Chapter 29

  1

  John sat alone in his room. His eyes were trained upon the scroll he had recently received. Sublime Apotheosis was a Physical Cultivation beyond anything John had expected to receive.

  He had spent the past three weeks, ever since returning from the hunt with Liz’s twin bothers studying the scroll almost nonstop. He only took breaks to sleep or enter the Garden in accordance with their house’s required quota. And in all that time, what he had learned was that much like Third Eye of Callysta, Sublime Apotheosis demanded near impossible control over his physical being in order to master.

  He had been working on the first part of the cultivation. As described in the scroll, he had to master his breathing to completely saturate every cell in his body with oxygen equally. That wasn’t a process humans could normally consciously control.

  But through the expansion of his spirit and mind, as well as the acquisition of so many Divine genes, John was no longer bound by the limitations of most humans. He could feel his efforts shift from ineffective, to minimal, to impactful over the course of the three weeks he had been practicing. Now, when he took a deep breath, his body seemed to respond in noticeable ways.

  Like when he had met Liz the day before as he went to explore the Garden and she had punched him playfully on the arm. He had not had a reaction, while Liz had flinched back, shaking her hand in pain from the impact.

  Or when he tested his stamina by running until he was exhausted. He found that he could make it substantially further before needing a break than he ever had before. It was like his meditation and breathing exercises were accomplishing the effect of weeks or months of extensive cardio exercises.

  Or when he noticed that his lungs had seemed to gain extra capacity. He found himself able to inhale for much longer. That, in turn, increased the effect of consciously circulating oxygen through his breathing. It started a cycle of increased effectiveness that seemed to exponentially progress his efforts.

  Despite his apparent progress with Sublime Apotheosis, John knew by the details within the scroll that mastering his breathing was simply a crucial first step to walking the path. Starting with the Lungs as the channel for Oxygen and potential growth, the goal was to gain conscious control and mastery over every organ in the body, from the brain to the skin. After that, the control would need to be extended to each individual cell to maximize his body’s potential.

  It was a seemingly impossible undertaking. John was reassured only by the knowledge that unlike Third Eye of Callysta, others had managed to complete the Cultivation in the past. He maintained that if they could manage it, he could too.

  Still, seeing just how far he had to go in order to simply break the first gate was daunting. He wondered how much more trouble he would have had if he hadn’t come as far as he did before attempting it. Would he still be struggling with it even now if he had chosen Physical Cultivation over Lunar Radiance?

  He didn’t know. What he did know was that he would be hard pressed to break the first gate before anyone else from earth. The thought gave him motivation to work ever harder.

  John spent a good deal of time studying the explanation for gaining control of the heart. It was the next necessary part of the process. As the delivery system for the body’s oxygen, controlling the heart would allow John to develop his other organs as well. Unfortunately, he was still unable to grasp how he was supposed to do that.

  According to the scroll, it involved synchronizing his heartbeat with his increased breathing capacity. The problem was that his heart beat several times between each breath. He couldn’t see how he was supposed to draw the necessary breath while also slowing down the pace of his heart.

  He closed his eyes, focusing as he had been attempting to for several weeks on making his heartbeat match up to his breathing. The problem remained that his heart rate was much higher than his breathing pace. John tried to fill his lungs as quickly as possible, but that only tricked his heart into beating more quickly, subconsciously fearing danger.

  That led to John focusing his entire mind on serenity to combat the involuntary increase. He focused on maintaining equilibrium of mind while forcing air through his lungs as quickly as he could manage. On his fifth forced exhalation, John felt a subtle difference.

  It was hard to recognize through his concentration, but it felt like his heart had beat slightly harder than it normally did. Accompanying the sensation was a feeling of sturdiness akin to standing firm against an immense pressure. He felt every cell in his body stir in recognition of the change.

  Unwilling to be distracted, John continued to practice expelling his breaths in quick and powerful bursts. After another few breaths, he felt his heart beat more powerfully again. This time, he noticed the next beat of his heart came slightly later than the previous ones had.

  Sure that he was onto something, John pressed on with his attempts to master his breathing. Over the course of the next several minutes, he found more success in his efforts. More and more often, his heart rate would slow to create a more powerful beat that sent a jolt of exhilaration to his cells.

  He slowly became familiar with the exact practice needed to begin the synchronization of his heart to his breathing. As his heart began beating more and more powerfully, it slowed to better match his rate of breathing. With each new powerful beat of his heart, John was able to slow the rate at which he circulated his lungs.

  As the minutes and hours sped by, John slowly came closer to harmony between lungs and heart. The more powerfully his heart beat, the less quickly he needed to regulate his breathing. Eventually, he would be able to take in a massive lung of air between each powerful stroke of his heart.

  As he worked towards that goal, John attempted to relate the use of his heart beat to the other aspects of cultivation he knew would follow. In this manner, he began to understand where Sublime Apotheosis was trying to lead him. It would only take time and determination to walk along the correct path.

  John took a break after spending longer than he could recall simply focused on his breathing in relation to the beating of his heart. He felt invigorated and fortified by his extended efforts. He was still unsure what the end product would be, but it was already clear that he could expect to see a substantial increase in the functions of his body.

  John sat up in bed and nearly shouted the thought out loud.

  “Increase the function!” He said to himself before leaping out of bed and throwing his bedroom door open.

  He almost ran down the hall to his sister’s room. He pounded insistently on the door until she opened it. When she had, he made his demand.

  “Give me everything you have on Culmination,” he said.

  2

  John sat late into the night, studying the formula and concepts behind Culmination. He had been thinking of Third Eye of Callysta as a method for altering the spiritual energy of a subject. But as he had sat contemplating his new cultivation scroll, he wondered if he might not be able to apply the concept to the physical as well.

  As he read through the information at his disposal, he found nothing within that told him otherwise. Emboldened by his lack of failure, John eagerly studied the branch. He was surprised to learn that Culmination was one of the simplest branches to gain basic understanding of.

  In a sense, all he needed to do was memorize the correct pathway within his body. Following that channel, he would circulate a small amount of his spirit at a time, steadily increasing the energy he put into the task while focusing on what he wished to culminate to the exclusion of all else. While it was by no means simple, John had confidence that he would get the hang of it in time. And that was something John had plenty of.

  Though it was already late into the night by then, John set to work memorizing the proper spiritual channel. He was beginning to realize that each branch of Third Eye of Callysta had its own unique circulation method in order to utilize.

  Analyzation was the simplest, to such a degree that John had not even realized he had been channeling his spirit to use it. At first, it had been akin to an immense focus on a subject. As his spirit had grown, however, he realized he had been subconsciously circulating his spirit through the pathways in his brain.

  That led to the quantitative increase in his ability to analyze things. It was also, he now realized, why he had been touching on other branches of the cultivation subconsciously. Certain spiritual pathways intersected, like Isolation intersecting with Analyzation within the pathways of the brain to show him Liz on the other side of a solid door.

  John was both excited and daunted by the idea that there were twelve different spiritual channels for him to memorize. Then he had to learn to use them, not just separately, but simultaneously. He couldn’t begin to imagine what kind of skill and concentration that would take.

  He returned to the idea that Third Eye of Callysta was more of a Spiritual Cultivation than a mental one. But as his understanding of what he was doing grew, he began to realize that Spiritual Cultivation determined the specific flavor of his spirit, while his particular Mind Cultivation method was all about different ways to manipulate his spirit to interact with the world.

  It was almost like practicing several different Spiritual Cultivations at once. It felt to John like cheating. Not that there was anything easy or simple about the practice.

  He studied the circulation path to activate Culmination until he felt like he had it memorized. Only then did he begin to send his essence down it. He started slow, only a trickle of spiritual energy.

  His body was slow to respond to his efforts. At first, he felt as though he was simply pouring his spirit down a bottomless well as the pathway seemed to dry up almost instantly. John had to adjust the amount of spiritual essence he expended several times before he was able to complete an entire cycle of Culmination.

  As the circulation of essence completed its route, John felt unprecedented potential for growth within him. It had no focus and therefore, fizzled out almost as quickly as John had noticed it. He gasped at the expenditure of energy the task had required.

  He couldn’t imagine the effort it would take to Culminate something for longer than a few minutes. It would have to be almost impossibly immense. Still, a few minutes was enough to begin with.

  John once again began focusing his breathing to affect the beating of his heart. The first powerful beat came a bit faster than before, sending a thrill of fortitude through his body. John continued to work on his breathing while his heart slowly assimilated to the desires of his lungs.

  That brought John to the tough part. He tried to maintain focus on his breathing while turning his thoughts towards the spiritual circulation of Culmination. It was incredibly difficult, and for several minutes, his mind turned to focus solely on one subject or the other.

  He closed his eyes; willing his body to take over his breathing on its own once more. After taking control of his respiratory functions so completely, it was a bit difficult to surrender it to his unconscious mind once more. But as he did so, he found himself maintaining the correct breathing patterns needed to slow his heart rate.

  Slowly but surely, his body began to subconsciously follow the new habits John had began practicing. His heart rate slowed as the depth of his breathing steadily increased until he was breathing neither slowly nor hurried. He simply filled his lungs at the pace they wished to take in air.

  His heart slowly followed suit without his intent. And as he felt his body performing on its own, John once more began circulating his spirit to activate Culmination within his body. This time, he fed the branch with a steady supply of energy, replenishing it with a bit more each time it completed a circuit.

  After a few moments of this, John started to feel the blossoming potential within him. He was worried that he would waste the feeling as he had before, but he found that so long as he continued to circulate properly, the feeling of potential remained and even seemed to grow with each pass of the energy. As the seconds passed and his spirit became more exhausted by the effort of continuing, John began turning his efforts towards Sublime Apotheosis.

  This time, instead of focusing his attention on his breathing and heart beat, he rather focused on the immense potential he now felt within him. It felt unclaimed, like it could be used for anything he needed it to be. John supposed that was the point.

  Instead of trying to split his attention between mind and body, he allowed his body to continue down the road he had laid out while envisioning the built up potential aiding the process. It was a difficult prospect, and one that John wasn’t certain was working until he felt the built up potential begin to drain away. He struggled to keep hold of it, but almost before he knew it, his Culmination was all used up.

  John was on the verge of disappointment when his next powerful beat of the heart came. It was like nothing he could have imagined. His heart pounded so hard that an unprecedented wave of fortitude passed through his entire body.

  John gasped as his muscles tightened, simultaneously seeming to swell beyond anything he had ever experienced. He felt them return to a state of rest, somehow much more dense than they had been before. Despite no outward change, he could tell from the one powerful beat alone that his strength had greatly increased.

  Likewise, his bones suddenly felt much more sturdy. Like an immense infusion of calcium into his body, he felt like no force could fracture them now. The effects didn’t stop there though.

  He could actually feel the blood pumping through his veins. It felt like it moved with vigor, impatient to carry the enhanced oxygen his lungs were providing to every cell. Despite the change, he did not feel like his blood pressure was abnormally high. It seemed to simply match the increases his heart and lungs had experienced.

  He felt the innumerable blemishes and scar tissue soften and smooth out as though they had never existed. He could feel the smoothness of his skin, as if he had not experienced the first day of work or hardship in his life. He felt almost elastic, like his flexibility knew no bounds.

  More importantly, his organs seemed almost alive from the activation of Sublime Apotheosis. Most notably, his brain felt almost awakened by the experience. It was like he had never had a genuine thought before in his life. Now, a flood of new ideas and perspectives seemed to assault his brain.

  John was encouraged beyond his greatest expectations by the effect of Culmination. It felt like he could become anything just by sheer willpower alone. He was exalting in the feeling when his slowed heart beat a second time.

  This one was even stronger than the first, sending an immense burst of fortification through him. John felt the effects spread through his body and mind once more, lending him greater understanding of what he was trying to do, and he knew he had found a symbiotic relationship between his two methods of cultivation. Each one fueled and advanced the other.

  John concentrated on Sublime Apotheosis with all of his attention as his heart slowly let loose half a dozen more powerful beats, each more impractical than the last. When the expanded potential was fully expired, his heart and lungs settled into a rhythm closer to synchronized than they had been when he started. And while his heart did not continue beating with such force, it did maintain an increased performance.

  John settled back into his bed, exhilarated but exhausted. He set his breathing back to a more casual pace to allow his excitement to slowly drain away. And as he drifted off to sleep, John’s last thoughts were of the endless possibilities that had seemed to open up to him.

  3

  “And what makes you think this time will be any different?” Liz asked as she watched John concentrate on the small fruit in his hands.

  “I told you, I’ve been practicing my projection for weeks. Provided I understand Neutralization as well as I hope I do, this should be the last step,” John said.

  “And I told you, I don’t know what any of that means,” Liz said in annoyance, truthfully, not for the first time.

  “Well then sit there quietly and let me concentrate!” John snapped.

  Liz looked like she was itching to retort, but she held her tongue. Instead, leaning back in her chair to watch John with expectant eyes. They had been here several times in the past weeks.

  John had spent an almost obsessive amount of time hammering out the secrets of Sublime Apotheosis in the many weeks since Emma’s birthday. In doing so, he had discovered just how cooperative it was with Third Eye of Callysta. It didn’t just fortify his body and mind, it also increased the effectiveness of both.

  That meant that with each shred of progress he had been able to make in Sublime Apotheosis, his ability to comprehend the intricacies of Third Eye of Callysta had marginally increased. His use of Culmination naturally became more pronounced as his understanding of its effects and application deepened. And as he applied it straight back into the practice of Sublime Apotheosis, it created a loop of exponential growth and understanding.

  After weeks of this, his heart naturally beat much more powerfully. The oxygen his lungs took in carried a much greater effect. And the distribution of that oxygen through his pumping blood became so efficient that his cells reached a constant state of heightened potential.

  His mind was clearer than it had ever been. Thoughts passed through his consciousness without derailing his attention, often suggesting solutions to mental problems he absently turned over as he went about his days. It was an incredible adjustment to his baseline cognition.

  Concepts he couldn’t previously comprehend slowly started to click for him. And that was how he had come to understand the next branch of his Mind Cultivation. After studying Neutralization with his new and improved brain, he was finally able to make sense of the complex relationship between it and Culmination.

  In truth, either branch could be used without the other, so long as John himself was the target. He could Culminate any aspect of himself, from enhancing his spirit to rapidly growing his hair. Similarly, John had found it relatively easy to Neutralize his presence after a bit of study.

  The trouble he had been having came from attempting to effect things beyond his own flesh. In order to do so, John needed to master the simultaneous use of both Culmination and Neutralization. The reason for this was complicated, but it essentially boiled down to this.

  In order to project Culmination onto Liz, for example, John would first need to Neutralize his own presence. If he didn’t, then what he Culminated within Liz would not be her own potential, but a dangerously growing seed of his own spirit. The result would be a a direct contest of spirit, and a great way to destroy Liz from the inside out.

  Similarly, if John wished to impress Neutrality on another living thing, he would first need to overcome their willpower and natural spirit. The problem was that Neutralization by its very nature had no power behind it. There was no will or fight in the essence of Neutrality. To counteract this shortcoming, Culmination would be needed to increase the effect of Neutrality itself until it was able to overcome the resistance of the spirit it wished to Neutralize.

  Before his increased mental capacity, John had been hopelessly lost in trying to understand these intricacies. Even after his advancements, he was unsure he had fully grasped the essence of the dual branches. Nevertheless, his understanding had deepened to the degree that he felt confident in overcoming the spirit of an already picked fruit.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  That was, as long as he could master the ability to circulate his energy down two pathways simultaneously. He had been trying for several days with little success. Liz’s repeated belittling comments had not helped the cause.

  Now, however, John was determined to conquer the two branches. He focused his energy into his core, beginning to divide his efforts down the two paths. His expanded understanding of his brain’s capabilities reassured him that he was not attempting something impossible.

  Nevertheless, his determination was pushed to the limit as his energy fizzled out again and again. He couldn’t provide enough at a time to divide between two pathways, let alone concentrate well enough to utilize them both. It was almost like trying to run in two directions at once.

  John sighed in frustration, but wasn’t to be dissuaded. Instead of splitting focus, he decided to try a different tactic. He circulated his energy through the pathways of Neutralization, quickly feeling himself come to a state of balance.

  Focusing on maintaining that balance beyond anything else, John slowly diverted his energy from the pathways of Neutralization to the nearby paths for stimulating Culmination. He felt his neutral state stir in response to the change. It didn’t fade away though, instead remaining constant as his energy completed the circuit of Culmination.

  Acting on instinct, John immediately fed more energy into the cycle as he allowed it to return down the pathways of Neutralization once more. His efforts were bolstered by the effects of Culmination he had begun to instill in the cycle. His energy began swirling faster through his pathways, and soon it was returning to the circuit of Culmination once more.

  John almost shouted with triumph, and may have if not for the immense concentration it was taking to maintain his efforts. He could feel the effects of Neutralization increasing in potential with each pass of his energy. Before he became too exhausted, John decided to give his true goal a try.

  Cautiously, but not too slowly, John began to project his new aura out from his body. He felt it quickly encompass the fruit in his hands. He was surprised to feel the resistance it gave at the touch of his foreign spirit.

  All at once, John felt as though his spirit was being attacked by that of the cactus fruit. He felt sharp needles of pain course through his spirit, as though he still had the horrid toxins from the cactus itself running through him. John gasped and flinched back from the experience.

  To his horror, however, he couldn’t cut off the connection his spirit had with the fruit. Now that he had invited his spirit to meld with the fruit, it seemed to have latched onto him like a parasite. John realized that he had begun the battle of wills without even noticing.

  Clearing his mind of the worry, he attempted to block out the pain of the spiritual attack. The Divine fruit, small and unimposing on the surface, seemed to possess almost unshakable determination to maintain its individuality. John winced at the pain of its retaliation and redoubled his efforts with Neutralization.

  His aura remained impassive as he thrust more and more energy into the pathways of Culmination. His spirit was already stuck in a state of neutrality, so returning to those pathways would do nothing at this point. His efforts, though shaky and imperfect, managed to force back the effects of the infectious spirit the fruit fought against him with.

  John’s spirit felt like a lump of metal, continuously heated and cooled at rapid speed as Neutralization repeatedly dissolved the poisonous traces infecting his spirit. His cells were on fire, despite the entirely spiritual nature of the attack. He was completely taken aback by the ferocity and intensity of their contest of wills.

  Even a small and immature specimen like the cactus fruit had enough fight in it to seriously threaten John. It was made worse by the fact that John couldn’t actually fight back. He had no source of offense. He would have to impress such dense waves of Neutrality upon the fruit that its spirit succumbed.

  Setting aside if such a thing was even possible, John pressed down on his subject with as much culminated neutrality as he had been able to muster. He felt the fruit’s spirit waver slightly as he unrelentingly surrounded the spirit of the fruit with his own. He poured a tide from the ever growing ocean of energy he now possessed into Culmination as he felt the miniscule fruit’s spirit begin to shudder in his grip.

  As slowly as could possibly be observed without mistaking the event for inaction, John felt the volatile and defensive aura of the cactus fruit begin to shift. It had taken immense effort to get this far, and John had no intention of failing now, but he wished the process could be accomplished more quickly. Nevertheless, John was downright ecstatic as he felt the spirit of the fruit slowly stop struggling against him.

  The conversion process was by no means a simple or expedient event. John felt great quantities of energy draining from his cells as he struggled to maintain his efforts. Just when he was beginning to worry that he would fail, the last vestiges of resistance fled from the fruit in his hands, and John gasped in relief as his shoulders slumped in exhaustion.

  His spirit retracted, bringing with it the remaining potential from circulating Culmination for so long. John allowed it to revolve within him a few times before focusing the energy on recovering his exhausted spirit. Putting the bolstered remains back into his pool of energy provided a much needed jump start on his recovery.

  John took a steadying breath and inspected the fruit in his hands. He looked deeper than the surface to inspect the spirit. What he saw there was pleasantly surprising.

  The spirit of the fruit, previously unique and determined now had an uncanny absence of personality. It still had spiritual energy which fluctuated naturally as it had before. The difference was that now it seemed completely devoid of flavor.

  If John inspected the fruit at the deepest level he knew how, he could see that the fruit’s original spirit was still there, buried deep beneath the surface. John had effectively put a seal on it using the vast plethora of spiritual energy he had expended. He had no idea how long the seal would last, nor what would happen when the fruit’s original essence re-emerged. He guessed nothing good.

  “Here,” John said as he held out the fruit to Liz.

  “Are you okay? You look like you just got your ass kicked,” Liz said in slight concern.

  “I’m fine. I don’t know how long what I did will last, so give it a try while you can,” John said.

  “Okay,” Liz said, not willing to pass on the opportunity they had been working on for months.

  John watched with interest as Liz seemed to tentatively draw the fruit close to her chest. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the object in her hands. John’s eyebrows raised as he noticed her spirit brush against the inert spirit of the fruit.

  As if beckoned by her presence, the fruit seemed to be sucked in by her spirit. On the surface, John watched as the skin of the fruit dissolved in Liz’s hands, pouring a tide of energy into her cells through the contact. He wanted to shout in exuberance at the success of his efforts, but he was caught up watching the transformation overtake Liz’s face.

  She gasped in shock, eyes flying open. They met John’s eyes as the unfathomable tide of energy coursed through her every cell and spiritual avenue. John could almost see the energy forcing her pool of essence to expand. He remembered the feeling of a lake poured on top of a pond when his own limits had expanded. The fifty Divine genes he had gained since the first had made even that immense increase seem like drops in an ocean.

  Liz nearly fell to the ground, supported by John’s timely intervention. She gasped out ragged breaths as her entire body shook from the indescribable experience. After long moments, she steadied herself.

  “How many did you get?” John asked her.

  “Six,” Liz panted.

  “Wow. That’s impressive. I only got two my first time, and I couldn’t walk for a while afterwards. I’m surprised you’re still standing,” John said.

  “I want to do that again,” Liz said almost desperately.

  “I’m sure you do, unfortunately, I don’t have it in me. That first attempt took way more than I thought it would. We’re going to have to find a better solution if we want to get you to the top.”

  “Agreed,” Liz said.

  “You should take some time to rest and get acclimated with the crazy amount of advancement you just gained. I have to go check something out,” John said.

  “What is it now?” Liz asked.

  “I think I just found the solution to Vulsa’s problem.”

  4

  “What do you mean when you say that I have two spirits?” Vulsa asked.

  “Well, it’s more accurate to say that you’re housing two spirits. Only one of them is yours. The other belongs to your master. It has some kind of parasitic ability to attach to the spirit of another. In this case, your master’s spirit is superseding the natural flow of your own. That’s why you feel compelled to do as you’ve been told. It is not your will you follow, but that of your master.”

  “I… think I understand.” Vulsa said slowly.

  “I have only recently discovered that it’s possible to infect the spirit of another. Doing so is an unnatural process, and one that causes damage to the victim on a spiritual level. It’s why you and all your fellows will follow your directive even though you know it means death. Your spirits are corrupted.”

  “So what is the solution?” Vulsa asked, it’s bug-like voice sounding uneasy through the translation.

  “The solution is to exorcise the poisonous spirit tagging along with your own,” John said.

  “You… can do that?” Vulsa asked.

  “Possibly, but it’s not going to be easy for either of us. I’ll need your trust and assistance,” John said.

  “You have it,” Vulsa said.

  John appreciated their willingness. He was unsure if it would be as simple as saying the words. It was no small thing to open your spirit to manipulation by others.

  He had spent the last few days trying to understand everything he could about Neutralization following his exhausting attempts to tame the cactus fruit. He had taken his results back to his sister to brainstorm ideas for increasing his efficiency. To his surprise, she had actually suggested he abandon the practice.

  “It’ll never be efficient enough to justify the energy expense. There’s no way to get around the cost. I would suggest turning your efforts to Annihilation if you want to combat the spiritual energy of more than one fruit per tank of energy.”

  “Annihilation? How would that cost less energy? Isn’t it one of the most advanced branches?” John had asked.

  “None of the branches are more or less advanced than any other. Your understanding of each is just greatly varied. And to answer your question, it would take a lot less effort because Annihilation is the essence of destruction. And it takes far less effort to destroy than to create. And even less than it would take to subjugate as is Neutralization’s goal.”

  “So, you’re saying I should Annihilate the fruit instead of neutralizing them? I’m still not seeing the benefit,” John said.

  He had always been intimidated and even outright afraid to explore the more nasty sounding branches of Third Eye of Callysta. Contamination didn’t sound like a very beneficial practice. Annihilation felt even less so.

  “Instead, you wipe away the spirit of the fruit. After all, it’s the spirit that stops you from simply consuming the fruit in the first place, right?”

  “I suppose so,” John had replied slowly.

  “So instead of trying to suppress it using insane levels of your energy supply, why not simply erase the spirit? The fruit would remain, and the defenses its spirit could erect would be gone,” Emma explained.

  “That just seems barbaric. What if I used that ability on a person? What would happen to someone if they had their spirit annihilated? Would they die? Or is it like losing your soul? Would they just be an empty shell, neither dead nor conscious?”

  “It may sound harsh, but what happens to the fruit when it’s absorbed? Do you think whatever primitive awareness a fruit has varies wether it contains a spirit or not? If it does, wouldn’t removing any sentience before consuming it be a mercy rather than a torment?” Emma asked.

  “I’m talking about people, not fruit,” John said seriously.

  “What is the difference John? Have you not realized in all of your analysis that no life is truly different than another? Have you killed a person before?” Emma asked him impatiently.

  John flinched from her words. He didn’t expect his little sister to berate him for his conscience. Nor did he expect it to have such an effect.

  “Yes,” he admitted quietly.

  “Did they keep their spirit after you killed them?” She asked.

  “No,” he answered in annoyance.

  “Was the death justified?” Emma persisted.

  “I… yes. They died for good reason,” John hesitated to admit.

  “Then tell me, would you have felt bad if you had used Annihilation instead? Would they be more dead? It isn’t a matter of if you can use the terrible power at your disposal. It’s a question of if you will. It’s the same for anyone who holds power over another.” Emma said.

  “Jesus, Em. You know you’re the younger sibling, right? Since when did you have such clarity?”

  “I’ve been studying more than just the cliff notes, John. You should really take a close look at the scroll itself. It has a lot of enlightenment on the interconnectivity of the universe. Also, you’re just kind of thick. You miss the obvious while staring at the obscure.”

  “Well, thank you. That did help put things in perspective,” John admitted.

  “The point is, you have plenty of tools to kill. This is just one more. If it makes you feel any better, you don’t have to only annihilate the spirit. You could erase their entire body along with it. I’m just saying, if it’s the fruit itself you want, chuck out the spirit rather than wrestle it.”

  “And it’s that simple?” John asked incredulously.

  “Simple? Yes. Easy? Not even a little bit. It’s still going to be a task, but it should be one you can apply to more than a single target before you exhaust yourself.”

  “Well, thanks for the advice, but I still need a better understanding of Neutralization,” he said.

  That had led him to explain Vulsa’s situation. John told her that he was guessing that there was a foreign will imposed on the insect person through the medium of spirit. He explained that imposing his own will upon the fruit was what had given him the idea.

  Emma had surprised him by nodding in certainty. She had then flipped through her notebook until she had found a particular page before reading the words written there.

  “Wether to suppress the spirit or erase foreign matter from it, Neutralization excels at assimilating with others.”

  “So infecting the spirits of others is something commonly seen,” John realized.

  “It would appear so. And Third Eye of Callysta developed a couple of methods for combatting it. I would say you’re right. Vulsa is probably slave to his own spirit. Luckily, you’re also right to think you can fix it,” Emma explained.

  That was what had led John to be standing in front of Vulsa Tetrival. He had explained the presence of Vulsa’s master’s invasive spirit the best he could. Now, he had permission to attempt the cleansing.

  “This is going to be unpleasant. I’m not sure exactly what you’ll experience, but I know it won’t be something you want to go through again.”

  “Why will it be so unfavorable?” Vulsa asked.

  “Because, best I can tell, this contamination was put in place at the moment of your birth. It’s been a part of you for as long as you have been you. It’s grown with you, tied to your own progression so that you never grow powerful enough to slip its grasp. Your progress towards Mind Cultivation has given you just enough awareness of your situation to avoid throwing your life away, but I have no doubt that if I gave you control of my base, it would compel you to return to your master, no matter your awareness of your fate.”

  “How will you remove this burden?” Vulsa asked, sounding almost desperate.

  “As I said, I’ll need your help. I’m going to try to neutralize the effects of the bond until your own suppressed spirit can come to the forefront. If you can express your full spiritual potential while I keep it under control, you may be able to sever the connection.”

  “What will happen to me if something that is tied so closely to me is destroyed?” Vulsa asked.

  “I… don’t actually know. As I said, it won’t be pleasant. It might cause damage to your spirit. It might do irreparable harm to you. I have no idea. The choice is up to you. But it’s the only way forward I can offer you,” John said.

  Vulsa was quiet for several long moments as they considered John’s words. John let them think. It was by no means an easy decision to make. After a suitable contemplation, Vulsa spoke.

  “I would like you to try.”

  5

  John and Vulsa stood opposite each other. John’s hands were extended in invitation to the insect creature. Vulsa tentatively placed a limb in contact with them.

  They were in a small unadorned room within Obsidian temple. Far removed from the madness of Jules and his band of insane cartographers. John hoped that whatever he was about to do didn’t disturb anyone.

  “Okay. Try not to fight against me. It’ll probably feel like I’m attacking your spirit, but you have to trust me. I’ll only be attacking the foreign elements attached to your spirit.”

  “Very well,” Vulsa said, sounding uncertain.

  John closed his eyes and began circulating his essence in the channels needed for Neutralization. He quickly felt his spirit cloud over with the mark of neutrality. He repeated the process of taming the fruit, this time building much more Culmination potential before attempting to project it onto Vulsa.

  When he finally began impressing his spirit upon the insect, Vulsa flinched as if a jolt of electricity had run through him. The blade like arms of the bug creature would have sliced into John if he had gripped them from the other side. He could tell that Vulsa was struggling with the invasion.

  “It’s okay,” John assured them as he carefully spread his spirit to encompass Vulsa.

  Vulsa chittered anxiously as John wrapped his spirit around them. He tried to be as gentle and unimposing as possible, but clearly it wasn’t working. Seeing that the insect person was on the verge of losing composure, John tried a different tactic.

  “Can you control your breathing?” He asked.

  “I… can,” Vulsa said, unable to hide their confusion at the question.

  “Focus on that. Here, follow me. Breathe in… and out,” John said.

  John began pronouncing his breathing dramatically so the insect person could follow it. He took quick but efficient breaths, taking no more than a couple seconds to fill his lungs before releasing them. Vulsa could never have matched him if he allowed his lungs to fill their natural way.

  Vulsa’s bug body slowly came to mimic that of John’s breathing. It rose and fell shakily at first but grew steadier as John continued to breathe in rhythm. Soon they were perfectly matching each other in breath.

  “Okay, just keep focusing on my breathing. We’re going to synchronize our spirits next. Don’t be afraid. Just keep breathing,” John said.

  He slowly started to encompass Vulsa with his spirit once more. The insect flinched again, but this time John was impressed to see that they redoubled their efforts to maintain John’s breathing pace. He smiled encouragingly at them.

  “That’s good. Keep it up,” he said.

  John felt his heart habitually begin following his lungs, sending a more powerful beat through his body every few breaths. He tried to maintain focus on the task despite the feeling of fortitude occasionally coursing through him. After a few more seconds, John felt his spirit begin to interact with the two Vulsa’s essence contained.

  He felt Vulsa’s natural spirit, timid and submissive but also determined and strong. It felt almost at war with the second spirit John sensed in their essence. The concept made a lot of sense when John considered it. No spirit would naturally remain slave to another without a struggle.

  Insidious and parasitic, the foreign spirit was both powerful and persistent. It had been woven into the deepest fabrics of Vulsa’s own spirit so completely that it was difficult at times to tell the two apart. Fortunately, John’s reassuring efforts and continued synchronized breathing helped him to connect with Vulsa more easily than he had the fruit.

  Moreover, John was surprised to find that Vulsa’s trust had began to deepen. It increased to the extent that John was able to start neutralizing the flow of their spirit. That further helped to distinguish between Vulsa’s spirit and their master’s foreign influence, as the latter had not followed along to assimilate with John’s spirit.

  Luckily, John’s efforts hadn’t yet been seen as an attack by the foreign spirit. It remained unaffected by his attempts to synchronize with Vulsa. The next step would certainly change that.

  “Okay,” John said as Vulsa’s spirit came to a state of neutrality, “get ready for the hard part.”

  “I am ready,” Vulsa assured him.

  John nodded before turning his attention on the second spirit. This time, instead of considering it a natural target that he wished to neutralize, he envisioned it as an infection that Neutralization needed to cure. In that way, John began his efforts to remove Vulsa’s bindings.

  The instant John focused on the foreign spirit; it reacted with such fury that John gasped in alarm. It lashed out at his spirit like a frightened animal, scraping against John’s essence like a pair of fangs sinking into flesh. John grunted in discomfort before shaking off his surprise.

  He forced more potential into his attempts as the foreign spirit continued to lash out while replenishing any amount of essence his efforts were able to dissolve from Vulsa’s spirit. It was like fighting against the tide; every time it seemed to recede, the spirit returned more determined than ever. It became clear that Vulsa’s master had a spirit comparable to that of Suné.

  John started to feel unsure of his ability to combat such a powerful spirit. He could feel the insidious nature of it start to infect his own spirit. What would happen if it succeeded? Would he experience the same compulsion Vulsa did?

  John banished such weak thoughts from his head as he circulated yet more of his essence into Culmination of neutrality. He struggled against the powerful spirit for longer than he could have if Vulsa hadn’t been adding to his efforts. He could feel the bug’s determination to break free of their bondage.

  Despite their combined efforts however, John was unable to subjugate the foreign will to his cause. Vulsa’s master was simply too powerful to contest with neutrality. John would have to think of another solution.

  The problem was, he was now locked in a contest of wills against the formidable force. He tried to remain calm as his energy was slowly exhausted and his spirit was steadily being subverted to the will of Vulsa’s master. John’s mind returned to his conversations with his sister, and an awful idea presented itself to him.

  At Emma’s insistence, John had studied the theories behind Annihilation after she had alleged that it would be a better solution to his fruit problem. He had memorized the proper circulation of his essence to produce the effects in preparation for attempting it with the fruit.

  He had not attempted to practice the branch even once since studying it. Now the idea presented itself to him as if a ray of light in the darkest room he had ever been in. It was ridiculously dangerous to even consider.

  If he made a mistake, he could destroy Vulsa altogether. Some savior he would be if trusting John led the bug creature to utter Annihilation. John shuddered to think of such an outcome. He hated considering the option at all, but what choice did he have?

  If he couldn’t manage to overcome the foreign spirit, his own sanity would be at risk. It had come to a point where he either pressed on or succumbed to the inevitable. And John didn’t have an ounce of submission to speak of.

  With the conviction of a man who would burn the world to stay warm, John confidently started to circulate his essence. He shifted the direction away from Culmination and flowed through the complex pathways required to achieve his goal. He immediately felt the foreign spirit infect the neutrality of both his and Vulsa’s spirits.

  After a few moments of continued struggle against the contamination, John felt his essence produce something. It was similar to the feeling he got from Culmination. It was potential built up and harvested within him.

  This time, however, the potential John built up was not to grow and flourish. This was the potential to destroy. It felt ready to unwrite the world at John’s direction. He gasped at the terrible possibility of it.

  Unable to waste time worrying, John quickly turned his attention back to the two spirits he was connected to. Vulsa was struggling to maintain the neutrality John had instilled in them. The second spirit was almost ravenous in comparison. It converted larger and larger sections of their spirits while John struggled to return to control of himself.

  Holding the Annihilation potential within him, John returned his essence to circulation of Neutralization. It was like fighting against a hurricane to restore the sense of neutrality to himself and Vulsa. Without the insect actively struggling against the encroachment of their master, John wouldn’t have been able to regain control.

  “This might hurt,” John warned.

  He slowly introduced Annihilation energy into the struggle. His prolonged connection with Vulsa gave him a very good idea of which parts of the tangled spirit belonged to the bug and which belonged to their master. John single-mindedly targeted the foreign spirit at the most fundamental levels, at all the points where it was intertwined with Vulsa’s spirit.

  The process was not easy. The bug’s spirit had been house to the foreign entity for so long that John worried Vulsa would not be able to live with the connection removed. Despite his concerns, John diligently began destroying the connections between Vulsa’s spirit and their master’s.

  The second John began, Vulsa started convulsing. The insect equivalent of screams started bursting from them as John erased the connection they had with their master. Vulsa fell to the ground. And John knelt to maintain connection.

  As for the foreign spirit itself, John sensed nothing but trepidation. Being only an expression of will, the spirit did not actually fear John. Even so, whatever impressions left by the owner seemed to recognize that what John was doing represented danger for it.

  It lashed out more than ever as John continued to erase any trace of the presence in Vulsa. Unlike with Neutralization, John’s efforts were both powerful and effective. The spirit still attempted to replenish itself, but this time it was like fighting water with a fan.

  As the inexorable tide of John’s Annihilation washed over everything foreign to Vulsa, the insidious spirit pushed back impotently. Bit by bit, John wiped away Vulsa’s master from the insect. They continued to struggle on the ground in torment until the last vestiges of infection were purged.

  John continued to circulate Neutralization to steady the bug as they both returned to a state of calm. Finally able to remove himself from Vulsa’s spirit now that the struggle for control was over, John let go of the insect’s limbs and fell back, exhausted. As he panted, he worked out his question between breaths.

  “How… do you… feel?”

  Vulsa was similarly exhausted from the ordeal. They just chittered in fatigue for long moments before mustering a response. When they did, it was accompanied by them sitting up in shock.

  “I feel free,” they said.

  What is this chapter called