Chapter 15: Meditation

Chapter 15: Meditation

Yeo drew his sickle and chain and spun it lazily by his side. Dark water gathered around Bellas arm, forming itself into a hand axe.

You made two of those when you sparred Pete, Yeo observed.

You arent Pete, Bella replied. Water sprayed from beneath her feet and she burst into motion, leaping at the boy.

Yeo twirled his kusarigama, sending its sharp blade whipping down at her. Bella twisted out of the way, barely avoiding getting cut, but didnt slow her dash in the slightest. With a flourish, Yeo pulled the sickle back in to strike at Bella from a blind spot.

Water rippled around her, forming a shield and catching the weapon. Yeo vaulted back, dodging a swing from Bellas axe, and drew several thin, silver blades from a pouch at his side. He whipped them at Bella.

An eruption of water knocked them aside. Yeos fingers twitched and the thin knives shuddered midair, righting themselves and shooting for her again. Most faltered against her water shield, but one slipped through.

Bella somehow managed to shift her weight, turning what should have been a fairly serious stab into a thin line of blood across a shoulder.

Ha! Yeo crowed. First b

A tendril of water snapped out from a puddle formed during their fight, striking Yeo in the chin and knocking his head back. He stumbled back, cursing.This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.

Second blow to me, Bella said. And mine was considerably more solid than yours.

Yeo snapped his arm out, pulling the sickle back to his hands. He spun it, then sent the blade flying out once more. Water surged around Bella and she dashed in at him. Water splashed and metal scored across the ground as the two danced around the courtyard, trading blows.

Vaulting back, Yeos kusarigama spun around him, a shimmering ribbon of metal that moved so fast that Chance couldnt even figure out where it ended. Yeo drew a deep breath, then dropped into a low squat and thrust one hand forward.

The air around him shimmered and he bared his teeth in a grin. Metal Dragon Art: Twin Heads!

Seriously? You call your techniques out as you use them? Bella asked, aghast. Yeo didnt respond. Links of metal leapt from his pouch and trailed up his spinning kusarigama. He clapped his hands together and, pulled them apart. A second sickle and chain formed in his off hand, and Yeo sent both of them arcing toward Bella.

If the previous battle had been difficult to follow, the new one was chaos. Metal twisted around Yeo like a storm, moving with such speed that Chance had absolutely no idea how he was avoiding getting tangled up with his own attacks.

Bella was pushed onto the backfoot as Yeo advanced on her, forcing her to use her water defensively and not giving any chances for her to strike back. One of the blades arced through the water and scored across her shoulder.

Going to give up? Yeo called. Thats two to me.

Her face darkened and Bella lifted her hands like a composer. Droplets of water gathered around her, then shot out at Yeo, binding themselves into his clothes and reaching for his arms to try and restrain his movement.

Despite his situation, Yeo didnt hesitate. He redoubled his attack, pressing Bella even harder. And then it was over. One of Yeos spinning chains snapped, leaving an opening in his defenses, and two thin blades of black water scored across his chest, cutting his shirt open.

Three points, Bella said, lowering her hands.

Yeo looked down at the disintegrating chain on the ground. You broke my technique, but I didn't see you using one of your own. What kind of Essence do you cultivate? That doesn't seem like something normal water can do.

Not water, Bella replied with a small smirk. But that was a fairly impressive technique. Not bad.

Not bad yourself, Yeo said, yanking his sickle back into his hand and returning it to his side. You didnt use any techniques, but your control over your Essence is really good for someone our age. How long have you been cultivating?

A while.

Yeo gave her a once over, then shrugged. Fair enough. Ill admit that youre a better cultivator than I am. But if my aura was stronger, you would have lost that. Not a good look for someone whos been doing this for a few years.

Bella crossed her arms, then let them relax and gave him a curt nod. Youre right. I havent fought many other Shikari, and nobody that used techniques like yours. This shouldnt have been so close.

Both of you looked really impressive from my end, Chance said. Are you really just both starting? It feels like youre masters.

From you? Nothing. Im looking forward to seeing the rankings, though. Have fun playing around.

Jake raised a hand, chuckling, and walked off with his team. Yeos eyes narrowed at the boys back.

Im sensing some bad blood, Bella observed.

Just someone from my hometown, Yeo said with a dismissive shrug. Dont worry about him. Weve just got a bit of a rivalry. Chance, if youre going to start training with Bella, Im going to go get some cultivation in. Find me whenever you guys stop, kay?

Sounds good, Chance said, suspecting that they hadnt gotten anywhere near the full story. If Yeo didnt want to talk about it, he wouldnt press yet. Yeo headed back inside.

We might as well go into the courtyard behind the house, Bella said. Its a little small, but cultivating shouldnt take much room.

Chance shrugged and followed her through the house and into the small dirt yard behind it, where Yeo and Pete had tested his abilities the previous day.

So, do you know anything about your Essence yet? Bella asked.

Yep. Its this gold mist stuff, Chance said, bringing it to his fingertips. The familiar burning sensation churned in his chest and ran through his veins, sending a shiver through his body.

Okay, thats good. You dont know what your Essence actually is, though, right?

No clue.

Thats what well start with, then. Do you know how to meditate?

Uh cross your legs and close your eyes?

Bella rolled her eyes. No. I mean, that can be part of it, but its far from the point. Sit down and make sure youre comfortable. I prefer meditating on my knees, but cross-legged works too.

Chance followed her instructions, sitting down in the same position that Yamish seemed to favor.

The point of meditation is to clear your mind, and thats mostly done through your breathing, Bella instructed, kneeling across from him. By focusing on your breathing, you can clear your mind. Then, once its clear, you gently direct your attention to your Essence and try to discern what you can of it. Thats it. In theory, very simple.

In practice, not as much? Chance guessed.

Exactly. The universe is vast. Truly gaining understanding of your Essence is incredibly difficult, and every small step is an enormous struggle. There are dozens of different things thatll stand in your way like impurities but in the end, the most important thing you can do to cultivate is meditation.

Okay. So just focus on my breathing?

Some people have special techniques that help accelerate their cultivation, Bella said. Unfortunately, those are pretty expensive. I dont know anything really fancy, but I can tell you what works for me. Slow your breaths down and make them deeper pretend youre breathing from your chest rather than your throat.

Chance nodded, changing his breathing to match her instructions.

Good. Now, try to constrict your throat a little bit. Not enough to be uncomfortable, but yeah, thats good, Bella nodded as Chance followed her directions once more. Now, close your eyes and picture something serene. I like to use a lake. Whenever a thought comes up, acknowledge it for a moment, letting it run its course, and then let it fall beneath the lake. Do that until your mind is empty. Then, once it is, focus on your Essence.

Okay, Chance said, memorizing everything and repeating it to himself a few times to make sure he hadnt missed a point. Thats it?

Thats it. Bella gave him a wry smile. Trust me, its harder than you think. Especially with impurities, which you should have a lot of given that youre from Earth. The more impurities in your body, the harder itll be to connect with your Essence.

Man, is everyone from Earth really that shafted? I really owe Bob a drink or something the next time I see him.

Ill give it a shot, then, Chance said.

Ill be meditating as well. Try not to bother me unless youre really stuck. Bella relaxed and closed her eyes, slowing her breathing.