Weeks and months breezed by as the pendulum of time swung steadily. Before long, Eclipse and Chael had become very proficient in harnessing their Qi and Anima. Their bodies were surrounded by a potent anima, and then outward from their bodies flowed Qi. They were seated side by side in a serene lotus position with a peculiar hue enveloping them. Their Qi, which was now pure, flowed freely and flooded outward from their bodies in waves of energy. Chael’s Qi was a serene golden beige in colour, and Eclipse’s was violet. They maintained this state effortlessly basked in the vibrant glow until the sun dipped below the horizon.

  As nightfall descended, the aura gradually faded, and they opened their eyes, their chiselled bodies glistening with perspiration from their unwavering focus. Their hair had grown longer over these months and was shoulder-length.

  “Not bad, guys.” Celestia clapped as she made her way out of the shadows. “Kahah, you were harnessing Qi and anima since this morning, and even now you don’t really seem at all tired.”

  Chael got up and stared at his hand. He had grown a couple of inches taller than Celestia, and his lean, muscular physique glistened in the twilight, “Qi and anima really do make all the difference, huh? I’ve never felt so powerful.”

  "What now?" Eclipse cut to the chase. He stood eye-to-eye with Celestia, but shorter than Chael and had a formidable presence. Unlike Chael, his muscles weren’t as bulky, but rather, they were very defined with clear striations.

  Celestia raised an eyebrow, "Geez, kid. You just finished this part of the training after how many months? Don't you even think about breaks?"

  Eclipse narrowed his eyes at her, and she let out an exaggerated sigh and shook her head, "Right to the point, as always. Well, now that you've mastered harnessing your Qi and anima, the next step is honing your skills in combat and exploring the depths of your abilities.”

  She was right. About now, they were very proficient with manipulating their Qi as well as their anima. They could even exert anima pressure.

  “Sounds fun,” Chael smirked.

  “Right? Also, the next training…” Celestia said solemnly, “This will be your final training."

  When they heard, their heads immediately perked. Chael’s eyes shone, "Whaa, is it really?!"

  "But it would undoubtedly be the most challenging”, Celestia continued, “because the training will revolve around awakening your Tenelux."

  “Let's get it over with, then,” Eclipse added, his mouth wide open amid a yawn.

  "Geez, take a shower first, you stinkin’ brat!" Celestia complained, "You won't be doing the training right away."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Well, I need to leave somewhere to handle some matters first,” Celestia explained with a solemn expression. "I’ll be gone for about a month or so. But don't worry, though, as soon as I'm back, we’ll begin the training!"

  "Huh, you're leaving? But why?" Chael asked.

  Celestia laughed, "This is a grown-up’s problem! I don't need you brats worrying about me!"

  Celestia then bent down and ruffled both of their hair, to which they shifted in irritation. "Use this time to cool off and practise everything you've learnt over the past few years! I'll be back in no time!"

  Saying this, she got up and turned her back on the duo, her hair fluttering in the wind.

  "Hey, uhh wait-" Chael tried calling out to her, but before he could say anything, her figure vanished into thin air.

  Eclipse and Chael stood there in silence for a while before Eclipse stretched his muscles and let out another monstrous yawn, "Ahhhhhhh, I'm going to go take a nap."

  Chael looked at his shrinking figure as he walked away and smiled bitterly, "There’s no way he’d sleep all month, right?"

  After Eclipse left his line of sight, Chael took his gaze up, quite unsure as to what he should do right now. After a while, he went back into a lotus position, "Guess I'll continue training..."

  The next few days, the two trained every single day. While Chael would spend the day training and would sleep through the night, Eclipse would spend the night training, and he would sleep all day.

  "Ha! Ha! Ha!"

  Chael was swinging his Odachi in a pool of his own sweat with determination flaring in his eyes. As he trained, Eclipse, who was napping by a tree, occasionally opened his eyes to see how Chael was doing before falling right back to sleep. As soon as the sun set, Chael had enough training done for the day. He did a few stretches before he went inside to get some rest.

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  The moment he left, Eclipse opened his eyes and jumped right into training and swung the Mooncrest Katanas around. Flaring with violet Qi, his style of shadow-sword play was very flexible and acrobatic, and insanely swift. He was like a deadly storm, and looking at him would cause the average human to feel fear for his opponents.

  His gradient purple pupils glowed in the darkness and the silver from his blades illuminated the red fluorescence of the moon as he danced gracefully.

  Chael lay down on his bed with his eyes open. After a while, he took his gaze outside and sat up, looking at the starry sky. He narrowed his eyes, "It's... boring without her."

  He then got up, pulled on his drape, and walked outside. The cold air greeted him as he walked up to the large tree where Eclipse usually slept. To his surprise, Eclipse wasn't there. He looked around and then noticed Shadow sleeping on top of the tree, curled up into a fluffy ball. Sensing his presence, Shadow opened its eyes and howled excitedly before jumping next to his feet.

  "Ahaha, that tickles, Shadow!" Chael laughed before bending down and running his fingers through its fur. "Have you seen Eclipse by any chance?"

  Shadow jumped happily before barking in a direction.

  Chael followed its line of sight, and sure enough, far away atop a hill, a certain figure practised swordsmanship. Since the silhouette was quite far away, Chael couldn't really make out its features, but he knew from the silhouette's airtight posture that it was Eclipse.

  Sweat trickled down Eclipse's face as he continued to practise swordsmanship while surrounding himself and his katana in anima to harden and infusing his Qi for deadlier attacks. Every slice of his sword sent a sharp shockwave slicing through the air. As time went on, his strikes would only get sharper and travel further. Drenched in sweat, he clutched his knees, taking deep breaths. He stood straight, wiped his sweat, and glanced to the side.

  "You can stop hiding. Come out..."

  Chael, who was peeping from the tree behind him, instantly looked dumbfounded. He smiled sheepishly and stepped out, "Aha... looks like I've been caught."

  "Tsk. If you want to hide, you should do a better job at it! I could see your dumb hair sticking out."

  "So you train during the night while I'm asleep. Don't tell me seeing me training during the day motivates you." Chael mused as he walked up to Eclipse with a dumb smile.

  Eclipse turned his back to him and stared at the sky, "I just prefer training during the night."

  "Arrgh, you're no fun." Chael sneered.

  The two stood by each other's side and didn't say anything for a long time. Their eyes glowed under the starry sky, and Chael narrowed his eyes slowly and broke the silence, "That night... You said your goal was revenge. Those guys who tried to get info about your gramps? Is it on them…? Or is there more to it?”

  Eclipse remained silent, yet an unmistakable anima pressure filled with bloodlust emanated from him, sending a chill down Chael's spine. But nonetheless, he awaited Eclipse's response.

  "They are part of it." Eclipse finally replied with his tone carrying an unsettling weight. “My revenge won’t be complete till I level the Dracoferus Tribe down to the ground.”

  Chael couldn't help but stare, captivated by Eclipse's intensity. He redirected his gaze to the heavens above and decided to change the subject, "Your gramps... What kind of a man was he?"

  Eclipse’s face remained cold as he reminisced, his eyes still fixed on the distant stars.

  "He was like the moon," he began, his voice carrying a hint of nostalgia. "He... brightened everything around him. He never blamed anyone and he never looked away when someone was in need of help. He brightened my life in my darkest hour. Just like the moon in the night sky”

  Eclipse smiled warmly as the red moonlight fell on part of his face through the gaps between his fingers. Duozian's gentle laugh echoed into his mind along with his face, which was as vivid as reality.

  Chael narrowed his eyes and spoke softly, "So people like that do exist. He sounds really cool."

  "He really was."

  "Well, in that case, I guess I'm going to have to follow you and kill those bastards that did this to him, too." Chael stood upright and punched his palm with a determined grin. "We might not share the same blood, but you're the closest thing to a brother to me."

  Chael turned to Eclipse and held out his fist towards him. Eclipse looked at him blankly for a second before he punched towards Chael, and his fists crashed hard against Chael's knuckles, "Whatever... but don't forget that I'm the older brother."

  Chael chuckled, "Ahaha, I guess that's okay, my shorter brother!"

  Eclipse sneered at Chael, much to Chael's surprise.

  There was a brief moment of silence, then Eclipse looked over to Chael seriously.

  "So what about you? Other than the two bastards who fucked us up, do you have anyone you want to take revenge on?"

  The moment Eclipse asked this, Chael’s smile faded, and his expression grew sad and gloomy. "I... don't know.”

  Chael was still staring at the moon, appearing as though he was trying to find the words to describe his emotions. Eclipse didn't try to press him and simply took his gaze back to the stars.

  "I... lost my memories," Chael said after a while. "When I was about eight… I don't remember anything before then. When I woke up, I was just laying on the streets. I had to steal food and money to survive, and then I met you. I lived like that for three years. Sigh, I don't remember much of where and how I was before then other than my name. The only lead to my past right now is this coin..."

  Chael brought up his hand and tossed a large coin up. For the first time since he got to know Chael, Eclipse finally took a proper look at his coin. The red moonlight glinted off the gold horns of the masked oni on the heads side.

  Eclipse looked at his hand thoughtfully. He had never seen Chael without this coin since the day they met.

  Chael carried on.

  "I don't remember whether I had a family in the past or whether I was living a happy life, but for some reason, I always have the feeling that something bad had happened and that someone was the cause of it all. And that being the reason why I lost my memories."

  Chael clenched his fists, then let out a heartfelt sigh, "I don't know who or where that person is, but I will find out and get my memories back before I get my revenge on them."

  Eclipse didn't respond. Noticing his lack of reaction, Chael let out a laugh. "I'm sorry to bore you with my story…"

  "Well then," Eclipse said before peeling his eyes from the stars to look at Chael with a particularly emotionless face. A familiar and warm whisper echoed at the back of his mind, compelling him to feel drawn to help Chael, "I guess I'll have to help my younger brother, too."

  Chael grinned cheerily before the two began chatting away, recalling their experiences and recollecting all that had happened in their lives thus far.

  They talked for a long time.

  Not far from them, behind a certain tree, a silhouette sat down all on her own soundlessly. She spun a certain gourd of ale in her hand as she listened to the duo's every word.