Derivan, Ronibo, and Ranika arrived in front of a waterfall.
"What is this place, and why did we come here?" Derivan wondered.
"This is a legendary place called the Valley of Salvation. This is where you will train."
"Really? So where do we start?"
"Take off your clothes and jump under that waterfall."
Derivan raised an eyebrow. "You can't be serious, right?"
"I absolutely am."
"But what is this kind of training supposed to accomplish?"
"This is only the beginning. Before we move on to real training, you must step under the waterfall. This special water will cleanse your mind. Without that, you won't begin true training" Ronibo explained.
Derivan muttered something under his breath as he took off his clothes, then approached the waterfall. The moment he dipped his hand into the water, he jumped back immediately.
"WHAT IS THIS?! This water is freezing!"
"Oh, did I forget to mention that? Hehehe, my mistake. Now stop complaining and get under the waterfall. Cleansing your mind of all negative emotions is extremely important, especially in your case."
Seeing the serious expression on his master's face, Derivan tried again to step under the waterfall. At first it wasn't easy, but on the fourth attempt the teenager finally managed to stand fully beneath the stream.
"How long am I supposed to stay here?"
"Until you completely cleanse your mind. Close your eyes and focus. Let the stream wash away all negative thoughts and emotions."
Derivan nodded and did exactly as Ronibo said.
As Derivan sat beneath the waterfall, images of Laura and Marta appeared in his mind.
"Derivan…"
"Laura, Marta…"
Suddenly, shadows of some figures appeared behind the girls and killed them before Derivan's eyes. Enraged by what he saw, he began to unleash his demonic power.
"Ronibo!"
"I know" seeing what was happening to his student, Ronibo used his bracelet to suppress Shonetsu's power.
When Derivan's demonic power was suppressed, the teenager opened his eyes, breathing heavily.
Ronibo approached Yashimiro. "Hey, what happened?"
"I saw it again… someone killing people I knew."
"I understand. I know this will be difficult for you, but you must do it. Otherwise, you'll never move forward."
"All right. I'll do it."
Ronibo smiled. "That's the attitude."
Derivan stepped under the waterfall again and closed his eyes, entering his mind. Moments later, the same images appeared.
"Well, well, look who we have here. You enjoy watching me kill your friend?" the image of Idejak appeared before Derivan.
"Idejak…"
Idejak walked over to Marta and cut off her head. "You are weak. That's why she died. That's why you couldn't save them."
"Shut up" Derivan clenched his fists.
"You're afraid of the truth. There's no escaping it, no matter how hard you try."
"Shut up! I'm not weak… shut up, SHUT UP!"
The images vanished from Derivan's mind.
A short while earlier…
"Do you think that boy can handle it? After all, very few people have managed to complete this training. Even you never fully mastered it" — Ranika said.
"That's true, but I believe in that boy and in the fact that he'll succeed."
"You've changed" the blonde admitted quietly.
"Did you say something?"
"No, nothing. You must've imagined it."
At that moment, Derivan approached the two old friends.
"So? Did you manage it?"
In response, Yashimiro nodded. "Yes, although it wasn't easy at all."
"Excellent. As a reward for completing the first stage of your training, I've prepared something special for you. Follow me."
The teenager raised an eyebrow but shrugged and followed his master. When they arrived, Derivan's eyes widened to their limits at the sight of a huge table filled with food.
"Wait… did you prepare all of this just for me?"
"Not entirely. Ranika helped me. Though I'm wondering if we didn't overdo it this might be too much food for someone like you."
Yashimiro said nothing and immediately attacked the food like it was a battle, devouring everything within reach.
"Like father, like son" Ronibo commented nostalgically, recalling Matomiro's feasts. "Eat well, because the next stage won't be so easy."
After several minutes, once Derivan had eaten everything, he collapsed onto the ground and instantly fell asleep.
After a short nap interrupted by Ronibo dumping a bucket of cold water on his student Derivan followed him to a set of doors.
"What is this place?" the teenager asked.
This is a temple where the next stage of your training will take place" Ronibo said, opening the doors to reveal stairs leading downward.
"That's a lot of stairs."
"Don't exaggerate. Only about three thousand."
Derivan looked at Ronibo like he was crazy. "You're joking, right? I'm supposed to go down and then climb back up all of those?"
"If you want to become strong, yes."
Derivan stared at the stairs for a moment. Ronibo decided to take advantage of that and shoved the teenager inside, immediately shutting the doors behind him.
"Hey, you old bastard! Why can't I open these doors?!" Derivan tried repeatedly, but without success.
"These doors can only be opened six months after being closed. Forgive me, Derivan, but this is the only way for you to become stronger."
Yashimiro was terrified at the thought of spending at least half a year there.
"Six months?! What am I supposed to eat all that time?"
"Relax. This is a special place where you won't feel hunger or thirst. Besides, you just ate a lot, so you shouldn't complain. For now, all I can do is wish you good luck."
Derivan said nothing more and began descending the stairs, while Ronibo returned to his own affairs.
"Did you tell him what awaits him down there?"
"Hehehe, no. Why would I ruin the surprise? He'll certainly be shocked if he even manages to reach the bottom.'
Derivan had been descending the temple stairs for quite some time. His legs began to ache, and he was slightly out of breath. As if that weren't enough, the lower he went, the hotter it became.
"God, how much longer? This feels endless…"
Suddenly, the teenager misstepped and began to fall down the stairs, tumbling several dozen steps before stopping.
"Ouch… at least I skipped a bunch of stairs, but at what cost" Derivan commented, rubbing the spot that hurt the most. "It's getting hotter and hotter…"
Eventually, he decided to take off his sweatshirt. With every passing moment, he removed more clothing: first his shoes, then his shirt, and finally his pants.
"Damn, it must be a thousand degrees in here."
At one point, drawings painted on the wall caught his attention. They depicted several dragons fighting one much larger than the rest.
After several hours, Yashimiro finally reached the bottom. A corridor appeared before him, and beside the entrance stood a statue of a dragon.
"So… now I'm supposed to go in there?" He thought it, then did it, stepping into the corridor.
"Well, well… it's been several years since someone last visited me" said a deep, heavy voice.
"Who said that? Show yourself!"
"If you want to see me, go to the end of the corridor."
Derivan did as the mysterious voice instructed. When he reached the end, his eyes widened at what he saw.
"DRAGON!"