14 Its all over now. A new life begins

"A Hurry the hell up" David shouted. he'd taken to calling me A just like my dad... I never bothered asking him why.

"… I said I was coming you've got to be more patient" I said slowly walking out of the Halfway"

"here just get out ill lock up. Wow, man are you alright? You look like shit" David said helping me walk to the motorcycle.

"He's right."

I thought, I can't hide it anymore, just about three months is the limit to how long I can continue the core creation stage. Damn it the book never specified a time I'm supposed to reach. Have I reached the required qi level or am I still just a weak-willed brat?

"Alright give me the keys ill be taking you home"

"How are you going to get home then?, look I'm alright just give me a second"

my whole body went from moments of being submerged in molten hot lava, to having my cells feel as though they've been frozen. Everything from shocks traveling through my body or everything going numb. The changes were now happening every second each force fighting on having the privilege of destroying my body.

I had to give in to his demands there's no way I could muster to both take him and I home, seeing as my vision feels as though I've been prescribed the wrong prescription.

"Alright you drive let's go," I said unable to get up without assistance.

"Took you long enough, I should probably take you to the hospital, right?"

David said while helping up from the floor, honestly in these last few months, I don't know how we become so close. Well closer, but the guys like an unrestrained version of me. HAHA now that I think about it. It had to have been just about a month and a half ago when we were setting up the store.

One month ago

"Hey, dude so was that lady really your mom… but even if she is, I mean you did say you'd set me up with her right? And a man's got to keep his word" I said unable to even look him in the eyes.

"Oh yeah, I remember that. But is she my mom umm no not really"

"holy shit really alright so how do you want to do this. Do I just come over one of these days and you introduce me?" I said all giggle, blood rushing to my head.

"OHHH yeah but I've got an even better option how about I just give you her number…. Come here, come here"

he said motioning for me to come over. Of course, I did like a complete idiot.

"Yeah soo what's her number,"

I said barely able to get that much out of my mouth before a quick punch to my stomach left me curled up in a ball on the floor. Fuck I couldn't even catch my breath… oh, but when I did, I made sure to retaliate in kind.

The moment I got up I noticed him saying something along the lines of "seriously dude who the fuck…" but I didn't care nor had any interest in his apology. The moment he dropped his guard trying to pick up the broom he was using to sweep up the floor. I kneed him in the face a total of three times, before stopping to get back to work.

"We're even now," I said while staring at him wondering what he'd do. He gave off a quiet low laugh.

"What a creep," I thought staring at a guy on the floor who looked like some anime villain about to awaken his final form.

He smeared the blood coming out of his nose all over the lower half of his face, appearing as though he was using all of his strength to smile like some lunatic. Then preceded to take a swing at me with the broom on the floor.

Just barely landing a hit on my forehead, the shock caused me to crash onto the shelf. Before I could retaliate, he took another swing at me, this time his swing was slowed down with all the store products he came in contact with.

Other than some childish school bullying I haven't ever been in a fight. And well from what I could tell neither had he. None of us knew how to throw a proper punch or what a fighting stance even was.

After rushing to get on my feet, I quickly grabbed whatever I could and threw it at him, the first thing I could grab was a pack of skittles. I managed to throw them right at his face, our little back and forth went on for about 6 minutes before both of us realized how much of a mess we were making.

"Shit, shit stop for god sake Alex stop look around,"

he said nearly pancaking from just how large the mess had gotten. I, on the other hand, was far too enthralled in how good my aim was to notice anything. Other than the few things I stepped on here and there.

"Say you give up say "don't hurt me please big brother"

I shouted this was the most fun id have in well the last few years of my life. It was like I was reborn again and nothing could stop me.

"Dude stop messing around... look at the mess on the floor. What you want to create even more of a mess who do you think is going to have to clean this up?"

he said gesturing to the candy, coffee among other things on the floor. I wasn't having it though my mind was stuck on child mode, not a damn thing in the world mattered right now.

"I said say it say you give up… that's the only way this war ends you usurper"

I shouted holding an extra-large Butterfinger in my hand yelling "on guard". We both burst out laughing the whole scene after that was just comical. We fought like dumb kids.

Somehow it all became an organized mess, we created a story of me being a king and him a usurper wanting the kingdom for himself something about my corruption, this went on for about 20 minutes until I noticed that the mess was growing to an uncontrollable level.

Since that day Da-vid had been my best friend. someone id honestly felt as though I could trust the guy.

Present-day

"You damn usurper" I light said still suffering from a mind splitting headache.

"Are you still talking about that damn it dude. We had to take a pay cut for a week" he said laughing.

"It was worth it" geez I feel like I'm in and out of sleep every second.

"We're here but are you ever going to tell me what's wrong with you? Dude you haven't been yourself, it's like you're in pain all the time."

He said helping me off the bike and inside the cabin, I guess he just knew to bring me here.

"I'm alright bro don't worry about it. But hey take the bike home with you since we don't have work tomorrow ill just come get it whenever"

I said sitting on the new couch I bought for the cabin, an all-black couch with the softest pillows in the world. I even managed to get Wi-Fi all the way over here.

"Thanks, ill make sure to take good care of your baby."

"come on dude that was one time I said that. It's just a bike, not my baby or anything like that."

"Alright dude if you need anything just let me know alright?" he said while getting me and himself some water from the fridge

"Thank you," I said before seeing him out. But when I turned around it was as though all the lights of the cabin had been turned off, "I can't see anything" I thought. The feeling of slowly falling encapsulated me, "this is the last thing I need right now" I thought my passing out.

I awoke a few hours later, twisting and turning in pain, nothing I did could lessen what I was going through the feeling of all my organs were being twisted and turned inside of me, as though they'd be squeezed together being milked of all the substance inside of them. Starting as a small pain in my intestine now had grown to enclose the entirety of my stomach, still growing no longer devouring qi but instead trying to devour me. "Stupid dragon" I yelled out, puking out everything in my stomach. I couldn't breathe, stuck between conciseness and sleep. The only constant was the pain in both situations.

I knew the way to create my qi core was to let go and break the qi ball containing all the condensed qi but for some odd reason, I was scared. This is it. What if this isn't enough?" I said barely able to catch my breath. My screams became wilder and more animalistic, I could feel the dragon and the qi inside of me raging around.

My qi center and dragon had grown to each be about the size of the sun, a large ball of qi appearing to lose it ball-like shape with all the qi that appeared to be seeping out of it, and the dragon now looked gigantic the head appearing to have spikes coming out of the ends of it, extending to create some sort of armor for the body of the dragon. As I stood in what I now understood to be the inner conciseness I saw just how large they both got.

"It's alright you've done it. Let go…" a strange voice rang out of my head. I don't know whether it was the voice or the fact that if I held on any longer id most likely die but I gave in to the calm soft voice that soothed every part of me, giving me hope for tomorrow.

"Can I trust you?' I thought while concentrating on the qi ball. The space I was in had no light other than the large qi ball at what I believed to be the center of this enormous space. I reach out and place my hand on it, I hope the nine marinades that I opened will be enough to control all this qi I though while thinking about just letting it all be free.

The following release of qi didn't cause me any pain no. It was more like the loving embarrass of a mother, feeling as though I was being congratulated for all of my hard work. The qi travels to all my meridians, as though a barren land was being watered for the first time in one thousand years. I'm alive I thought while the qi rushed through every part of me.

The dragon stared at me; eyes that appeared just as determined as mine. As we both stared at each other, almost saying "It's over. we've done it" the sudden feeling of being free of pain and sorrow I finally felt at ease. I can rest now. I felt my mind drifting towards sleep I didn't resist have any reason to. The last thing I did was stare at the dragon, moving thought the blackness of this space, illuminating every part it went.

I laid there curled up into a ball, puke and piss all over my body. it was disgusting I didn't want to move or acknowledge just what happened. This whole thing has been too much, all the pain and furry I went through, "it's over" I said in a horsed cowardly voice. Just as I was getting up, I noticed a strange ghastly aura surrounding my hand. Then my body before I knew it the feeling of being weightless and everywhere yet nowhere.

"This has got to be it," I thought to notice just much aura was seeping out of my body I tried to move it around to for a lack of better words "played" with it. Trying to touch it but couldn't, after a while of trying I decided to concentrate on it.

That was the start of it all. The moment that changed my life.