The figure is myself?! How's this possible. At this point it's like crazy things happen in this world day by day.
The figure approaches me, its steps getting faster. So it's not friendly, that's good to know.
It jumps then goes for a kick, I side step to dodge the impact. My legs feeling lighter than ever. Good to know, the figure charges towards going for a barrage of punches.
But this time my vision is slower. Slightly slower than the average punch. I dodge every one of the punches as if practiced.
Feeling thr breeze of each dodged punch before grabbing his arm, and kick his stomach.
It steps back then continues walking towards, its face or mine straight. No emotion, no pain, no happiness. What's going on in this crazy world.
He dashes again but this time goes for a barrage of kick. I block each kick before he finally kicks my chest throwing me far.
I blink then like the wind, appears in front of me. Punching my jaw hard. But I barely felt pain. My pain tolerance has increased ever since the black forest.
The figure continues his barrage then I catch his arms. I finally get to his face, his eyes black with white pupils. Looking at me straight into my eyes, his lack of expression is both cold yet familiar, like I'm fighting a part of myself.
I kick his chest to maintain distance. Holding the watery surface the figure starts circling like a predator sizing up its prey. The silence of the mental realm, unsettling yet comforting. Like it's my first time going to a familiar. The contracting feeling in my stomach feels overwhelming.
It finally goes for a roundhouse before I grab his leg and elbow his knee, then sweep his other leg throwing him on the floor.
I quickly mount him, and punch his face. He's not even covering or blocking himself, like accepting the continuous punches to the face. Each impact stronger than the last before it grabs my left wrist, looking up at me smiling.
"I finally acknowledge you.... Zain the berserker." It's voice echoing, almost like a completely different creature or entity that has my body.
Then, the spiral of colours flow back, blue, yellow, and all of them consumed by the purple spiral.
....
I regain my vision, feeling the comfortable surface of a bed. I immediately get up, jumping out of bed looking around to see the destroyed interior of a room, a destroyed chair laying on the floor, the wardrobe wide open without any clothes inside, the damaged glass of the window, and multiple holes on the wall.
I look to the bed and see the claymore leaning on the wall, next to the counter. My body feeling overwhelmed like my senses have improved, the chatter from the floor below me, the scent of freshly made bread and rum. The detail in the destroyed furniture infront of me.
I hear a click on the door, to see Kora carrying a wooden tray of freshly baked bread and meat.
"You're finally awake." Her shoulders more relaxed. "Thought you'd go berserko mode again. Well even though you destroyed this inn." Looking around the damaged room.
"Sorry about that." I look at the destruction. "Did you rent the place out?"
Kora shaking her head slowly. "Draka rented the place, apparently berserker warriors like him get free rooms for themselves and their allies."
My eyes wide open, "never knew the country allows that?"
I sit on the soft bed Kora placing the tray on the counter beside my claymore before sitting beside me.
"Berserkers are the elite units in Drakva. They train like crazy and it's believed that their berserk state allows them to communicate to the gods."
She looks at me, her green eyes staring at me. "Did you see god?" Her voice soft almost innocent.
I look at the floor. Then back at her. "Nah, I didn't see anything Kora, just had a fi-."
"Don't tell her anything about what you saw Zain." Draka enters the room for once not in his armour, instead a white loose tunic and brown pants. With a cigar in his mouth.
"It's taboo for berserkers to tell people about the visions we see Zain." Puffs of smoke coming out of his mouth.
"Oh sorry, I-I just got curious." Kora responds quickly.
"I understand, youngsters curiosity, I also asked the same question to my mentor when I was a young man." His voice getting lower.
"Now Kora, can you please leave the room. I need to talk to Zain." He leans on the walls.
Kora immediately gets up and and leaves the door before leaving the door with a small thud. Now it's just me and Draka, the silence dragged for seconds, the sound of birds outside chirping, and the sounds of chatter outside the building and beneath our floor.
"What did you see in that world Zain?" Dragging his cigarette before exhaling.
"I saw a weird spiral of colours then, had a fight with myself." My hands swatting the smoke from my presence.
"And you've won. The berserkers we saw on the floor lost their fights, causing their minds to short circuit, acting like a wild animal since they lost to their own mind."
"I won clearly but there's a problem? What's up with you constantly leaving me in such situations in this world. First the forest, now leaving me, judging by your expression you don't even seem relieved compared to Kora."
"It was because I've seen and trained people your age die from either the dark forest or from the drug. If you see too many of your students die and have seen death too many times you'll grow numb to it." Draka replies, his voice more neutral.
"Once you're a warrior in this world, then death will always be behind you checking the clock." He takes the cigarette out of his mouth to crush it with his hands.
"So I didn't really see you as someone different, I've had students who died, some who lived some who were too traumatized they lost their mind. You're just another pawn in the game of life and death BOY."
This is the first time I've seen Draka like this. His expression, neither anger, frustration, remorse. Just numbness.
I get up from the bed. "Then train me to survive, but this time... actually train me to survive. Cause I don't want to die twice."