Chapter 12: Abilities Come in Different Forms (5)
Once we were settled in chairs, with Eris, having been given some instructions on being quiet and still, I closed my eyes and began entering a meditative state. I reluctantly noted that even a small amount of alcohol interfered somewhat with my concentration. Fortunately, Eris, impressively disciplined for an intoxicated young girl, didn't try to fidget or disturb me. Soon, I reached the necessary state.
"So, what do we have here?"
First, setting aside the command, I observed that Eris had the most energy-dense aura. Naturally, even Akira, the weakest of us, appeared as a fiery vortex next to a regular candle. But in comparison to the caravanners' "sparks" on whom I gathered statistics, even a "candle" looked quite decent. I also found it interesting that her energy wasn't dispersed throughout her body but seemed to concentrate somewhere in the upper part of her body. I couldn't pinpoint it precisely; spiritual vision was considerably different from normal sight.
The peculiar structure of the spiritual body intrigued me. Of course, I could exit my trance and share the good news with Eris, but curiosity had arisen, as well as my awakened perfectionism. What if I misunderstood something?
I observed a bit more closely, wanting to see and understand the anomaly before me and determine if Eris had any development potential. After a moment, my perception suddenly delved deeper, as if a flat picture transformed into a three-dimensional object. My awareness was flooded with complex abstractions, concepts, and sensations, all flowing into one another. I understood what it was like to perceive and understand things that were fundamentally beyond mortal comprehension.
For a brief moment, I felt like something more than just a human. But then an agonizing intuition shrieked, instantly snapping me out of the trance.
"K7? 0/-1e!" Someone's horrendously thin scream bored into my brain like a white-hot drill.
"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!!!" I was nearly blinded and deafened by the agony that engulfed me. It felt as though someone had poured scalding acid into my eyes and brain. My head was spinning wildly, and my stomach, with its entire contents, threatened to escape. Thankfully, I managed to suppress the nausea quickly. The Monster-That-Lives-In-My-Stomach clearly had no intention of parting with its prey.
Struggling to distance myself partially from the overwhelming sensations (a combination of meditation skills and a lifelong habit of enduring pain, both in my previous life and this one, greatly assisted), I slightly opened my eyes, which were already tearing up.
"Kurome, what's wrong with you? You're bleeding!" Eris's voice echoed painfully. With a quiet hiss, I realized that I could also taste blood, warm and metallic, on my lips and chin.
"The Abyss! Is it so hard to keep silent or speak softly?" my suffering mind protested. "If I don't answer, she won't stop bothering me." A little slower than usual, my thoughts echoed through my aching head.
"Kurome, what's happening to you?!" I could hear genuine fear in Eris's voice.
Still partially muffled by covering my nose with my right hand, I accepted the handkerchief Eris handed me with my left hand. I began awkwardly wiping the blood from my face. As I touched my chin, I felt the cold, which brought some relief to my suffering. The salty, metallic taste in my mouth was quite strong.
It was hard to talk without the pain intensifying, so I remained silent, focusing on the flow of Yatsufusa. It wasn't perfect, but it eased my suffering and allowed me to think more clearly, turning the blinding pain into a strong but manageable sensation.
I soon started feeling better, and my vestibular system returned to relative normalcy, no longer threatening to send me sprawling when I tried to stand up. Irritated by Eris's fussing, as she wanted to take me by the arm, I headed to the bathroom.
* * *
"Oh, yeah..." Leaning my hand on the wall, I looked into the mirror over the sink, from there a young ghoul with a bloody lower part of her face and red eyes from burst capillaries was looking at me with an evil grin. For the completeness of the image, only long fangs were missing.
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"Not everything... damn it, abilities are equally useful," I thought to myself, no longer needing to maintain a calm appearance, and I spat a crimson clot into the sink. "Devour their Abyss!"
Still leaning against the wall, I began washing my face. Fortunately, the blood had stopped flowing, so it wouldn't splatter on my face again. The form, having confirmed its quality, didn't even consider getting dirty. Any drops that landed on it simply rolled off without being absorbed.
The artifact's spiritual power helped me cope with the pain but, at the same time, it kindled my anger slowly. That's why I had to stop drawing energy through the bond; I had enough of my own frustration. The sensation of coolness left my body, and in its place returned the pain, making me hiss softly. Fortunately, the discomfort had dulled considerably by now. It's like a fracture: yes, it's annoying, but I don't want to pass out or curl up in a howling ball, as in the first moments.
The newfound sensory power was more dangerous than I had anticipated. For some reason, I had believed that crossing the metaphorical red line required a significant conscious effort. In reality, it wasn't quite like that. There was no noticeable effort on my part, and I had no intention of delving into those depths. I had simply framed my request too broadly, and the power, devoid of safeguards against a fool, had eagerly fulfilled it. To hell with the fact that it could have killed me! I nostalgically recalled the product of soft, microfiber minds, with its, "Are you absolutely sure you want to perform this action? Are you sure for sure?"
"Yeah, with these perks and my suicidal curiosity, I don't need any enemies. I'll just kill myself!" Actually, this time, I didn't so much make a mistake as fall victim to my ignorance of the boundaries and level of danger. If this incident didn't happen now, it would've happened later, and not necessarily under such favorable conditions. But now, I've gained an understanding of what not to do, which isn't too bad.
By the way, the morsels of information I managed to gather turned out to be quite intriguing. Of course, about ninety percent of what I glimpsed either disappeared or seemed like incomprehensible nonsense, but a few general concepts remained in my head.
To begin with, summarizing what I was able to see and understand: in this world, there's an energy storm raging that simultaneously enables and hinders various supernatural tricks. It's not exactly a storm; it's just that the natural force feels rather "heavy" and unstable, which, as I understood, disrupts the creation of various wizardry, blurring their structure.
In other words, theoretically, creating a firefly on your hand, or even making the palm itself glow, is possible. But weaving a self-sustaining pattern emitting light? Unlikely. Although it left me wondering how alchemy worked in this scenario. And the abilities of Yatsufusa, like many other Teigu, didn't quite fit into this state of affairs.
Hmm, if I recall the peculiar powers of S-rank monsters and their uncategorized comrades, I can assume that at a certain level, energy becomes too dense to dissipate quickly. But I had yet to test this theory.
Another interesting aspect was a rough understanding of the mechanics behind the acquisition of spirit warrior abilities. Very approximate, built mostly on assumptions, but still.
From what I gathered, natural energy had almost no direct interaction with the material world and its living inhabitants. If there was interaction, it occurred through the spiritual shell, and that was an exception rather than a rule. Under normal circumstances, the outer layer of the aura of a person, and possibly other beings, acted like a water-repellent fabric, preventing the absorption of energy rolling off it. However, under specific conditions, this "fabric" would start absorbing energy, essentially turning into something like a battery. The endowed person would also begin producing energy themselves. When mixed with Prana, this energy provided spirit warriors and monsters with their extraordinary abilities.
As for Eris, she had a small, stable breach in her aura, leading to one of these energy nodes. Through this breach, minuscule bits of energy seeped. If I interpreted this newfound knowledge correctly, even this minor access could significantly facilitate Eris's journey towards becoming a spirit warrior. A curious formation, though it might be a typical phenomenon; I could be short on statistics.
Regardless, Eris undeniably possessed talent. The challenge was to harness and develop it. Achieving even the lower tier of a Spirit Warrior, as my reasonable minion, would take years of dedicated training. But that was not my concern.
Regarding energy nodes, they indeed existed, with a few nodes for each person, each serving a different purpose. Perhaps my new acquaintance possessed a specific ability. However, this was all I could deduce, and it was far from certain.
Right now, despite the discomfort, my piqued curiosity bombarded me with questions. What if I tried to forcibly pierce the outer layer of the aura? How could that be accomplished? Could one synchronize with another person, similar to a Teigu, and infuse them with their energy? Or perhaps even extract it? Was it feasible to shield a room from natural energy?
All the assumptions required careful consideration... and some guinea pigs.
Hearing the sound of the opening door, I glanced toward the exit. A familiar blonde figure stood in the doorway.
"Are you okay, Kurome?" she asked.
"Fine," I replied.
"And what happened to you? Is it dangerous? Can I help?" The blonde girl looked deeply concerned and started rambling again.
"No, it's not dangerous. It's the price of power. I pushed myself too hard," I replied in a manner typical of our laconic big guy. "By the way, you should be happy; you have the potential to become a spirit warrior."
"Really?! Can I become as strong as you? Just like in the books?"
"Don't shout," I winced. Although the pain had subsided, the loud noises were still unpleasant.
"Sorry, sorry! I'll speak more quietly. It's just... this is so interesting and unexpected!" Eris chuckled softly. "On this path, I feel like I've become the heroine of a novel. The road, the monster and the villains, a kind and strong friend and her unusual companions. And now, it turns out, I can also become the same!"
"It is difficult," I informed her, seeing her eagerness to ask questions and not particularly eager to respond just yet. "Let's go downstairs, you can ask Natal. As for me, I need to replenish the blood I've lost with a glass of wine, relax, and recover."
"In the meantime, maybe my headache will get better," I thought with a mental grimace. "This time, it's actually fading rather quickly. Perhaps I'll adapt? The main thing is to adapt and learn how to use this damned spiritual sight safely before I make a fatal mistake."
I had no intention of giving up such a dangerous ability. Despite its potential lethality, this power was too valuable. And I wasn't in a position to be picky.