Noah sat cross-legged in the emptiness of the Sealed Universe, the book he had taken from Wan Shi Tong's library open upon his lap. The pages rustled softly under his fingers as he turned them, and his eyes traced the diagrams of the seven chakras with deep concentration.
"Awakening the seven chakras requires achieving inner balance," he read aloud, his voice resonating in the silence of the empty dimension. "The chakras are nodes within the meridians through which life force passes that are by nature blocked, similar to the eight internal gates. But unlike those, the seven chakras are not innate limiters that prevent the body from destroying itself; they are enhancers. Once opened, the effect is permanent and there are no negative consequences for unlocking them."
He turned the page.
"Each of the seven chakras has a purpose and can be unlocked with a specific type of emotion."
He took a deep breath and assumed the meditation posture described in the book. His hands rested upon his knees, his eyes closed, and his breathing became slow and measured.
"According to this book, I must begin at the base. The Root Chakra."
This chakra was located at the base of the spine, at the coccyx, and was related to the instinct of survival. To unlock it, one had to overcome one's deepest fears.
"That which I fear most… I must allow my fears to manifest with clarity."
An illusion materialized before his closed eyes. In it appeared a solitary figure seated atop a mountain, gazing downward with melancholy. The wind stirred its robes, and around it there was nothing but an empty sky and an infinite horizon. No one at its side. No one waiting for it. Only silence.
But the sad eyes of the figure cooled rapidly and it released a cold snort.
"Is this my fear? Loneliness?" Noah's voice resonated within the illusion. "How can I, who have overcome even the fear of death, fear mere loneliness? Who among those who have reached the summit of the universe has not finally ended up alone, watching their relatives and friends perish with the passage of time? As a seeker of eternity, that is a reality of which I have been aware for a long time."
The figure in the illusion let out a defiant roar toward the sky. The sound echoed through the emptiness like thunder, and the illusion dissipated into fragments of light. Simultaneously a crack resounded from Noah's coccyx. His first chakra found a new path through which to circulate, striking deep roots like a tree that pierces the earth. His eyes lit with a new perspective, as if he had just understood something that had always been there.
"The next is the Sacral Chakra."
This one was situated in the lower abdomen. Associated with creativity, sexuality, and the flow of emotions, it was the center of human passions.
"This chakra is blocked by guilt. I must confront my feelings of guilt."
Noah opened his eyes and found himself in the middle of a blood-red sea.
Countless bloodied corpses floated around him, so many that he could not see the horizon. At a glance they numbered in the millions.
Then they began to move.
Putrid arms emerged from the crimson ocean and clung to his legs. Bony fingers scraped his arms while dozens of bodies climbed over him. Their deformed faces drew near to his, spitting words with a hatred that seemed endless.
"Murderer!"
"You condemned us!"
"Look at me! Look me in the eyes! Do you remember my name?"
"You promised we would survive…"
"My daughter was waiting for your cure!"
"My wife died because of you!"
"How many more needed to die so that you could continue forward?"
"Answer!"
A child of no more than eight years, with a sunken skull and bluish skin, surfaced. He clung to Noah's leg and sank his teeth in desperation.
"Why… why didn't you save me…? I was afraid… I didn't want to die…"
Noah lowered his gaze. Without pushing the child away, he rested a hand upon the small head and stroked it with an almost paternal gentleness.
"I'm sorry," he said calmly. "But that is already in the past. I have learned to live with it. Misfortunes and tragedies occur independent of the will of the world."
The child let out a sob before sinking once more among the corpses.
In that instant a shadow covered the crimson sky.
A group of winged corpses descended slowly. Their wings, formed of blackened feathers and torn flesh, beat with a sound like thousands of bones breaking. They surrounded Noah and seized him by the shoulders.
One of them, with a spear through its chest, brought its putrid face close to his.
"The Dark Feathers!" it roared with fury. "You threw us directly into their claws!"
"Orkus hunted us as if we were animals!"
"Our warriors were torn apart!"
"Our children were impaled!"
"They burned our homes!"
"Our tribe disappeared because of you!"
Dozens of voices united in a single cry.
"You used us!"
"We were mere pieces to you!"
"You sacrificed us to achieve your own goals!"
Their hands sank more forcefully into Noah's shoulders, as if they wished to tear the flesh from him.
Noah released a long sigh.
He did not attempt to push them away, nor did he attempt to defend himself.
He simply held their empty gazes with serenity.
"I learned years ago that the world, no matter how civilized it may appear on the surface, remains a jungle where some devour others. For one to ascend, one must have the blood of countless people staining one's hands."
His gaze grew indifferent. He clenched his fist and the world around him cracked, shattering into fragments of nightmare that fell into nothingness. He regained consciousness just as a second crack resounded in his lower abdomen. The Sacral Chakra opened.
"The next is the Solar Plexus Chakra."
Situated above the stomach, it governed will. The emotion that blocked it was shame and self-deception.
Noah closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. The chakra opened on its own, without resistance. He felt no shame toward himself, nor did he deceive himself regarding his own nature.
Upon reaching the fourth chakra, Noah sighed deeply. This one would make him recall something troublesome.
The Heart Chakra was located at the center of the chest. It connected with love, and the emotion that blocked it was pain and grief.
Noah opened his eyes and saw a painting before him. In it could be seen the appearance of his past life, embracing a dazzling woman who held her swollen belly. She smiled—a warm, radiant smile that illuminated the canvas. He also smiled, an expression that Noah had almost forgotten.
Slowly the figure of the woman began to fade from the painting. First the outlines, then the colors, then the smile. In her place remained only the solitary figure of Noah, arms extended, embracing emptiness.
"It is time to let go of the past completely."
Slowly the image in the painting changed. The appearance of his past life was replaced by that of his current life: white hair, mismatched eyes, two wings upon his back. The fourth chakra cracked and opened, and an unknown warmth expanded through Noah's chest.
The fifth was the Throat Chakra. It governed truth and was blocked by self-deception. Noah had no such repressed feelings, so the chakra opened easily, almost without effort.
The same occurred with the sixth chakra, the Third Eye Chakra, situated on the forehead. It governed intuition and perception, and was blocked by illusion. Noah had never allowed himself to live in illusions.
Now only the final chakra remained, situated at the crown of his head: the Crown Chakra.
It was the most difficult of all, for it was unlocked by severing the worldly bonds that tied one to the earthly realm. Yet for Noah it was the easiest. As an omniversal traveler who knew the nature of multiple realities and universes, from the beginning he had refrained from forging strong bonds with anyone. Even those he held with his family in the shinobi world were rather weak in comparison to the bonds of other people. Not out of disdain, but from an innate understanding that every earthly bond, no matter how deep, would eventually fade with time.
His eyes lit intensely. Seven points of light shone simultaneously throughout his body, from the base of his spine to his crown, tracing a line of white fire that ran along his spinal column. An intense flow of chakra began to circulate through his meridians, and his volume of energy grew suddenly, expanding like a river that bursts its banks.
"Phew…"
Noah rose. A profound gaze crossed his eyes—a gaze wiser and more stable, like that of a monk who has attained enlightenment regarding the truth of the world, worldly relationships, and human emotions. The seven chakras shone within him, amplifying his power and his perception.
"It is time to return."
He exited the Sealed Universe and appeared in the sky above the Avatar world. The sun shone upon this world, which had changed considerably since the last time he had seen it. The feudal villages and cities he remembered had been replaced by smoking metropolises, factories with brick chimneys, and paved streets along which motorized vehicles circulated. The former feudal appearance had given way to a stage of technological development similar to the early twentieth century. The Industrial Revolution had arrived in the Avatar world.
Noah contemplated the changing landscape for a few seconds. Then, without nostalgia or attachment, he opened a spatial vortex and vanished.
"Let us return home."
End of Volume 1: First Steps.