I pestered Sen’o to teach me to integrate the soul after his performance at the gym. I had suddenly remembered whilst watching him fight and was not about to let it go. He lectured me for a while, I paid attention out of interest and necessity, he had made it very clear from the get-go; if I didn’t want to die I had to listen.
Eventually, he left. I was left to reflect and begin the process. I left in favour of my own room but as I looked inside the cave, empty and dark, I quickly went back into Sen’o’s. It was the same cave, save for a stray feather that he had neglected to explain. Yet, I felt oddly at peace on his mat, after journeying for so long together it felt wrong being so separated.
I touched my hands to the soul orb, the soul reached out immediately, Sen’o said I would need to rejuvenate it but it seemed plenty lively to me. It engulfed the string of qi I had injected immediately, as we came into contact I entered my dantian. The strength of the supposedly dormant soul almost overwhelmed me.
I mustered what little imprinted qi I had and pushed back. Sen’o said it would not take much and he was right, the soul caved almost immediately. Whilst my consciousness was inside my dantian the soul was directly communicating with my qi, it was an experience I was not familiar with but my cultivation technique had prepared me for.
I tried to communicate with the lost soul, it’s darkness rattled my mind. It exuded hopelessness and defeat, after so long stuck in a cage I was here to put it in another. I pacified my aggressive qi and tried a different approach.
I surrounded the soul, attempting a hug; Sen’o had not mentioned this as being a viable technique but it felt right. I felt the soul’s fear as my qi encompassed it, then the ensuing calm as it realised my intentions.
We stayed for an indistinguishable amount of time locked in our odd qi hug. The soul’s colour shifted as it went from the chaotic grey and white mess to a more muted blue. I felt its sombre acceptance, its subtle plea for a more fulfilling life than one trapped in an inhospitable sealing orb.
I obliged, offering it a partnership, acceptance, and a home in which we can grow and thrive. The soul accepted, melding with my qi and arriving in my dantian, taking the form of a large bird, it had a small sharp beak with a slight hook at the end.
It was mostly black with a blue belly and underwing. The black areas were covered in mottled white spots that shimmered as it flew towards me. It landed in front of me, approached me, then rubbed its head against my leg. I knelt down and stroked its fragile head, with the ability to closely inspect the marvelous creature, I noticed a yellow patch on the end of its wings that branched out like forked lightning across the wing.
I spent a minute reassuring the poor creature that it had a home inside my dantian, and that it was free to cultivate. I could tell that the Lonely Whispers technique was coming into play, considering the bird’s situation it would be more surprising if it wasn’t.
It was my first time exploring my dantian, something that only becomes available after reaching the second realm. Yet, somehow I already had a resident. We explored the dark, empty space that it was.
Then I began to cultivate, It lit up with the warmth and comfort of a level I had never experienced. I began to walk when suddenly there was grass at my feet, then a tree that the bird landed neatly on top of.
My cultivation blossomed, as did my dantian. Whatever we wanted at that moment became available to us as we roved.
The bird flew freely, savouring the space and freedom it had been granted. It made me comfortable to watch, my thoughts wandered to the Lonely Whispers technique and exactly how much of what was happening was thanks to that, or if it was thanks to me.
I shook myself free of the cultivation, bidding the bird a temporary farewell. I had to thank Sen’o as I was the type of person who would forget to do so if not done immediately.
I opened my eyes, unsure of how long I had been cultivating and eager to find Sen’o to brag about my outstanding success. I looked around the room to Sen’o sleeping in his bed, his back to me.
I smiled, I had become used to this view. He turned over, my breath got locked in my throat.
I knew. I knew it wasn’t him. But that face, something inside me snapped. It was him. I screamed. Pushing myself back off the mat and shuffling desperately backward until I hit the wall.
In my head he was getting up, approaching me with that disgusting expression. I was about to fight but my arms lay still, I wanted to kick but my legs felt numb.
I closed my eyes, sheer terror from expectation alone. I remembered the feeling of his hand desperately grasping my heels as he wrenched my legs apart.
I channeled my qi in panic at first but as the feeling of strength and control flowed through me, I felt the deeply rooted fear unhinge slightly. Unwilling to give up on the opportunity I forced myself into a meditative state, adjusting my body as well as my mind.
The Sen’o in my head lost his grip as I kicked him. He stumbled backward helplessly. I hadn’t seen it before. He was wiry thin. His sick expression was more full of delusion than malevolence.
The pathetic creature in front of me was not something to be scared of.
I opened my eyes again, Sen’o was looking at me worriedly. I sneered, his worry ticked me off, even if I was slightly grateful. I got up and clapped my hands onto his cheeks.
“This damn face,” I growled. Sen’o let me seethe and eventually cool down. However, I did not let go of his face. I examined it instead. He was not thin, his face was full and hearty. His face showed many emotions but no delusion and no evil.
I looked in his eyes and I found understanding, I found solace. A brief respite from the loop of self-hate and regret that had tormented me, and likely still would for wounds don’t close overnight.
The moment stretched and eventually I let go of his face. “That was extreme,” I sighed.
“Perhaps,” he said. I could only agree, neither of us had enough knowledge in the matter to know if it was extreme or not.
“It felt extreme,” I concluded.
“I’m sure,” he agreed. I sat down on his bed, next to him. Still slightly hesitant to touch him but managed to gently bump my shoulder against his.
“Shall we get breakfast?” he asked. My tummy rumbled an apt response.
Wow...Just wow. I truly appreciate the way you are handling their situation. It feels authentic. It seems it will take a long time for them to end up together, if they even do. Whether they do or not. It does not matter. I am looking forward to the day she can finally overcome this trauma.
As always. Thanks for the chapter.
Hey, thanks for the review!
Man that was unexpected and I'm really flattered. I'll try working on my descriptions :D
I will say, not just for you but any who see the comment: I am purposefully avoiding describing how characters look, apart from minor details like hair length. I'm still not sure if it's working but I'm trying to let reader imagination fill that in (you'll have to let me know if it's working haha).
Anyways, thanks for the review and thanks for reading :)
@Casualperv my pleasure, and regarding characters' appearance; I see where you are coming from. But, this is my opinion, I think that some details would help us a little in differentiating characters. For example; hair style, hair color, skin color, body type (skinny, athletic, voluptuous, chubby, etc), eye color. And you don't have to give us all of these. Just a enough for us to fill in the blank like you mentioned. Take the girl who guided them around the sect. She appears cold and indifferent. So telling us something along the lines:
"Coming face to face. She stood almost to my height. Her gaze was sharp with sapphire eyes that seemed to read my soul. A slender body with a gentle touch from the sun. It seems she did not shy away from hard labor. She kept her hair short. Smart woman. It would only get in the way."
So even though her face features where not mentioned. The fact that she is not afraid of hard labor tells me she may not wear make up frequently. Her hair style might be a simple one to avoid having to fix it all the time. And that she has a beautiful pair of eyes slightly slanted and sharp in order to have such a piercing gaze. A cold beauty comes to mind, maybe she has black hair, or blonde, heck even red. But you didn't tell me, so I'll fill it in. I know she isn't fat nor too skinny. Everything is proportion for efficiency due to her lifestyle. A sprint runner type of body comes to mind. So that's what I'll fill in. She seems tall due to the first sentence. But I am not sure how tall. I'll put her at about the height of 175 cm. Which is quite tall for most women. And finally her skin color may have been white, but now she is tan. But again, you didn't say. So I'll go for a slight caramel.
And there you go. You didn't have to add stuff such as; a face shaped like a beautiful jade, eyes like a phoenix. Delicate hands, shaped like an hourglass, blah blah blah. Just enough for us to fill in the blanks without being too descriptive.
Hope this helps.
@Onewithlego Thanks for the input, it's interesting getting different takes on my style!
Wonderful chapter as always. I forgot to mention in the last chapter, it's nice to have a basic level of trust in life, but I think that level of trust has to be earned.
Between student and Master, the level of initial trust is much higher. Of course there is still room for it to grow but you can compare it to a teacher at a school.
@Casualperv Very true and understandable.