Antarctica’s Myth

"Is… This… Good!?" Katsuki screamed out, panting between words.

Emilia shook her head in disappoint as Katsuki showed barely any signs of progress after 3 hours.

"No. Again," Emilia said with a sigh.

Katsuki lined himself up to the first cone and he took a deep breath… Then exhaled. He was tired, but motivated. He wanted to prove that he could improve even if it meant just by a tiny bit. He knew Emilia is a bit disappointed. He thinks that she was thinking that she was a failure and couldn't even train one person right.

He wanted to also prove her wrong. He wanted to prove that Emilia's teachings had an effect on him. Closing his eyes, Katsuki tries to catch his breath and calm down. It only took him after the first 3 hours… Emilia felt a sudden increase of Essence coming from Katsuki that was never there before.

Katsuki opened his eyes and began sprinting. His movements were a bit like liquid, dodging and turning as fast as he could.

"H-He's actually improving this quick…" Emilia muttered to herself as Katsuki was blowing through all the cones with some ease.

"Is… This… Better!?" Katsuki shouted between breaths as he continued.

"Better than when we first started! But that's enough for today. We'll eat then sleep to get ready for tomorrow. What you're going to learn tomorrow is just as important as what we did today," Emilia nodded for Katsuki follow her.

They went to a nearby diner for Slayers and Juniors made by Slayers. It replicated a diner that Humans are used to and the menu even replicated their diet, ranging from all continents.

Katsuki read over the menu and took a small breath, "Wow… Quite diverse."

"Huh? Do Humans not have menus like this?" Emilia wondered.

"We do but not this diverse at one restaurant," Katsuki flipped through the multiple pages of items to choose from. After a few minutes, he chose just a regular cheeseburger with fries.

After they ate dinner, they traveled to the outskirts of the south sector of the 3rd circle to rest at Emilia's apartment. The area they are in is not considered "safe" in terms of the Guild as thieves are known to lurk here, scammers, and Slayers who lost their reputation due to circumstances.

The apartment that Emilia stays at currently was not her original apartment as she lost it when she got deployed to Eyon. However, upon entering her apartment, Katsuki saw the difference between outside and inside like the sun and moon. The outside of the apartment and surrounding area is a bit trashed and gloomy but inside the apartment is clean, shiny, spotless, and sparkling. It was then and there Katsuki knew that Emilia is also a clean freak just like his mother.

"Rest up. Tomorrow is the beginning of another training session that will either make or break you," Emilia said as she made her way to the master bedroom.

"Wait where am I supposed to sleep?" Katsuki asked the retreating Emilia.

Before she entered her room, she pointed towards the sofa and Katsuki groaned. He sat down on the sofa and luckily there was a blanket already folded on the sofa. Wrapping the blanket around himself, he looked out the window to see the night lights. From where he is right now, he's able to see more into the third section and a tiny bit into the second section because of the skyscrapers, spotlights, and blimps.

He wondered what it would be like to reside in the second section… And he wondered… And he wondered… Until he fell asleep.

The next morning, Katsuki woke up to a new environment. It wasn't Emilia's apartment anymore, he was in a field of grass that seemed to go on forever with no clouds and the sun shining bright.

Katsuki rubbed his eyes, "Where am I?"

"You are in a wardrobe," Emilia's voice echoed, "It is here that you will learn how to harness your Essence and refine it like a sword."

"H-How did I get here…?"

"I put you in there. That's beside the point, the point is, is that you are here."

[I feel like she is joking but at the same time I can't tell…]-Katsuki.

"Inside this wardrobe is a different dimension that will act as your training grounds so that you have no outside distractions."

"How long is it going to take?"

"As long as it takes for you to learn. Time moves a bit differently in the wardrobe than out here."

"W-What…?! How do I even begin? What is Essence anyways!?"

"You will learn."

"That even doesn't make sense!!" Katsuki yelled out.

No response… She left. Meanwhile, outside of the wardrobe, Emilia is getting ready to leave the apartment when she remembers something…

"Oh, I should've told him about the worst part about the wardrobe." Emilia then shrugs and leaves, locking the door behind her.

Inside of the wardrobe, Katsuki stands up to absorb his surroundings, "This place feels familiar. It kinda reminds me of-"

"Your Inner World?" An unfamiliar voice came from behind.

Katsuki jumped and shifted quickly to see a man wearing the exact same Junior robes as Katsuki.

"Who the hell are you!?" Katsuki shouted.

"What do you mean? I'm you."

"You're not the other me from last time I was here." Katsuki took a step back, cautious of the man.

"Ah, I should've mentioned this earlier to make you less defensive. Your copy and I became one after the world was broken. Our name is K. It's after you."

"Okay, K, do you know what this place is exactly?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm guessing it reflects a person's inner world to some small degree. It would explain why I'm here all of a sudden."

"Yeah, you're right," Katsuki felt a little bit embarrassed about not getting the answer right away.

"I believe your mentor thinks this is the best way to learn how to control your Essence and bring it forth. And the quickest since the exam is two weeks away."

"Wait, you know about that?"

"I am you, Katsuki, of course I do. However, I must mention that you being able to harness your Essence will be quite impossible."

"What? Why? Do I barely have any?"

"No, no, you have a lot. It's just that your Essence isn't yours."

"What do you mean? Not mine?"

"You see, your Essence is mine." K glares at Katsuki.

K's new demeanor shocks Katsuki a bit as he locks eyes with K.

"I helped you survive your first encounter with a Colossus. I helped you survive the destruction of Eyon by repairing your broken body. I was the one who kept you alive this long, Katsuki. I was actually wondering when I'd be able to see you again so that I could talk to you, so this is going in my favor."

"W-What are you talking about?" Katsuki stammered as K revealed the truth.

"What I'm essentially saying is, you will not have control of your Essence unless I allow it."

"What!? The exam is in two weeks and you're just gonna let us lose because you won't let me!?"

"I won't lose, only you will."

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Katsuki suddenly falls down to his knees as if he's carrying a ton on his back.

"Katsuki, don't forget who's in control here. I am the one who controls your Essence. I also am the one who allows you to use little to none Essence," K looks down at Katsuki.

"What… The hell…" Katsuki groans as he tries to hold himself up.

"But I'll give you one chance to get permission," K then unsheathes a sword from his hip, "Strike me and I will grant you permission."

The weight is lifted off of Katsuki and he's able to stand up again, "Where's mine?" Katsuki glares at K as he recovers.

Throwing the sword towards Katsuki's feet, "This is yours."

Picking up the sword, Katsuki's eyes focus on K, "Don't you need one?"

"Already ahead of you," K then created a sword that is a replicate of the one he threw to Katsuki.

Watching the sword being created out of thin air, Katsuki nervously sweats and his legs tremble a bit.

"You said just once, right?" Katsuki asked.

"Correct. Just once."

Katsuki grips the sword tightly and steps forward, thrusting the sword at K. Predicting his movements, K clashes swords with Katsuki and disrupts the blade's direction away from himself.

"Slow." K spoke as he moved forward to grab Katsuki's face and slam him into the ground with enough force that it breaks the first layer of the ground beneath them. Katsuki screams in pain as his head makes contact with the ground then K then removes his hand from Katsuki's face.

"Katsuki, at this rate you won't be able to win," K told him with a stern tone.

Katsuki stands back up and he struggles to stay up, "I'll win… I'll win, K…" Katsuki slowly said.

"Oh I doubt that, Katsuki."

"GRAHH!!" Katsuki shouted, swinging his sword multiple times at K. Surprised by his sudden gain in energy and strength, K clashes swords with Katsuki with an amused look.

"I get it now! Your body healed itself, didn't it!? You're starting to adapt like I predicted!" K shouted as they clash swords, but his words fell on deaf ears as Katsuki seemed to be focused on one thing, winning.

Earlier when Katsuki was on the ground, he had to remind himself that he must win at all costs without letting his emotions control him. It's the only way he'll be able to get any bit of Essence from K and participate long enough in the exams to see the end.

After a stalemate of constant clashing, Katsuki raises the sword above his head, swings the sword down, and meets K's sword with enough strength that K struggled a bit to keep the sword steady.

Kastuki's eyes of determination and strength of hope gave him the exact edge he needed to become at least more powerful or was it only him thinking that and K was barely even trying…?