The Married Life Of Immortals

"Get up," Nina commanded, and Bane's vision started to swim.

He rolled to his side, and retched up all the contents of his stomach, and when he was done, Bane wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. This had to be the most disappointing thing that had happened to him over the last two hours, since the meat skewers were his only solace in the one sided beatdown he was receiving. Still, all was not lost.

Bane was getting stronger from each clash, but Nina was like an insurmountable mountain. Each time Bane felt like he was improving, Nina would use just a bit more strength to keep their gap power the same. This was frustrating, but it was only fuel to his fire, but now it was time to get back up.

"I am ready," Bane grunted, pushing himself to his feet.

"Good. Let's go again," Nina said, and then disappeared.

Bane tried to turn, but was too late, and her foot drove into his stomach again, and launched him backwards. Bane filled his veins with mana, then slapped into the wall, but he was able to land on his feet because of the mitigated damage. Bane twisted to the side, narrowly dodging Nina's spear that drove into the wall where he had been standing moments before.

Her hand flashed out, and grabbed his arm, and Bane felt like his elbow had exploded. His arm went limp, and his eyes bulged, but his other arm was already swinging towards her, but she just caught his other arm.

"I can break every bone in your body and have you healed within a few hours. Do you know how painful it is to have every bone in your body shattered? Let's find out," Nina said, and then yanked his arm.

Bane's eyes bulged, and his mouth opened in a silent scream. It wasn't just a single explosion, but it felt like his arm had been set on fire. The pain was like nothing he had experienced before, and Nina didn't stop.

Nina was smiling and laughing, but she kept twisting his arm, and each time it would send waves of agony throughout his body, and then Nina dropped his arm and slammed her knee into his stomach. It was hard for him to focus anymore, and his healing wasn't working either. Bane was really starting to wonder if this was actually training, or if this was just Nina lashing out at him for some unknown reason.

Bane crashed into the ground, and tried to stand, but his arms weren't working, and his stomach was cramping. Nina walked over, and kicked him in the face.

"Do you want to know the difference between us?"

Bane rolled over and spat out blood, but got back up with his one arm hanging limp, smirking at Nina. "My brain isn't working, but you have been such a chatty Kathy, so I am sure that you will tell me," Bane said with a smile filled with defiance.

Nina's face became red for the first time, and she rushed full speed at Bane, but stopped at the last second.

"You are to train him, not kill him, Nina," Lysia said from the second floor balcony she had been watching from, and then jumped down in front of Bane. She slapped him, but then cast a powerful healing spell. "Quite trying to piss her off, or she is going to take it too far one of these times. While I enjoy watching you learn a lesson, you are not allowed to die."

Bane flexed his previously broken arm, and smiled at Lysia. "Thanks, babe. I know you enjoy this, but I am glad that you are here to heal me. I do have a loud mouth, but that is part of my charm. You also get to learn a lot about how people really feel when they get mad. It digs out some truths," Bane said, and then turned his gaze back to Nina. "Let's go."

"You can't beat her, idiot!" Lysia shouted, and then grabbed him, but Bane pulled his arm away.

"I know that, but I didn't come here to beat her. I came here to learn, and to get stronger. I need more, and this is also good training for the ungodly curse training I am about to do. Everyone was right when they said Harmony could do things other people couldn't to me," Bane explained, and Lysia frowned, but Bane waved her off. "Just wait for me to get abused some more, and you can heal me again."

"What did you mean by that comment?" Nina demanded, and Bane laughed, pointing at her.

"See, there is that anger! So, are we going again? Or are we done? If you are done, can I go for a shower?" Bane asked, and the response was a lightning fast roundhouse kick that Lysia had to heal him from right after.

And so, for the next 5 hours, Bane was brutalized and healed almost nonstop. By the end of it, Bane was exhausted and covered in his own sweat and blood. Even Nina looked tired, but the two of them were both smiling, and Bane had actually landed a few hits on her.

"I expect you to be here again tomorrow evening," Nina instructed, then left the arena without saying another word, leaving Bane to collapse on the ground.

There were no cuts on his body, but Lysia had only been healing his internal injuries to keep him from dying, so his muscles felt like gelatin. Bane just wanted to close his eyes and go to sleep where he lay in the center of the arena, but a shadow was soon cast over him. Bane didn't bother to open his eyes; he already knew who it was, and how little sleep he would be getting.

"How long do you plan on lying here?" Lysia asked with crossed arms, and Bane started to snore. Lysia proceeded to kick him, and Bane just rolled away. "I don't think so. Get up and go wash yourself off, and then we are going to get something to eat. You are going to need your energy tonight."

Bane opened one eye, and sighed, peeling his sore body off the ground. "You know, I wish that last statement was as exciting as it should be for a soon to be married couple."

Lysia's face reddened, and she grabbed his ear and started pulling him towards the showers. "Idiot. We are going to eat, and then I am going to teach you more about your Astral Soul weapons, and why you are so stupid."

"Joy," Bane said sarcastically as he was dragged up to their living quarters, which was now much bigger, and pushed into the bathroom.

"Get clean," Lysia growled, but then opened the door slightly to stick her hand in. "Give me your hand, and I will fully heal you."

Bane smirked, but didn't say anything for once, and just reached out and gently took her hand. His body hurt too much currently to make jokes. On the other side of the door, Lysia blushed, but held her composure.

"You have learned a lot over the last few days, and you have gained some strength, but that was still not enough. The reason that Nina didn't break all your bones, was because you were not worthy of her using her true power. Ninallani was the leader of the Valkyrie people, and their queen. She is also the most powerful warrior of their clan, and she has mastered every single Astral Soul weapon," Lysia said, and Bane groaned as his injuries healed.

"How does she even have all the Astral Soul weapons?" Bane asked, but Lysia pulled her hand back.

"Get cleaned. That is for Nina to tell you, not me. I am getting hungry, so don't take forever."

Lysia didn't give him time to reply, and closed the door, and left him alone. Bane was a bit irritated, but the warm water of the shower did wonders for his aches and pains. Even though his body was fully healed, there was just something magic couldn't undo, but that was fine to Bane.

At first, Bane hadn't really understood why Nina had been going so hard on him, but near the end, he had started to notice something had changed. Taking each hit, slice, or stab began to faze him less and less. The constant pain and pressure made him focus and ignore the pain. In time, Bane felt like he might learn how to completely ignore any pains in the middle of a battle, or at least not be distracted by them.

That was the moment he realized that the pain he was experiencing was not for his growth, but Nina's. He had no idea what it was that was driving her, but he didn't need to know. If she wanted to take her rage out on him, then Bane would use her to temper his resilience to pain.

Once Bane was done in the shower, he started to dry off, and walked over to the sink that had a mirror about it. Curious, Bane used the towel to wipe the steam off it, and got a good look at his new body. This was his first time, since Lysia had blown him out through several walls this morning before he had the chance to see.

The young man staring back at Bane in the mirror grinned, just like he did. It was weird seeing himself in a body similar to him in his early twenties, but in peak condition. Bane's black hair was still the same, and his blue eyes were the same. He was still tall, but he had muscles that would make most men jealous.

"So this is what I should have looked like if I hadn't been struggling to stay alive?" Bane mused, but then turned away, and finished drying off.

Bane quickly dressed with clothes that had been left for him, and headed back out into the main area, and saw Lysia reading a book. He glanced around the room, taking in the new decoration, and that it was twice the size, thanks to one of the walls Bane had been blown through being completely removed. The only thing that confused Bane was the much larger bed. After this morning's incident, Bane had been sure they would be in separate beds at least, but that must mean he would be sleeping on the floor.

"Come on. We are going to try a new restaurant this time," Lysia said suddenly, snapping her book closed, and standing up.

She had changed her outfit, and now wore a simple black dress, which made her look beautiful in Bane's eyes, and she smiled when she caught him staring at her.

"Don't get any funny ideas, or I will beat you myself," Lysia threatened, but her face was still smiling, and she hooked her arm around his. "You look good in those pants."

"Well, thank you. You look quite lovely as well, my lady," Bane said, unlinking their arms to take her hand with a bow, and Lysia rolled her eyes.

"You're not even doing it right. Hurry up, and don't act like a fool while we are out, or I will tell Nina you were talking about catching a glimpse of her undergarments," Lysia threatened, and Bane flinched, putting both hands up.

"Fine, I give up," Bane said, and then linked arms with her.

"Good, let's go."