24 Intruder

Master Yi couldn't do anything but lower Kazuki's pain. He wrapped some ice in a paper and put it on the poor young boy's forehead. He is currently brewing some tea to help him relax.

The old man knows that Art can have consequences on the body and the mind if it's not manipulated with caution. And cases like Kazuki's might be rare, due to a difference of level too important between the opponent, but not impossible. His lack of attention to this fact is what made him let it happen. He comes back with some tea, with the hope that its effect will be enough for the short time it lasts. While he stays next to Kazuki, he reads some books about Art. He remembers that there are things to help with those cases, but it's been a while since he had to employ one of them. After all, it's been years since the last time he had students.

Kazuki starts shaking again. He is sweating. The fear of that night, of the red hooded man's nightmare and the masked man's pressure, returns. This feeling is exactly the same for him, except it's worse. It feels like his body is turned apart and separated like when he touched the crack in his inner world but it's not painless. Master puts a hand on his shoulder to reassure him, with the hope to maybe calm his crisis down. In tears, the young boy clenches his hand on his own. But the strength is lacking and it only feels like he is holding it to not lose Master Yi in a crowd. The old man can't stand looking at his kid like that. He blames himself for not being more cautious.

"Everything will be okay, Kazuki."

He keeps exploring his books, until he finds what he is searching for. Various medicines are listed on some notes he left in an old book when he was younger. He takes the notes and stands up, releasing the young boy's hand.

As Kazuki turns to him besides the pain of the movement, Master Yi puts his gaze on him. He doesn't want to leave him alone in this state. He doesn't know what could happen during his absence. But he has to give more confidence to his student, so at least one among them won't sink in doubt and despair. He approaches the kid and puts his forehead on Kazuki's. A faint golden light appears and Kazuki's pain lowers for an indeterminate time. Kazuki doesn't seem to bother questioning what his master just did, his mind being already focused on the pain which shakes his body. Both are hoping that this effect will last long enough for the old man to come back with the medicine needed.

"I'm going to search for something to heal you. I'll be quick. Sleep, It might help you numb the pain and slowly get over this crisis."

And the old man leaves the room and suddenly the silence reigns upon the room. Kazuki is alone in the room. Everything is quiet. It's like time is suspended, dead of any sign of life. How many minutes or even hours have passed? He doesn't know. Everything is quiet. He does hear a sound once outside the window. He thought it might be some birds. Despite that, not a single thing outside of himself seems to make noises. Only his difficult breathing or his moan of pain fill the room.

"Master.. Please.. Come back quickly.."

The pain becomes unbearable. He starts to scream in his bed. The effect of his master's magic is coming to its end. Fighting whatever causes this pain gets the kid exhausted. His body feels nothing else but pain, everywhere. His mind has difficulty processing anything else. But now the pain is too much for him to handle. It's surcharging his body and mind, completely overwhelming every bone and muscles. His mind slowly starts to fade. Everything around him faint to black.

"Master…"

But to his surprise, he wakes up lying on water. Above him is a clear sky. His eyes open wide when he realizes something. This place, he recognizes it. He wonders if it's a dream or if it's real.

"My… Inner world? Master Yi told me that my capacities are unstable.. I might have come here by accident.. Damn it.."

He gets up and looks around him. There seems to be nothing but himself. However, his eyes catch a glimpse of something in the distance. There is something, a shape. And it wasn't there before. Kazuki starts to walk towards it. He is being cautious in case there is something else. Nothing much seems to appear in his sight.

He approaches the structure. It looks like what he saw when Master Yi was with him when he expanded his inner world. An upside down pyramid is attached to a pillar at the side of its top, both made out of stone. But instead of dripping into another rock, this time the droplet fell into a little pond. It's similar to the one in the yard of the domain. Kazuki climbs the pillar. The pyramid is empty on the inside, but water falls from the infinite sky into the pyramid and just seems to not be there anymore. The whole structure seems like a weird mix of an hourglass and a fountain.

Kazuki get down from the rock, his eyes attracted by something else not so far away. A glowing red light, under the water. Kazuki approaches the part where the scar is, standing on top of it at the surface. It is the scar left by the masked man and the red hooded man. Kazuki shivers just by its sight. He can still feel what happened when he touched it before. It glows more than before. The light is more intense and the scar seems either bigger or closer. And then, something sends a cold shiver through Kazuki's spine. A voice.

"Don't you know that after opening a door you should close it behind you or else people with bad intentions might get in?"

The water under his foot starts to become dark, almost as black as night. Kazuki steps back from it. The darkness starts to spread on the water. Kazuki keeps getting away from it. In the middle of the dark water, movements are visibles. The water there takes a form. And it arises. The form of a man, with a red skull-like mask. Glowing red pupils pierce through the black eyes of the mask. A man with a black kimono stands there. His hairs are long and tied in a long tail. By his stence and the way he looks at Kazuki, there is no hesitation to who just broke in his inner world among the few people he knows. It's the masked man.

"- No.. You.. You were there that night..

-Oh, so you remember me? I thought I erased a part of you with my bare presence."

He almost seems to smile under his mask. The darkness keeps spreading. Fear starts to take over Kazuki's mind. The young boy feels something cold on his hands. He looks at them. They are turning black. Black, like the Nightmare's matter. If the darkness spreads to his inner world, it means it spreads to him as well, as they are one and the same. He doesn't want to find out what will happen if it ends up completely corrupted. Kazuki has no other options than trying to fight the masked man. He runs to the direction of the intruder, ready to throw hands.

"Puny kid."

The masked man stands there, unphazed by the young boy rushing at him. As Kazuki tries to hit the man with some punches, the intruder avoids it just by stepping on the side. He almost laughed, mocking Kazuki in his own world.

"You think you could touch and even scratch me with such weak punches? Let me show you how it's done."

And as said, he proceeds to give a punch in Kazuki's stomach. The kid bends in two under the impact of the blow. Blood spills out of his mouth. He is thrown on the water surface by the masked man. When Kazuki tries to stand up, he is grabbed by the cheeks. He is face to face with the masked man.

"You see? Be careful, the next move is harder!"

He launches Kazuki in the air. He waits for him to fall back and pin him to the ground with a round kick. Kazuki bounces on the water surface due to the power of the hit. The masked man simply takes the opportunity to kick him further away. He moves towards the young boy, taking his time. He observes him struggling to get up. To this vision, his eyes only get brighter.

"Oh look at yourself, hopeless little boy. I could easily crush you down. Yet I am merciful enough to let you try and fight back."

The only reaction from Kazuki, after finally getting up and putting himself in a fighting position,is to spit some blood in the direction of the masked man. The masked man moves his head from left to right and right to left, as a sign of disapproval.

"You should be thankful. Now, brace yourself, kiddo, because it's only getting started."

And without any more warning, he rushes towards the young boy to hit him with an uppercut to his torso, sending him flying away once more. It seems to be his favorite activity right now. He looks at Kazuki, who is putting a hand against his belly and vomiting blood in water, similarly to the water pouring in the fountain.