⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Hayato talked with the turtle about a way out and remembered the Misogi ritual from his childhood. He thought about the link between Ki and mana and tried it in the cave, but failed. That night, someone surprised him in his dream.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
I opened my eyes to find myself under the waterfall near our village, the icy water rushing over me as I rubbed my head. Just as the sting from the water was about to ease, my grandpa struck my head hard with his cane, making me scream in pain.
THWACK!
Hayato:
"Aagh!"
Grandpa:
"Focus!"
Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at him. I could barely speak through my sobs and hiccups.
Hayato:
"But... it really hurts, Grandpa!"
Grandpa:
"Of course it will hurt! Don't focus on the pain, seek the calm!"
Hayato:
"You're lying! That's not even possible!"
He folded his arms behind his back, took two steps forward, and stared at the horizon. From his stance, it looked like a long scolding was about to start, but it didn't.
Grandpa:
"Misogi isn't about enduring pain. It's about learning calm and sensing your own being."
Right after, the weight of those words sank in. I remembered I'd heard them before too, but back then I was too young and dumb to get it. He had already given me the key long ago.
When I woke from the dream, it was still dark, but I didn't want to sleep again. His last words about Misogi kept echoing in my mind, making me feel a strange excitement.
It was past midnight, and the air was freezing. But I couldn't wait for it to get warmer. I took off my clothes again and stepped under the waterfall, now even colder, trying hard to control my breathing and not freeze.
I kept repeating my grandpa's words in my head, closing my eyes tight, trying to forget the cold water hitting my head and ignore the freezing wind slapping against my skin.
Hayato:
"Misogi is not about enduring pain... Misogi is not about enduring pain... Misogi is not about enduring pain..."
I struggled to focus for a while, but finally it worked. In the darkness behind my closed eyes, I felt myself and saw the fiery red, almost blood-like mana field around me. Excited, I opened my eyes, I could finally see it.
Hayato:
"I did it! I did it!"
For a brief moment, excitement distracted me, and everything returned to normal. I couldn't sense the mana anymore, so I quickly closed my eyes and tried to get back into the same state. I was so close, and I could feel it.
This time, I refocused quickly. The vision returned, but I stayed calm. The mana around me crackled like dark lightning and bubbled like molten magma, filled with the anger of a defeated Demon Lord.
It was scary, but felt more like a wounded stray needing help. I tried to calm it down. The mana resisted, lightning striking me, yet I felt no pain, maybe from what my grandpa said.
I resisted fully, and finally, I managed to tame it. It now surrounded me like a jelly-like substance, barely moving, though still dense and heavy. Then an idea came to me.
I thought, what if I could puff this mana up like a balloon to make it lighter? Silly, probably useless, and I was awful at physics class. But I'd already made it obey once, so why not try? I focused all my attention on that idea.
I really didn't expect it to work, but it did. Just like inflating a balloon, I expanded the mana around me, spreading it until I could barely feel it at all. I think, I might've done it.
Then the turtle's frantic voice snapped me back. I opened my eyes and realized the sun was already up, I hadn't even noticed. The turtle sounded anxious, searching for me.
Turtle:
"Kid, kid... where are you? Answer me!"
Hayato:
"I'm here, inside the cave!"
I stepped out, dried off in the sun, and started putting my clothes back on. The turtle kept staring at me, bewildered, until it finally asked.
Turtle:
"What happened in there? I can barely sense your presence!"
Hayato:
"Hah, that... I think I did it. Somehow, I managed to control the mana."
The turtle spun around, tilting its head this way and that, clearly baffled.
Turtle:
"So... where's it?"
Hayato:
"It's... here. I think it's roughly two kilometers across now, though I could be wrong. Right now, we're inside my mana field."
Turtle:
"What?! How... what are you talking about?"
Hayato:
"Okay, how can I say... I inflated my mana and spread it all around. You can't feel it because it's not clinging to me anymore, it's everywhere now."
Turtle:
"Everywhere?!"
Hayato:
"Well, I don't have a mana storage, and even if I did, it couldn't hold this much. So I did the opposite, I pushed it away instead of keeping it inside me."
The turtle focused harder, examining its surroundings closely. It seemed to grasp what had happened, nodding as if starting to understand.
Turtle:
"I see... I didn't know something like this was possible..."
Hayato:
"Me neither... I don't fully get how it works yet, but it seems we solved the problem for now."
Turtle:
"Yes, it looks that way."
Hayato:
"So, can we go to the town now?"
Turtle:
"Yes, I think we can go now. But... wait a minute. What are we going to do about your constantly growing mana? You will probably double it the next day..."
Hayato:
"You're right... I'll stay exposed until all the Demon Lord's mana is gathered. It probably grew last night, too. But I think I'll just inflate it again."
Turtle:
"Can you keep doing that forever?"
Hayato:
"I don't know. But until we find a better way..."
Turtle:
"Alright, we'll deal with that later. So come closer and touch my shell."
I went over the turtle and touched its shell, not really knowing what it would do. Curiously, I asked.
Hayato:
"So, what will happen—"
Before I could finish, both the turtle and I vanished. But I had a strange certainty: teleporting mid-sentence was apparently written into my fate...