Inner World

"So, the 4 basics of Art manipulation. They are the most important things to learn. They are what will allow you to use your energy and grow. But to master them, you need to master your Inner World. It's called the Nǐzìjǐ. Everything you see around you, this world.. It's a projection in your mind. Yet if I'm here it's because from your spirit I can access your mind. A simple trick that you'll learn by yourself. But you don't even understand what your spirit is yet. You need to be one with your world"

The kid listens carefully to his master, but the process of doing everything he explains is still unknown to him.

"And how can I do so?"

The answer seems so simple to the old man that he forgot to tell him how to "do so". He knows the process doesn't have a full written lesson, but some words which form a guide to help you. He tries to explain it as simply as possible.

"-You have to make this world yours. You have to make it become you and you have to become it."

The answer to this question is far from what he would have expected. It is not the image he made of his inner world. To him, this inner world is himself and therefore there is no need to make it his. It's just him.

-Isn't it already mine?

-It is. But do you know how you did it?

-I don't understand! What do you mean?"

The water around Kazuki and Master Yi starts to move. Master Yi points to the water on his right with a finger, while the water makes waves and takes random shapes in the air.

"How did you do that?"

The kid follows the finger with his eyes. The confusion rings through his voice. It's obvious that he does not know the answer.

"- I.. I don't know! You should be teaching me that!

-I can't teach you anything about yourself. I can only give you guidance about the understanding of your capacities. It's their mastery which I can fully teach you. You can't master what you don't understand. Now, you should know who you are. What's your name?

-Kazuki… My name is Kazuki."

The question is very confusing for the young boy, while the answer is simple. He doesn't have any doubt about who he is. He doesn't understand the point of this question. The water moves even more around them but Master Yi seems unfazed by anything outside of his student. The old man keeps asking questions, with a more imperative tone to force his student to think further than this.

"And this name, what does it mean? What are you?"

Those words, those questions, rings something in the young boy's head. Yet he doesn't understand nor know what it is. Everything the old man says is just some unintelligible alignment of words in his eyes. But he knows he has to answer anyway. He searches for the answer to this question, but only one existing and right answer comes to his mind.

"I'm.. I'm your student!"

The master nods. It seems that this answer satisfies him, even if Kazuki still doesn't understand what the old man asked for.

"Right. You understand who you are. From there, you can understand how your inner world works. Try to calm down, and calm the storm going inside your head. I know it's a lot to swallow at once and I'll need you to get used to it, if possible."

As Kazuki takes a slow and deep breath, the water around them slowly becomes calm again. The horizon is flat. It's quiet again. Kazuki slowly realizes how it works.

"- This water.. It reacts to my emotions..

-I think that's a way to say it.. But do you feel anything?

-No. Nothing.

-Alright. At least you know that you are linked to it. It's a good start. Not everyone was able to get it so fast.

-What should I do, now that I know this ?

-Do you remember how you created this world?

-Yeah. I thought about the dream I had. Not the nightmare.. I thought of the one with the giant eye."

This answer immediately put the old man on guard. He thinks that Kazuki's dream might have an impact on his spirit. He needs to make it clear about the reasons for this appearance.

" - Why did you think of it?

-The water in the pond. I don't know why, but when I saw it.. It's like my eyes showed me the dream for a second.. And.. And I tried… and it worked!"

The old man listen carefully every words, taking notes of every detail in their conversation which could make this world even more odd than it seems.

" I see, that's interesting … But there is not a giant eye above us.. That's strange."

The remarks of the old man didn't go over Kazuki's head, even if he doesn't fully get what he means and what lessons he should have learned from this moment.

-But why do you ask those questions?

-This world should be empty. You're a beginner, and with your weak perception of your own art, it should only be blanked. An empty space. You shouldn't be able to generate anything. But there is a sky and water. I suppose that it's due to your unstable capacities. You're casually at a mediocre level, yet you're able to give a form to your world. This is wonderful but also worrying."

Kazuki doesn't know what to say, while Master Yi seems to think. This situation seems strange to the old man, however the young boy is not affected by the situation itself but by his master's worry.

"I might have a theory about it but I really hope it's not true. Do you remember something else from your dream?

-Yeah. There was rain. And with the invisible forces there was a high-pitched sound.."

And right after finishing his sentence, they hear a strange noise. It's something falling on a rock, making a clear "tink", and making a echoe which becomes more strident the more the sound fades away. This sound is pure, there is nothing interfering. It's like a diamond for the ears. And it keeps repeating itself over and over, it's a regular sound. As regular as the ticking of time.

Both the Master and the Student stop talking , on alert. They look around and search for the origin of the sound. They turn to a stone, with the shape of an upside down pyramid. Water falls slowly, drop by drop, on a bigger rock. There, the water slides on the surface and draws pictures. It's nothing random, every pattern made by the water represents something. Those pictures could easily represent people or places.

Master Yi observes this new element with a lot of interest, while on the other side Kazuki is simply curious about it.

"- Was it in your dream?

-No. Is it from you?

-No. Or at least not in its whole. That's interesting. It might mean one thing. I see.``

Kazuki looks at Master , even more confused than before. He wants to know what it means or what he is thinking about but yet he is not able to. But before he can ask any questions, he is interrupted by his Master, who doesn't give more information and resumes the training. It means he can only trust and follow him.

" Anyway, my boy. Let's get back to your training. Let's not mind this for now. I'll handle this matter myself. So, can you feel this world?"

The young boy tries to process what his master is telling him, but he still has difficulties understanding.

"Feel it? What do you mean by that?"

The old man tries to bring it as easy as possible for a kid to understand what's the concept behind the "feeling" of his inner world.

-Can you feel the world.. Like.. Can you feel the water behind you? Are you conscious of its presence?

-No. It's not possible to feel something outside of me. Should it be?"

Kazuki is right in the fact that he can't actually feel anything outside of his inner world. It makes the situation a bit less hopeless, showing that he can integrate part of Art's usage. Master Yi nods to the statement but also corrects him about the current situation.

"Only when you're practicing Art. And moreover, it's not outside of you. Remember, we're in your world. Alright.. I need you to try to feel it. Imagine that you can feel the water behind you, a spot of your choice behind you.. And then apply it to the rest of the world."

Kazuki looks behind him. He looks at the water and chooses a square.He closes his eyes. And he imagines this part of the water. He tries to feel it. He sees the waves. He sees water flowing in this part of the world, in this square. He can feel it, on his skin.