Return of the Fallen Volume 5 Chapter 84
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Author: Blue_Rat
ch84
Kimi, Sam, and even Asuna all felt the same feeling for a split second hearing Glacious’s thoughts. That feeling of course was jealousy. Even if they didn’t wish to feel that, at the moment they couldn’t help it.
This feeling was directed towards Kazuki. They could understand his accomplishments. He was ten years their senior and had lived in and had extensive knowledge about Gordonia and the magic energy that flows throughout it. No, their selfish thoughts were aimed at Shin. How could he achieve this? Wasn’t he a fuck up and did nothing but play and joke around all the time? How could he come further than them?
Asuna felt that shame once again reemerge. She knew why he made it this far. In the first place, this special room of Glacious wasn’t one that tested strength but rather will. She knew what Shin had been through and knew that it was his past tragedies that he had overcome that made his mind less likely to break under pressure.
Asuna relented and heaved an inward sigh before she sat back down and watched with observant eyes. Even if she wasn’t going to advance to the next stage, at least she could try and gain some insight by watching not one but two people enter the 4th stage at once.
Sam saw Asuna have a seat and he felt petty for not celebrating his friend’s accomplishments. He too sat down and thought about his weaknesses and what he could do to overcome them.
Kimi looked at the two as saw that she stood out like a sore thumb. She was still feeling jealousy but didn’t want to look it and so she sat back down as well.
Glacious nodded in satisfaction at Asuna and Sam. The two had failed and had received another blow witnessing Shin come further than them but now it seemed as though they were taking it all in stride and would get past this roadblock in their own way.
Glacious sat down and watched over the two. Now that they were advancing on their own, there was not much else he could do. Anything he did at this moment could potentially affect them negatively so he knew it was best to sit aside and not interfere.
(“Teacher, what are they doing right now?”)
(“Are you that curious little red?”)
Asuna nodded, followed by Sam. Kimi didn’t want to seem to interest and pretended like she didn’t actually care but she continued to secretly look out of the side of her eye with undeniable eagerness.
(“As you can see the room has been deactivated. That means the energy pouring into their minds strengthing them, has now been cut off. What they have taken in, it will consolidate and they will basically have something similar to an epiphany. With the illusions now gone, their minds are no longer under attack and they will reach a level of clearness that is nearly impossible to achieve.”)
Kimi couldn’t take it anymore and her curiosity got the better of her.
(“Clearness, teacher what does that mean?”)
Glacious smiled at her.
(“Little mouse, are you curious?”)
Kimi’s cheeks puffed up slightly and she refused to answer.
Glacious rolled his eyes and cut his teasing short.
(“Clearness is a state of mind. With no more illusions, their minds can be at peace and explore their own depths. Out of the fog, they can now once more feel themselves for real instead of that false reality they were in. You all as well. You should have noticed the difference by now. Shut your eyes and focus on your bodies. I’m sure you can feel them much more clearly. The muscles contracting, your blood pumping, and circulating through you. Try it and see.”)
Asuna, Sam, and Kimi all tried it at once. As soon as their eyes shut it was like a brand new world had opened up before them and this new world was their bodies. Their lungs expanding and taking in air, the blood gushing through them. They could even feel the slight movement of the hairs on their arms shifting ever so slightly from the breath in the room. Things became so open, so clear. Even with their eyes completely closed, they could somehow still see their own bodies as though they were floating above themselves. This feeling was strange yet familiar and they all couldn’t help but feel weird from the new sensations they were feeling.
One by one they opened their eyes and sat their stupified.
Glacious had a told you so like expression.
(“From what you’ve all felt just now, multiply it by a thousand maybe even more. If it’s like a whole new world has opened for you to explore, then imagine what it’s like for Kazuki and Shin. They will feel what you felt and more. The operation of the organs within them, the skin, hairs, tendons, muscle, bone, blood, nerves, all of it will be overwhelming at first but as they feel themselves, their minds and bodies will truly connect. That is the moment they will have entered the 4th stage, the mind-body stage.)
Asuna couldn’t help but swallow hard as she found it difficult to take all of this in. She was still feeling odd from the new sensation of observing her body and its natural phenomenons so deeply and now both Shin and Kazuki were about to experience something a thousandfold that. Asuna’s eyes focused even more. She was determined to understand the process as much as possible for her own eventual rise.
Kazuki and Shin. One sat crossed leged while the other one still laid face down on the ground. The two seemed completely different from the other but at this exact moment, the inner workings of the two mirrored one another.
Kazuki inhaled deeply and at the same time so too did Shin.
The illusions that plagued the two like never-ending nightmares were gone. Now, there was something or maybe nothing. They were not aware of their surroundings but instead were completely aware of themselves. Their minds continued to strengthen and they could feel new sensations cropping up out of nowhere. The infinite pains they suffered through were now instead a strange comfort.
Inhale………….Exhale
The beating of their hearts pounding resounded within their minds. The slight undulations of their muscles moving and contracting were obvious to them and seemed almost out of place. Their minds observed themselves ever so closely and more and more things became obvious once observed. They could tell that their stomach was breaking down and processing food at a microscopic level. They could identify even the smallest things traveling through their blood and could even recognize their livers filtering out tiny toxins. They witnessed chemical reactions in their own brains and watched as cells within them divide and regenerate.
The two saw their bodies filled with other things that were not apart of them. Tiny microbes and bacteria, even a few diseases and other things lying in dormant such as cancerous cells and other tiny damages that had yet to become problematic. Interacting with such things, the two found an unfathomable new control over their bodies. With a simple thought, their healthy cells attacked these dangerous elements within.
Their white blood cells destroyed the diseases and broke down the cancerous cells. Even the small bacteria that lined their gut was destroyed. Now that they had such fine control over their own bodies, they wouldn’t need such bacteria to maintain a healthy gut as they could take care of it on their own.
As they did this, from out of their pores, tiny splotches of black filth emptied from them. All of the bad shit inside that was destroyed was pushed out through the surface of their skin and with it, a foul smell close to shit mixed with vomit filled everyone’s noses and they couldn’t help but retreat several feet away in disgust.
Asuna couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed for Kazuki. She desperately wanted to wipe the gunk away from Kazuki’s body with something but Glacious stopped her.
As Kazuki and Shin continued to explore their bodies, something within them was naturally removed or rather expanded upon. The limiters their mind had set upon them had now been almost entirely removed. This was something that could be looked upon as a double-edged sword. The body naturally puts limiters in place so one doesn’t accidentally injure oneself. With the goal post now moved higher, it could be said that without paying close attention, Kazuki and Shin could destroy themselves by going too far in battle or other scenarios.
They could unleash all of their strength and in the process rip all of the muscles in one arm throwing a punch. They could be cut to shreds but still keep on fighting whilst bleeding out, all because they didn’t notice the pain. At the same time, they could now tap into power well beyond what they normally could. To kill an enemy by going all out in a single exchange, to sacrifice a limb in such a way may be worth it.
Inhale…………Exhale
The two at the same time slowly opened their eyes and found themselves in the magic room with Glacious and the others. Immediately a foul stench filled their noses. Shin smiled and laughed.
(“Hahaha, Kazuki what the fuck did you eat! You smell like hot trash mixed with shit, hehehe.”)
Kazuki could see that both he and Shin were covered in a layer of black filth and he smiled, completely ignoring Shin’s insult. Kazuki couldn’t help but look down at his filthy hands in amazement as he observed everything with a keener set of eyes.
(“I’ve done it! I can feel it. I’ve finally managed to step into the 4th stage!”)
Kazuki felt overwhelmed. His emotions were complex. Before he was forcefully thrown down to Earth, he had only made it to the 3rd stage. All the trials and errors, the many many years of never being able to advance on the path of a Mage after his Mage core was stolen by his mother and sister. The many times Kazuki wanted to give up, surrender, and fall to the wayside. The hatred and resentment towards the two that had wronged him so. The powerlessness he felt. He had given up hope so many times, so many fucking times. After all of that, he had finally come past his previous self. Stepped ahead of his past and gained more power than he ever had. A feeling of rage and joy ran through his bones as revenge seemingly became possible.
Kazuki didn’t know what to do with himself. He was bursting full of energy and he was hyped. He felt as though he could take on the world right at this very moment. It was right at this height of his excitement that Shin interrupted him with laughter in his mind.
“Bwahahahaha, I’ve never seen someone so excited to smell and look like shit! Kazuki, don’t tell me you’ve had a fetish for this all along.”)
Kazuki was about to curse him when Glacious could take the smell no longer. His yellow eye suddenly glowed with a purple light and everyone was teleported outside. Shin and Kazuki both fell into an already prepared cauldron at the same time. Before either of them could voice a complaint, the lid had already covered the cauldron and no screams could be heard.
Asuna began to think about a few harsh things towards Glacious but he just stared at her blankly.
“Little red you realize I can no longer hear your thoughts since we’re no longer in my mountain, right?”
Asuna didn’t know what to say and was about to yell something unnecessary when Glacious’s expression suddenly changed. His head snapped around and looked towards the south forest and he became serious.
“Who dares use space magic within my territory!?”
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