take your little break." She smirked down at him. "Not that it'll change anything." Kai let out a shuddering breath and slumped slightly, his forehead nearly touching the surface of the dark liquid. His exhaustion still clawed at him, but at least, for just this moment, he had permission to stop. Umbra was trying help him remove the.....what did she call it again? Chains of Inversion? Whatever those were, apparently they were a form of restriction placed upon him. They appeared as holographic, circular bands with ancient symbols glowing along their surface. He had five of them across both of his hands, glowing with a deep violet hue and circling right above his skin whenever they appeared.
Umbra had instructed him that the only way to break the chains were to overflow them with temporal energy and force his body to emit higher amounts of temporal energy than what it was able capable of, effectively forcing his body to adapt and evolve. However that was easier said than done. Whenever Kai tried to do as instructed, the chains would materialize and overflow with temporal energy of a frequency opposite to his. The feeling of the negative energy flowing through his body, dissolving away his innate temporal energy, felt like thorns shredding through his insides while drowning them in white hot acid. The first time Kai had felt it, he had lost consciousness from the sheer agony. The only thing that kept him going was the pool of concentrated temporal energy in which he was standing. His body did show signs of growth, the pain he felt now had subsided from unbearable agony to just agony. He did try to leave the pool and the Nexora as a whole multiple times, however, Umbra had placed a seal on the place, effectively trapping him inside till he shattered at least one pair of chains.
Frustrated, Kai slammed his fist into the pool, splashing some of the liquid on his face, gross.... He forced himself on his feet, falling into position as he braced himself for what was to come. He exhaled through his nose, taking a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. Let's get this over with....He forced his energy to overflow beyond control. His aura flared up, almost reaching the high ceiling of the room as it spread across the entire chamber, roaring like an untamed beast. Immediately the Chains of Inversions materialized, crackling with a deep purple energy. Kai roared as agony spread across his body. Damn it am I going to fail again?? he thought to himself. The chains crackled dangerously, sending waves of negative energy across his body. Kai gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he fought against it, refusing to back out. Just when he felt like the negative energy begin to overpower his innate energy, he suddenly had a crazy idea. Rather than clashing the energy head on, he focused on building his energy to surround the negative energy already inside his body, coil around it like a serpent.
He kept surrounding the energy until he felt like he had a clear grasp of it. Then all at once, he flared his energy, commanding it to forcefully drag the negative energy out of his body and make it clash against the energy flowing out of the chains. The results were disastrous. A bright violet surge of energy erupted out in all directions, crackling like lightning as it scattered and crashed against the walls and pillars of the chamber. Absolute agony raced through Kai's veins but his adrenaline kept him conscious, as he refused to back down. His vision swam but this time Kai could feel the first pair of chains weakening. He let out one final, defiant roar as his energy finally turned the tides, overpowering the weakened negative energy. The first pair of Chains shattered with a loud BOOM! Fragments sprayed out as they dissolved midair, turning into wisps of bright violet energy.
Kai barely had time to celebrate before he finally succumbed to the strain. As the adrenaline left his body, the overwhelming backlash from what he had just done finally caught up to him. His body swayed and fell backwards as his slipped into the void of unconsciousness. Right before he hit the ground Umbra dashed forward and caught him. "Well well well...." she said, a smile creeping up her face, "Always full of surprises eh, big brother?" she gazed towards the floor, which was now completely emptied from the liquid temporal energy that was present a moment ago.
"Looks like we can finally move on to the next step. Rest well big bro, we have a lot to do." Umbra said, as she stroked Kai's hair.