To Auren's surprise, his Master does exactly what he declared to No. 24.
Lidor teaches Auren almost daily, even showing him an old notebook he seems to have inherited. It contains various drawings and symbols, seemingly originating from Jappon.
Lidor translates and explains the meanings to Auren, mentioning that he must keep this a secret and is permitted only to teach the core aspects to his eventual student and successor.
Thanks to Lidor's hands-on approach and personal sparring sessions, Auren's swordsmanship rapidly progresses. Lidor even instructs Auren on how to shift his Aura, never mentioning the name Ryu, thus forcing Auren to conceal his prior experience with the technique.
He quickly 'learns' Ryu, and after just a month, Lidor witnesses Auren's true skill, visibly shocked.
I'm having fun! This is exactly what was missing.
Lidor's amazement continues to grow as Auren almost perfects Ryu in just three months, this time benefiting from his Master's genuine guidance, who seemingly forgets what he plans to do.
On the night before the six-year mark, Lidor offers praise as he observes Auren performing all his stances, techniques, and secrets in one long practice session.
"Incredible, Auren. You've perfectly mastered my swordsmanship—even the hidden techniques—and your Aura shifting is exceptionally advanced. Tomorrow you'll inherit the sword, my school, and position. You are indeed worthy. Sleep early tonight. At exactly 6 PM tomorrow evening, we'll leave this school, you as my successor and new Master of my school."
"Yes, Master," Auren says with a smile.
At exactly midnight, Auren enters the sacrificial room and places a series of small devices outfitted with timers and filled with various liquids in the small openings he prepared earlier.
He stands in front of the door leading to his Master's room and thinks silently, unable to speak aloud.
Good night, Master. I've prepared my thanks for you.
Eating as much as he can during breakfast, Auren wakes up and lazes around the entire day, practicing Ten and Zetsu, which doesn't tire him out in the slightest, in fact, instead pushing his body to peak condition. A few hours before the meeting, he sharpens his blunt practice Katana, just to make sure he has another card to play should things go awry.
At precisely 6 PM, he enters the small chamber alongside his Master.
Lidor enters first and gestures toward the floor, where Auren sees a red circle surrounded by strange symbols.
"Please sit down, my student," Lidor says with a smile.
"Of course, Master."
Though I only plan to spend five minutes with you—that's when my timer and your life will end.
Using a tiny bit of Azure Restoration combined with In, Auren ensures the sleeping gas has no effect on him at all. Auren suppresses a grin as his Master shows no reaction at all.
Still, Auren pretends otherwise, slightly closing his eyelids from time to time, before acting like he is trying to pay more attention.
"Now, Auren, before I can formally declare you my successor, there is still something I must tell you. It's about my family and my style of swordsmanship."
Lidor begins telling Auren about his parents and their teachings.
Barely listening, Auren acts sleepy, rubbing his eyes, trying hard to suppress his smile. Finally, as he counts down internally—293, 294, 295, 296—acting as if he's about to fall asleep, he whispers softly toward his Master.
"Master... how about a little rest… how about you rest… for ETERNITY!" Auren screams as numerous small containers explode, quickly filling the room with poisonous gas.
Auren immediately draws his crudely sharpened Katana and activates Limitless Waters, risking everything by focusing his entire Aura onto his blade, using Ko, and striking at his Master.
Lidor, caught off guard, desperately attempts to block the attack with Eternity, only for his blade to be knocked back, slicing into the wall of the cramped room, getting stuck. As Auren retracts his blade, its relatively small size a huge advantage in this tiny room, and strikes again at a diagonal angle. Lidor backs away, but the range of Auren's Katana suddenly extends, Limitless Waters lengthening the blade and cutting off Lidor's left arm in one swift motion.
Refusing to grant him any respite or opportunity to counter or use a Nen ability of his own, Auren, using his mastery over emission, spits out three water bullets, hidden with In, from his mouth, each piercing into Lidor's chest, whose eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets, his shock immense.
Every bullet hits Lidor hard, with his illness and the poison preventing any reaction.
Showing no mercy, Auren attacks again, stabbing his blade deep into his Master's stomach. He immediately transforms his left hand into a claw, viciously stabbing it into Lidor's shoulder, then grabbing his remaining right arm, and throwing him violently over his head, slamming his body directly into the circle.
"Now, Master, it's time for the 24th sacrifice," Auren whispers as he rips Eternity out of the wall, which it is still embedded in, tossing aside his training Katana.
"You... you knew... I curse you! You... destroyed my life's... wor...k…" Lidor whispers weakly.
"Shut up, you worthless imbecile. You'll die as punishment for your desperate attempts at longevity. You know what? My Hatsu allows me to restore any body to peak condition. If you'd been an honorable Master and treated me well, I would've healed you for free—granting you at least three or four more decades of life," Auren says with an amused voice.
"Wha…t? You… li—" Lidor gasps, but before he can utter another word, Auren pierces his heart with Eternity, blood slowly trickling onto the ground.
To Auren's surprise, Eternity suddenly radiates an enormous amount of Aura.
Using Gyo and glancing at the left side of his chest, Auren notices the 24th and final petal slowly turning black.
Fully blackened, his flower suddenly 'blooms.'
The flower shifts its shape slightly, like growing to maturity, expanding slightly. The Sword suddenly floats in midair before generating a violent surge of Aura, then magically, as if controlled by someone, thrusts forward, piercing straight into Auren's heart.
WHAT?!...
No… this wasn't how… I…
…
…
…
Auren suddenly jolts awake!
He glances around frantically—Lidor's corpse is still sprawled on the floor, the room reeking of poisons and chemicals. He desperately searches for the sword, before remembering what happened and clutching his chest.
How much time has passed?!
To his astonishment, the left side of his chest appears perfectly normal, with no visible injury. Activating Gyo, he clearly sees the now fully bloomed pitch-black flower still etched there, along with his number… No. 23.
Focusing his Aura on his chest, he senses a faint presence, and suddenly, the sword manifests. Eternity's hilt gradually emerges from within the flower. Grabbing the hilt, Auren pulls out the remaining length of the blade.
Inspecting it, he breaks into laughter—the blade is… perfectly ordinary.
The only change Auren notices is that the blade is now completely black, containing a significant amount of residual Aura, yet devoid of any special effect or discernible ability.
However, the instant he thinks of dismissing it, the blade immediately vanishes.
Testing the thought again, Eternity reappears in his hand, even with its snowy-white sheath, which he quickly removes.
Interesting… so I can summon and dismiss it at will. I guess that's a useful ability? But was it worth sacrificing 23 promising young lives and one pathetic Elder?
Auren stares at the blade, his expression twisting slightly, unable to complete the thought.
… Maybe.
He steps onto his dead Master's body, his shoe pressing into Lidor's still-shocked-looking face as he exits the small room.
With slow steps, he traverses the mansion, his mind flooded with hundreds, thousands of memories.
Endless training… Suddenly, in Auren's mind, 23 figures appear beside him as he stands in the vast, empty training hall, each young child swinging their bokken, brimming with hope.
He sees an empty spot within their chaotic formation and takes his place among them, drawing Eternity, mimicking their clumsy movements with a nostalgic smile.
"I won't forget you, everyone—and at least whatever small part of you is left, I'll take with me" he says, raising Eternity high. "I'll carry you with me—to the very ends of the world! No. 22, Nero, right? I'll teach you how to reach your goals without crying like a child. No. 4 and No. 6, you'll always stay together, I promise. No. 24, you can watch and get to know me more. I'll make you proud!"
He then throws his sword into the air, making it disappear with just a thought, feeling its presence in his heart, the sword from earlier, just a Conjuration, an image of the real sword.
Auren finally exits the mansion, boldly stepping out of the main entrance, noting the complete darkness outside.
Waiting there, he spots Buno, Bunu, and several elderly people, accompanied by other seemingly important men and multiple armed guards.
They stare at Auren, visibly shocked, while Buno and Bunu step forward. "Took your sweet time, huh? We expected you yesterday—it's already past midnight."
"Sorry, I had to say goodbye to the rest," Auren replies mysteriously, revealing just a hint of a grin.
One of the elderly people appears visibly delighted and starts laughing—soon, several others share his sentiment, leaving Auren confused about their relationships and the overall situation.
I guess nobody will bother explaining things to me… They all look down on me. I'll accept this kind of bullshit for now, but they'll regret their arrogance soon enough… much like my dear Master probably did.
As if communicating telepathically, everyone departs except Buno, Bunu, and a single woman who looks to be in her late fifties.
"You'll handle the cleanup. As the youngest Elder, you'd better not complain," the elder who laughed just moments ago says in a satisfied tone as he walks away.
The woman gazes apologetically at Auren and says, "You… I'm sorry, could you tell me your name? I only know your… former number."
"My name is Auren," he calmly replies. "Feel free to refer to me as No. 23 if you can't remember it—it's just as much my name as the one my parents forced upon me."
"I am Elder Nibana… First, let me apologize. The inaction of us Elders regarding your situation has been unprecedented, even by our standards. I'd like to explain a few things to you," the 'young' Elder says with a serious expression.
"Of course," Auren replies.
"Follow me, please. I've prepared a clean place for you to stay—at least temporarily," she says in a friendly tone.
"Just a second," Auren interjects, then gestures toward Buno and Bunu, pulling them aside. "Inside the mansion are extremely valuable books about Nen—specifically rituals. Master even mentioned some materials on a topic that I think you'll find particularly interesting. This knowledge has to be incredibly rare and valuable. I don't want them 'getting lost,' as the Elders will undoubtedly seize them if we give them the chance. They might be worth a fortune, and due to my circumstances, I might need them myself. Could one of you retrieve them? We'll split the profit once we sell everything we don't need. Be sure to grab Master's diary, it contains useful information about the Elders. If you can look for his inherited sword manual as well. The rest of the mansion is worthless—I suggest burning it all down."
"Hehe, you're quite shrewd, 'Master' Auren," Buno says with a smile.
Bunu nods at them. "Leave it to me. We'll meet later at our place. Don't even think about staying anywhere recommended by the Elders."
Buno and Auren swiftly return to Elder Nibana, following her into a nearby mansion—much smaller than Lidor's, yet considerably more welcoming. Especially compared to Lidor's mansion, which now resembles a haunted house due to years of severe neglect.
Time to plan my exit! I made it!
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