Chapter 7

(Alex's POV)

The next morning I was awaken by some heavy knocking. I rubbed my eyes and looked over at my alarm clock, which read 5:30 am. "What the hell it's so early." I thought. "Come in!" I said. The door opened and Akali peeked her head around the corner.

"Time to begin your train-." She paused. I raised an eyebrow at her and followed her eyes, and realized I didn't have a shirt on. I usually don't mess with people, but this had to be a golden opportunity. I wasn't extremely buff, but I wasn't skinny as a rail either. My body, even though I wasn't huge, was definitely toned. I looked at her with a smirk.

"Like what you see?" I asked, snapping her out of her daze. Her cheeks dusted pink and she finished what she was saying quickly.

"Time to begin your training, meet us in the main room." She quickly stammered, then hurried out to let me get dressed. I threw on some gym shorts and an old t-shirt, and walked to the main area to begin training. I stepped into the area to see a few monks training amongst themselves, and Shen, Akali, and Kennen standing there waiting for me. I approached them with a small smile and a wave.

"What's the training today?" I asked. I was really excited in all honesty, because this whole power thing was getting me hyped.

"Today you will be learning how to concentrate your energy. Sure, you could learn martial arts without any real energy training, people do it all the time, but in your case, learning to use this power would benefit you more in combination with martial arts." Shen explained. He had a point. Because my natural physical prowess wasn't insane, it would be pointless to fight whatever threat was going to come without being able to utilize my abilities.

"Ok. Sounds like a plan, but how am I supposed to use my energy?" I asked.

"You're going to have to meditate, and concentrate your energy to a certain point. Either that, or try and cloak yourself in energy. Just sit down, relax, and focus." Shen said as he, Akali, and Kennen sat down criss cross, and I followed suit. I felt awkward, because they seemed to know what they were doing, but I was just sitting there with my eyes closed.

"Alright let's try this." I thought to myself. I began to focus within my mind, and I tried to picture a flow of energy. I concentrated on this image, and I immersed myself in the feeling of warmth. I kept picturing it until I felt like I was sucked out of my own body along with river of energy. I opened my eyes and looked around, and it was just black. "This must be my mindscape." I thought to myself.

"It is." A voice boomed through my head. I was immediately on high alert. I frantically looked around until I saw a massive wolf tower over me. Its fur was a dark grey color and it had glowing purple tribal marks on it. Its eyes glowed grey and it looked down on me.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm sure you've heard of me, but my name is Thoran. I am a wolf spirit from long ago, now resurrected into your mind." He responded. That was when everything clicked. This wolf is the wolf from which I got my powers. He was the one in the prophecy!

"So you're the wolf from the prophecy, the one with the powers that I possess?" I questioned.

"Yes. I could sense that you were trying to conjure up my energy. So I summoned you here to speak with you personally. I figured it was about time I revealed myself to you, seeing as you have once before used my energy without knowing what you were doing." He said.

"Alright, so what is the plan, now that you've revealed yourself to me?"

"Now, I'm going to train you. You need to learn how to conjure up my energy. The main thing I'm going to teach you is called Enhancement. Enhancement is how you can channel my energy into your physique to increase your physical prowess. You can increase your strength, speed, and senses with this. It takes a very long time to use. I will also teach you how to fight. I know that The Eye of Twilight and The Fist of Shadow are training you as well. I approve of their methods because I am very fond of their ancestors, and I believe in their vision of a warrior." Thoran explained. I was processing all of the information, and then I noticed that Thoran was getting smaller. He continued to shrink until he was about 6'4. He was shirtless with some jeans on, and he was a huge buff guy.

"This is my human form. This is the form that I will train you in. We will train in your mental state." As he said this, he raised his hand and shot a purple and black beam of light from his hand into the sky (or whatever was above me in my mindscape), and once it got considerably high, it seemed to hit a ceiling and expand around us. "This is a magical barrier that I have placed on your conscience. What this does is bend the laws of time that you know in the real world. Every day that passes here, about 2 seconds will pass in real time. That way we have however much time you need to train you."

"So how long do you think we will be in here?" I inquired. It didn't really matter, but I was curious.

"I will train you for 30 days to my fullest extent. At the end of this 30 days, you will be able to use my power as you please, but do remember that overuse can cause a strain on your body. I am an astral figure, so I can expend as much energy as I want, but you are not, so you need to be careful."

"Alright, let's do this." I stated, determined. He looked at me and smirked, as he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The world just seemed to blink into a different landscape. What I saw was a huge field, with a few trees here and there, but nothing much.

"What we'll do first, is fight. I need to gauge how much you know. I have allowed it so your mind can still subconsciously activate my power. I need to see how your body reacts to my power. I will warn you though. The pain and other feelings you feel in here, will feel real, but your body will remain fine. I will not be holding back, so I need you to come at me with everything you have." He explained. I nodded in understanding and he had a big grin on his face. "Let's begin, shall we?" As soon as he said that, he was gone. All that was left was dust from where he stood. I didn't even have time to blink, and the whole world seemed to move in slow motion. He reappeared right in front of me and I saw a ghost of a smirk on his face when he drilled me with what felt like an infinite amount of power. It felt like every bone in my face broke as I flew backwards around 200 yards, flipping and sliding across the ground, until I slammed into a tree, creating a crater in the bark. I sat there for a second until I felt feeling come back to me and I stood up. I felt my face to see how bad it was, but there was no damage done. I look up to see Thoran walking toward me with his hands in his pockets.

"The damage you take in here, will not affect your body. Not even in here, the pain is real, but the physical damage won't be. Now, Alex, FIGHT ME!" He boomed. He charged at me, at a visible speed, and I was ready to counter. He reared back and threw a punch with his right hand, and I blocked it by crossing my arms together. A shockwave of air was sent out from the sheer power of his punch, pushing me back a few inches. I grabbed his hand and used it to swing my momentum around and throw a kick into his side. He easily used his other arm to catch it, and that's when I pushed off the ground and threw another kick to his head, that he wasn't expecting. The kid collided with him and he flew back a few feet, but easily caught himself mid air and backflipped off of his hands to land properly. He had a confused look until he looked me dead in my eyes. My eyes were dark purple with a misty essence when I moved. He smirked as he realized that his power was seeping through me.

"That's good. It seems that as soon as the situation arises, my power courses through your body. Since you are using my power, you inherently receive some of my fighting experience. But since your body is untrained, you are still at a disadvantage." Thoran then propelled himself forward and hit me with a spinning mid-air roundhouse kick. I blocked it with my arm and tried to counter by hitting him with a spinning back kick, but he caught my leg and slung me into an ever so conveniently placed boulder, which was obliterated by the sheer force of impact. I got up and wiped myself off, smirking a bit.

"This will be fun." I thought to myself.

5 Mind Days into training.

Thoran and I were sitting across from each other. We had been fighting each day for what was 5 days in my mind, and I got my ass kicked every time. I couldn't control my power, and I didn't know how to fight naturally, so I was a little sloppy.

"Now I will teach you how to control Enhancement. The best way the I can explain it, is that Enhancement is more of a feeling than anything. Obviously it is very real, and can expand your power tremendously, but it is something that you have to feel in order to use. What you want to do, is recall the times that my power has surged through your body. You need to hold onto that feeling, and try and channel it through you naturally." Thoran explained. I nodded and I closed my eyes, I thought long and hard about the feeling that I feel when I fight. I was straining myself trying to figure out, and I exhaled, realizing I had achieved nothing.

"Stand up." Said Thoran. I stood up and I saw him disappear again in a cloud of smoke.

"Not again." I moaned, and I braced myself for impact. He appeared right in front of me with his fist reared back.

"The only way you can grasp the feeling, is if you trying to. I have to get my power to activate naturally in you, and then once you're in what we will call Fighter Mode, you can hold on to that feeling and remember it." He explained as his fist collided with my forearms, sending me backwards. Mid flight, the power naturally activated and I was on high alert. I rolled over mid air and caught myself on the ground, sticking a landing. My adrenaline was pumping, and I dashed at Thoran to attack him. He blocked my fist and held me in place.

"You need to calm down, and breathe. You're in a beast like state right now, and you need to relax. But remember this feeling, and try and channel it." Thoran said.

I starting breathing and tried to relax my body. I could feel the feeling going away, but not before I associated it with another feeling. The feeling reminded me of being wrapped up in a warm blanket by a fire place. It was so warming. The power began to fade. I immediately stopped, took a deep breath, and I exhaled, getting that warm feeling back, surging its way through my body. Rocks around me began to vibrate, and hover around me. I lost myself in the feeling, letting it surge through my like a river. I could feel it, I could feel everything. I opened my eyes and looked at Thoran. He looked like a proud father after his son had accomplished something. I looked down at my hands to see a purple aura around me.

"I'm surprised you activated my power to such an extent. Now that you have the ability to grasp my power, we will train this ability for the rest of the time we have. You will learn how to channel it into attacks and use it for defense as well. Partial activation and things along those lines." Thoran explained.

30 Mind Days into training

There was a huge field. On one side of the field, stood Thoran. His aura was off the charts with purple and black energy surrounding him. On the right side of the field is where I stood, holding a look of determination. I also had purple and black energy surrounding me. We stared each other in the eyes, ready to fight.

"This is our last day of training, therefore our last fight for a while. I have taught you a lot of what I know, so answer this, Alex, are you ready to fight?" He asked me. I obviously knew he would hold back from full force, but we were about to fight with everything I had, and he would come at me equally. I was at peace now, knowing that Thoran thought of me as an equal, rather than a student. I readied myself into a fighting stance, and just smirked. I disappeared into a nothing, and reappeared connecting my fist with his face. Right before I hit him, I could see the look of shock on his face before I sent him flying. He slid back and caught himself right at the end of his slide, and right as he looked up, I was on him again. This time he was ready and began blocking my punches and kicks.

"Not wasting any time I see?" He chuckled as we continued. We exchanged a few blows. Constantly blocking, dodging, and swinging faster than the human eye could even register.

"I learn from the best." I responded. I sensed his right arm charged up with extra power, so I immediately up the defense in my arms as I made a cross and intercepted the punch. It was like a sonic boom that went off as the fist connected, blowing wind around like crazy. We continued fighting, landing constant blows and blocking them all the same. It was then, that Thoran landed an uppercut that I wasn't ready for. I clenched my jaw and took the hit, flying up into the air. He disappeared and reappeared by me mid air, and starting landing blows. At this point, I was flying up in the air with my back facing the sky, and he was delivering blows to my stomach sending me higher. I knew it was over, I had already lost, but I expected it. That was when Thoran decided to deliver the finishing blow. He rotated his body mid air and and connected his foot with my back, sending me flying down toward the ground. I hit the ground and it looked like a meteor had smashed into the ground with the force of the blow. I stood up and coughed, with Thoran landing right beside me. He patted me on the back and grinned.

"Your control over your power has improved, and you matched me blow for blow, but your fighting skills are not complete. I will leave fighting styles to Shen and Akali to teach you. You can defend, but your offense lacks a lot, but your power control is very good. Before you leave, I need to show you something." Thoran explained as he snapped his fingers, and we were floating in an astral space. I looked up and saw a projection of a shrine. At the very top of the shrine I saw what looked like the handle of a sword.

"Long ago it was prophesied that I would have a successor. This sword right here is my demon blade, Nergal. It is a blade that channels a special ability of mine, called Aether. It is an astral element that only I possess. The reason I explain this, is because I think that you may have an affinity for my element. I know there is a possibility that my host might now, but I believe you do. All you have to do is pull the sword out. It is connected to my soul, and only a true heir can possess its power." He motioned toward the shrine. I naturally floated over the the shrine, and stepped onto an invisible platform. I walked over to the shrine and examined the blade. The hilt was black with purple accent on it, with a dark blue chain wrapping around it. From what I could tell about the blade, it was a very wide, heavy sword, with an all black blade. I gripped the handle and felt a rush of energy through me. It felt like I was getting electrocuted, but I grasped the handle. I was determined to use this blade, I felt it calling me. I grabbed it with both hands, and began to pull it out of the stone. Dark purple light began to seep through the cracks as I ripped the sword from the stone, and I felt a rush of images through my head. From what I could tell, it was a bloodied battlefield, with a warrior standing around hundreds of dead bodies. I focused on the person, and I froze. I realized that the blade he was holding was Nergal, and the person holding it was none other than Thoran. The images faded out of my head, and I passed out, internally and externally.

I woke up and I was laying in a bed, with Akali sitting beside me. I opened my eyes and tried to sit up, but Akali put a hand on my chest and pushed me back down.

"You're not getting up just yet, you have a lot of explaining to do." She said firmly. I didn't want to argue, mainly because I didn't have the energy, so I complied.

"How long have I been out?" I asked her. I looked over at a clock and it was about 2:30 in the afternoon.

"You've been out for 10 days. We were worried you had died, but we kept supporting you because of a faint heartbeat." She responded. My eyes shot open. 10 days? That was more than a week!

"When we started to meditate, about one minute in, you began to sweat and thrash around. Shen and I tried to snap you out of it, but you wouldn't comply. At the very end, a dark purple aura surrounded you, then faded immediately, and you passed out cold. You had us very worried." She added along with her cheeks ever so lightly dusted pink.

I sat there for a minute to take it all in. I then remembered what happened, and the images that had surrounded my mind before everything went dark. Thoran and Nergal. I sat for a second before reaching out to Thoran.

"Thoran. What the fuck happened? And what I saw, what did you do?" I asked internally. There was a long pause before he responded.

"Alex, I am not very fond of my actions. But long before you or any of this world was around, there was a war amongst gods. I was a part of that war. There were armies of soldiers ready to lay their lives down to help their worshipped god. I had nobody, because I wanted no part. I was warned of an attack to me, so I got ready and stood. 500 men came to fight me, and I slaughtered them all. It was them or me, and I chose to defend myself. There was no reasoning with these people. After that, I became stone cold. I dropped my god status, and became a mercenary. I took people out for a price. I was basically an assassin. My blade, Nergal, is the blade of a god, and with that, I was practically unstoppable. I met a woman, named Astarte, and she changed me for the better. I stopped fighting, and sealed Nergal deep within my soul. I learned years later of the prophecy of me becoming a host after death. I prepared to allow my host access to Nergal, but I didn't think you would see anything. I am sorry that you had to see that, and I should've laid everything on the table at first." Thoran explained.

I sat and listened to his story, frozen in awe. I felt bad for him, something so traumatic changing him for the worse. I don't know what would've happened if he was still the same person. I hummed in understanding.

"I guess only one question remains then. Did Nergal accept me, or do I not have the affinity?" I questioned.

"Nergal has accepted you. You had a natural affinity for the Aether element. Nergal is now yours, and you can summon it at will. Just call for it and it shall come to you." Responded Thoran. Shortly after, I was snapped away from my thoughts to Akali's voice.

"Hello? Alex? Why do you seem so distant?" She asked me. I began to explain everything that had happened. As I began to explain, Shen quietly stepped in and listened. Akali's eyes widened at my story, and I couldn't get a read on Shen, since he had his mask on.

"So, the wolf spirit is actually an ex-god, and he has been training you within your mindscape, and now you posses the ability to use his powers?" Shen summed up shortly.

"Yes, though I haven't used them outside of my mindscape, obviously." I responded. "Thoran explained that he knew your ancestors, and that he would leave it up to you guys to train me in fighting. My offense is lacking, but my defense is pretty good." I felt a shock in my mind and it caught my attention.

"Do not use your full power, or summon the blade. They don't know how strong you are, so just use a little bit of your power so that way you can sustain a fight against them, but don't overdo it." Thoran told me. I internally nodded and continued my conversation with Shen and Akali.

"I guess once you are ready to go, we will begin your combat training." Said Shen as he walked away. Akali stood up and followed suit, leaving the room. She looked back and gave a small smile, then disappeared behind the door.

"This is going to be insane." I mused.

Hey guys! I know I haven't updated this story in forever but I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I am going to try and find motivation to keep doing this story, but there are going to be a few changes.

1.) I am only going to write from Alex's P.O.V or 3rd person from now on. Mainly because I don't really care to follow every single OC, but they will still be major parts of the story.

2.) Alex is going to have a harem. I figured I should do it, since my friend was joking around about it.

- Harem (So Far): Riven and Akali

*PLEASE SEND HAREM SUGGESTIONS*

3.) I'll write lemons as I develop the characters a little more. I'm all about some character development now :D

4.) OC will be strong, then OP. Who doesn't like an OP MC?

Please send me any ideas you have for training him in combat and other things, and thank you so much for stopping by! Until next time, later peeps!