"Father! Hibari!" Rey reached his hand out as tears rolled down his face. Pacing back and forth, Rey ran his hand through his short black hair, creating slight twirls.
"Hibari personally trained with my real father and even developed this technique using his own blood and soul." Recalling the warm smile his father wore, looking directly at Rey in expectation, his hands shook. Closing his eyes and wiping the tears away, his desire for wanting Soma dead and to find answers only increased. Rey could still feel the purple substance like a web inside his heart, constricting and blocking the white blood from performing.
"Instead of soul and blood, what did Soma put inside me? Understanding that technique might be the key to removing it!" Rey recalled the energy that flowed through Hibari when he trained. From pouring every ounce of energy out of his heart, Hibari was able to draw it to his hands and solidify it somehow. Now, Rey needed to replicate that. As he tried to feel the energy in his body, however, he realized how far off on his precise control of energy direction and movement was.
"Forget about trying to move the energy, I can't even properly feel it now," Rey grumbled as he created a symbol, "maybe I can forcefully extract it from my body instead?"
Rey took the fluttering symbol into his palm and pressed it to his heart. Within a moment of contact, the meshed substance in his heart throbbed and the symbol crumbled. The purple mesh grew slightly as Rey almost lost his balance and fell on one knee.
"It consumed the symbol," Rey said, paled-faced as he used his fingertips to feel his heart beneath the skin. "That symbol was a part of me, my desires and emotions; a portion of my soul. Just what kind of parasite did Soma create? A literal soul-eating technique?"
Rey sat for several minutes before finally sitting down. "No more short-cuts now. I can't cultivate until I have this thing out of me. I felt the energy inside Hibari, his control over energy was perfect, with barely any waste and perfectly drained his heart of space energy. Can I even do the same with my soul energy?"
Casting aside the questions on his mind, Rey continued to sit and close his eyes. Removing all sense of touch, sight, hearing, taste, and smell, he began to fully concentrate on the energy swirling inside of him. Like a chaotic warzone, Rey couldn't predict any move or outcome of his energy, much less move it. Rey sat motionlessly for hours until he finally felt a small streak of energy run down his neck. Concentrating further, he tried to feel and become even more aware of his body's energy, but failed to make any more progress.
"I'm not getting anywhere," Rey stood up, "I might as well go to Sanctuary and try to find someone with knowledge on sensing the energy within my body. Then I can go talk to Mr. Kioko about destroying Soma and liberating my body after."
Walking into the portal, Rey dawned a set of simple clothes as soon as he entered to cover his nakedness. Bustling halls of people and even a few animalistic creatures walked past Rey as he headed for the information center.
"The Sun Empire. They are the hosts of this realm. They will have the best methods and experience in sensing energy for sure!" After looking at several maps, Rey realized that the Sun Empire's shop was the largest building in Sanctuary as he got closer. Needing to walk up several hundred meters worth of stairs, he looked up in amazement at the building there.
"This isn't even a building at this point; it's a mini-town full of shops specifically designed for the Sun Empire!" Rey gasped aloud with wonder, his eyes bulging and mouth agape.
With white block pillars that were carved perfectly, a blue metallic gate, and at the very center, the emblem of the Sun Empire. The emblem depicted a man facing Rey, with his arm reaching out to the starry sky above and holding it in the palm of his hand. As Rey continued to be captivated by it, he felt that the hand seemed to tighten its grasp on the stars and locked eyes with him. A feeling of veneration and avoidance crept into Rey's thoughts as he stared at the emblem.
"Hypnosis? I won't submit to something so simple after going through soul temperament!" Rey smiled as he stood there for a moment, "Why would the Sun Empire use this to suggest for others to leave?" Rey walked towards the gates curiously.
"Welcome to the Sun Empire, Sir." With a simple bow to the guards from Rey, they reciprocated their welcome. Rey bowed as well and entered through the gates.
Pulling out a map, Rey followed it to where the technique and manual shop was located.
"The builders really are prestigious," Walking along the road with noticeably fewer people around, Rey commented. "The yellow bricks, pure white grout, with blue metallic buildings that are extensively decored, this place puts a lot into its appearance."
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Remembering back to his father's teachings, he remembered Liam saying, "Never trust what others want you to see, look beyond the facade others put up to fool you."
Walking past the various shops, people calling Rey out to look at their wares, and other distractions, he approached a wide building with the words, "Sun Empire Cultivation Arts."
Walking through the large open door-way, Rey stood in line with several other people. Most also held the Sun Empire crest on their right arm, but there were other civilians there as well. Despite several clerks helping with finding techniques and purchases, the number of people in front of Rey was still over 300. There were also shorter lines available for those of the Sun Empire with prestige, but Rey dared not to be overbearing.
"Have you heard about the creature wreaking havoc on the south parts of our Sun Empire?" a feminine voice whispered in front of Rey.
"Of course. What do I look like to you, a Ghora?" A deep and soothing voice caught Rey's attention. The two of them laughed.
Looking at the two of them, Rey noticed that they were Lychni from their skin and small stature.
"Sorry," she gave a light chuckle, "I didn't realize it was already so wide-spread. A powerful, intelligent beast that has been killing and devouring people within our Sun Empire? It's a good thing that it has been staying in the southern part of our domain."
"Still, it's hard to catch that beast. Not only is it swift and powerful, but I have heard from investigation teams that it set traps for mercenaries and our own men!" The man fumed. "This is a scary foe to deal with."
"Excuse me," Rey interjected, "Where did you say this creature is?"
The two stared at Rey for a moment before acknowledging him with a frown.
"It's said to have been located at our southern border, towards the east near the Degasi River that runs through there." The man responded to Rey and looked him up and down. "Don't try anything kid, that creature has the powers of space on its side. It's already growing so fast, the council should deal with it soon enough."
"The council?" Rey pondered. The man looked at Rey lazily. Coughing once, the woman picked up where the man left off.
"The Supreme Council of the Sun Empire. They make every important decision there is to make. I'm sure this issue will have been brought up to the council already; they will likely take action if the beast becomes too much of a threat." Seeing Rey look so serious, her interest was peaked.
"What's your name?" She smiled.
"Rey Nefasi," he replied meekly as he bowed and glanced at the ground.
"Such an odd name, I've never heard the last name Nefasi before." She pondered, making Rey feel uncomfortable. "I am Evelyn Sieghart." She glanced over at the man. When he showed no response, she elbowed him.
"Qwan." He muttered, looking at Rey for a brief second. Evelyn laughed out loud, alerting the crowd of people around them.
"Don't mind my brother, he takes a while to warm up to commoners." She scratched the back of her head and smiled.
"Commoner?" Rey pondered as he looked back at their red uniform and realized the social gap between himself and the Sun Empire's soldiers.
Chatting with Evelyn and Qwan, Rey felt his mood and outlook improve; his sense of adventure and desire to see the world flamed once again. After conversing for over 3 hours, Rey got to know them well and exchanged contact information in Sanctuary.
Rey found out that the two siblings were from the central capital of the Sun Empire, whereas Lorea was just outside of the Sun Empire's control past the Degasi river and Vibrant forest. They told him that many of the soldiers had a lofty attitude, and were unsympathetic to commoners like him who had no identity. Their training and advice from teachers instructed them to be dismissive. For what purpose that rule served, Rey had no clue about.
As he saw them headed out of the building, Rey gave a bow as he smiled. 'Thank you for the info,' he reminded himself, 'I'll make sure I make it up to the two of you.' Clearing his thoughts, he heard the clerk shout for the next person.
Rey walked forward and saw the clerk standing behind a white marble counter. On the counter was a small bronze figure with an open palm extended outward. It was painted red and orange with a long rod on its index finger, holding two sets of chains running down to a small basin. Etched on the side of the rod was a code of honor. 'Out of justice, fairness reigns.'
"What can I help you with?" An impatient, but gentle voice questioned Rey. He looked up at the man behind the counter. His ashy red skin and tall stature would have appeared domineering if he wasn't skinny too. With a book in his hand, the man took a glance at Rey.
'There seems to be a lot of the excardi inber within the Sun Empire.' Rey thought as he stared at the man's face. With a diagonal scar on his left eye and a face riddled with wrinkles, Rey believed the man was a former adventurer. The man coughed once and alerted Rey to stop his gaze.
"Does the Sun Empire have anything regarding energy sensing and manipulating?" Rey said with a tinge of awkwardness. The man dismissed it, however.
"Let me check," He grabbed a book and flipped through the pages as he muttered the word 'energy.' "First time here, kid?"
"Yes, sir." Rey nodded. The man sighed and shook his head.
"Aha, here we go. We have grade A through F techniques and tips for sensing the energy within your body. Of course, the quality of advice means it'll cost you more." He said while rubbing his fingers together.
"How much for the cheapest technique?" Rey asked while looking at the meager 45 grams of Flame dust he had in his pouch.
"There's an F-grade energy-sensing technique that costs 30 grams of Flame dust. It was developed completely, but apparently not many succeeded in practicing it. Otherwise, this looks to be a C-grade technique." The man exclaimed as he flipped through the page and notes. "You look like a beginner, you should try something easier than this. It would be easier to practice a B-grade technique than this F-grade one—"
"I'll take it!" Rey cut him off and gave him the necessary money.
"Really? This technique is very difficult to learn. Honestly," he leaned in close, "if I were you, I'd just get an E-grade technique for 150 grams of Flame dust instead. Anyone who has the talent to learn Redwater Form would already have the power and money to purchase a regular C-grade or B-grade technique." He insisted. "As an 'elder,'" He emphasized, "don't let your foolishness be your downfall. If this technique is too hard to learn, just move on."
The man placed a small weight that said '30' on the scale. The left side of the scale sunk as the right rose. He signaled Rey to go ahead.
Rey clicked open the leather pouch and slowly poured the red flame dust out onto the basin. The scales slowly tipped until they became equal and Rey stopped pouring. With the price being paid, the man smiled. He walked away and gave Rey a small book on energy sensing titled "Redwater Form."
"May the Sol bless you on your journey." The man said and shouted for the next customer.
Rey took the thin book with him and decided to read it a bit while he waited to meet with Grey Kioko. Flipping it open, Rey found that the notes and texts were in disorder. From scribbles to diagrams that had no correlation, Rey dove into comprehending it with confusion.