Chapter 7：Nightmare

The temperature was just right. Neither too hot or too cold, a feeling of bliss came over him. Leaning forward he tilted his head down, looking towards the surface of the water. His own reflection met him, staring straight back.

His hair had filled out nicely after four years. Thick and jet black, it was short on top and buzzed short on the sides. With his blue eyes and sharp jaw he had a handsome and domineering look, especially for someone so young.

He began washing himself with soap as his mind wandered off, thinking about the Five Flowing Arms. At the current rate he was progressing in it, he might never get anywhere at all. He had to find a way to increase the learning efficiency.

"Let me think about it again." Kaden thought before going over the information of the technique.

Fortunately the tub was heated, because after fifteen minutes he still sat there, mulling things over in his head.

The servant girl had been sitting by the side during the entire time, not daring to interrupt the young master who's thoughts were clearly elsewhere. She found herself stunned that a four year old boy had caused her to think like this. The aura he gave off was so domineering, but what could he even be thinking about?

"I think I'm beginning to understand now. The Gold Piercing Fist is child's play, simply executing the movements according to the instructions was enough. But the Five Flowing Arms are a lot more complex. With a technique like this, it's not just about performing the movements. It's about understanding it. Just like you can know the spelling of a word, but if you don't know the meaning, it's entirely useless. I need to comprehend it's meaning. Why it works, how it works." Kaden's lips slowly curled into a smile, "Yes, this should be it."

The girl had also seen this sudden change of expression. Gathering her courage, she meekly approached Kaden and hesitantly said, "Young master please turn around. I need to wash your back for you."

"Hm?" Kaden's eyebrows raised. After having been lost in his thoughts for so long, he had almost completely forgotten that he was in the middle of bathing and that there was another person in the room.

"Alright." He said and turned around.

The girl breathed out a sigh of relief and after grabbing the liquid soap, she began washing Kaden's back.

"What's your name by the way?" Kaden said, his back still facing the girl.

"M-Me?" She stammered.

"Yes you, you're the only other person here." Kaden sneered. This girl really got flustered way too easy.

"O-Oh, sorry Young Master." She took in a deep breath, "My name is Sophi."

Kaden merely nodded in affirmation and went back to thinking about other things.

…

After his bath Sophi had left and he was alone in his room. Despite wanting to put his new theory to the test immediately, it was getting late and he had to go to sleep.

Kaden lay in his bed, staring into the ceiling. It didn't take long before he started to get drowsy, slowly beginning to drift off. Soon the dream world came and enveloped him, dragged him inside.

Opening his eyes, Kaden found himself lying in bed. Thinking he had just woken up in the middle of the night, Kaden sat up and looked around while rubbing his eyes. It was completely dark, he couldn't get a baring on his surroundings.

He waved his hand to turn on the light, but nothing changed. The room remained dark, not a hint of a light source anywhere.

"Is it broken?" He thought and began to feel around on his nightstand for the remote.

His fingers met wood, not metal like he had expected. Frowning, he fumbled around the wooden surface for the remote anyway, but found nothing.

"It's not here…" He whispered out loud, "This isn't even my room, is it?"

He started looking around again, but the dark depths just wouldn't let him see anything.

"I can't be certain, but now that I think about. The nightstand, my bed, they're all different to what I'm used to. Is this a dream? It's unlikely, everything feels so real." His thoughts were cut off by a distinct sound entering his ears.

From a distance the creaking of wood was slowly moving closer, like heavy footsteps on old wooden floorboards. His face turned pale and almost by habit, he laid back down in the bed and pulled the covers up to his face.

Meanwhile the sound grew nearer and nearer, finally coming to a stop just outside the door. The handle turned slowly, almost feeling like an eternity before the door clicked open and swung in.

Through the small gap, light leaked in from the hallway on the other side. Slowly the room grew brighter and brighter before the door was finally open.

Kaden had shut his eyes completely, but he could still feel that the room had been lit up.

The creaks picked back up and Kaden could feel a figure moving through the room, making its way to the end of his bed before coming to a stop.

"Little punk, just laying here sleeping while I'm out providing for this family." A deep gruff male voice spoke.

Hearing the voice Kaden didn't dare open his eyes and he simply laid there, trying to be as still as possible. Even if he had wanted to move, a certain feeling told him he couldn't. Almost like some other person was controlling his body at this moment.

"Nothin' to say huh? You just gonna lay there like a little shit?" The man was slurring his speech like a drunk.

"Least you could do is fucking answer me you ungrateful shit!" He yelled, the sudden outburst shocking Kaden. He only barely managed to keep his eyes closed and stay still.

"I don't think I like the look on your face." The man took a step closer and leaned down.

"Tsk." The man stood back up and started muttering, "Stupid … ungrateful … sow … spending all my money … lazing around all day…"

He kept muttering all the way out the door, closing the door with a loud thud before walking off in the direction of the female voice.