Author's Preface
The shift was instant. Aaron's relaxed posture disappeared. His stance adjusted, weight balanced, his presence was overwhelming. Blue felt it immediately, this wasn’t the same man from the office. "One more thing." Aaron added. "I won't hold back... but I won't kill you either." A grin grew on his face.
Blue smirked. "That's reassuring I suppose."
For a moment nothing happened. The two men sized each other up, then Blue moved. A quick strike to the face, Aaron moved his head but an inch to avoid the punch. Blue ducked in the same motion and swept Aaron's legs, an attempt to knock him off balance. Blue was met with a leg that felt more like reinforced steel. His leg came to an abrupt halt against Aaron's leg. Blue looked up at Aaron for a slight moment and gave an awkward smile. "...Fuck." The only word he could muster before Aaron's opposite leg slammed across Blue's chest and sent him flying twenty feet back.
Blue skidded backward and came to a stop. "Alright. That's how this is going to go." Across the arena Aaron rolled his shoulders and neck slightly. He called out. "Not that I'm keeping score, but I do believe that is 1 - 0." He paused and looked up to a glass room that sat above the arena. "HEY, PAY ATTENTION AND CHANGED THE DAMNED SCOREBOARD." Aaron shouted. Suddenly the scoreboard on the north end lit up.
Aaron: 1
Visitors: 0
"Okay, maybe I am keeping score." Aaron chuckled. "You want to keep going?"
Blue didn't answer. He looked up at the men watching through the glass in the observers box and scoffed. He turned to Aaron and grinned. He bent down, gathered his qi into his legs as his grandfather taught him inside the Array. He moved, not like before, different this time. He didn't approach in a straight line. Aaron's eyes sharpened. Blue's first strike came from the right. A feint. The real attack followed immediately after, Blue's body twisted, redirected and struck from an improbable angle. Aaron raised his arm to block, and felt it. A sharp impact against his side. Not heavy, but clean. Precise. Aaron slid back half a step. Blue landed lightly and reset.
Above the scoreboard flickered.
Aaron: 1
Visitors: 1
Aaron glanced at the scoreboard and back to Blue. "There it is."
"You know for someone who isn't keeping score, you sure are invested in those numbers. Bet i get to 10 before you do."
Aaron chuckled. "Confident, I like that. But don't get cocky." As the final word left Aaron's mouth he vanished.
Blue couldn't keep up, he only saw a sliver of Aaron's presence. Blue pivoted, barely avoiding the first strike. The air from Aaron's fist lifted Blue's hair off his back. Blue redirected the second strike with his forearm. The third slipped through, catching his shoulder and forcing him back. Blue stayed on his feet, before he could collect himself, the next exchange came harder, and faster. Aaron pressed, Blue responded. Strikes collided, feet shifted. The distance between them collapsed and expanded again and again. Each exchange more intense than the last. Aaron came flying through the air, both feet landing against Blue's forearms. Blue focused his qi for the block. Aaron sent him flying anyway and then summersaulted midair and landed as Blue laid on his back. The scoreboard changed again.
Aaron: 4
Visitors: 1
Blue took another hit and adjusted. This time when Aaron stepped in, Blue didn’t meet him head-on. He slipped past him, turning with the movement, driving his elbow into Aaron’s ribs as he passed. Another point.
5 - 3
Aaron’s grin widened. Now he was moving differently too. Not just fast but intentional. Each strike began carrying more weight, more purpose behind it. Not enough to overwhelm but just enough to test. Blue felt it. "He's not going all out. He's testing me."
“Better,” Aaron said mid-exchange, blocking a strike and countering immediately. “Much better.” Blue wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. “Yeah?”
He stepped in again. This time, he didn’t stop. Flowing Steel carried him forward, his movement chaining seamlessly from one strike into the next. A punch turned into a palm strike, into a sweep, into a rising elbow that forced Aaron to actually give ground.
For the first time, Aaron had to defend. Not casually. Not lazily. Deliberately. Blue’s fist clipped his jaw. Clean.
6 — 4
The air shifted. Just slightly. Aaron exhaled. “… Alright. Let's end this. He's definitely stronger than D-rank. Probably closer to A-rank and he is holding back ." Aaron thought to himself. Blue moved in, but Aaron disappeared. Not faster. Different. His presence completely vanished this time and he reappeared inside Blue’s guard before his body could react. A strike to the ribs. A second to the shoulder. A final, controlled hit to the center of his chest. Not enough to break him. Just enough to end it.
Blue skidded back, boots dragging across the floor before he caught himself. He didn’t fall this time. But he didn’t move forward either. Above them the scoreboard locked in.
Aaron: 10
Visitors: 5
Silence settled over the arena. Blue exhaled slowly, chest rising and falling. “…Five.” he muttered.
Aaron rolled his neck once, completely at ease. “Not bad. Honestly most people don’t get one.” Blue let out a breath that almost turned into a laugh. “…Yeah. I feel like you let me have those." Aaron grinned. "I guess we will never know.
Blue straightened. “So I get five questions.”
“Yeah,” Aaron said. “You do.” Aaron and Blue sat across from each other in the middle of the training floor, both catching their breath.
The massive arena that had just shaken with impact was quiet now. Only the faint hum of the facility remained, along with the steady rhythm of two fighters recovering after pushing themselves.
High above them, behind reinforced glass, two guild members stood in the observation box, still staring down at the field. “…Did that D-rank really land five hits on Aaron?” one of them muttered, disbelief clear in his voice. The other shook his head immediately. “There’s no way. He’s Eve’s friend, right? Aaron probably held back, just easing him into things.”
“…Yeah,” the first one said, though he didn’t sound entirely convinced. “Aaron favors her. That’s got to be it.” he glanced back down at the arena. “Still… even then. Landing one hit on him is rare. Five? And taking ten from him and still standing?” Neither man had an answer for that, they simply stared at each other dumbfounded.
Down below, Aaron let out a short laugh, leaning back slightly on his hands. “…It’s been a while,” he said. Blue glanced up at him. “Since I could actually fight someone,” Aaron continued. “Being a guildmaster means everyone’s cautious. No one wants to spar with you… and even when they do, they hold back.” He shook his head lightly. “…But you didn’t.” His eyes shifted to Blue. “Why?”
Blue raised a brow. “…Is that one of your questions?” he asked. “Just so I know whether to adjust the scoreboard.”
Aaron huffed a quiet laugh. “Yeah. Count it.”
Blue smirked faintly, then leaned back, resting his weight on his arms. “Well… in Murim, when you spar or fight, it doesn’t matter who’s in front of you. Sect leader, elder… anyone.” He paused and wiped more blood dripping from his mouth. “If you hold back, it’s disrespect. Strength is everything there. So if I didnt fight back and let you do as you please because you're the Guildmaster…” He shrugged. “…I’d be insulting you.”
Aaron watched him for a second, then nodded slowly. “…Fair enough.”
Blue exhaled, then added, “Though… the outcome might’ve been different if I had my jian.”
Aaron tilted his head. “…Jian?”
“My sword,” Blue said simply. “My techniques are built around it. I can fight without one… but with it.” He glanced toward the far end of the arena. “They’re a lot more dangerous."
Aaron leaned back with his palms anchored on the ground, his expression shifted into something that was clearly interested. "Good to know... I'll have one made for you. So next time we do this,” Aaron continued, “you can fight properly with no excuses." Aaron grabbed a water bottle and took a sip. "Although, I may have to use my power too." That caught Blue's full attention.
“…What is your power, exactly, Mr. Kade?”
Aaron made a face immediately. “First off, don’t call me that. My dad’s Mr. Kade.” He waved a hand dismissively. “I’m not that much older than you.”
Blue let out a quiet chuckle. “…Alright. Aaron.” Aaron nodded once, then leaned forward slightly. “My power is aether.” Blue’s eyes narrowed just a bit. “There’s no golden gate connected to its world yet, at least not one we’ve found.”
He flexed his fingers slightly as he spoke. “All I really know is what I can do with it.” A faint shimmer of red and black flickered around his hands. “I can create weapons out of it. Swords, mostly.” Blue immediately thought back to the guild hall.
The red blades.
"More than that,” Aaron went on, “I can reinforce my body with it. Speed. Strength. Impact.” He shrugged lightly. “Think of it like… enhancing everything I do.”
Blue nodded slowly, processing. "Different. Not qi. Similiar properties. Yet, something else entirely."
They stayed there longer than either of them expected. Talking. Trading. Question for question. Blue answered questions about Murim— its sects, its politics, the war against monsters, the way strength dictated everything. He explained qi, breathing techniques, cultivation, and the way power shaped identity in that world.
Aaron listened. Carefully. Then answered in turn. He explained awakeners. The ranking system. Gates. The structure of the Association. The balance between guilds and the people trying to control them from above. The Buckeye Guild, and the quiet tensions that ran beneath everything. By the time the conversation slowed, the distance between them had changed. They weren’t allies yet. But they weren’t strangers either.
Aaron stood and put his hands in his pockets, watching Blue for a moment longer before speaking. “I don’t think I need to see or hear much more,” he said. “Though I’m not entirely sure why the Association leader gave you a D-rank.” He tilted his head slightly, as if considering it again. “I’m sure there’s a reason.”
His gaze returned to Blue, sharper now. “But you’re far beyond D-rank. How high you choose to climb… that’s up to you.” Blue didn’t respond. He just listened. “I’ll assign you to a team for gate raids,” Aaron continued. “There’s no shortage of them. We can’t keep up as it is, so you’ll stay busy.” he paused. "I don’t expect you to lead them. But I do expect you to protect them. I’ll do what I can to help you move up in rank,” Aaron added. “Just… bear with me.” Then, almost as an afterthought. “Oh... and I’ve got one rule.” Blue raised a brow. “You spar with me whenever I ask.”
Blue let out a quiet breath. “…Fair enough.” A small smirk tugged at his mouth. “I’ll spar whenever you want... As long as the prize isn’t answering questions.”
Aaron huffed a quiet laugh. “Deal.”
They walked together down the corridor toward the elevator. The noise of the upper floors slowly returning as they left the lower levels behind. When the elevator door opened to the main hall. Aaron stopped and gave Blue a firm pat on the back. “Be here tomorrow. Ten in the morning,” he said. “Bring whatever you need for a gate raid. And welcome to the Buckeye Guild.” Blue nodded once. Then stepped out into the night.
Later, back home, the house had gone quiet. Blue sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the corner of the room. Yoryeon’s jian resting where he had left it. A part of Murim still here. “…How do I even find it?” he muttered under his breath. "The pendant. The last piece. The thing his grandfather had left behind. The thing the system demands I find." He thought to himself as his eyes narrowed slightly.
“Where do I even start?” No answer came. His jaw tightened. “… And where the hell is my system?” That bothered him more than anything. It had been constant in Murim. Always present. Always watching. Now... nothing.
Blue exhaled slowly and leaned back, running a hand through his hair. “Useless questions…” A quiet pause. “…No answers.” He let himself fall back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Tomorrow would be his first gate on Earth. A new system. Different rules. But his mind didn’t stay there. Not for long. It drifted. Back to Murim.
Ilho. Hanjo. Jinhu. Ryul.
A brief, unexpected heaviness settled in his chest. A brotherhood forged in battle… left behind. “… Hope you guys are enjoying training with those monsters. Because this shit on Earth sucks.” he murmured. His eyes slowly closed. The tension in his body eased, little by little, as exhaustion finally caught up to him. For now, sleep was the only place where none of it followed him. And for the first time since returning... he let himself truly rest.