Arran tried to move and found that his body responded slowly and sluggishly, as if it had been drained of all its power. He could tell that he was lying down — in a bed, he thought — but he had no idea where he was.
"Finally awake, are you?"
Arran opened his eyes and saw Tuya sitting next to his bed, enthusiastically eating what looked to be a roasted leg of meat.
His memories were vague and blurry, but he could recall suffering intense pain, feeling as if his body was being burned to ashes and thinking he was going to die.
"What happened?" he asked, just saying the words costing him a great deal of effort.
He sat up, and at once he could tell that his body felt frail and feeble, different from how it was supposed to feel — wrong somehow.
"And why do I feel so weak?"
"It seems your Tempering was unusually harsh," Tuya said, finishing the leg of meat and picking up another one from a table at the side of the room. "You should consider yourself lucky."
The Tempering. As Tuya mentioned it, he began to remember what had happened. He had spoken with Elder Naran about his Destruction Realm, and then… pain. Endless, overwhelming pain.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
"Father said to tell him when you awoke," Tuya replied. "He also had some food prepared for you." She gestured at some half-empty plates on the table, and Arran surmised that she'd already eaten most of it herself.
As he thought about the food, Arran realized he was hungry, but somehow, the normal feeling of hunger was missing. Instead, he was merely aware that his body desperately needed food. Unwilling to wait, he got out of the bed and headed for the table.
"You might want to put on some clothes," Tuya said, an amused smirk on her face.
Arran shrugged. He had a vague sense that he was supposed to feel embarrassed, but it seemed unimportant. Right now, he needed food, so he sat down at the table and began to eat.
Tuya laughed. "It seems your Tempering was a strong one indeed."
Arran nodded absentmindedly, not concerned with Tuya's presence. He could tell that the food was rich in Natural Essence, and he ate it greedily, anxious to be rid of the feeling of weakness that filled him.
When Tuya left the room a moment later, he barely noticed her departure.
He finished the food quickly, and although it did little to drive away the feeling of weakness, he could feel his mind grow clearer as his hunger was sated.
His thoughts returned to the Tempering, and now, he began to recall the events more clearly. He remembered feeling his body continuously being shattered and torn apart by Essence, but at a slow enough rate that it had time to heal even as it was broken down, destruction and regrowth in an endless cycle.
As he was sunken in thought, he heard the door open, and when he looked up, he was surprised to see that it was Snowcloud rather than Elder Naran who had entered.
Her face turned red as she saw Arran, and this time, he did feel some embarrassment. After a glance at the room, he spotted his belongings next to the bed and quickly grabbed a robe.
Snowcloud waited until he was dressed, eyes turned away. When he finished, she asked, "Are you all right?"
"I think so," he replied. "Although I feel weak."
"No wonder," she said. "Your Tempering took four weeks, and you've been unconscious for another two."
"Has it been that long?" Arran asked, his eyes going wide with surprise.
"I feared something had gone wrong," she said. "Elder Naran sealed the room after we left, and when the two of you remained locked away for so long… I thought some disaster had happened." Her expression troubled, she added, "It's only supposed to last a week or two."
Arran frowned. From what he could remember of the Tempering, he did not recall it lasting days, much less weeks.
He was about to ask Snowcloud more about it when the door opened once more, this time revealing Elder Naran.
"Lady Snowcloud," the man said as he stepped inside. "I thought you were still busy plundering my ingredient stockroom."
Snowcloud glared at him. "You should have let me know he had woken up."
"I only just received word myself," Elder Naran replied. "And now that I'm here, you should return to pestering my alchemists. There are matters I have to discuss with Ghostblade."
Snowcloud protested the unceremonious dismissal, but to no avail. When it became clear that Elder Naran would brook no objections, she left, scowling at the Elder as she closed the door.
"Now then," Elder Naran said, giving Arran an examining look. "I'm glad to see you're back on your feet. Your Tempering was an unusual one, and I had some worries that you might not recover easily. But it seems my worries were unfounded."
"How was it unusual?" Arran asked, still not fully remembering what had happened.
"Between your Destruction Realm and the Blood magic in your body, performing the Tempering proved more challenging than I anticipated," the Elder answered. "In the end, I had to use quite a bit more power and time than I intended. But it seems you weathered it well enough."
"My body…" Arran said. "It feels weak."
"That's to be expected," the man replied, seeming unconcerned. "You haven't eaten in weeks, and your Tempering was a brutal one. But tell me, do you still feel the effects of the Blood magic?"
Arran gave it some thought, then nodded. "I can feel it, but it's a distant urge now. I have no problem controlling it."
"Good," the Elder said, nodding thoughtfully. "It seems my conjecture was correct. It will grow stronger as you recover from your Tempering, but it should remain well within your control."
"But what about my strength?" Arran asked, unable to fully keep the frustration from his voice. "You said you would try to help me regain it more quickly. Have you found a way to do that?"
"We will discuss that matter when you're fully recovered," Elder Naran replied. "For the time being, you should focus on recuperating. What you need most right now is rest."
The giant Elder left shortly after that, seeming quite content with the outcome even as Arran was filled with worries about his current state of weakness.
But what was done was done, and all he could do now was to follow Elder Naran's advice and focus on recovering.
The first few days gave him some hope. He spent his time eating and absorbing Natural Essence, and he could feel his body rapidly strengthening in response, with the initial feebleness all but gone in less than a week. It seemed Elder Naran had been right about his need to recuperate, at least.
Occasionally, Snowcloud and Tuya would visit him, but he paid them little mind. What he needed was to regain his lost strength, and they could not help him with that.
Yet despite his efforts, his progress soon slowed, and he was shocked to find just how much of his strength appeared to be truly lost. Right now, his body was only barely stronger than it had been when he left Lord Jiang's estate.
Elder Naran had told him the Tempering would take some of his strength, but this was beyond anything he had feared. From what he could tell, he had lost years of progress.
Unwilling to accept it, he redoubled his efforts in Body Refinement, spending every waking moment eating any food he had that contained Natural Essence, then diligently absorbing every last shred of it.
Still, although his progress was faster than it had been in the past, he knew that it would take him many months to get back to his old level.
The loss soon began to weigh on his mind, and he stopped leaving his room, unwilling to waste time that could be used regaining his strength. When Tuya or Snowcloud visited, he was curt to the point of rudeness, their company an unwelcome distraction from his labor.
He had already spent several weeks like that, training Body Refinement to the point of obsession, when Tuya visited him again.
"All right," she said as she stepped into his room. "You've spent enough time moping. Come with me."
"I'm training," Arran replied with a glare.
"You can follow me, or I'm dragging you," she said. "Either way, you're coming with me."
Understanding that there was no way to avoid it, Arran sighed, then got up to follow her. "What's this about?" he asked as they walked.
"You'll see soon enough," she replied.
She led him to the courtyard, where he could see some two dozen novices training their swordplay and sparring against each other.
"Novices!" Tuya called out as they approached the group, her voice rumbling through the courtyard like a thunderclap. "Get over here!"
Hearing her voice, the novices instantly turned toward the pair, then quickly did as she said.
Once the novices had gathered around them, she gave them a pleasant smile. "This recruit is a master swordsman from the Eastern part of the Empire. If any of you manage to defeat him in single combat, you will be rewarded with a high-quality Essence Crystal."
Arran's eyes went wide with shock. Whatever he had expected, this wasn't it. Clearly, the woman had gone mad — he was nowhere near a master swordsman, and even before he lost most of his strength, he would have struggled to defeat any of the novices in a duel.
The novices looked as surprised as Arran felt, and for several moments, none responded. But then, one of them stepped forward — a young man with long dark hair and a confident smirk.
"He's really a recruit?" the novice asked, eying Arran suspiciously.
Tuya gave the novice an annoyed glare. "Did I stutter?"
"Then I'll fight him," the novice said, drawing his sword as he approached Arran.
From the look on his face, it seemed he expected an easy fight — and in his current state, Arran knew that was exactly what the novice would get. Still, he had no choice but to draw his own sword as well. It was clear that Tuya would not allow him to refuse.
He faced the novice, sword at the ready, though he could not stop some worry from showing in his face. When the young man noticed Arran's uncomfortable expression, his smirk turned into an eager grin — he clearly didn't think much of Arran's chances, either.
"No magic, and no killing or crippling moves," Tuya said. "Now fight!"