It was cold in the monastery's inner sanctum, though no wind touched it. The chamber was lit by a ring of fire bowls, their flickering orange glow dancing across stone walls engraved with symbols of forgotten wars.
Lady Shiva waited at the center.
Marek approached, barefoot, shirtless and his katana was gone. His sharingan flickered.
'He's grown taller again', Lady Shiva noted, 'Would have to increase his rations, unless I want a mini slender-man under my command', she smirked
"Today," she said, voice like drawn steel, "you will fight without your eyes"
Marek blinked. Confused.
"You rely on them too much. Illusions. Angles. Predictions. They make you clever. I want to know what remains without"
She handed him a blindfold and then held up a small stone vial, uncorking it
"Drink", Lady Shiva brought the vial to his lips, "A vision root blend, burnt in a mix of oils. It will open the doors inside you. You will see what you fear most. Hear it. Feel it. You will learn to fight with them present"
The liquid inside shimmered unnaturally—violet, then green, then black. Marek downed its' contents
The world changed instantly.
Screams
First a distant echo—then piercing. Artemis.
Her voice cracked, raw with panic. "Marek! Help me!"
He turned—saw her silhouette, curled on the floor. Blood smeared across her cheek
Then another form—
Jade
Still. Cold. A dagger in her back.
'No—no, this isn't real—' Marek gasped, stumbling backward. The ground beneath him twisted. Stone gave way to ash, and suddenly the room was gone
He closed his eyes and tightly tied the blindfold
"Begin," He heard his master say, and he charged
His fists were fast, calculated, but Shiva danced around them like a whisper. He could still hear Artemis crying. Her voice echoed inside his skull
"You left me… Marek… You chose them over me…"
A kick struck his ribs. He staggered. Another to the jaw—he nearly hit the floor, but managed to right himself with unnatural agility
Blood at the edge of his mouth. Pain in his ribs, but he ignored them to instead:
Listen. Breathe. Move.
He stepped to the side just as an elbow cut the air where his head had been. Countered with a low strike—his knuckles glanced off her leg. A real hit.
The cries grew louder. Jade's crying, begging and blood gurgles filled his senses
Marek grit his teeth, finding them difficult to ignore, but he powered through nonetheless
'This isn't real'
Shiva struck again—faster. A knee to the chest. A palm strike to the neck. He caught her wrist, twisted. She reversed, threw him. He rolled, coughed—but landed on his feet
And still he advanced.
No fear. No hesitation
Even when Artemis screamed his name in betrayal—"Why didn't you save me!?"—he moved. Fought.
Lived
Marek's limbs coiled with instinct. Lady Shiva struck low, and he flipped backward, hands brushing the ground, landing in a crouch that melted into a twisting kick. She caught his heel mid-air, but he used her grip to launch himself upward, flipping over her head with a clean aerial twist. She pivoted to strike his ribs, only for him to bend like a reed, rolling beneath the blow and rising behind her. No eyes, no fear—just motion, balance, and breath
They danced in earnest, and they danced for five hours nonstop. It didn't stop until the room was quiet, and the illusion was gone
He stopped engaging, and carefully removed the blindfold. His eyes adjusted to the dimness
Lady Shiva stepped forward. Her eyes conveying her pride, and somehow her approval
"You fought well," she simply said, and started to walk away, leaving him in the flickering firelight
————————————————x
The air in the scriptorium was thick with the scent of old parchment and burning sandalwood. Scrolls lay unfurled across the marble table, their ink fresh with the latest blood-soaked reports. Ra's al Ghul stood with hands clasped behind his back, eyes resting on the candle's wavering flame, though his thoughts were far from it.
"His cells and fluids have resisted every probe," Ra's said quietly. "His blood rewrites itself. Tissue samples revert to nothing. Even Klarion the Witch Boy walked away with nothing but a broken summoning circle. Our partners have invested their interests in him and his secrets"
Lady Shiva stood opposite, piecing together new information and predicting possible future events, 'The Light's interest, may see him being taken away'
"The clone projects based on his cells have all been failures," Ra's continued. "No structure. No stability. As if his body has learned how not to be understood"
"You think he's aware?", Shiva questioned
Ra's turned slightly, caressing his beard, "No. Or… if he is, he plays his ignorance well. You've observed him more closely than anyone."
Shiva nodded once, considering. "I haven't discovered signs of subterfuge. He might very well be ignorant of his body's capabilities. I have observed that his regenerative abilities have accelerated. Small wounds seal in seconds. Bone resets. Bruises fade right after battle"
She paused, eyes narrowing
"There's something else", she spoke almost whisper-like, "In high-tension combat, I've seen the flames around him—torches, candles, even smoke—shift. Ever so slightly. As if fire senses him"
"A subconscious trigger?" Ra's mused.
"Maybe" she replied
Ra's smiled now, a slow, thoughtful expression laced with approval
They both turned to the arched doorway, where Marek now stood in the shadow, waiting to be summoned—unaware, perhaps, of the conversation they just had or pretending to be