Heart Movement

Kira was now convinced he had done the right move by now blindly increasing his cultivation base. His feeling of love for lightning only further being reinforced by Mira’s words. Do not frantically seek to increase your cultivation base.

He had decided he would master lightning, only afterwards increase his cultivation. Lord Yamato was weaker than Mira, yet he made her bow nonetheless. That domineering scene was etched into his psyche, forever to remain.

As he was sitting cross legged, his eyes closed in meditation, both his arms were being coated by a small film of lightning energy. Energizing the air in the room, melting anything they touched without his consent, he exercised his proficiency of it.

He allowed lightning to flow on top of his skin, finding a diluted film over both his arms, to be easier practiced then the lightning blade over his palm.

Every time he tried condensing the lightning energy, it would become chaotic, ruining its flow. No matter how he flowed the lightning it would always turn chaotic.

No matter how gentle he was with it, its structure would collapse into unbounded lightning qi.

Hence, he decided to defuse it. Feel its inner workings in a more diluted manner.

The scroll showed him how to do it, he could clearly observe the structure of the lightning blade over the silhouette’s palm, but he could never emulate.

After a full day of meditation, he had managed to coat his arms in a stable film of qi. This would be devastating against mortals, melting their innards if they dare touch his arms.

Against someone without an enhanced body. If he were to fight someone like him, or stronger, like the subordinate of Furya. Kira believed he would not fare so well. It would enhance his attack power and penetration ability, but the increase was something one could shrug off.

The lightning qi coated his arms was sent back into his back, his meditation session ending, having lasted a full twelve hours. He shook his head. His progress was miniscule. He felt the lightning blade worked under a different principle. Yet it escaped him.

The qi coating would help him in his hunting expedition. Since Mira had said he needed to focus on technique rather than raw power, he would wholeheartedly devote to such a path. His expedition would be a long one, and he shall temper himself, with the beasts of Jangala. Since this would be a killing expedition, he would not shy away from danger. Since he could kill beats, beats would kill him. Whether he died today, or a thousand years from now. It made no difference to him.

With this mentality, he was suddenly struck by a light melancholy.

Kira closed his eyes gently, to observe this movement of thought. Why am I sad? Is it really sadness, or am I lying to myself about it.

As he observed himself, he realized what he felt was a slight attachment to everything around him, especially all the people he had met along the way.

Miu, Mira, Luxa, Neontrail, even the ashen woman whose name he did not know. There was a slight attachment to each and every one of them, and everything related to them.

He had thought he had let go of all attachments that he had, but now he saw, new ones were being made.

“I have been alone my entire life. If I would not get attached to some extent, it would probably mean I am incapable of feeling it.”

“Hahaha! Why do I get attached? All these beautiful things I have experienced, all the beautiful people I have been with, each of them bravely blazing trails into this world, I shall hold them in my heart, completely unafraid of it!”

He opened his eyes and smiled gently, the soft purple light of night, fell into his room.

“Since it is not wrong to be in solitude, then neither it is wrong for me to hold their hands.”

Nodding to himself slightly, he was prepared to fight to the death now.

growl!

After he ate. Together with Miu. He also wanted to speak with Luxa. Although she had seemed fine when he left her, she was a human. She had attachments which made her suffer, she had memories which forced her to feel, since she had pushed him to follow his heart, he wanted to do the same for her.

He would probably fail in showing her that, being a normal human was just as fair as being an immortal. But he would still try. For this is what truth Kira had observed within himself. The only thing he saw as absolute. He would not spare her from the truth.

As he left the room, he could hear Miu bike just outside the building. She had been out cultivating outside the city, all day long. Kira thought he was lucky to still be able to cultivate at home, unlike Miu who had become too powerful.

He met her just as she entered the building.

He smiled at her “Are you done for today?” she seemed to be exhausted, her eyes lightless and devoid of energy.

“Yes. I have. What do you want?” her curt way of speaking not bothering Kira at all.

“I have some credits. Wanna make them disappear?”

Seeing her face turn from being lifeless to a childish grin, made Kira laugh inside, but he did not point it out.

“Really? Wah! How much! No! Never mind. Take me to eat and drink. Ah right. You don’t have a ride like I have, since you are too weak. Fine.” laughing joyously at him “Come on. We do not have all night.”

He told her he would like to go to the same restaurant as last time, and they left blazing trough the neon radiated streets. It appeared Miu was really hungry.

“Turn on the radio. Let’s listen to something on the way there.” Kira had not listened to the radio ever since he had first turned it on.

Miu turned on the radio, and switched trough the multidate of channels. Kira found it interesting that they did not have the technology to transmit images yet. Their psionics only had radios. Compared to the utopic level of technology back on Emerald, here on Jangala they were running with pre-Hegemony tech. They had image capture, since he saw the crystal recorders all over the city, but did not manage to develop further than that. He wondered how other planets were, and if their psionics research had reached more advanced levels.

As Miu kept switching channels, a familiar voice was heard over the air. She stopped searching for other frequencies once she heard the voice, and let it play.

Kira frowned “Why this person? Is he not suffering from psionic deviation?”

Miu laughed heartily “He is not a cultivator. He is someone who has a bone to pick with us. All the news he relates are about cultivator world. All of them portraited in as bad a light as possible.”

‘I have big news for you mortals out there. Haha! Do not worry you poor, poor immortals, no one ever forgets about you. Never! Not that we could in any case. Next month, oh yes next time this month, something big is going down. We will be visited by a trade convoy. HAHAHA! You all know what this means? New stock baby!’

“Convoy?”

Miu had lit up a cigarette and was puffing from it while driving. It did not blow in the wind as Kira expected it to, but he assumed it was Miu’s doing.

“Yeah. It is a trade convoy. We have not had one in over a month. This is a lesser planet, not that many things to trade, so they come less often here. It takes a while for the planet to produce things to export. Besides naturally infused wood, there is not much else other planets do not have” she then grinned heavily, her expression twisting in excitement “Kira, if you can reach rank 1 within the month, or soon right after, you could be of tremendous help to big sis. What do you think? Can you do it?” her tone letting him know, it was probably dangerous.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Kira did not have the right to even breath in Mira’s presence, let alone help her, but since Miu had said that reaching rank 1 would help Mira tremendously, then he would do his best.

He grinned, her excitement passing on to him “If setting my soul on fire will help Mira, then fine. Haha! I will do so” a cultivation manual would cost him credits, giving him even more incentive to leave on a long trip.

The bike kept riding into the night, tearing the city with its roar, carrying the two cultivator’s trough the neon radiated concrete jungle.

Arriving at the restaurant, this time Kira further appreciated the beautiful sight that greeted him.

The lake surface, mirroring the low glow of the trees around it and the low ceiling of purple shining leaves, casting such an enchanting image, he could not help but sigh. Kira was mesmerized even more since he had not seen many rivers since had come to Jangala. Fresh water looked to be uncommon. The beautiful fresh water deltas he had seen in virtual environments, on Emerald, nowhere to be seen here on Jangala.

Entering the pavilion and noticing few people at this time, he smiled thinking it would be good, if they could eat in quiet.

“Waitress! Come get my order!” only to be seconds later disappointed by reality. This is what you get when you get attached to tranquility, he thought, not being able to suppress an amused wide smile.

“Welcome! Please sit. Would you like to order the same course as last time, or something smaller?” Luxa came smiling at them, her words however held supreme sarcasm instilled inside.

“Ten times!” said Miu with an animated expression. The words made Luxa angry, almost fuming at the mouth.

“I am afraid we do not speak the language mam. You must be from off world.” her words held subdued anger, as she spoke through clenched teeth.

“Luxa! Do not speak like that to customers! Do you want me to fire you!” these words were said by the same man who had accommodated Kira at the armory, except now they held even more animosity towards Luxa.

Kira frowned hoping these words would not injure Luxa. What transpired next shocked him. Luxa smiled as gently as cloud float and responded as genuinely as possible.

“Forgive me father. That was out of line.” she then turned to Miu and said in a soft voice, making sure the words did not travel far, but that her father heard the apology.

“Dear customer, would you please excuse my impudence, it would seem I am not cultured enough to speak your language.” even though he felt no animosity towards Miu, he could feel the structure of the apology sarcastically assumed Miu had been at fault.

Kira smiled, as happily as he could, for it would seem Luxa, was no longer bothered by the world around her. He still decided to probe nonetheless, he might have seen a fluke.

“Luxa, this is Miu, she is honestly my friend, and I invited her to eat.” he then laughed merely “Even ten times if she so chooses.” these words making Miu shed tears of joy.

“Luxa, I have come here to thank you for the words you said to me at that time. You know what I am referring to. It need not be mentioned. I want to say that, if it were not for your words, I would have made a big mistake. Who knows where that path might have led if you were not there at that time, to remind me to follow the truth. So, thank you.”

He got up and performed a cultivator's salute, cupping his left fist with his right palm, and bowing slightly, as he would to someone his equal.

Luxa smiled lightly at him, and motioned for him to sit down, somehow at an impasse as to how better speak the next words, hesitating slightly saying “I, at that time” she then shook her head softly “No. Even now, I am a mortal Kira. I was a mortal. So you do not need to bow to me in this manner.”

Her face was serene as she said those words, she was not sad when she said it, nor did she seem brave, it felt as if she merely spoke the truth. But Kira could feel these words contained a hidden meaning.

He responded to reassure her “Do you think my words at the time were spoken out of a desire to look heroic? When I told you at the time, that mortals and immortals, no matter which one, they are all equal, I did not speak out of the bottom of my heart, or to satisfy some belief of mine.” his eyes turned sharp and his voice metallic, as fierce as steel. “I spoke what I saw in me. The truth. I did not speak to make you feel better, I spoke because saying anything else, would have been a lie. So, tell me Luxa? Do you have the courage to be a mortal? Do you have what it takes to see the fact that you are equal to an immortal?”

Kira thought she had meant to test him, or she was not sure if he actually meant those words. Little did he know, it had another meaning as well.

Her response would prove to Kira if she was well or not, if she would suffer in the future or not. Her words at the time, to follow his heart, might have seem not that important. It was just a spear. But Kira knew, when one slightly compromises on the truth, it is as good as abandoning the way to truth. It might have been a little then, and even more later, after all what is the difference between a little, and a little bit more.

Her expression still as gentle, she shook her head from side to side, shaking from her mind “I, Luxa may be a common mortal, but I am as equal to immortals, as immortals are equal to me.”

Light scoffs were heard from other people in the restaurant. Luckily, it was devoid of large numbers, otherwise, she would have been laughed at by the whole of night city.

And looking at her steady gaze, she would have done it nonetheless.

Kira nodded “Good. If you truly see the truth in those words, then you won't suffer no matter where you stand in this world. You may die trampled under someone's feet, but truth is eternal, no matter how humans choose to interpret it.”

Miu frowned, not really understanding what Kira meant by those words. Since he was young, it could be he was merely acting heroic in front of a girl. What did he mean when he said, mortals and immortals are the same? How could they possibly be the same. How can a mortal follow his heart as well as I do? But since he was close to Mira, he had over time, become somewhat close to her, so it did not matter what he said. He would stay close to her no matter what he said.

“I’ll go get you a course, if you finish it, I will come with more.” she did not linger any longer, it looked to her that Kira had said everything he needed to say.

Miu did not bother with anything else at that moment, and began engorging with beast meat and other such cultivator delicacies. With one credit, a mortal family could eat an entire day. She was currently eating for thousands of families. That was how expensive the food here was.

The wine flowed, the meat disappeared, and the table kept being restocked and refilled with plates and bottles.

Kira gazed horrified at Miu. “How are you eating this much?” he saw her pat her stomach in bliss “Well, my stellar furnace is the same as a balrogs. Don’t compare me to mere mortals such as yourself.” returning to swallowing entire chunks of meat.

He did not know what kind of training Miu was going through, but it seemed to be resource demanding. He had ten thousand credits left, and as long as he had some left to buy supplies, he would be satisfied. Even if he went to Mira to ask for money, since she had said that she would take him under her, she probably would not be so stingy as to not give him even supply money.

As Luxa kept bringing in the food, he could not help but notice something curious. She no longer had the necklace. He did not believe the cross to be simply something religious in nature for her. He assumed it must have been a gift from someone, someone important to her. Why would she take it down?

“Luxa, I want to ask you something. Where is the necklace that you wore?” there was some confusion as to what she would do to something that important. He had seen how she treated it with care the previous times he had seen her.

Luxa was taken aback by the sudden personal question. She quickly calmed down and placed a palm on top of her heart saying softly “I did not throw it away. I merely choose to move to a different place.” leaving after saying this much.

Kira was satisfied with such an answer. Some people would throw away their heart, once attachment was no longer a problem. You can still love someone, even if you are not attached to them. But her reply had put his mind at ease.

He had come here to say words to show her that what she believed in was true. Not just a fairy tale she spouted.

But it would seem, his help was never needed in the first place.

After the tenth refill, Miu decided she had eaten enough. Satisfied, she looked at Kira and smiled, holding her palm open towards him. “Creds.”

Her smile seemed as if she was barely containing her laugher. He could hear the thoughts spinning in her mind. Let me teach you a lesson in restraint. You are a century too early to be paying for my food.

“Hahaha! If I say I pay, then why would I give you the slate. Check please!”

Luxa came with the slate swiper. “The note comes to 8900.”

Kira gave the slate, and after a couple of moments the sound of the payment having been completed was heard, sweetly resonating through the air.

Miu had shocked eyes, and she could not believe Kira had enough money to pay for that meal. I never have enough money to eat, how come he does.

Food was no longer necessary once you became a cultivator. In fact, the digestive system was mostly discarded in its entirety, only the bare essentials remaining. Kira had not reached this stage yet, but his body could already function on tiny amounts of food. Of course, when it came to immortal dishes, then things changed. But to digest immortal food in considerable amounts, one would need to reach rank 1. For now, Kira did not require much else besides psionic energy. His lifestyle only occasionally requiring him to eat. Obviously, Miu functioned differently. Comparing him to Miu, was like comparing your local snake, to an albionic dragon.

At Miu’s level, the stomach could no longer keep its name, instead immortals would nickname their digestive tracts, Stellar Furnaces, since it sounded good and it came from the most perfect organism in the universe. A balrog.

Scientifically it was called some other term.

Kira then bade his goodbye to Luxa. Who knew if he would be coming back, or even if he would ever return here. Although he, Kira, considered her his friend, he would not allow melancholy to detract his focus. Even after only a couple of weeks of being in this world pf cultivation, Kira knew, one would need a saintly disposition if one wanted to scale the heavens.

As he left, his now only thought was to fight. Miu glanced at him, and sensed his rising momentum. She looked left and right checking for enemies, but calmed down when she saw none.

Kira was prepared now for everything that would happen in the jungle. Even death.

If death will come, I shall face death. I want to see if it is brave enough to kill me.

Luxa watched as Kira left, and smiled faintly, since she had entered his world, she wondered if she would meet him travelling the ways of heavens someday.