Rian and Kaito approached Zeke carefully.
A faint mist rose from his battered form, his body heat evaporating into the cold air as he lay crumpled on the floor. Blood was still falling from the wounds that marked his body, the only sign he was still alive, was the slight movement of his chest.
"Geez, Kaito, he might be dead," Rian said, crouching down to get a better look at Zeke's condition. "No, wait. He's still breathing, huh?"
Kaito snorted as he looked over Zeke's tired figure, his arms crossed as he shook his head. "Lucky bastard, you nearly died, look at all the blood you've lost."
Zeke chuckled dryly, the sound raspy. " Make yourselves usefull and heal me."
"Come on," Rian said, extending a hand to help him up. "Let's get you patched up before you pass out."
Zeke accepted, and with their help, made it to his feet. His legs shook crazily as he walked, after a few steps darius came forward and picked him up in a princess carry, making it quite a funny scene for the other students to watch from a distance.
Meanwhile, the rest of the students rounded up the executioners. Their morale already dropped to zero when they saw their leader get killed, and also the fact that Zeke was still conscious made it feel as if they had chains dragging them down. They didn't even fight back as the students from Zeke's army tied them up.
Night crept in slowly, painting the horizon in hues of deep violet and soft indigo. Smoke curled gently from rekindled campfires, the soft crackling of flame mixing with the hum of quiet conversations set the forest alight witha peaceful atmosphere, the recent battle between Zeke and the Executioner was being discussed at nearly every gathering, regardless of there being multiple groups of people talking about it they all thought the same thing "Zeke is a monster."
As night deepened, the students huddled close to the fires. Laughter, began to spread as people got more comfortable, They shared stories, passed around dry rations, and even sang a song or two under the stars. The fear of the trial still lingered in their hearts, but the camaraderie and quiet warmth of the camp gave them a fragile sense of peace. They looked towards the distance every few minutes at a lonely campfire, a few figures seated around it, the faint sounds of laughter could be heard, their leader was there, Zeke.
A pale golden light spread across the clearing, the morning mist already beggining to thin as the students stirred slowly. They turned to the distant campfire once more wondering if Zeke was still sleeping, they wouldn't mind as he got beat up pretty good yesterday but when they looked in the distance they couldnt see him, a few got up shocked, but then saw a lonely figure on a distant hill.
There Zeke sat cross-legged, his silhouette barely visible through the morning mist. His eye's were closed as he sat still, the students, after witnessing yesterdays fight had a whole new view of Zeke, tied together with this view it made him look like some mysterious master.
"Tsk, this guy wins one fight and thinks he is buddha." Rian's voice is heard as he walks out of the nearby forest looking towards the students who just woke up. "Yall start packing up the tents, we will leave once Zeke finishes his elightenment or whatever he is doing"
They all chuckled a bit before they began to move. As tents were dismantled and campfires extinguished, a silence hovered among them. No one wanted to disturb Zeke, at this point the mist had cleared yet Zeke remained unmoving, it was clear he was doing something important. Perhaps due to the mist, they didn't see the faint glow that emanated from his body.
...
Zeke woke up before the sun rose, his injuries from the day before were healing well, a result of getting special attention from the army healer Mira, he looked at the sleeping students in the distance. He shook his head, a small laugh escaping his mouth "Shit, theres so many of them". He washed his face before packing up his tent, since he woke up there has been a feeling in the back of his mind, a little pull, at first it was barely a whisper but it was getting louder now. Zeke walked towards a nearby hill before sitting down, legs crossed with his hands on his lap, he was about to make a joke about those cringey cultivation novels but then the faint ringing of a bell threw him into a daze.
From the outside it merely looked like he was sitting still, perhaps even sleeping but in his mind a storm was brewing, memories were being thrown at him, he decided to focus on them since he couldn't stop them, he replayed every moment of the battle, every step, feint, pivot, and slash. The technique, his technique that he made mid-battle. He analyzed it again and again.
"It's weird, I felt it yesterday and I can feel it again now, no one else can use this technique, atleast for now that is. And why can I not think of a name for it, its as if there's a fog that clouds my mind whenever I think of naming it" he clenched his teeth. "Is there someone or something interfering with my mind? damn it, all these thoughts and insights, are they mine?"
Something, or someone in the back of his mind told him this strike, this power was the foundation of his own path, recounting what he saw yesterday he remembered how the executioners mana path was severed, atleast thats what it looked like to others, but to him although he didn't know how, he knew it wasn't the mana he cut, it was something else, when he used the technique it was as if there was a string that was severed above the blonde guy, loosing his life and mana was merely the side effects of this action.
"Well, I guess this is why i'm going to the academy, to learn all of this magical bullshit, hah, eventually it will all work out, I should stay guarded though, if there is someone interfering with my thoughts then, well... something... damn those novels lied, usually when the mc keeps talking some mysterious voice speaks, ah its all fake damn unless i'm not the mc, ughh."
He took a few deepbreaths to clear his thoughts, then he looked within him, his mana flowed steadily now, no longer erratic like where he first broke through a few days ago. It curled around him, a gentle breeze brushing the grass, responding to his breathing. The power no longer felt foreign, it felt like a third arm. Just based on his knowledge from reading books he assumed this was a 'novice stage', one where someone just starts interacting with mana.
He opened his eyes abruptly as he felt something shift in the distance. A big wall of blue energy was slowly closing in from the distance, "hah, that annoying old man", the closer the barrier, the more danger there is for the group. He turned his attention the students off in the distance, all of them were awake and moving about, tents were packed, campfires put out, only a few remaining embers glowed.
Seeing that Zeke was finally up, Kaito walked towards, he stretched his arms with a sigh. "About time dude, Is it time to move now?"
Zeke chuckled as he stood slowly, his muscles still trembled slightly, from overuse but it was better than yesterday.
He looked out over the group gathered below him, the students he had fought beside, commanded and protected. Their faces turned towards him with a mixture of fatigue, curiosity and respect.
"There could be more executioners out there," his voice quiet, scanning the crowd, his eyes landing on the captured group of executioners. "There may even be some among us, hiding."
That hit harder than expected. Several students straightened. A few glanced sideways at each other, uncertain. A murmur rippled through the group like wind disturbing tall grass, subtle and tense.
"But remember…" he said, and now his voice deepened, quiet fury laced beneath the surface, "We're fighting against is the academy. They're the ones who made this whole game. They're the ones who tossed us in here like pawns on a board."
His eyes drifted toward the shimmering distortion in the distance, the barrier, pulsing faintly with arcane energy, a curtain between safety and the unknown.
"They played us like pawns, threw us into a forest full of beasts, pitted students against eachother, Listen you may be angry at the executioners but who gave them that role, who made them fight other students, it was the academy, they are doing all this to stop us from finishing this trial, from lasting until the last day."
He took a breath, grounding himself.
"But we're still standing."
Zeke's hand dropped to his sword at his hip, not to draw it, but to feel the cold metal, the hard truth that this was real.
"We only survived until now, slowly building our numbers, but from today its different, we are going all out, to find everyone, and anything that is useful, to destroy this trial."
He stepped forward, boots crunching softly over the packed forest earth walking towards the crowd as they split open, forming a walkway for him to walk through..
"All right,"
he said as he walked amongst them, a final steel-threaded command escaped his lips.
"Move out."