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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8EWHBVBXW9
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.”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPjt6C8ksJ
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?”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFiD9V1MVv
Silence.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNO9TXHhqJ
'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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0r2pQ9AuhS
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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlEEloEYgN
After a while, Vion spoke again. “Enough. Now, circulate it.”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYdRJJMizp
“Yes, sir,” Dren thought cheerfully. “Anything else? A joke? A story from the good old days when you were free and terrifying people?”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYufmPJ5jgv
More silence.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2qJAHcswr
Dren laughed under his breath. “You’re like a rock with opinions. A very cold rock.”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGR7CC4RhD
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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9VWneGr3rs
“Nice shot, right?” he asked Vion.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡor8k7sqpLI
“Just so so,” Vion replied, voice unchanged.
Dren grinned wider. “Finally! I'm hearing some nice words from you.”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWbJqkiij4
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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDn7z9rCqfL
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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvkpZWcnJc
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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZwuwkcSaQ
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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwn0xJFyKyJ
Zev spotted him right away. “Hey, look, the idiot found food without help today.”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡro1HODCYef
Garr snorted. “Probably followed the smell like a dog.”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBh6QvwxGv
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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHo5ey0oKEZ
A couple of younger outer disciples laughed, they weren't mean, they were just amused.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGpSiGmkwC
Lena sat a few benches away, eating alone as usual. She quietly glanced over at the source of the noise.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPwURbQzQf
Zev kept going. “Seriously, why do we even feed him? He sweeps one yard and thinks he’s earned a bowl.”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFj50pUS8O
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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmT8a1xvhKz
Zev stared at him, seemingly a bit thrown off. “What... are you mocking me?”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFmnrWPyuDT
Dren just kept smiling blankly and went back to his food.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDEj0mWhNJ
Garr muttered, “He doesn’t even know what mocking means.”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25dDEGpdSb
Lena’s lips twitched, almost into a smile, before she looked down again.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡag4fcR0a7F
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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ552cPrtib6
Instructor Kael was running the session again. The drills were the same, shadow Bolt and basic footwork.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmP7CszICyv
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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIcBk0cC9TN
Kael shouted, “Next row! Ten bolts each!”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8FiCI5BUy
When Zev stepped up, he fired perfect shots, then turned to brag. “That’s how it’s done.”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81EgR4iu83
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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGJuzPNf9p
Then laughter erupted as if it was practiced, the loudest laughter was from the branch kids and outer disciples.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWOJ8iMSvW
Garr rushed over. “Zev! You okay?”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtruYrBREQ7
Zev scrambled up, his face was crimson red. “The ground… it was uneven or something!” He stuttered.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJVJjePZZx
Kael rubbed his forehead. “Pay attention to your footing, Zev. Pride makes you clumsy.”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4hsjpp1wr
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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhw88H9GMK
Lena looked straight at him this time. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes held a quiet curiosity.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9LfnTwp7c
When practice ended, most people left quickly. Lena stayed a bit, repeating her form.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFo8CDzxZpo
Kael nodded at her. “You have improved a lot today, keep that focus.”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhdSgrXKxz
“Thank you, Instructor,” she said clearly.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe4n6iPEUds
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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinWycC2VQk
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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWRkJfUbO1
Lena’s eyes widened slightly. She nodded once and walked away.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEeS3f7vunf
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.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIthIt4698K
Every now and then he’d talk to Vion.
“Hey, Vion, if you were free, would you smile at least once?”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWiPePLoB6
Silence.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5EUi211QA
“Guess not. Well, it's more fun talking to the vines anyway.”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡko91hS8BdY
Vion finally spoke near sunset. “Focus. Power is not a game.”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkPSetblIE
Dren laughed softly. “Everything’s a game if you play it right.”
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhqbaheOhM
He leaned against the wall, tired but he felt light inside him.
161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWa1rdUHu5
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.
ns216.73.217.22da2
and then Add to home screen.