Ever since Nox was a child, he liked the sword. His mother gave him a wooden sword to play with when he was barely three years old. He heard stories of heroic deeds of the swordmasters from his father and elder relatives. He heard stories of his father and grandfather defeating their enemies with just a sword, cutting through armies and legendary beasts.
He admired them, he wanted to be like them, to earn the same respect and fear.
Whenever he saw his siblings train with the sword in the courtyard, his eyes would shine with wonder and he would try to imitate their moves with his wooden sword. He always wanted to be a swordsman, like his father, mother, grandfather and siblings. He wanted to follow their path and reach the same height as them and stand shoulder to shoulder with them as equals.
He also wanted to split the mountains with his sword alone like his father and grandfather. He wanted to hold the sky like his father, to possess that overwhelming power. He wanted to become a swordmaster like his father and grandfather, no matter the cost to himself.
Ever since he was born, his life was easy and full of happiness until his age reached ten. Thats when he tried to awaken his ki, like his seniors and his family told him to do. But he failed. Everyone thought its normal. All of his siblings and cousins weren't awakened at ten. Some awakened at ten, some at eleven and some at twelve. So, it was not a big deal at first.
Even though Nox didn't awaken at ten he still held hope burning in his chest. He was still excited about the possibilities. Days went by, weeks came and went, then months came and went, he didn't awaken. Even years went by but he still haven't awakened. He and his family became worried, they all thought that Nox's talent was mediocre. They became worried that he will be left behind by his rivals and peers.
Although children who awakened at fourteen or fifteen were considered very talented in the outside world beyond their estate. But here in the Silverblade estate, those who awakened at fourteen or fifteen are considered average at best.
Although there are lot of people who awakened late then their rivals but in the end they surpassed their rivals with very large margin through hard work and determination.
If his father were just an average warrior, then his talent being average would not be a problem. But his father is great swordmaster Godric Silverblade, a legend in his own right. How can swordmaster Godric's son could be average in talent, people would whisper.
So his family decided to awaken him with his father's help using a special technique. At thirteen he was awakened by his father's ki. His father at that time only gave him enough ki to awaken, nothing more.
It was already hard and shameful enough for Nox not to awaken by himself. But they soon found out that even after being awakened he can't generate his own ki at all, not even a single drop.
After Nox discovered that he can't generate his own ki, his heart shattered into million pieces, his dreams crumbled like sand. He almost went into depression, spending days staring at walls, but his family barely managed to pull him out with their constant support.
He still lost all his motivation, he didn't pick up the sword for a whole year. During this year his family gave him numerous elixirs of various types and origins, but they failed to generate his own ki. They also tried other methods, consulting healers and sages, but they also failed.
In the end his father refined some of his ki and gave it to him. There is a problem when someone is sharing his own ki with the other person. That problem is their nature, ki is generated through life force and soul.
The life force is fundamental energy that gives living being their existence and enables their physical, mental and spiritual functions. While soul is the core essence of the living beings, their true self.
Every living person have a different soul, unique and irreplaceable. So, the ki of every person which is made from soul and life force are different in nature.
Thats why elders don't pass their ki to their descendants when they are about to die. If a person have ki of different persons inside them, then their potential will reduce drastically, they won't be able to reach further in this path of cultivation.
Having ki of multiple people will also make it unstable and difficult to control. Thats why Nox's father first refined his ki through a tough process that took weeks, making it pure as possible, before giving it to him.
After seeing his family trying so hard to solve his problem, spending countless hours and resources, a tiny hope ignited inside him. He started thinking, maybe, they will cure him eventually.
After that Nox became busy trying to control that ki his father had given him. He started using sword again with renewed determination, he put his whole mind to train in sword and ki. He worked hard to become stronger, control his ki and become proficient in sword techniques.
He even refused to go out to social gatherings and festivals, only focused on his training. He and his family also wanted to hide the fact from others that he can't generate his own ki. Thats why he rarely went outside the estate. He only trained inside their house, away from prying eyes.
Now Nox stood at crossroads, a crucial moment in his life. He can't accept the idea of living a mundane life without power. If now he doesn't take the fourth elixir, he will regret it for the rest of his life. He is at crucial step of his life, his intuition tells him that this opportunity will not come again, a voice whispering in his mind.
So, he can't live like a normal person, like those without ki. Even the idea of living a normal life was unacceptable and uncomfortable for him, making his skin crawl. And he doesn't want to shame his father by being a useless son. Although its possible that his father would never think of him as a useless son, he still doesn't like the possibility of disappointment.
So, Nox gulped the whole red elixir, the liquid burning down his throat. He started circulating his ki with all his might, pushing beyond his limits. His heart started to beat faster and louder, pounding like a drum in his chest.
'Even my heart reached its limits,' thought Nox as he observed his heart racing dangerously.
The energy of the elixirs were rampaging inside him like wild beasts. His veins were bulging even more, they were turning dark shade of red, visible beneath his skin. He even started bleeding through his nose, crimson drops falling onto the mat.
But he didn't stop circulating his ki, instead he sped even faster, ignoring all warnings. He was smiling as he refined the last elixir, a manic expression on his face.
As he refined the elixir his condition became worse and worse with each passing moment. First it was only his nose that was bleeding, but now his ears start to bleed too, blood trickling down his neck. His veins started to become blue, then purple in some places.
He was directing the whole energy of the elixirs against that invisible and unbreakable blockage. But the blockage didn't even move a fraction. The volcano inside him was at its peak, filled with tremendous energy but it was not erupting, held back by something.
'Why aren't you moving at all, even after all these elixirs, I can't break you, no, I will not live the life of mediocrity, either I will succeed today or I will die trying,' thought Nox as he gritted his teeth to almost bleeding, tasting copper.
Even when the whole elixir was refined and its energy was directed towards his whole body through his blood vessels, the blockage was not moving at all. "Why, why me, why this is happening to me why?" Nox spoke out loud as if he lost his mind, his voice cracking.
Nox was thinking non stop for solutions but he couldn't come up with anything solid or practical. Nox started to lose consciousness, darkness creeping at the edges of his vision. He bit his tongue hard, with pain he forced himself to remain awake, blood filling his mouth.
His blood vessels were at their limits, his heart was at its limits and his whole body was at its limits, but the blockage remained at where it was. 'Is it really a blockage, what if its something else, I am missing something,' thought Nox as he was thinking about solutions desperately.
"Of course I am missing something, I am not a sage," once again he spoke in a loud voice, laughing bitterly.
As Nox was thinking about possible solutions, his eyes widened in realization. "What if its not a blockage, what if its something else entirely."
"What if I am missing something crucial, what if I am missing something," as Nox was mumbling incoherently, it suddenly hit him like lightning. He laughed wildly. "It was never a blockage," he laughed like a maniac, blood dripping from his mouth. "I am missing something crucial to form my own ki," spoke Nox as he realized the problem at last.
He was wrong all along, it was never a blockage preventing him, he was missing something that was needed to form the ki. Thats why the so called blockage didn't move no matter what he did.
Now Nox knew the problem, he wanted to go to his father right away to tell him this discovery. But the pain and the energy that was rampaging inside him was not allowing him to move even an inch.
'There is too much energy inside me, I need to decrease it,' thought Nox frantically. He started to release his ki in the atmosphere around him, but he soon frowned in confusion. He was releasing his ki in the atmosphere, but due to so much energy of the elixirs inside him, he was recovering ki as much as he was releasing it.
That would have been a good thing if he was in a battle against enemies, but he was not. He either needs to absorb all that elixir energy or expel it from his body, but that would be a waste of precious resources.
Nox can absorb all this energy slowly over days, if not for his injuries, they were worsening by the seconds, threatening his life. As Nox was thinking about a solution, his eyes started shining with an idea. "I can do that," spoke Nox as he started laughing uncontrollably. He can't understand why he is laughing so much, it was out of his control, hysteria taking over.
Nox inhaled a long breath, steadying himself, and started gathering all of his ki inside his chest, just below the heart. He started condensing the ki as much as he can, compressing it tighter and tighter. It would've been impossible before, because of his low reserves, but now it seems possible with all this excess energy.