Chapter 256 Altered Form & Doubt

"A couple things you need to know before we go on the trail, Lee Seng." Halys turned to face the three boys. He eyed Lee Seng, who was to his right. "One, this is stamina-endurance training. The trail is one of the harder trails in the Flower Forest and is one of the best for these kinds of training. It'll take us a couple of hours to get through, but don't give up.

"Two, I'm not sure if I have to remind you of this, but you can use your powers to navigate the trail. The main purpose of running the trail is to be able to move through terrain, rough or not, with ease. Three, if you can't catch up to me or the others, follow the trail. It'll circle around and lead you directly back here, eventually. I'll be doing the trail with you, but you might not see me always. And finally, any monsters you come into contact with, you can choose to fight them or leave them alone. Use your judgment on it. I think that clears everything. Any questions?"

Lee Seng began to shake his head but stopped. "I don't think so. That sounds very clear to me."

"Oh," Keng raised his hand. Halys nodded at him. Keng turned and looked at Lee Seng. "You have to stay in your aura form no matter what."

"The aura form? Why?"

"It's to build Dark Matter energy endurance." Halys answered. "You may have a lot of DM, but you're a novice when it comes to energy endurance."

"I know you've lived on Earth for years, but it's weird to hear the slang come outta your mouth." Lee Seng pointed out.

"That's what I said." Ritsuka agreed. Halys didn't seem amused by that. He clapped his hands together and roped the boys' attention back in.

"Keep your aura on at all times, alright? As for Ritsuka, you know what to do, right?" Halys' eyes moved over to Ritsuka, who nodded.

"I'll keep Angerfang out." Ritsuka thumbs-upped. Halys nodded and started to turn.

"Alright, let's go." His earth form shimmered as he instantly vanished.

"That's the fourth time he's done that." Ritsuka sighed as Angerfang appeared in his hands. He started to jog forward, looking back at Lee Seng and Keng. "Come on, no time to waste." Lee Seng nodded and followed after Ritsuka and Keng. Keng's silver aura flashed on. As Lee Seng went to switch, he felt something odd. He could feel the energy of the aura like normal, but his body felt naked. He glanced downwards and noticed the Dark Matter skintight suit on him.

"Oh god!" He shouted. He stopped and started to pat himself. Keng and Ritsuka turned and both yelped as they saw Lee Seng's form.

"The golden aura is there." Keng pointed out.

"But that suit. You think that'll be okay?" Ritsuka asked. The two began to walk towards him when Lee Seng's mind flashed. He remembered what he tried to do while under the influence of the Protocol. He took panicked steps backwards and raised his hands.

"Don't come closer." Lee Seng told them. He looked behind him and saw his tails were still there. They hadn't sucked into the suit.

"Lee, you feel any different?" Keng asked. Lee Seng looked up and noticed the two hadn't moved from their spots. He took a gulp and shook his head.

"I-I-I don't feel anything strange." Lee Seng answered.

"Then you're fine." Ritsuka gave a knowing nod at him.

"W-w-what if I'm not? W-w-what i-if I–"

"What're you guys doing?" Halys' voice shouted in the distance. "Hurry it up or I'll make you guys do the trail one more time!"

"B-but Lee Seng–" Keng started to say when Halys appeared next to Lee Seng.

"He'll be fine." Halys looked at Lee Seng. Lee Seng jumped, falling onto the floor and scrambling away. Halys took a deep breath and moved over to him. He followed Lee Seng until he butted up against the staircase. Halys offered a hand out. Lee Seng looked at Halys' hand and flashes of him trying to attack Halys appeared.

"No!" He shook his head. Halys sighed and leaned over and grabbed Lee Seng's hand and forcefully held onto it.

"You're not going to hurt anyone. You're not that monster you envision yourself to be." Halys pulled him up. Lee Seng ripped his hand away, climbing the stairs and butting up gainst the railing of the porch.

"But I…"

"You did well to even hold out that long, Chang." Halys complimented him. "Yes, you lost control early, but you took care of one of the ghosts and saved your friends in the end."

"But they–"

"They got hurt. That's the reality of all of this." Halys told him. "People are gonna get hurt while fighting things they don't know about. You all did well trying to fight the Witch."

"Why didn't you save us sooner then?" Lee Seng looked up at him. "You could've stepped in. You could've made sure Ritsuka and Keng didn't get hurt!"

"I needed to be sure I chose right."

"So you let two high schoolers and one that looks exactly like me, handle your ghost problem?!? You know how fucked up that sounds?!?" Lee Seng shouted. Halys tightened his jaw just for a moment and took another breath.

"I know it sounds messed up, but this was the only way to see if we can trust you." Halys truthfully spoke. Halys could see Lee Seng readying another statement, but quickly continued to speak. "The truth is many of the Fox Spirits in that Village doubt you're on our side. A lot of them are grateful you brought back our brethren to bury, but a lot of them doubt you even after you and Keng both healed and did that. When you brought up going back to finish what the other Saviors couldn't do, that spread all across the Village and doubt arose. They still see you as a vessel that lives independently from his Fox Spirit. They doubt Keng's capabilities as a Fox Spirit cause he couldn't even merge with his Vessel."

"But he did merge with me!" Lee Seng defended.

"I know that." Halys nodded. "But they don't understand that this is apart of the God King's decree. A lot of them don't understand that even though the texts are there. Lady Vix'i informed me that even the Saviors knew they wouldn't be here when you showed up. They knew of two suns coming to take over the Saviors' mantle. To start a new generation. They knew all of that, but none of those people know." Halys pointed in the direction of the Village.

"You doubt yourself, alot." Halys stepped closer to Lee Seng. He motioned over at Ritsuka and Keng. "Yet Keng defends you. Y'know the other Fox Spirits heard what you did and instantly started to say how incompetent Keng was? Keng defended you from them. Told them that you're just as much of a Fox Spirit as he is. If they can't accept you then they don't really accept him. Your partner defends you even when you two were angry at each other. And Ritsuka? You've known him for how long and he has taken big leaps of faith in trusting your every word. You shared your secret with a human and that human decided to trust you when all of the others looked at you with their crooked looks.

"I tested you, at first, because I thought you weren't worth it. I followed orders and thought the Commander wanted to prove a point, but Chimera didn't want to merely prove what you were. They wanted everyone to experience the immense gifts you have. The gifts mimicked by a brother and given to you! Commander Chimera told us to deal with the ghost problem and we did. That was a test for all of you. You passed it and held this form for a while. Yes, you did lash out at me, but I am more than capable of handling it. I will do my best to let you wield this power with your own hands if that's what you choose. You may have some destiny that's intertwined with the Foxes and the Humans, but it's your life. You choose what you can and can't do. You choose whether or not you're nothing or you're everything."

Halys was right. Lee Seng had spent so much time doubting himself. He always chose to run away from his problems. He ran away from his Dad when Mom died. He pushed a lot of people away and his best friends turned against him. They bullied him. His childhood friends left him and he chose to simply run because that's all he knew. Lee Seng sucked in a huge amount of air and let out a loud sigh.

"I have all this power yet I doubt myself so much." Lee Seng quietly spoke. "I could've lashed out at everyone who wronged me. I could've made them bend to my will, but I chose to simply doubt myself even more. My physical appearance is different from theirs. They call me a monster. They pick on me, still…"

"But you got me!" Keng crept over and stood beside Halys.

"You've made a huge mark with your awakening, too." Ritsuka added. Lee seng looked up. Keng and Ritsuka stood next to each other. Ritsuka held the scythe and was wearing a proud smile. "You passed a rigorous entrance exam when you only had two weeks of training, dude. Give yourself WAYYY more slack. You didn't immediately hunt those who wronged you and turned into the monster the tabloids want you to be. You doubt yourself, alot, and I get it. I have those doubts about myself, too. Continue to tackle and face these issues head on. Like, bro, we're in a whole 'nother Realm! A world 'nother world that we didn't think existed!" Ritsuka waved around, bringing Lee Seng's eyes to look around.

"It's okay to doubt yourself, but I know in your heart, you don't want anyone else to go through what you went through." Ritsuka stepped forward and poked at Lee Seng's chest. The Dark Matter suit rippled and Ritsuka smiled. He set a hand on Lee Seng's shoulder, drawing Lee Seng's eyes back onto him. "Let's get stronger together, okay?"