Bye

Gen then said, "Why would I be stupid?"

"I'll explain it to you, but first, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"You have the essence of the spear, right?"

"Yes."

"What level are you at?"

"For certain reasons, I can't use it now, but before that, I was at the External level."

"Got it, and how long did it take you to get to that level, Gen?"

"It took me about ten years, with the help of my teacher."

"Got it, so Gen, can you tell me, since it took you ten years, with the help of your teacher, to get to the external level with your physical type essence, how long do you think it will take you to get to that same level with your new conceptual essence?"

Gen then began to think a bit and said, "I can't tell, but without counting luck or anything like that, I'd say at least about fifteen years. I understand what you're trying to tell me, Dehji, but even so, one day is a very short time in fifteen years. We can put it off until tomorrow."

Dehji then continued, "Pay attention, Gen. Where are we?"

"At the training room."

"That's r-, no! I'm talking about the location in the world."

"Oh, got it. We are in the ruins, oops, at the door of comprehension."

"Exactly, Gen. Now let me explain. The doors of comprehension are not only there for you to understand the essence initially. They are also there to help you advance the levels of your essence."

"That's what this training room is for. The essence is concentrated here so that it accelerates your understanding of it by at least ten times. If it takes you fifteen years outside to get to the material level, here inside, you will get there in a year and a half. So we can't waste any time because each day here is worth ten outside, got it?"

"Yeah."

Dehji then continued, "Good, now another thing about your problem. This essence can't solve it."

"... I understand. Well, that's okay. I'll keep looking for another solution as I leave here."

"Calm down, Gen. Like I said, it can't solve your problem. However, it can still help you. The essence of 'Endless' can be used in many ways, and one of them is by extending something."

"For example, if you want to punch me, I can just use my essence to extend the ground in front of you. That way, you will never be able to reach me. Another way to use it could be to make my stamina endless. That way, it doesn't matter how long we keep fighting. You will surely reach your limit first. However, in your brother's case, there is a problem."

"And what would that be?"

"Well, let's take this opportunity to explain to you a little more about the essence. Well, on the Body level, the essence of the 'Endless' can make something internal to you endless, such as stamina."

"On the External level, it can make something inside your core endless, such as the ground in front of you, but the change only remains inside your core."

"At the Material level, it's possible to do the same thing as at the external level, but the change will continue in effect outside your core, but only for a short time."

"From the next level, each level above raises the time that the alteration will remain until it is something definitive."

"Well, that being said, to solve your brother's problem, you would need to at least be on the External level. However, on that level, you would have to keep it inside your core at all times."

"From there, each level up will give you more time and space, up to the point where you solve the problem itself. So actually, you already have the solution to your problem in hand, but it will likely take years before you can apply it effectively."

Gen then said, "Got it, so we really don't have time to waste. Where do we start?"

"Easy there, Gen. There's something else I want to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"There is another way you can solve your problem that will probably cost you less time."

"Really? What would that be?"

"I have two siblings, and each of them has an ordeal like mine. If you can master their essences, I guarantee you that, along with my essence, it is possible to solve your problem."

Gen then said, "Hmm, All right then. When we leave here, let's head towards their trials. Where are they?"

"Well ... I'll explain it to you later. Let's start the training for now."

"Ok, where do we start?"

"Well, you can start by running around the track using the essence to get your stamina going endlessly."

"Ok, I'll try."

Gen then started running around the training ground, and after a few laps of trying, he finally managed to apply the essence to his stamina.

Gen then asked, "Okay, and how long do I stay here running?"

"Not long, just until you pass out or sleep, as you would call it."

"Until I pass out? I don't think I will ever pass out. After all, isn't that the point of using the essence in this way?"

"In theory, yes, Gen. However, nothing is perfect. At some point, your body will no longer be able to keep using the essence, and when that happens, you will pass out."

"I see, but why stay until I pass out then? Couldn't I stop before it happens?"

"No. This exercise has more than one objective besides training your essence. With it, we will also test how much your body can handle. You may need to know this in the future, such as during a fight, so it's always good to know what your limit is."

"Okay. Let's continue then."

...

One year later.

Gen was in the training room running around the track, and while he was running, Dehji was throwing various weapons and objects in his direction.

Gen kept running even though the objects were coming, but whenever they came within a certain distance from Gen, the objects stopped in the air, and after a while, they fell to the ground.

This process continued for a while until Deji said, "That's enough for today, Gen."

Gen then turned to Dehji and asked, "Why are we stopping early today?"

"Well, in a little while, it will be time to leave."

"What do you mean? Has it been a year already?"

"Yeah, time flies, doesn't it? Oh, I almost forgot. Happy birthday, Gen. I hope I was the first one to congratulate you, hahaha."

"Thank you, and before I forget, go fuck yourself."

"Hey, what's the need for that."

"How much time do we have?"

"Two hours."

"Hm, ok. Then I'll start packing up and take a shower."

"Enjoy it well. It's the last time you'll take a shower in a luxurious bathroom like this."

Hearing this, Gen thought of the huge bathroom of the ordeal and then thought of his old bathroom. He then frowned and said, "Damn, you didn't have to remind me of that. I'm almost tempted to stay here for another year."

"Well, I can't judge you. The bathroom really is on another level."

Gen then left the training room, started to pack his things, and then went to take a shower.

After finishing, he went to the kitchen to get some food for the trip and then met Dehji in the living room that led to the other rooms.

Dehji then asked, "Ready to go back?"

Gen then took one last look around and then said, "I'm ready."

"Good, come with me, prisoner. You'll finally be released from prison after serving a year due to extreme dumbness."

"You can't stop with this random stuff, can you? hahaha."

"Hahaha."

Dehji and Gen then crossed the completely dark path again, and along the way, neither of them said anything.

Gen even found it strange to see Dehji so quiet and thought, 'Maybe he needs to concentrate to get us out of there.'

As he reached the end of the path and walked through the door, Gen saw that he had come out into the desert with the black stones.

Dehji then said, "Okay, we're back. Now, we need to wait. By the time you got in last year, I'd say we have about five minutes."

"Okay."

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Gen."

"Hmm? Why are you saying that?", "Unfortunately, I'm not going with you, Gen. My only goal in this world was to wait for someone else to pass this ordeal. Now that that has happened, I have to go."

"What? Are you joking?"

"No."

"... I understand. It was nice to meet you, Dehji, and ... despite everything, I'm going to miss you."

"Me too, Gen.", said Dehji, smiling.

The door then began to shake and slowly shatter. Dehji, who was inside, began to gradually disappear, starting from his feet.

Seeing Dehji disappearing, Gen said, "Dehji, I'll never forget you! No matter what happens! Thank you for everything!"

Hearing this, Dehji just smiled and then slowly disappeared completely. The door then finished collapsing, making a loud noise. Soon after the noise came a silence that made Gen think about everything he had been through with Dehji all this year.

From his first meeting with him, the constant joking around, which sometimes crossed the line, and the hard training he put him through.

Gen then looked at the collapsed door and said, "I never thought that silence could hurt so much.", and then knelt in front of the broken door, touched one of the stones that made it up, and said, "Rest well, my friend."