The Keeper gave her Challenger a common-rated mantra from her sector only because the situation called for it. She wasn’t violating any rules this time; the child had purchased a Ghost, and although she had no idea who would give such a valuable tool to a novice, that didn’t matter. It afforded him access to specific knowledge.
She was merely providing that knowledge ahead of schedule.
The mantra itself was nothing special, even in the lowest rungs of the Frontier Lands. The Keeper supposed it was a step up from the current nothingness the contestants seem to know about cultivation, but the ability her Challenger displayed was nonsensical.
The Keeper saw it herself through the window she conjured. The child almost died from trying to use a spell above his level to handle; he was extremely lucky to succeed the first time. It was obvious that the boy knew nothing about cultivation or the subtle mysteries, but the boy grasped the concept behind the mantra near-instantaneously. The elements lurched at his call, and the essence he couldn't beckon was made in the pure ether, creating an incredibly stable resource bound together by five elements.
The Keeper urged her Challenger to circulate the energy he miraculously refined, half-anticipating the need to intervene and jumpstart the circulation herself, and yet, the child achieved it himself. He forced the energy into a meridian, smashing the aperture open with most of the energy and allowing the rest to trickle into his damaged vessels. It washed away cracks and cuts, and smoothed out the meridian with its passage.
Not only would the man restore his body, but he also would build it better than before. She clicked her claws excitedly at the prospect of raising a legend in the making.
****
“Breathing should not stop at the nostrils or mouth. It must be collected and dispersed meticulously, something especially important for someone as unknowledgeable as you.” The Keeper lectured as it floated over Castor’s head. “To learn how to control the flow of ether, aura, and one’s resource is the most foundational skill. You must force the energy to obey your commands through the sheer force of your will, mind, and consciousness.”
The Keeper drilled the words into Castor’s head, but he didn’t mind. The words grounded him, keeping his surroundings from spinning no matter how hard his head pounded. He focused on two things; his breathing and the growing picture in his head.
Each breath brought a surge of refreshing purity that pushed back the pain and nausea. Every time Castor repeated the mantra, a refreshing coolness swept through his veins and across his body.
Castor’s visualization of the paths the energy took became clearer each breath. It allowed a detailed real-time picture of his cultivation system—his throat and lungs, his numerous meridians, and the pool that sat in his gut.
Water invigorates Wood, Wood purifies Air.
Every inhale came with a rush of vitality; life-giving essences condensing on his tongue. It tasted of salt, ash, and dirt. Like kindling to the fire, the glow of Castor’s respiratory system exploded wherever the ether landed.
Air feeds Fire, Fire tames Earth
Motes of beautiful colors ran down his throat. Some flows were slow and meandering while others were so fast the motes blurred together in a stream. Once the ether made it to his resource pool, Castor found his meager ability to direct it finally taking effect.
Earth creates Metal.
He rubbed the energy into strands, molding them with his pure force of will, and shooting them into the meridian aperture. Every strand Castor sent barreling into the blockage, the more his visualization spread. It began to stretch over his lungs, heart, and gut when he ran out of steam, or more accurately, he ran out of ether to fuel his session.
Castor’s perspective shifted as he took a mental step back from the image to bask in its unfinished glory, the streams and stars came together to form a growing constellation, all within Castor.
“You’re no longer in immediate danger, ” The Wisp declared. “Instead, an opportunity presents itself to you. Would you like to continue following my instruction at a chance to change your future?”
Castor didn’t answer immediately. He fell out of his mediation slowly, unwilling to let go of the magical sight of stars flying through his body. He heard the entity’s proposition, even felt the metaphorical hand it held out to hand in askance, but still he hesitated. “Why do you want to help me so bad? I don't even know you.”
“It’s because you are my Challenger; it is my duty to guide the next generation as much as I can…” The Wisp preached in suddenly formal speech, before it gradually stopped. “...I need you, to get back to a sector with actual people, I need you.”
Castor opened his mouth, and closed it in reconsideration. “What should I do?”
“You must have a plan, yes, but to plan effectively you must first understand.” The Keeper said as her form exploded into pink stardust. Glitter swept across the cave in a shower of stars. Castor absentmindedly tried to cup some in his hands, yet they phased through them as if they didn’t exist.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Cultivation,” The Keeper’s now booming omnipresent voice made the young man jump. “What do you know of it, Challenger?”
“Other than those old, bad Chinese movies and that you keep referring to it?” Castor asked. “Not much.”
“Cultivation is much more than a subset of culture on your puny planet. It is everything.” The glitter condensed into constellations. Various gods and myth fought for supremacy above, while monsters and legends Castor barely recognized soared over his head. “Cultivation encompasses everything, but not everything can be called so. Growth to a single point, to seek an extreme, dedication to a single pursuit. Continuous Perfection. People give their whole lives, sometimes multiple generations to the perfection of their craft.
“If I wasn’t bound by duty, I would’ve taught you in my ways and directed you down a similar path. As things are now, I will give you the choice. What do you wish for in your wildest dream?”
Castor chuckled. “Is it too much to wish for my dog to live forever?”
The Keeper paused, taking the joke far too seriously. “While that is a lofty goal, I suggest something more…relevant to you.”
Taking a moment to think, Castor was hard pressed to think of something. He almost thought to ask for superpowers, but it felt too childish. Here he was, with a chance of lifetime being handed to him on a silver platter, yet he still didn’t know what to say.
Castor did know he was tired of being afraid. He was extremely tired of losing.
“I want to win.” He whispered. “I want to be someone people can depend on.”
“Protecting things and people of value is a noble goal. Toppling adversity despite fear. A simple concept few seek. Are you sure you want to pursue a path such as this?”
“Yes,” Castor assured. “I don’t know if I can dedicate to anything my entire life to anything, but I know that’s what I want.”
“Don’t set such limitations for yourself,” The Keep instructed him. “It will be important for you to broaden your foundations in the future, but for a blasted Trial like this…it will serve you well.
“Now, purchase as many ether orbs as possible; We must cram as much ether and refined essence into your body.”
***
The group of humans all stood around the store, arguing with one another, so few paid attention to the dog sigh despondently in the corner of the room.
Blue missed his Cas, and hated that he had to be around loud, strange-smelling people. The spicy-like scent differed in flavor and intensity for each person, but made his nose itch all the same. He hated that Cas wasn’t here.
The word was new to the dog as well—hate. Blue was a very smart boy, so he already knew a couple Human words, like ‘sit down’ and ‘get away from my food’, but it was different now. Every word Blue heard he could understand, and with it came pictures and memories he didn’t understand.
That only made Blue even more upset.
“What’s wrong, Blue? You okay?” One of the strangers his Cas told him to protect asked.
Blue gave the older female an annoyed huff back.
“I swear your dog just answered my question.” The female told the male, to which he shrugged it off.
“Not my dog, and you gotta listen. The boss is telling us what we have to do.” The male said he focused back on the leader.
Uncomfortable words and images ran through his [Bond] with Cas at another new word, even as dulled as it was right now. Blue whimpered as his head pounded from pressure. The dog tried not to focus on the pain, using his new instincts as a distraction.
Cas called it magic. Blue didn’t know what that was, but his new abilities felt like he was just breathing, except with your brain instead of your mouth. Blue could spread energy with a flick of his tail, and could change its flavor just as fast.
Super sneaking and super strong; if only Blue had this before, he would’ve never been caught by those bastard dog catchers, the canine growled at the influx of new words.
Maybe both him and Castor would still be at home now.
The room became quiet, which caught Blue’s attention. Humans were weird and can change their minds faster than he could wag his tail. He didn’t think they would turn on each other, but he’s seen weirder.
All the people gathered at a window, looking at a disturbance below. Blue didn't know what the trouble was, but it caused an even bigger uproar than before. Several people started yelling at the man in charge, while most looked at each other in worry. The little female gripped Blue by the scruff of his neck tightly; he would’ve been angry about it if she wasn’t shaking and dripping off fear.
“Don’t panic everyone,” The people’s leader commanded. “We know there’s a chance awakening can kill you and turn you into an undead—that’s the whole reason we had everyone who wasn’t a player give their stone to us. We still don’t know the exact reason why it happens, but rest assured we won’t let monsters into our midst. For those concerned for their property, we will return the stones when we verify everyone and the method to safely awaken.”
Most of the words blew over Blue, as did most that weren’t spoken by his owner, but he understood some of it. There were deads walking on the property.
Although the leader was trying to help the group stay safe, something about him just set Blue off. It could’ve been his intense eyes or the way his smile had too many teeth, the dog didn’t know. Blue just didn’t like the man, he decided. No need to complicate things.
“It’s okay, guys. I’ll protect you.” The male puffed his chest and did his best to exude confidence, but all he earned was a snort from Blue. If anyone was going to protect this pack of pups, it was going to be him.
The leader showed them the rest of the top floor, allowing the people to create dens wherever. The boy took Blue’s group to space that was completely empty, except for the pervasive dust and a couple couches. Blue quickly hopped on a couch, claiming it before any other could beat him, yet no one cared. They all stood in the entrance, whispering to each other.
“Come on, Blue.” The boy called out. “We gotta do one thing before we can rest.”
Blue sighed miserably. Walking up the stairs was exhausting, but walking down them was a nightmare. The dog had to watch every step to make sure he didn’t trip on the way down.
He burst through the stairway doors, relieved to be done with the tedious steps, but stopped when he noticed he was being stared at. Too many people to count, each one looking roughed up and ragged, all had eyes on Blue. He backed away nervously, bumping into the children behind him.
“It’s fine. Keep going.” Under the boy’s incessant instructions, Blue continued through the crowd, who were all pooled together around a rock jutting out of the ground.
Cas would never have me go through a crowd first. Blue thought begrudgingly, but continued anyway. The looks were strange—angry, but not hateful; envious, but no one was willing to challenge them. Blue put it upon himself to guard the boy who thought himself pack leader while he placed a hand on the statue. Waves spread through the air as the boy fiddled with his magic words. Blue did not miss how all eyes snapped towards the glow that radiated from the boy’s hand.
For some odd reason, the boy gave up one of the orbs that came from the light to the leader’s servant. Blue didn’t know what he gave up, but he knew Cas tried to tell the boy to save everything they could. He lunged to snatch the ball from the servant’s hand, but when he got close, something pulsed. He growled, swinging his head around to look for the attacker, but magic words blocked his vision.
Bond Detected!
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