Stray Soul | Chapter 1: A Strange Child (Part 2)

Every good parent wants their children to live well. Foalin Ohga knows that should her son become a cultivator for the Nulu Clan, he would have to be better than the rest. If not, they will mock him and hold prejudice against him simply because he crawled out of her womb.

Her husband loves her and does not mind her past. Their neighbors also treat them cordially. But many hold contempt for her. Nearly 300 years after the War of Unification, people of Golden Moon Province still despise people from War Moon Province.

Alone in bed with son, Foalin Ohga kissed his forehead. Her tears fell on his face. Good child. Mom is to blame for your eyes. “Vazarl,” she whispered, “do not be a cultivator. Be a carpenter like your father.” There would still be prejudice against him, but less than an “outsider” learning the cultivation method of Golden Moon Clan.

As a distant relative of the Ohga Clan, her grandfather could not make a living in War Moon Province. In order to support his wife and five children, he migrated to Golden Moon Province thirty-five years ago. The Nulu Clan granted him permission to reclaim land six miles from the Nulu Clan Compound.

Her father married a servant of the Nulu Clan. All her life, Foalin Ohga was referred to as the daughter of a servant, not the daughter of a farmer. Crenlan Nulu never mocked her for her heritage. When she was eight years old, a giant wolf arcane mana beast attacked the farm of her family. The farm was destroyed. Her family was killed by the arcane mana beast or died of injuries later. Crenlan Nulu, then fifteen years old, was the only one to come help.

He convinced his parents to take her in. “Foalin, don’t you worry,” he said to her. “I may not be a cultivator of the Nulu Clan, but one day, I will inherit this house and shop from my father. I can become a carpenter and support you. The Clan may be mean at times, but we are nice people. Just wait and see. I’ll show you!” The parents of Crenlan Nulu treated her like family. Foalin Ohga helped his mother with chores around the house. Crenlan Nulu learned carpentry from his father.

Twelve years later, as his parents were on their deathbed, they encouraged him to marry Foalin Ohga. He wanted to, but was hesitant to ask her, fearing that she would hold prejudice against him for how Golden Moon Province treated her. Foalin Ohga loves her husband. He and his parents where the only ones who ever showed her unconditional acceptance. His parents asked her and she accepted.

The marriage was rushed and his parents passed shortly after. Husband and wife entered a three-year mourning period. Crenlan Nulu worked and Foalin Ohga handled household matters. Two years later, the couple was blessed with a child. Good son, would they call you the son of a servant? She held the sleeping infant and wept. Mom is sorry! Mom is sorry!

Outside the doors, Crenlan Nulu, heard his wife weeping, sighed quietly. Night has descended and brought a snow drizzle. He looked up at the full moon in the sky. Oh, Heaven. Oh, ancestors of the Nulu Clan. Dad. Mom. Please watch over little Vazarl and keep him from harm. Tears fell from his eyes. He has always been beside her. He has seen her struggle. How could he not know the worries of his wife?

Crenlan Nulu is a good man and loving husband. Now, he would be a loving father. He dried his tears and smiled. Foalin, I will show you! There are nice people in the Nulu Clan, in Golden Moon Province, in the world! Ever the optimist.

*****

Over three years have passed. Gradually, I have forgotten the experience of my birth. The memory of my death and everything before remains ever vivid. My mind is my prison. Every stimulus brings me to recollect. Every fixed memory, good or bad, productive or idle, inevitably leads to the painful past time had repressed. If not for how organic my life is, I would believe this Purgatory. Only with cogent thoughts can I temporarily seek refuge.

When my body is older, shall I turn to alcohol or some opiate to numb my mind? The mistreatment of my mother, the quiet acceptance of my father. Above impoverishment, but low-income. The circumstance of my family certainly warrants a future with substance abuse.

No. This world is foreign. Archaic. There are elements of mysticism. Explore and build new memories to suppress the old won’t be difficult.

Beyond the safety of the urban area is the wilderness, inhabited by creatures called mana beasts. Animals that rapidly evolving to adapt to their environment. Older mana beasts—mutated, mystic, arcane—also gain intelligence. Without adequate protection, death is probable. My parents sometimes speak of allowing me to learn the Golden Moon Mantra to absorb Immortal Energy. If I prove capable, the Nulu Clan would teach me the Golden Moon Cultivation Arts.

Vazarl Nulu, sitting on his bed, recalled the Golden Moon Mantra that he has heard other people in the Nulu Clan Compound recite while teaching to older children. Grand luminescence, born of Heaven and Void. Great radiance adorning Mother Night. Cold brilliance, elusive of the adoring sun. Master of stars and ruler of darkness. Unrivaled beauty, abash, summons wind and gathers mist. Blessed light, unable to hide, through clouds, still shines golden gleam.

The toddler immediately felt a coolness enveloping his body. He repeated the verse over and over. Faintly, a pale golden haze blurred his eyes. The effect is very subtle. Vazarl Nulu closed his eyes, just as he has heard taught. The pale golden hue became slightly more evident. He recited the Mantra and searched for the golden light with closed eyes. Gradually, an absolute darkness beyond what absence of light and closed eyes could offer appeared.

In that darkness, beautiful streams of golden light ebbed and flowed before his eyes, circling about the center of the darkness. The light condensed steadily into a spherical shape. Should he cease the recitation, the condensed light would disperse, then faintly sparkle before disappearing completely.

He recited the Mantra again with pauses. He noticed delays. The coolness sensation is felt almost immediately. The golden light does not occur until the “Unrivaled…” line. The condensation at the center of the darkness comes with the last line.

He recited the Mantra up to the last line repeatedly. Interesting. With each recitation, the amount of light flowing within me increases.

He recited the Mantra over and over, this time leaving out the last two lines. There was only darkness. Should he lose focus during recitation, the darkness would be replaced by what is seen through closed eyes—light and specks.

When he recited only the last two lines, golden light flows with the same condensation pattern, but without the previous light streams from further out in the darkness. The patchy web of condensed golden light would fade as soon as he stops reciting the last two lines.

Vazarl Nulu experimented over the next few days, using the last two lines of the Mantra to check his progression. The second to last line converts the Immortal Energy I have gathered previously into visible golden light. The last line condenses the Immortal Energy. Reciting the Mantra without focusing on the “darkness” results in a lower absorption rate. Thus, whenever he does not need to learn about his new life—through observing his parents or other adults—Vazarl Nulu would recite the Mantra. Initially, he needed the second to last line to focus on his cultivation space when meditating. Over time, he could do so without needing to “see” his cultivation space.