Painful pathways

Arriving at the training courtyard to find Tau already sparring with Master's Zanik's disciple Helena she approached Master Zanik who was sitting in meditation next to a large plastic tarp laid on the ground with a steaming tub of soapy water and a pile of clean towels and rags.

Looking up Master Zanik smiled, "Ah, Megan, come, lie down on this tarp here, and we shall get started. Pass me your Ear-Comm and Wrist-Comp so they will not be damaged."

Staring at Master Zanik for a few moments, Megan complied and willed first her Wrist-Comp to detach and then her Ear-Comm and passed them to him then lay down in the middle of the tarp and closed her eyes.

Master Zanik then proceeded to instruct her in how to properly visualise her core. Eventually, she stared in awe at her raging core constructed in the infinity shape like a number eight on its side. Blue core energy erupted from the centre and flowed out, looping around itself, passing back through the centre and looping out again the other side and coming back into the centre. She studied the energy closely and, with Master Zanik's instructions, was able to locate certain positions in this energy stream where she was able to coax out and grab onto some of this energy. At first, it was like trying to hold water or really fine sand, and it would run through her minds grip and slowly trickle back into the stream. After trying unsuccessfully to grab hold, she eventually had a little success and was able to hold some energy in her minds grip and drag this energy around her core area without losing it.

After this Master Zanik instructed her on how to expand the space around her core and had her study the surrounding 'walls' that encompassed the core and protected it. He then had her manipulate the energy into shapes, eventually having her shape some of the energy she held into the sharpest point she could manage, brace herself, then forcefully stab this energy into the wall closest to her spinal column. The first attempt at doing this caused her to lose her concentration as a pained scream ripped from her throat and agony raced throughout her body. Staring at Master Zanik, she exclaimed, "Ow, that really hurt!"

Master Zanik nodded, "Yes, Megan, the path to power is full of peril and pain. Gaining strength and fighting against mediocrity is often a very painful process. Bear with it and try again, please. Unless you would prefer to give up now?"

Megan shook her head forcefully and gritted her teeth. Reaching back into her core she shaped the sharpest point she could manage, took a position as far from the wall surrounding her core as she could, then taking a deep breath, forced the energy to speed up as she hurled it as fast as she could. The energy flashed forward, crashed against the wall, and in a feeling of intense pain as it pierced through and came out the other side. Once out of the confines of her core area, the energy seemed to gain a will of its own and no longer was it docile and easily controlled. It flailed around and caused damage wherever it hit. Panicking Megan did her best to grapple with the energy and get it back under her control. Eventually, she succeeded but not without much harm to her internal organs.

Master Zanik continued to coach her, "Very good, you have control of the energy outside of your core, now feel around and bring that energy towards your heart. Be very careful to not get too close to your other organs, your first pathway must reach directly to your heart, remember to hold on as this is going to be extremely painful, more than anything you have experienced so far but you must hold on!"

Megan thought she knew pain. She had been beaten, burned, kicked, and cut before. She knew now, though, that those pains were nothing, absolutely minuscule compared to what she was going through right now. The pain seared her very soul as she forcefully pushed the energy, inch by agonising inch, towards her heart. She knew she couldn't stop, from the damage the energy had wrought when she lost control for a mere second when she pushed it out of her core she knew that if she were to lose it now it would kill her. So she persevered and pushed that energy despite the near crippling pain. Time had no meaning. It could have been seconds, minutes, hours, days, or weeks, even years. The pain made it feel like an eternity of torment and agony.

Finally, just when she thought she was unable to push any further, the energy appeared to gain its own will and leapt toward her heart and entered it. Her heart skipped and beat erratically while the pain intensified and caused Magan to scream unintentionally as whatever the energy was doing within her heart made the pain of creating the pathway almost mild in comparison. Finally the energy burst forth from her heart and it had now taken on a faint red colour as, without any urging from her, made its own way back to her core causing just as much pain as it had getting there in the first place. When it reached her core, it then drilled in on the opposite side to where she had pierced out the first time and joined the spiralling energy infinity symbol in opposition to where she originally coaxed the energy from when she began this process. The pain gave way to an euphoric feeling of blissful freedom and pleasure as powerful currents of energy now flowed from her core to her heart and back again in a loop that swelled and grew steady with each strong beat of her the organ which had now taken on a purple tinge as blue core energy went in, and purple energy flowed out.

Megan came back to awareness, and the first thing she noticed was a foul stench that was similar to a combination of rotten meat and pungent body odour the likes of which she had never experienced before. Looking down at herself, she found her body covered with a stinky black goo that was oozing from her skin, the most of which was centred around her navel and heart areas. Looking up at Master Zanik, he nodded at her and spoke, "Yes, a side effect of creating your pathways is that all the toxins and waste that accumulates in the body are expelled and the body is purified. Congratulations on opening your first of many pathways in your journey of cultivation. We have unfortunately not finished yet as we still need to create the paths to your limbs, head, and organs now otherwise if we left it for later you would become unbalanced and could develop an injury without knowing it. Let's continue."

Master Zanik then had her coax the pure blue core energy from her heart and create the pathway to her brain and again when the energy neared the brain it leapt into it, swirled and condensed then fired another path back to her heart but with the colour white. Paths to her eyes, ears, and nose grew from her brain to the sense organs without her coaxing it. Then the pathways through her arms to her hands and the legs to her feet and finally a pathway to her lungs, stomach, kidneys, liver intestines, and even her bowels and groin areas. The pain and agony mixed with the smell of expelled toxins and impurities to make a miserable and stinky experience. Not one she ever wished to repeat.

At last, sitting in a small mound of stinky black goo, it was done. Using the tarp to take away most of the mess Master Zanik assisted her to wash, clean, and scrub her body of the foulness.

"Go and soak in a nice hot bath for a while, then rest. You need your new pathways to solidify and heal before learning how to use and strengthen them." Master Zanik instructed her.

Megan nodded, stood on unsteady legs, gathered her things, bowed deeply to her teacher, and left the courtyard. When she arrived at the bathroom, a bath had already been drawn, and she soaked for a while, recalling the experience she had just endured.

Afterwards, she stumbled to her room, barely able to keep her eyes open and fell into bed, asleep before she hit the pillow.