Chapter 47: What Did You Do?
When Vell opened his eyes, a few hours had passed.
’Guess I was more hurt than I thought.’
He slowly rose to his feet, and he looked around and noticed that Jia was asleep while Yenna was practicing her mana control.
’She is very determined. I guess I should also start. I cannot be slacking off now.’
He got up, stretched his body, and let out a long sigh. He sat back down and began concentrating on his breathing. As he did that, his mind slowly began to cut off everything from the outside. This was the zone.
He dug deep within himself, and he scanned everything, trying to find this power, but he could not find anything, which was weird. He continued looking, and minutes passed, but there was still nothing. He stopped to catch his breath, and his face looked annoyed.
’Shit, just where the hell is it? At this rate, the days will be up without any progress. I cannot let this power consume me. Consume? It could not be.’
He entered the zone again, and he searched, but this time, he scanned the outside of his body and spotted the energy faster than he had expected.
’Crap, the source of the energy is me?’
The words of the figure flashed in his mind.
’Could this be what he meant, my true self?’
He continued to analyze this energy until he stopped at the symbols on his hand.
’A seal? Strange. If there is a seal, then why is the energy still around?’
He could feel a strange energy from these circles, an energy so pure that it did not resonate with him.
’Could it be that the dream of being sealed was not a dream? Just who the hell was I? Well, for now, let us just try and control this power.’
He reached out with his mind, and he tried to touch the energy that was emanating from his body. It was like a living thing, swirling around him and responding to his thoughts. He could feel it, and he could sense its power, but he could not control it. It was wild, untamed, and it seemed to be mocking him, taunting him with its presence.
"Damn it," he muttered, and frustration was creeping into his voice. "I can feel it, but I cannot grasp it."
He closed his eyes, and he tried to focus again, but the more he tried, the more elusive the energy became. It was like trying to catch smoke with his hands. He could see it, and he could feel it, but it slipped through his fingers every time.
"Human?" a voice interrupted his concentration.
He opened his eyes to see Jia standing a few feet away, and her eyes were filled with curiosity.
"I can feel that evil energy. Are you trying to control it? Because it does not seem to be going well."
"Hahh, yeah, it is a lot harder than I expected. I am sorry if I disturbed you."
She stared at him and suddenly got annoyed.
"Tch, what is with this sad, pathetic look you have on? I was beginning to respect you because of our spar, thinking you are a true warrior, but this, this sight is just pitiful."
She walked away with her arms crossed and whispered to herself in annoyance.
’What is her problem?’
He turned his attention back to Yenna, who was still meditating. Her mana was gently swirling around her like a soft breeze. She was so focused, so serene, and it made him wonder how she managed to maintain such composure in the face of his mana. She could not. She was struggling, even though she was far away.
Taking a deep breath, he tried a different approach. Instead of forcing control over the energy, he decided to observe it. Let it flow. If the energy was wild, maybe understanding its patterns would give him a way in. He focused, and he watched as the energy coiled and twisted around him like a living thing. It was chaotic, yet there was an odd rhythm to it, a pulse that felt... familiar.
’Okay, I have got the pattern down. Now let us take the big step.’
He matched his breathing to the pulse of the energy, and he let his own rhythm fall in line with its chaotic dance. Slowly, he began to notice the energy calming, and its movements were less erratic. The mocking presence he had felt earlier softened, almost as if it was acknowledging his effort.
He reached out with his mind again, but this time, instead of grasping at it, he simply guided it. The energy flowed through him, and it obeyed his will, moving in patterns that he had once thought were impossible. It was still wild, still untamed, but now it was under his control, at least to some extent.
A sense of triumph washed over him.
"You are mine now, fucker. No more causing trouble for you."
He pushed himself up into the air, and he flipped and then landed gracefully.
"And my cores are open again. Should I test it out?"
He wound up a punch, and he concentrated and gathered this new power in his fist.
’Hoho, this is scary.’
He thought this as his hands trembled, barely containing the power. He held his breath and punched with all his might. His form was not bad, but the attack never went through.
’Eh-’
His body was sent flying at high speed, and he crashed into the wall.
Jia looked at him in confusion.
"What is the human doing this time?"
She began to slowly walk over until a kick almost connected with her face. She jumped back, and she saw Yenna standing in her way. Her eyes were furious, and power was pulsing around her body.
"What did you do to him?"
Her hands twitched, and her head was tilted like a feline looking at its prey.
"What the hell are you talking about? I did not do anything."
She glanced at Vell, who was groaning and trying to peel himself out of the wall.
"It looks like your ’genius’ human here just punched himself into oblivion."
"Do not lie to me! His energy should not have reacted like that unless someone tampered with it. Why else would he lose control so suddenly?"
Jia raised her hands in mock surrender, though her tone remained sharp.
"Whoa, chill, mana girl. I did not touch him. Maybe he is just too dumb to handle his own power."
Her anger was over the edge now, and she leaped at Jia, fury in her eyes.