Nimh stared at her dumbly for a moment, the name ringing in his ears. Keira? Was it a coincidence?

Shaking himself from going down a weird trail of thought, Nimh smiled.

“Nice to meet you, Keira. Would you like to join me for a meal? There is a stocked kitchen upstairs and it may be a better place to have a conversation.”

The young woman stared at him, unmoving like a statue. Nimh shrugged, turned and walked away.

It did not take long until Nimh heard footsteps, slow and insecure at first. But still unhurried and Nimh sensed a measure of poise from the girl. By the time he was at the stairs and walking up, the girl was following like a wolf following a lion.

Ignoring the potential threat to his life, Nimh made his way to the kitchen. Internally he communed with Marcus about food options and together they made a sketchy plan.

Which ended not long after entering the kitchen. Before Nimh could even reach the food, Keira had dashed forward, found a knife and was holding it up as if fending off a wild beast.

Nimh looked at her, then turned and got back to the task. Marcus seemed to know how to cook something called eggs, both the ingredient and the idea of cooking being foreign to Nimh.

A few minutes later, Nimh was standing in the kitchen, a girl holding a knife in his direction and a mess of eggs and a dozen spices sprayed over the bench.

Marcus was a horrible chef. Either that or Nimh was a horrible student.

Regardless, Nimh gave up on the plan of cooking with foreign ingredients. Turning to the girl, he smiled.

“You wouldn’t happen to know how to cook, would you?” he tried to pass it off as a joke, but the look on Keira’s face told him it was a mistake. “Fine, by the ode, you need to calm down. You do realise I could take that knife off you and slit your throat before you could scream, right?” Nimh asked as he removed himself from the mess. Luckily he had avoided getting the mess on his newly acquired clothes.

You could try…” the girl began but Nimh just waved his hand.

“Save it. Look, I have no intention for you. Whatever it is you have gone through, you do have my condolences, but I will not have you, or anyone, waving a weapon in my direction.” He did not pause as he spoke, instead, he spoke as he walked to a chair, taking a seat. “So, you have a choice. Put the knife down, sit down and talk with me like a human. Otherwise, I cease being polite. Choose.”

Leaning back in his seat, Nimh stared the girl down. She wavered, the knife shaking in her hands. Anger? Fear? No, Nimh realised, her body was so exhausted, fruitlessly using up vital energy when she had attacked him. Combined with what Nimh assumed was extreme hunger, the last few minutes had pushed her over the edge. She was on the verge of collapsing.

Finally, she lowered the knife, letting it fall to the ground. With sluggish steps, she made her way to a chair, opposing Nimh. To her credit, the fire in her eyes never dimmed. Damn good material to work with.

Nimh nodded. “Good. Now, Keira, it is nice to meet you.” The girl was silent. Nimh continued. “Long story short, I’m new in town. I came into conflict with the gang that owned this building, and now they’re dead. I’m looking to build something here and I need people. Would you like to join me?”

Still no response.

“I planned on offering this to the children downstairs,” Nimh continued. “But they are wounded in ways that I am not confident in providing aid. Trauma that may be too deep to ever heal. You, on the other hand, are a different story. I do not know what they did to you, but I can offer aid. If you follow me, I can make you strong enough that no one will ever be able to touch you again.”

Keira snorted at that. “You? That is a large promise for an E Rank to make.”

Nimh smiled. “you think I am incapable of training and guiding you?”

“I think you’ll be dead when the other gang lords decide to come looking for you. Wolfgang is not without his…associates.”

That caught Nimh’s attention. “You know about Wolfgang’s business?” he asked. “That is interesting. Not a common prisoner then?”

Keira glared. “Everyone knows that Wolfgang is one of the top bosses in the undercity. Cross him and you are dead. When word gets out that you killed you, you’ll be dead the next day.”

That made Nimh laugh. “They can try. But they will fail.” He became serious, looking inter my eyes. “How about this, I will help you ascend to E Rank. If I cannot succeed in that within one day, you can leave. I will not keep you against your will. You can take whatever you wish from this building and live your life. What do you say?”

“I say that you want something,” Keira replied, though her tone seemed thoughtful. “I just don’t know what that is.”

Marcus echoed in Nimh’s mind, agreeing with the girl. Nimh ignored his voyeur and nodded.

“You are right, I do want something. I want to take over the undercity. Those people that you say will come after me? I will either kill them or bring them under my authority, because one way or the other, they are in my way. As for you, I see some talent and potential. If I am going to take over the undercity, I will need people I can rely on.”

Keira sneers. “And you think that I will be your what, servant? Willing disciple or your pretty little consort? Fuck you.”

Nimh sighed, pressing a finger to the side of his head. “Want to know a secret? It’s not hard making people comply with your desires. Find out what they hold dear, what they love more than life itself, and hold it hostage. Suppose that is how the gang lords keep their power over the undercity. That is easy. But what is really hard, is dealing with people with nothing to lose. Because they mistakenly think there is nothing more that can be taken from them.”

“They are very wrong,” Nimh said softly. “Take yourself. You have a fair deal of pride in yourself, I congratulate you on that. Maybe Wolfgang did not have you captive for so long. Did his men have their way with you, well there is no putting that trauma back together is there? But you have one thing that no one, not even I can take from you. Do you know what that is?”

Keira shook her head.

“It’s your future. That is yours, regardless of how long or short it is. It is yours regardless of if you live a thousand years, or if someone ends it for you. A slave or a free person. Because no matter what, you can make a choice.”

“Now, you could make a poor choice and leave your future in the hands of others. That’s the path most F Ranks take. Too weak to matter and lacking enough self-awareness to make a difference.”

Marcus made a noise of complaint which Nimh did not bother paying attention to.

“Or you can choose to own your life. Tell me, is there anything for you out there which won’t end up with you in a locked room and taken advantage of again?”

Nimh waited for some sign that he had gotten through, but Keira’s face became stony. A shame, she was quite pretty, despite the dirt and anger.

“If you don’t reply, I will take your silence as consent,” Nimh said softly.

After a pause, Keira shook her head, her eyes not leaving his.

“Well, I can give you the tools to take control of your life. Do you think my Rank is a reflection of my ability, or my capability to teach, and train people? Well, I have my reasons for my current state. If I trust you enough, then maybe I will tell you about it one day. But for now, shall we agree that you lose nothing by spending a day here and trying to get some benefit out of me?”

“I don’t trust you.” Keira rebuked.

“I don’t trust you either.” Nimh ceded. “The only difference is that I am powerful enough to not care if I can trust you or not. Besides, what is the worst that can happen? I betray you and put you back into your locked room? Take advantage of you? Make you want to die? Is that any different to how you were an hour ago? At least I’ve offered to let you escape. Anyway, if you think you can’t trust me, leave. Stand up, take some food, and walk away. Forget my name, forget my face, and do what you can to survive.”

Nimh smacked his lips, his throat feeling dry. He really had spoken too much. It didn’t help that he’d barely spoken out loud since getting the body.

“Regardless,” Nimh said, standing up. “I’m going upstairs. There is a training room there and I want to regain my strength. You can either join me or leave. But remember this, if you come upstairs, I will hold you to the mark. I will train you hard and if you ascend to E Rank, then I want an apology from you.” Nimh smirked. “I can’t have people saying that I am incapable of training children.”

With that, he left, pausing only long enough to take a bottle of water out of the cupboard. He’d discovered it during his failed cooking attempt. Really, he’d need to work on that, or Meira would laugh at him.

Minutes later, he was performing the ninety-nine forms again. This time, forcefully restricting the flow of vital energy.

Vital energy had a natural flow and over time, its flow became faster and more forceful, resulting in a greater state of strength for the practitioner. It was also the measure of Rank in this world, or so Nimh understood from Marcus and his limited knowledge. The more effective the flow, the higher the rank.

Restricting the flow of vital energy weakened the body, making it heavier, and far more difficult to manoeuvre. It was an excellent way to train the body while also compounding the effects of condensing vital energy within the body.

Just like damming up water, if you restricted vital energy, eventually it would be unleashed. And when it was, the power was beyond belief. It would be very useful for fortifying the physical well.

The restriction did, however, highlight Nimh’s slow progression through the forms. His balance was tested, and his flexibility and strength were pushed to their limits. The number of mistakes he made was embarrassing, but he continued.

A full hour later, he finished the forms, sweat pouring off his body. Luckily, it was not accompanied by impurities, just good, clean, honest sweat. He was halfway through the second set when he felt Keira ascend the stairs.

Instead of stopping, Nimh released the restriction on his vital energy. Immediately, his limbs became light and the force of vital energy within his body exploded. By the time Keira had made it to the training area, Nimh was moving through the forms with confidence and pace that a ten-year-old back home would be proud of.

It made Keira’s jaw drop.

It made Nimh ashamed that he was using such a display to impress someone.

With difficulty, he buried his shame deep and continued. By the time he was done, his body was radiating with vital energy, begging for release. He denied it, forcing it back into his physical well. It was a waste, but he didn’t have the time right now to develop the primal root. Instead, he would be satisfied with a small measure of improvement in his well.

Pausing, taking a calming breath, Nimh turned to the girl.

“Have you made your decision?” he asked.

Keira stared in open amazement. “How?” the word barely passed her lips.

“Practice,” Nimh replied with a smile. “And more pain you can imagine. If you want to walk this path, you will experience pleasure and pain beyond what you have ever experienced, and it will be worth it when you hold the end result. But if you're not willing to push yourself beyond your limits…” he let his words fade into silence.

The girl swallowed. “I saw the children downstairs. What are you going to do with them?”

“I don’t know,” Nimh answered honestly. “If I could, I would try to help them. But I am not a healer, nor am I a hero. I can’t save everyone.”

“Why not?” she asked a hint of desperation in her voice.

“Because I know what is possible and I know what I am capable of. And there are just some things that cannot be healed with good intentions and faith. However, if you want to try and help them, I will support you in that. If you stay, that is.”

She frowned. “You’re holding the children hostage?”

“No,” Nimh said with a sad smile. “I genuinely do not know what to do with them and I do not have the luxury to find them a miracle. If you know how to help them, then please do. You can even use this place to heal them. But if you stay, you will be trained. I hope you understand.”

She nodded. “If I were to leave right now, what would you do with them?”

After a pause, Nimh decided the truth would be for the best. “As I said, I do not have the luxury of finding them a miracle. If you do not try to save them, I will do the merciful thing.”

Their eyes locked and he saw understanding behind her wild blue eyes. Then she nodded.

“Can you teach me how to fight like you?”

Nimh just smiled.