The summer sun beat down on the training grounds. The air smelled of dry dust and sweet grass.

Twelve-year-old Elowen dropped her wooden sword into the dirt, her chest heaving.

Sweat matted her dark hair to her forehead. Her arms felt like jelly.

"Master..." Elowen wheezed. "I am done... for the day. I can't... anymore."

She collapsed onto the grass. She sprawled out like a starfish.

Her master stood over her. She was a woman in her late twenties.

She wore simple training robes. Her posture was relaxed, but her eyes were sharp.

The Master sighed loudly. She lowered her tea cup and shook her head.

"You are such a drama queen, Elowen," the Master said.

Her tone was a mix of amusement and exasperation. "We have barely been at it for two hours."

"Two hours of hell!" Elowen cried out. She dropped the sword completely and clasped her hands together in a begging gesture

"Please, Master," she whimpered. "My arms are going to fall off. Do you want a student with no arms?"

The Master stared at her for a long moment.

Finally, she let out another sigh, deeper this time.

"Alright, alright," the master relented. "Take a break."

Elowen jumped up instantly. The exhaustion vanished like magic.

"Yay!" Elowen cheered. She pumped a fist in the air.

The master raised an eyebrow. A smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Oh?" the master noted. "You seem to be full of energy suddenly."

Elowen froze. Her celebration died in her throat.

"We should continue then," the master suggested. She reached for her own wooden sword.

Elowen waved her hands frantically. "No! No, I am really tired. Please, no more physical stuff today."

The master chuckled. She lowered her sword.

"Fine," the master said. "But how about learning something new?"

Elowen narrowed her eyes. "Does it involve running laps?"

"No," the master promised. "It is just knowledge. Something that might come in handy someday."

Elowen sat back down on the grass. She crossed her legs.

"As long as it is not boring," Elowen said.

A vein popped on the master's forehead. Her smile became tight.

"Oh dear," the master said sweetly. "Are you implying that I am boring?"

Elowen felt a chill. She realized her mistake.

"No, no, no!" Elowen stammered. She waved her hands and head in panic.

Sweat poured down her face, and it wasn't from the heat anymore.

"I didn't mean that! Definitely didn't mean that!"

The master watched her squirm for a moment. Then she relaxed.

"I will let it slide this time," the master said.

She sat down opposite Elowen. Her expression turned serious.

"What I am about to tell you is interesting," the master began. "And it is something you should be aware of."

She paused for effect.

"Have you ever heard of the 'Zone'?" she asked.

Elowen tilted her head. She looked confused.

"Zone?" Elowen repeated.

The master nodded. "Yes. The Zone."

"A zone is a place," Elowen said slowly. "Like a district. Or an area of something."

The master let out a small, melodious laugh.

"No, no," she corrected. "Not that kind of zone."

She leaned forward. She rested her elbows on her knees.

"You see," the master explained. "Most humans only use around seven to ten percent of their brain capacity."

Elowen blinked. "Only ten percent?"

"Throughout our entire life," the master confirmed. "Except for a few rare individuals."

She gestured to the training ground around them.

"In our daily life," she continued. "We focus maybe ten to fifteen percent. Often even less."

"The rest of the time," the master said. "We are unfocused. We are in an imaginative state."

Elowen frowned. She tried to follow the logic.

"Think about when you are studying," the master said.

"You read a book," she went on. "But suddenly, you start thinking about dinner. Or you start daydreaming about a dress."

Elowen nodded. That happened often.

"That means you lost your focus," the master said. "And that is normal."

She picked up a blade of grass. She twirled it in her fingers.

"We humans are built to observe everything around us," she explained. "And as a result, we get easily distracted. It is a survival instinct."

"Unless we force our mind to focus on one thing," she added. "And even then, we eventually lose that grip."

She looked Elowen in the eye.

"Even if someone forces themselves," the master said. "A person cannot access more than twenty five or thirty percent of their focus."

Elowen listened intently. She leaned in closer.

"But, you see..." the master said softly. "There is a point. A state where a human can surpass that wall."

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"They can attain true focus," she said.

"A state where everything else fades away," the master described. "The noise. The fear. The pain."

"The only thing left is the individual," she said. "And their target or their goal."

She let the blade of grass fall.

"That state," the master declared. "Is called the Zone."

Elowen stared at her master. Her attention was captured completely.

"This phenomenon cannot be attained just because you want it," the master warned. "You cannot force it."

"It happens only to a few chosen people," she said.

"And those who experience the Zone," the master added gravely. "Are on an entirely different level than those who do not."

Elowen's eyes sparkled. She looked impressed.

"Whoa," Elowen breathed.

A confident grin spread across her young face.

"Can I experience that state?" Elowen asked eagerly.

The master smirked. She ruffled Elowen's sweaty hair.

"Of course," the master said. "You are talented. I am pretty sure one day you will."

Elowen beamed.

"But don't get your hopes up," the master added. "It isn't easy."

Elowen's curiosity grew.

"How hard was it for you, Master?" Elowen asked. "To reach the Zone?"

The master blinked. She looked away for a second.

"Me?" the master said.

She stuck her tongue out playfully. "Teehee~ I never experienced it myself."

Elowen's jaw dropped. She looked dumbfounded.

"What?" Elowen shouted. "Even you didn't get it?"

She threw her hands up.

"Then how am I supposed to achieve it?" she demanded.

The master let out a hearty laugh.

"As I said," the master replied. "You can't force it. It just happens to a few chosen ones."

Elowen slumped. She put on a pitiful, sad expression. She looked thoroughly bummed out.

"Then why tell me this?" Elowen grumbled. "You just got my hopes up for nothing."

The master smiled gently.

"Be positive," she encouraged. "The reason I told you is for knowledge. And to set a goal for you."

Elowen pouted. She pulled at the grass.

Suddenly, the master's demeanor changed.

The playfulness vanished. Her eyes grew cold and hard.

"But," the master said. Her tone was serious. "It was also to warn you."

Elowen felt the shift instantly. She sat up straight. She brought her full attention back to her teacher.

"Listen to me carefully," the master said.

"If you ever, by any chance, get so unlucky," she began. "And become the target of someone in the Zone."

She leaned closer. Her gaze bored into Elowen's soul.

"Remember my words," the master commanded.

"Run."

The single word hung in the hot summer air.

"Whether it is a powerful opponent," the master said. "Or even a mundane one."

She grabbed Elowen's shoulder. Her grip was tight.

"Don't even think about fighting it," she hissed. "JUST. RUN."

Elowen gulped. She felt a knot of fear in her stomach.

The intensity of her master's words scared her.

"But..." Elowen whispered. "How am I supposed to know?"

She looked at her master with wide eyes.

"How do I know if a person is in the Zone?" she asked.

The master let go of her shoulder. She sat back.

Her usual, relaxed expression returned.

"Don't worry," the master said softly.

She gave a small, knowing smile.

"You will know. You will definitely know."

✧✧✧

The memory shattered.

The warm summer sun was replaced by the cold, dark forest.

Elowen stood frozen.

Her boots were rooted to the dirt. Her breath caught in her throat.

A fear she had never felt before clawed at her insides. It was cold and sharp.

She looked ahead.

Marcus stood just a short distance away.

He was hunched over. His body was battered and broken.

But he was staring straight at her.

His gaze was intense. It was focused. It was terrifying.

It felt like she was the only thing left in his entire world.

He stood in a strange stance. His muscles were coiled like springs.

His mouth hung open slightly. His tongue was lolling out, resting against his lip.

He was panting rhythmically.

It was a look of pure, unadulterated obsession.

It looked feral. It looked like a beast that had forgotten how to stop.

The words of Elowen's master replayed in her mind. They echoed like a warning bell.

When an individual is in the Zone, his whole way of moving changes.

Especially his battle sense. And his reflexes.

Elowen looked at his eyes again.

They didn't blink. They didn't show pain. They only showed the target.

Her.

Elowen instinctively knew.

This was it. This was the phenomenon her master had warned her about.

He wasn't fighting with skill anymore. He wasn't fighting with logic.

He was fighting with something else.

Panic surged through her veins. It drowned out her anger. It drowned out her pride.

'I...' Elowen thought. Her mind stuttered.

'I need to run.'

The thought screamed at her.

Run. Just run.

She shifted her weight and started to turn around.

She needed to get away.

She needed to put distance between herself and this monster.

But the moment she twitched, Marcus moved.

He didn't run. He didn't step.

He advanced in a blur.

One second he was there. The next, he was in front of her.

He closed the distance faster than she could blink.

Elowen's eyes went wide.

'Too fast,' she realized.

She couldn't turn. She couldn't flee.

If she turned her back now, he would kill her.

She had to defend.

She realized the whip was useless. It was too slow.

She let go of the leather handle. The whip fell to the dirt.

She reached into her spatial storage.

Her hand closed around a hilt.

She pulled out a longsword. The steel glinted in the moonlight.

She brought it up in a desperate block.

Marcus swung the rusty dagger.

CLANG.

The sound of metal on metal rang through the silent forest.

Sparks flew from the impact. They lit up their faces for a brief second.

Elowen grit her teeth. The force of his blow shook her arm.

She looked into his eyes. They were inches from hers.

They were empty of humanity.

Marcus leaned in. His breath hit her face.

His tongue retracted slightly. He bared his teeth.

"And where," Marcus whispered. His voice was a low growl.

"Do you think you are running?"

.

.

.

A/N:

How was the info dump? Was it boring or was I able to hype it up?

Took me a long time to write this one, so as to not make it seem like boring ass info dump.

And guys, I know I am messing up the upload schedules these days. That's because I am moving to Australia soon, so I am busy... A LOT.

I have a lot of preparations and shopping to do while also working on the new novel (which is almost negligible these days).

But I am trying to upload as fast as I can, so stick around and be a bit lenient on me.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.