“What?!”
“Why would you want to do that?”
Kaoran and Degres were completely shocked by Stone’s words. For going into Kennera Lake, other than for the first Baptism, a person would need an extreme amount of merit. It would hurt even Degres’ merit pool.
Thus it wasn’t so surprising that those two were so shocked when Stone said he wants to go there not for the second baptism but just to get his name.
“Yes. Remember when I told you what I saw in the lake that day? Those golden lights? I want to name myself there because of that. I feel like it can be really beneficial to me.”
Stone answered without any change in his intonation, his voice firm. He didn’t know why but he just remembered about those lights now that he realized that part of his life was just a lie.
Was that also just his imagination? Was that the reason why Kaoran didn’t notice anything? Or was there some kind of reason for that? He wanted to know.
Either way, this would probably be his last chance to go to that place before leaving. He had nothing to lose other than time. But that is currency he has plenty of.
“Stone, I think you should think about that. You may be thrown off because of what happened but throwing away your merit like this is bad. It takes too much merit to enter the lake again. Furthermore, you can’t be baptized for the second time! Your body was fully saturated in the first one and it would probably take decades before your body would properly digest all of that Cold Energy. Think about it. You will just waste all that merit.”
Kaoran tried to persuade him to not waste the merit he gained after suffering so much, but Stone just shook his head.
“It is not a waste. Firstly, my curiosity will be doused. Secondly, that place was where I was reborn. A place that gave me a chance to pursue power. Getting a name in that place is proper in my case. You could even say ceremonial. I have never forgotten your words. Names have power, right? Then the place, time, and emotion could also affect the might of the name, no?”
Stone calmly reasoned.
Kaoran, who listened to his words, started to contemplate them. Degres just stood there scratching his head. He didn’t understand what Stone meant by that.
In the end, Kaoran yielded and gave him the permission.
“All right, that is feasible. Seeing that you can still think rationally, I will believe in you. But you must wait. Probably a few months at the very least. We can’t open it up just for you only for the Cold Energy to dissipate.”
After the winter worsened, the waterfall once again froze. Normally by this time, the Tribe would leave and return after a few years for the baptism. Fortunately for Stone, since the winter came sooner and stronger than ever before, the Cold Energy accumulated much quicker and the entire baptism process could be accelerated by a few years.
That means that many children don’t need to waste their time waiting for the chance and can train properly from a young age.
“Then it is the deal.”
Stone was also satisfied. While his curiosity still burned, he could wait. The name also isn’t important until he finishes his studies.
And so the agreement was created.
Seven Months Passed.
Since that time, Stone never was the same. His already stoic expression became even colder, and he became more reclusive.
He only talked a few times with Urchin, who also didn’t know anything about a person called Zephyr despite Stone seeing him bickering with her.
This made it difficult for him to believe in other people’s existence.
And so he mostly spent his time with Kaoran. This time, however, he spent the entire time preparing for his first journey to the Spirit World.
Building his foundation with spiritual perception until he could feel it naturally, bathing in spiritual baths made out of rare herbs, and learning to manipulate this kind of energy.
This step in life was very important as the more you were close to the Spirit World, the more power you could muster. The Bakur Tribe used this connection for naming their people. If you do not have good affinity for the Spiritual Arts or you have never trained in those, then you would be named by Grand Shaman who would help you connect to the Spirit World.
However, if you make the step yourself, then the quality of the name and potential you could gain with it will dramatically increase.
Of course, each try was expensive as you needed some rare materials as catalyst for not only the journey but also the naming process. That was the reason why getting a name took so many merits.
People of the south can make fun of them for this kind of tradition, but the truth is that their names really affected their lives and many cases in the tribe testified to it.
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And so Stone immersed himself into the way of spirituality for most of the time before he went to visit Kennera Lake.
Since he already perfected the basic meditation, he could learn the ‘Nature Breath’ method he coveted for some time already.
The difference of grade of the methods was painfully visible as he felt euphoric just by practicing it. The entire process changed as he did actually enjoy it.
He was training like this every day and stopped fighting against other tribes so that his shoulder could fully heal.
And it did. After so many months, only a scar remained on that place. But even that scar was waning as his gift was growing stronger as he grew older.
One day Kaoran finally said that there will soon be a ceremony for the children.
So he started to prepare himself.
“Phew… In a few days, huh.”
He was lying in the tub full of warm water which was full of herbal essence. This bath was made for an easier split of the material and astral body once you will enter the Spirit World.
It was an important process especially for those with bad talent.
This way he bathed for a few hours every day and meditated inside of the tube.
Thanks to the ‘Nature Breath’ method’s trait of merging with nature, it was much easier to absorb that herbal essence making it much more efficient.
A few hours later, Stone stood up from the already cold and translucent bath and put his clothes on.
Then he went to visit Kaoran.
“Are you there?” He called out in front of the tent waiting for Kaoran’s words.
“Yes, come in.”
Once he got permission, he entered. There he saw Kaoran sitting at his usual place smoking a wooden pipe. It wasn’t anything weird as he saw him smoking it quite often over the years.
But this time Kaoran wasn’t the only one to smoke.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
Kaoran handed him another one which seemed to be already full of some other herbs.
He lit it up and put it in his mouth.
“Do you think it will help with anything?”
“That I do not know. It is one of my new prototypes. Smoking hallucinogens could be quite dangerous. But using the ancestor’s records and your situation gave me this inspiration to create it, hehe.” Said Kaoran with a smug face.
Stone with a frown started to smoke. He knew that what he was smoking was utterly different from what Kaoran was so he wasn’t as much disgusted by it.
Kaoran’s pipe gave off the smoke of disgusting stench giving him bad coughs. Just by smelling it, he knew it must be bad for health.
‘Why would someone without my regeneration willingly destroy their bodies from inside?’ He couldn’t understand at first.
Of course later he found out that Kaoran had been smoking an actually healthier option that was even helping him with his spiritual affinity and that some people in the south smoke completely useless herbs that are only addictive.
Furthermore, he knew that it taints the lungs. It is not like his regeneration will clean it up for him. So for Stone, it didn’t bring any attraction and so he never tried.
But now Kaoran gave him this alternative with Spirit Dew Flowers that didn’t leave anything behind as they literally melted into Spirit Dew. The biggest problem was that it made users hallucinate and could even lightly damage your brain. But now when Kaoran modified the way to use those flowers, it could be used to blur the wall between material and spiritual worlds if used in big quantities.
For Stone, it was perfect.
He needed to be careful of serious brain damage but this one was so light that even those without regeneration could use it a few times without consequences. Of course, prolonged use would be a bad idea but by the time Stone’s head would be in pristine state again so it didn’t apply to him.
And so in the last few days, Stone smoked this weird flower in hopes that it will help him to get a better name in the Spirit World.
“Don’t expect too much from that journey. Most people won’t even recognize that they entered the place. Both material and spiritual intersect each other and look at first glance the same. That’s why spiritual perception is so important. To see the unseen.”
Stone listened as Kaoran was explaining all kinds of things that could happen and that could go wrong so he doesn’t mess up.
Kaoran also gave him the herbs he will need to eat before the ceremony. Those herbs cannot be boiled or mixed beforehand and so he needs to eat them raw. Once he does so it will make his Spirit less stable and make it much easier to loosen the anchor that connects it firmly with the material body.
Meanwhile, he took a puff. It was definitely better than anything else that Kaoran gave him to smoke. It had a pleasing aroma of the flowers calming down his taut nerves. The only problem was that he would hallucinate a little every time. And that was despite the fact that Kaoran blocked most of the effect for the day he will visit the Spirit World.
That way he could easily cross the line that many others couldn’t.
In this manner, Stone passed the time until the ceremony came.
By the evening Kaoran disappeared so he could make the same speech he did four years ago to Stone’s generation.
Meanwhile, Stone watched from a distance as the excited kids listened to the passionate words of Kaoran. Then he rolled his eyes.
‘You are just repeating the same words.’
Once the speech ended, everyone was pumped up for the baptism. Children pranced around and parents looked proudly.
People in the tribe usually have children soon, as nobody knows when you will die.
Some of the oldest in his batch already have children. Stone didn’t consider one, but Urchin seemed to be anxious about not having a girl to spend time with. He was just 15 years old though.
It could be said that Degres and Kaoran are exceptions. A welcomed one as not one tribe got destroyed because useless descendants of chiefs and shamans made a mess during the selection of inheritors.
And so far most people think that Stone will be like them. That was the reason why no girl ever made a move on him. His cold look and reclusive behavior made it hard for them to get near.
Once Kaoran ended the speech, he started to guide them with a few other adults who had the tools for breaking the waterfall.
Stone planned to help at the beginning, but Kaoran stopped him and told him to preserve his energy so he could only give up.
Soon they got to the waterfall and the exclamations of the children were heard everywhere.
Adults got to work and so Stone stood out as a sore thumb among the children. They were casting glances at him and were whispering why he was there. But whenever his gaze passed them, they avoided his look, his cold disposition a culprit.
This made him feel uncomfortable. He didn’t like to be the center of attention.
Fortunately, he didn’t need to wait for too long as the waterfalls fell quite soon.
Children went inside one by one in an obedient manner.
When Stone looked at them freely now that their attention was diverted he realized that the oldest one was only around ten years old. Usually a child had to be at least eight years old to undergo baptism or undergo a trial of elders to find out if he has a good enough physique, can swim, and is proficient in the basic medication. Else it could be dangerous, and the child could lose its life even with Kaoran overseeing them.
Stone waited until everyone was inside.
Once they did, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and got ready mentally for whatever he will go through.
Then with determined expression, he entered the cave once again.