The Ashen Dominion

Like usual—Kaiser, Viktor, and Edmar were defeated by the three monsters.

Brock, Jin, and Khan.

Well, they already expected that to happen.

Everyone did, even the spectators.

Because for all the time they all had fought during their sparring trainings...

Kaiser, Viktor, and Edmar really hadn't made the three monsters fight all out yet.

Not even serious.

But today, they landed a hit!

It might not seem much to anyone else, but for Kaiser and the two... It's a great achievement.

A breakthrough, even!

And right now—

Kaiser, Viktor, and Edmar were resting on a long bench under the shade of a wall, their bodies bruised, and faces sweaty.

Brock, Jin, and Khan had already left, walking off to continue with their training like nothing happened. They said their goodbyes though before going on their way.

Meanwhile—

Viktor had just regained his consciousness.

Edmar too, finally sat up while groaning.

"Ugh... I feel like I got ran over by a whole stampede of Earth Rhinos..."

Edmar muttered, rubbing his stomach.

"Oh, you're both awake."

Kaiser said as he glanced at them. A tiny smirk rose on his face.

"Took you two long enough."

Viktor blinked at Kaiser, squinting.

His jaw still felt sore.

"Why do you look like that?"

He asked, seeing Kaiser's smug look.

Kaiser leaned his back on the bench casually, and opening his mouth—

"Nothing, I just didn't pass out."

"..."

"..."

The two stared at him in silence after hearing his words.

Then Edmar narrowed his eyes.

"Ugh..."

He groaned.

"Heh..."

"I didn't get knocked out."

Kaiser chuckled and mumbled that, his whole body relaxed.

"You were lying flat on the ground at the end of your match against Brock!"

Viktor snapped.

"Your eyes were spinning!"

"Yeah."

Edmar chimed in, his brows furrowing a bit.

"You looked like you were seeing ghosts."

He added.

Kaiser just shrugged.

"Still didn't lose consciousness. I was just... resting."

"Oh, shut up."

"Resting, my ass."

But even as they bickered, none of them could hide the twitch of a grin on their lips.

Because despite the pain...

Despite the defeat...

They felt a little proud.

They'd landed a hit.

And they know it wasn't a fluke.

They were getting stronger still.

"I grazed Jin's cheek."

Viktor suddenly said, raising a brow.

"I saw... It even bled."

Edmar replied.

Viktor grinned smugly.

Kaiser raised a brow.

"Then he knocked your ass out a second after that."

"...Shut up."

They all laughed a little.

Their muscles ached.

Their bones were sore.

But their spirits?

Their spirits were burning.

"Next time..."

Edmar muttered, his gaze aimed up at the cloudy sky.

"...We'll do better."

Kaiser finished.

Viktor clenched his fists lightly.

"Yeah... One day... We'll take one of them down."

They all looked ahead. Focused.

But still... Kaiser glanced at Edmar again.

"By the way, you cried a bit earlier, didn't you?"

"Huh? What?"

Edmar blinked.

"Yeah, I saw it."

Viktor added, eyes widening.

"There were tears when you fell, like you were so happy you grazed at Khan."

"No there wasn't!"

"There was!"

Kaiser and Viktor both laughed.

"Man shut up, you're both blind!"

Edmar barked, turning a bit red.

"That was sweat!"

"Ohhh, sweat coming out your eyes?"

Kaiser teased.

"Yeah yeah, I didn't know that was a thing"

Viktor grinned.

"I'm gonna kill you both."

Edmar responded to the two, embarrassed.

*****

Meanwhile...

A short walk away.

Brock, Jin, and Khan were walking side by side toward the weights area.

"..."

"..."

"..."

They didn't speak. Not at first.

Tap. Tap. Tap—

Tap. Tap. Tap—

Tap. Tap. Tap—

Their footsteps echoed softly against the pavement, their postures straight, movements composed. Their faces were calm... But their eyes look sharp.

The three of them are focused.

Not angry. Not annoyed.

But... reflective.

They weren't exactly proud of the match earlier. And even though they had won like usual... There was something about it that lingered.

Jin's brow twitched slightly.

He touched his cheek, the one that bled earlier.

A small graze.

But it's there.

Khan's temple throbbed a bit, ut doesn't hurt—but it made him remember what happened earlier.

And Brock... He can't believe Kaiser overpowered him in term of strength,even for a second, and he wasn't using his full strength!

Their eyes narrowed.

Edmar's speed.

Viktor's wild power.

Kaiser's growing calm.

Khan's face turned calm as usual again... Then he opened his mouth—

"They're growing fast, huh."

His voice was quiet.

But it cut through the air.

Jin didn't answer, he just looked forward and continued walking.

And Brock?

Brock clenched his fists slightly.

"...Yeah."

He finally said, a small smirk rising on his face.

Khan didn't smile.

Neither did Jin.

Because for the first time in a long while— they felt it.

Pressure.

From below.

Small pressure, but it's building over time.

Khan's casual smile came back to his face.

"We'll have to start training more seriously."

He stated.

Jin finally replied with a nod of his head, he still didn't say anything though.

Brock remained quiet.

But inside his mind, the thought echoed—

'They're catching up.'

Not yet.

But soon.

And they weren't planning to let that happen. Not so easy.

The three of them started walking faster.

Heavier.

Toward the weights area.

Because right now— They were more motivated than ever after a very long time!

They plan to widen the gap between them and the three kids.

*****

Back on the bench—

Kaiser had just finished pouring water on his face with a gourd.

"Alright, I'm feeling alive again."

He muttered.

Viktor leaned back with his hands behind him.

"My jaw's still ringing. Jin has terrifying control, you know that? He didn't even look like he was trying."

"I think that's what makes it worse."

Edmar sighed.

"They don't try, but they still beat us."

"But we made 'em blink today."

Viktor said.

"That's a start for us."

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a moment.

Then Kaiser spoke again.

"Honestly, I feel like we've been doing everything right... just not enough of it."

Edmar nodded.

"We're improving, but they're monsters."

"Which is why we just keep going."

Viktor added.

"We'll train harder, push past this."

Then he stood up and stretched his body.

"So... should we start training again?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Kaiser replied.

Edmar stood up too.

"Let's try to land two hits tomorrow."

Kaiser smirked.

"I'll do three."

He said.

"And I still wouldn't pass out."

Then he followed with that.

""SHUT UP!""

Viktor and Edmar exclaimed at the same time after hearing him.

Kaiser just laughed at them.

*****

After resting for a while, the three of them—Kaiser, Viktor, and Edmar; finally got back to training.

Their bodies were still aching, sore from the sparring matches earlier, but none of them said anything.

They just quietly walked back into the training field.

And soon enough...

THUD!

Kaiser dropped a wooden dummy in front of him.

CLACK!

Viktor raised his axes again.

SWOOSH!

Edmar spun his dual swords and loosened his shoulders.

They were honing their skills in their weapons.

All three of them looked exhausted. Sweat still clung to their skin. Their shirts were damp, bruises were forming all over their bodies, and their legs wobbled a little whenever they moved.

But despite that—

Their eyes were burning.

They were more motivated than usual today. Like Brock, Khan, and Jin.

Kaiser narrowed his eyes as he stared at the dummy.

"..."

He remembered that moment.

When Brock turned his head and stopped his attack cold.

He remembered the parry. The counter. The absolute control in Brock's movements.

It burned into his mind.

He clicked his tongue.

"Still so far behind..."

He muttered, gripping his weapon tighter.

But he also remembered that moment—when his attack got close, and when he parried his sword.

Even if he lost completely.

He still pushed Brock to respond. That was enough for now.

That was a spark.

And it was enough to ignite something in all of them.

"Let's go again."

Kaiser muttered to himself.

Then the two started training as hard as they can too.

BAM!

Kaiser swung hard.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Viktor followed.

SWISH~ SWISH!

Edmar moved in sharp, smooth arcs—like dancing.

They trained like madmen.

Pushing their bodies harder than before.

Again and again.

Over and over.

Every hit. Every step. Every swing.

Their bodies screamed. Their muscles begged to stop. But they didn't.

Not now.

Not when they finally saw the gap closing, even just by an inch.

They want to chase faster, they know if they laze even for a bit— the thing they barely achieved might disappear.

They couldn't waste that feeling.

And so... The three of them trained for hours nonstop harder than usual!

Until their arms refused to move properly anymore.

Until their legs started wobbling more than they did in the beginning.

Until their fingers almost dropped their weapons.

But still—they pushed on.

And after hours had passed…

As the sky above turned golden orange—

The sun began to settle.

The training ground slowly quieted down.

And with that—

They finally stopped moving.

After all, it was time to get back to the Silver Place and rest.