-Break-

  Φ Using snowboost I lu the old man and try to ssh him, but when I get close, I am grabbed and thrown into a wall. Getting up I move as fast as I from wall to wall and try again, but almost as if he has rhythmically synched with my body he parries my arm then swings into my body and hits me iomach with his elbow, which blows me back.

  He keeps using my own momentum against me, and therahat forto rotational energy and blows it back at me.

  Trying to get up I fall back down to my knees and spit up some blood.

  “Are you done?”

  “Not a ce baldly,” I say getting up. All I do is keep at him.

  As I stantly press my attack the old man says, “You’re eyes are always watg my every move, and your focus as you strike your target is unmatched, not to mention the unnatural sehat allow you to reay every move, I am guessing those are from yacy.”

  Striking me in the hip I slide backwards, then I immediately increase my speed and zip around the room.

  “You make effective use of blind spots and with your speed whistantaneously increases you catch most oppos off guard, and even with all that innate physical ability you still stantly set traps. You fight like a predator meticulously hunting its prey. I am sure could deal with you.

  Lunging towards him, I turn a pile of snow behind him into an ice spike and try to pincer him. But with a delicate touch, he mao guide my entire body to the left while ever so slightly rotating his body to dodge my ice spike.

  Stepping on my chest the old man says, “Though humans have a lot more up their shelves than mere beasts.”

  Φ Creating iderh my foot, Orb says, “Humans are beasts as well.”

  It seems this child still has lots of fights left in him, how wonderful. Lunging towards Orb, I say. “Then Orb, Let’s see how you hunt me.”

  As Orb stands still, I prepare to punch him iomach, and the moment my fist nds in his stomach I am hit with a sweeping kiy head. Falling to the ground, I feel a tingle move through my body, so I say, “That was rotational energy, you sent my own rotational bae!2

  “Did you really think after hittih the same attaany times I wouldn’t figure it out.”

  “You truly are a predator!” I say lunging at him again.

  Φ Using snowboost to close the distance I immediately attack the old man, but he parries my blow and hits me iomach, then I instantly take that energy and send it back towards him with a knee. But the moment the knee ects the old man backflips away and hits me with his foot in my as he does so.

  Recoiling I say, “You redirected, my redire.”

  Landing he says, “Did you really think I wouldn’t be able to send the energy back towards you again Orb?”

  “Of course, I khat was a factor, but still I feel like I got an eveer idea of how this works old man.”

  “Well, then I would suggest you stop holding bad e at me with your full force, use your spirit energy.”

  Snowboosting at him, I say, “Sorry but I ’t do that.”

  Dodging my attack he says, “Why would that be?”

  “Simple, I ’t use spirit energy.”

  “What!!!” The old man says, jumping backwards.

  Letting out a sigh in front of me the old man says, “I see, how disappointing.” The smile he has had since we began has disappeared and then immediately, he lu me and attacks with eveer speed than before.

  Barely dodging out of the way, I say, “You were holding back this much.”

  Hitting me in my leg, he says, “Listen boy, spirit energy is simply an unknown energy derived from the soul. Every se being use it.”

  Attack him I say, “I already know this.”

  “The only differeween a user and a non-user is perspective. Is your mind open enough to allow it to exist in your world, and this dition be easily achieved by simply being struck by spirit energy stantly or simply being around users of it.”

  Dodging my attacks, he strikes me again and says, “Of course, formal training is necessary to trol effectively but to put it simply anyone use it. All people innately have the same amount but the individual strength of a person's spirit energy is derived by faith.”

  Attag him I say, “Faith?”

  “The strength of the intangible energy knoirit energy is power by your faith iangible. Faith in your bonds, faith in your try, faith in yods, and faith in yourself, one could even describe it as ego or pride, but your belief and faith in that which you ot physically grasp is the source of spirit energies strength.”

  “So, what are you getting at old man,” is what I say, s I prepare to send back his rotational energy. The momes me I am immediately stru two other pces and am sent straight into a wall.

  Walking up to me the old man squats and says, “To put it simply the only erson who has been so obviously struck by spirit energy, wouldn’t be able to use it, is due to a disgusting ck of faith, or in other words a soul-crushing amount of self-doubt.”

  Annoyed, I create a huge amount of i front of me. “You know nothing about me!”

  Blowing past my ice the old man attacks me and says, “You lie all you want but you ’t hide your weakness from me, you coward.”

  As we tinue our exge, he says, “Do you know the reason why I am s, it is because my faith in my calling of proteg my king is unbreakable and a man like you who cks such faith will never be able to fight me.”

  Dodging backwards, I say, “You call that faith, to me that is nothing but blind arrogance.”

  With a look of superiority, the old man says, “The words of a pitiful man who is so scared of his own as that he would be uo even feel his soul are hollow!!”

  Furious I attack him, and say, “So what if I am scared, that’s only because I uand the weight of as. I don’t want to do anything that will be horrible for people in the long run, so blind faith like you will never help anything!”

  Blog all my sloppy attacks he hits me again iomad says, “Expin to me how someone who doesn’t even trust in his own beliefs actually affeything. You’re nothing but trash impersonating a human being.”

  Full of wrath, I stare at the man with eyes full of hate. “Shut the hell up old man, I am fully aware of the type of person I am and I don’t need you to tell me anything.”

  tinuing my csh, I push all my seo the limit and attack him relentlessly. “When you were talking with my king, I was listening to you the eime and the words you said to him were powerful but I wasn’t moved in the slightest. Do you want to know why?”

  “Just stop talking and fight!”

  Taking my momentum, he strikes me in the side and says, “It is because you didn’t believe in those words, no soul was inscribed in those words. They were very clearly passed down to you.”

  Getting up I say, “Did all that ck of height make your brain grow to pensate.”

  Sighing, the old man says, “Petty ebacks is all you have to defend yourself, hallow words from a soulless man. To think someone would pass on su idea to a pointless human, it must have been some sort of ical joke. I guess those ideals must be just as pointless.”

  Instantly, I dash towards him and scream, “TAKE THAT BACK, Captivant lived that ideal every day and died with nothing but a smile on his face. SO DON’T YOU DARE MOCK THEM!”

  Dodging he says, “You have such rage over their disparagement, yet have no faith in them.”

  tinuing my attack, I say, “Of course, I have faith in them, but I am not an idiot. I know they might not apply to everyone, I know that just because something worked for Capti doesn’t mean it will work for everyone else. I want to make all the stars who exist in the world happy, so I o keep thinking and fighting.

  But still, I ’t find an answer, so what am I supposed to do just hold on to beliefs that only have value to me!!!”

  Blog my attack, he hits me iomad screams, “EXACTLY!”

  “No matter what you do you will never know what’s right and wrong, so all you do is hold onto the things that you have faith in and push them forward. Csh head-to-head against others' beliefs to truly uand and refine yours.”

  On my knees holding my stomach I say in a weak voice, “But what if I am wrong, what if I pass on something imperfect?”

  “Uanding is perfe. I have faith in the fact that I must protect the king, but what does that mean protect the king from those he deems his enemies, or from anything that will hinder his own glory, or even himself, and the moment I truly grasp what that means the belief will bee perfect.

  All beliefs have value, yet some are right, and some are wrong, and it is only through g those with others that we refine each of them to perfe, and bring out their true value. That want to blindly perfe intangible belief is what empowers the soul!”

  Getting up Capti’s dying face fshes through my mind, so I say, “I truly believe that face is worth it.” After I say this, I start to hop on one foot in the same spot.

  Φ “You finally look like you have some soul, now don’t hold back.”

  Fog on Orb, I prepare to move but then I see the hoping Orb in front of me disappear and I feel something pass by me. Feeling a liquid on my cheek, I touch it and say, “Blood?”

  Turning around I see that Orb is standing behih blood on his hand. Did Orb just cut me? But how did his speed increase so suddenly? With a smile is ay, “It ’t be!”

  “I thought this spirit energy thing would feel a bit more supernatural, but it sort of feels like being dowsed with water.”

  Immediately I lu Orb as he stands there. With blister speed, I am kicked in the face, but then upon nding, I start to rotate my body and go for a sed attack.

  In respoo this Orb makes a wave of i front of me; I will just break it like I did with the rest. Though the moment my fist hits, it doesn’t gh, and I jump backwards.

  “So, I even infuse my ice with spirit energy, what utility.” Swinging his arms in a circle Orb says, “Now old man all that is left is for me to steal that teique you’re so proud of, and trust me when I say it won’t take long.”

  Letting out a hefty ugh, I say, “I nning on going easy on you, but now I think I might want to crush you!”

  “Try me, old man!”

  With haste, we both lu each other and csh.