Sitting in the lotus position on the plush carpet of a living room in a suburban mansion, Jack meditated to restore his qi. When Matt had taken Jack's broken body and ran that night, he had only made it a few neighborhoods over from Janus and Diana's mansion. Matt had ran several miles through the shadows and snuck into the first empty house that he stumbled upon. He wondered how Matt kept finding luxury homes for them to squat in.

Jack was having difficulty restoring his aura because every bit of the qi that he absorbed went straight to repairing his damaged flesh. He was starting to understand how this healing factor physique thing might not actually be as much of an advantage as he thought. Sure it might save his life every now and then, but it might also get him killed. If he got injured in a fight, his qi reserves would immediately go to restoring that injury even if he needed to use that energy to win the fight.

At least he could draw in qi much faster now that he had unlocked his chakra. His own energy, and the energy of the world, responded to his will now and flowed much easier. Zachias told them that they would eventually be able to use their chakra to move anything that they wanted with their minds, but for right now, they were only able to move tiny particles of matter.

Still, even with the help of his chakra, it took him hours of taking in ambient qi before his body was completely healed and his excess qi could once again be used to project his aura and manifest his lightning.

It still blew his mind that he could make more than just lightning with his qi. The fact that he could use it to make any form of matter felt so surreal. Would he one day be able to summon anything with a thought like a Janet?

After he finally got back into fighting shape, it was time for Jack to take the next annoying step on his path. Matt had already been at it for hours.

When Matt and Zachias convinced Jack to wait before returning for Arthur, Zachias had given them their next lesson in advancement. According to him, it was time for them to open their third eye.

"What does our butthole have to do with any of this?" Jack had instantly asked. Zachias did not enjoy this joke. He took a moment to look annoyed before continuing.

"It is your mind's eye, you inveterate buffoon. To stand any chance in the fight with Janus and Diana, you need to open your mind's eye. Especially you" he said looking at Matt.

Something seemed to have changed between Zachias and Matt. Usually, Zachias never spoke directly to him and if he did, it was with an expression of utmost revulsion. Jack didn't know why their relationship had evolved, but he made a note of the difference.

"What does this eye do?" Matt had asked. Zachias let them squirm for a moment before explained.

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"It is the source of the psychic. It represents the connection that all minds have to each other." Zachias' sage wisdom was offered with the spooky demeanor of a campfire ghost story.

"So you're saying that everyone is a psychic? We're all mind readers?" Jack questioned with surprise. Matt's expression changed to one of revelation.

"That's why Diana didn't fall for my illusions, even though she obviously couldn't see through my shadows." Matt was going back over the fight in his head. "But if she could read my mind, then shouldn't she have been able to tell how long my blade really was?"

"To be clear, everyone has the potential to read minds. At their level of advancement, however, they would only have been able to get a vague sense of the presences around them. It is how you were discovered when you were sneaking through the mansion, and it is why she could tell that your illusions were fake and sense your location within the shadows. It is only much later in your advancement that you will be what you are thinking of as psychic."

"If it is such a weak ability, then why is it so important that I unlock it before we go back?" Matt inquired.

"Because, we do not have the time to make you two stronger than them" Zachias casually responded. "The only way for you to win is to take them by surprise. I can hide Jack's presence from their mind's eye, but I cannot hide yours."

"Is it even possible for us to win in a straight up fight?" Jack voiced the question that had been plaguing them both. If they have really been around since the Romans ruled, then how could we even compete with them?"

Zachias took his time before answering, but he didn't seem overly concerned.

"They clearly have more skill than I can give you in such a short time, not to mention greater advancement, but that does not mean that you have no chance of winning. If they truly are so old, then their lack of advancement speaks to a weak foundation. Besides, they have apparently been living on this qi dead world for thousands of years. You could win under the right circumstances."

"What do I need to do?" Jack was determined to put Janus in his place. Especially if they had done anything to Arthur. He would go to war with the whole Roman pantheon if that is what it took to bring his friend home. Gods or not, they would give Arthur back or they would eat a blade.

"For one thing, you need to learn how to wield your chakra and manipulate your qi with more skill. As of now, you are just throwing lightning bolts around and charging up your muscles. You need to be more creative. Look at everything your friend can do with his shadows."

Jack thought about that and then went back over the last fight in his head. "What was Janus' qi? If he really isn't that strong, then how the hell does he hit so hard only using one hand?"

"Diana was using wooden arrows, but they left a crater in everything she shot" Matt added.

"It is their advancement. They have the ability to manipulate kinetic energy through a process commonly called kinesis. Essentially, they are using their chakra to give their attacks more power." Jack was starting to get annoyed with Zachias' casual revelations.

"One day, you are going to tell me everything I need to know before it comes to kick my ass."

"The only thing you should be focused on right now is opening your mind's eye." Zachias shot back.

"And how exactly do we do that?" Jack asked hoping that it would be something simpler than the requirement to unlocking their chakra.

"You need to attain inner peace."

Jack rolled his eyes so hard, he thought they might pop out of his head.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me with this fake guru, fortune cookie bullshit."

"That does not seem like a good start."