Sitting in his cell, Alex’s breathing turned slow and even. Entering a meditative state with ease. He had tried to meditate a few times in his life; those times had all been failures. Now, he sank deep inside himself with ease.
He could feel the block between him and meditation had left for a few reasons. One when he was taken into the Soul World with the images by the Colosseum, he had been forced into a deep meditative state. Second, when the jade drop had cleansed and purified his body the same had been done to his mind. Third, the Colosseum had forcefully helped him great a Soul Body.
As though the clouds of his mind had been lifted, he found no resistance sinking into the darkness of his soul. Gently he opened the eyes of his Soul Body. What met him was only an eerie darkness. No matter which way he looked, there was only the deathly dark all around him.
Most would feel fear when seeing this scene. The same fear one would feel walking alone through a graveyard on a moonless night. For Alex, the feeling was like coming home. Shadowy tendrils emerged from the dark wrapping him in a warm blanket. They were not controlling or invasive, instead, they placed a cloak of protection around him. Making him feel safe.
Closing his eyes he felt the world around him, he had been here before. When the Colosseum had forced him to enter the Soul World he had come through this world first. He had thought the Soul World had always been within him but he was wrong. This was the world that had always been within him, his Inner World in a sense. He had felt this world when he passed through to the Soul World giving him that misconception.
The world he was currently in was a representation of himself, his true soul. He would call this space his Inner World and he would call the space with the image his Soul World. He would call the body that represented him in each of the worlds his Soul Body. The Colosseum had condensed his Soul Body, he would not have been able to do this alone. At least for now, he wouldn’t be able to, even after the jade drop, he did not understand his Soul Body. Simply feeling that the Soul Body was a representation of his true body.
If he had come here without a Soul Body, then he would have seen his Inner World exactly for what it was. A space filled with endless shadows. Well, this was not completely true, he thought. Looking deeper into the depths of his Inner World. He felt something deep within him calling for him. He followed the feeling allowing his Soul Body to be drawn into the depths of his Inner World.
As he sank the shadows changed, becoming colder. The cold while piercing only made his mind feel clearer. Catching a glimpse of a dim light, he knew he was close to the center of his Inner World. Drawn to the light calling for him he appeared before a blue sphere emitting a frigid cold. The cold, just like the shadows was not combative, the cold was a part of him making him feel refreshed.
The blue sphere reminded him of a ball of ice with frost on the outside. Blocking his vision as though looking through a fogged glass. There was just enough visibility for him to see a tiny flame burning within the center of the ice sphere.
In comparison to the endless shadows, the flame was a small candle burning in a dark warehouse. The faint light the flame did give off, barely passed through the ice sphere only to be instantly absorbed by the shadowy tendrils all around.
No matter how weak the flame looked within his expansive Inner World, he was drawn to it. He felt the tiny bit of desire within him that had grown within this world in that flame. He realized when he had imagined a flame being lit within him, a flame had truly done so. Within his Inner World, this flame had not been here before.
No, there had used to be a flame here but not for many years. When he came to the Colosseum that flame had re-ignited within him, representing his passions and desires. For so long he had become numb, only shadows and ice filling his Inner World. But now his flame had been lit once more.
The ice had formed here long ago, trying to protect his once-burning flame. None of that mattered anymore, his flame, no matter how small, was burning once again. He would continue nurturing the flame within the Colosseum and find out what he was truly capable of.
He saw dark, death, ice, and fire within his Inner World. This represented four of the five elements he was attuned with. Where was the poison element? What form would poison even take in his Inner World? He looked all around but simply did not see any representations of poison nor did he feel himself drawn anywhere.
The Colosseum had said that as an inferior human he could take the path of any element and over time improve his talents toward that element. This also meant he didn’t have to take the path of every element. Maybe he just wasn’t made for the element of poison.
He didn’t feel that was right, he was drawn to the scenes of the snakes fighting. Poison was their main weapon. He also fought with daggers which were similar to fangs and would be the perfect carrier for poison in the future. Especially for larger enemies. For now, he barely understood this space, let alone purposely develop his Inner World. He would save these thoughts for another time when he knew how to proceed.
Right now he needed to enter his Soul World, he knew the Soul World was located at the center of his Inner World. Reaching out he touched the ice sphere intending to enter his Soul World. His world flipped and he appeared within a familiar space, his Soul World.
Ignoring everything else he looked for his weapon. Feeling the connection deeply in this world he turned to see his obsidian daggers floating in the Soul World. They currently took on a strange shape, one was pointed upward and one was pointed downward. Approaching he could feel the daggers as well as the drop of his blood the two had absorbed. The two drops of blood had become the core of each weapon, located between the handle and the blade.
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
His connection to these two drops of blood allowed him to “communicate” with the daggers. Basically, he was able to feel the situation of the two daggers in the same way he was able to feel that his arm was bruised. This connection was taken to a different level in the Soul World, almost as though the weapons were becoming a part of his very being.
The two drops of blood were attempting to merge. This was making the two daggers themselves begin to merge. A diamond shape was beginning to form as each of the daggers was pointed in different directions. This was only possible as the two daggers were born from the same stone and they were essentially energy themselves.
He could feel the same energy in his two daggers that he had felt in his Inner World. The shadowy energy that made up dark and death, or what he assumed was dark and death. There was a third element that was made when the two daggers were created, the spear element. The piercing intent from the two daggers was becoming sharper as the two merged.
He could feel that he could influence his daggers, if he wanted to he could even stop their merging. But why would he? He could feel that both daggers were improving in the process. The resonance between his two drops was also deepening, making his connection with the daggers deeper.
He had been nervous for a second that he wouldn’t be able to unmerge the two weapons when he fought. After all, he couldn't grab a diamond without also hurting himself. Through his connection, he could feel that he would still be able to separate them even after they finished merging.
A thought struck him, if he had a connection with the two daggers and they could enter his Soul World. Could he do the same with his communication token? He focused on his connection with the token and pulled. The token appeared floating within his Soul World. Success, that would be safer than having the token on his neck all the time. Closing his eyes, he felt the connection with the token had also become deeper. Accessing his status, notifications, and items would be easier.
Now that he had entered his soul word once again and having done so by himself he had gained new understandings of this world. Particularly because he had entered through his Inner World allowing him to notice the difference between the two worlds.
His Soul Body was simply a projection in his Soul World. The Soul World was most likely created by the Colosseum as a way to give him access to special opportunities like the images. Something that the Colosseum would not have been able to project into his Inner World without collapsing his soul. While his Soul Body in his Inner World felt more like a hand on his body. The Soul Body was just a representation of his inner world that allowed him to interact with his world in a different way and let him access the Soul World.
This Soul World was connected to his Inner World though. And was being nurtured by his Inner World, slowly deepening his connection to the Inner World Both of his worlds had their own positives and negatives. His Inner World was fluid and creative but intangible. The darkness, death, ice, and flame within were merely representations of himself but they held no power. To his soul, they looked powerful but they would not have any effect on the world around him.
Conversely, the Soul World was rigid and empty but tangible. He personally could not create anything within the Soul World but the images and daggers were real. They were not something that his Inner World could possibly hold.
He was not capable of creating something like the Soul World right now. That only made him want to follow the Colosseum’s arrangements more. Learn how to wield the elements of the world and continue growing stronger. Then maybe someday his Inner World would become as strong as the Soul World. While also having the power of the elements.
Of course, he was probably jumping to conclusions too quickly. He still needed to survive his next fight and the fight after that. He needed to continue growing stronger with the increasing difficulty of fights. He may not fear death but now that he was given the opportunity to truly live, he wanted to make the most out of it.
To make the most out of this situation he needed to start with integrating what he had learned from the fight. For now, he could not wield the elements as he had seen within the many images. What he could do was improve his ability to fight allowing him to survive long enough to have that power.
Ready to practice, he imagined himself standing with his two obsidian daggers. Pausing he tilted his head down, his two obsidian daggers had instantly materialized in his hands. He was planning on leaving them to continue bonding; he hadn't thought just imagining them within his hands would make them appear instantly.
His connection to them in this world was far deeper than he had thought. Well, if they were so happy to appear in his hands, he would let them continue merging later. He got into position and began practicing, going through his basic attack. Making him realize how amazing the jade drop was again.
His every strike was faster and more controlled than the last time he was here. A part of this may have been from the mental clarity the drop gave, but a significant part had to be the actual improvement to his body. After all, his Soul Body was a reflection of his real body. Alex slowly integrated what he learned in the arena, into his actual movements.
There was still an awkwardness to his moves. He was able to attack fast and then quickly move back. The problem was no matter how much he practiced he had no flow between the different strikes. He wasn’t sure how to solve this problem, he wasn’t a weapons expert before this.
Knowing he could practice all day without feeling like he had perfected his movements he stopped. He didn’t want to be stuck within his Soul World for too long like last time. He also knew that trying to create something from nothing was difficult. He would be better off learning from the images than getting some sleep.
He was planning on finding a new image that fit his improved understanding. First, he wanted to watch the scene of the buffalo and snake one last time. He quickly caught on to things he hadn’t before, calculations the snake had made. Simple things like the snake's body and his defense were completely different. He could not simply latch on to the buffalo and wait for its end; he also didn’t have poison so while the image had fit him before, it was not perfect anymore.
Finishing he left the image a hint of excitement at finding a scene that fit him better. With a thought, thousands of images come into existence. He let out a breath, unsure if this function would still work. Wasting no time, he kept the idea of a snake in his mind as he felt a strange connection to the way they fought. He felt like their movements, calculations, and style fit him.
He looked through images, each one encompassing a snake but all different. He quickly went through a dozen scenes and began narrowing down what he wanted. Finally, a suitable image appeared and he began taking in the movie-like scene with great interest.