CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER 53 – MY BLADE

Chapter 53 – My Blade

"How am I supposed to learn all of that?" Jack asked after a moment. ’What the hell did I even just witness? How is someone capable of moving like that? I have never seen it before in my life.’

Each move looked so perfect Jack couldn’t even come to comprehend it, let alone learn it. He wasn’t the type of person who gave up before trying, but a mere look at that technique almost made him decide not to even try. That was how far beyond it was.

"Hey now, don’t be disheartened that quickly. It took me decades to perfect my sword technique," Liliana said as she tapped his shoulder gently. "You need to simply take one step at a time and learn the process gradually. With your talent, you will master many techniques in no time, really."

"... Yeah, you might be right." Shaking the negative thoughts out of his head, Jack looked at Liliana. "That looked extremely complex, yet also simple. I can’t tell what you did differently."

"Well, let me show you then~" Liliana said. "The secret to this sword technique—and almost all sword techniques—is how you manipulate your own body and, as a result, manipulate your sword. Most people make the mistake of thinking of their weapons as, well... ’weapons.’ In reality, a sword is far from that."

"What is it if it’s not a weapon?"

"It is an extension of you. An extra arm that can hurt and cut. The moment you hold it is the moment it becomes your other half. So, your very first goal is not to learn all of that, but rather to make a connection with your sword, Jack."

"Make a connection, you say... How do I do that?"

"I want you to hold the sword and channel your Aether through it. I want you to feel the blade—every single detail of it. Try to resonate with it, understand it, and make it a part of you. Swords are not conscious creatures, but they are capable of connecting with their owners."

Then, Liliana gave the sword to Jack, who looked at it silently. ’Connect with my sword... That’s vague. I don’t know what exactly she even means by connection.’

But, looking at Liliana, he guessed that she wanted him to figure it out himself and come to his own answer. Sighing, Jack sat down and grabbed the sword with both hands before he closed his eyes.

Then, he did as she asked, letting his Aether seep into the sword slowly while he concentrated his mind on feeling the weapon. His mind could easily draw an image of the blade, the hilt, the colors, and everything else.

As the Aether seeped more and more into the weapon, the image grew more detailed. This was one of the things Jack discovered quickly about Aether. Aside from its use in body enhancement and skills, it worked as a sixth sense for the user.

Expanding the Aether made him feel everything around him in great detail without the need to use the other senses. Merely closing his eyes and channeling that energy into the sword gave Jack a very vivid image of the weapon, as if he were looking at it with his very eyes.

’So odd...’ he mused. ’I can see the sword very well... but I don’t know if this could be called a connection.’

He couldn’t really sense much of a bond aside from the Aether coursing through the blade.

"..." Frowning subtly, he decided to do the most obvious thing—use more Aether until he felt something different.

However, after a few moments of waiting, he didn’t feel anything at all. So, he sighed and opened his eyes.

"I couldn’t feel anything different, Liliana. I don’t know what you mean by ’connection,’" Jack said.

"Well, try again."

"Huh? I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be trying."

The demoness, however, didn’t say anything else and simply smiled. That only confused the boy even more as he looked at his sword again.

Then, he closed his eyes and decided to try different things to see if anything would lead him to the answer.

For the next several minutes, Jack experimented with every idea he could come up with. He tried to move the sword around, inspect it, hold it in different positions, and even use his other senses to try and connect with it.

All those attempts ended in failure. He couldn’t feel anything different. Each attempt only made him more and more frustrated. Jack hated it when he couldn’t figure something out on his own after many tries.

Meanwhile, Liliana watched in silence, not even commenting on his attempts. She seemed completely amused by the boy’s confusion.

’As much as you’re smart, Jack, you’re way too logical,’ she thought to herself. ’You take everything too critically. You never let yourself feel when many situations require your feeling rather than your thinking. You need to learn that now before you end up completely stuck in the future.’

For someone like Jack, feelings were usually unnecessary and quite hindering. He never saw a single point in feeling something rather than taking things as they were. Even at that moment, he wasn’t really feeling—he was doing what he knew best: analyzing the situation and trying logical things.

The more lost he felt, the more Liliana’s smile widened. She wanted him to feel lost, to understand that logic wouldn’t work in that situation. She was certain that once he exhausted every possible idea, he would find himself with nothing left but his own heart.

It didn’t matter how long that would take—Liliana was waiting patiently.

Meanwhile, the boy himself was growing angry at that point.

’There must be something I’m not aware of. I’ve tried everything I can think of.’ He clenched his grip around the sword even tighter.

’And Liliana doesn’t want to give me any tips at all. What’s up with her? I thought she would train me.’

But a mere glance at her made it clear that she had no intention of speaking, which only confused him more.

’What am I doing wrong? I’m clearly trying to establish a connection.’ Putting the sword down, he stared at it as he fell into deep thought. ’Is my approach completely wrong, perhaps? Am I not even establishing the right connection to begin with?’

The question made Jack squint. ’What do you want from me, Song of Night? What is it that you want?’ he asked himself.

What could a powerful sword want from its owner? Or in this case, what would a companion want from their partner?

’Trust... Respect... And maybe... camaraderie?’

As he thought of those things, Jack’s mind started changing. A slow realization took root in his head, and as he dwelled on it, he began to understand what he’d done wrong.

"Trust... Respect... Camaraderie... Could that be what it is?" he whispered, almost shocked at how obvious that idea was.

Then, he slowly picked up the sword and closed his eyes. ’Song of Night... Is it trust that you wish from me? Is it that you wish for me to fight alongside you as partners? Do you wish to cut and slice as my own blade?’

As he asked those questions deeply within his mind, he imbued the blade with gentle Aether and focused all his senses on it. He didn’t let his brain speak and instead cleared it of all unnecessary thoughts.

’Be my blade, Song... Let us carve that path together.’

As he said those words... Jack suddenly felt something shift within his hands.