Day 8

Waking up, I stretched and looked around, nope the walls and path hadn't changed, but the Manaphage (Mp) was glowing brightly again like it had sufficiently recharged. It seemed like meditation or sleep recharged it, which means a passive way to regenerate mana. I step in front of both paths and close my eyes to listen, trying to see if I can hear anything, I'm really straining and concentrating when I hear a faint noise come from the right path, a skittering of many legs. I turn around and see it, the large rattipede, sniffing at the air, its stick-like legs moving under its weirdly hairy segmented carapace. Its rat-like face stained with dried blood, eyes scabbed over.

At first I was surprised, then panicked, then I calm down. I throw a piece of steel down the way I came, trying to distract it. As soon as the steel rings off the ground it bolts that way, passing me. I wait for it to pass before heading up the left path. As much as I hate that thing, if it's not attacking me right now, I'm not going to go out of my to endanger myself. I quickly make my up the tunnel, going at a light jog trying to leave that thing behind. After maybe 5 minutes I slow back down and stop, listening to behind me, to find out if it was coming, I heard nothing, so I continued on.

After what felt like forever, the tunnel leveled out, still going in a general upwards trajectory. I took a break, and decided to practice more with the Mp. I held it to a piece of steel and thought, “freeze, arctic, cold” thoughts like that, but I didn't strain myself like last time, I tried to feel more loose, more gentle curves not sharp turns, if that makes sense. And I started to feel the steel get slightly colder, and the light was draining just a little slower. Before it was ice cold I stopped, not wanting to drain the Mp. As interesting as magic is and all the implications this had, only the rock breaking and convenient light source were useful.

I decided to meditate to test one more hypothesis, and to rest a little longer. As I was going through the process to get to the waterfall, I realized something, the path I was walking on, felt smoother, the dirt and moss felt softer, I felt like I was actually getting feedback and not imagining it. Curious I stopped, and bent down, then it hit me, I was no longer concentrating on this place, I wasn't trying to enter a meditative state, I freaked out and tried to wake up.

I jolted up, shaking my head, worry, and panic clouding what I was thinking. What the fuck was that, why did that feel so real, is this a part of magic? I was very confused and more than a little worried. I looked around and listened, still no sounds, no breeze. I stretched thinking, did this happen last time I meditated, and this is the first time I noticed, or was it new. I decided to investigate, and sat back down, starting the process again.

I imagined the void, an inky blackness, and I felt it there two, I was standing on something solid, like a smooth tile floor. I started walking forward, picturing the wall next, and it grew into existence, a calm blue I imagined this time. As I reached the wall I touched it before going through the door, it felt like concrete or brick, and I could see texture on it. Looking behind me to see if it was shining I saw no shadow, and void behind me. I walked through the open door, sliding my hand along it, feeling a wood-like texture. Moving into the forest I walked along the path, really feeling the moss and dirt on the path. I looked behind me to see the door shrink out of view, only the forest behind it, “weird” I whisper to myself, turning back looking down the path, seeing it twist and turn a little. I start walking again and concentrate, still hearing the birds and feeling a gentle breeze, but I purposefully didn't picture the waterfall next and instead thought about the Manaphage sitting on my left stump, contemplating it. I thought about how weird this whole situation was and if I was brought here due to some strange coincidence, or did someone try to bring me here. As I was walking at no point did I hear the waterfall, and decided that I should be coming to the waterfall shortly, and then I heard it, at first the low roar of it, then I walked around a large tree and saw it, at the bottom of a low valley was the waterfall.

I wasn't too surprised at this point and continued on, walking down the gentle slope and walked through the shallow pond and sat underneath the waterfall. The water was cool, not cold, and was easy to get used to, the water falling on me wasn't heavy, more massage-like, and I sat up straight, hands at my sides. I put the Manaphage in the water to see if it would do anything, and to my surprise, it did nothing. I sat back, cross-legged underneath the waterfall and cleared my thought, focusing on the noise and feeling of the water.

After what felt like an hour I came out of the trance feeling oddly full, and opened my eyes, at first under the waterfall, then willed my real eyes to open. They opened to a very bright light, blinking and putting the Mp behind my back I whispered a small sigh of relief, and relaxed my shoulders. My eyes quickly adjusted to the light and I stretched once again, standing up slowly. The Mp seemed to be fully recharged, and one more question was answered, meditation recharged mana somehow, and my meditation was no longer just some exercise, some part of it, something about it was real. With that, I got up and grabbed my bag, drinking a bottle of water, and started to walk onward.