My mental self just sits in the seat for a moment. Staring at what just happened… “Did I just?” I rewatch the memory of what just happened. “Yep… that really just happened. I guess they work at least.” I get up and stretch, not that I really needing to but it’s one of those satisfying habits that I have from sharing all my thoughts with my outside body.

Taking a glance over at the white space door. “I wonder what the other two are up to.”

Walking out into the open space. Haru is giving Shimada lessons still on how to make his space his. Haru’s village is coming along nicely. It looks like he’s started to make the memory of people. They are more just general shapes, and they are standing at points around the place but it’s still progress.

Walking up to the two I still feel the pin pricks of the sharp grass underfoot. Each rigid shape easier than a bending one.

Finally getting closer I call out to them. “Hey!”

Haru and Shimada both turn to me. Shimada speaks up first. “It’s a bit early for one of our spars… Did you die already?”

Haru gives a disapproving stare at him. He lets out a long sigh. “Relax, I know you didn’t die. We have a sort of sense of what’s going on out there, just not specifics. The old man is finally teaching me how to make own place rather than just practice with objects. I have the sand part down to pat, it’s just everything else that’s hard especially people.” I look behind him and see a copy of the btooom! Island. It makes sense, he spent so much time there that it practically become a part of his image. Even here he’s not dressed as Shimada but in his dark knight outfit just without the helmet.

I can’t help but feel that’s not healthy though. “Is it okay that it’s the island? Didn’t you hate that place?” He just shrugs.

He’s currently making the general shape of vines, but they look a bit more like giant straws. “It’s the only place I have a real strong emotional connection to. That’s important cause you have to feel at home in the place. The old man tried to have me do an apartment or something first but no luck. The moment I stopped actively trying to maintain it everything just crumbled. This place became my home after the first couple years.” That’s kind of sad.

Almost like he can hear my pity he gives me a glare. Before he can say anything Haru has his hand on his shoulder. “Relax Shimada. It’s fine. It was a large part of your life, where you felt the most comfortable. No one here will judge you for that.” He says the last bit while turning to me. Settling his gaze to make sure I understood that there will be no judging. I relent with a nod.

I watched Haru’s life… I know he, well we? Were bad parents. Most of his, our? Kids came out as brats. I can see him trying his best with Shimada. Memories made here aren’t stored in the library, so I don’t know what all has happened since my last sparing session.

Haru draws me away from where Shimada is concentrating. “So, what brings you here Jiang?”

Well, no use lying about it. “I kind of knocked myself out, I guess the new arms are a bit twitch sensitive. I uh wanted to feel my face and my arms were a little too eager.” I can see the smile in his eyes as he fights down the urge to laugh at me.

His smile fighting at not breaking into laughter. “I’ll be sure to check out that memory later. I’m not surprised that the first thing you did with your new hands was beat yourself till unconciousness. I’m just glad you didn’t make Zig do it for you. The poor boys job is already shitty enough.” Great, I forgot he made dirty jokes… And it’s an immortal moment for them now greeaaaaat.

“Come on man….” I can’t help but face palm.

“Relax… I won’t judge you on your choices. You know my second mother Auntie was lesbi-“

I cringe slightly. He knows I’m not… It’s like family talking about it. “Haru please… I get it. I don’t feel that way about Zig. He’s like… I don’t know family? For the longest time Su was more of a mother than my real one was. So, he’s like my brother.”

He laughs a bit at that. His form fluctuating in age back to his younger form for a bit before settling back into his memory of his older form. “Well, I guess it’s okay then if your brother wipes your ass.”

Why won’t he stop.

He finally let’s out a final chuckle. Waving me down. “Regardless, you could have just slept it all off. What brings you this way?”

Huh, why did I come out here? “Not sure really? It just felt like… I should be out here? I guess I’ll check out the door? Maybe spar with you or Shimada if he’s up for it for a bit. I’ll need to practice with arms a bit again. Knock some of the rust off…” What else is here I could do? I guess I could check out my status and skills? Maybe rewatch some memories. Try to figure out what’s been nagging at me.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“I just feel like there’s something I’m forgetting… well not forgetting but not making a connection that I know is there you know? I’ve researched all this information on Alkahestry, but the moment I started learning alchemy it makes everything feel so small. They don’t work from the atom they just have a final image and work from there. It just doesn’t make sense… Well, I guess none of it really makes sense from your worlds views.” Haru just shrugs at that.

“Strangely it does, I believe Chi was around even in my world.” I give him a questioning look.

He gently caresses the hilt of his sword. “Imagine my surprise when even though I had the assistance of the system Saeko could still kick my ass for several years.” True, some of the things she could do were inhuman levels of agility and strength… Has Chi just always been part of each world? That doesn’t make sense though…

“But she never accessed it like I did with the ritual? I don’t remember anything from the info dump that had that.” The problem with the info dump was with no emotional attachment importance to each memory is lost so its importance is just based on my own connection too it. I can remember everything but theres so much information sorting through it would take a while unless I specifically try to call for it based on context clues in the sorting system.

He smirks at that. “That’s the thing. I don’t think someone needs to go through the ritual. Reviewing your lessons, it just stimulates natural Chi growth. Helps you feel and grow that energy. It flows through everything regardless. Just because you are not a practitioner does not mean you lack Chi, it’s the life force of everything.”

Chi may have always been around… “What about other energies? I don’t recall any other types of manipulation skills in the list. In your skill selection. If it was there shouldn’t it have been accessible as a skill?”

He raises one finger. “That’s the thing. The skill list seems to be made up of skills by the people on the world. Just because someone has access to it naturally doesn’t mean they are skilled at using it. She had no method of directly using it, no structure or ability to increase it. At least not one that she expressed.” He looks off forlornly into the distance. Turning that way, I see the practicing form of Saeko. Her eyes look just as lively as ever.

Coughing he turns to me. “Regardless, it’s possible there are other energies just no one is currently practiced in beyond instinctually. Thanks to the Empire you gained access to understanding this Chi but without them you’d likely be lost still.” Hmm I haven’t really dedicated the most time to learning Chi. I was so wrapped up in my experiments and progression everything else just fell to the wayside. I skipped several lessons from Su to work on that heart and that stupid icecream project. I could have spent all that time working on much more productive things lik-

I get a smack on the head to bring my attention back. It’s Haru’s favorite way of bringing me out of it. “You shouldn’t squander this opportunity to learn from them. I know you like your science stuff. I had treatment myself back in the day. I know how much it can help people. But don’t get so distracted that you don’t practice your other gifts. You do plan on carrying Chi manipulation on correct?” He looks at me appraisingly. I know that theres only one right answer here.

“Of course, I’m also likely taking analyze… either that or it’s an easy enough one to make… I’ll see what my skills are like by the end…” We are yet to see a bad combined skill but it’s possible.

“Good, good. Go play with your memories or the door. Come get me if you still want that spar. I’d be interested in seeing how long I can beat you even with all our memories and training.” He smirks at that. The old bastard fails to mention that he spends most of his days training endlessly so of course he can beat me with swords.

I spend some time wandering his little village he’s slowly making. It looks nice… it reminds me of an old video game village. Textures flat and simple but clearly identifiable. Finally, I’m out in the white again and make my way to the large stone door… Looking at it the same depiction of everything I’ve learned is there. The shape of the knowledge slowly changing its image made up of smaller images. It’s looking closer to my transmutation circle for human transmutation.

Brushing my hand along the stone. I’m a little scared to push on the off chance it opens, and I lose another limb before I have time to finish the main quest of this world. “What do you mean?” I just stand there and ponder the meaning of the door and its contents for a while. I go back to the library and rewatch some of the information that was given by my time going through it. One little tidbit I didn’t understand was this movement of Chi as a connection between the elements and myself. What if that’s what Edward was doing? Using himself as a matrix by aligning his Chi as a general transmutation circle then his hands become the circle that completes the circuit…

Then I could repeat the process myself with enough training? Or… No, I know the feeling already the memory gave them to me but I just assumed it was another method of awakening Chi…

“Neat… But I still feel like there’s something else I’m missing. Something I heard elsewhere related to something else I heard.” I start rewatching the memories that have lead up since the door incident until now at fast forward.

Right as I was rewatching the part of going to Xerxes when it hit’s me.

The “Rockbells!” I jump up with a bit of a start. “Mmmm” I rub my head as I shift slightly, feeling a lumpy cushion below me. I’ve got a massive headache damn… I sat up too fast. Opening my well, turning on unseen eye because it’s annoying to attempt to sleep with it on, I look around me. This isn’t my room at the Rockbells. Damn… I’ll just have to thank them for her parents sacrifice for those nice people next time. Here, I’ll make a sticky note for it on my desk in the mentalscape. “A problem for future me…” I glance over the hoard of notes on sticky notes scattered across the desk. “I’ll get to those later.”