The Void in my Soul

"Rise and shine."

The voice broke James' meditative state. He opened his eyes to look at the person who called out to him.

"Morning, Lily."

"Feeling better?"

"Yea…"

James pushed himself up from the bed to a half-sitting position. The pain had disappeared. He could freely move his body.

"Good. Come, follow me Your assessment is starting again."

James followed. This time, instead of the enclosed hall, he was brought to an open courtyard. The sun was directly on top of it and the heat was making anybody standing out in the open uncomfortable.

Standing in the middle was none other than his opponent, the big man with the iron fist and magnificent beard.

"Newcomer! I see you are alive and well. Time for another ass whooping?"

By the way, this was already the twentieth times James had experienced this. Which means, he had his ass whooped for 20 times by this man and was hospitalized 20 times because of severe injuries.

Hence, James did not even know how to reply to his taunts. He just sighed and ready himself by assuming a stance to stabilize his footing. One is to make attacking easier. Two, so that he can run away easier.

"That's the spirit!"

The man charged toward James.

James had been practising the breathing and focusing exercise. Hence, the routine had been hammered into his body system. Subconsciously, James took a deep breath and he could sense the presence of the man before him.

Everything was moving quickly. The man shot his fist at James.

"Left!" shouted the instinct within James.

James dodged his head to the right. The man was a bit startled by James' reflex. He let out a wide grinned and decided to use his legs instead.

James saw it coming but he could not dodge it in time. But he was able to guard his chest with his arms.

The leg landed on his arms, James grit his teeth and the force push James back. He was anticipating the pain that comes along with it but it didn't feel as painful as before.

"Oh, you are still standing, newcomer!"

The man didn't give him a break.

James was still confused about his current state. Just as he was sorting out the situation, he didn't notice another incoming attack. The man punched his skull and James was knocked out.

...

...

James had started to familiarize himself with the darkness that came along whenever he blacked out and the moment he opened his eyes to find himself under that same old ceiling with wood planks on it. This time, however, he didn't feel as much pain as before.

"Hmmm…" James was thinking.

The next session begins after just 1 day of rest.

"Newcomer! Here's another ass whooping!"

After saying that, he started his usual charge. This time, however, James was prepared. He took a deep breath and sensed his attacks.

He dodged in the nick of time but his footwork was unstable. The man took it as his advantage and deliver another attack. James took the attack with his arms to shield it from his face. As expected, the pain was less intense than before. James speculated it's either the man got weaker or something within has gotten stronger. James thought it would be more logical for the latter to happen.

Since now he can take the brute force of the man and he can dodge the man's fast attacks, James confidently charged towards his opponent, to the man's surprise.

"You have balls, I like that!"

The man threw a strong right hook at James.

"Focus…." James took a deep breath.

"Focus…."

James lifted up his right arm to block the hook, this time, he was able to receive the full force of the attack, without flying off, and sent his left arm straight at the man's throat.

"This is it!" thought James

The man bent his legs and moved his head just in time before James could hit him.

"That was close! Phew."

The man quickly grabbed James arm and squeeze it firmly. Cracks were heard. James was groaning and gritting his teeth from the pain.

"I see that you are finally able to use Soul to an extent. I was starting to get bored of attacking you. But that's not enough, newcomer."

He squeezed his grip firmly and James was clenching his jaw and gritting his teeth.

"Painful right? But this is not as painful as what I am going to do to you now."

He placed the palm of his hand on James's stomach.

"Besides enhancing perception and enhancing your body defence. There's a more active way of using Soul, newcomer. You can use it to deal severe and sometimes irreversible damage to people by harming their Soul directly. I hope you are listening."

James was struggling to break free from this man strong grip. Veins were popping out from his forehead as he summoned the last of his strength to break free from his grip.

"This is how you deal real damage to anything. This is one of the ways you can use Soul. I am Master Lee Sung, remember my name newcomer. Let me show you the destructive power of Soul."

The man took a deep breath and James felt a huge hole being created in his stomach. His eyes went blank and he fell unconscious again.

....

.....

James opened his eyes and found a girl was looking down at him.

"You are awake…"

"Yes, I am…."

"Did you get beaten again?"

"Yes."

James woke up from the lap he was laying on.

Who is this girl?

"Are you doing okay?" asked James.

"Yes, I am."

Why am I talking to this girl? Do I know her? The girl he is talking to has a slender figure and long silky black hair. Her eyes were black. Her skin was snow white. She was wearing a long white dress that was glowing.

"Are you going to fight him again?" asked the girl.

James nodded his head. "Of course. I have to be stronger."

Why am I talking to this girl so casually?

"Will you come and find me again?" asked the girl. But James did not answer her back.

James opened his eyes.

"What the hell was that dream?" asked James.

He put his hand on his stomach to see if there's any hole on it. There was none.

"How long was I unconscious this time?"

James looked around the place to find a clue. There was none.

He lifts himself up and closed his eyes, preparing himself from the waves of pain that are going to hit him. But there was none.

"Okay, …that's great."

He got down from the bed and left the infirmary. The first thing he saw was the nurse who was attending to him all this time. The nurse gasps and dropped the clipboard she was holding onto.

"You are awake! It's a miracle!"

"What?"

"I need to inform them, quickly."

The nurse then dashed off, leaving behind the confused James.

….

….

Meanwhile, somewhere in a training room where sandbags dummies were placed all over the room, a man with a magnificent beard was punching those dummies down like a beast. He was half-naked and sweat covered his muscular body. The sweat made his body looked oily.

He stopped punching when a man stood in front of the door looking at him.

"What do you want Master Ren?"

"Still remember the newbie that you blasted a hole in his Soul?"

The man turned to face Master Ren.

"He is woken. It's a miracle, isn't it? At the same time, that's also proved to us how much of a potential threat he is going to be if he is left unchecked."

The man smiled.

"What's so funny, Master Lee?"

"So what do you think is going to happen Master Ren? Will this boy become our greatest ally or will he become our greatest foe?"

"I certainly not hope that he will develop into our greatest enemy. We already have one to deal with. This time, we have taken countermeasure."

"Ya, ya. But let's not be that pessimistic. I kinda like this boy. Unlike that arrogant brat before. What's this boy name again?"

"James Charter."

"So have you guy managed to find out his Soul Nature?"

"Based on the way how he was able to defend himself from your attack and not being knocked out immediately from the last 2 sessions, we have determined him to be Earth Nature type."

"So he is a solid guy. Like me! Hahaha."

Master Lee let out a throaty laugh.

"He will be under your care, Master Lee. Please do keep a close eye on him. We don't want a repeat of what happened in the past. If things start to go wrong, I hope you are aware of the action we are going to take."

"I know, I know."

"You better take good care of him if you don't want him to die."

Master Ren left.

"Phew. That guy sure has no chill," thought Master Lee.

"Still, James Charter, you are one hell of a beast to have endured so many sessions with me. I really pray that you will not follow that bastard footsteps. It will pain my heart to end your life."