Find love before death finds you,

But is love easy to pursue?

Some may betray, others might try,

Yet true love can be hard to identify.

Answers aplenty for questions we pose,

Yet love is a riddle, no one truly knows.

With more question marks than love in our hearts,

Love comes and goes, as it departs.

Is love forever or just fleeting emotion,

A challenge we face, a lifelong devotion?

More questions than answers in this quest,

For love, it seems, is never at rest.

CH.80 Jacks Life Energy The Endless Walk

5 Days Until the Strength Competition

Yune was now training Jack, while Henu Safir and Menes took care of everyone else.

"Hmmm, so that's what Steller told you," said Yune, thinking.

"He's right," Yune continued. "I too use this method, and it's also used by people who utilize dark energy. Life energy is the basis of all strengths, and to store and use life energy effectively, you must control your breath. Breathing is the best way to gather life energy, but there are other ways too."

"Right, so how should I breathe?" questioned Jack.

"First of all, you must forget and leave everything out of your mind. Sit down and find silence, focusing only on your breathing. Take a deep breath through your nose and keep it in until your body tells you that it's enough, then exhale," instructed Yune.

"Alright," Jack sat down, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, inhaling and then exhaling. However, as he tried to focus, Ramon and Kamil's loud voices could be heard, distracting him.

"Hey Kamil, you're not doing it properly," said Ramon.

Kamil replied, "Yes, I am."

Ramon retorted, "No, you're not."

Jack looked at them distastefully with a sinister glare. "Will you two bums be quiet!"

Yune stood up and looked at the two, then told Jack, "Let's go somewhere else."

Fifteen minutes later, Yune and Jack arrived near the edges of Thebes, by the river Nile before it flowed into the city. There was no one around; the only things Jack could see were the tall grass popping out of the water, a tree, and the river.

Jack began, closing his eyes as he sat on the soft sand.

Yune spoke, "To find life energy, leave the world and its worries behind. Once you do that, you'll see a string. Grab onto it and don't let go."

In Jack's mind, he could only see darkness. The noises of the river flowing, birds chirping, and fish swimming slowly faded away. From within the darkness, a string appeared. He stood in a black canvas where nothing existed. He quickly grabbed onto the string, slowly climbing up. The higher he went, the tougher it got and the clearer the view atop was.

Yune spoke once again, "That string will lead you to your full potential, your life energy. The higher you go, the more you will understand yourself from within. How your life energy looks is up to you as a person; it's decided by your heart. When death is what you see, you will witness your last moments in that place atop the string. That's what life energy is for most of us."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Jack stopped his ascent and looked up, his eyes shocked. Atop was an endless ocean, only a few centimeters deep. The water perfectly reflected the blue sky with some white clouds, the sun symmetrical in the middle. It was a mirror of a mirror of a mirror, peace, endless beauty, an endless walk.

Jack's heart ached to go there. He was frozen, tears dropping from his eyes in the darkness.

Yune looked at Jack shockingly and tried to shake him to wake him up. "Jack, are you okay? Jack, listen to me," he said as he shook him.

Jack opened his eyes in the real world to Yune's worried face, the sun's rays, the birds flying in the background, and the sounds of rabbits and birds tweeting from the trees, some singing. Jack replied to Yune, with tears dropping, "It was beautiful.

In the domain, Steller looked up in amazement, its mouth frozen open wide in awe. Steller acted like a child who had seen heaven and spoke, "It's beautiful."

After that, Yune taught Jack more advanced techniques. He explained that increasing lung capacity was crucial, so Jack began taking dips in the River Nile, holding his breath underwater for as long as possible. Yune joined him, and they practiced together all day until the sun sank into the river and the moon rose up like the sun.

Jack tiredly walked to his room and collapsed on his bed, breathing heavily. "After all that, my lung capacity has increased, but it took a lot of effort."

A voice spoke suddenly; it was Steller. "Yes, I'm surprised Yune's training helped you this much. You're good at this."

"Oh, it's just you. I was shocked for a second," Jack said to Steller.

"From what I can observe, before, your lungs could hold enough breath to run 15-20 meters, about average. But now, you can do nearly 50 meters in one breath. That's pretty good."

"Steller, you saw that as well, right?" Jack shifted to a more serious tone.

Steller replied, "Yes, I did. Your life energy is in its form, the endless walk."

"Jack, you're a good person. I can tell from your life energy; your heart is pure at this moment. But don't let things corrupt you from within," Steller advised.

Yawning, Jack replied, "I don't know what's happening next, but I'm ready for it. Besides, if I ever go so far in life that I'm not even myself, I have my friends from the royal army and you by my side, don't I?" Jack spoke as he slowly dozed off to sleep.

Steller looked perplexed as it tried to fully understand these feelings.

Yune sat quietly in his room, closing his eyes to focus on his own life energy. The room was filled with darkness, with orange light leaking in and casting shadows from the windows. Behind him, a shadow with only its smile visible spoke, "You're here again."

Yune replied, "Today, I taught a student how to control his life energy. He saw beauty. Why is mine filled with darkness?"

The shadow responded, "You will find a place someday. Sometimes, things are right in front of us, but we don't see them."

Yune questioned, "I have been seeing you since I was a child who migrated to Thebes. This place is the same as my old miserable home. I remember that, but who are you? I don't remember being with a shadow."

The shadow replied, "Become the light to see the truth. I am a shadow who will go away once the light is shown."

Yune screamed, "What light? There is no light here."

The shadow laughed and replied, "Oh, Yune, you always underestimate yourself."

Soon, Yune's concentration was broken, and he was back in the real world. There was a knock on the door.

Yune breathed heavily and wiped the sweat off his face, standing up to open the door. He opened it, and outside was Noya.

Smiling, Noya energetically asked, "Yune, how are you doing?"

Yune replied, "I'm good. Why are you here at this time?" as he welcomed Noya into his room.

The room was similar to Jack's, with a shelf full of books, a wooden table, and a normal-sized bed with bedding. There was no light in the room except for the moonlight.

Noya turned the chair to face the window but sat facing Yune the opposite way. He asked, "How was Jack's training?"

"Oh, him," Yune replied in a tired voice. "He's discovered his life energy. All he has to do is train and keep going. His power has potential."

"What was it like?" asked Noya.

"His life energy? Apparently, he cried. It was beautiful," Yune replied.

"Right," Noya replied.

"We know who he might fight soon. Do you think he can win?" Noya questioned, referring to the strength competition.

Yune sighed, "If he does what I tell him, he might be able to stand his own. But if he uses Steller, he could win."

"Well, I guess we'll find out when it comes to it," Noya said as he scratched his head. "All that aside," he continued, "I booked you for a double date with two girls tomorrow night."

Yune looked at Noya and screamed, "What? You did that without asking me first!"

Noya replied, "Come on, man. I don't need to ask you. You're free half of the time. All you do is sleep, eat, or read. Enjoy life for once."

Yune replied in anger, "I do something educational, Mr."

Noya shrugged it off, walking out of Yune's room, saying, "You need to get a wife soon. You can't be alone forever, Yune. Better to find love before death finds you. You are our light; you will be the future for these people, soon a commander and even general," Noya said as he shut the door, shouting, "Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow."

"No, you won't!" Yune shouted back at Noya behind the closed door.

He walked to the window and whispered, "Light, huh..." looking away into the ink-black sky with the only light being the moon.