Mew

Meaw

Meauw

Yeah, that is not right either. Adamu noted as he massaged his throat while cloaked by True Darkness. Still, no matter how much he rubbed his throat or forced his vocal cords, they could not replicate a cat’s natural kitten call, and he doubted he could imitate the harsher calls cats used when confronted each other.

Not without a lot of practice time spent behind the imitation, and that was Time he simply could not allocate currently. Not that he would have done so even if he could generally with Sound Magic usually available to him.

Either way, after leaving the safety of his little refuge/birthplace, Adamu ventured into the True Darkness, which had once more enveloped the world outside his little cave. However, Adamu did not stray too far from the opening since he wanted to be able to rush to its safety if needed. It was for that reason that he had tried his best to memorize the steps he had to take from his current location and back.

As such, he was relatively confident to not injure himself despite not seeing anything at all.

The catcall, on the other hand, was used to summon the raven/cat creature he had slayed inside the Illusion.

First, Adamu wanted to confirm if it was dead or not. And although he was confident with his guess of its demise, Adamu still wanted to be sure.

Secondly, if it was not dead, then Adamu wanted to attract it and once more repeat the scenario of the previous day with the goal of receiving another strand of Pure Essence. If it was dead, then his goal was to see if something else took the bait. With the new creature, he would confirm their dislike for light, even if it was not the True Light emitted during the day.

At the same time, Adamu hoped to kill it and receive another strand of Pure Essence if possible. If it was? Then his plans on awakening his own Essence would alter because Essence Awakening took Time.

There were ways to speed up the process, of course. Instantly even, if you had the right tools and were crazy enough to use them. Since Adamu had nothing on himself, it was either the long way or nothing at all. Thankfully, even the long path, was quite short for Adamu, thanks to his experience and knowledge.

However, Essence Mastery was highly dependent on Essence Awakening because different methodologies brought forth different results. This came as a result of Essence’s natural affinity for Chaos, unlike Mana, which was Order.

As such, Essence Awakening was very hard to achieve because it takes a long time to shape one’s Life Energy without actively being able to shape Life Energy. Usually, it was done through physical exercise to energize the Life Energy in the flesh, meditation to focus one’s mind, and mental imaging of the methodology one desired to accomplish.

Only after all three were thoroughly ingrained into the flesh and mind would the Life Energy, naturally present in the flesh, take the shape you want and thereby transform from its passive state into its active state, thus manifesting Essence as it was known to all Magic users.

Compared to Magic users, under the condition that you were inside a Mana Zone, Magic users only needed meditation to focus the mind to discern one’s Spirit, hidden inside the head of each sentient species. Hence, depending on the density of the Spirit, Mana could be sensed, either instantly or within days or weeks of practice, compared to the years it took for Essence users.

However, if Adamu could substitute the years, months, or weeks in his case, most likely, by actively gaining Pure Essence from an outside source, then he could do it within days. Maybe even less, depending on the amount of slaughter he had access to.

Mmm… Come to think of it. If I can do this? Then so would others as well, right? Adamu questioned himself. That should be a logical leap when considering the ongoing duality of True Light and True Darkness going on outside. Since those two are at the Divine rank or higher, then this should not be a localized occurrence but a Realm-wide event. If so, then a lot of people would have access to Essence Awakening, which subsequently would lead to a lot of Essence users, which subsequently led to a lot of Essence methodology developments.

Following that train of logic, it would make sense that many methodologies existed. However, human common sense tells me that those methodologies will be focused on smaller groups, like Nobles or Clans, and thereupon be rendered unavailable to every individual. Nodding with understanding at the human mind, Adamu ignored the number one fallacy of humankind, as he was used to it. That means either a general methodology exists among the populace, or there is none, and Essence Awakening gets left to pure chance.

In the first case, this would mean the general methodology is easy and convenient to achieve, but it will pale in strength compared to the Nobles/Clans.

While in the second case, one is more likely to die due to an uncontrollable outburst of Pure Essence trashing one's insides. The lucky ones who survived that part would most likely become shriveled zombies after the bulk of the gathered/attuned Pure Essence left their fleshly containers.

Mmm…

Mmm… This line of thought is itching the insides of my brain, or better said, the inherited memories.

Mmm… Something about the Outburst line of reasoning is triggering it, I think.

Outburst?… Outburst?… Lots of uncontrolled Essence?… Inside the body?… Not a good thing at all… Mmm… Exploding?... No... Spreading?... Spreading to each nook and cranny of the body?... Yes!… Yes, that is the key here.

Spread and forceful attunement of the Essence inside every cell within the body to one specific wavelength.

Done being vexed, Adamu finally understood where the vector lay.

Nevertheless, just because he did did not mean he had already figured everything out. Still, Adamu was not one to disregard one’s mind when it actively hinted at something, as they did that from time to time.

There were many explanations for it. The most famous one detailed how Knowledge/Information and Fate/Karma/Destiny were intertwined at the highest levels, thus blending into one at the Source, thus thereby manifesting epiphanies in a multitude of forms, with the most common one being instinct.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

As for how the instinct manifested and alerted one? Well, instinct also had many avenues by which to notify one. And it was up to the user to interpret the signs or dismiss them entirely.

Either way, Adamu was now confident of his approach, being centered around the Outburst of Pure Essence during Awakening. As for how to survive the initial explosion and the subsequent transformation/attunement process without becoming a shriveled zombie, Adamu still had no idea. Still, it was not like he had no avenues to explore/theorize. After all, there was a lot of knowledge stored in his memories. He just had to tickle the solution out of them.

After figuring out some things, Adamu purposely decided to delay the problem-solving. Because not only was it very distracting, but it was also very energy-intensive and focus-reliant. And he was in very much need of said focus right this moment.

The raven/cat is either dead, or it's more raven than cat, despite the cathead on its body. Should I try cowing like a raven?

Oh well, it won't hurt to try.

Caw… Caw… Caw

After cowing multiple times and waiting for something to respond, Adamu eventually heard something.

After waiting a few more seconds, Adamu considered the possibility of imagination sparking out of boredom, thereby crossing into reality, but no, after a few more seconds, it came again.

Click

Then, it came in faster intervals.

Click Click Click

Recognizing it for what it was, Adamu did not immediately rush back to his cave/refuge hideout. No, instead, he let the clicking come somewhat closer before eventually orienting himself. Then he moved, only slowly, but not slow enough to be caught inside the True Darkness. No, Adamu’s goal was to trick the raven/cat creature just like the first time he had managed.

As Adamu walked back to his little cave slowly, he felt his body manifest urges to move faster and faster. And just like the first time the previous day, the more his body urged to do so, the calmer he became.

For a single moment, he wanted to curse the newly born body for being so accustomed to stress, but another itch manifested inside his mind. It flashed a reminder of what had occurred to him at the beginning of the Illusion forced onto him.

Ceasing all movements, Adamu latched onto the memory flash, and a theory emerged.

It's projecting Fear at me in very small quantities. Adamu realized. With the recognition, he continued moving back, but this time, he paid extra attention to himself, and that is when he noticed it. Every time I hear that clicking as it closes in on me, a spike of Fear emerges from inside me. No!… It is more likely the spike of Fear dives deeper inside me, thus causing my body to produce excess adrenaline, thus masking and blending the Fear as originating from inside me instead of outside me.

Sneaky bastard. No wonder its form is a mix of cat and raven. A cat’s hunting instinct combined with a raven's natural intelligence was an excellent combination.

Hmph… Just wait till I get my hands on you.

A few steps through the True Darkness later, Adamu saw the corner, with the pinch of light leading him to his hideout.

When he did, he rushed right for it.

After the corner, his speed increased substantially, and moments later, he was inside the light emitted by the Orb of Rebirth. There, he waited and waited, but aside from a frustrated raven/cat etching its disappointment into the stonewall or stone floor, no other hints emerged that his conjecture finally reached enough proof.

Although two events were far too few to be sure it worked 100%, it was more than pure chance, which was what was required. As such, Adamu was certain enough now to develop more plans with the Orb of Rebirth as the crux of progress.

Now, there was only one thing to be figured out. Could Adamu bait the creature into attacking him despite the light’s presence, and what would happen if it did?

Nodding to himself, Adamu made his way to the sole opening but not directly.

He went at it from the side so his profile would not block the light of the Orb. Once by the opening, Adamu began stretching his neck to check outside it. When nothing dashed for his eyes, he got braver and slowly hugged the entrance with his back and inched his way forward.

Interestingly, Adamu noted that no sounds reached him after he reached the opening, as if the creature expected him to come out to throw himself right at its rapport-like legs so its claws could butcher him.

Definitely smart. Just not that smart. Adamu voiced in his head. Or it could not be stimulated enough to develop its smartness.

Either option favors me.

Nodding one last time, Adamu stopped hugging the opening and made his way through the middle of the narrow passageway. However, it was wide enough to make the creature able to hide its body, not that he would have seen it anyway due to the True Darkness. As such, with every step Adamu took forward, he was prepared to either dash back or swat the creature midair.

Of course, Adamu would prefer to just dash back, but when the sounds of unfurling wings reached his ears, he knew it was already too late. So Adamu did the very first thing that came into his mind. A memory flash distinctly noted the size of the creature. Accordingly, Adamu urgently raised his right leg to his stomach and kicked forward with the angle of his right leg going somewhat above his waist in anticipation of the creature's pounce.

Thud

Thud thud thud

The recoil unbalanced Adamu for a moment, but he was experienced enough to dismiss it. The creature that was the size of a five-year-old kid, on the other hand, not so much. After all, it lacked the legs and muscles to absorb the recoil.

Hence, after it landed, it began to flutter its wings as if wanting to upright itself with an angry hiss.

Hissssssss

I am not sure where I hit it exactly, but that much force should have crushed its ribcage. At the very least, it should have fractured some rib bones. Adam reasoned out from experience. Hmph. If not for the True Darkness, I would be already striping its feathers and eating its seared thighs.

Oh well.

Shrugging his shoulders somewhat, Adamu inched his way forward towards the sounds the creature made. Obviously it was injured. How much was the question? However, it was hard to tell due to the constant whooshing sounds its wings made.

Thankfully, the pain had to have disrupted its senses as Adamu reached it if his ears were correct. Only it was not his ears that told him that.

A moment later, a sharp pain reached upwards from the left leg. Adamu winced, and the leg flinched back, but a second later, he kneeled and grabbed the raven/cat by something. A wing, most likely from the feather feelings his hands delivered to his head. Either way, it didn't matter. Once Adamu’s grip was firm enough, the slamming began as he raised the raven/cat above his head and slammed it on the stone floor.

Thud Thud Thud

All it took was a few hard slams, and it was left twitching but not dead yet.

As such, finding the head was easy. Snapping said neck, holding the head, even more effortless.

Unfortunately, the very eager experience of Pure Essence rushing inside him did not occur. Why that was the case? Adamu would investigate. One thing did transpire, though. The strange creature dissolved in his hands, and patting the surroundings for clues gave no clue either.

“Strange… But I can ponder on the results later.” Adam said and made his way back to his birthing cave.