Jay woke up in the morning feeling refreshed, despite having finished an entire bucket of beer by himself the previous night, not wanting to waste even a single drop.
It should be mentioned that a bucket of Crimson Horse contained six 500-mL bottles.
In the past, he couldn't manage to finish an entire bucket on his own.
The sheer volume would bloat his stomach if he wasn't given enough time to pace himself carefully, which was the case in most situations, as there was a scheduled liquor ban in his city that he had to consider.
He would usually have three bottles at most if he didn’t want to vomit, possibly three more if he didn’t care about the consequences.
Of course, it was best if he didn’t waste anything, as the cost of a single bottle was around 75 pesos, which could have been a nice meal or two instead.
Fortunately, he still had about three hours until the liquor ban, which commenced an hour after midnight.
Fueled by the spirit of celebration from his recent small victories and the meeting with Mr. Arthas, he enjoyed the drinks at his own pace without worrying about other matters, which actually helped him finish the entire bucket inadvertently.
Jay was about to stand up and go about his day when the psionic lifeform came out of nowhere, as it sensed that he was already awake, and quite well-rested to boot.
Although he was a bit startled by its sudden emergence, he quickly tried to adjust his mental state in response.
It was somehow noticeably easier to regulate his emotions this time around, likely because he was getting used to the counteracting method.
After he stabilized his mental state, he greeted the psionic lifeform.
“Good morning. How have you been?”
“I’m fine too. Oh, I forgot to ask last time. How should I address you?”
“You don’t know? You want me to give you a name?”
Jay had already thought of this matter beforehand, so he didn’t need to deliberate any further.
“How about Sorrow?”
“Oh, you like it? Do you even know what it means?”
“Ah, right. A mere mention of a word does evoke a corresponding involuntary reaction in the mind, no matter how subtle.
Okay then. Let’s go with that. Nice to meet you, Sorrow.”
Although the name felt too obvious, like naming a black dog Blackie, he also felt that it was quite fitting considering its qualities.
It even had a poetic touch, at least, that’s how he perceived it.
“Hmm. I just thought of something now that we cleared that out. How did you even decide to come out at this time?”
Although he knew that another interaction with Sorrow was due today, he didn’t expect it to be right after he woke up.
“Oh, is that so? I do feel great right now. Thanks for noticing.
By the way, is there a way for me to contact you on my own? It would be difficult for me if you come out at an inconvenient moment.”
It would be quite awkward for him to struggle with regulating his mental state in a public setting, especially if he was talking to someone.
It wouldn’t be good if others perceived him as a deviant, as it would inevitably damage his career and social life, especially in this country where some semblance of cordiality and conformity were expected from everyone.
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“Ah, well, we’ll have to make do with other arrangements for now.
How about we do it after I wake up, just like this? An early meeting would allow us to discuss our course of action for the day.”
“Great. But we can’t possibly stay this way forever, right? Do you have any idea on how to develop your metaphysical qualities?”
It would be ideal if they could interact without restrictions, as it would be difficult to synergize their advantages without seamless communication.
“You want to eat emotions? How does that even work? Isn’t that considered cannibalism?”
“Right, right, sorry. So it’s like a creature hatched from an egg, eating the shell it came out of.
Hmm. Since you’re born from sadness, then you must prefer consuming it over other emotions, right?”
“Oh, so any negative emotions will do. It’s just the most nutritious. Wait, how did you even find out about that?”
“What you’re saying is that your mere presence made your previous host sad, and then you survived on that same sadness they felt? What the hell…”
He felt incredulous about such a complicated relationship.
“Wait, if your presence exudes sadness in itself, aren’t you constantly drained of energy just to maintain your existence?”
Although it was somewhat analogous to how humans eat food to move around, it wasn’t as if people exude heat like walking engines.
“Oh, alright. So it’s not coming from you. It’s just the ambient metaphysical energy being converted to your attribute.
Then, wouldn’t you have an unlimited amount of food just by loitering around? Why do you even need a host?”
“Interesting… So without an anchor in the physical realm, you will likely be swept away in the ocean of metaphysical fluctuations, right?”
“Haha, then hold on tight. Oh, wait. Since I’m actively countering your influence, doesn’t it mean that you’re eating less right now? Should I stop?”
“Ah, so that’s how it is. I wonder how a fat psionic lifeform looks like.”
“Haha, sorry, sorry. I just find the thought entertaining.”
“Well, if you have consumed a lot during your time with him, then you should already be quite powerful compared to your initial state, right?”
“Ah, so variety is still necessary. Then couldn’t you just get it from his co-workers? I’m sure there are plenty of sad ones among salary people.”
“Well, that’s quite a restriction, no wonder.”
It seemed like Sorrow could only interact with other physical entities through its host’s touch.
This was a significant limitation, as they couldn’t just touch other people out of nowhere, even if he was close to them.
Perhaps there was a way around it, from a metaphysical point of view. Sorrow’s previous host was only an ordinary man, so this angle hadn’t been explored yet.
“Can you perform the emotion absorption even if you didn’t manifest in the physical realm through me? Can you even sense others that way?”
“You can? Oh, but we can’t communicate? Hmm, good enough, I guess.”
It seemed like he didn’t have to endure the encroachment of sadness during Sorrow’s feeding time.
Although they wouldn’t be able to communicate in such a situation, they could still cooperate tacitly if they prepared well enough.
“Hmm. I don’t know if the other modes of my ability are considered ‘touch’ in the metaphysical sense, but we should at least try it, right?”
“Alright then. But we still have to deliberate about this matter, though.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll be the one thinking about it. Don’t worry.”
Sorrow expressed its disinterest in the guesswork, which was kind of reasonable, considering that it wasn’t well-versed in the ways of human society, if it even had an inkling at all.
“Well, I guess that’s it. I’m already feeling the strain, so let’s call it a wrap. Is that fine with you?”
“Good. Just remember to communicate with me tomorrow when you sense me waking up.”
After that, Sorrow’s presence then disappeared, with the accompanying emotions disappearing from Jay’s psyche.
It seemed like his solo cultivation sessions would become a group activity from now on.
He quite liked the thought of it somehow. It was like going on morning walks with your own child, a sensible one at that.
Of course, he had to think of matters thoroughly, as he didn’t want to take unnecessary risks in the presence of better alternatives.
One of the things he feared most was being mired in deep trouble, and then realizing that there were actually easier options that he had overlooked due to hubris and complacency.
First of all, he had to find a suitable place for such an activity.
It had to be a place where sad people were commonly seen and his presence wasn’t out of place.
He ruled out bars or drinking establishments, as most people in his country would usually go to such places with other people, likely to have fun or just relax.
It wasn’t quite the same as portrayed in popular media, where lonely people were a common sight in such places.
He also wouldn’t feel comfortable going to hospitals. People had to go through grief to deal with their loss, and it would be cruel of him to deprive them the opportunity to heal their wounded hearts.
Perhaps there were better options, but he decided on cemeteries in the end.
Although it was quite similar to a hospital in that it was also a place for grief, people in cemeteries already had time to cope with their emotional distress, and the artificial removal of sadness might even help them move on with their lives.
Of course, he still had to pick his targets on a case-to-case basis, as it would be too strange for a person suffering from extreme sadness to become fine in just the span of a few breaths.
The jarring contrast from such an unnatural experience might even lead the person in question to doubt their entire existence, not to mention the effect it would have on their relationship with the people around them.
Sorrow would have to carefully choose suitable targets to avoid negative repercussions as much as possible.
As for why he didn’t even consider places like the park or the mall, the chances of finding a sad person in these areas were quite slim.
Even if they could find one in the end, they would have already found ten, or perhaps even more, in the same time if they went to the cemetery instead.
Jay could only lament in his heart that the life of a conscientious person was quite difficult, as there are many matters to be considered.
Of course, his heart wouldn’t be at peace if he didn’t follow his conscience, so he could only live with it despite the effort required.