After a few days of getting their asses brutally kicked in between bouts of extended meditation, Jack and his friends were not in the best mood.
They were meditating in Jack's living room when Zachias appeared beside them and declared that they were ready for the next lesson. They were taken into the simulation of the alien world and arrayed around Zachias who began to expand on their knowledge of qi.
"Now that you have spent some time meditating and drawing in the energy of the world, you are ready to begin learning how to use it" Zachias began. "Why do you think taking in qi makes you more physically powerful?"
The blank looks that he received merely confirmed in his mind that he was dealing with a full group of idiots.
"All we know is what you told us. That qi is the fundamental source of bodily power" Arthur finally stated.
"Yes but why? What do you think qi actually is? How does absorbing it make us more physically powerful?" he asked slowly as if he was talking to children.
Jack and Arthur looked at each other and shrugged while Matt stared at his feet, thinking. After a minute, Matt turned to Zachias.
"Matter?" he suggested questioningly and then continued with more confidence. "You once said that qi is actually just small pieces of matter."
"Correct" Zachias drawled with reluctance as if saying the word was painful to him. "Qi is the fundamental building block of all things physical. Every single sub-atomic and quantum particle in the Universe is made of qi."
"So when we absorb it, we are just taking more matter into our bodies?" Arthur asked.
"You are becoming denser and denser. It is what makes you stronger, but that is not the only use for that energy" Zachias lectured slowly. "You all know that when you absorb ambient qi, it takes on your aspect, but have you wondered what it means to have an aspect?"
"When we were helping you two sense it for the first time, I noticed that your energy felt completely different." Jack offered.
"Yes. The differences that you noticed are due to their elemental aspects." Zachias turned to Jack with a searching look.
"Elemental?" Matt questioned sounding almost surprised.
"In your cases, yes" Zachias growled. "Everyone's qi contains an aspect, but they are not always elemental, only physical. Wood, wind, smoke, I once met a woman who had the aspect of alcohol."
Jack and Arthur were getting excited to find out what their aspect was. Matt, however, seemed to be feeling some trepidation.
"Now, you have been focusing on pulling neutral qi into yourself and making it your own, but you have yet to realize the full potential of that energy. Most of what you absorb goes straight to your body, making your bones and muscles and skin stronger.
“But if you focus your senses into yourself, you will see that there is always excess qi flowing through your system. You must learn to use that energy, and incorporate the special abilities that your aspects give you."
Zachias explained to them the basic theory behind manifesting their qi.
"Sense yourself. Feel your energy and your physical body. Realize that they are one and the same. Imagine that excess qi expanding around your body to form an aura." Jack remembered projecting his qi into his friends' chests. He imagined reaching out in every direction from his body.
"You will notice that there is a natural shape that your energy wants to take. Do not fight it. Allow your qi to move in the way that it wants to."
Jack followed the instruction, feeling the hair on his body begin to raise. After a few minutes of intense focus, he noticed that there was indeed a shape that his qi seemed to favor. He tried to allow it to take that shape, but as soon as he released it, his energy snapped back into his body. Frustrated, he looked up and saw something strange.
Matt was looking down at his arms which he held out in front of him. They were covered in a dark, smoke like substance. The squirming substance was black as night and completely opaque, it even seemed to smother the light around it.
Zachias looked like he had eaten something disgusting as he spoke. "Good" he said shortly. "You have managed to manifest your qi which has the aspect of shadow. Everyone is different, but you will likely excel at obscuring objects and subverting perceptions."
"What do I do now?" Matt asked still staring at the undulating tendrils of shadow in amazement.
"Now that you have it manifested, it is up to you to discover what you can do with it. Will you use it to hide? Extend your reach? You are limited only by your creativity."
Jack turned around and saw Arthur standing with his eyes closed, brow furrowed in concentration. He could feel the aura around Arthur, but could see no signs of manifestation. At least he wasn't the only one struggling. Jack returned his attention to his own qi.
----------------------------------------
Arthur darted around behind Zachias and jumped, preparing to kick him in the back of the head. Zachias turned to swat him out of the air like a fly, but instead of the expected sickening crunch, there was only the swish of displaced air.
Zachias' huge arm passed right through Arthur's body, dispersing it back into black smoke. The real Arthur flashed across the air, parallel to the ground, and landed a grazing kick to Zachias' left cheek.
Zachias moved with the kick to take away some of the impact, bending over backwards and allowing Arthur to pass over him. Jack stepped up to take advantage of the giant's awkward position, but was forced to side step the huge foot that was swinging at him with bone-crushing force.
Just when it seemed that Zachias would recover, the shadow at his one grounded foot stirred, and Matt appeared there. He tackled the back of the knee out from under Zachias and the giant warrior landed hard on his back. One blinding flash later and Arthur was standing over him with a glowing foot raised above his neck.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Arthur had managed to manifest his qi for the first time a few hours after Matt. When Matt went to discover his new abilities, Jack and Arthur stood in silent meditation for hours, focusing on giving form to their energy. Jack achieved only frustration.
Once he finally could bear no more, Jack opened his eyes with a huff. Out of the corner of his eye, something caught his attention, and he turned to his friend. Arthur's aura seemed to gather the light and glow brighter until his skin started to glow with energy.
Of course he would manifest the aspect of light Jack thought with a smile. Since the day they had met, Arthur had been a source of constant positivity in his life. On the other hand, Jack secretly worried about what Matt's affinity for darkness suggested.
"Gotcha" Arthur said cheerily looking down at Zachias with a proud smirk. Zachias looked at him and returned the look with a smirk of his own. Without warning, Arthur was flying through the air straight towards Matt, who was unable to move for some reason. They collided with a horrifying crunch and rolled to a stop, stunned.
Jack felt a smack to the back of his head and twisted around to find no one there. He turned back to look at Zachias who was smirking at him with contempt.
The implication was clear. Zachias had let them take him down. Jack wondered why he would do that.
"What the hell was that?" Jack asked astonished. "Was that your qi?"
"Nothing for you to be worrying about right now" Zachias replied condescendingly. "Your only focus should be on manifesting your energy." At this, Jack looked at the ground in shame. He did not know why he was having such a hard time when his friends succeeded so easily, especially Matt.
After only a couple of days, Matt was able to move within shadows, create illusions, he was even using tendrils of shadow for mundane daily purposes, like brushing his teeth or eating. Even Zachias seemed to be impressed with Matt's learning speed, though he would certainly never say as much out loud.
Arthur, however, was either not as naturally skilled, or his element was not as versatile. He could only use his light qi to move around incredibly quickly in straight lines. Other than that… well, he would make a great flashlight.
Jack and his friends had spent every day training for most of a week now. Since Zachias had warned them about the coming calamity, everything else had stopped. They spent so much time training that they were barely eating.
"When we started this, I assumed we would look more like Zachias does by now" Jack admitted one evening, interrupting their meditations.
"You thought we would be huge, bald, blue skinned gym Chads?" Matt asked incredulously and Jack smiled.
"If I'm being honest, I thought we would be about fifteen percent more ripped by now."
The big blue warrior appeared before them and spoke. "Once you begin absorbing qi, your body stops changing. You will always look the same as you do right now."
"Really?" Jack said sounding disappointed.
"No not really you moron. It has only been five days." Zachias replied, exasperated. Jack glanced at Arthur and found him immersed in his phone.
"What are you doing buddy?"
"Texting Anne." Arthur answered, distracted.
"Seriously?" Matt asked. "We've only been doing the power thing for less than a week and you're already more pussy whipped than Superman?"
Jack snorted with laughter.
"I did not reach out to listen to you prattle on like the idiots that you are" Zachias cut in. "The time is quickly approaching when you will all be fighting for your lives every day. Weapons training begins now."
"I think I have a couple of steak knives in my kitchen" Jack said sardonically. Zachias, as per usual, did not appreciate Jack's humor. Although, he was also dreading what came next.
"Do you remember the necklace that you found yourself wearing after the day we met?"
Jack narrowed his eyes and nodded, his guard immediately raised. After he had found the necklace, he realized that Zachias must have put it on while he was in control of Jack's body.
Jack had wanted to burn the small piece of metal on the spot, but he had restrained himself at the pleading insistence of the alien. Jack took the small piece of metal out of his pocket and showed it to Zachias.
"What you are holding is a spatial artifact" Zachias said through gritted teeth. "It grants its holder access to a separated space. Send your focus into the fractal pattern on the key and allow it to show you what is inside."
Jack could tell that Zachias was furious, which only made him more excited to find out what he had inherited. He followed Zachias' instructions and reached out to the weird, symmetrical shape carved into the small square.
He expected it to consume his senses, but he was still completely aware of his surroundings. Instead, it was like there was a page open in the back of his mind with a list of the artifact’s contents.
Most of the names were completely unfamiliar to Jack, but he was instantly aware of the fact that he was holding an absolute fortune in his hands. Weapons, pills, elixirs, there were even parts of creatures that Jack would have thought were myths and legends.
Being that this was the treasured belongings of an ancient alien warrior, Jack thought that this collection probably made him the richest person on Earth. Just based on their names, even one of these elixirs would be worth enough to make Elon cry.
"The vast majority of the items in my storage are beyond you. Just retrieve what I tell you and leave the rest inside for now" he practically growled. "First, remove the Void Greaves for the tall one."
Jack scanned the list until he found the item and willed the key to release them into the world. Instantly, a pair of shiny, white, and armored boots were falling to the ground. Arthur darted across the room in a flash of light and caught them.
"Good, put those on and you will be able to step off of anything, including the air. With your affinity, those boots will greatly increase your mobility. Also," he said looking back to Jack. "find the Shard Blade." Jack complied and a massive double-edged sword appeared.
The most striking thing about the sword was that the blade seemed to be made entirely out of glass. To Zachias, it may have been used as a gladius, but to Arthur, it was a huge greatsword.
"Do not be fooled by the glass blade. The crystal structure that it is made of is nigh unbreakable. It will be easy for you to channel your light qi through it" Zachias explained and Arthur began to manifest and channel his light through the sword immediately. The big blade began to shine with power like a sun.
The next item that he had Jack remove and give to Matt was called the Sable Katana, a long, black sword with a single curved edge. It seemed to have a complicated pattern etched onto the midnight blade.
Zachias barely took the time to say to no one in particular that the blade could extend or contract with the will of the user. At its shortest, it was no longer than a dagger, and at its longest, the blade was almost six feet although the width did not change.
No matter how long the blade was, it was still as thin as a normal katana. Matt seemed more than excited to experiment with the sword, and didn't even notice when Zachias quickly moved on to Jack.
"Finally, since you have yet to manifest your qi, I cannot tailor the weapon to you" Zachias spat and Jack looked at his feet his face red. "Instead, I will have to provide you with a weapon that you can tailor to yourself."
Jack looked up surprised at this claim and slightly skeptical.
"Take out the Aggre Staff for yourself." he said and Jack was soon holding a beautiful spear with an ornate black handle and a long silver blade.
It was sleek, beautiful, and deadly. Both the staff and the blade had fractal scripts swirling over them.
"This staff can take the form of any polearm" Zachias explained arrogantly as if the weapon was his design. "It can be a spear one moment and a naginata the next. A bowstaff with one swing and a halberd with another."
With wide eyes, Jack willed the spear to take a new form, and an instant later, he was holding a wicked scythe.
"With this weapon, you will be a force of unstoppable wrath. Use it right, and none of your enemies will ever be able to predict your next move."
Jack was barely listening. Instead, he was watching his weapon become a glaive, then a pollaxe, only to transform into a lance. Jack still hated Zachias, but this was by far the coolest thing he had ever held.