Yun sat down on the bench outside the rear door of the family home.  He had marched around the village most of the day, and before the supper hour drew near, he accompanied their neighbor on a hunt.  A wild boar had killed a few of his chickens, and one of his goats, so he asked Yun to help him hunt it down.  He sold his portion of the boar to pay part of the fee for the blacksmith.  Yun really wanted to make that weapon within his mind a reality.

"I heard from old Cheng that you took down a boar."  Yun turned his head only slightly.  He wasn't surprised to hear his father's voice as he knew his footsteps.

"Yes, we did."  His father grunted.  Old Cheng had told him that Yun did all the work, and even carried it home for them.  He only wanted half to sell, so the old man bought his half to make it easier.  "Father, mother uses that technique of hers, but she only practices it once a day at the most.  Why is that?"  Shun stayed silent for a few minutes, but Yun knew to be patient.  His father in this world was not like a human from his old world.  Here, they took their time to mull over their thoughts, and put them in order before any kind of speech.

"The Ghost Steps is an assassin's skill."  It was a simple statement, so Yun was not able to discern much from it other than that it was used to kill.  He waited for a brief moment, to pull anything he could from his father's words, then continued.

"It is an assassin's skill, which is used to kill, but that doesn't explain why she only practices it once a day. Is it a choice, or a necessity?"  Shun nodded.  His son was more intelligent then he used to be.  From a simple statement, he was able to determine what additional knowledge to seek. It should be said that it was not a normal thing among those Yun's age.  Only those who were more mature had learned how to analyze the information given, as well as the boldness needed to keep up the pursuit.

"Both."  Again, he kept his answer short, not just to tease his son, but to test his persistence.  Yun thought for a short time, and actually stayed quiet for a bit longer then the last time.

"Mother chooses to practice only once, but that choice, is it due to the necessity, or is there a different reason."  His father smiled.

"Both."  Yun groaned.  His father did this deliberately, but he stayed quiet again.  This was something dictated by Yun's cultural knowledge.  Even simple answers should be respected, and thought about.

"Necessity.  What could dictate the necessity to only practice a skill once, and not endlessly to master it?"  He said quietly.  Shun nodded, and smiled inside.  This new side of his son made him feel quite proud.  He could now spend less time on his thoughts about Yun's future, and his lack of forethought.  "Is there a price for using that skill?"

"There is."  Yun frowned slightly.

"Your tone indicates that there isn't just one price.  Please instruct me, father."  Shun suppressed his smile.

"All skills have a cost.  Your mother's skill is designed to kill.  It uses her speed in order to approach an enemy so quickly, they can not respond to the power of her strike.  The cost is the energy she needs to operate her body for most of the day."  Yun listened closely, and started to pick out the main points to consider.  Speed also equals power.  It drains the one who uses it.  Not just the energy they have right then, but of the energy they need for the day.  So what happens of they've already used most of their energy?

"Mother is as slender as a willow.  She has no fats on her frame.  She also eats like a bird.  There is another cost, isn't there?"  Shun nodded, and if his son could see his eyes, he would see the sadness buried there.

"It steals her vitality.  If she has no energy to use, it will take a few days each and every time she uses that skill."  Yun looked at his father carefully.

"Do you also have a skill that uses your vitality as compensation?"  Shun nodded slowly.

"Skills are something that can seldom be taught. They are only learned through absolute need and desire.  My skill is no different than your mother's in terms of compensation, and in how I acquired it."  Shun took a deep breath.  "Maybe.....one day.....I may teach you."  He watched his mother practice her skill, and lowered his eyes respectfully, and sadly.

If this country falls into a war situation, my parents may be forced to use skills that require their very lives to fuel them.  I finally have parents again, and they may be forced to leave this world long before their lives have ever been properly lived.

It was close to time for the evening meal, but Yun returned to the training circle beside the house. His father watched Yun start to practice, and within five minutes his jaw dropped.

"Not possible!"  Shun's whole body shook as he watched his eldest son do the impossible.  "Yun."  He called out to him, and though he was several dozen meters away from his son, he was already at his side.  Shun sprinted from his spot, and did not even remember when he started to move.  He hoisted Yun onto his back, and carried him into the house.

"What happened?  I thought he was healed!"  Biyu was beyond concerned when she saw her son out cold, and his face deathly pale.  For the first time in his life, Shun could hear the panic in her tone.

"He figured it out."  She looked at him quickly.

"What did he do?"

"Ghost Steps and Bloody Edge in one."  Biyu swayed unsteadily on her feet.  "I didn't even show him my skill, or tell him what it was called.  He questioned me on why you practiced the Ghost Steps only once a day."  She sat down heavily.

"He figured it out just from that?"  He nodded.

"I told him there was a price, a toll on the body. He sought this skill without a thought about the consequences!"  Shun ground out.

"He has a skill that can defeat anyone."  She said softly, then sat down on the floor against a wall.  "I....never wanted...."  She couldn't continue.

"I would not have taught him my skill, and neither would you."  He growled again.  "I will forbid him from using that skill in the future!  I will not see my eldest son wither and age before my own eyes, only to walk the path long before his time!  Never again!  And if I have to take another mace to his damned head, I will!"  Biyu shook her head, and smiled sadly.

"You know how one acquires a skill.  Can you prevent him from learning more?  If only there wasn't such a price to use them.  If only there was another.....Yun?"  Her son rose up off the bed, much to her surprise.  The first time she was able to use her skill, She landed on her back, and couldn't open her eyes for nearly a full day.

"I'm really hungry, mother.  I need food."

"If I didn't see it, I wouldn't believe it."  Biyu sat beside her husband and listened to his quiet voice.

"He found a way."  She said softly.  "No vitality stolen."  Shun nodded.

"Food.  Lots of food.  I've never seen a man be able to eat two full days worth of meals in one sitting!"  He exclaimed, still surprised by the act he had witnessed.  So much food should have bulged his belly like a large hill, but it all went in.

"Absolute need and desire.  That was only way he could figure it out."  She whispered.  "Did he learn it at the other side?  Did Yun stay at the gate for longer than we suspect?"  Shun slowly turned his head to look at his wife.  He watched as tears rolled down her cheeks, and felt his heart get crushed because of her sadness.  Shun was a strong and proud man, yet the sadness of his wife hurt like no weapon ever could.

"He saw our stones appear?"  He remembered Yun's words while injured.  "How is this possible?  How long was our son at the gate?"  Shun banged his hand down on the arm of his chair.  He felt powerless.

Yun didn't look any older, while his gaunt cheeks and his slack muscles all filled back out again after a good meal.

"Did he force his way back from the gate to prevent that from happening?  Just so that Shen and Coral do not know what it feels like to bury their parents so early in life?"  Shun remained quiet for a moment, then took a large mouthful of uncut wine.

"Should we ask one of the priests at the temple?"  He was now concerned about the future, and what part Yun might play.

"If we do, we should word it properly, Shun.  Not personal experience, but reflection and deep thoughts while in prayer."  He nodded thoughtfully nodded.

"We can do that.  Yun was just injured, so they might already know of this."  Biyu quickly followed her husband's logic.

"If we show our piety, and respect to the temple, maybe we can get a favourable response."  Shun nodded, then smiled a small smile.

"Yun's weapon design."  She frowned.

"What do you mean, Shun?"

"Its unique.  If we have a blacksmith make his weapon, then 'donate' it to the temple as a weapon in which only one other exists in the world, and theirs will be the original....."  Biyu nodded.

"This is good.  Such a weapon, designed by someone who came back from the gate, could only be a design bestowed by the gods.  If they have the original, it would surely become a holy relic."  Shun nodded solemnly.

"As it should.  If he did indeed spend enough time there to see our stones, then the design makes sense. A polearm weapon, with two short swords on either end, to block, and attack in multiple directions at once.  His design also comes apart, to reveal an even greater advantage."  She looked at him in surprise.

"I didn't know this.  What advantage?"

"Dual swords.  Truly a weapon of the gods."  This weapon didn't exist in their world, but versions of it did exist in Lukas's old one. A weapon that was part of popular science fiction series, came apart and became two swords instead of one weapon. Halberds also existed in his world's history that were similar to his thoughts.

Whatever Yun thought about when he designed it, it was destined to go down in history as a legendary weapon once wielded by the Red Eyed Ogre.