Swordcraft

"S-Swordcraft?" Liu muttered, both in astonishment and slight confusion.

He could have sworn that he had heard that name before, but his memory of it blurred the more he tried to remember.

Still, the name itself encapsulated a meaning that Liu found profound. The art of the sword, the path of the Sword Saint, the creation of a different blade. It was a brave new reality that was closing in on him.

"Do you wish to learn it?" Yui's voice echoed in the vast compound as she stared at Liu with resolve in her eyes.

An intense air danced around her, just as the lovely scent of drifting flowers moved about.

"I… I wish to." Liu could only whisper.

His heart was too excited for him to form any serious words, and his expectations were taking him to a new level of excitement.

"Your response is premature. It lacks conviction. Swordcraft is extremely difficult. It took me nearly a century to create it, and it is the culmination of my experiences. It has evolved over the years, and it still continues to grow."

She took yet another step back.

"Do you understand? Its worth is beyond a flaky decision. You need to desire it above all else."

"I desire it!" Liu yelled, yet Yui shook her head.

"Not enough conviction. I suppose I have no choice but to show it to you."

He wanted to see it! Liu could feel a yearning as his bulging eyes took in the Sword Saint take a form he didn't recognize.

She stood still, yet something around her warped the surroundings. It felt like she was there, yet at the same time she wasn't.

"Swordcraft uses all three of the fundamental elements in the technique, and there are a total of 9 Variants it originally possesses. Right here and now, I shall show them to you."

Sweat covered Liu's face and his heart thumped with a constant rythm.

"Burn this sight into your eyes and do not ever let it vanish from your memory." Yui's eyes closed, and her lips leaked out a soft whisper of air.

Her hand tightly gripped her blade, and she readied her form in absolute equilibrium. The warping atmosphere around her seemed to intensify, and tiny particles couls already be seen floating around her.

Liu could not believe the three harmonious colors that fluttered around the Sword Saint.

Red

Blue

Yellow

Like fireflies, they danced around her, creating a swirling stom of light. Mana, Ki, and Chi. The powers erupted, then merged, and then flowed. The beauty of the process escaped description.

It was simply sublime.

"Swordcraft #01… [Ascension]"

And thus, the Sword Saint began her dance.

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*

*

"A-ah… ahh…"

Liu's voice was hoarse by the time he was done watching the Sword Saint.

His eyes were filled with bright wonder, and his thumping heart was at rest. Everything, his entire senses, was centered on the Sword Saint, who stood at the center of the dispersing energy.

The area around her was uninjured from the nine forms she had just revealed, though from all he saw—or rather, what he could understand—reality itelf seemed to have completely shattered. It was beyond anything he had ever seen.

Both in this world, and the one before.

"I… I…" Liu went to his knees, trembling as he spoke. "I want it… I want to learn it."

Tears were in his eyes, and his heart felt like exploding. Gratitude swelled from within him, and he could not properly express how thankful he was to have seen something so amazing.

"Please…" How much of an honor would it be for him to learn something so profound. "... PLEASE TEACH ME!"

He wasn't worthy. He knew that much. However, if his Master truly wanted him to embark on this journey, then how could he not desire it?

"I WANT THIS MORE THAN ANYTHING! PLEASE TEACH ME!" Liu begged.

In his trembling, Liu felt someone embrace him. It was the Sword Saint herself.

"Finally… I can see your conviction." She whispered in his ears.

Perhaps Yui didn't simply want him to learn it because she was the one who was teaching it. She must have wanted him to see it with his own eyes and covet it.

"The technique that is used to harness the power of Mana around, combining it with the Ki in the body, while using Chi to serve as the merger… that is Swordcraft." She began. "It will be extremely difficult for you, or even anyone, to learn it."

Liu understood what she meant. He wasn't conceited enough to think he was capable enough to handle the same technique that took his master almost a century.

"You might think it unfair, but I want you to learn this technique in five years, Liu. Do you think you can do it?"

Hearing something so impossible being uttered by his master made Liu's heart skip a beat. But he could not reject her words either.

"D-do you think I can do it?"

"I do. If it's you, Liu, I believe you can."

"Then I will. I will do it!"

He couldn't see her face since he was in her embrace, but Liu knew she was smiling. Her warmness permeated his heart, and he didn't want to forget the experience.

"It will be the toughest five years of your life. The training will be intense, and you will suffer a great deal. You will sacrifice a lot of you time and energy to it. But if you keep your resolve and persevere, you will succeed."

That was all Liu needed to hear. As long as Yui thought he could do it, he didn't care about anything else.

'With this… with Swordcraft, I will finally have the strength to stay by your side. As long as I can do that, I don't care about anything else!'

"You will also have to move in with me. I'm sorry you'll have to leave your friends, Liu, but its neccessa—"

"I don't mind!" Liu instantly responded, his grin growing wider by the minute.

Just hearing all of that made it all worth it.

"As long as I'm with you… I can do anything!"