After being persuaded by Thena, Jin was guided toward the terrace in the back mansion, where he sat on a chair facing Thena in the opposite direction. Before him steamed tea, a plate filled with golden-brown cookies still radiated heat.
"This…?".
"Come one, don't hesitate and take some!". Thena smiles and rests her cheek on her hand.
Jin hesitated before taking the cup and took a sip. The warmth spread from his mouth to his body, loosened the tension in his muscles, and melted away his depression, which had started to gnaw at his heart.
He glanced at the fresh-baked cookies, took a piece, and then observed its crunchy golden-brown surface, inviting him to put it in his mouth. The smell of melted butter and sweet vanilla taste soothed his distorted mind.
One, two, Jin kept moving his hand and mouth until he ended up emptying the plate. He lifted his gaze and saw Thena watching him with a warm smile filled with motherly affection, but somehow, he felt it was hollow.
"Thank you, Thena".
"Fufu, you're welcome. You seemed to have a rough time back then".
"Yeah… It was…".
Before knowing it, Jin spilled everything that happened inside the dome. The Trial, his opponent, and the way he was being killed one-sidedly kept repeating itself over and over, turning his mind into bloody madness.
Thena pry her ears open and calmly sipped the tea. She calmly sat and listened to every rant Jin had thrown at her. As she observed the boy closer, she parted her lips. Somehow, this made her heart feel at ease because the boy still had some spirit to continue to challenge the Trial.
"How am I supposed to beat that? If I can just dodge its range attack?". Jin grumbled while his gaze was down.
"Are you going to give up?" Thena sipped her tea and spoke boldly.
"Giving up…?!". Jin sat still, processing those words Thena had asked him.
"If you are tired or afraid, you can just give up on the Trial and live in this place for eternity without worrying about anything, or you can leave this Sanctuary".
"That is?!". He lifted his gaze and watched Thena staring at him with sharp eyes.
"I will personally bail you out if you want to live in this place. This place offers you an eternal life. So, you can forget everything that has been troubling you, whether it's family or even yourself. Then, spend your remaining eternal days running away!"
Jin's body shuddered upon hearing Thena's last remark; he once again gazed down deep in thought as he began to recall everything that he had experienced to arrive at this point. 'Forget? Running away? How can I? Iris is waiting for me outside, Father and Mother who probably had been notified about my missing and most important…'. He averted his gaze aside and watched his status panel with a World Mission still plaguing his mind. '...The fact that I was a Villain inside a story!'.
Suddenly, his vision flicked before it turned dim. A golden text began to float before his eyes, giving Jin an option to choose regarding the problem he faced.
[String of Fate active]
What would you like to do?
1. Give up
2. Continue
Jin contemplated for a few seconds before he chose the second option. Before he returned to the outside world, his eyes were blinded by a platinum color that shone so brightly. He lifted his gaze and saw Thena, who was waiting for his answer.
"I will not give up, so can you please tell me more about this place".
Seeing the resolute fire that burned inside the boy's eyes softened Thena's tense face as she sipped the lukewarm tea and began to tell the boy about the place.
"Alright, where should I start!".
*****
-25 Years in Sanctuary. Total death: 457
After making his decision that day, Jin continued relentlessly battling the characters and found something he lacked: mastery of technique. In his hundredth challenge, he noticed that the character in the Trial was too strong, so strong that it even surpassed his parents.
So, to compensate for his current status, which seems stagnant, where he can't get old or even grow in strength, he needs to create an Ultimate Technique of his own.
However, in that hundred battle, Soma didn't leave empty-handed; he started to pick up his own way of the sword, the timing of its technique, and the way the character moves. Jin began to grasp it even a little. 'Is it because the character is something I took from a game reference?'.
For now, Jin reflects on himself and swings his Bokuto every day from morning until midnight to perfect his own style.
"Jin, I brought you some snacks." Thena's bell-like voice reverberated throughout the backyard, and Jin had to stop his swing to take some rest.
He turned around, and when he reached the terrace, he saw Thena already sitting on the chair. His face is cramped from seeing the same thing over and over.
"Why cookies again?".
Thena didn't answer as she began to avert her gaze and playfully sipped the tea.
"Mrs. Thena?".
"Well, I just crave some sugar, so…".
"Stop joking; we have been eating nothing but cookies for the last three days. How is this possible? I taught you how to cook, right?".
"Well, it was troublesome to get everything ready rather than just bake something".
"I think baking is more troublesome in preparation".
"Don't worry; I already prepared so much dough that can last a century."
"...?!". Jin was muted; he couldn't help but feel pity for her or amazed by her preparedness.
The two of them became much closer compared to the first time they met. Thena, who used to do her part as a supporter, was willing to open her heart slightly and banter with Jin. The same situation also applies to Jin, who used to act reserved around her because of the difference in age and knowledge they possessed. Jin had to act reserved, but often, those times were beginning to wane.
Jin exhaled and then sat on the opposite side from Thena, quenched his thirst first by sipping the tea and taking the cookies.
"Fuum, what is this? Despite being grumpy, you enjoy the cookies after all". Thena teased Jin with her alluring smile, which slightly made Jin blush.
"Well, I admit that the cookies you made are delicious, and also, there is a fact that I can't grow old, and my metabolism seems superb. It gives me a lot of leeway to consume extra sugar". Jin threw a piece of the golden-brown cookies into his mouth.
"Yum! This is delicious!".
"Is that so? I'm glad then…".
Thena seemed to enjoy the boy's expression, which still teemed with spirit. It was different from the first Trial and conversation they had at that time.
A pleasing breeze caressed her cheeks and made her golden hair flutter away as it gathered into one spot. Thena saw Jin sitting calmly while meditating, trying to raise his proficiency in mastering Mana manipulation. 'Good luck in your training!'.
-78 Years in Sanctuary. Total Death: 924
A brilliant sphere of gold hanging above bathed the figure of a boy training in his sword swings. The air was crisp, and each breath he took was labor, but he didn't stop swinging.
Jin, whose expression was much sharper than before, began to change his approach and closed his eyes, visualizing his battle with the character.
Both people were in place, and when it started, the character's usual would start with its ranged attack, so Jin dodged the attack and ran towards the enemy, lowering his blade and quickening his pace.
Once they reach each other's range, Jin and the characters clash. The character alters the angle of its blade, letting Jin's blade slide through, and counters with a horizontal slash.
Jin crouched down and spun in place to slash the character's feet, but it managed to jump beforehand. He started his chase, and sparks started to fly everywhere, accompanied by a loud 'clink!'
The two clashed intensely and eventually distanced themselves, and the character took an Iai position. Jin, who noticed the change in space around him, tried to distance himself, but the character suddenly dashed in swiftly, like a violent gale, before bisecting his body into two.
"?!". Jin's eyes abruptly shot open, and he breathed hard before lying on the grass.
"Damn, I thought he could just use the movement that has been installed like in the game. but to think it regains some intellect. That freaking cheat!".
After challenging the Trial and suffering death in any encounters, Jin still resolved that he wanted to defeat the character using only his technique, just like his trial opponent used only the Katana technique.
"I will definitely seize victory from him!".
-279 Years in Sanctuary. Total Death: 2,152
Inside a gazebo while enjoying the scenic beauty that spread before his eyes. Jin, who finished his lunch, stared at the glittering pond reflecting the sunlight. He was in a deep dilemma after fighting the Trial but seeing no progress whatsoever.
Every possible way, he tries magic, using something like small pebbles to distract his opponent and even training his ass off for centuries, but nothing can help him in defeating the Trial.
"What should I do?".
"Jin, are you okay?" Thena, who had come from the kitchen with her usual baked cookies, approached Jin and sat beside him.
"Well, nothing, I'm just feeling a bit lost of what I do…".
Hidden from Jin, who kept staring at an empty void, Thena's face crumpled in pain, seeing the once innocent kid now had turned into a lifeless corpse that could only walk in a path of no return.
His emerald eyes now burned with a dark and malicious fire that even she feared. Jin never shared his complaints or rants, which made their relationship feel drier as each day passed.
"Should I…".
"Jin, do you know Sword Intent!". Thena broke the stillness between them by forcing the boy to focus on another development to distract his mind and keep him busy.
-389 Years in Sanctuary. Total death: 3,973
After living for centuries fighting a character that kept growing, Jin had already lost interest in wanting to win. He stopped challenging the Trial and single-handedly devoted himself to swinging his sword, but he felt lost for what he was doing.
'What is my purpose for swinging a sword? Is it to gain strength? But for what, for who? I don't know anymore'.
Jin kept swinging his bokuto without knowing his purpose or the kind of drive that drove him into this pitfall. The crisp air that burned his throat and lungs didn't stop him from doing the madness he did.
"Well, Let's continue the training!".
-548 Years in Sanctuary. Total Death: 4,001
*Tack!
Sparks flew as two figures, Jin and Thena, with wooden weapons in hand, were dueling in the backyard. Thena shot forward and thrust her wooden spear several times while suppressing her real physical strength.
Jin, whose blade mastery had reached another level, calmly dodged every single thrust that aimed at his face and neck before countering by deflecting its trajectory and stepping forward, but Thena had seen it coming.
"You are wide open!".
Thena stepped backward gracefully and swung her spear while she spun in midair.
"Woah?". Jin stomped his leg and saw the spear tip centimeter near his face.
The residual of her swing blew past his face, cooling off his drenched sweat. He intended to counter, but Thena was much faster by preparing her round shield; she swung the shield sideways, deflecting the Bokuto's in Jin's hand before thrusting her spear tips near his throat.
"I win again!".
"I definitely feel this match is not fair".
"Hee, how so?". Thena closed the distance and stood before Jin's face where their noses were almost touching.
"Ukh, you got serious at the end, did you?". Jin's heart leaped to another bound, seeing Thena up close.
"Fufu, it's secret."
Thena purposely touched her noses together while also smiling teasingly to enjoy the boy's reaction. Even after all this time, she single-handedly devoted herself to watching and supporting him all this time and had unknowingly felt an affection that grew each time they spent time together.
Jin averted his gaze because of the distracting flowery smell from her, and the beauty that could topple a country stood near his face, making him flustered and almost awakening something dormant within him.
"Fufu, you are embarrassed".
"Shut up!".
-769 Years in Sanctuary. Total Death: 5074
[Title Sky Ruler acquired]
[Skill Mind Sword Acquired]