~? ??, ?~

  WHOOSH! ZING!

  “This is a nice sword, kid. Well done!”

  “Urmm…L-Lord Kamiryuu?”

  Jet was shocked. When he woke up, he found himself in a green meadow. Lying beside a river. Complete with a picturesque waterfall spouting rainbows as it fell down.

  Oh, and the Beast Lord is there as well. Playing with that new cleaver sword Brokkr recently forged.

  “Oh? Have we met before?”

  Jet frowned. “Don't you remember? In Hell? We had a long chat in front of the Kronos Vine.”

  “Ahh, I see. Well, I'm not actually Kamiryuu.”

  “Huh? Then who are you?”

  Lord Kamiryuu stopped swinging the blade for a moment to think. “I don't really know how to explain it. A remnant memory perhaps? Maybe you have something that belongs to me. A scale, a nail, a tooth even. Do you have that?”

  Jet instinctively touched his chest. ‘Yeah. My past self stole your core’. He almost sneered but managed to control himself. “Yeah,I think I have something that belongs to you.”

  Kamiryuu enthusiastically nodded. “See! When this sword enters your core, its energy must've brought my past memory to life.”

  “Oh…okay then.” Jet then looked at the weird sword. “That sword stabbed me!”

  Lord Kamiryuu waved him off. “No it didn't. It just senses a greater affinity to you. That's why it decided to choose you as its wielder.”

  “What? A weapon that can choose its own master? Is that even possible?”

  Kamiryuu stopped . “Hahaha, it's not that amazing. The sword has not come alive or anything. It's more like…finding a hand that fits the glove perfectly. You know what I mean?”

  Jet nodded. Indeed, remembering that it was his father and mother's energy that helped shape the sword, it's not exactly surprising that the sword chose him. Since, like the sword, his blood may also contain hints of his parents magic energy.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  He was about to tell Kamiryuu about the matter with the sword, but Kamiryuu's next words shocked him too much.

  “You sure are lucky, kid. That Give-and-Take power of the sword is strong. And not just strong either. Completely harmonized too.”

  “Huh? G-give and take? What's that?”

  “Oh, it's something I discovered. I'm not really good with names so…Give-and-Take it is. Sounds simple right?”

  Jet gritted his teeth. That doesn't explain anything at all. “But what is it exactly?”

  Lord Kamiryuu looked at Jet like he was an idiot. She said nothing further. Instead, she walked to a large oval shaped boulder. One almost as big as a house.

  “Let me just show you.” She said.

  The huge boulder must've weighed a lot. Yet she picked it up easily. With the stone raised above her head, she began to channel fire energy on the right side, and ice energy on the left side.

  Soon, the large oval rock glowed two different colors. Red hot on the right side, and icy cold on the left.

  Satisfied, she threw the stone into the river.

  Jet was confused. He could not help asking. “Urm…Lord Kamiryuu. What…”

  “Shhh. Have some patience.” Kamiryuu smiled. “Watch the waters.”

  At first there's nothing. Some sizzling words at the beginning. Normal when a hot stone meets with water.

  And then something happened. The water began to behave strangely.

  On one side, the water turned boiling hot. It looks like the hot spring in Ivaldi village.

  On the left side, frost began to appear on the surface. Gradually, the entire left side of the river turned into a huge block of ice.

  Jet again turned to Kamiryuu. But she spoke first. “It's not over yet, kid. Keep watching. Hehehe.”

  Jet did not know what he was supposed to be watching. Boiling water and freezing ice? What's weird about that? That's just his parents. But he still kept watch. It would be good for him to disobey a god right to her face.

  And thank god he did continue watching. For something really did happen. Something magical.

  The cold part began to melt, and then began to boil. While the hot part suddenly mellowed, and began to freeze.

  This time, Jet stood rooted to the ground. He didn't want to miss any of this. He can't anyway. Jet was too mesmerized to move a muscle.

  It was finally over. The phenomenon stopped. And the river turned back into its mild mannered form and flow.

  Jet finally found his voice. “Wh-what did I just witness, Lord Kamiryuu?”

  Kamiryuu rolled her eyes. “I told you. Give and Take. Have you forgotten already?”

  “...N-no. But what does it mean?”

  “Haiz. Like this.” She held out her right hand.

  “This is fire. Ice happens when stored energy is ignited. Fire releases energy. My energy, to be exact.”

  She held out her left hand. “This is ice. Ice happens when water becomes too cold. Coldness is the state of heat loss. Which means ice consumes the fire energy in the water. You with me so far.”

  Jet nodded. Kamiryuu pointed to his sword, and Jet immediately gave it to her. “One who controls fire and ice means one can fight for eternity. For energy lost can be replenished during a fight. That's what makes this sword special.”

  Jet's eyes could not be more open than right now. “Y-you’re telling me…that this sword…can also devour my opponent's energy?”

  “Hehe, not just this sword. You.”

  “Huh?”

  “Do you hear what I said? The sword had fuse itself to your core. Whatever ability it possesses, you can use it too.”

  Kamiryuu gave the sword back to Jet. This time, Jet could feel the power from the sword entering his body. Running around, forming a complete circle between the sword and his body.

  “Hahahaha, I feel great!”

  Kamiryuu smiled. “Good. Then maybe it's time for you to wake up. Your parents have been worried about you.”

  Jet panicked. Kamiryuu reminded him of the event that happened before. The sword had stabbed his heart. Of course nothing happened. But since he was unconscious, his parents would probably be worried sick.

  “How long was I out?”

  “Oh, not long. Just a little over a day.”

  Jet exhaled a breath of relief. “Fuh, that's good. Maybe I should go.” He was about to walk away, when he remembered something. “Will I see you again?”

  Kamiryuu smiled bitterly. “Probably not, kid. I'm just a remnant memory. But you can meet my original body if you die. So that's something to look forward to.”

  Jet rolled his eyes. Kamiryuu laughed. “Of you go now.”

  Jet nodded. He saluted the Beast Lord, and disappeared.

  “Please save this world from my sister's demise.” Kamiryuu silently prayed to him.