The Dark Zone sun gradually sank into the west, painting the junkyard sky in a rusty, blood-red hue.
The day flew by under old man Akaisin’s brutal training regimen.
After recovering from the morning’s fatal “numb legs” ordeal, the brothers, Shin and Kento, weren’t given a single minute of rest.
Old man Akaisin immediately dragged them into the second part of the lesson: Footwork and Fist Forms.
Sophion divine arts were not mere abstract theory; they demanded a physical vessel sturdy enough to channel the energy.
Judging by Kento’s sturdy frame and calm demeanor, old man Akaisin guided the young boy toward Kyokushin Karate—a martial art known for its practical, brutal combat style centered on taking hits and close-quarters pressure.
Throughout the entire afternoon, continuous shouts of exertion and the sound of fists tearing through the air echoed alongside the unstable corrugated iron shack.
The Turning Point at Dusk
Then, the turning point arrived at dusk.
As Kento stood in a solid Kyokushin stance, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing, an invisible current of air suddenly swirled violently beneath his feet.
Tiny, dimly glowing dust particles began to drift upward from beneath the scrap heap, gathering around his body.
VÙ…
A hazy, grayish-white aura abruptly erupted, enveloping Kento like a protective shroud of light.
Though this energy current was still quite faint—given he was only at a rudimentary absorption stage—it was the undeniable proof of his Sophion awakening.
Kento snapped his eyes open and stared at his own glowing hands.
His sweat-streaked face instantly erupted into pure joy.
The young boy jumped up and down, shouting excitedly:
— “Big brother Shin!
Master!
I can finally feel it!
I have Sophion now!”
Old man Akaisin, who had been leaning against the corrugated wall with half-closed eyes, shifted his tone to praise and nodded approvingly:
— “Good!
Very good!
This kid has got some promise.
This pace has far exceeded my expectations.”
Meanwhile, Shin, who was sitting cross-legged nearby, could only watch with his jaw dropped in sheer astonishment as his usually frail younger brother was enveloped in a glowing shroud.
He slammed his hand on the ground, his face green with envy:
— “What the heck?!
Oh my god, look at you, Kento…
You’re literally glowing?
Are you kidding me?!”
Old man Akaisin had been waiting for exactly this.
He immediately locked a mocking gaze onto Shin, clicking his tongue in disdain:
— “See that?
Look at that, you black-haired brat!
Your little brother did it.
What about you?
Haven’t absorbed a single speck yet, have you?
Wow, and you were talking so big this morning!”
Shin was so furious sparks practically flew from his eyes.
Letting out a loud hmph, he turned his face away but remained completely defiant inside:
— “Hmph!
Just you wait, old man!
I’ll absorb Sophion soon enough.
Keep your eyes peeled and watch me!”
— “Well, look at that.
I thought you being the older brother meant you’d set an example, but who would’ve thought Kento would be the one to feel it first!” Old man Akaisin delivered a critical hit, laughing mockingly with sheer delight.
High Expectations and Comical Sputters
Kento was absolutely thrilled.
Remembering the old man’s magnificent elemental manipulation from dawn, the young boy mimicked the stance, straining to concentrate his thin aura into his right palm, yelling at the top of his lungs:
— “Fire!
Ignite!”
FZZT…
POOF…
A comical, anti-climactic sound echoed.
Instead of a blazing fire like the old man’s, Kento’s palm only sputtered out a few microscopic sparks, crackling like a soggy sparkler before instantly vanishing into thin air without a trace.
Kento’s face went completely blank.
He looked downcast at the old man:
— “Huh…
why is it like this?
Why can’t I do it like you, Master?”
Old man Akaisin walked over and gave the boy’s head a tap, but this time it was a gentle one as he explained calmly:
— “It’s fine.
You’re only at the rudimentary stage of perception and absorption; you’re still very green.
The nature of Sophion requires time to accumulate before it can alter physical matter.
Besides…
who said you have to create fire first?
It doesn’t have to be fire.
There’s lightning, water, wind, earth…
and plenty of other elements that might fit your natural affinity for you to try.
Don’t be impatient!”
Hearing his master’s explanation, Kento instantly bounced back.
The young boy looked around for an ally.
At that moment, little Loona was fully absorbed in rummaging through some rusted iron chests in the corner of the shack, hunting for any leftover gears or copper wires to build her robot.
Kento ran over, eagerly showing off:
— “Loona!
I sensed Sophion!
Look how cool I am!”
Loona looked up, her face smudged with coal dust, and smiled warmly to cheer Kento on.
Seeing his little brother get praised made Shin, sitting in his corner, grow even more restless.
The energy within him felt like a dammed river—he could clearly feel it churning violently, yet there was no way to channel it past his skin to manifest as an aura.
Kento turned around, pumping his fist to encourage his older brother:
— “Hang in there, big brother Shin!
I know you can definitely do it.
You have to hurry, or else the old man will find excuses to mock you all day long!”
Shin took a deep breath, absolute determination flashing in his eyes:
— “Thanks, Kento.
I’ll succeed!
This diluted Sophion is nothing…
I just need to push a bit harder and I’ll tame it in no time!”
Standing nearby, old man Akaisin clasped his hands behind his back and bared his toothless grin to tease him:
— “Keep trying, you little rascal of a disciple!
Oh, by the way, once you sense it, make sure to diligently go buy some wine for me, my good student.
I haven’t had a single drop all afternoon, and my mouth is feeling terribly dry.”
— “You old geezer!
Talk about taking a mile when given an inch!
You’ve barely taught us anything and you’re already demanding wine as tuition!” Shin grumbled.
From the corner of the shack, Loona waved her small screwdriver, her clear voice ringing out:
— “Good luck, big brother Shin!
I’m rooting for you with both hands and feet!”
Old man Akaisin cackled, giving Shin an inside glance:
— “See that?
Even your foster sister is cheering you on.
You’ve got the power of family backing you up.
You better get a handle on it quickly, or your master will cut off your dinner!”
— “Fine!
Just you watch!” Shin gritted his teeth, closed his eyes tightly, and once again sank into a meditative state, blocking out all the noise around him.
Seeing that twilight was falling and the cold mist was setting in thick, old man Akaisin turned around to assign chores:
— “Alright, kids, it’s getting late.
Go start the rice, Kento.
I need to head inside and see if there’s any leftover wine jar, my mouth is itching for it.
Loona, you go take a bath first.
You’re covered in grease from head to toe.
It’s chilly today, so bathe early to avoid catching a cold.
You can just wear Kento’s old clothes for now.”
— “Yes!” Loona replied obediently, grabbing Kento’s old clothes and running to the back of the shack.
Old man Akaisin was about to step inside, but as if suddenly remembering something, he turned back and shouted toward the black-haired figure sitting motionless in the yard:
— “Oh, and Shin!
Whenever you do stand up, remember to take some money and buy more rice!
Our rice jar is almost completely scraped clean!”
Shin didn’t answer, nor did he budge an inch.
He completely locked away his senses from the outside world, focusing his entire will to locate and tame the stubborn current of energy within his body.
The Lone Figure Under the Moonlight
Time ticked away, and night officially swallowed the Dark Zone.
Inside the corrugated iron shack, a flickering oil lamp illuminated a corner of the room.
The warmth from the freshly cooked rice and the rich aroma of yesterday’s leftover food wafted through the air.
Old man Akaisin, Kento, and Loona had all bathed and changed into clean clothes, gathering around the dinner table.
Kento glanced out the window, where the silhouette of his older brother still sat like a lonely statue amidst the freezing, treacherous night of the junkyard.
The young boy looked noticeably worried.
Setting down his bowl and chopsticks, he turned to the old man:
— “Hey, grandpa…
should I go out and call big brother Shin in for dinner?
He’s been sitting out there since the afternoon, and it’s freezing now.
I’m worried he’ll get sick.”
Loona nodded repeatedly, her eyes anxious as she stared at the door:
— “Yeah, grandpa.
Can we call him in to eat now?
If we leave it too long, the food will get completely cold.”
Old man Akaisin leisurely took a bite of rice, his face under the dim oil lamp suddenly reflecting an extraordinarily profound depth.
Staring down at his bowl, his tone was calm yet carried an absolute understanding of his adoptive grandson:
— “Just leave him be.
Once you two are done eating, just save a portion for him.
I know that rascal’s stubborn nature better than anyone.
Until he senses Sophion, even if the sky comes crashing down, he absolutely will not stand up.
Let him fight this battle with himself.”
Outside the shack, the junkyard night wind began to howl with piercing chills, but Yanagisawa Shin’s eyes beneath his tightly shut eyelids were burning with a fierce will stronger than ever before.
Late at night, the sky of the Dark Zone was completely consumed by blackness.
The atmosphere was terrifyingly silent, broken only by the whistling of the wind passing through the rusted cracks of the corrugated iron sheets and the distant rustling of the scrap heaps.
A faint, watery moonlight struggled to pierce through the thick layer of smog and dust over the junkyard, casting a vague, silvery glow across the small yard.
Atop the freezing boulder, Yanagisawa Shin remained motionless.
His black hair fluttered gently in the night wind, and his deep eyes were shut tight, focusing his entire consciousness into the vast void.
And then, amidst that absolute silence, something suddenly stirred.
Unlike Kento’s smooth experience earlier that afternoon, the current of energy flooding into Shin’s body carried a far heavier and more complex sensation.
Yet, through sheer, unyielding willpower, Shin seized it, forcing it to submit.
HƯU…
From deep within his body, an aura suddenly breached the surface of his skin.
Unlike Kento’s grayish-white light, Shin’s aura was a bizarre blend of crimson and deep black.
At present, because Shin’s strength was still very weak, this aura only radiated gently, wrapping around his form like a thin wisp of smoke.
However, if one looked closely, that red-and-black mist carried an underlying pressure—an invisible, overwhelming presence that seemed to thicken the surrounding air.
It was gentle, yet fiercely dominant.
Shin snapped open his blazing eyes, looking at the crimson-and-black aura enveloping him.
He was so ecstatic he nearly shouted at the top of his lungs:
— “Success!
I did it!”
A Quiet Triumph
Filled with excitement and supreme complacency, Shin immediately leaped up and dashed into the house, intending to wake up old man Akaisin and Kento to brag and slap them with his success after the afternoon’s teasing.
However, the moment he pushed open the corrugated iron door, a profound quiet washed over him.
Under the oil lamp, which had been turned down to its lowest setting, old man Akaisin and Kento had long since fallen asleep, their steady snores echoing peacefully.
Shin froze.
His gaze drifted to the wobbly wooden table in the corner of the room.
On it sat a heaped bowl of rice carefully covered up, topped with savory pieces of braised meat that everyone had intentionally set aside for him.
Next to it, the upper torso of the scrap robot that had been lying abandoned that afternoon had now been thoroughly cleaned up by 13-year-old Loona, its circuits meticulously and beautifully rewired.
Now, the robot only lacked a suitable pair of legs to be fully complete.
Scanning the room, the arrogance in Shin’s heart instantly softened, replaced by a creeping sensation of warmth.
He smiled faintly, murmuring to himself:
— “They’re all asleep…
There’s no need to wake them up.
I’ll just grab a bite, I’m starving to death anyway!”
Shin gently lifted the saved bowl of rice and quietly stepped out into the yard.
He sat back down on the boulder from earlier, enjoying his late-night dinner while watching the moon duck behind the smog and dust.
His empty stomach, completely famished after a day of physical torment, was finally filled.
After finishing his meal, Shin slipped back inside, quietly tidying up and washing the dishes with light steps, before silently walking back out to the yard.
The night wind grew colder by the minute, but his dark eyes only blazed with greater resolve.
He crossed his legs and sat down once more.
— “It’s still not enough…
I need to sense it a bit more!” Shin whispered.
He recalled the old man’s words regarding elemental transformation.
Kento had only sputtered out a few tiny sparks, so what about him?
Shin closed his eyes, circulating the faint red-and-black energy within him, channeling all his control into his right palm.
He didn’t think of fire; instead, a sharp, swift, and decisive sensation flashed through his mind.
TÁCH…
TÁCH…
A few small popping sounds echoed.
From the spaces between Shin’s fingers, thread-like sparks of violet-blue lightning suddenly discharged, wrapping around his palm.
Though this tiny current of electricity was still weak, it moved with exceptional fluidity and stability under his command, emitting playful zapping sounds before dissolving into the darkness.
Shin smiled in satisfaction.
Reclaiming his hand, he closed his eyes again, sinking back into a state of spatial perception.
Time slipped by—one hour, then two…
Drowsiness and the crushing fatigue from a long day of intense physical training rolled in like a tempest, weighing heavily on his eyelids.
Finally, unable to fight it any longer, Yanagisawa Shin’s head drooped, and he drifted off to sleep right there on the freezing rock, under the silent protection of the faint crimson-and-black aura wrapping gently around his body.
END OF CHAPTER 4