The Challenge

I was exhausted, my throat parched and my clothes drenched in sweat. All this effort seemed to have a purpose, but it was for many things. I had to keep swinging and enduring.

The wind was blowing fiercely in my face, slowing down my attacks and making it difficult for me. But I refused to stop. If tomorrow was my last day, I had to give it my all today. I swung my club left and right with all the strength I could muster.

I repeated this for hours on end, but there was no movement around me. No one was coming or going. When I finally realized that I was out of breath, I paused briefly. Gasping for air, I contemplated my next moves. But there was something else on my mind.

My stomach was growling with hunger. All this exertion had made me ravenous. I tried to silence the growling by gently tapping my stomach. If I stopped to eat now, all my efforts would be in vain. Even though he wasn't here, it felt as if something or someone was watching me.

I was determined to prove my strength and earn his approval. But no one came until nightfall. The top of the mountain grew colder as the night progressed and I began to shiver. My eyes grew heavy and threatened to close.

Doubts crept into my mind and I began to lose hope. But every thought of giving up was followed by a pang of regret. I couldn't let go. A gust of wind blew through the night, causing me to close my eyes. Darkness enveloped me for what seemed like an eternity.

Suddenly, I saw a creature approaching through the darkness and I sprang to my feet, my eyes wide open once again. But when I opened them, I was no longer in the garden of the palace. Instead, I found myself in my room. How did I get here? I reached for the wet towel on my head and it dawned on me that someone must have carried me here and taken care of me. Perhaps I had suffered a momentary loss of sugar or something similar.

At that moment, a voice called out from the other room: "You're pretty heavy for a panda."

It was the voice of the leader of the Cronus clan. He was the one who had carried me and taken care of me. It wasn't hard to tell because he was the only one here.

"You're pretty stubborn for our kind," I said. "But you saved me anyway, even though you didn't want to."

He entered the room and looked at me, assessing my condition. "If you were dead, you'd stink up the place," he said matter-of-factly. "I didn't want to clean it up. Besides, I'd just be speeding up your work. Now that you've realized you're not strong enough, you can go. I think your friends made a big mistake taking you with them."

As he turned to leave the room, I stood up despite feeling sick and weak. I had to tell him he was wrong.

"No, wait," I said. "My friends weren't wrong and I'll prove that I'm worthy. Let's make a deal."

He turned his head without turning around. "What kind of deal?"

"I'll take you on. If you win, I'll leave. But if you lose, you will train me," I said confidently.

"You think you can beat me? The leader of the sixth Cronus line?" he challenged.

I couldn't back down now. "My friends trust me. I don't care who I face as long as I have their trust."

"Fine. It's a deal. One match. If you win, I'll do what you say. But if you lose, you're out of here," he agreed.

With that, he left the room and I started to prepare myself. I gathered my energy and put my weapons on my hilt. I tried to focus because if I won, I would get what I wanted. It was time to show that I hadn't come all this way for nothing.

The sun was high once again when I went outside. That meant that I had slept through the night. Time was running out and by presenting this proposal, I had presented the best idea I had. The problem now was how to defeat him.

In the legends, the leaders of the Cronus clan had defeated many clans and left a history full of horror. Now it was time for me to find out what this man was capable of and how powerful he was.

I kept moving up the mountain under the sun until once again, I came to the big flat garden where a leader stood in front of me. As excited as I was, I was also nervous and scared.

As I approached the battle, my mind raced with thoughts of how to defeat such a powerful opponent. A thousand different tactics came to mind with each step I took. I knew that I had to remain calm and focused if I wanted to win. One wrong move could mean the end of the war for me before it even began.

When there was only a little distance between us, he looked me in the face and asked "Are you ready?"

There wasn't much to say about it. It was all about fists and skill. The battle had to begin.

"I'm ready," I replied.

We faced each other, both ready for battle. The leader's gaze was calm and determined as we took our positions. Overhead a bird circled, watching our movements. I ignored him and focused on my opponent, throwing my arms forward in readiness. When our eyes met, the wind picked up once more, increasing the tension of the moment.

There was no turning back now. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I faced my opponent. I was unsure whether to make the first move or wait for him to attack. My hands began to sweat as the tension mounted. The only thing I knew for certain was that I had to give it my all.