Buried nine meters underground, Robin’s head dipped in confusion. One moment he was throwing punches, the next, being placed in holes. Wandering upright, he stripped his gi uniform and focused his mind to what was above. Vanishing to the surface, his feet still in the air, palms facing the chalant Xertoz. Xertoz’s clothes wrinkled by the tug, a pull similar to an increase in nearby mass anchored his body. Robin had Xertoz by the reach of his hand. However, Robin was too high to land, forcing him to strike mid-air.

  Xertoz landed cleanly on his feet, and so too did Robin. Scratching his chin, Xertoz finally understood… “I see, you’re talented, but at the same time, you are not. Eternally damned to never evolve… I will commend you on being able to apply an inverse effect on your ability. That’s quite rare, if not impossible for some. Earth, it’s rather common, if not basic, and it has one of the easiest conditions to fulfill out of any of the elements. Your physical strength is purely your own however. Again, I must praise your efforts. Sadly, I think you have hit the wall. Not a wall, but the wall. There is no more room for you to grow, God has decided it.”

  “Hahahaha! You cheeky fucks. This is why I can’t stand you Lords and the like. Acting as if your powers are your own,” Robin skipped, and in an instant Xertoz was pulled in. Robin tapped the ground with his right foot, his fist colliding with Xertoz. Sound shattered, Xertoz flew outside the tampered barrier. Love Affliction won’t be enough, I may need to generate my own Triad. He’s a Lord though, could I win in a clash of principles.

  “Don’t bother boy! I can smell what you’re thinking. It won’t work. As I said, you have hit the wall. Refine your techniques all you like, they will only sharpen your blade so much. At the end of the day however, a blade versus a bomb is a closed deal,” Xertoz said whilst floating above Robin. Xertoz gripped space like the clenching of a nice ass, and spun reality upside down. Everything began to fall towards the sky, rubble, the students, miscellanea such as trees, rocks, and water. “Now then, feel my power!” Like an underwater bomb, Robin’s ribs shattered, his body crashing upward onto the ground, where he then fell back towards the sky. With a clap of his hands reality reset, and Xertoz held Robin by the scruff of his neck.

  Robin pointed to the sniffling Luan Shao, then to his lips. “Listen, do you gloat when a rich man buys you a castle? No…”

  “What nonsense, I am the rich man…” Xertoz tightened his grip.

  “When you take every coin you have and will ever earn to buy that castle, can you gloat? No…” Robin continued.

  “I don’t need to earn anything, I’ll take what I want when I want…”

  “For did you build that castle, conquer that land, procure those resources? Nae!”

  “You talk too much…” Xertoz began to strangle Robin as he walked towards Luan.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Until you do…until you cut down the trees and mine the ore, you are weak!”

  “The words of the weak are those wielded by the strong, can’t you see…”

  “I don’t use my abilities on the weak—”

  “Only the foolish cling to the ideals of climbing the lander built by the strong…”

  “—for I am strong!” Robin roared.

  “Born are we all to our own destinies, I was born for greatness…”

  “Pillars are a reflection of a gift, I don’t rely on gifts. For my life is not—”

  Hold on… How much longer is this gonna go on? His hands… Xertoz turned his head to see the gestures Robin was making.

  “—a gift, but rather a prison. And I will rely on no other to escape it! Open! Love Affliction: Point Between Heaven and Earth!” Closing his ring and pinky fingers enabled the last incantation necessary for Robin to generate his Triad Principle.

  Damn! I knew he had the capabilities, but I didn’t believe his refinement was good enough to actually apply it. No wonder he wouldn’t shut-up even on the verge of death. Xertoz’s grip was released outside of his control. When one generates the Triad Principle it is considered the practical acceptance and removal of one’s conditional limitations placed on the ability invoked by the application of the pillar that connected to their soul. Thoughts, words, and actions all must be connected, an obeyed commitment of belief that the individual possesses.

  In the case of Robin Dicce, his actions were consistent with his thoughts, as he would never activate his ability against anyone unworthy. In his eyes worthiness was applied to battle prowess, the strength of his abilities maximized by the principles, or beliefs of the individual he chooses to activate his ability on. All that is left is to voice those beliefs, if done properly he can rival the strength of a Lord by breaking the limits of his pillar’s nature and ability’s conditions.

  Collecting the temples allowed Robin to toss their collective mass down onto Xertoz. A blinding cloud of dust erupted as the depression of the grounds deepened more and more. Blasting through the rubble, Xertoz reached Robin’s throat faster than a sonic boom. Robin tried to repel Xertoz, but no effect occurred. Shattering space, Xertoz kicked through four realities, sending Robin crashing past planes of cosmic size. Bouncing down into an aqueduct, Robin laid collapsed, pain ringing throughout his entire body. Xertoz graced Robin with his presence, sending another throttle of energy packing into the side of Robin’s face. Bloody and bruised, Robin slumped over against a wall, his torso sinking into the shallow waters.

  “…” Luan Shao, still being the only conscious one left, held his breath as he deeply prayed for his own survival.

  “Now then, for what I really came here for. Hello moon child, I am Xertoz of Elysion, Lord of this realm, and the most powerful being to ever exist. You will be my apprentice. Stand, we will depart now.” Luan rose immediately, and in accordance with his movements, Xertoz smashed space to where the two would vanish; faster than light could have reached.

  “Seems Luan failed,” Salemn closed his book, stretched as he stood. Cutting a hole through the wall, he jumped off into the mountainous regions below. “I told him not to go straight ahead, now he gets captured. What will I say to the client? This whole thing is a real pain.”