I smile at her but don’t say anything.
I hope we do, too, but I’ve never been the lucky type in life.
40
Moe is deep asleep when I slide out of bed in the middle of the night. I take with me a small lantern and hide behind the bench so I don’t disturb her sleep.
Excitement brims inside of me as I open the book.
The pages are rough beneath my fingers and worn at the edges. Who knows how old Aimaxion is and how many hands this book has passed through.
I flip through the pages, and I’m shocked to realize it’s not printed. it’shandwritten.
By the Seven! Did someone copy this book by hand? Or is it so old that handwriting was the only thing available?
The script is beautiful, sophisticated. Whoever wrote this must have been proficient in calligraphy.
I turn to the chapter on basic energy absorption. My eyes scan the first few lines, then slow.
Soul energy is unstable unless refined.
I pause, my fingers tightening slightly on the page.
Refined? What does that mean?
Could it be that it needs to be digested in some way? When I consumed the energy from the embryo, I felt a certain fullness—that unless I stopped I was going to snap. That fullness haspersisted, but my abilities have not undergone a qualitative change. Even after absorbing those two tiny soul particles, aside from accelerated healing, which is said to be inherent to my species, nothing happened.
My gaze moves to the next lines as I seek to understandhowI can absorb it better.
Every energy consumed must be absorbed and integrated through specific meditations. Without meditation, the body can absorb one to two percent of the energy. With meditation, the percentage increases to thirty, forty and in some rare cases above fifty.
I nod to myself. I’d heard something similar—that every immortal has different capacities for energy. I just did not realize the percentages were so low.
Once consumed, the energy becomes an impenetrable nucleus stored in the lower dantian. Unless the individual engages in specific meditations aimed at breaking that impenetrable nucleus and integrating it into the body, the energy ultimately becomes incompatible with the body and it disperses into the environment.
I frown. Does that mean even the energy I consumed from the embryo is as good as gone?
The nucleus of energy can be stored within the lower dantian for five to seven days before it starts dissipating unless integrated.
Relief washes through me.
I’m still within the timeframe to absorb the energy from the embryoandthat from the soul.
My heart thuds in my chest as I keep reading.
Finally, after what feels like forever, I come across an introductory meditation.
The instructions are simple: perhapsfartoo simple.
Slow breathing. Internal awareness. Guide the energy through the meridians until it reaches an undisrupted flow.
Yet the more I stare at the words, the more I seemeaninginside each letter. It’s as if whoever transcribed this knowledge did so not just with mere words, but with meaning associated with them.
If I take each letter apart, images surface in my mind.
I repeat the process a few times, letting the information flow to me as it shows me how theenergyshould flow too.
My hands snap the book shut and lay it by my side. ThenI start focusing on my breathing.
