Blackness. A long, slow deep breath in. A long, slow deep breath out, and the sun bursts into view as your eyes open. Body in a comfortable but unfamiliar stance - feet planted firmly at shoulder width, arms held to the side with fists forward.
Looking away from the sun, to your opponent. A spikey, red-headed young man, no older than 25. Seeing him disrupts your calm breathing with a pang of jealousy in the pit of your stomach.
"Come on, Suju. Show me what you've learned while I've been away." The young man settles into his own stance - light-footed, with a slight sway.
Your heart races for a moment before you surge forward. Your feet hit the ground hard, thundering towards him.
His smile splits into a broad grin as he dances around your fastest punches. Anger rising as he continues to avoid your blows, refusing to even strike you. Breaths growing more haggard as the seconds creep by. He isn't even winded.
The sound of laughter fills you with despair. A blink. Darkness. The sun bursts inside you, filling every part of you with the warmth of daylight.
Your eyes open and your fist is already flying towards him. The young man is still laughing - until you catch him square in the chest, hurling him across the training yard and into the wall. The resounding crunch of the wooden walls.
The young man looks down at his chest, touching the cavity. Fingering the extruding spearpoint of wood that pierced his stomach.
"Suju?" He coughs up a gobbet of blood. "You're..."
Your hands aglow with golden haze. Anathema. Run.
