Chapter 06 (part 2/2) - Energy and flow

  Lily released his hands and placed her fingers against Vincent’s temple. Her expression made it clear that whatever she was about to do was dangerous.

  “W-wait, what are you doing?”

  Vincent pulled her hands away, and she had to explain herself to calm him down.

  “We don’t have time for you to spend hours practicing with conventional methods. You might not even be able to grasp what you need to do if your meridians are too damaged. That’s why I’m going to use my blessing to impart the knowledge directly into you.”

  “Blessing? Is that magic too?”

  “Yes and no. It’s something innate that some resurrected have… there’s no time to explain it now. You’ll just have to trust me.”

  Is that why Heidegger was so interested in extracting her? What does she mean by imparting knowledge?

  “If you could do that, why didn’t we start with it?”

  “It’s not that simple. In your condition, the shock could send you into the void, since I’ll be flooding you with spiritual energy to transfer the information. There’s also a chance I’ll lose part of the knowledge I’m trying to give you… it’s information that comes from the soul.”

  Her face showed worry, but she was still determined. She reached out her hands again, and this time Vincent didn’t move away. She closed her eyes and remained silent for a few minutes. Lily went through her mind carefully, deciding what knowledge to transfer… what she could afford to lose.

  Then, as if a forgotten memory had resurfaced or an epiphany had struck him, dozens… hundreds of hours of practice flooded Vincent’s mind. She did it gently, like a mild breeze across a meadow: refreshing enough to awaken him, but not so strong as to cast him into the void. It lasted less than a minute, yet the gained hours felt utterly real. By instinct, Vincent looked around for a window, making sure it hadn’t turned to night.

  “That… that should be enough.”

  Lily said, exhausted, withdrawing her hands from his temple and letting them fall onto the table along with her body. She was drained, but from behind a loose strand of hair, she checked with relief that she hadn’t caused him any seizures. She truly cared for him.

  “Thank you, Lily, r-really. For everything you’ve done.”

  “Don’t thank me… it’s not the first time I’ve tried this with you.”

  She said it with a hint of guilt.

  “After that, you were never the same again… I regret having tried it. Losing hours of mastery feels fair, I deserved it.”

  “What? What happened? Are you alright?”

  “I don’t feel very confident in my skills right now… if I had to take the Magister exam today, I’d definitely fail. But don’t worry, knowledge comes back quickly with practice. I’m just a bit rusty, haha.”

  Lily said with a small laugh, trying to steer the topic away.

  “But more importantly, how about you? How do you feel?”

  Vincent searched through his mind for the new knowledge. It wasn’t superficial; it wasn’t just images. What he had gained was real experience. The meridians felt tangible within his body; he could sense the energy flowing through them… but not in this body. It had never done so in his own.

  “I think… I think I know what to do. I can visualize where the meridians are… though if I focus, I can’t feel all the ones I should.”

  “That’s because, aside from their thickness, meridians can also expand into other parts of the body, creating new pathways, weaving between your muscle fibers, bones, and even your cells.”

  The medical knowledge he had carried over gave him a precise estimate of where those channels were located in his body, and by combining that with Lily’s transferred information and the diagrams he had studied, he felt he now understood how to make the energy circulate.

  “I-I’m ready.”

  Lily nodded and took his hands again. She tried once more to align with his rhythm, sending out gentle pulses of spiritual energy. With his newfound experience, Vincent was able to receive that energy and draw it toward the spiral-like circulatory cluster in his palm. Once the bridge was established, Lily took control, but only with one of his hands, as if forming a positive and negative circuit between them.

  “Now I’ll try to circulate the energy through your body. I’ll open your meridians this way. It might hurt a little since you’ve never used them before… but please, endure it. It requires me to control the flow with precision down to the millimeter through your meridians; it takes intense focus, so stay quiet.”

  Once inside, Lily’s energy slowly coursed through the spiral in his palm. That level of control demanded an extraordinary ability for visualization, something Vincent could now appreciate thanks to the knowledge implanted in him. He kept his eyes closed, but when he heard Lily grit her teeth, he had to peek.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  It’s moving, but too slowly. Does it really need to go through my entire body? Maybe if I tried to pull too, I could help guide it.

  Vincent tried to cooperate, which eased some of Lily’s burden, but things still weren’t going well. The pulse faltered, collided, and caused sharp twinges of pain, leaving a faint soreness after each mistake. Lily was trying to move her energy through Vincent’s meridians, but his system was so deteriorated, so withered, that every centimeter was a struggle. It was bad news.

  Lily let go of Vincent’s hands, trying to hide the despair in her eyes.

  “What happened?”

  Vincent asked, already sensing it wasn’t good.

  “I… I didn’t think you’d be in this state. They’re completely atrophied.”

  “Atrophied?”

  “Yes, your meridional channels are dry, wrinkled, and clogged. They’ve never been used before… they’re like a muscle that’s never been activated.”

  Lily placed the burner between them and filled it with violet incense. Then she lit it with a simple touch of her hand. Soon, the small device began releasing a thin trail of smoke. Vincent already knew what it was for, so he simply took Lily’s outstretched hands and prepared to try again.

  “Breathe in the incense, Vin. It will help soften your meridians. I’ll be a bit rougher this time and I’ll need your help. You have to try to pull from your side too, like before. I can’t actually see your channels, and that limits me, so you need to give me direction. I’ll follow your lead with controlled flow…”

  Just like in the dorm, the incense relaxed Vincent’s meridians. Lily was a bit harsher this time, as if trying to scrub the dirty channels clean, using her energy more turbulently. The progress was faster, but still far from a proper flow. His meridians were clogged; most of the energy was lost in the dried bends and folds. Only a tiny portion managed to move forward, barely perceptible.

  It’s like a high-pressure water flow… every bend slows it down. There’s too much friction.

  Lily was being too gentle, but if pain was her concern, he could handle it. This time, Vincent took Lily’s energy flow and pulled on it as if it were his own, forcing it through his meridians with intensity, faster than Lily was comfortable maintaining.

  They advanced through the forearm, revitalizing both the main channel (the equivalent of the brachial artery) and the branching serpentine offshoots that split toward the bicep. Lily protested a little, since the goal was to complete the flow first, but interrupting now would break her concentration.

  The process required immense focus, as one had to stay aware of the route and allow the energy to flow without scraping the walls with each pulse. Lily had to do it blindly.

  “Careful…”

  Lily whispered weakly as they reached the heart. That part demanded surgical precision, and she was already beyond her limit. When she opened her eyes, they were bloodshot, and her face was red and covered in sweat.

  “Lily…”

  “I’m fine… I just need a moment.”

  The mental strain of the procedure had fallen almost entirely on Lily, who never allowed herself to relax her control. She couldn’t expect Vincent to grasp the complexity of the circulatory system so quickly, even with the implanted memories.

  “Here… take this.”

  Lily pulled a small vial from her coat, filled with an orange, oily liquid. He didn’t know what it contained, but from the quality of the vial, it looked expensive.

  “Take a small sip before the pain kicks in. I made a lot of mistakes while trying to clean the channels… it’ll hurt if you don’t drink it.”

  Without hesitation, Vincent took a quick sip of the sour liquid. Taking advantage of that brief pause, Lily drew a deep breath. She intended to continue, but when she noticed her nose was bleeding, she realized that wouldn’t be wise.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t think I can clean your meridians in a single day… you’ll probably have to spend a few nights in vigil.”

  They both understood how serious that was. Vincent had already gone through it before and knew what it meant. Each passing day would make him lose a bit more of himself, but seeing her in that state, he knew he couldn’t ask for more. She was already giving her all… but he wasn’t.

  “I c-can practice on my own. I already understand how to circulate the energy, I’ll be careful-”

  “No, that won’t be enough. It’s not just about making it circulate, you need a stronger flow if you want to clean your meridians. You can’t gather enough energy for that; I have to do it myself.”

  “What if I practice with the other husks? I think they were t-training their meridians too.”

  “NO! Don’t you dare practice with anyone who doesn’t know what they’re doing! A husk would destroy your meridians!”

  Lily snapped, too exhausted to properly explain how dangerous that would be.

  “Listen… you can’t do it alone. You might practice a little, but what matters most is restoring and increasing your flow so your energy moves naturally.”

  Lily took a small spinning top from her satchel and began to explain.

  “Spiritual energy holds traces of what it once was: memories, emotions, the will to live. Even without consciousness, the particles are naturally drawn toward living beings. This is harmless if you’re normal, even beneficial if you know how to use it… but you’re not normal. Children and adults alike have unconsciously used magic in one way or another throughout their lives. Energy flows in humans, animals, and monsters… but husks are different. If the soul doesn’t anchor properly and starts leaking, you’ll die. You don’t belong to this world.”

  Lily extended her hand and set the small top spinning on her palm.

  “Look at this top. It only has one point of balance, yet it doesn’t fall. I can set it on the table or even nudge it a little, but as long as it keeps spinning, it maintains its equilibrium. The more mass and the faster it spins, the more stable it becomes… Now that you’ve awakened, you’re filled with intent. Energy will naturally flow toward you, but if you have no way to defend yourself, if you don’t have your own flow… that energy becomes poison.”

  As she finished the explanation, the top slowed down enough to start wobbling. Seconds later, it toppled and rolled across the table.

  “You stay here and study. Read everything you can about meridians and how they move through the body. I need to recover; I’ll be back after midday. I brought you some food and a few tonics you should drink. They’ll help soften your meridians, but it’ll take a few days before they take effect. I had more to explain, but I’m not sure I can today…”

  Lily was in a hurry to leave; Vincent could tell. She was pushing herself too hard. Her skin looked pale, her expression weary. As soon as she finished taking out the tonics and explaining how to use them, she quickly rose from the table.

  “No custodian should come to bother you, but get up every now and then and dust off the higher shelves, just in case. It’s important that we make as much progress as possible today, every day is crit-”

  A gag cut her off. She covered her mouth to hold back the nausea and avoided his gaze as she stood up. She didn’t want him to see her like that.

  “Lily… I don’t know how to thank you.”

  It was obvious how much effort she was putting into saving him. Vincent had always been a capable and self-reliant man, proud too, and he had never needed to be saved like this. The last time he had depended on someone that way was when he was still a child. It was a strange position for him to be in.

  “You don’t have to… I’m just returning the favor. I only hope I can repay you someday for what you did for me.”

  And with those last words, Lily said goodbye.

  What Vincent had done in the past to save her remained unanswered. The only thing he could do now was return her goodwill. He had to restore his flow.