- Sky -

With their minds melded, and their spirits connected, Sky felt Yuma's sense of wonder as he experienced Sam and Kyle's memories. They realized they would need plenty of time for Yuma to adjust to the new experiences. They were giving him a combined total of twenty two years of life experience, while they would only need to consolidate twelve years of Yuma's. Fortunately, Yuma was using the Intense Focus technique, and he had Sky's help, so he was able to push through the overwhelming sensation of joining their consciousness. Together they focused on healing the damage to Yuma's spirit root, and controlling the outburst of chi.

They lost track of time as they tried to save the boy, but eventually, his storming chi was calmed, and once it was, Sky felt Coyote's chi seeds grow in his own body, before splitting, then following Sky's chi into Yuma, where each seed attached itself, just as it had before. As soon as that was done, the lightning in their bodies traveled through Sky's arms, and into Yuma. Before long, they felt Yuma's spirit door open, and immediately, all three were connected, and Yuma's dantian's had the same adaptations Coyote had given to the other boys.

All three boys now felt as though they were one, although Yuma's spirit channels might take a few days to fully adapt. With this new addition, Sky felt like he better understood the nature of Coyote's blessing. He had an entire new lifetime of lessons, mistakes, and growth to draw upon. Not only could he grow stronger by cultivating, but he could also grow stronger by building his network.

Sky continued cultivating until all three boys' memories were fully integrated. He did one last check, to be sure that Yuma's body was no longer in danger, before allowing himself to check the mountaintop. He opened Kyle's eyes first, and discovered that he could continue cultivating with the other two bodies. Experimentally, he opened Yuma's eyes, but left Sam's closed, and found that all three bodies could continue to cultivate even if only one was doing the cultivation. They could feel that the cultivation slowed, but this was still an incredible discovery. If they were still able to cultivate in their sleep, then it was possible that they would be able to cultivate non-stop. He made a note to test his hypothesis later.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

It was nighttime, and there was no moon, but the stars shone brightly, even with the campfire light nearby. Sky was startled by that. He'd been preoccupied, and hadn't noticed it. He turned one of his heads to look, while one continued to cultivate, and the other gazed at the stars. The night sky was mesmerizing, and he thought he had chosen his name well. There was something wonderful about forming a new bond, and he wondered if some day he might have a network as large as a constellation, or perhaps even all the stars in the sky.

Meanwhile, he found the culprit responsible for the campfire. The three coyotes were sitting around it. One was cooking what smelled like buffalo meat over the fire. Another was also staring at the stars, and the third was looking at them. He heard fat sizzling into the flames, and felt three mouths begin to salivate. He had been fasting for four days, possibly longer now. Even Yuma's body felt starved, though there was no telling how long he had been unconscious.

"Y'all oughta take a break, and come eat. You don't need to keep fasting, and some spirit meat will do ya good. C'mon over, and don't forget, you've gotta feed all three of them mouths now. At least until you stop needin' to eat, but that's waaaaay off yet. Kekekeke!"

Sky did as he was told, and moved all three bodies over to the fire. The two naked boys wrapped their blankets tight, to help stave off the cool night air. Coyote passed them each a leg of dark brown meat that was dripping with juices. When they took a bite, it dripped down their chins, and the flavor burst on their tongues. The insides were still a little red, and Sky could taste the hints of salt and iron. He savored the first bite, careful not to eat too fast so he didn't get sick, and forced himself to chew thoroughly, and slowly.

"Its good y'all knew not to dig in too fast. Although I'd've been laughin' if you'd puked it right back up! Kekekeke!"

"Kyle's family was poor," Sky replied, "sometimes they had to go without food."

"I see. Well, anyway, keep chewin' that buffalo, while I talk. Once you finish eatin', you're gonna go back to cultivatin'. Now there's three of ya, there ain't no reason not to have one of ya keepin' watch. Once that buffalo's chi is digested, you can head back to your sect. Come back here in four months on another spirit journey. We'll do this every four months for four years, and by the end of it, you should have a fully developed foundation. Only, from now on when you come, I want you to bring me somethin' to eat. Nothin' specific, though a grizzly would be real nice. Kekeke!"

With that said, all three Coyotes vanished. Sky finished all three buffalo legs, then set two of his bodies to cultivating. Sure enough, even with the influx of chi from the spirit meat, he only needed two bodies to cultivate all three.