Who am I?

"Hah! Hah"

'Splash'- the water from the bin, splashed against Gabriel's skin, reflecting against the sun.

'Huff, Huff'- Gabriel's ragged gasps for breath were heard as he struggled to breath.

"Master! Master! Are you okay!?" Lowell franticly came in running when he heard the commotion happening.

'If you want to find the answers you seek, look for Deimos'

Those words kept ringing in Gabriel's head. His head felt like it was about to explode as he tried to remember what that figure had showed him. But every time he tried his memory only got blurry.

"Master! Master!"- Lowell's calls brought Gabriel's thoughts back to reality.

"I'm okay, I'm fi-" Gabriel tried to say he was fine, but his face seemed to be paralyzed as he couldn't raise his lips up in a smile.

'Strange, why can't I move my face?' Gabriel grabbed his face looking confused. 

Lowell thought he might've hurt his faced and asked in concern.

"Master did you hurt your face?"

But suddenly his master only turned to look at him and smiled, calming him down.

"I'm okay, instead we should start preparing."

"Preparing for what?" Lowell asked in confusion.

"To go to the dungeons, what else." said Gabriel as he came out of the bin, to put on his clothes, leaving Lowell flabbergasted.

Lowell knew his master was always someone who avoided anything related to dungeons, as he felt inferior to the warriors that risked their lives trying to do a living, meanwhile all he did was lay down and depend on Lowell all the time.

....

"Okay, show me." Gabriel said while holding a wooden stick, standing upright in an unfamiliar posture for Lowell.

Lowell looked at the wooden stick in his hands and asked with confusion." Master show what?"

Gabriel looked at him as he wasn't asking the obvious. "You're skills of course."

For once Lowell couldn't wrap his head around what his master was thinking. "Master, I'm sorry but why, I don't get it."

Gabriel answered patiently, "To evaluate you of course. How am I going to know how strong you are without you showing me first. Or is it that you don't want to show me."

"No! I- I mean yes, I do want to show you master, and how could I never not trust you." Lowell answered as he was hurt, his master thought he didn't trust him.

"Then go ahead." Lowell starts to concentrate as his master encourages him

Lowell nods, taking a deep breath. He closes his eyes for a moment, focusing on his inner power. As he opens them, the wooden stick begins to glow with a soft, ethereal light—the manifestation of his light magic.

The rhythmic clash of wooden practice swords reverberated through the ancient forest. Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy above, casting dappled shadows on the mossy ground.

He starts his performance with a series of swift, fluid movements. The stick dances through the air, leaving trails of light in its wake.

Each strike and parry is precise, a testament to years of rigorous training. The light follows his every move, creating an almost hypnotic display of brilliance.

As he moves, the light magic pulses and flows, illuminating the courtyard with radiant patterns.

He executes a powerful upward slash, sending a wave of light arcing through the air, which disperses in a shower of sparkling particles.

He moves with the rhythm of the falling leaves, gently dancing with them. He does a straight slash cutting them in an instant, disrupting the leave's dance.

'Plip' Lowell stood as sweat fell from his face, with with his hand still extending forward, his posture upright.

'Plop' Lowell turned around, looking at Gabriel picking up the stick that had fallen out of his hands.

Lowell looked at Gabriel, his eyes were full of anticipation. He saw Gabriel's lips muttering something, but he couldn't quite hear him." Is something the matter master?"

"-bage" Lowell hadn't heard him, "Master what is -" But Gabriel cut him off " I said it was garbage!

"What was that supposed to be? Swordsmanship? I've seen children playing with sticks show more skill than that! Your swordsmanship is garbage!"

Lowell flinches at his words, his face paling. Gabriel's eyes blaze with intensity as he steps forward, his presence commanding Lowell's attention.

Lowell couldn't help but flinch at his master's harsh scolding.

Gabriel knew that with those skill he wouldn't be able to survive any threat that would come at him in the future. 

"Come. Come and attack me. I'll teach you and show you what you're lacking," Gabriel's voice was steady, but his gaze held an intensity that pierced through Lowell.

"Bu- but master, I'm afraid that, that I'll—" Lowell's voice trembled, his words trailing off into the silence of the forest. His heart pounded, not from fear of the practice itself, but from the memories of his master's frailty.

Gabriel's eyes softened, though his expression remained stern. "If you're this afraid, you will get killed before you even know it. Don't worry, this body isn't that weak anymore."

But Lowell's hands shook. He had spent countless nights nursing Gabriel back from the brink, tending to his fragile form when he couldn't even hold a bowl to feed himself. The thought of attacking his master now felt like a betrayal.

"Master, I... I can't," Lowell whispered, his eyes welling with unshed tears. He remembered the nights when Gabriel's life hung by a thread, and the thought of causing him any harm, even in practice, was unbearable.

Gabriel stepped closer, his presence a mix of unwavering strength and newfound resilience. "Look at me, Lowell," he said softly. "I'm not the man you used to know. I've found strength within myself that I didn't realize existed. You must see me as I am now, not as I was."