Liv narrowly dodges the Loong charging toward her midsection, her body impacting against the concrete floor with a loud thud. She bites her tongue, the taste of copper springing in her mouth as the Loong whips its head around to look at her once more. Liv curses mentally, scrambling out of the way as it crashes into the floor, concrete dust pluming out of the new crater in the floor.

  “Sense where it will go instead of dodging on instinct.” Faraji calls from the other side of the room, his arms crossed as he observes her with a detached stare. “If you ever want to attain a Synth Aura, you have to be aware of the ambient Synth around you at all times.”

  “EASIER SAID THAN DONE!” Liv shrieks back, her torso narrowly sliding out of the Loong’s path.

  Kara sighs from in front of Faraji, her head resting on her chin, a bored expression creeping up on her face. She wore her usual: a skirt with a bright shirt and accompanying jacket, multiple belts, a beanie, and a choker. She had initially jumped at the opportunity to beat the hell out of Liv, especially after the stunt she pulled at the gala; however, she didn't realize until just now how… Unfun it would be. Not only did Liv not hold a grudge against her, but she actively seemed happy to see her until Kara let her weapon loose. Her anger had, at this point, mellowed out to something more akin to general annoyance with the uncouth girl’s presence. Better than hate, but not by a lot.

  Liv drops to her knees as the Loong spouts a torrent of flames toward her head, a few of her frazzled curls singeing with the proximity of the heat. She should’ve known he’d do something batshit crazy like this. As soon as she entered the damn room, he grilled her on what she already knew and had. He nodded as soon as she spoke about the “melody” she had heard, saying something about a “sense”. He had then told her she was already far enough to get into the real training with Kara. that had led her to her present situation, barely scraping together the stamina to dodge the relentless assault on her person.

  “I have to admit,” Bruno comments. “I am impressed with his fundamental understanding of Synth and Synth Energy. You could stand to learn from those two.”

  “YER NOT HELPIN’.” Liv growls, the Loong just barely grazing her arm. It’s enough to nick her, a trail of blood oozing down the hard planes of her muscular tricep.

  “I don’t really know what you wish of me, Liv.”

  “Tell me how I open that other sense again!” Liv demands, her eyes darting around to follow the writhing Loong through the air.

  “It’s just something you have to sense. It would be like a man with twenty twenty vision explaining colors to a blind man. I wouldn’t even know where to begin. The only advice I could possibly think to start with is to focus on their movements and their correlation to you-.”

  “Yeah yeah, focus and junk.” Liv interjects, a ragged breath escaping her mouth. “ Ya told me that against Ainsley too.”

  “It’s good advice.” Bruno says. “You simply have to put it into practice, then you’ll have your sense in no time.”

  Liv murmurs another curse under her breath, sidestepping another charge from the Loong. She was getting better at dodging it… But not for the right reasons. Their timing was simple enough, and she had simply fought faster at this point. Charlotte was faster than it, Ainsley had enough speed to give it a run for its money, and the Deer Demon’s hand attack put the Loong to shame. She just couldn’t hear it like she could with Ainsley. It was infuriating, more infuriating than if she just wasn’t capable of it. She knew what it felt like, and she knew she could get there. So why the hell couldn’t she?

  After a few more dodges, the calls getting less and less close by the minute, Faraji raises his hand, his booming voice yelling for a halt. Liv freezes, Kara’s weapon doing more the same. Faraji stares at her with a clinical eye, a shake of his head displaying his disappointment with her performance.

  “It’s all instinct again.’ He says. “You need to listen and stop let it go for a second. Instinct is fine on the field, but you won’t grow if you rely solely on your gut.”

  “Yer askin’ me to do the impossible ‘ere.” Liv responds, wiping away the excess blood still coating her arm.

  “It’s, like, clearly not impossible if literally everyone else was able to do it.” Kara snipes snidely, earning her a glance from Liv. “I did it, Anthony did it, and Faraji did it.”

  “Tch.” Liv clicks her tongue against her teeth, her hands falling to her hips. “Don’t y’all got a way to speed this up? If I keep up like this, I’m just gonna get real good at dodgin’ Kara.”

  Kara rolls her eyes at the comment, a scoff escaping her mouth. Faraji stares down at Liv for a moment before a sigh of his own escapes his mouth, the fuzzy noise garbling near the end.

  “If you truly feel that impatient, there is a way. I warn you it will be a risk, though.”

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Ain’t no pain without rain, yeah?” Liv says, ignoring the mental tug that buffets her mind as soon as the phrase escapes her mouth. “Throw whatever ya got at me, I can take it.”

  “If you see fit, I do have an idea to expedite the process.” Faraji extends his hand, plucking the beanie from Kara’s head in a single, fluid motion. Her protests are left unheaded as Faraji walks to Liv, his hands pushing the beanie over her head, down the bridge of her nose, ending just above her top lip.

  The beanie was thicker than Liv expected, the smell of hair and fresh shampoo bombarding her nose all at once. She couldn’t see anything out of it, could barely hear anything out of it. Faintly, she could hear muffled talking, though it was unintelligible to her.

  “Bruno,” She calls mentally. “What’re they sayin’?”

  “They’re telling you to remove me.” Bruno says matter of factly.

  “But… How the hell am I gonna see the damn Loong then?”

  “Sense it.” Bruno comments. “Either way, you shouldn’t squander this chance by sitting idly and ignoring the advice of people you sought to learn from.”

  “Yer…” She starts, the sentence breaking into a long sigh. “Yer right.”

  Slowly, she removes the gauntlets from her hands, the mental connection between her and Bruno fading into nothing. Slowly, she sets them down.

  A pair of arms direct her to a spot in the room. She could tell it was Faraji, mostly because the hands that gently corralled her were cold and metal. Not that knowing was of any use to her. Eventually, the hands are removed from her shoulders, a rhythmic set of thumps sounding out as Faraji walks away. Liv was left alone in a sea of darkness, completely and utterly unaware.

  “Uh, ‘scuse me!” She shouts, her head whipping around. She couldn’t quite see them, but she was taught she should look at someone when asking a question. “What’re we doin’? I gotta be honest, I dunno why I have to be blind-.”

  Her words dissolve into a cry of pain as Kara’s concrete Loong slams into her stomach, its head digging deep into her abdomen before scurrying away. Liv gasps, the air thoroughly stolen from her lungs. She barely manages to keep herself upright, but her knees are shaking like crazy.

  “Gah… Hah…” She pants, her teeth clenching. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YA DOIN-!”

  She’s interrupted once more as a set of teeth dig into her shoulder, fresh blood spurting out like a fountain. She barely keeps the scream of pain trapped in her chest, flailing her arms ineffectually in its general direction. She, of course, misses as it disengages.

  Liv grips her now wounded shoulder, her eye twitching. If it wanted to fight, she’d give it a damn fight, even if she couldn’t see the damned things. She just had to do what she did last time. Couldn’t be too hard.

  It continues to barrage her, each attack sending her stumbling back. Bruises paint her body in purples and blue, accented by the crimson blood that leaks from the open wounds on her body. All her dodges end with her either dodging preemptively or dodging far too late, resulting in another bruise or bite for her troubles. She just didn’t understand what she had to do! She couldn’t even counter attack anymore, her left hand hanging limp at her side from when she had tried to block one of the Loong’s charges. She had assumed it would be a bite and had gambled on that assumption; unfortunately, it proved a poor investment, her humerus shattered on impact. Donovan would’ve been able to block that. She wasn’t Donovan though. He would’ve aced this, and so would Charlotte. She was always so elegant in her dodges, a perfect picture of grace and skill– one Liv just couldn’t imitate. If she could just hear and see, she could…

  At that very moment, a flash of inspiration zaps through her mind, her eyes widening with the realization. She had been looking at the wrong aspect. Though the situation was a simulation of her previous encounter with Ainsley, there was a fundamental difference. Back then, she couldn’t use her eyes and ears. Whatever thing he threw at her destroyed her sense of hearing and sight. Even if both her senses were muddled right now, she was still subconsciously trying to use them.

  She calms herself, a steadying breath escaping her mouth. She closes her eyes, completely ignoring the muffled noises bombarding her ears. She had to focus on her surroundings, to stop relying on just her senses. She had to be more than that. She focuses her mind on a single objective, focusing on finding the Loong with her will and will alone. Her brows furrow, her face scrunching with the effort.

  Then, that small sound returns. Small, faint, but easily noticeable amidst her sensory deprivation. She could feel where it was relative to her surroundings, growing closer and closer by the second.

  She throws her body to the side as it crescendos, the feeling of gust of wind where she just was. She manages another, then another, then another.

  After a minute of dodging, her wounds finally catch up to her, the Loong’s body crashing into her sternum. She falls backwards, greedily gulping any air she could get into her burning lungs.

  Lights suddenly return to Liv’s vision, her eyes fluttering open to reveal Faraji’s form looming above her. He holds the beanie that had covered her eyes, his head nodding in approval.

  “That was impressive work.” He compliments, his hand poised to help her stand.

  “Thanks.” Liv mutters weakly, accepting his hand up. He easily hoists her to her feet, his hand clapping her on the back.

  “I would say you’ve begun to scratch the surface; though, you have yet to really experiment with it. We’ll have to change that.”

  “Ya wanna keep doin’ this?” Liv questions. “I thought ya hated me.”

  “I do believe you have the potential to be a capable student. I still find your presence abhorrent, though.”

  “Yer kind.” Liv mutters, a sigh escaping her lips. The two walk back to the corner Kara occupies, Liv’s body still aching from the injuries she’s incurred. She eagerly snatches up her gauntlets, sliding them on, relief flooding her system as the connection is established once more. Her wounds begin to knit together, bruises and blemishes alike replaced by fresh skin. She shoots a glance down toward Kara, the pink haired girl graciously accepting her beanie once more. Their eyes lock for a split moment, Liv using the opportunity to give an awkward smile. Kara scoffs, her Loong curling on her lap. It wasn’t as strong a reaction as when she saw her when she entered, so she would take that as a win.

  “Now that you’re healed,” Faraji says. “We’re going to go again, but without the blindfold this time.”

  Liv’s relief snaps, cold dread creeping through her muscles as she slowly turns a nervous eye to her de facto teacher. “E-Er… I don’t think I heard ya right, ‘cause it sounded like ya said we’re goin’ again.”

  “You heard right.” Faraji states simply. “Those few dodges were fine, but I could see the way your body tensed in focus. You should be able to sense any Synth Signature at all times without focusing at all. It should be second nature to you.”

  Liv glances between the two, praying that they were joking. When she finds none, she groans, reluctantly taking her gauntlets off once more. She had asked for it, she supposes. No pain, no gain. She had a mission to prepare for, and she planned to be completely and utterly prepared for it no matter the circumstance.