Student 1

Sarah: You want to teach me? Like a master or something?

Lionel: Yes, I do.

Sarah: Do I have a choice?

Lionel: No.

Sarah: How come?

Lionel: You don't only have a lot of Ora for your age, you have a lot for a human. If you aren't taught how to properly use it, you will undoubtedly hurt someone and yourself. So, I must teach you how to use it to prevent that from happening.

This whole time Sarah has only been looking at Gio. She hasn't once looked up at Lionel. Lionel knew what he was telling her could be a lot to process. Especially for someone her age. Lionel was well aware of Sarah's age. And for some reason, he felt like he was the only one who was aware of her age. He knew everything was just so much. The things she has seen, the things she has heard, the things she has felt. He had a feeling he wouldn't want to hear about any of it.

Lionel: I will give you some time.

Lionel walked over to the door.

Lionel: Meet me in front of the building that holds the cloaking device and make sure you get some rest. I can't have you being tired in the morning.

Sarah: ... Okay, good night Mr. Lionel.

Lionel: Good night, Sarah. Sleep well.

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Sarah woke up with sunlight coming through her windows. She sat up and started to look around the room. After Lionel left her in the room alone with Gio she stayed there for a couple of hours longer than she should've and even after she finally got to her room, she still had problems falling asleep. She rubbed her eyes and took the bed covers off of her. She jumped off of her bed and walked to the door and opened it.

Sarah: [It has been a while since I slept in a soft bed ... it felt weird.]

She continues to rub her eyes and walks out of her room and as soon as she does, she feels herself run into something. She looks up and sees a man with pale skin, he had freckles across his nose and his cheeks. He had extremely light brown hair and hazel eyes. He was wearing a long white robe with a plain blue shirt under it with orange pants with a dragon on the right leg of the pants.

Sarah: Who are you?

Cinco: You look awful.

Sarah: Oh, it's you.

She recognized Cinco not because she remembered his voice but because she has never met someone who annoys her as much as Cinco does.

Sarah: That is an ... interesting outfit.

Cinco: I am just running out really quick, so I just had to throw something on. And you have absolutely no room to talk about appearances. Go look in a mirror.

Cinco walks past Sarah.

Sarah: I really hate that guy. I don't get how Mr. Lionel tolerates him.

Sarah walks into the bathroom and turns the light. The mirror above the sink is too high for Sarah to see herself. So, Sarah grabs onto the edge of the sink and pulls herself up onto it. When she pulls herself up, she looks into the mirror.

Sarah: [So he really wasn't joking.]

Sarah's hair looked absolutely terrible and that was just the first thing she noticed. Her eyes were red, there were bags under her eyes, there was sleep in the corners of her eyes, and some of her face had saliva.

Sarah: Um.

Sarah looks across the sink to try and find something that could help her appearance. However, she finds nothing. Sarah walks out of the bathroom.

Sarah: Is anyone there? I need help. Mr. Lionel?

Sarah stands there in the hallway and no one answers.

Sarah puts her hands on her hips and sighs.

Sarah: I guess I am just going to have to find the things I need myself.

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Lionel stood there in front of the building he told Sarah to meet him in front of. His arms were crossed, and he tapped his foot.

Lionel: Did something happen?

Lionel had seen Cinco coming back from Kyle's lab. When he did see him, Cinco told him that Sarah was awake. That was thirty minutes ago. He was about to go back to the house to go check on her.

Sarah: Sorry I am here now.

Lionel turned his head and saw Sarah wearing her snow coat riding on Rachel's shoulders.

Lionel: What took you so long?

Sarah: Um ... I wanted to see Gio this morning.

Lionel: You aren't a good liar.

Sarah: Why did you ask me to come here?

Lionel: ... Follow me.

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Sarah and Lionel walked up a hill. They were so far from the village that Sarah wondered if they were still in the field of the cloaking device.

Sarah: Are we still safe?

Lionel: Kyle said the limit was far enough for us to reach this.

Sarah and Lionel reach the top of the hill to see a small green plain. The plain had one single lone tree in the center of it. The tree was a weeping willow with yellow leaves.

Sarah: [I wonder what it would look like from the top.]

Lionel: It is beautiful, isn't it?

Sarah: Yes, it is.

Lionel: I planted it 15 years ago.

Sarah: Wait. How old are you?

Lionel: Very old.

Sarah turns around to see the view of the village from above. That is when she sees just how many more houses there are in the village.

Sarah: Oh. Why did you bring me up here?

Lionel: To teach you. I mean I said I would after all.

Sarah: Oh, well how do you want to do this?

Lionel: How do you want to do it? You are the student after all.

Sarah sits on the ground and crosses her legs.

Sarah: Now tell me about Ora. You said I have a lot for my age. Does that mean I am something like a child prodigy?

Lionel: Yes you have a lot for your age but that isn't the whole truth.

Sarah: What is the whole truth?

Lionel: You don't only have a lot of Ora for your age; you have a lot for a person in general.

Sarah smirks and starts rubbing her head.

Sarah: So, you are saying I am special?

Lionel: Yes, you are one in a million. However, more Ora at this early age can be ... troublesome.

Sarah: What do you mean?

Lionel: Usually when people train, their amount of Ora rises with their body's capabilities. But since you have all this Ora you will have to train your body to catch up. And if you don't your body will suffer whenever you try to use your ability.

Sarah: Ability?

Lionel: Yes. An ability manifests naturally when you are able to control your Ora enough.

Sarah: Wait, that doesn't make sense. If you can't control Ora without training your body, then how come I can use my ability just fine?

Lionel: People are able to manipulate their Ora enough to the point where their abilities can manifest naturally. It is becoming versatile with the ability where the extra Ora comes into play. Abilities and Ora go hand and hand. But it is strange though.

Sarah: What?

Lionel: I know you have yet to properly learn to use Ora, but your ability seems so simple at first glance. Usually, people with your amount of Ora have abilities that show great potential. But all I have seen from you is just summoning a big doll. I mean yes if Rachel became stronger it would become a true threat but is that all you can do? Summon Rachel?

Sarah: No ... I can summon Rachel and there are three more creatures I can summon ... but I don't like summoning them.

Lionel: How come?

Sarah: ...

Sarah's eyes became glassy as she squinted. Memories she clearly never wanted to remember again started to resurface.

Lionel: Um ... You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.

Sarah: Thank you.

Sarah wiped her eyes and looked back at Lionel.

Lionel: Also think of Ora as something that is always trying to kill you.

Sarah: What? how come?

Lionel: Because to be honest everyone has more Ora than they need. And if you aren't careful while using it you will suffer. Your life span can even get cut short if you push it too hard.

Sarah: WHAT!?

Lionel: Yeah, it is scary stuff. And that isn't even all that can happen.

Sarah: Wait. You said I overused Ora the other day.

Sarah broke into a cold sweat.

Sarah: Was my life span cut?

Lionel: After Kyle told me everything that happened that night then I would have to say ...

Lionel began thinking for a couple of seconds and those seconds were the slowest moments of Sarah's life.

Lionel: Yes, I can confidently say your life span was at least cut in half.

Sarah: WHAT?!

Lionel: DON'T WORRY THOUGH! When you gain enough mastery with Ora not only will you be able to do more with your ability, but you will also be able to lengthen your lifespan by hundreds or possibly thousands of years.

A rush of relief and happiness runs over Sarah's body. She felt like she was going to melt right there in the plains.

Sarah: TELL ME THAT FIRST!

Lionel: You are right I should've done that.

Sarah: Wait so I can live up to like 500 years old?

Lionel: With enough Ora training. And lengthened life spans and abilities aren't the only things Ora can do.

Sarah: Really?

Lionel: Yes, you can increase your durability, strength, speed, senses, and more. If your ability doesn't already increase those for you, then Ora can do it. At first, you will need to focus on maintaining those types of effects, but as you train, the manipulation of Ora required to maintain those effects should happen naturally.

Sarah: So, Ora is a type of energy, right? What do you do if you run out?

Lionel: You never run out of Ora. I mean if you did that would mean you would be erased from existence. You cannot exist without Ora; it is in all existing things. But over time of you using Ora it does start to take a toll and tire out your body. You can slow the process by learning how to properly use Ora and to train your body to be able to take more and more Ora being used through it. With training the amount of Ora you have and the amount you are able to use will grow.

Sarah: Oh okay.

Lionel: Now to talk about the different ways to manipulate Ora. The branches of Ora are mind, movement, emotional, and passive. For people with mind based Ora manipulation all they need to do is hone their minds, think about how they wish for their ability to come out.

Sarah: That sounds super easy. And unfair I thought manipulating Ora was hard. How come all they have to do is think about it and Ora does what they want?

Lionel: It isn't easy. Even they need to keep careful of how much Ora they want to push out. People have a tendency of thinking they can handle more than they actually can. They might think they can handle a certain amount of Ora and then the next second, they are lying on the ground about to die. And not to mention the absolute focus that needs to go into manipulating it. How about you try keeping focus when you are getting hit into buildings, or having fireballs thrown at you.

Sarah: Point taken.

Lionel: Then there is movement. For people that have movement type Ora manipulation all they need to do is ... well a movement to activate and control their ability. But again, it isn't as easy as it sounds. Movement type manipulation takes the most training out of all of them. With this type of manipulation, it tires you out much faster than the other ones. So, if you aren't careful enough with this one you might just pass out from exhaustion in the middle of a fight. And I should know because I have movement-based Ora manipulation.

Sarah: I have been forgetting to ask. What exactly is your ability?

Lionel: Obsidian manipulation.

Sarah: That sounds like it sucks. Isn't obsidian super brittle?

Lionel: Normal obsidian is but mine is durable enough to take bullets.

Sarah: Really?

Lionel: Yes

Sarah: I WANT TO SEE!

Lionel: Um ... I will show you later. But I need to finish explaining Ora. Emotional manipulation is when your Ora is linked to your emotions. Depending on the person this one can be the hardest to control. For this one to control your Ora you need to be in perfect control of your emotions. And I think you know that is difficult. I believe your ability is emotion based.

Sarah: Yeah, do you think it will be hard for me to control?

Lionel: Well from what I have seen you actually have pretty good control over it already. It is surprising actually. Have you had someone teach you?

Sarah: Nope I have just always been able to control it. I guess Cinco was wrong about me being "too emotional" huh?

Lionel: No, he wasn't. That is why it is so surprising to see you control Rachel so well. Can you tell me more about Rachel?

Sarah: Well, I met Rachel when I was a baby. It does whatever I ask it to do it is capable of staying around when I am unconscious too. When it is around when I am unconscious, and I can't tell it what to do, it will usually do what it believes I would want.

Lionel: I see, I will definitely ask more about it later but for now next up to explain is passive Ora manipulation. It is both the easiest and rarest when it comes to Ora manipulation. All passive ability users need to do is turn on an ability. They can turn it off too. It is impossible for them to use too much Ora and go over there limits if all they use is their ability cause all they do is turn their ability on and off.

Sarah: ... That sounds boring.

Lionel: It is. But now that I have gotten the basics of Ora manipulation and abilities out of the way, how about we start training now.

Sarah: Oh, okay how do I start?

Lionel: We will start after I tell you this. Abilities manifest from us being able to control Ora and the more Ora you have and the more you are able to control the more versatile you can be with your ability. Remember that no matter what.

Sarah: Okay I will.

Lionel: This is how you will train.

Lionel looks over towards the weeping willow tree and Cinco walks from under the leaves. Unlike this morning he was now wearing a gray short sleeve shirt with the words "I am an introvert unless you want to talk about turtles" on it in black. He also had his hair tied back in a short ponytail, with black shorts that came to the top of his knees, and black and white tennis shoes. He was also holding a wooden sword.

Lionel: I want you to try and hit Cinco. It can be either you or Rachel that hits Cinco that is your assignment.

Sarah smiles and summons Rachel.

Sarah: I like this assignment.

Lionel: I knew you would. Also Cinco you aren't allowed to use your ability.

Cinco: I don't know why you are getting her hopes up Master she won't be able to do it.

Lionel: You never know Cinco. She shows great promise.

Cinco: Let's be realistic Master, do you really think she will ever be able to lay a finger on me?

Lionel: I do.

Cinco: That is very offensive Master.

Sarah: I can do it. I am certain. Now let's start right now. I want to humiliate you already.

Cinco: You can try.

Rachel's metal claws come out and it tries to cut Cinco down the middle. Rachel's attack comes to a stop when Cinco blocks its attack with his wooden sword. Rachel swings its other arm towards Cinco's torso until he vanishes.

Sarah: RACHEL!

Rachel turns around to see Cinco standing in front of Sarah with his sword above his head. He starts to bring the wooden sword down and Sarah instinctively tries to shield her head with her arms. Cinco hits Sarah's arms with his wooden sword and Sarah screams out in pain. She falls to her knees with her forehead on the ground. She holds her arms up to her chest. And tears begin to fall down her eyes. Rachel prepares to run its claws through Cinco until Rachel feels something holding it back. It looks back and sees that it is now wrapped in Lionel's obsidian chains once again.

Lionel: It is over.

Cinco: I tried to tell you that she couldn't do it Master.

Sarah: HE CHEATED! HE KNEW MY ARMS WERE MY WEAK POINT BUT HE STILL HIT THEM! THAT IS CHEATING!

Lionel: Sarah it isn't cheating Sarah. In an actual battle your opponent will exploit your weaknesses. Cinco will be no different. You lost this time. I am sorry.

Sarah: BUT ... THAT ISN'T FAIR.

Lionel bends down and pulls Sarah's forehead up off the ground so she can look at his mask and grabs her shoulders.

Lionel: Sarah you lost. And that isn't bad at all. You are a child. Cinco is an adult. I was wrong to put such heavy expectations on you. This is not a moment that you should take for granted. This is a moment that you can use to grow and change. Please learn from this moment. Do not quit, persevere over this challenge. You can defeat him, but you must learn first. Learn his movements, learn his fighting tendencies, learn how he thinks. You cannot simply give up and despair when you lose. You must try again with knowledge from your past attempts.

Sarah wipes the tears from her eyes and gets up on her feet.

Lionel: Do you understand now?

Sarah: I do understand. I will keep trying to take Cinco down until I succeed ... Master.

Cinco: That will never happen. You will continue to fail. I will make you give up Sarah.

Lionel: Sarah the month right now is January. I will give you until December to land at least one blow on Cinco. And if you fail you will have to live with that feeling of failure.

Sarah: December ... I can definitely do that.

Lionel turns around and looks at the sun.

Lionel: It is still early ... okay Sarah here are the rules. You will run 3 miles, do 500 pushups, and 700 sit ups every day until March. When march comes, you will come to me and receive your next daily workout.

Sarah: WHAT?!

Lionel: I am not done. Cinco will wait up here every day from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. You do not have to fight him every day if you do not want to. You may challenge him whatever days you wish. Do you understand what you must do?

Sarah looks down from the hill they were on. She looks down on the village. She thinks about everything that had to be done for her to get to this very moment. What was in front of her was an opportunity. It was an opportunity to get stronger, it was an opportunity to protect the person that protected her, an opportunity to save and protect people that might be stuck in Break Point. She would get stronger. She will protect people. She will save people.

Sarah: I do understand.

Lionel: Good ... now get started.

Sarah: What?

Lionel: Your workouts start today. So, get started.

Sarah: Wait, give me a breather first. I just finished fighting.

Lionel: Nope. Get started!

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The sun starts to set, and Lionel and Cinco walk back into the house. Sarah was on Lionel's back because she had passed out after the workout that Lionel assigned her.

Lionel: WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!

Lionel walked in to see floorboards pulled up, slash marks on the wall. Cabinets ripped off the wall wardrobes fallen over, and the couch flipped over. And that was just what they saw at first glance.

Cinco: If she touched my room, I am going to destroy her the next time she challenges me.

Cinco walks off to go to his room and walks in. He sees his bed covers torn; his bed flipped over, his clothes shredded into pieces, his wardrobe was thrown out of his window and his light didn't work.

Cinco: I'm going to kill her.

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3 DAYS LATER

Rachel and Cinco traded blows. They both moved so fast Sarah wasn't able to keep her eyes on them.

Lionel: Sarah are you always just going to let Rachel do the fighting?

Sarah: What am I supposed to do? It isn't like I can keep up with him.

Lionel: And you will never be able to if you don't try. Come on help out.

Cinco and Rachel and then stop there. At this moment Rachels claws struggle against Cinco's wooden sword. They struggle for control, and both stand still and Cinco's back faces Sarah. This was Sarah's chance to "help out". Sarah starts running and pulls her fist back. Her speed builds up as she gets closer and closer to Cinco. She continues running until she is close enough. She throws her punch, and it lands directly in the middle of Cinco's back.

Sarah: THAT HURTS!

Sarah falls to her knees and holds her arm.

Sarah: OW!

Lionel: That is enough for today.

Cinco turns around and smiles down on Sarah.

Sarah: YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE!

Cinco: I did.

Lionel: Enough talking, Sarah it is time for your work out.

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ONE WEEK LATER

Sarah is in the bathroom of her home. Her head is hovering over the toilet because she just finished throwing up from her workout today.

Sarah: Does this get any easier?

Sarah then thinks. She had challenged Cinco every day since Master had told her to beat him by the end of December. Maybe she could take a break from it tomorrow.

Sarah: I haven't seen Kyle since the day I woke up. Maybe I can go see him after my workout.

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TWO WEEKS LATER

Cinco stands in front of the weeping Willow tree with his wooden sword. Sarah summons Rachel and balls her fists up. She brings her fists up to her face and her a Rachel run at Cinco at the same time. Rachel and Sarah get to Cinco at the same time. Sarah ducks under Cinco's sword swing and Rachel uses the opening Sarah made to try and attack Cinco. Cinco ducks under Rachel's attack by leaning his body to the side. He looks to the side and sees Sarah getting ready to elbow Cinco in the face. Cinco jumps to the same side his body was leaning and runs behind Sarah. He grabs Sarah by the hair and starts swinging her around. Sarah tries to get her hair out of Cinco's grasp until Rachel tries to attack Cinco. When Rachel tries to attack Cinco, he uses Sarah as a human shield. Sarah being used as a shield makes Rachel stop dead in its tracks. Sarah raises her hands above her head in defeat.

Sarah: I give up.

Cinco lets go of her hair as Sarah falls to the ground.

Cinco: You need to give up. You are going to die at this rate.

Cinco goes and walks down the hill but before he does, he stabs his wooden sword into the ground.

Sarah gets up and dusts herself off.

Sarah: Why is he so mean?

Lionel: Do not listen to him Sarah. You have made incredible progress. You didn't get nearly as close the first time. You have even gotten taller ... much taller.

When they first started training Sarah's head barely reached the top of Master's stomach. But now she was reaching the top of his neck.

Lionel: I mean it isn't weird for ability user's bodies to change a bit when they start training that shows that their body is properly adapting to their Ora. Sarah.

Sarah: Yes Master?

Lionel: Why do you hold back?

Sarah: Huh? What do you mean?

Lionel: Ever since you have been getting stronger, ever since you have started to make progress you have started to hold back more and more. Cinco notices it too. Perhaps that is why he has been so annoyed lately.

Sarah: I am not holding back Master. I swear.

Lionel: No, you definitely are. Perhaps you are scared of what you are capable of.

Sarah: Master.

Lionel: Yes?

Sarah: I ... I need to start my workout.

Sarah turns around and starts running until she feels something cold wrap around her hand. She turns around and sees that Master has now grabbed her arm.

Lionel: Let's talk Sarah.

Sarah and her Master sit there in the plains.

Lionel: Why do you hold back Sarah?

Sarah: I don't hold back Mas-

Lionel: Sarah we will be here all day if we need to.

Sarah: ... I don't mean to. I want to get stronger I honestly do. But then I think, and I realize that what if it is too much. What if Cinco is right? And what do I do if he is right? I know I have great potential but what if I don't achieve it? And I know me holding back doesn't help but I am just scared that my best just won't be enough.

Lionel: ... I see.

Sarah: But I know. I just need to toughen up. I will do better tomorrow I swear.

Lionel: Sarah I will be honest. I don't have a big speech for this because I know that isn't what you need right now. So, all I will say is this. Do your absolute best because at the end of the day ... that is all we can do.