Chapter 54: Esorian Training Pt. 4 [Talenta]

[Day: Friday]

[Time: Evening]

[Location: Home]

A golden hue began to settle upon the sky, the sun slowly setting for the evening. All was calm around Destiny Islands and a restful evening had fallen upon us. I rested in bed, my stamina slowly recovering from the intense training I had with Passion. As I rested, my bedroom door opened and I opened my eyes to see who walked inside. Once I noticed it was Ani, I slowly sat up, a gentle smile tugging at the corners of my lips.

"Pepe..~ Are you awake..?" Ani softly asked, peeking her head inside my room.

"Yeah, I'm awake, koʻu aloha..." I said groggily, watching Ani walk toward my bed with a tray and a plate of dinner she prepared.

Ani smiled sweetly at me, gently placing the tray in my lap. "Are you feeling alright?"

I nodded, my eyes falling upon the delicious native dinner in front of me. "All of this looks amazing..~"

Ani smiled, a soft blush settling on her face. She gently sat on the edge of my bed then began to feed me. I happily accepted her nurturing gestures, allowing her to feed me. The food was amazing...it really brought me back home.

We began to make small talk with each other, Ani wanting to know more about my Love Demons and my purpose for going into war in Sanctuary City. I began to explain to her my purpose, how I had to save Karma and the City from The Syndicates.

"That's... pretty hardcore..~ I love how you've never changed... You've always put others before yourself. Your light is something I've always loved..~" Ani said softly, gently reaching forward to gently cup my cheek in her hand.

I leaned into her touch, holding her hand in mine. I closed my eyes as her fingers ran through my hair. "You haven't changed much either...I can still feel your light..~"

Ani giggled softly then scooted over toward me, her face slowly becoming a soft red. I opened my eyes to look at her, our eyes locking. Ani's breathing softened as she leaned into me, her heart racing as she was about to experience an intimate moment with me.

I leaned toward her, our lips locking for a soft, tender kiss. The kiss sent a pleasurable shock throughout our bodies, our bodies slowly heating up in the intimate moment. Ani gently pressed her body against mine, deepening the kiss and gripping my shirt tightly.

After a moment, Ani broke the kiss to catch her breath, resting her head against my chest. She closed her eyes and smiled gently, her mind settling on thoughts of the kiss we shared.

"Pepe...do you see me as your girlfriend..? I mean...do you... uhm..." Ani said softly, her demeanor softening as she rested in my arms.

I looked down at Ani with a warm expression, my fingers running through her hair. "Ani, you are literally one of the most important to me in my life. We've known each other since we were little children...Even after 12 years of being apart, there's never been a day where I haven't thought of you. So to answer your question, yes...I do see you as my Hawaiian Girlfriend..~"

Ani's smile grew as she listened to my answer. She looked up at me, resting her chin upon my chest. "Aloha wau iā ʻoe..."

" Aloha wau iā ʻoe kekahi..." I said softly, gently tapping her nose.

Ani giggled softly then leaned up toward me, kissing me one last time before getting up. She picked up the tray and smiled at me. "Rest well..~"

"Thank you..~" I said softly, laying back down on my bed.

[Bond with Ani...Well it's already damn there max. I just wanted to do that for the one time.]

I chuckled softly as I laid on my side. "We've got to hurry and get to Sanctuary City so we can get another Love Crests to return your purpose~"

[Heh...I can't wait. All we have is Flirtoria, Sensitia, and Romancia so it shouldn't be hard. Anyway, rest well. You are really gonna need it for tomorrow.]

"Thank you, E..~" I said softly, closing my eyes to get some much needed rest.

[Day: Saturday]

[Time: Morning]

[Location: Verdant Grove]

The next day arrived and it was time for my training with Talenta. I was pretty excited since I didn't know what Talenta had planned for me. All I knew was today was going to be a tough day for me. Talenta being the second strongest out of the five Love Demons I had, I knew I was in for a tough session.

"Alright, Shiro. We are training early in the morning today, mainly due to the fact that the weather is nice and today's training will push you to your limit. Yesterday you managed to tap into your Tribal Roots, and we learned that you can stack your Bloodline Power with the Love Crests which is a rather strange phenomenon," Talenta started, crossing her arms as she looked at me.

Talenta continued, "Today, you will be learning about the Esoteric Source. What is Esoteric Source you might ask? I will tell you. Esoteric Source is an internal and personal force of esoteric and supernatural forces that lie dormant within you. It ultimately acts as the core of your otherworldly powers that by its unique and esoteric nature, can endow supernatural abilities with only your skill, personal power-level, imagination/knowledge, and/or morality to define the borders."

[To shorten her explanation, Esoteric Source is bound to you as it's fundamentally a part of your very being as if it were a part of your soul. The power is only as strong as you are, unifying with your state of being as it can grow as strong as you and draw energy from your soul to be used.]

I closed my eyes, taking in the information as best as I can. "Sounds confusing as hell to be honest...So this power is a part of my Soul and can grow stronger as I grow..? And the imagination part, is this power only limited to my Imagination?"

"Yes. Your very own imagination is the limit but whenever you decide to will with your power, you must have enough Esoteric Energy to will it. The reason this ability is so powerful us because with an Esoteric Source, you can basically use any Supernatural Arts you desire as long as you have enough energy to complete it," Talenta explained.

I nodded at her explanation, now having a better grasp of it. "I think I understand it... Alright, how are we going to train?"

"I had a few ideas in mind, but I can't really make up my mind truly...But I think the best way to train you is to have you get hands on experience. There's no better teacher than experience right?~" Talenta said, a smile curling on her lips.

"But before we get into that. I have a gift I need to give you," Talenta said then snapped her fingers, an ethereal entity appearing beside her in the form of a tiny bionic companion. "A Divine Familiar. I was working on it for a while...and thought it would be nice for your system to also get an upgrade as well."

[Eh? You're... allowing me to have a body now?]

"Why not? You want to be more useful to Shiro correct, and I have a strong feeling that you and he would work very well together in this training session," Talenta answered, sending the Divine Familiar toward me.

I watched the Familiar float toward me and land in the palms of my hand. I studied the blank state she was in then nodded my head. "Alright, E. Let's get you inside."

[Affirmative.]

Lust-E transferred her energy from my watch to the empty Divine Familiar, the body of the familiar shining and color taking her form.

The Familiar opened her eyes then took up a base form, her soft, luminescent tone, glowing faintly with a pinkish hue. Her long, silky pastel hair cascaded down her shoulders in a flowing manner. She wore a flowing dress made of ethereal, translucent fabric that seemed to float around her, often changing colors in soft gradients. She also had small, delicate wings that resembled a blend between butterfly and fairy wings, allowing her to hover and fly gracefully.

"Wow...an actual body. I never thought the day would come where I would have a physical body..." Lust-E said, her tone a mix of awe and disbelief. As she moved around, her delicate bracelets and anklets jingled.

Talenta smiled at Lust-E, nodding her head with approval. "Now you have a purpose outside of operating Shiro's System and being just a tool. You can now Support your master in battle. Which now brings us to our real session."

"Heh~ Good luck, babe~ Shits about to go down!~ If you are in too much danger, give us a shout!" Lustie giggled, flying up in the air.

"If you thought I was bad, wait until you experience Talenta..~ She isn't known as the One in a Million for no reason~" Passion chuckled, flying up in the air with Celene and Ani on her back.

I watched as everyone made room for Talenta and I, my gaze returning to Talenta. I watched as she equipped her gauntlets, feeling her Esoteric Energy flowing powerfully around her.

"Esoteric Energy lies everywhere around us. All Life contains Esoteric Energy. If you're running low, just absorb it from things like plants, animals, water, even the very air you breathe. In this session, you are only permitted to use your Crest of Talent. I know you can't defeat me...so your only requirement is to last for 30 minutes," Talenta said and got into her stance.

"Don't be afraid to use your Tribal Roots as well, I would love to see it!" Talenta said, launching herself toward me without any further warning.

My eyes widened in surprise and I immediately activated my Crest of Talent, evading Talenta's kick and moving out of her way. "Lust-E, let do this!"

"Affirmative," Lust-E nodded then closed her eyes, responding to my Crest of Talent and changing forms. Her hair changed to a pastel blue color, her wings shining blue as well then the Crest of Talent shined on her back. "I have entered Ace Form."

I nodded then awakened my Unleashed State, grunting softly as it's been a while since I've felt such a heightened state within myself. My body tinged with excitement as my senses became more clear and my brain processing information through my senses 50 times faster.

I dashed toward Talenta with Lust-E quickly following behind, launching my first attack at Talenta. Talenta parried my strike with ease then evaded my next attack, throwing a counter strike toward me at high speed but I managed to dodge it in time.

Talenta and I began to evade each other's rapid strikes but Talenta was a bit faster, landing a clean strike to my face. Once she noticed I staggered, she launched me up with a high reaching kick then landed a swiping chop to my midsection, launching me away.

I recovered onto my feet, sliding backwards along the ground before stopping myself. "Hmph...A miscalculated strike.."

"Shiro, you need to think creatively here. If you want to match with Talenta, you'll need to outsmart her. Today's lesson is that with your Esoteric Source, your imagination is your limit. Use everything to your advantage," Lust-E said, hovering beside me.

I listened to her words intently, nodding my head then smirked. "Well if that's the case...I have a lot of shit in mind..~"

Talenta walked along the forest, heading straight toward me then noticed elemental wolves rushing toward her. She braced herself, evading their bites and swipes of their claws. She summoned her spear, defeating them all in one blow. She heard a screech and looked up, noticing an massive eagle of fire soaring down toward her.

Talenta grunted as she dodged the eagle but when the eagle landed, a burst of fire was released, knocking Talenta away. She landed on her feet then heard rumbling, swiftly evading the geyser that erupted. 'He's really coming in strong...but whatever he's planning will not work.'

Talenta sensed a powerful energy above her then looked up, her eyes widening as I launched my Sigil Bomb toward her. She dashed off, evading the bomb and looked back, noticing it was homing in toward her. 'What..?! He's really quick in his feet huh..?'

"Nice try, my human, but it's gonna take more than that!" Talenta bellowed, turning around and slicing the sigil bomb in half.

The two halves hit a tree and exploded. Talenta looked around, noticing the smoke circling around her. She readied her spear, her eyes moving around to track where I was. The smoke wrapped around Talenta, constricting her movements and catching her off guard.

I warped in front of her, landing a powerful kick between her eyes and knocking her back. I landed on one knee, Lust-E combining the Wind and Fire elements to form Lightning then applied it to my legs. I bolted toward Talenta, throwing a lightning fast strike, but she managed to evade it in time.

"Heh! I shouldn't be surprised that you're getting rather creative, but don't think you're getting a one up on me that easily!" Talenta taunted, blocking and dodging my strikes while throwing her own.

"If you think that's all, you haven't seen anything yet," I said, blocking and evading her attacks while countering with my own.

Clash after clash, we went letting down the offensive, our senses working overtime during our sparring session. Talenta managed to parry my next strike then generated a giant arm using her energy, the arm swinging at me and landing a powerful blow to send my flying.

Talenta warped above me, landing on me and surfing on my body, leaving a trail behind before kicking me away. I grunted as I rolled along the ground then stopped, my pants growing heavy.

[Stamina has fallen to 89%]

I slowly stood up and my hair shadowed my eyes. I took off my jacket, tossing it aside then looked up, watching Talenta walk toward me while adjusting her gauntlets. I took a deep breath then exhaled, getting into my stance. Talenta stopped in front of me, getting into her stance as well.

"Shiro's getting serious now isn't he?~" Passion giggled as she watched.

"Oh yeah..~ This is no longer Shiro..~ This is Tribal Leader Shiro now..~" Lustie said, gently biting down on her index finger.

The both of us launched ourselves toward each other, clashing and landing a few blows upon each other. Talenta parried each of my strikes and went for a counter, noticing my body turning into smoke and her eyes widened. I reformed to the side of her, landing a powerful Destiny Flash to her cheek and knocked her away.

I let out a Tribal Howl, my roar echoing across the forest and my tattoos shining brightly, signalling the activation of my Tengoku Form. My hair slowly changed to a silvery-white color, my eyes shined gold, and my mind became clear.

"Look! That's different from yesterday!" Ani pointed out, her expression a mixture of awe and excitement.

"Yeah...Tengoku has acknowledged Shiro..~" Celene said in awe as she watched.

"Go Shiro!" Ani cheered for me and giggled.

I heard Ani's cheer then bellowed, propelling myself toward Talenta at high speeds. Talenta's blue ethereal energy surged around her body then lunged toward me. We entered a fierce hand to hand combat once again, our movements faster and more precise. My blood began pumping faster than ever, the adrenaline rushing across my body as I began to truly keep up with Talenta.

"I'm not holding back! You're gonna see what it means to hold an Esoteric Source!" Talenta bellowed, her aura pushing me back then multiple orbs of light energy formed behind her. "Victory Storm!"

I noticed rays of light homing in toward me, my eyes flashing with pure determination. I began to evade each one, my steps quick and calculated to maximize my movement potential. It was hard to evade the light speed rays, but I managed to evade each one with minimal damage done to me.

"Our turn! E, do it!" I commanded.

"Victory Storm!" Lust-E called out, forming multiple orbs of light behind her.

Talenta looked a bit surprised that Lust-E had copied her attack. She was now on the defensive, dodging the ways of light with ease then vanished at high speeds.

I looked around for Talenta then noticed afterimages of her appear and disappeared, a barrage of invisible forces striking my body. I grunted as I tried to evade, but I did have the time to breathe to evade or block the onslaught of attacks.

"Shiro!" Lust-E called out then spun around in the air.

[Duck!]

I understood what Lust-E wanted me to do and ducked my head, evading an invisible strike then began to perform a NY Flare, surrounding my body with powerful winds. I used my agility to spin around on the palm of my hand, the wind around my body rapidly spinning and forming a twister around my person.

Lust-E sat in the middle of the twister, making the winds stronger and the twister bigger, forming into a tornado. Talenta grunted as none of her light speed strikes were getting through my tornado then appeared a distance away from me. She watched closely, not knowing what I was planning.

I surrounded the tornado with water, the water cooling down and forming into ice. I struck a finishing pose, dispersing the tornado and causing a blizzard to form around us. Talenta grunted from the powerful winds, sliding back from the sheer force of the blizzard.

Luckie noticed it was now snowing, her eyes sparkling in awe. "He...changed the weather with just simple Elemental Manipulation. This is amazing...I would have never thought of this.."

[During a Blizzard, Water Manipulation is replaced with Snow and Ice Manipulation.]

I nodded at the information Lust-E sent me then dashed toward Talenta, forming a snowball in my hand. I hurled it toward her at high speeds, hitting her in the face then the snow began to disorient her sight, rendering her sight temporarily useless.

"Do it!" I commanded.

Lust-E took a deep breath then let out a powerful screech to temporarily deafen Talenta with a Banshee Call. With Talenta's major senses gone, I took the chance to lunge toward her for swift strikes.

Talenta still sensed me, evading my attacks perfectly then countered with a powerful blow to my midsection to knock me back. She rushed forward with a powerful kick to my face, sending me flying then she clapped her hands together, roots rushing toward me.

I recovered quickly then rose my arms, a wall of ice blocking the roots then I sensed Talenta behind me. I swift turned around, only to be met with a powerful blow to my cheek that knocked me toward my own wall.

"Even while blinded and deafened, Talenta can still sense her target using her ultimate ability...Perfect State~ It doesn't matter what handicap she's given, her Unleashed State will always give her an edge..~" Lustie chuckled as she watched.

"Perfect State..? How will Shiro even bypass that..?" Ani asked, her tone now worried.

"This is Shiro we're talking about..~ His Hyper Learning should have some type of answer for him.." Passion said, her eyes fixated on the battle.

I began to dodge each of Talenta's attacks, flipping backwards then sprang backward, using my Esoteric Energy to construct blades of various elements, launching each one toward Talenta at high speeds. Talenta flew toward me, evading each blade and kicking me away. I grunted as I slammed into a tree, falling to the ground on my knees.

[Stamina has lowered to 40%]

"Shiro, I don't want you to fall into Recovery State again and you only have five minutes left before you pass. Gather all of the energy you need and unleash it toward Talenta! We're calling this full on blast, Destiny Overdrive!" Lust-E said, hovering beside me.

I slowly took up, clutching my side and panting softly. I chuckled lightly, taking Lust-E up on her suggestion. My arms began to generate iridescent lightning and my body began to gather Esoteric Energy for my final trump card. I formed two spheres of iridescent energy in my hands, my golden eyes shining brightly. I combined the spheres together, Iridescent Esoteric Energy surging around my body.

"Concentrate! Focus your energy and unleash it at full power!" Lust-E exclaimed.

I let out a Tribal Howl as I unleashed a powerful beam of energy toward Talenta, catching her off guard from the sheer size and output of the beam. Talenta grunted as she blocked the beam, sliding backwards as she tried to deflect it. She tried to find her footing, but couldn't as she was being overpowered by the beam of energy.

'What is this..?! This isn't anything like the ranged variant of Destiny Flash! This is much stronger..!' Talenta thought to herself as she struggled with overpowering the beam.

Without any other choice, Talenta warped out of the way and allowed the beam to travel down the forest. Soon my attack ended and I fell to my knees from exhaustion.

"Now...I see why she said 30 minutes...my body aches.." I said softly, my pants heavy from the intense energy usage.

{30 minutes has passed. Training complete.}

Talenta appeared in front of me, crouching down in front of me and placing her hand on my shoulder. "You did wonderfully, Shiro..~ As you've realized, Esoteric Energy isn't easy to use as you are required to think when using it and the chaotic nature of the Source being hard to truly control. Despite being your first time using it, you did amazingly well.."

I looked at Talenta, giving her a smile of gratitude at her praises. "With so many possibilities with this Source, it's pretty hard to actually use. I have everything at my disposal, so it's hard to find a style that works for me and making different variants of it."

"You'll get there soon..~ I believe in you..~" Talenta smiled at me then helped me up. "The day is still young, so you have the rest of the day to rest. Tomorrow will be your toughest day yet. You'll be against Lusella in a one on one..~"

I nodded my head, understanding the weight of the training for tomorrow. Since Lustie is the self-proclaimed strongest and her Abilities having a 100% chance of affecting me, I knew I was in for a difficult time...but if I make it through the last day, I would be seen as ready to tackle Sanctuary City and I would be able to see Karma again.

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