Ash’s Heart chakra yanked his carefully secured emotions into view and his chest tightened at the loss. His mom’s absence burned like a star in the pit of his stomach. His Heart chakra needed advancement, so he didn’t immediately shove all the uncomfortable feelings away, and instead tried to process them instead.

With this new mystery about Ash’s father, he considered those feelings as well. Now that he thought about it why did recalling memories of his father prove so difficult. It was as if something clouded his recollections or maybe actively suppressed them.

Ash spent an hour filtering his emotions through his Heart chakra. It felt like the equivalent of rapidly switching your shower from hot to cold repeatedly. He hated it, but he didn’t get many opportunities to activate his Heart chakra so he couldn’t waste this chance.

The feelings surrounding Ash’s father provided little emotional power for his Heart chakra, which didn’t matter today as his mom generated more than he could handle. His Third Eye didn’t activate but gave him the sense that the answers about his father would intersect Ash’s current path. That was good enough for him, so he set the mysteries aside.

The Heart chakra effort made Ash tired, and usually he’d take the rest of the day off, but he knew those days had passed. He needed to concentrate on improving himself. The gains that he’d made so far in life had resulted from the Step training and dangerous environment. He’d never considered the tales of chakra magic as real and had only done enough training to not get yelled at.

All that changed with recent events. The biggest contributor to Ash’s improved attitude came from the display Bruja had given him.

The percentages the display provided motivated Ash more than any lecture or scolding his grandpa could give. Seeing his progress quantified in such a way brought out his competitiveness. Every time one of the percentages bumped up, waves of satisfaction filled him and motivated him to work harder.

Less than three weeks had passed since Bruja had visited, and Ash had worked on his chakras ever since. Aside from the U.S. government snatching him from his home, the only complicating factors were the two other items that needed his attention.

Elder Phoenix had explained that the energy leaking from the Pit consisted of Spirit. He’d given Ash the proper breathing techniques to harness this energy and pull it into his center. Soon he would need to take that energy and form a Core. There were many mysteries still surrounding this magic and the twelve Meridians linked to his center, but he hadn’t pushed Elder Phoenix. Ash had plenty to work on and trusted the experienced Elder to tell him what he needed to know along with when.

The last item that captured Ash’s attention was his beautiful goth Sisen, who’d held a metaphorical mirror in front of Ash and drained him of all arrogance and superiority. He might be the best unarmed fighter on this planet, but she’d made it clear that, compared to kung fu aliens, he was nothing short of awful.

Now, Ash divided his day practicing all three essential paths. For the Steps, his Sisen had taken pity on him. She’d led him down the correct initial path through the forest of techniques he needed to learn or improve. She’d revealed that beginning with the Bamboo Steps was a mistake, and that when he realized why, he would gain his first glimpse of the mountain he still needed to climb.

Ash could use this long plane ride to work on his chakras, and he opened his Spiritual display. He’d made some progress in the last few weeks.

Three silhouettes filled the screen. The left figure had eight labels down the center, each a different color. The colors followed the rainbow with red at the crotch and purple at the top of the head. Only the Divine charka that hovered over the head broke the pattern with its white color.

Concentrating on the Root chakra, Ash studied his current state. The chakra displayed eight small circles, with one shaded light red.

Chakra: Root

State: Awakened

Progress to Level 1: 23%

In the past three weeks, Ash had gained twelve percent toward the level one Root chakra. He hoped to gain new abilities with each level and couldn’t wait to find out.

Stolen novel; please report.

Ash wondered if he could alter the display, as he’d prefer to have a summarized version that detailed his progress, and with that thought a new text box appeared. It had three sections.

Dormant Chakra Progress

Sacral: 88% (no progress)

Heart: 66% (+1%)

Crown: 7% (no progress)

Divine: 1% (no progress)

Activated Chakra Progress

Solar Plexus: 81% (+2%)

Throat: 72% (+7%)

Third Eye: 99% (+4%)

Awakened Chakra Progress

Root Level 1: 23% (+12%)

Ash hadn’t made much progress on his dormant chakras. He needed to change that. But, looking over the values, his Third Eye chakra was the most obvious choice to work on right now. He stood at the cusp of moving from Activated to Awakened. When that happened with his Root chakra, it had provided him with massive benefits, and even some titles.

The associated chakra values hadn’t advanced either.

Chakra Alignment: 2%

Chakra Sifting Effectiveness: 1%

Aura Purity: 4%

Aura Density: 5%

Aura Power: 0%

Ash still didn’t know what any of that meant, but time would reveal it. He needed to push through the last percent and awaken his Third Eye before reaching the base in Turkey. He cleared all the displays in his vision and focused on his body and surroundings.

The empty belly of the C-130 cargo airplane made the constant hum of powerful engines more apparent, but with the noise-canceling headphones clamped over his ears, the external noise faded into a distant vibration, allowing Ash to focus inwardly on his Third Eye.

Ash sat erect and relaxed with his spine aligned as if a string pulled him upward from the top of his head. His hands rested gently on his knees, palms facing upward in receptiveness. His index fingers touched the tips of his thumbs—the position used to enhance concentration and mental clarity.

Ash focused his internal gaze on a point between his eyebrows, the seat of the Third Eye. He inhaled deeply through his nose, feeling his diaphragm expand, and then slowly exhaled, his breath escaping like the soft whisper of wind through leaves. The rhythmic breathing steadied his heartbeat and calmed his mind, preparing him for deeper meditation.

As Ash settled deeper into himself, he hummed at the frequency of eight hundred fifty-two hertz—a sound almost two octaves above middle C, and a pathway to awakening intuition and accessing higher wisdom. The frequency resonated within him, overcoming the shuddering vibrations of the plane. His humming reverberated in the cavern of his chest and rippled up to the point between his brows.

With each cycle Ash separated himself from the outside world, and time became meaningless as only the ever present now existed.

Internally, Ash visualized an indigo sphere of light at his brow, spinning slowly and growing brighter with each breathing cycle. He imagined this light as a gateway to higher consciousness, each hum illuminating the hidden corridors of his mind.

The indigo light pulsed in sync with Ash’s heartbeat, and a profound peace filled him. The physical world fell away, leaving only the vast expanse of his inner universe. As he delved deeper into this inner cosmos, Ash found himself floating in an indigo ocean. The edges of his consciousness expanded, pushing against the limits of his physical form.

With each hum, Ash felt the barriers between himself and the universal consciousness thinning. Each heartbeat shed another layer off his limited body. His humming joined a larger chorus, a universal symphony that played the secrets of the universe in a language beyond words.

Ash’s thoughts, once a rapid stream, slowed to a serene flow. Ideas and insights bumped against his conscious mind gently, like leaves on a slow-moving river. Each insight resonated deeply as he brushed against eternal truths, a process that felt more like remembering than learning anew.

One small piece at a time, Ash’s body disappeared, until all that remained was the indigo ocean. He no longer floated separate and apart but existed as the ocean itself. And with this transition came understanding—this vast ocean was not trillions of different parts but a single drop.

Ash’s intuition sharpened, and his perception expanded past the nature of things as they existed to encompass how things might be.

In this instant, the past, present, and future fused into a single, eternal moment. Then the ocean coalesced into a single glowing indigo droplet.

As the droplet formed, so did Ash’s sense of self. Reaching out, he cupped the droplet and carefully brought it to his forehead, gently placing it into Third Eye which joyfully cradled the drop.

Ash’s body vibrated like a violently struck tuning fork. He emerged from meditation knowing he’d awakened his Third Eye, the weight of an ocean resting in his forehead the proof.

A yellow glow at the bottom of Ash’s vision indicated he had new Notifications. He opened his eyes to find Captain Riegel had disappeared. The plane’s ramp opened onto a bright tarmac and heat billowed in from outside.

Sitting cross-legged five feet across from Ash with his eyes closed in meditation was an African American man in his mid-thirties.

As if sensing Ash’s attention, the man opened his eyes and met Ash’s gaze.

Then in a calm soothing voice, he spoke. “A pleasure to meet you, Shamrock. I’m Nomad.”