*BOOOOOOOOM!!!*
"A sun...?" I mumble to myself, watching the disaster unfold at the far distance. The peaks of mountains curtain my view of the situation.
Is Mina fighting that thing?
No...I'm sure she can survive, the most important thing is my squad members. How are they doing right now?
I stand beyond piles of meat and blood stacked together like a salad, drenched in the aftermath of intestines gore.
But...I'm near my limit.
I can't think anymore. My mental strength is focused solely on moving my aura to control my body.
"Ugh...Ngh..." groans accompany every sloppy step, no different from an undead controlled by strings.
A piercing headache attacks my fortitude.
"ARGH...FUCK..."
I drop my blade and fall to the ground.
*Thud*
Ah...uh...no...I need to keep moving.
I barely lift my head and shove one trembling arm forward. I dig my fingers into the ground, pulling my weak body ahead.
The prodigious volume of mana in my body can only do so much...
Damn it...
I'm losing consciousness...
"Loi." A voice rings in my head.
You...Morja? Fuck, you are only showing up now? Where the fuck were you when I needed you!
"I will explain everything later. In short, I obtained more knowledge and memories of the Morja from your previous timeline. I will teach you what you need, a breathing art."
A...what?
"No time to explain much. Just do what I tell you to," Morja says. "The vessels you used to transport mana around your body are called the Meridians. If the spiritual roots are the ocean, Meridians are rivers connecting to villages. Now try absorbing atmosphere mana by breathing in rhyme to the way you move mana through your Meridians."
I control a deep breath through the pain, stabilizing my pulse as I spread the mana throughout my body.
The process places me into a trance.
The agony subsides and my body can move again. The experience suspends my dazed state.
"Wha-..."
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"That's the basics of a breathing art. It mainly facilitates recovery and aids cultivation. Next, change the way you circulate mana, rather than 'pushing' the demonic mana, suppress its violent nature and divide it into two opposite pathways."
Suppress the demonic mana?
Despite my current state, it's not a matter I must hesitate.
My aura starts to envelop every vessel within.
!!!!
"NGHH!!!!"
Splitting pain erupts from head to toe, stabbing my sanity and mental state.
"KREGHHH!!!..."
I bite down on my hand, chewing flesh and blood in exchange for rationality.
The massive amount of demonic mana rebels against my control with attempts to destroy my aura. Bits of my aura concentrate on one point and penetrate the depth of the mana. Once deep enough, I proceed to drill viciously against the bloodthirsty energy, separating the demonic mana.
"Fuuuk...jusss give up...sumit te mee!!" I mumble as I chew harder into my palm.
At that stage, I start feeling something different. The pain turns into sorrow, regret, anger, fear, or happiness. The burst of emotions of people on their death.
Upon success ignites immense suffocation. My body feels like bursting as the energy clashes with my vessels and the wall of aura.
Next...what's next step?????
I can't...fuck...I don't remember. I can't think.
"Loi...!"
Voices...voices of Morja? I can't hear it.
Shit...
Bursting...my vessels will explode at this rate...
"Flow..." Morja's word reaches my head.
Flow...that's right...I need to...CONTROL THE FLOW.
The final step. With my last remaining sanity, consciousness, willpower, everything, my mind overclocks into utter destruction, betting my life.
My aura closes in on the demonic mana, their battle reaching an end. Crumbs of aura infiltrate the mana formation. Each infiltration spreads different branches. A war was partaking in one tiny body. Eventually, a spectacle erupted in my vessels, countless branches of aura spreading to every nook and cranny and all traces originate from my lower energy core. The illusion of a long tree sprouts.
By then, I am no longer awake, purely operating on instinct and the desire to survive. The demonic mana settles down and integrates into my aura, following the commands of my instinct and flowing accordingly.
====================
...
My body feels heavy...
How long has it been...
But...I can't stay down for long.
I need to find them...
...
*BOOM!*
*PSSSST*
My aura blasts whatever snow and rocks resting on me.
"Ugh..."
I grasp my head and pull myself up.
The sun? It's daytime? Shit...how long was I out?
"Six hours," Morja says.
Morja...
God...my head hurts. It's the second I felt this since my senses training. But I won the gamble. As expected, circulating mana in my body is easier with the breathing art Morja taught me and...
I gaze at my hand and activates my aura. It extends out of my palm into the small size of a mana dagger.
I had a feeling I could do this! Mana Manifestation! It's a term used when you manifest aura without using a physical body like a weapon. It's my first step towards Grandmaster, although it's far. The difference between each realm from Master is heaven and earth. One grandmaster can win against ten peak masters.
"How do you feel?" Morja asks me.
Some slight discomfort but I can move normally.
I ascend from mana to mana higher in the sky until I get a visual of the landscape.
"What the fuck...?" I blurt.
Massive craters sweep the mountains, decimating iron peaks into mere rocky jagged terrain consisting of many rings. Lingering mana overwhelmed Mother Nature, rebelling against the snow with residue heat and blanketing the area with ashes and pulverized rocks.
Moreover, a clean narrow trench cutting through rows of mountains is imprinted, almost as if some supreme existence cut space and time.
"..."
I head towards the location of our last contact.
On the way, Morja explained his disappearance.
"Do you know there is a crystal thing floating around your sea of consciousness?" Morja asks.
"Yeah, I've seen it."
"I was curious and touched it. It then sucks my existence in. That was how I came into contact with the me from your previous timeline. Although, still not a complete collection, I've inherited some parts of that Morja. I might be able to help you more."
"I see..."
I speed up my pace, hopping through the sky.