The days relentlessly continued to tick away, steadily transforming into weeks, and then those weeks seamlessly blended into months.
During each and every one of these periods, Vilyam was subjected to grueling and absolutely unrelenting training specifically focused on the art of lightsaber combat.
Simultaneously, Mirelia seemed to consistently devise a fantastically new and often cruel method of inflicting injury upon him, each instance proving to be progressively more brutal and severe than the previous one.
CRACK...
SNAP...
William's arm had sustained a rather severe break, specifically fractured in two distinct locations.
Deep purple bruises were clearly visible both at the very point where he had sustained the injury and extending to the area where his bones had nearly threatened to puncture through his flesh, and the young Padawan was desperately trying to hold back his cries of pain.
It hurts...
He collapsed to one knee, his lightsaber arm completely limp with even his off-hand struggling to rise.
The training sessions continued to go on like this, and over the course of the last few months, Vilyam had managed to become quite proficient with a lightsaber.
He was now capable of briefly breaking free from his defensive stance and actually launching an attack against Mirelia, although his attempts were ultimately unsuccessful.
It appeared to be the case that no matter where he launched his attacks or how he attempted to approach them, his Master, Mirelia, was consistently prepared to meet him.
Mirelia was able to easily block, deflect, or neutralize each blow that came her way, until Vilyam's arms became heavy and numb from the effort.
"M- Master... I don't think I can take much more so let's finish this one with this last blow, I will give it everything I have!"
Mirelia gave a sly smirk upon hearing the news, immediately shifting her lightsaber stance towards a more aggressive fighting style. This particular form, known now by Vilyam, is indeed called Ataru or the way of the Hawk-Bat.
Vilyam changed his own stance to the Djem So variant of Form V, also known as the Way of the Krayt Dragon, a form Vilyam learned at a basic level after his defense failed time after time.
Mirelia's smile sharpened like a vibro-blade as she saw this.
During his first application of this particular form within a previous training session, Vilyam was able to genuinely catch her off guard.
His emerald-hued lightsaber deftly skirted alongside her own yellow blade, coming perilously close to a direct impact, which compelled her to respond with a Force-enhanced strike.
The powerful surge of energy disarmed Vilyam, causing his lightsaber to fly from his grasp and ascend into the air.
"Let's see what you've got boy!"
They lunged at each other, the Force acting as a powerful engine, propelling them with a strength that was far beyond anything ordinary people could normally muster.
CRASH!
Their lightsabers collided with enough force to send a violent spray of emerald and golden sparks cascading across the arena floor.
The metallic chamber instantly became flooded by flickering green and yellow light as the two plasma blades ground violently against one another.
KKSSSSSHHHHH!
Vilyam grit his teeth and pushed harder.
The vent beneath his lightsaber spat excess emerald plasma downward in a savage hiss while Mirelia's yellow blade remained terrifyingly stable by comparison, its hum deep and controlled like the growl of some ancient predator.
The Force roared through both of them.
Vilyam twisted sharply into Djem So, rolling Mirelia's blade outward before retaliating with a brutal overhead strike aimed directly toward her shoulder.
FWASH!
Mirelia pivoted sideways effortlessly, and the emerald blade missed her by less than an inch.
A few loose strands of her hair fluttered through the air.
Her smile widened.
"Better."
With a swift and precise application of the Force, Mirelia extended her hand towards Vilyam, pressing it sharply against his chest, causing him to slide backward with unexpected force.
Right after that, she launched herself into an incredibly powerful spinning leap, using it as a means to propel herself directly towards him with a determined and captivating grace.
This maneuver was so swift and forceful that it left Vilyam completely unprepared to defend himself effectively and before he could stop it, his lightsaber flew from his hand and clattered to the ground.
Vilyam made a concerted attempt to extend his connection to the Force, with the intention of reaching out and grasping the hilt of his lightsaber.
However, at the very moment he seemed poised to metaphysically grasp the weapon, Mirelia swiftly and decisively delivered a sharp elbow to his ribs, effectively breaking both of them and completely disrupting his concentration, sending him flying backwards with a thud.
William gasped, a mouthful of air escaping him as he landed rather ungracefully.
The world around him seemed to distort and blur into a chaotic maelstrom as he rolled for a few feet before finally coming to rest.
"Ack..."
He spat out a glob of blood and mucus, staining the scuffed dura-steel and dura-creet floor of the training room.
Why the ribs... Why is it always my ribs?
Vilyam slammed his fist into the ground with force, using it as a makeshift leverage point to manage to stand back up, though he was noticeably unsteady on his legs.
As he stood up straight, reaching his full height, he lifted his fists up into a classic boxing guard stance, and he stared at Mirelia with eyes that seemed to convey that he would be able to do this all day long.
Cheeky brat... Hehehe, okay I'll show you something that will keep you up at night...
Mirelia turned off her lightsaber and tossed it to the ground similar to Vilyam's own lightsaber.
She cracked her knuckles and took a stance that Vilyam had no recollection of, perhaps it was a martial art of her own making.
Not only was her fighting form strange but there was faint, almost imperceptible green arcs of lightning traveling along her fists.
Is this Force Lightning? That's a dark side technique as far as I recall, but why is she using it and why is it green?
Vilyam shook the thoughts away and refocused back on Mirelia, from the subtle twitches of her head-tails to the slight shift of her feet.
Without any warning, she suddenly flashed forward with an incredible burst of speed, so intense that within a blink of an eye, a moment that didn't even fully encompass a full second, she was already halfway towards Vilyam, a fist raised and ready to strike.
Vilyam instinctively flinched just before he raised his forearms, anticipating the incoming blow.
The attack from Mirelia was coming at him with incredible speed, so fast that it left him with virtually no opportunity to prepare a proper counterattack.
CRACKLE-BOOM!
Just as her fist was poised to make contact with his forearm, a single, almost imperceptible arc of green lightning suddenly detached itself from her fist and surged directly into Vilyam's arm.
The impact was accompanied by a resounding crackle that reverberated outwards and echoed along the training room walls.
Along with the sound, the force behind the lightning-powered punch had sent Vilyam flying backwards, his arm that had taken the brunt of the attack breaking in multiple places, purple bruises zigzagging along the once fair skin.
William grit his teeth, the effort clearly straining his face, yet he managed to maintain his focus and began to channel the Force.
A visible spiraling wave of distorted air started to form within his palm.
Vilyam was nearing the wall when he reached backwards with his arm and unleashed a highly condensed Force push that slowed him to a speed that allowed him to land on his feet
Even though his feet were sliding and skidding across the ground, his body still managed to strike the wall; the dura-steel remained completely unscathed, but his flesh reddened and bruised, leaving marks all over his body that together formed a tapestry of pain on his once unmarked skin.
Vilyam's injured arm suddenly fell limp at his side the very moment the momentum finally stopped dragging him backwards across the training room.
Pain immediately surged through the limb like molten metal being poured directly into his bones.
The entire arm twitched violently.
Purple bruising spread further beneath the skin while several fingers spasmed uncontrollably.
Definitely broken...
Again...
His breathing became ragged, each inhale scraping painfully against his already fractured ribs, yet despite the agony threatening to overwhelm him, Vilyam still forced his remaining good hand upward.
The Force stirred.
Air distorted violently around his palm.
A spiraling sphere of compressed pressure rapidly condensed into existence, twisting tighter and tighter until the very atmosphere around it began emitting low snapping sounds.
FWUMMMMM.
Dust and loose fragments of scorched dura-steel started sliding away from his feet as invisible currents spiraled outward.
Across the training room, Mirelia watching all of this unfold with undisguised amusement.
A grin slowly stretched across her face.
"You have become a tough little shit, haven't you? Hehehe..."
Green lightning crackled faintly around her fists once more.
Then she exploded forward.
BOOM!
The dura-steel beneath her feet ruptured outward as the Jedi launched herself like a missile directly toward her battered Padawan.
Vilyam reacted instantly.
With a pained snarl, he thrust his remaining hand forward.
FWOOOOOOSH!
The condensed Force Push detonated outward like a hurricane compressed into a single violent stream.
The air between them visibly warped.
A roaring torrent of invisible pressure slammed directly into Mirelia mid-charge.
The effect was immediate.
Her incredible speed dropped sharply and her robes whipped violently behind her.
The green arcs of lightning around her fists sputtered wildly beneath the pressure.
The metal floor beneath Mirelia's boots screamed loudly as they scraped against the ground, carving deep grooves into the dura-steel with every step she forced herself to take.
Yet despite the overwhelming torrent attempting to hurl her backwards...
She continued advancing.
One step.
Then another.
Then another.
Slow.
Heavy.
Relentless.
Vilyam's eyes widened slightly.
Impossible...
The Force Push continued roaring against her with enough pressure to shatter bone and launch armored men across rooms.
But Mirelia simply lowered her body further and pushed onward through the storm itself, her muscles trembling beneath the strain while her predatory grin only widened further.
The sight was monstrous.
Like watching someone casually walk through the exhaust blast of a starship engine.
The observation windows high above the arena trembled violently from the pressure flooding the room.
Several distant spectators instinctively stepped backward.
One whispered under his breath.
"What the hell are those two...?"
Mirelia suddenly laughed.
Actually laughed.
Even while forcing herself against enough Force energy to pulp a normal human into red paste.
"GOOD!"
Her voice thundered through the training room.
"THAT'S HOW YOU USE IT!"
CRACKLE!
The green lightning around her fists suddenly intensified.
Then, against all logic...
She surged forward again with speed nearing her original attack, her electrified fist slamming into Vilyam's gut and pressing him into the wall behind him with enough force to dent the metal.
As the pain from the blow finally registered in Vilyam's brain, his eyes rolled back into his head and his body went limp.
Mirelia swiftly reached out and grasped his body just before he could fall and land hard on the ground.
Mirelia stood motionless for several seconds after the impact.
The faint green arcs of lightning dancing across her fists slowly faded away into nothingness, leaving only the lingering scent of ozone and scorched air drifting throughout the devastated training room.
The dented wall behind Vilyam still groaned softly from the force of the collision.
Dust and fragments of shattered dura-steel rained down around them.
Vilyam himself remained completely limp.
Unmoving.
A thin trail of blood slipped from the corner of his mouth while his chest rose only faintly beneath the torn remains of his training robes.
Mirelia exhaled slowly through her nose.
Then, with surprising care, she slid one arm beneath his knees while the other supported his back and shoulders.
Despite the monstrous strength she had displayed moments earlier, her touch now was incredibly gentle.
Almost protective.
"He lasted longer this time..." she murmured quietly to herself.
The overhead observation windows remained crowded with stunned spectators.
Not a single person spoke as Mirelia carried the unconscious Padawan from the ruined center of the arena.
The floor itself looked as though a thermal detonator had exploded across it.
Deep trenches carved by Mirelia's feet stretched across the room.
Scorch marks and spiderweb fractures spread outward from where Vilyam's Force Push had detonated.
One maintenance worker stared blankly at the damage.
"...How are we even supposed to repair that?"
Another worker folded his arms.
"More importantly, how is the kid still alive?"
SHHHHHHK.
The massive blast doors slowly parted open as Mirelia approached.
The moment she stepped into the corridor beyond, nearby workers instinctively moved aside.
Some glanced nervously toward the unconscious teenager in her arms.
Others immediately noticed the state of Mirelia herself.
Her robes were torn in several places from the Force storm Vilyam had unleashed.
Small burns and streaks of blood marked portions of her exposed skin.
And yet...
She was smiling.
Not maliciously.
Not mockingly.
Proudly.
The metallic halls of the Paragus facility echoed softly beneath her footsteps as she carried him deeper into the station.
Eventually, she passed through one of the larger communal sections of the facility.
The eating hall.
Conversation immediately died.
Dozens of workers, guards, technicians, and miners slowly turned to stare.
The cafeteria itself smelled strongly of engine grease, cheap ration meat, and overheated caf, but even those scents seemed to vanish beneath the heavy silence that followed Mirelia's arrival.
One man lowered his spoon halfway to his mouth.
"...Again?"
A woman sitting nearby winced as she spotted Vilyam's dangling arm.
"Oh stars..."
Another mechanic shook his head slowly.
"That kid's either going to become the strongest Jedi alive..."
He glanced toward Mirelia.
"...Or she's gonna accidentally kill him one day."
Without slowing her pace, Mirelia replied calmly.
"If he dies, then the training was insufficient."
Several people in the cafeteria visibly paled.
One poor miner nearly choked on his drink.
Mirelia continued onward as though she had said something completely reasonable.
Vilyam shifted faintly in her arms, an unconscious twitch of pain running through his body.
Mirelia glanced downward briefly.
Her expression softened ever so slightly.
"Still conscious enough to feel pain after that..." she mused quietly.
"He really is abnormal."
The colder atmosphere of the medical wing soon greeted her once more.
Sterile white lights reflected across polished metal walls while the distant sounds of medical scanners and machinery hummed steadily throughout the corridor.
The moment the medical staff spotted Mirelia approaching with yet another unconscious patient in her arms, several of them physically sagged in exhaustion.
One medic pinched the bridge of his nose.
"...What did you break this time?"
Mirelia looked down thoughtfully at Vilyam.
"Yes."
Veins popped on the medic's face and neck.
Damned smartass!