Soul Between Lives

["Alex!"] Angel yelled out but wasn't heard.

Alex had the strangest feeling when he looked down and saw a sword stabbing into his chest. He felt disoriented for a split second that stretched out. He stared at the open space where his arm should have been. He tried to move it but felt nothing. Then he passed out.

...

["Wake up."]

"Come on. On your feet."

Alex heard a few familiar voices, but couldn't remember where knew them from.

["Alex, stop dreaming already."]

"If you don't get up, I'll make it painful for you."

Alex frowned in his sleep. He was feeling really comfortable and was very happy with the idea of peacefully snoozing until it was the right time to wake up, which was not when these rude voices decided it was. Alex rolled over and felt a piercing pain in his side that reached his stomach and made him feel both hungry and full at the same time. He was awoken and shocked out of his wits by the suddenness of being stabbed. He screamed silently in disbelief as he convulsed and cramped, curling into a ball trying to protect his gored and blood sloppy belly.

Then the pain was gone.

Alex opened his eyes as confusion replaced his shock. He saw Haruka next to a shiny metal wall some distance away. She was looking through her fingers as she hid her face. Then Alex realized the wall was actually the metal leggings of someone standing right next to his face. Alex traced the legs up the body and saw Lucius's glaring face.

"You are one of the most stubborn sleepers I have ever seen." Lucius turned and walked about a meter away before turning back, "That is a habit that will get you and maybe all of your comrades killed if we don't fix it."

Alex heard Lucius but was more focused on feeling around his belly for the wound that was just there as he sat up.

"I told you, you wouldn't die here." Lucius said with impatience.

Alex still seemed a bit lost as he rubbed his tummy. "What happened?" As the words left his mouth, the memory of seeing the sword embedded in his torso flashed back to him. "I, I see."

"Perhaps I am rushing you a bit too much, but the best training is the training that prepares you for the worst. You have a better chance of remembering what to do if the training is as bad as the battle." Lucius nodded as he justified his harsh actions.

Alex was lost in thought as he got to his feet, his unfocused eyes were on the space between him and Lucius.

Lucius ran a finger down the flat side of his blade, "Are you ready to try again?"

Alex slowly raised his sight and made eye contact. "I think I need more time to prepare. I can barely feel my power when I try to focus it." His eyes inadvertently focused on Haruka scooching further away again in the background.

[I don't get why Haruka is here doing nothing when he asked her to help me train.]

["Haven't you already noticed? She's here to help keep your power active and circulating. Remember what Lucius said about women and feeling your power?"]

[So she's like a cheerleader?]

["Hmmm, play your cards right and she might give you a belly dance."] Angel sniffed, [{Though she's not as pretty as me.}].

As the two communicated at the speed of thought, Lucius was rubbing his chin as he considered what Alex said. "You shouldn't be out of power yet. Not with the charge up I gave you before. I think you just need more practice."

Alex backed away as he pictured losing more limbs.

"I'll," Lucius looked pained as he considered his next words, "go easier on you until you get the hang of it. At least."

*Gasp* Haruka clamped her hands over her mouth as if trying to go back in time to stop her gasp from escaping.

Lucius's brow twitched, [I'll have to get her to keep quiet about what I said before we leave.] "Haruka!"

"Ah!" Haruka jumped in surprise, "Y-yes?"

"Come over and hold Alex so he can't run away."

Alex's eyes popped, "What!?"

"I don't want you thinking of running away from my attacks. You should be entirely committed to blocking them instead."

Haruka left a blur in her wake as she moved behind Alex and grabbed his shoulders. Alex tried to get away but was easily overpowered by her.

Lucius lightly swished his sword, "Don't worry, I won't be cutting off limbs, just slicing you here and there a bit until you've gotten the hang of it."

Alex felt his stomach attempting to escape up his throat. "Is there really no other way than this?"

Haruka's hair tickled his neck as she leaned forward, "The sooner you succeed the sooner we'll be done. Just focus on what you need to do and nothing else." She whispered in his ear.

[This isn't how a cheerleader would act.]

["No, but you're enjoying how soft she is in certain places. Lucius is really shrewd."]

Sure enough, Alex was feeling a bit energized by Haruka, even in his current situation. Even so, he wondered if it was really necessary for him to learn how to fight under such conditions. He never really had to fight when he lived on Earth. Why would he now, when he's surrounded and protected by so many gods and demigods?

Angel read these thoughts and decided to point out how naive Alex was being. ["It's not if you'll ever need to be able to fight, but when. Stop thinking that you'll be dead before future events will concern you. You're no longer a mere mortal. There WILL come a time when you will have to fight."]

"Ready or not, I've given you plenty of time to prepare," Lucius said shortly before he started slicing away at Alex.

Alex tried to yell out but found that his voice was muted. Lucius would slash open his skin and then heal him before looking at the next spot he was going to stick his sword.

Angel pointed out the visual queues Lucius was giving to Alex but he was in no state to pay any attention to her.

*Slash, heal, slash, slash, heal, slash, slash, slash, slash, heal*

It is uncertain whether Lucius developed his sadistic side before or after he became a trainer.

To Alex, a minute passed by quickly but ten minutes seemed like an eternity of getting slashed open and then healed. After fifteen minutes, Alex started getting used to the burning sensation as the blade swept cleanly through his flesh and his panic at being cut to pieces subsided. Warm tears no longer flowed from his eyes and the old tears felt cool as they evaporated from his hot skin.

[He's not trying to kill me, I won't die from this.]

["You wish it was over though."]

[Obviously!]

["You were really stressing out but now your body is starting to relax. I'm impressed."]

Alex's body had been under an extreme amount of stress since the first three of the unrelenting cuts. Now, he still convulsed each time the blade tugged his skin on its way out, but relaxed again before the healing power even finished closing the wound. Lucius and Haruka noticed the change as well.

Alex finally had enough presence of mind again to focus on turning his power into defense. Each of their bodies was covered in sweat and Alex was starting to slip and slide in Haruka's grip. It could be another four years or so before Lucius would start getting tired within the training space, but he decided it was about time to take a break. He'd just spell out a few more words on Alex and then give him some time to mentally recover.

Lucius was halfway through his last sentence when his sword stopped on Alex's thigh. Lucius looked surprised for just an instant before he slashed at Alex's bicep. His sword stopped again. Lucius smiled. Alex had finally gotten the hang of it. Now it was time to cheat and put a little bit of power into his blade so the brat wouldn't get a big head.

He swung his sword again aiming to open Alex's gut. Only a few recruits ever remained cocky after having to stuff their own guts back in during this lesson, but they were all freaks from the start. The blade cleaved the air along its eviscerating path and, as Lucius expected, bit deep into Alex. Then it stopped underneath the belly button.

["Well done Alex!"] Angel was ecstatic.

Haruka let go of Alex when she saw the blade freeze. Lucius was shocked and stared at his sword still stuck within the empowered flesh for a brief moment but recovered quickly.

"Well done," Lucius said as he pulled his sword out of Alex. "We'll take a break here so you can absorb what you've learned." He began wiping the blade to hide his embarrassment and to give himself a moment to organize his thoughts. His plan had mostly failed. By now, Alex should be trying to keep his guts from spilling out. It wouldn't do if Alex got it in his head that he had somehow defeated Lucius at his own game.

Haruka had once been one of the trainees that had to hold her guts in. That moment still haunted her. Once the shock of what she'd seen wore off, she smacked Alex on the back repeatedly yelling "Well done!" and jumped about. She now had a story to tell the others when they were done for the day.

Alex was still trying to come to terms with the sudden change. He was no longer getting intimately close to an impatient blade that insisted on helping him reveal his inner self. Lucius was saying something, but none of the words registered. He felt the pressure from Haruka holding him captive vanish right before she started making lots of unintelligible noise.

Alex looked around. Lucius was cleaning his blade with a mottled red face. Haruka was all smiles as she danced around and thumped him on the back. Then she slipped on something and fell. Alex blankly looked down when he felt something slimy ooze over his knees and down onto his feet.

Haruka tried to stand but stopped moving and stared with a pale face at what she was holding in her hands. Alex noticed the strange ropes she was holding too. [It must be what she tripped on a moment ago.] He thought to himself.

Haruka quietly got up with her ears drooped down against her head. She then apologetically handed Alex his intestines as a tear snuck its way down her face.

Lucius seemed to be having a coughing fit with his back turned to them. He was really trying to keep his laughs from escaping. He didn't want his uncultured laughter to ruin the hilarity of the moment.