16 Know thyself, know thy enemy

Black and white fumes rolled above, forming floating tubes in the air before enlarging and dissipating in the ceiling, leaving a scent reminiscent of a flower bed in the prairies that was struck by blazing fire only to be born anew.

It was..... cozy.

Madam Chai brought dozens of flasks and some pots covered by a dark cloth to the table, along them were vials filled to the brim with suspensions that looked like stars dancing in the distant void.

A loud clap brought me back to reality

"Now listen well, my boy. This isn't your very first lesson on the way of the apothecary, those fools depend too much on mysticism and useless charms..."

I couldn't hide my confusion, and the feeling that somehow I was also fooled began to boil within me

"Madam Chai? What do you mean?

If you yourself aren't an apothecary, what are you?"

She looked at me with eyes sharp as daggers, ready to pierce through my body, clearly offended

"Make no mistake, I do have the knowledge and the license, but I refuse to accommodate myself with being as mediocre as them. My research is based on understanding the underlying mechanism, rather than merely having faith"

"If that is so... what do you call yourself, then?"

She looked stunned, as if she had been disarmed right in the middle of a hardened battlefield

"Well.... The name is still in progress"

I could swear that I saw her face brightening a little before she flaunted her robes around

"But that's not the focus right now! We have much to learn and little time!"

I quickly dismissed the previous talk and focused on the lecture. Although Madam Chai didn't make use of the Preacher's power of enlightening, I could feel her knowledge flowing fluidly, filling the room with tones and notes that felt as if the heavens themselves were recognizing her as someone who walked the path of truth, uncovering the secrets behind the organic facade.

"Our body, soul and mind are but components of the whole, each of them constructed upon smaller systems that function harmoniously under a dynamic priority order. Usually, the soul dictates the works of the mind, and the mind determines the bounds of the body"

I felt my head being hit by a dizzy spell, as those complicate concepts mixed up with the energy imbued in those words, yet, while I couldn't consciously repeat and explain each of those points, their deeper meaning was being engrave in my subconscience.

Madam Chai did not stop nor hesitate

"Your soul is what gives you essence, what makes you different and unique. It is our souls that builds our personality and character, both our virtuosity and viciousness, and allow us to be more than mere instinct..."

I raised my hand for a fraction of second before retracting it, the question that popped in my mind seemed to be way too absurd

"Don't falter, boy. Present your question"

That high but receptive tone represented the graciousness of a true master

"Madam Chai, does that mean that the wild beats do not posses a soul?"

Her eyes opened wide, with a proud smile on her face

"Allow me to answer this with another question: what do we call the monsters that have been appearing?"

Although pretty vague, only one word could have been the correct choice

"Soulless"

"Precisely, and such word has the underlying meaning that both wild beasts and plants do possess souls, it just so happens that it is either too small or undeveloped to grant them complete conscience or mastery over their instincts..."

She stoped in her tracks, her eyes wandering to the ceiling, as if she was trying to see the heavens above

"...at least that is my theory."

"Thanks, Madam Chai" It was only then that I noticed how much she trusted me, in order to share her own hard-worked research.

"I am not done yet, boy! You better take note of what's coming next"

I could only seat and try to follow the machinations of such brilliant master.

"Our mind is responsible for controlling our bodies, and the gate that allows the energies of Ying and Yang to flow and balance themselves out. The spirit does have influence on the flux, as does the personal constitution of each body. Tell me boy, what are Ying and Yang?

"Ying is the evil, Yang is the good, they both coexist and complement each other" That was the standard comprehension to begin your cultivation.

Madam Chai stared at me with the same eyes she would use to stare at a lost puppy

"Although not entirely wrong, it is by far incomplete"

Madam Chai brought a scroll from under her sleeve, unrolling it into a drawing of a newman body, with lines that began in the head and branched more and more forming a path from head to toe, deriving from a long trunk in the middle of the body connected to a large bulb in the head

"In our head lies the center of our Ying and Yang, our Mind Gate. The Ying energy is the energy that feeds our body and gives us respite, it is fluid and soothing as the water, allowing our body to grow, rest and counterbalance the heat of the summer, it dominates our organs and their function.

On the other hand, the Yang energy is the energy that steels our body and work over that energy, allowing our muscles to bear strength and containing our blood and energy, counterbalancing the cold of the winter as our inner fire."

I could feel my own body reacting to her words, working together in order to show the truth behind her words. My muscles contracted and shivered, my mouth grew dry or excessively wet, even my stomach rumbled at the tone of that organic symphony. Distracted, my hand reached to my neck, encircling it at a point around one inch under my pome

Madam Chai looked at me mesmerized

"And that's the Gate of the Body, a point where the flux of Ying and Yang are regulated by the body accordingly to its demands and constitution. Good job finding it by yourself!"

I froze for a second, before regaining my composure "Sure thing. I am grateful for your lecture, Master Chai"

"I am not your..... well, I guess this time I AM your master, eh boy?"

I bowed deep, honoured to finally have her recognize me as her student.

"However, how come I have never heard such a thing from the Preachers? They usually center our flux energy around our bellies, where lies the vortex of our stars"

"That's because what I have just shared with you are discoveries that I made myself while travelling and studying around. The world is much bigger than what you could dream"

I laid astonished. The fruits from years of research were given to me in such easy way. Such trust! Such faith! Such majesty!

"This one could never repay you!" tears began to sprout from my eyes, to a master cultivator, their own techniques were akin to their own offspring, and passing deep individual knowledge like this is pretty much choosing your successor and heir.

Madam Chai rested her hand in my shoulder, and put her index finger in front of her mouth in a symbol of silence "Keep this a secret between us, will you? Or else you will do as my next research subject"

Her mischievous smile and delineated eyes formed a beautiful and scary scene. There was some truth behind her words.

The sound of her hands clapping took me out of the astonished state

"Now, you should get some rest, the dawn is arriving and you have much to do, boy"

Only now I could feel the tiredness taking its toll upon me. I couldn't say much I was stiff and sore all around.

I took a corner for me, along with a blanket and a roll for pillow, allowing my tiredness to flow away, as a muddy river that cleanses itself after the rain.

As I have fallen into a dream, I could feel a shadow creeping around. Filled with hatred, anguish, the same old Darkness was also diving along into my conscience.

And thus, I slept.

An ethereal space, as a piece of air filled with stars, in front a turning star and a black hole that drained and turned its light away. This was the scenario that received me. The ever-changing representation of my current cultivation and the unchanging dark presence that I was already more than tired to face.

"What do you want now? Haven't you had enough?" I lashed out at that figure. I just can't take anymore of his existence.

His presence turned me sick, robbed me of my happiness and made me feel a burden, useless

As the shadows curled around, as a semiliquid mix that was being molded by invisible hands, his presence grew stronger, as did my distasteful feeling.

A mockful smile arose from that previously amorphous being "Really? Is that how you treat me after everything we have been through? I really thought we were becoming best buddies"

I could feel my blood boiling, as a figure completely equal to me stepped out and began to encircle me

"You make me feel sick!"

"I hear that all the time" he retorted

"I can't even sleep well because of you haunting me"

"Oh... all the ladies say that"

"For heavens sake, what are you?"

I couldn't hold back, I leaped out, fists armed and ready to mow down his existence

"How many times are you going to ask me the same thing?"

His red eyes lit with waves of fire, as he extended his arms to defend

A deep pressure came upon me, robbing me of my breath, making em feel as if I were drowning.

Dammit, I am inside my own mind and can't even own it?

As his hands closed on my fists, he stared deep into my eyes

"I. AM. YOU."

He lit his hands in fire, burning my own.

The scorching sensation ran my through my arms, clouding my mind in pain and despair

Time to light my own fire

I force my hands down, into the gap between his little finger and thumb, turn my arms up and grab his firearms

"Time for retribution"

I force my energy to run along my burned limbs, generating heat on an already burned vein. It felt as piercing needles, but he did something I did not, he screamed in pain, and it was definitely worth it.

A kick flew upwards, directed to my abdomen, and forced me to release him

The tingling sensation of pain and adrenaline kept me focused, but of the verge of crumbling.

We stood five feet apart facing each other, the scenario around us began to move chaotically, as both my upper one-star vortex and his whatever-it-was black hole began to spin faster, sending shockwaves one upon the other

"Well, that's new to me"

His low mutter reached my ears as a faint sound, but I couldn't let it pass.

Time to turn the tides!

I advanced as a howling thunder amidst the storm, spinning my body alternating kicks, knee and elbow hits.

Each successful strike of mine resonated with the collision of the spinning energy of our stars and black holes. Each shockwave made my mind clearer, sharper. I was going back to be the owner of my own body and mind again.

Somehow, I could notice that each oppressive blow of mine literally shrunk Darkness, forcing him to spill wave after wave of his breath and huffs of a dark mist.

Slowly but surely he was morphing into a tiny figure, with imprecise sillhouette and almost translucid shadow body, as if a mere reflection of a dark moon over a calm lake.

Angst grew inside him as streams of light fled from the black hole above, steadily adding more stars to the ring around my own meridian.

Judging by the thickness of the ring around my meridian, I should be nearing the stage of apex one-star cultivation.

Soon enough, he was barely tangible and the black hole stopped emitting the light rays.

"I yield! I will allow you to have your way, at least for now" He muttered with an unnatural voice, distant as the wind on a ravine.

"However, remember that I will always be near, waiting for your moment of weakness"

I stared at him

"I will only overcome myself by overcoming you, and will only overcome you by overcoming myself. Come as many times as you want, I will face you head on"

He dissipated and the black hole went into the depths of my inner space, probably to recover itself.

A peaceful night of sleep at last.