475 The value of a Teacher

Kai woke up with a stabbing pain in his body.

His joints, muscles, bones, and cells, everything was screaming so loud that he felt his throat had gone dry. But nothing hurt more than his chest. It was as if someone had created a hole there, and no matter what he would do, the phantom pain would never go away. This feeling—was nauseating.

"You woke up?!" An aged, but vigorous, voice entered Kai's ears. The tone of surprise was too evident in those words for one to not notice it. Kai even felt like the utterer just hadn't hoped he would leave the clutches of the darkness of unconsciousness… ever.

Frame by frame, moment by moment, Kai tore open his eyelids, and the downpour of light blinded him.

Why's there so much light? Kai wondered, squinting out the blurriness from his eyes. How long have I been out?

Samurai Jack answered. "22 hours."

"What?!" Kai blurted, tasting the blood in his mouth. With one powerful rush, he set up, and it felt like someone had put hot iron rods inside his body.

The pain was almost unbearable.

With gritted teeth, Kai looked at the state of his body, sensed his internal condition, and his jaws almost shattered because of the conclusions.

He was a mess. If it wasn't impossible, then Kai would have even thought that he had become undead. Such horrible was his state.

Then he took a deep breath.

Kai lay back down, his eyes open wide. As Jack saw him gaining calm instantly, he nodded to himself.

They were in the courtyard at the backside of the Hut, where a cobbled path was leading to the well. A giant tree towered just a few dozen meters away from them, coiling toward the misty sky, shimmering with bright, purplish, and pink colors.

Kai was lying on a mat on the floor, covered in bloodied clothes. He was still healing, but how much time it would take, he didn't know.

I can't attempt the Task with only 2 hours remaining, Kai reasoned, his pupils trembling in pain and helplessness as he looked at the sky. So, clearing the Task this time is already a foregone conclusion. The best I can do is to buy another Life Halt Capsule and unlock as many things as I can. Otherwise, those Points will go to waste.

Another stab of pain coursed through his chest, making him gnash his jaws.

And this stab finally made him recall the memories he had been struggling to keep buried.

I lost, Kai accepted, closing his eyes. After doing so much, and going through so much, I lost. What happened? Why did I lose?

Hisss!

Selene burst out of Kai and coiled over his chest; if "chest" was the proper word to call whatever had been left of it. Then she began sending short bursts of Soul Chill, making him go numb to the pain.

This was much appreciated, as shown by Kai's relaxing brows. But the question persisted.

Why did I lose?

"Why did you lose?" Samurai Jack asked, looking at Kai's aged, pale face.

"The enemy was too strong," Kai answered, recalling that ray of sunlight, that Dragoness holding his Focus Punch empowered fist like a toy. "Much stronger than me."

Kai opened his eyes and adjusted his head to look at his Teacher.

Samurai Jack was shaking his head. "Why did you lose?" he asked again, his dark eyes looking into Kai's soul.

"Anger," Kai answered, recalling his actions. "I lost control of my wild emotions… the thrill of killing…"

Samurai Jack shook his head, sighing. "Why did you lose?"

Kai licked his dry lips, gulped down the needles which were stabbing his throat, and dared to recall again. "The craze of Battle… I wanted to fight. I wanted to see how much I had grown… how far I had come. It's so lonely… It's so painful… seating all day, and not going anywhere with life. I wanted to go all out. For once… at least."

-I knew it,- Selene hissed, spitting at Kai angrily. -You should have gone all out from the very start, master. I will kill that bitch, that I will. You will see. You will all see. Fucking bitch!-

Kai ignored Selene's outpour of emotions, his eyes only reflecting Samurai Jack's head. A frown of disappointment settled on Kai's brows and mouth. That long bearded face of the Supreme General of the False Ones had shaken again, refusing to accept his answer.

"Why did you lose?"

Answered. A shake of the head. Answer rejected.

"Why did you lose?"

Answered. Rejected.

"Why—?"

And the cycle kept going on for a full 1 hour.

"WEAK!" Kai thundered, his hazel eyes burning. "I WAS WEAK! OK?"

Samurai Jack observed his student's face, his pale, trembling eyes, and… shook his head. "Kai," he said, pushing Kai down on the floor, "weak you are, but this weakness is not physical. Accept it. So, I will ask again. Why did you lose?"

Kai looked away toward the distant, silent shore. Eternal calmness. "My mind is getting left behind," he told himself. "I am progressing fast and learning faster. But, in the subtle arts of mind, I am no match for the Death Eaters' Generals."

A nod.

"Survival," Jack said, following Kai's gaze to the still ocean, "has never been an easy thing to accomplish, young man. Not for you. Not… for me. And, of all, the Survival of Time, has always been the hardest."

Kai's heart quivered as he heard those words, sensing some hidden meaning; an unnoticeable emotion. He looked back at Jack, their eyes meeting for the umpteenth time. But the looks were different. The zeal was anew, a burning passion to transcend.

"You lost," Jack told Kai, his face hard. "You got defeated crushingly—in one move. You almost died. You survived. But, you accepted your loss. So… it's natural that you learn how to overcome your shortcomings."

Kai's soul beamed, a dense pleasure shaking his entire existence. "You mean…"

Jack nodded again. "It's time you create a Mind Structure of your own, Kai," he said. "A structure worthy of the name of Blood Demon, my student. We have discussed the art of Occlumency and Legilimency so many times that I have forgotten the count. Even though I was unknown with these concepts, I have come to understand them better and better with your visits. And… I have also come up with a Mind Structure in the last century."

"Last Century?" Kai exclaimed in shock. "You didn't tell me…"

Rare as a sight it was, Kai still kept forgetting that his Teacher could even smile. This was one of those rarest moments, the faintest arching of one corner of Jack's lips; the shuffle of thick mustache on his face.

"One only understands the value of something in the greatest times of need," the Samurai said. "Also, I have been relating the Mind Structure I had developed with your self-claimed infallible skill."

Infallible? Till now, Kai had the guts to claim only one of his skills as infallible. "Qlipoth Genesis?!"

"Or," Jack added, scratching his beard, "better would be to say the two concepts that make Qlipoth Genesis possible. The Art of Sealing and—"

Kai was in such a shock that two words came out of his paining mouth involuntarily. "— Reality Marble."

Samurai Jack nodded, stood up, and looked at the colossal tree, his gaze coiling up toward the sky, following the snaking trunk. He put his hands behind his back. "It will be the greatest challenge of your life, my student," his voice reached Kai's ears, his soul. "Even if you practice for 10000 years, there is no guarantee of it working out.

"Don't forget, I am a simple man, not you. I have never been a genius. All I could do was come up with something worthy of you, Kai. I leave the rest—to your will. You must implement it by yourself. You must research and pry into its mysteries by yourself. And let me add…"

Kai had already clenched his fist as hard as he could when Jack turned around and looked down at him with his ever-still eyes; just like the ocean surrounding the island.

"… if you fail to master the beginning part of the Mind Structure I have come up with," Jack continued, his tone more solemn than ever, "then, my student, you will die in the next 500 years. Island X will never let you grow at the same pace. You must grow faster, adapt faster, and learn faster. Only then you can barely survive. Are you ready?"

Kai wasn't afraid of death. It was Jack's words that truly astounded him. Not even the entire Structure, but only the beginning part would let him survive the combined onslaught of the wizards? What absurd claim was that?

What Kai had faced was no ordinary attack, to begin with. That was 100 times more powerful than the Legilimency Spell any of those six Generals could cast individually.

A fire of expectancy burned in Kai's heart. Though brokenly, pushed himself, his breathing becoming rougher. "Yes… Teacher," he said, all emotions and thrill returning to the womb of Volcano that he was. "Tell me. What is the name of this Mind Structure you have come up with?"

"Its name is—" Jack paused, and looked up at the sky as if he could see beyond the shimmering, colored mist; at the vast unknown beyond; at the infinite.

"— Ad Infinitum!"