Victor looked down at the fallen Nicholas and shouted in a resonant voice that seemed to mock the darkness itself:
"Come on, get up and face me! Where is your strength, you skilled hunter? Or has fear paralyzed you?"
***
"If you respect me as your teacher, then stop this madness immediately!" William roared in anger.
***
Victor turned to his mentor, his eyes gleaming with a determination no one had ever seen before.
"I respect and esteem you, William, more than anyone else... but I will not let Nicholas drown in his darkness and transform into a monster. Therefore, I beg you to forgive me for disobeying your orders this time."
***
William's eyes widened in shock and disbelief as he gazed at the boy before him. He whispered to himself, trembling:
"Is this truly the Victor I trained for only thirty days? How, in such a short span, was he able to turn all his weaknesses into such immense power?"
***
Nicholas rose slowly, brushing the desert sand off his knees as if nothing had happened, then turned to Victor with a faint, bitter smile and said, letting out a dry laugh:
"How naive you are... Do you really believe everyone thinks like you? You are innocent, Victor. You know nothing of what I have endured, of the hell I witnessed with my own eyes."
***
Victor stared into his pain-filled eyes and replied in a calm voice that cut through the silence like a sword:
"Do you know that a naive person is not deceived twice? And do you know that 'naivety is not ignorance, but purity that has not yet learned the language of deception'?"
***
William stood listening to Victor's words, unable to believe what he heard and saw, as if dreaming a strange dream.
Suddenly, a fierce wind surged, carrying desert sands until it covered the place in a swirling cloud of dust and suffocating silence.
***
Amidst this storm, Nicholas sighed deeply, then said in a cold voice that pierced through the howling wind:
"In this short period, your tongue has grown far too long, boy... It seems it must be shortened a little so you may learn some manners."
***
Victor did not retreat a single step backward; instead, he fixed his gaze steadily upon Nicholas's eyes and answered:
"Despite my physical weakness, no one who wishes to kill me can intimidate me. Thus, I move forward without fear, for death is the destiny of everything in this life. Do you have any other question, Nicholas?"
***
And suddenly... something unforeseen occurred.
Victor's necklace ignited with a pure white light, unseen before by either William or Nicholas. The light emanated gently from the gemstone, like a morning ray breaking the silence of the place.
Both men stood silent, filled with admiration and astonishment at the scene.
In that moment, everyone realized that the necklace had not merely granted Victor power; it had resonated with the purity of his heart and his steadfastness, acknowledging him as the rightful bearer of this stone's responsibility.
***
Then Victor began advancing toward Nicholas with steady steps, saying in a voice blending challenge and camaraderie alike:
"Do you wish to fight? Come then, fight me man to man. I shall not even use the necklace's power against you; I will rely solely on my own meager strength."
***
And suddenly, without any warning, Victor shot forward like lightning, delivering a swift, direct punch straight to Nicholas's face.
William and Nicholas heard it clearly as it collided with the bone of his nose. Nicholas staggered backward, blood gushing profusely from his broken nose.
***
Nicholas erupted in fury, wiping the blood from his face with eyes filled with madness, then charged at Victor with a torrent of rapid, violent punches, marking the true beginning of the battle, far beyond mere words.