Barrier Fall

Calm before the storm

A deafening crack of thunder ripped through the evening sky, jolting Nox awake. His eyes fluttered open inside the small shed Juro had built for them. His stomach growled in protest, but another flash of lightning pulled his attention toward the massive crater just ahead.

Lightning slammed into the center of it, the same crater from before, its blinding light illuminating the dusk like midday.

A calm voice came from behind him.

"Finally awake. I thought you'd sleep for at least two more days. You two are tougher than I expected."

The tone was enough for Nox to know it was Raizen.

His gaze drifted back to the crater, where someone stood in the very heart of it, summoning that terrifying power. Instinct told him who it was.

Juro.

Nox's chest tightened, he clenched his fist, gritting his teeth.

"He's… left me behind again," he muttered bitterly.

"When Juro first used Iora on his first try, you were visibly angry," Raizen said, his face lit by another violent bolt, the glow made his expression look almost menacing.

"Are you jealous of him?" Raizen's voice wasn't mocking, It was knowing.

"No! I'm not, it's just…" Nox rubbed his hands together nervously. "When those horned things attacked our village and Juro ran to his house… I lost it when I saw my mother in the grip of that red haired bastard. When he found out his family had died, he came straight back for me. He even took the brunt of an attack meant for me. He saved my life. And even though he lost his parents, he still laughed with me so I wouldn't feel worse. He's always protected me… and now he's so much stronger that he'll keep protecting me forever. I feel so useless." He hugged his knees to his chest.

Raizen recalled Juro saying nearly the same thing about Nox the day before. What a remarkable bond, he muttered under his breath.

He stepped closer, placing his left hand on Nox's shoulder and pointing toward the glowing crater.

"You did that."

Only now did Nox truly see how enormous the crater was. His eyes shifted to Raizen's hand resting on his shoulder, and noticed the strange ring on his index finger. It was dull, almost iron like, except for a small sliver of it that shimmered gold.

"What is that?"

"Yes," Raizen cut him off. "An eighth generation binding ring. Unlike the first,generation ones, this can't be adjusted. If you wore it, you'd be dead in less than a minute."Nox swallowed.

He handed Nox a bag filled with clothes.

Just then, Juro climbed out of the crater, chest heaving, sparks still crackling faintly around him. The instant he saw Nox awake, he sprinted over and hugged him far too tightly, before punching him in the chest.

"I thought you'd never wake up," Juro said, voice trembling slightly.

"If you keep squeezing like that, I really won't wake up next time," Nox coughed.

"You've been asleep for almost two days straight," Juro said as he stood back.

"WHAT?!" Nox yelled, eyes wide.

Right on cue, his stomach roared louder than the lightning itself.

Juro pulled a strip of dried meat from the pouch strapped to his waist and handed it to Nox.

Nox devoured it instantly, then glanced back at Juro, he frozed.

Juro's outfit caught his attention first.Loose black trousers with pockets on each leg, a large pouch at the waist, and a black open front jacket over a slim inner shirt. His sandals looked like they clung directly to his skin, almost seamless. But what stood out most, a sword strapped at his hip.

"Wooow… you look so cool, Juro!" Nox blurted, cheeks puffed with meat. He suddenly remembered the bag Raizen had given him earlier and crammed the rest of the food into his mouth.

"Easy there." Juro sighed, handing him a bottle of water. "Don't choke yourself to death."

Nox chugged the entire bottle in seconds and dove into the bag of clothes. His old tattered shorts weren't worth keeping anyway. He dashed behind a nearby tree and started changing.

Raizen massaged his temples again, muttering something under his breath, while Juro gave him an apologetic look as if silently saying "Sorry… that's just Nox."

When Nox emerged, his new outfit hugged his frame snugly. It looked similar to Juro's but was a bit more fitted, the material slightly thicker, yet so light it almost felt like he wasn't wearing anything.

"Whoa, this feels awesome! But… hey!" He squinted. "Where's my sword? Why does Juro get one and I don't?"

Juro raised his hands defensively. "It's not like that, Nox. I have an elemental lightning iora like Raizen, so he gave me one of his old blades."

"So what about me, huh?" Nox crossed his arms, pouting. "You just gonna leave me empty handed?"

Raizen exhaled slowly. " You and Juro have different abilities and you're not ready to train your ability yet. So that's why I'll send you to… an idiot who can help you with that later." His tone was flat, but there was a flicker of concern in his eyes.

"Huh? What idiot?" Nox tilted his head, confused but too happy with his new clothes to argue further. "These are amazing, though. Did you make them yourself?"

Raizen raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like a seamstress?"

"Nah," Nox smirked. "You don't look like you could make something this good."

Juro's apologetic glance made another appearance.

Raizen ignored them both and continued. "Those clothes are your everyday wear now."

"Won't they get torn or old faster if we wear them every day?" Nox interrupted.

"Will you let me finish?" Raizen snapped, rubbing his eyes.

"Just let him talk, Nox," Juro added with a sigh.

Raizen resumed. "These clothes are woven with iora. They won't tear or age from daily use. Even if you catch them on branches."

Right on cue, Nox caught his sleeveless inner on a branch. He dragged it hard; the branch snapped while the cloth stayed perfectly intact. He gave Raizen a big thumbs up.

Both Raizen and Juro mirrored each other, rubbing their foreheads.

"Anyway," Raizen went on, "since you can now manipulate iora, these clothes also serve as defense. If you anticipate an attack and focus your iora at the point of impact, the fabric hardens and absorbs damage."

Nox grinned and spread his arms wide. "Punch me!"

"Oh, gladly," Raizen said without hesitation. Almost like he was waiting for this.

The punch wasn't even that hard, but Nox still flew a few feet back and landed coughing.

"It works… cough …though you could've gone easier."

"If you couldn't handle that, you'd have passed out." a little disappointed.

Raizen reached under his jacket and pulled out two short blades with slightly slanted edges longer than knives, deadly and precise.

"I get that you like using your fists, but you'll burn out faster that way. These blades are better for you, that is for now."

Nox took them, inspecting one closely. The tip of one blade was bent.

"Uh, is it supposed to look crooked?"

"He stabbed himself in the head with it," Juro muttered nervously. "To show me iora can be used as defense too."

"Wait… without the clothes?!" Nox gawked.

Juro nodded. "Yeah. With complete mastery over iora, you don't even need the outfit for that."

"That's it, Juro! Stab me in the head too!" Nox declared proudly.

"You'll die," Raizen deadpanned, taking the bent blade, straightening it with his hands like it was nothing, and handing it back.

"So how'd you even manage iora defense on your first try?" Juro asked.

"I dunno," Nox shrugged. "I just felt it all over my body, focused it around my chest a bit, and… I think the clothes did the rest. Did you get it on your first try too?"

"Not really," Juro replied. "When Raizen punched me, he wasn't wearing a binding ring, and his iora made contact with mine. That's how I found out my element was lightning. He gave me the sword, and taught me the basics, then tossed me into the crater you made. I've been training there ever since. I just finished for the day when I saw you'd woken up."

Nox muttered under his breath, almost in awe. "Wow… you're amazing."

Then louder,"So, Raizen, how do I use these blades?"

"Focus your iora on the weapon. You'll figure it out," Raizen said vaguely.

"What he means," Juro clarified, "is to channel iora into your hands like you're trying to grow an extra limb. You'll know when you feel it."

Nox gripped the blunt side of the blades and followed Juro's advice… and immediately launched himself backward into a tree. The tree toppled and crushed the small shed Juro had built.

"Oops. Sorry!" he said, half playful, half apologetic.

"No problem," Juro muttered, though his eye twitched. "Just… be careful. Those are kinda deadly you know."

"I know," Nox replied with a devilish grin.

Raizen turned his back, heading toward the forest. "Cut that fallen tree into four hundred pieces before morning. Then we'll start the next lesson."

Nox smirked and went to work.

The moon shone a little fuller that night, its silver light spilling over the boys.

Only five days remained until the full moon.

Morning light spilled over the trees when Raizen returned. Juro was still snoring, Nox was passed out against what remained of the tree he'd shredded, and the crater sat like an open wound in the earth.

Juro woke first and saw Raizen sitting at the edge of the crater.

"Good morning, sir," he said, stretching. "I'll wake Nox."

Raizen tossed him a bag of food.

"Thanks, but… I thought you weren't feeding us anymore?" Juro asked, brow raised.

"You've earned it. Both of you have. Don't tell him I said that." Raizen turned away, voice flat, but there was the tiniest crack of warmth in it.

Juro smirked and went to kick Nox awake.

"OW,what the hell!?" Nox groaned, then froze as the smell hit him. "Wait… food?"

"MASTER Raizen brought it," Juro teased.

Raizen became bashful? Impossible. And yet his ears went pink when Nox, between mouthfuls, added.

"Thanks, Master Raizen."

"Only rabbits in this forest, huh? Rabbit stew again?"

Raizen's eye twitched. Nox smirked. 

When the bowls were empty, Nox noticed something new,Raizen wore his sword today. His outfit wasn't far from Juro's loose, simple clothes, sleeves to the wrist, a black inner shirt under a blue over tunic, a black pouch strapped behind his waist. It made his white hair look even brighter, almost regal.

"Wow. You actually look cool today," Nox said with a thumbs up. Even Juro nodded in approval.

"Anyway, I cut the tree into, what, seven hundred pieces?" Nox started counting on his fingers. Raizen walked right past him.

"Hey, at least count with me! That was a lot of work."

"He just wanted you using your Iora more. You didn't even need to cut up to four hundred pieces," Juro said mildly.

"You couldn't have said that YESTERDAY?!" Nox snapped.

Raizen's voice cut through like a blade. "In five days, the moon will be full" but today we're doing combat training.

He jumped into the crater. Juro followed, and Nox hesitated, staring at the gouge he'd once made with his own fist, was he really capable of this?

Inside the crater, a second huge pit gaped in the side wall, scorched black.

"Lightning burn?" Nox asked.

Juro nodded. "He made me aim in one direction. To control my output, and help me fight without striking my allies"

"You're incredible, Juro," Nox muttered, tracing the charred stone.

Raizen raised his left hand. A dull iron ring glinted on his index finger.

"This is an eight gen binding ring. It cuts my physical energy, and slows my Iora. This ring puts me almost on your level. 

But binding rings aren't just training tools they can also save your life."

"How?" Juro asked instantly.

"They store your expended energy, when they're full, they detach. That stored Iora can give you a massive boost of energy and Iora when you absorb it."

"Like, enough to beat an enemy?" Nox said.

"Or enough to run from one stronger than you?" Juro added.

"Both," Raizen said simply. "But unbinding by force takes mastery which you will learn in the future. 

Overloading the ring to the full in one go takes more mastery,but if done right in a tight situation,and you might live, if you get it wrong, and you could also likely die."

Juro's eyes flicked to the crater. "But isn't that what Nox did? When he made this?"

Raizen's gaze lingered on Nox for a moment. "That was… a special case. That's why there's only one person alive qualified to train him."

Nox blinked, unsettled.

But for now,Raizen's tone hardened. " I'm going to do all I can to make you strong, take your stance I'm going to attack you with intent to kill, if you don't respond in kind, you will die."

Nox's grin spread like wildfire. "Finally." He brandished his blades and lunged only to blur faster than he could control, smashing into the crater wall.

"Oh, did I forget to mention?" Raizen said blandly.

 "Without those weight pads,you had on , you're hundreds of times faster and stronger,than you once were, add Iora to that, you're a thousand times stronger and faster, to a normal person, you're like a god. To me? You're like babies."

"Try not to pass out again, Nox," Juro sighed.

Nox peeled himself out of the rubble, grinning widely, "Let's try that again"

He charged again, this time controlling his speed. Raizen side stepped effortlessly, lips twitching.

"A fast learner," Raizen said, finally drawing his blade. Juro joined him, sword unsheathed.

Above them, the clouds swirled and the rising sun disappeared behind shifting gray. It felt like a signal.

The spar began.