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The morning air was cold, biting, and fresh—the kind that seemed to shake the sleep from your bones. Yuki stood alone in the field, his breath clouding before him, eyes locked onto the distant horizon.
No one had come for him today. Not Aiko. Not Ren. And definitely not the man from yesterday.
It was just him.
His body ached from the relentless training the day before, but there was something else—something deeper, burning beneath his skin.
It was that feeling again—the sense that he was on the cusp of something big. Something that could either break him… or make him.
He raised his hand, fingers trembling slightly. For a moment, his thoughts wavered. Was it possible to really learn how to control this?
"Focus."
The voice, as familiar as his own thoughts, drifted into his mind.
Don't just swing blindly. Control. Feel the power. Make it yours.
Yuki closed his eyes.
The world around him grew still. The wind, the trees, the distant city—it all faded into the background as he searched for the fire inside him.
He reached inward.
A pulse. Faint. It flickered and sparked.
There.
He gritted his teeth, focusing harder. This time, the power swirled beneath his skin—hot, wild, but... controlled. He willed it into his hands, feeling the energy gathering there, tightening like a fist.
Then, without thinking, he thrust his hands outward.
BOOM!
A wave of force shot from his hands, sending a nearby tree crashing to the ground. The shockwave rattled the air, dust swirling in the aftermath.
Yuki stared at his hands. The power was... too much.
His heart raced. His breath was heavy. But the energy… it was familiar. It was his.
"Good," the voice said from behind him, and Yuki turned, startled. The man from yesterday had returned, watching with a faint smirk. "You're finally starting to understand it."
Yuki lowered his hands, panting. "What was that?"
"That," the man replied, "was you tapping into your aura's full potential. But you're still holding back. The next step is unlocking the void energy inside you."
Yuki looked confused. "Void energy?"
The man's smile was thin, dangerous. "That's the power that runs through your blood. Your kitsune blood. It's not just raw strength. It's deeper. But if you don't learn to control it, it will consume you."
Yuki swallowed hard, feeling the weight of the man's words. "How do I control it?"
The man pointed at Yuki's chest. "You have to accept it. All of it. The power inside you isn't just a weapon. It's your nature. You can't fight it. You can only—"
Before he could finish, a voice interrupted them from the edge of the clearing.
"Yuki!"
Aiko appeared, running toward him, her face a mixture of concern and curiosity. She stopped short when she saw the man standing next to Yuki. "Who's this?"
The man glanced at Aiko, his expression unreadable. "Just a friend."
Aiko raised an eyebrow. "A friend? You're teaching him to fight… without even introducing yourself?"
The man didn't respond. He merely turned and began to walk away, his voice drifting back toward them.
"Control is the first step. But the real test… is whether you can use your power without losing yourself."
Yuki watched him leave, but then Aiko's voice brought him back to the present.
"You've got some serious power in you, huh?"
Yuki didn't answer right away. He stared at his hands, a strange feeling still gnawing at him.
"I don't know if I can control it…" he muttered.
Aiko placed a hand on his shoulder, her expression more serious than he'd ever seen. "You will. But you've got to trust yourself."
Yuki looked up at her, and for the first time, he felt a small flicker of hope.
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