Dren woke up early again, stretching on the thin mat with a quiet grin. His mood appeared really great maybe due to the rapid progression in his practice. 'Another day alive, another day sharper than yesterday,' he silently thought to himself.
The compound was still asleep, and that suited him just fine. He liked the quiet atmosphere, it gave him room to think, to play around with this new version of himself.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQCGrLqFj2
He went to the vineyard as usual and sat cross-legged as he silently watched as the sky turned from black to gray. Vines hung low, brushing the ground like lazy curtains.
Vion’s voice drifted in, flat and calm as ever. “You can begin now by drawing in qi.”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9PDCmFhld
Dren chuckled softly inside his head. “Good morning to you too, Vion. Sleep well in there? Dream of ancient glory or whatever you old folks dream about?”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ75J8XNR0y7
Silence.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzDGsOdo7N
'He was quite outspoken a few days ago, maybe he just managed to say that much, I guess he has gone back to his old self.' Dren thought to himself.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Lk3F0jsj9
Dren smirked. “Fine, you can stay boring. I’ll just talk to myself then.” He closed his eyes and pulled the qi in. The cool shadow energy slid through him smoothly now. It felt good like… drinking cold water on a hot day.
He pushed a little harder than yesterday, just to see how far he could go. The flame in his dantian grew bright and steady.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDCLScng5j
After a while, Vion spoke again. “Enough. Now, circulate it.”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsOZycZ7KQ
“Yes, sir,” Dren thought cheerfully. “Anything else? A joke? A story from the good old days when you were free and terrifying people?”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQw7HsmRb0
More silence.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB5r5snIAzD
Dren laughed under his breath. “You’re like a rock with opinions. A very cold rock.”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuNcqsTSJa
He finished the circulation and moved on to Shadow Bolt practice. The black darts formed quicker now. He aimed at a thick vine, hit it, then aimed at a leaf farther away, just for fun. The dart sliced the leaf clean in half.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Z994XTX7q
“Nice shot, right?” he asked Vion.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxyiatXyN1
“Just so so,” Vion replied, voice unchanged.
Dren grinned wider. “Finally! I'm hearing some nice words from you.”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNbU08ZWBBW
When the sun came up properly, he headed straight to the dining hall to eat. The Nightveil Clan was large and wealthy, direct bloodlines lived in their own private compounds with personal kitchens and servants while branch families had smaller shared halls. Outer disciples and servants ate in the common kitchen yard.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiXTpHJRO3
Dren belonged nowhere special, so he went to the outer kitchen yard. A long open pavilion with benches and steaming pots. Servants ladled out rice, meat strips, and herb soup. Simple, but hot.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwoRYHwHLzP
He grabbed a full bowl this time, someone had left early and not finished theirs. Dren was treated so bad in his clan to an extent that the food he ate was worse than that of a servant. They felt that since he was not as useful and resourceful as a servant, his food shouldn't be as good as that of a servant. He mostly ate leftovers.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pPfAuKhn9
He found a spot near the end of a bench and sat there to eat.
Zev and Garr were there with a few others, loud as usual. Zev didn't like staying alone, he liked being the center of attraction. So, whenever he wants to eat, he calls everyone in his group to eat with him just for him to show off his status as a member of the main clan. They had their own table, of course, even in the outer yard.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXI5SxB0R2R
Zev spotted him right away. “Hey, look, the idiot found food without help today.”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyailJ99wGr
Garr snorted. “Probably followed the smell like a dog.”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwUBsAzxYb
Dren looked up slowly, tilted his head, and gave a big, dumb smile. “Food... good,” he mumbled, then spooned a huge bite into his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in days.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdERatL50NY
A couple of younger outer disciples laughed, they weren't mean, they were just amused.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKwynKqceu
Lena sat a few benches away, eating alone as usual. She quietly glanced over at the source of the noise.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4SXWCKISc
Zev kept going. “Seriously, why do we even feed him? He sweeps one yard and thinks he’s earned a bowl.”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLi2gJaG7mX
Dren swallowed the food in his mouth and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and said cheerfully, “Sweep good. Eat good.” He gave Zev a thumbs-up.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihKlM4qcjK
Zev stared at him, seemingly a bit thrown off. “What... are you mocking me?”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewSzIwHZMg
Dren just kept smiling blankly and went back to his food.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5zsJyyOcQ
Garr muttered, “He doesn’t even know what mocking means.”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Deagyn4IG
Lena’s lips twitched, almost into a smile, before she looked down again.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgK9d1YfjK
After eating, Dren wandered into the outer training yard, the one used by branch members and lower disciples. The direct bloodlines trained in private grounds with better arrays and instructors.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytj4qYgjD7
Instructor Kael was running the session again. The drills were the same, shadow Bolt and basic footwork.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzH9sTQx9Y1
Lena was practicing steadily. Her darts were hitting closer to center now.
Zev and his group were there too, treating the yard like it belonged to them.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1fZMq8liS
Kael shouted, “Next row! Ten bolts each!”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKdLo6iF62
When Zev stepped up, he fired perfect shots, then turned to brag. “That’s how it’s done.”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc2zN3AnL1e
As he walked back, Dren, sweeping the edge path again, sent the tiniest thread of shadow under Zev’s foot.
Zev instantly tripped, his arms flailing, and landed flat on his back with a loud thud.
The whole yard went dead quiet for a second.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4gKRaJgeJ6
Then laughter erupted as if it was practiced, the loudest laughter was from the branch kids and outer disciples.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3T3gv9nLP
Garr rushed over. “Zev! You okay?”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHMOvlsOlMC
Zev scrambled up, his face was crimson red. “The ground… it was uneven or something!” He stuttered.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsoyeSrdq2
Kael rubbed his forehead. “Pay attention to your footing, Zev. Pride makes you clumsy.”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm24rCOjizY
Some clan members let out more snickers subtly.
Dren kept sweeping, face blank, but inside he was grinning ear to ear. With just small wins and little jokes, the world played on bullies.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkM9dEBevE
Lena looked straight at him this time. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes held a quiet curiosity.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4k2Q4SalB
When practice ended, most people left quickly. Lena stayed a bit, repeating her form.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnI3kjcoD7
Kael nodded at her. “You have improved a lot today, keep that focus.”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1gkeGy5ai
“Thank you, Instructor,” she said clearly.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCoXUeJCt6
After Kael left, Lena walked past Dren slowly.
She stopped for half a second. “You have good timing with that broom,” she said under her breath, a tiny smile showing as she stared deep into his soul as if trying to get an answer from it.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5Jss4gA4s
Dren blinked slowly and tilted his head “Broom... clean,” he mumbled, then flashed a quick, real grin, just for a moment before going back to blank.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbchLf1cwY
Lena’s eyes widened slightly. She nodded once and walked away.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL44n3nqnug
Dren finished sweeping and returned to his hidden courtyard. He practiced Shadow Veil all afternoon until he could slip in and out of sight in a heartbeat. He took on Shadow Bolt until the vines looked like they’d been through a storm.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRtLeAuCdVH
Every now and then he’d talk to Vion.
“Hey, Vion, if you were free, would you smile at least once?”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYA51gZDm8a
Silence.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNGbc3twCy
“Guess not. Well, it's more fun talking to the vines anyway.”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10wIzez1hT
Vion finally spoke near sunset. “Focus. Power is not a game.”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyutV2pi98P
Dren laughed softly. “Everything’s a game if you play it right.”
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjxdVpIs6u
He leaned against the wall, tired but he felt light inside him.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxbxy5uVnn
Life was better now. It's now sharper, funnier and maybe somehow more interesting in its own way.
He had secrets, he had tricks, he had time and most importantly he's gaining power.
And tomorrow? Tomorrow would be fun too.
ns216.73.216.147da2
and then Add to home screen.