TRIAL BY FIRE [ADVENTURE]

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The nightmares always started the same way. Just a boy of five years, light twinkling in the corners of his eyes and a heart as big as a grown den-den mushi. Clutched in the child's grasp was a broadsword dripping crimson as a truly innocent smile played on his features. There was no acting, no playing at happy, the boy really was enjoying the nothingness. The shadows that engulfed his body spread out as far as the eye could see, but clear as anything above the black void was the golden maned boy standing there like a smiling statue.

Time stood still as the boy clutched his bloodied blade, the sinews of black winding away from his feet to reveal the corpse of some other boy who looked to be the same age.

"HAA!" thundered a voice somewhere close yet faraway from the dream.

Silver's lids shot open as the yell ripped him from his slumber. A hand below his sheets was swift to raise with an unsheathed blade as metal clanged against metal. The smell of killing intent lingered on the child's nostrils as he looked his attacker in the eyes, their two blades locked in a stalemate as the boy propped himself on the freehand. Before he could raise his voice in retaliation, the shadow of an attacker was lifting his blade to strike once more but this time he was ready. Silver rolled backward to the head of the bed as the sword cleaved a heap of feathers into the air. He kicked out with his right sending his pillow on a collision course straight for the assailants face while slashing to split the man from his top-down.

Even with the full force of the boy's sword coming down from overhead, the attacker batted the blade with a diagonal flick of his wrist, sending his body fumbling along with it.

Such had been the wakeup call for young Silver for the last six years. Every day would his father, Percival of the Round, threatened the boy's life. Any onlookers would've thought the routine as a controlled practice, but this was anything but.