Eiwin explained the specifics of the meditation technique. It consisted of executing a series of hand seals and mantras while controlling one’s breath and heartbeat. Apparently, if one succeeded at that, they would find their awareness over their body sharpened and could control their subconscious reactions to a certain extent.

It seemed so simple that Red was skeptical about its effectiveness.

He looked at Eiwin. “Are you sure this works? Even without Spiritual Energy?”

She nodded. “I’m certain. These mantras and mudras may look simple, but they’re able to invoke reactions within one’s body that are very similar to magic. Of course, its effectiveness may differ from person to person depending on their mental state, and it also takes a lot of practice.”

Red was interested in understanding how exactly these movements worked, but he knew they didn’t have the time for that discussion. He nodded at Eiwin. “Show me.”

The woman smiled. She sat on the ground cross-legged, holding her hands together as if in prayer.

“You must first seek to control your breath and clean your mind from distracting thoughts.” Eiwin said. “Once you are sure nothing is distracting you, then you may begin your meditation.”

She closed her eyes, taking deep, slow breaths. After ten seconds had passed, her hands moved. Her movements were deliberate, and she cycled between three different hand signals, lingering on each one for a few seconds before moving to the next. Red paid close attention to her hands.

Eiwin spoke up. “These are the mudras. It’s important you commit these to memory, since one slight deviation might cause the technique to not work. You must cycle through them in this exact order.”

She continued to display the hand signals.

Red nodded. "I understand.”

Eiwin smiled, even with her eyes closed. “Good. Then next comes the mantra.”

The woman spoke out words Red couldn’t quite understand, keeping her tone monotonous and low - almost as if singing a melody. The boy quickly noticed she was also cycling between the same three words, each one matched with a hand signal.

Red memorized the words, even though he did not know what they meant.

Eiwin stopped the exercise and opened her eyes. “The mantras should be spoken alongside the mudras. This must also be well-timed, or else the technique won’t work. As you are doing this, you need to focus on your breathing and heartbeat, trying to sync them up with your movements and words. If you’re doing everything correctly, you will notice that your awareness of these bodily functions will deepen. Eventually, this heightened awareness will spread to the rest of your body too, and you will notice yourself being able to control some things inside of you that were previously in the domain of your subconscious.”

She closed her eyes again, repeating the exercises. The woman continued to meditate for almost a minute, but Red saw no apparent changes in her body.

Eiwin eventually opened her eyes and looked at him. “Do you have any questions?”

Red frowned. “Is it that simple?”

She shook her head. “The mudras and mantras are simple, but the harder part comes in gaining awareness over your body. Most people cannot attain even the slightest bit of success in that task.”

The boy nodded. “Can I try it now?”

Eiwin smiled. “Sure. I’ll guide you through your first attempt.”

Red followed her instructions. He sat down cross-legged and held his hands together.

Eiwin guided him. “Now focus. Clear your mind of any distractions and concentrate only on your breathing.”

This wasn’t hard for the boy. Soon, he focused on the air entering his lungs and on the rising and falling movement of his chest, allowing himself no distractions.

His dedication seemed to satisfy Eiwin.

“Now, start executing the mudras first.” she said.

The boy’s hands started to move. He couldn’t open his eyes to confirm whether his hand signals were correct, so he kept repeating them until the woman told him to continue. It didn’t take very long, though.

“Now the mantras.” Eiwin said. “Time them both.”

Red spoke the strange words. At first, they seemed foreign to his ears, but the boy kept speaking them until he felt it was second nature. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but slowly Red fell into a perfect alignment between his hands and his voice.

“Listen for it.” Eiwin’s voice invaded his consciousness. “Capture your breathing and your heart beats. Everything will fall into place then.”

Her words seemed to sound from far away, but Red followed her instructions. He concentrated on his body, feeling his breath and heartbeat more clearly than he ever had before. Then, as he continued to perform the meditation, something magical happened.

Just like Eiwin had mentioned, Red felt his awareness expand. It was slow at first, but then it spread through his body like a tide. He felt his blood pumping through his vein to every inch of his body, the air he inhaled cycling through his lungs. His trembling became even more obvious at that instant, and Red tried to pinpoint what was causing it, following his instincts.

That was when he felt it. This foreign thing. It was a small sensation at first, but the more Red explored, the quicker he felt it expand. They were roots, spreading throughout all of his body - through his blood veins, wrapping around his organs, his bones, his blood. They didn’t belong to him. Yet, as the boy examined them further, he felt they were intrinsically connected to every part of his being.

Red knew what it was. The crimson mist.

As he reached out to it, this strange existence also reacted. It stirred, as if trying to say something. For some reason, Red could understand it.

It was warning him. It was telling him to stay away from the monster ahead of him.

As if by instinct, the boy responded to its advice. His awareness wrapped around this mist, not trying to control it - something he doubted he could do - but simply warning it back. He was telling this thing to quieten down and allow him to proceed as he wanted.

The mist stirred again, this time more frantically. It was warning him again, informing him of the impending doom that awaited him if he kept going. Yet, Red didn’t back down.

‘I will do this, whether or not you help me.”

The mist slowly quieted down. Red felt as if this was its reluctant acknowledgment. Satisfied with his interaction, the boy let this awareness slip away, slowly coming back to feeling his surroundings again.

He opened his eyes and examined his hands. Sure enough, the trembling had stopped.

“It worked.” Red said, looking over at Eiwin.

The woman, however, was simply staring at him with a shocked expression.

“It worked?” she asked in disbelief.

Red frowned. “Why? Was it not supposed to work?”

“No, I mean…” Eiwin stumbled over her own words. “I didn’t expect it to work so fast.”

The boy was reminded of how long she had said it was supposed to take. He suddenly became suspicious of his quick success.

‘Did I actually succeed or am I being tricked?’

To confirm this, Red looked over at the mountainous snake. In the past, doing this would have immediately caused him to tremble, but now it was no longer happening. The trembling in his body had indeed disappeared.

Eiwin's shocked demeanor disappeared, replaced by a genuine smile. “I told you! You have a talent for this, after all! You are better than many geniuses, even!”

Red didn’t let his success get to his head. “Maybe, but I’m still not completely confident in being able to cross.”

The trembling was just one part of his problems. There was still the splitting headache from the snake’s fluctuation and the natural pressure emitted by this monster that made even people like Narcha slow down. These were still two enormous obstacles.

Eiwin, however, continued to smile. “At least you have a chance now, don’t you?”

Red nodded. “Then are you going to cross now?”

She sighed. “I have to. We can’t afford to lose any more time.”

The boy wasn’t bothered by this. Instead, he handed over his spirit stones to Eiwin. “Take it.”

The woman hesitated.

“It’s for Rog.” Red insisted. “I’ll keep the rest of my things.”

Eiwin nodded with some reluctance. “Then, I’ll hand them back to you on the other side.”

She stored the stones in her bag before turning around to look at the snake.

“Remember, Red. If you don’t feel confident, you need not take the risk.” Eiwin said without looking back. “I don’t want you to die here.”

“… I won’t die.” Red said.

The woman didn’t respond. A few seconds later, she began walking ahead. Just like Narcha, her steps were slow and deliberate. Yet, unlike her companion, Eiwin seemed to carry herself with complete calm and serenity, not showing outward strength or boisterous confidence.

If one compared the two of them from the outside, they wouldn’t feel very confident in the woman making her way past the snake. However, Red felt an unexplainable certainty that out of their entire group, Eiwin was the one that would struggle the least with the task.

She soon reached the one hundred meter mark. The snake stirred, turning its head around to look at her. Eiwin’s steps didn’t slow down, as she kept her posture and pace steady. Even as she got right up to the monster, there were no signs that the woman was affected by its pressure at all.

It was as if she was taking a peaceful stroll through a park.

Then, with one swift jump, she climbed up the coils of the monster in no hurry. The snake continued to observe Eiwin as she made her way up its body. Then, in a surprising turn of events, the creature laid its head back down even while the woman was still in the process of climbing. Its eyes closed, and it seemingly returned to sleep.

Red almost couldn’t believe in his own eyes.

Eiwin didn’t stop moving even as this happened, though. Just like Narcha, she reached the passage and went through it without looking back. The boy waited for a few minutes, but the monster didn’t show any reaction.

‘She did it.’

Red couldn’t wrap his head around the situation. He thought she would succeed, but not with such ease. There seemed to be more to Eiwin than he knew about, and he thought back to their earlier conversation about how she and Narcha had killed the Lesser Ring Beast in the labyrinth, despite their apparently lacking strength.

The boy didn’t have time to contemplate on it, though. Now, it was his time to cross, and Red still wasn’t assured of his chances of success.