Chapter 27

Since he started earning money from his spirit paintings, Eddie's storage wristlet had never lacked a painter's stool, easel, brushes and paints. As soon as he got into the room, he got them out of his storage wristlet. Setting them on the floor of the empty room, he sat before the easel which was already mounted with a clear canvas. He closed his eyes to breathe a little before he began working.

The brush sank into the paints gently lifting the required amount. As the bristles fell on the canvas, delicate stokes after delicate strokes manifested. Eddie's right hand moved with the music, as if dancing to the rhythm. As the number of strokes increased, what was intended for the canvas slowly materialized.

As he was completely engrossed in his work, his mind was clear, devoid of thoughts. He could not even feel that at this moment, he was being rejuvenated and the wound on his chest was becoming even less painful. He was only aware of a feeling, a feeling of ecstasy. This was a feeling he had never experienced before. When the music stopped, he put a dot on a certain point and the painting was complete.

"What happened?" He wondered.

Ignoring what he had just made, he took his time to examine his body. To his astonishment, his skin was fairer than it usually was. There was always a glaring scar at the back of his right hand. At this time, it was completely gone. His breaths were a little deeper and each one he took nourished him in a way. His mind was fresh and he was confident whatever he read at that moment would just sink in. He took a look at the wound on his chest and to his disappointment, it was still there, though less painful, as if it was not even there.

Looking at his painting, his surprise only deepened. Initially, while his work was always life-like, it was not to an extent that someone would find it difficult to differentiate with reality. It was also a little easy to notice that it was a painting if one took a closer look. However, what was before him was not only a perfect example of realism, it was in 3D and seemed like it would just escape from the canvas if given time. He had only drawn a flower vessel holding a beautiful flower but he knew that it was the best painting he had ever made.

Knowing that it was not that easy to determine the value of his own painting, Eddie carefully stored it at a corner of his storage wristlet; the wristlet was a storage device which manipulated space to give a blank volume of space where items could be stored or retrieved with just a flicker of the wrist. He wanted to show the painting to George the next day to get his approval. He walked out of the room only to find Jason and Jack standing at the door.

"Was there a problem, Eddie?" Jason asked.

"This was actually the best performance I have ever attended." Eddie admitted. Jason wanted to asked more questions but Jack's incredulous look made him stop.

"What is it, Jack?" Jack only walked towards Eddie and touched the latter's arm. "Eddie, what happened to you in there?" He asked.

"A breakthrough, I suppose. There was a condition I had been told about by father. Jason's song brought me to that condition and I seized it. It ended up doing everything you are seeing." 

"Since I first saw you, Eddie, I knew that you were meant for great things. I am even surprised I am surprised." Jack laughed, "I am proud of you, brother."

"Thank you, brother."

"We are going to have a meal at Capital, will you mind joining us?" Jason did not understand what was happening, he decided to make a proposal anyway.

"I have something I need to attend to after this, thanks. Jack, let us see tomorrow." 

He went back to the hall where Deborah was waiting. She widened her eyes when she saw him. "Where did you go and what happened to your face?"

"I had a breakthrough, can we leave?"

"Yes, Brenda is leaving with the others, she wants to say goodbye."

Before they even left the hall, Brenda came and invited them to another room which was only occupied by a few chairs. "Eddie, my dear friend, I can see the music has led you to the legendary realm of ecstasy." She smiled as soon as they sat.

"What is that?" Deborah asked.

"Spirit painters stand at the apex of art. They are always born in the first realm, sanative realm, where they can heal using their art. At this level, a client comes and a painting is made for them. This painting has the power to take the client's soul inside it. Inside, the soul is nourished, giving the client a calm mind, which also makes him less vulnerable to diseases. Some people have been healed by spirit painters in the past. With the souls inside their paintings, the spirit painters are able to do amazing things to the clients. You need to be closer to Eddie to learn these.

"The second realm which is the realm of ecstasy can only be reached after the spirit painter has succeeded in separating himself from his mind. This realm gives him the power to approach the upheaval of the world with a lot of calmness. His care is only about existence with happiness being an inherent part of him, hence the name. In this realm, the painter's work doesn't crush after a soul has exited it, the client can enter thrice and while its power to nourish the client is crushed after the third use, the painting remains intact. There are several benefits that come with this breakthrough and they are for Eddie to discover."

Deborah and Eddie nodded with amazement. Eddie was shocked more since whatever Brenda was saying was new even to him. "You do not have the time to wallow in this. The spectral stick did more than just injuring you, and if nothing is done, you will be more than dead in three days. Your breakthrough has granted you a few weeks. Let us meet at the entrance of this hall at noon tomorrow, I will take you to the person who will explain to you your plight and possibly help you out of it."

When they left the hall, Deborah insisted that he had to spend the night at her place. Therefore, he was again on her motorbike to her place.