Epilogue I: Dawn of a New Hell

The next several months of Itsuki's life were going to be hell. 

Shin set up a small guest room in the Directive's medical area for Itsuki to stay in. It was beneficial for both of them. 

It gave Shin peace of mind because they could easily monitor Itsuki's vitals. That would allow them to make sure he remained healthy as he began taking on unhealthy levels of physical exertion in his training. 

For Itsuki, it allowed him to remain near Yuna - which served as a constant reminder of why he was doing all of this in the first place. 

***

8:00AM

Itsuki would be woken up by the medical staff of the Directive. They would get him breakfast and check his vitals while he ate. He would then spend a few minutes warming his body up and stretching. 

It was incredibly painful. He had not lived an athletic life, and so the daily regiment he was now on was excruciating. Even during his warmups, it was like dragging his body through hot glass. 

It didn't matter to him. With each passing day - as Yuna fought and recovered further - he was determined to do or die. 

8:45AM

Once he had gotten mobile, it was off to training with Alarak for several hours. Cardio, strength training, combat drills. The majority of it, however, was sparring. 

Alarak would beat him to pulp - over and over - to help Itsuki develop as fast as he could. Itsuki's mind understood what needed to happen, but his body needed to catch up. That was only going to happen through hours of practice and physical movement. 

12:15PM

By this point, Itsuki was given some time for the body to rest and regenerate. 

He would be prepared a lunch that would balance out the caloric needs of his training. The Directive's staff would also provide him with some sort of rejuvenating practice. A hot tub, massage therapy, acupuncture - something to keep the body moving and recovering even a tiny bit faster. 

He would also take this time to absorb information from the Directive's vast libraries. He had found that using his powers to "ingest" the same book 3-4 times was the most optimal - especially if he spread it out over a handful of days. He would take in as much as possible before his brain would start to lose identity. 

Then he would stop, and head to modern weapons training. 

1:30PM

Firearms, modern strategy, hit-and-run warfare. 

The Directive had amassed gratuitous amounts of information on the subject and programmed artificial intelligence to serve as their very own super-trainer. It would provide Itsuki with all that knowledge he needed, all the drills to practice, and all the ways he could make the most of his unique abilities. 

He would spend a few hours alternating between studying and practical training on the firing line. Even with something as advanced as modern weaponry, his body still needed to gain the muscle memory for aim and precision. 

This would continue as long as the AI felt it productive. Then, he would move on to his next round. 

4:00PM

Itsuki would spend some more time eating and recovering, before heading to his 'main' session with Alarak and the Velmorian guards. 

While motivation carried him a great deal of the way, it wasn't physically possible for Itsuki to survive the amount of physical and mental strain he was putting himself through. At least, not naturally. 

As such, he got very familiar with the futuristic medicine and science that the Directive offered to accelerate healing and strengthen the body further. Magic supplements, exoskeletons, and other stuff straight out of science fiction. He had told Shin he wanted to make use of it all to accelerate his growth to the highest degree possible.

4:45PM

With the sun setting, Alarak was able to be at his most powerful. Which meant that the sparring could really begin in earnest. 

This would get mixed in with assisting the Velmorians with many physical tasks. Hunting for animals, rebuilding the settlement, training with the guards. Itsuki's body had to be in peak physical condition for any situation, and so Alarak felt it best to put him in every physical situation. 

This would continue for several more hours, until Itsuki's body could no longer easily take a step. 

10:00PM

Itsuki would eat his last meal of the day, and spend a couple of hours recovering with the medical team. His physical exercise was over, but there was still much more to do. 

He would spend a couple of more hours on modern weapons training, before meeting with his brother Shin. 

12:30AM

Shin was a night owl, as he had been when they were growing up. 

The two of them worked on something very particular - the powers of the God-Marked. This was not something physical, nor could it easily be ingested by Itsuki. There was no written record of how to harness the abilities of the Dragon of Wisdom. 

All Shin could do was provide his own experiences with the God of Truth, and experiment with Itsuki to try and determine how he could awaken new powers. 

While it sometimes felt like a waste, it was the time of day Itsuki tended to enjoy most. Once he and Shin began, it was just like when they tried to solve puzzles or win strategy games back in the old world. Shin would get unnecessarily passionate about a theory, and then they would test it every which-way to see if it yielded results. 

It was a nice bump in motivation to end off Itsuki's day. 

3:30AM

Itsuki would head back to the medical bay, having some time to decompress and let his body rest before it all began again. 

Itsuki often spent this time sitting in the viewing area where Yuna was being healed. He would ponder the day's events - try to take notes on the good and the bad. 

Even though she wasn't conscious to be a part of it, Itsuki felt more at-ease having this time alone with Yuna nearby. 

"Shin said it would take about six months for you to recover," Itsuki noted aloud. "Just you wait, Yuna. By the time you're back to normal, I'm going to be a completely different person. Then, next time there's a war to fight, you won't have to carry it all by yourself!"