Orion’s POV:  

 

“Wait what do you mean a fraction of your power what even are you?” I asked confused. 

 

‘I am nothing but a mere weapon, for the time being. But for me to become an actual being you have to use my power to release my seal.’ Yokai said in my head.  

 

“Yeah, but why were you sealed in the first place and why did you choose me to release it?” I asked.  

 

‘You don’t have to talk out loud, I am talking directly to your mind.’ Yokai sighed. 

 

“What did you mean by bond, or you found a suitable bond? And again, why did you choose me?” ‘I chose you because I felt a sense of familiarity with you when you were walking by.’ Yokai responded. 

 

I paused before asking another question, why did he feel a sense of familiarity in me, I’ve never seen this weapon or felt this presence, even after a while it’s still suffocating. “Wait Yokai why did you get sealed anyways.” ‘Me and 5 others were sealed by the first demon king, because the 2 of them were raining hell on the surface so he got fed up and since we are the same caliber in power, we were all sealed as punishment.’ he responded. 

 

“Anyway, I’m tired, I’m going to bed, we’ll talk about this more tomorrow.” I said laying down on my bed. I thought about if I could really trust this sword. Thoughts rushed to me about the last few days and how they were filled with events that I would never get to experience if I was living back in my home village. I finally drifted off to sleep.  

 

 

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A knock at the door woke me up, when I finally woke up, I looked around and saw the black stick sitting on one of the chairs. So, it wasn’t a dream. ‘You’re finally awake sleeping beauty.’ Yokai teased. ‘They’ve been knocking on the door for 30 minutes now.’ 

 

“Come in.” I said still half asleep.  

 

The click of the door opening was pretty loud for a door. Maple came in with a tray with some food on it. “I brought you some breakfast. Nyah.” Maple put the tray down on the table. “What happened to your neck.” 

 

I touched the symbol on my neck. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it too.” I chuckled, grabbing the back of my neck. “I have a question.”  

 

“What is it. Nyah.” Maple asked 

 

“Why do you meow but scarlet doesn’t?” I questioned. 

 

“I’m not sure why she doesn’t meow. Probably something to do with her past. Nyah.” She responded, leaving the room with a bow. “Well, I should get back to work. Talk to you later. Nyah.” 

 

 

She left the room, and my attention went back to the sword. ‘I’d like to get a piece of that. We should go with her.’ Yokai said.  

 

“No, now explain to me how I can get some of your power?” I asked ‘Train, you dumbass. You can already hold it, but your body won't be able to handle the draw back.’ Yokai answered.  

 

“And how do I train for the drawback?” ‘You have to first train your body to handle the power.’ He answered. 

 

“And how do I do that?” ‘I don’t fucking know. Make your body stronger I guess’ Yokai snapped. 

 

“Well first tell me what its gonna do to my body so I can get a hint.” ‘Well, the first ability just flashes you forward using mana to move your muscles at such high speeds.’ He responded. 

 

“Is there any other ability you can teach me?” ‘No. My power is far too advanced for you right now. This is the simplest ability that I can lend you if you don’t want your body to explode from the inside.’ 

 

“Ok yeah let's avoid that.” I said putting on some new clothes and eating the breakfast.  

 

I checked my watch, and the time was 12:30. I grabbed Yokai’s blade and strapped it to the left side of my hip. ‘Hey careful with that my soul is in there.’ Yokai remarked.   

 

“Yeah, yeah would you rather be in the watch?” I teased. 

 

‘No, I’ve been in those, and it’s cramped.’ Yokai replied. 

 

I left the room and went to the front bar and sat on a stool. “Hey Orion what can I get you.” Kaza asked as he finished cleaning some plates.  

 

“Nothing just want to sit down and think about what I'm going to do next.” I replied. 

 

“Want anything to drink while you think?” Kaza asked. “And what happened to your neck.” 

 

“Long story, that I don’t understand yet.” I replied. “Orange juice would be good.”  

 

“Ah I see, well I'm right here if you need anything.” He said filling up a cup. “That will be 5 coppers.” 

 

“Infinite supply of orange juice?” I asked holding a gold coin. “I only got gold coins.”  

 

“You should fix that.” Kaza said, taking the coin and giving me the juice.  

 

I drank the juice thinking about a good spot to train my body to hold Yokai’s power. ‘Don’t think to hard princess.’ Yokai sounded from the back of my head. ‘You might break something in here’  

 

I finished the juice and got up from the seat. “Know where a bank is?” I asked Kaza. 

 

“It’s near the middle of town. You go to the guild hall and take a left go straight for a few blocks.” Kaza replied. 

 

“Thanks.” I left the Orical and headed to the bank. “Also, if anyone asks, I'll probably be out of town for a while I have to train. If I’m gone longer than the payment, I will make sure to get it to you when I get back.” 

 

On my way I passed a few people talking and heard some interesting stories about last night. "Have you heard a group of nobles went missing last night and was found dead in an alley way this morning.” An older girl was gossiping to her friend.  

 

“Yeah, I hear the suspect is Jack the ripper, but the witnesses won’t speak.” The other girl replied. 

 

“Who are the witnesses?” The first girl asked.  

 

“The guard, Jason and two boys named, Alaric and Darrin. Apparently, it was self-defense from what Jason has been saying the two brothers were being beaten and they would’ve died if the killer didn’t step in.” She answered.  

 

“Yeah, but did you see the bodies? They were skewered and one of them had a giant hole under his chin.” The girl pointed under her chin.  

 

“Damn, that’s brutal.” the other girl looked down.  

 

I left after hearing what happened and a few more minutes deep in thought I arrived at the bank. So, there was a killer on the loose, or maybe a vigilante. Who is this “Jack the ripper” was it Jack, he has that kind of smile that only a killer could have. When I walked into the bank, I accidentally bumped into someone, my head bounced off something squishy. What then? “Oh, sorry I was lost in thought.” I apologized and bowed.  

 

“Orion?” A familiar voice asked. “Is that you?”  

 

I looked up to see a women about twice my age, she had brought orange hair that faded to a sunny blond hair that was tied into a pony tail. She was wearing a white blouse with gold buttons that matched her hair and tight leather pants, and a long thin sword. But it was her golden eyes that stood out the most, they were bright and shiny like a golden crown. “Aunt Pen?” I asked looking at her more closely. 

 

“Oh my god it is you.” She pulled me into a hug. “It’s been so long. Look how much you’ve grown.” 

 

 

She patted my head. ‘Who is this curvy sun goddess?’ Yokai asked I could feel the nonexistent drool coming out of his mouth. 

 

‘That’s my Aunt’ I shot back with annoyance and disgusted. 

 

“Yeah, it has been. How’s Elijah I heard he got into an accident?” I asked with concern in my voice. 

 

“He’s fine, it wasn’t too bad. It took a month to recover fully though. But he’s strong.” She replied happily. “Where's Shiro and your Mom and Dad?”  

 

I looked down at the mention of my parents. “Shiro is at the Orical with a few friends, and Mom and Dad are dead.” My voice shook. “They were killed in a house fire that those bastards set.” 

 

My aunt pulled me into a tight hug with out saying anything. We sat there for a few minutes before she left. “I’m sorry I didn’t know.” She apologized. 

 

She looked sad then angry she grabbed the pommel of her sword tightly. I grabbed her hand. “I already killed them.” I said letting go.  

 

She let go of her sword before looking down. “No one should have to go through that no matter how old they are.”  

 

“Why are you here? Is that a guild symbol?” She changed the subject, pointing at the mark on my neck. “What guild did you join?” 

 

“No this is a...” I stopped searching for the right words. ‘Yokai what is the symbol on my neck?’ 

 

‘That my friend is a bond symbol, that’s what makes it so I can talk to you mentally.’ he explained.  

 

“This is a bond symbol.” I lifted up my sleeve to show her my actual guild mark. “I joined Titan’s Blade.”  

 

“Oh, I heard that was a good guild.” She paused.  

 

“Are you not living here?” I asked. 

 

“No just got back from a mission and was just getting smaller coins.” She held up a coin pouch filled with copper and silver coins. “Any way I have to get back home to my children.”  

 

 

“Alright I'll see you later I guess.” I gave her a hug and she left the bank. 

 

I walked into the bank and up to the counter. “Hello, what can I do for you?” a man with short blonde hair, and blue eyes asked.  

 

“I would like to exchange these for some smaller coins.” I pulled out a small bag with 200 gold coins. 

 

“Oh, that’s a lot, does your parents know you have that?” he asked concerned. 

 

“My parents are dead.” I said dead pan. 

 

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” He bowed before taking the bag and coming out with 3 bags one was filled with 5000 copper coins, another was filled with 5000 silver coins and the third was filled with 100 gold coins. 

 

“Jeez that didn’t even put a dent in the gold coins” I put the bags into the watch and left the bank. 

 

‘Where to now.’ Yokai asked. To a place where I can train in peace with no interruption. I walked to the edge of town that was covered in trees and shrubbery. “Ok explain to me how to use the technique.” ‘Do you have a bell?’ Yokai asked.  

 

“No why would I have a bell?” I asked, caught off guard. 

 

‘Go back into town and get a bell.’ Yokai sighed. 

 

I sighed and started to make my way towards town to get a bell. Why did I even need a bell? I walked up to the nearest store and opened the door. Ding, the bell of the door sounded as I walked in. I scanned the store and found a worker. “Excuse me, do you sell bells?” I asked. 

 

“No sorry, we do not.” She replied.  

 

“Do you know where I can get a bell?” I questioned.  

 

“No sorry.” she bowed and got back to work. 

 

I walked towards the door and opened it. Ding. I looked up to see a small golden bell, I glanced to see if the worker was looking before jumping up to grab the bell before leaving at a faster walking pace than normal. Why do I need a bell for training? I asked. 

 

‘Because, now go back to the forest.’ Yokai answered. 

 

I walked back to where I was before I went back into town. It was a pretty scene, the trees formed a path alongside a river, the trees were a golden hue because it was mid fall. As I took in the scene, I heard a quick shuffle in the bush to my left. I glanced at the bush before I saw a small bunny-like creature. It had 3 small black eyes and golden-brown fur blending in with the color of the bush. It's ears perked up as if they were antennas, I could feel a faint mana pulse coming from its ears and it quickly bolted as it sensed my mana. “What was that? I’ve never seen it before.” ‘That is what you call a Sonar Rabbit.’ Yokai explained. ‘Now go find a clearing with a tree in the middle.’ 

 

Why I thought to myself as I looked for a clearing. ‘Because I want you to do something.’ he explained. 

 

I looked for a while to find a place to fit Yokai’s description. After an hour I finally found a tree in the middle of a field. ‘Now what?’ I asked.  

 

‘Stand 10 meters away from the tree.’ he instructed. I walked up to the tree and walked ten meters away from it. ‘Now what?’ I asked. 

 

‘Now I want you to get to the tree before the bell rings before the bell rings.’ He explained. 

  

Simple enough.  

 

I ran at the tree and after a step the bell chimed. ‘The bell rung.’ he laughed. 

 

‘I can hear that.’ I remarked.  

 

After a few hours of trying to get to the tree I could only get in one or two steps before the bell rung. ‘It rung again.’ he laughed again. 

 

“Thanks for that.” I replied. ‘I can taste your sarcasm.’ Yokai shot back. 

 

I walked around a bit to look for a suitable place to sleep as the sun was starting to set. I found a large fallen tree that was hollowed out. I took off my over shirt and placed it over me for a makeshift blanket and made a pile of leaves for a pillow. I thought to myself. I thought about doing some tests in the morning. I was lost in my thoughts as I slowly drifted to sleep.