The old dojo was silent, save for the slow breathing of two figures.
Eli Calamaki, bruised and battered, stood across from a weathered man with gray hair, sharp eyes that had seen too much of the world, and hands that could bend steel if he wanted. This was Master Kael, the man who had once been hailed as the "Phantom Guardian" in wars that time itself had tried to forget.
Kael didn't believe in easy beginnings.
He believed in breaking you, stripping you to your barest self — then rebuilding you with stone, steel, and willpower.
Day One of Training
The sun was barely rising.
The grass was wet with dew.
Eli was dragged from his sleep by a cold bucket of water to the face.
"On your feet, boy," Kael barked.
"No warrior ever got strong lying in comfort."
Eli's first lesson was brutal:
Control the power within him — the raging storm that slept under his skin.
Eli was made to sit still for hours, while Kael threw rocks, knives, even gusts of spiritual energy at him. The rule was simple:
"You move? You get hit."
"You lose focus? You get knocked out."
"You break mentally? You fail."
The first few days were a nightmare.
Eli couldn't focus.
The power inside him was wild, like a hurricane bottled in a jar. His emotions — fear, anger, sadness about his dying mother — kept leaking into his energy. Whenever he tried to concentrate, memories of his failures haunted him, shaking his heart.
Every evening, he returned to his mother's bedside, covered in bruises and cuts.
Second Week
Kael intensified the training.
Eli was blindfolded.
He was forced to stand under waterfalls.
Made to walk across burning coals.
Told to meditate in storms, where lightning crashed so close the hairs on his arms stood up.
"Feel your inner flow," Kael commanded.
"Don't fight the storm inside you. Become the storm."
It was agonizing.
Sometimes Eli screamed.
Sometimes he cried.
Sometimes he nearly drowned in despair.
But slowly… very slowly…
He felt it.
Moments where the energy inside him pulsed with him — not against him.
Flickers of control.
Tiny sparks of mastery.
Kael taught him breathing techniques, pressure points, emotional anchors.
They fought sparring matches every day — and Kael never went easy.
Each day Eli was slammed into walls, thrown into the dirt, tossed through trees.
But each day he stood up faster.
He fell down less.
He learned.
---
After One Month
Eli stood under the rising sun, his clothes torn, his fists bloodied, but his eyes — steady.
He had learned to breathe with the wind, to move like water, and to strike like lightning.
Kael watched silently from the porch, arms crossed.
"You've done well, boy," he said quietly. "Not perfect… but enough."
Eli knew what came next.
Tomorrow was the exam at Awaken Academy — the place where heroes were forged or broken.
---
The Farewell
Before he left, Eli knelt by his mother's side.
She was pale, weaker than ever.
Tears slipped down Eli's face, but he nodded.
"I promise."
He stood at the dojo's gates.
Kael was there, arms folded, staring at him with an unreadable expression.
"You have a storm inside you, Eli," Kael said, voice like rumbling earth.
"Control it. Or it will control you."
Eli bowed deeply.
"Thank you… Master."
Kael just grunted and turned away. But before Eli walked through the gates, he heard the old man whisper to the wind:
"I hope you succeed..."
Scene Cut: The Jet
The scene exploded into a roaring engine sound.
A military jet flew across the blue skies. Inside, recruits sat nervously, suited up for deployment.
The camera panned to the ground — the city below was in chaos.
Dangerous creatures — mutated beasts with scales and burning eyes — chased terrified civilians.
Standing at the open hatch of the jet was a figure — Ignite, Hero Rank #4.
Clad in a flame-patterned armor, his red cape fluttering against the wind, Ignite looked unstoppable.
Without hesitation, Ignite jumped from the jet, flipping mid-air like a superstar stuntman.
He came crashing down in a blazing, iconic style, cratering the ground beneath him, the shockwave blowing creatures off their feet.
Citizens gasped.
Children pointed.
Hope sparked in everyone's hearts.
---
Scene Cut: Awaken Academy
The majestic gates of Awaken Academy swung open.
Thousands of students poured in — each one radiating power, uniqueness, ambition.
Some summoned elements at will.
Some had bodies of steel.
Some floated off the ground, laughing.
The exam wasn't just a test.
It was a battlefield where only the worthy would rise.
Eli stepped through the entrance, feeling small among the living legends around him.
He marveled at the size of the place — arenas, training fields, holographic statues of past champions.
But as he was lost in wonder, BAM!
He bumped into a group of boys.
"Hey, watch where you're going, loser," one barked — a muscular kid with fire crackling around his fists.
Eli quickly bowed his head.
"Sorry."
But they didn't let it go.
"Sorry?!" another laughed — tall, pale, and had blades forming from his arms.
"You bumped into us and think a sorry is enough?"
A third boy — short but stocky, with earth bending slightly under his feet — shoved Eli in the chest.
"Disrespecting us before the exam? You've got guts."
The first boy flared up. "Maybe we should teach you some manners."
They shoved him again. Eli stumbled but stayed calm.
Just as things were about to escalate —
"HEY!!"
A girl stormed over.
She had a ponytail, sharp eyes, and a presence like a summer storm.
"Leave him alone!" she yelled.
The boys scowled but backed off slightly.
"You're lucky, runt," the fire-fist boy spat.
"See you in the arena."
They left, laughing mockingly.
The girl turned to Eli.
"Why didn't you fight back?"
Eli smiled softly.
"No point fighting trash."
She blinked, then laughed.
"You're weird."
Before she could say more, a voice boomed across the academy:
"ALL PARTICIPANTS TO THE MAIN HALL IMMEDIATELY."
The girl waved and dashed off.
Eli followed the crowd, feeling his heart pound in his chest.
Back in the city, the battlefield was nearly silent.
Ignite stood surrounded by defeated creatures. His flames still flickered in the air.
His team was working: rescuing civilians, checking injured people, ensuring the creatures were dead.
Ignite's assistant, Sarah, ran up to him, her tablet flashing.
"We're good, sir. Area secured."
Ignite nodded but frowned.
"No..." he muttered. "Something isn't right."
Sarah blinked.
"What do you mean?"
Ignite's eyes narrowed.
"These creatures… they're not random monsters. They were sent. Their strength is beyond anything we've seen."
Before Sarah could respond, a scream tore through the air.
Everyone turned.
Half of the team checking the bodies... were dead.
Blood painted the ground.
Weapons shattered.
Their bodies twisted unnaturally.
Panic surged.
Ignite's instincts screamed danger.
He sprinted toward the site.
Dust clouded the air.
Out of the dust… a figure walked slowly.
Hands in pockets.
White suit immaculate.
Shoes spotless despite the blood-soaked earth.
The figure exuded death.
Ignite shouted:
"Are you the one who did this?!"
The man stopped walking.
He smiled — a calm, chilling smile.
"Yes," he said softly, almost politely.
Ignite's flames blazed higher.
"Why?! What's your purpose?!"
The man tilted his head.
"I'm looking for someone special... and he's not here."
Ignite marched forward, fists clenched.
"You've gone too far!"
He launched a fiery punch — a comet of energy.
The man dodged effortlessly.
Another punch — he dodged again.
Again.
And again.
Every punch missed.
The man's hands remained in his pockets, his smile never fading.
Then — like lightning — he grabbed Ignite's fist.
Touched Ignite's forehead lightly.
Suddenly, Ignite's body froze.
He couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe properly.
His flames extinguished.
He collapsed to his knees, helpless.
His team screamed, running toward him.
Ignite struggled — but his body refused to obey.
He felt his powers leaving him, drained like water through fingers.
The man turned his back.
"I don't like interference," he said coldly.
He walked away, his white suit glimmering against the bloodied battlefield.
And as he faded into the distance, his voice echoed:
"I must find... Eli Calamaki."
Then —
vanished like smoke.
Leaving behind only silence, corpses, and a world about to change forever.
---
TO BE CONTINUED...
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