Lyren sat cross-legged at the central position which he had called the fifth row but it was now obvious that this was the actual core of the entire structure. In order to leave, this was going to be the final boss.
His father's sword was placed next to him. He looked at it once again and smiled. His journey was going to be riddled with swords and he was just about to take the first step. He patted it slowly as he closed his eyes and focused his mind's eye on what the guardian had left him.
Lyren focused on what appeared to be a ball of condensed energy that floated in front of his mind's eye. He did not know what to expect or how to go about it but he would just go ahead and stare at it until there was a change probably.
Well, he stared, then he stared. Still, there was nothing. He had realized he could move this eye so that it could look at anything he wanted with any angle he wanted. He also realized that he was really underestimating his mind's eye.
If he could look at something from any angle he wanted, couldn't also look at something from the inside? This thought brought light into his dimming psyche and he followed this trail of thought as he looked specifically in the inside and he was instantly transported into a different world or so it seemed.
Here, it turned out that everything was light-golden and it was a vast expanse of space with an indefinite sky but looking up, there was a world that seemed to cover the whole sky if he could call it that. It was written in bold format and it radiated majesty just by looking at it. Luckily for him, he could read it.
VANTAGELESS BLADE
These words were very intimidating for Lyren who felt like an ant. He could actually feel its aura but deep down in his mind, he could not help but thing about the creator of this technique.
"How bold," Lyren thought. Both the naming and writing were both bold but there was something about the writing that sent his shivers. It felt as though it had not been written but it had been carved there.
The letters were sharp and they seemed to reflect with a dangerous white light that threatened to hurt his eye if he looked at it for a longer time which caused him to look away. He was certain that the writer had written these words not with a pen or brush but with a sword.
The sharp cuts were so precise that they would put a calligraphy master to shame. The precision was masterclass and the fact that those words covered the entire sky seemed to reinforce the idea that it was vantageless.
Lyren looked around and tried to move. He could move but there was no progress at all so he stooped and looked at the sky again. This time, he did not give in to the fear as he strained himself to not blink. Then something happened.
The words started wobbling and it felt like it was a problem with his perception but then they started merging and there was a change. Right then each letter seemed to change into a model of a small human being and each one of them seemed to be holding a sword. They totaled sixteen.
The first person moved his sword but instantly, Lyren was struck with a surge of pain in his minds eyes as his focus wavered and he was thrust outside the world with a splitting headache in his head and he was forced to open his eyes and close his mind's eye.
He felt something trickle down his eyes and when he wiped using the back of his hand, his mind completely went blank as it was not his tears but it had been blood. This froze his blood as realized just how great the damage was for it to actually affect his outside eyes totally.
This brought him to think whether his eyes and mind's eye were connected. He might have been sent away but he realized that it was the only way. After all, his knowledge and experience with the sword were just him swinging it aimlessly.
Thinking that he could learn some legit technique from the first encounter was a fat chance. But it was not in vain because he had actually come out of the place after reading some words that had appeared instantly after the letters had turned into human models.
The words were simple.
"You are not worthy"
This made him chuckle. So the sword technique was actually conscious. He stood up and took his sword from the ground and decided to come up with a training regime for himself. If he could just learn it instantly, then it was not worth it.
"If I make 100 swings to the left, right, up, down and sideways, then I will be worthy."
Lyren thought as he grabbed on to his sword with both hands and started doing the downwards swings. Well, it was easier said than done.
He paused at the 50th swing and his biceps seemed to screaming at him to stop. Sweat dripped from his head and he had ended up removing his shirt. He took in constant breaths but he was almost running out of it. But he was not going to give up.
Well, he had overestimated himself. He was at the 70th swing and he could barely raise his hands. They felt as though they were going to lose their functionality if he dared to swing them again. He screamed at his muscles to do their job but they were screaming back at him telling him that this was not their job.
His hands finally reached their peak while holding the sword as tightly as he could. Then, he let them fall on their own as he counted the 71st swing. He was already out of breath and he was now breathing through his mouth. The sword hit the stone below and the rebound went ahead to cause more shockwaves to the crying biceps.
Then he raised his hands again and after what felt like forever, they reached their peak and he let them fall on their own. Then he counted his 72nd swing. This went on for forever and for the final 99th swing, his hands shook and they could barely feel the swords they were holding.
His eyes looked exhausted and his face contorted as his hands refused to raise. It felt as thought there was a magnet stopping him from lifting it. There was no way he was going to give up at the last step. He took in deep breaths as he tried to force the muscles to raise the sword but it was fruitless.
Every time he moved it an inch from the ground, his hands would give in and the sword would get stuck on the ground again for what felt like forever until he could move it again be it just that one inch so that it would cause more shock waves into his totally exhausted and aching biceps.
Lyren waited for a while before giving a final pull. The sword that had started light was now like it had been replaced with lead. He released a shout as all his remaining energy was released and he slowly raised the sword to the peak his hand allowed and then with another scream, he swung the sword downwards.
But he had miscalculated. He could not stop the sword from hitting the stone below. By the time he realized his mistake, there came a sharp clang as his fingers which had become blistered without his knowledge instantly released the sword which bounced backwards aimlessly but it was coming at his face.
His biceps ached after the collision and he watched the edge of the sword's come aiming right at his forehed…