72 Pillar

To say that these last three days were torture would be a major understatement, the worst understatement ever. I felt less human than ever before. I couldn't even call myself an animal—just a miserable creature getting the snot kicked out of him continuously without mercy.

You might be a little confused, so let me explain my life clearly to you.

My life these past few days has consisted of waking up at 6:30, not a minute or even a second later. Otherwise, training would be ten times worse. Madelyn and I would warm up by doing ten laps around the rocky field beneath her house, followed by stretching exercises that nearly tore me in half.

Afterward, I would be taught martial arts and basic fighting techniques, which revealed that I knew nothing about fighting. Madelyn would teach me herself before demanding that I try these techniques on her. I hated the idea of hitting a girl, but the thing was, I never managed to hit Madelyn. Instead, I was the one always on the ground, either scarred or gasping from getting the air knocked out of my chest.

These lessons would go on and on until late in the afternoon. After they were over, Madelyn and I would meditate on our knees for another hour. She always said that when we meditate, we should focus on the darkness within and try to talk with our demon. Honestly, I was never good at sitting still and being in my true mind, and that hadn't changed. I was always about to fall asleep, but Madelyn would hit me on the head to prevent me from finding release from the pain.

After the physical and spiritual training was over, Madelyn and I would sit down at a wooden table placed far from the training grounds, close to the ladder that was my escape from this hellhole. As we sat at the table, I would learn history—history of Pillars that lived over the centuries, history of the House of Bathin, and history about the organization that holds it all together, the Gibborim Covenant.

From what I understood, Gibborim was a Hebrew word that meant the "Mighty Ones" who bear the burden of their inner demons. It was perfectly on the nose if you ask me.

All of these things I went over without rest for the whole day, and here I am on the fourth day, trudging back to the training grounds, my entire body aching but noticeably less than yesterday, which was a small comfort.

The sun isn't even up yet, but Madelyn is already there, looking as fresh and alert as ever.

"Ready for another day?" she asks, a slight smirk on her face.

"More ready than ever," I mutter sarcastically, though she chooses to ignore my tone.

I start the laps, trying to keep pace with her. My legs feel like lead weights, but I push on, knowing that complaining will get me nowhere.

The sun begins to rise from the horizon, and it's already mid-morning before we decide to stop our run.

I am sweating buckets, but I'm not on my hands and knees like I was the other two days.

Madelyn looks at me and smiles as we make our way to the underground training room.

"I think now is the perfect time to begin your training in earnest," she says, clapping her hands together.

"I'm sorry, what?" I ask, my amazement at my own physical abilities completely overshadowed by confusion.

Madelyn looked at me, her eyes twinkling with a hint of amusement. "Ethan, up until now, everything we've done was just to get your body acclimated to its new power. Consider it the foundation. Now, we start the real training."

I gave her a skeptical look. "That wasn't real training? Because it sure felt like it."

She grinned. "You're still standing, aren't you? You've improved. But now, you need to learn how to harness and control your power." She said crossing her arms.

"Demonic power," I said, as if it were a statement I had read in a book.

Madelyn nodded. "Yes. You've seen the dark aura around me before, right?"

I nodded, remembering the many confrontations I'd witnessed before.

"Good. This aura isn't just for show. It's a manifestation of our inner strength and demonic energy. It's one of the first techniques you need to master to be called a true Pillar. Watch closely," she instructed. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. As she did, a dark aura began to swirl around her, enveloping her entire body. Her eyes opened, cold and piercing.

The air around us shifted, and powerful winds whipped up, forcing me to take a cautious step back. The aura was palpable, charged with raw energy.

"This," she said, her voice steady amidst the chaos, "is called 'Tzelem.'" She said with a smirk. "And this is what I will be teaching you."

I took a deep breath, feeling a mix of awe and apprehension. "So, how do we start?" I said, feeling more excited than I probably should've.

Madelyn's dark aura soon disappeared, and she was once again her normal self. She looked at me and smiled.

"How we are going to start is simple." She lifted her hand above her head and snapped her fingers.

A shadow fell over me, and I looked up to see something falling towards us. As it came closer, I realized it was one of the steel mannequins that had fought Madelyn before, but this one was bronze.

It landed with a huge thud right in front of us, its feet slightly breaking the earth.

"You seem to respond to more physical education," she said.

A chill ran up my spine.

"So the plan is to continue beating you until you can maintain your own tzelem."

The mannequin made a fighting stance, and I knew I was going to be beaten black and blue.

"God help me," I whispered as the mannequin began running towards me.

***

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