Book 1: Chapter 8

“Curse...curse..” Cyil repeated through his chattering teeth. “Mom says curse are really evil and that if anyone gets cursed then they die! Grandpa why am I cursed?”

Baccaus could only sigh. “The Death aura is indeed a curse of the highest order. All Death saints have a Death aura but I’ve never heard of the Death aura attacking the user. I reckon this might have been the cause behind the weakening of your life force after your awakening, causing you to be asleep for 5 years. Luckily, when I met you, I had a strong Life attribute core that I used to try to save you. Perhaps the Life attribute countered your Death aura so you survived and eventually recovered.”

As Baccaus continued to speak he became more convinced of his own reasoning. “That explains part of it, but how could you last so long with the death aura constantly attacking you…

Argh, as long as you’re fine then it’s alright. We can slowly find the answers later. Remember that you must fight against the Death aura should you ever encounter it again while meditating. Also, from now on I shall accompany you in your meditations, too.”

“So I can defeat the Curse if I fight against it?”

“Yes, but you must fight against it everyday and never give up. I hope there comes a day where you can freely control it so it does not endanger you or others.” Baccaus nodded and thought of the only time he had seen a Death saint. Baccaus dared to sneak a look at the figure and meeting the saint’s eyes, he almost fainted. Baccaus shivered and shook away the memory.

“Mhm,” Cyil nodded at the prospect of escaping that dreaded gray mist.

“You can continue with your story,” Baccaus gestured.

As Cyil recounted the glowing sphere and its appearance Baccaus did not think much of it and told Cyil to remain vigilant if he should ever return to the dark space.

After warning Cyil, Baccaus went to sit behind Cyil, placing his only hand on Cyil’s back.

“I’ll monitor your meditation this time around so don’t worry.”

“Okay, Grandpa.” Cyil closed his eyes and emptied his mind. Soon the various lights momentarily returned and vanished again just like last time. But this time, a pleasurable feeling spread throughout his body. It felt as if he was eating the most delicious meats available in Nakrul and also bathing in relaxing warm waters all at once. All sorts of wonderful feelings spread throughout his very soul. Then, abruptly, Cyil felt as if he were back in his mother’s womb. It was an odd sensation because he could feel the change but did not know when the change came about. It felt as if he had always been there experiencing that feeling.

“The Time attribute is formless, whereas the Death attribute appears as a light gray particle and the Space particle appears as a shiny silver particle.” Baccaus’ voice rang in Cyil’s consciousness.

“Grandpa?” Cyil shook and almost broke out of meditation.

“I am with you. Do not worry and focus on absorbing whatever your body can take in. It is said that the Time attribute is formless so you have to feel it, but I am not too sure. These are laws so trying to understand them is easy but also out of our reach. As for the Death attribute and Space attribute absorb as many of those particles as possible.”

“Will the Death attribute be dangerous?” Cyil asked, still uncertain.

“No, it should be okay. It is only the Death aura that we should worry about.”

Cyil did not saying anything else and continued to absorb the emptiness around him.

Soon the darkness around him started to swirl and silver particles began to float towards him.

As the silver particles made contact with Cyil they vanished and sunk into his skin making him feel fuller, as if he had just eaten a meal. As if late to the party, weightless grey particles also joined the fray; after a few minutes Cyil felt so full he could burst, but he remembered what his grandpa had instructed and absorbed as many as he could.

After another 10 minutes passed, Cyil felt as if something had gone horrible wrong. He could feel his body expanding but he could do nothing to stop it. Just as the sharp pain registered, Cyil felt a soothing breeze that instantly dispersed the pain and reduced the bloating.

“Good.” Baccaus said sternly. “Your willpower is pretty good. You did not stop and broke past your limit. But also remember that going too far and being too stubborn is not always a good thing. That feeling of pain was the result of absorbing too much saint particles without ‘digesting’ them. Remember that pain so you never go over your limit again. It can cause your soul to explode and die!”

“I knew you were there so I wasn’t worried at all Grandpa!” Cyil replied matter of factly.

“You...” Baccaus was at a lost of what to say. This kid’s way of thinking was so pure and straightforward that even an old fox like him has already suffered some losses.

“When I am no longer with you, you must learn this simple rule and many other things. Next time if you go over your limit I’ll let you suffer a bit more before saving you then. Heh heh.”

“Grandpa you’re….you’re cruel!” Cyil laughed.

“Alright alright. Now let me tell you how to digest your ‘food’. The first time is always the most difficult but you should be able to get it within a few tries. This is also the more difficult part of meditating. Collecting the particles is the easiest part and takes the least amount of time.

To digest the particles just take all its energy then send out the remaining impurities. How much of the energy and how efficiently you can extract it will determine how quickly you can raise your levels as a mage. This is where having a high-grade elemental body comes into play. Those favoured by their element will be able to better collect and absorb their respective element.”

“Grandpa, what happens to the particles when we release them back out?” Cyil asked with a tinge of concern.

“They naturally return to the atmosphere to gain energy so another living thing may absorb them again.”

“Won’t the particle be hurt? What if you suck out all of its energy?” Cyil asked again, this time with a sense of urgency.

“Why are you so worried, the particles will only grow stronger each time they have their energy drained and restore themselves again. And no one can suck out all of a particle’s energy, not even perfect elemental bodies. It’s unheard of and would take too long to be efficient!”

Baccaus found the boy’s concern to be cute, but still found time to throw in a lecture.

“Oh, that’s great to hear!” Cyil nodded to himself and let out a breath of relief. “Ummm Grandpa, all the silver and grey particles are leaving me now. I...I think I absorbed all their energy.”

Baccaus could not believe what he was hearing so he focused more on Cyil’s spiritual body and sure enough it had returned to its normal state but was now slightly stronger than before!

“Holy Saint Shit!” Baccaus muttered to himself. “There really are no absolutes in this world!”