Chapter - 9 - Sensing Energy For The First Time

Before Rihanna could look at the pattern more closely, beams of light emerged from the patterns on the four statues and struck the center of the dais The pattern started shimmering in a dazzling metallic blue light. There was no opening, but a strange wind swept up from the floor of the dais, and fine sparkling particles surrounded Rihanna, moving around her in concentric circles and increasing speed. Her body started feeling light, as if she was floating, but her feet was still planted at the center of the pattern! The metallic blue light of the pattern beneath her feet erupted upwards like a rising tide, and everything before her eyes started swirling and dancing and then abruptly turned dark.

The continuous changes in light intensity had Rihanna blinking and squinting while the non-ending darkness made her feel blinded. She kept blinking, trying to adjust to this sudden change of visibility. A feeling of dizziness and nausea was churning inside her stomach, making her insides all squeezed and uncomfortable. Gritting her teeth, she pushed down the rising waves of discomfort, and moved forward.

And then promptly fell down a series of stairs.

"Unghh!.....Aish!.....What the heck is wrong with my fate card?!...Have I been cursed by bad luck or something?.....Just why do I keep falling down from everywhere?!"

'Yeah...I would like to know that too.'

Rihanna almost jumped out of her skin.....who the hell was that. She looked around, but there was hardly any light, and she could see nothing.

"Who are you?.....Why are you hiding? Have you been following me? Where are you....why don't you come out so I can see you!"

No matter how much she called and threatened and pleaded....the voice simply disappeared into the darkness surrounding her. Nothing....no reaction.....this voice, or person behind the voice, really did not take her seriously!

Wait....why did the surrounding suddenly seem a bit more visible?.....Was it growing brighter?...Hey, it did seem like some kind of light was slowly lighting up the surrounding.....but why did the surrounding look like black fog?.....Was this poisonous?.....Was she supposed to venture forth through this fog as well?....Aish, life in a cultivation world was really hard!

Rihanna looked around feeling rather stupid. The fog was really thick and seemed to be rolling around like curling smoke.

'Well...you have already fallen down a never-ending pit, rolled around in dust, and even braved a weird formation....what is this little itsy-bitsy fog....lets march on ahead gal!'

Oh...this chicken blood was so good...look – it was like an insta-dose of Courage Booster Shot.....can really carry you through all perils!

Rihanna was busy chit-chatting with herself, half consoling, half entertaining her tired and suspicious mind, as she stepped into the black fog. Initially all she could see was just fog....then it seemed to clear up a bit, and light started flooding in through the gaps.

'Are those.....flowers?!'

Her mouth was hanging wide open. Nothing in the world had prepared her for a field of sparkling white flowers atop lush green bushes, waving their leaves in gay abandon as they frolicked in the cool breeze. Oh yes....there was also breeze! She was still underground....right?! Or was this some new version of Journey To The Center Of The Earth??

Rihanna walked out of the dispersing fog, staring agape at the rolling hills all around at a distance, with a valley full of green grass and white flowers filling her vision and spreading out till the horizon. It was so poetic and fantastical that she wanted to weep....ahem, she just didn't have enough tears at the moment...

There were even narrow paths cleared out between the greenery, and she strolled down these natural slash man-made paths, slowly letting the tranquility and freshness of the ambience settle into her bones. Never mind how it was possible, but the white flowers spread out like tiny fluffy clouds atop a carpet of green, soothing her eyes and nerves. As she walked, she could feel her soul settling down in a blissful and peaceful state of being, and every part of her body started throbbing with warmth and energy.

And so Rihanna stopped in the middle of the flowers, sat down on the ground, closed her eyes and started meditating.

Somewhere far away, beyond the rolling hills and lush green valley, unseen and un-felt by Rihanna – a pair of large yellow eyes flickered open. They squinted at the young girl sitting in the middle of the flowers, then lightly snickered in derision. Good....this was a long awaited piece of meat.....it still needed more energy.....never mind....he would enjoy it slowly....

Ignorance was truly blissful, as Rihanna continued to meditate, cutting off her entire connections with the outside world.

'Breathe in.....breathe out....feel the fresh energy of the world entering your body through your breath....let it pass through every part of your body....feel the warmth of the energy....feel it seeping into your muscles, blood, flesh, nerves....feel it healing and energizing every atom of every cell all through your body....let the energy flow through your meridians....let it wash over your inner chakras and fill them up with energy and warmth....'

Rihanna was blissfully immersed in her new found sense of inner focus. What she did not know was that the outside world around her was going through massive upheavals!

Initially it was only the flowers and valleys and mountains which started glitching.....like a faulty game screen. And then the massive screen started flickering like being hit by a potent virus, before going into complete shutdown mode. What flowers and mountains.....this was seriously just another large hall, with stone walls and stone floor.....nothing in common with the beautiful, awe inspiring, heart throbbing rolling valley!

In fact it looked gloomy, though the roof had a huge circular opening in the center, and some form of light was pouring in through this opening.

The entire hall was supported by rows of massive pillars, with intricate designs, motifs, words and life-like beast forms carved on them.

As the scene shifted, a glowing red pattern emerged on the floor – very similar to the one on the dais in the other hall. There were colorful stones placed in various nodes of the pattern. As the visual broke down completely, the stones started shuddering, then one by one lifted off into the air, trembling violently in mid-air, before shattering into pieces.

Inside the closed hall, against all reason and logic, the wind suddenly picked up, slowly moving towards Rihanna, carrying the crushed stone powder and layers of dust along with it. Reaching the lone girl in the center, their speed slowed, and the waves of wind flowed in a circles around her. A shimmer of silver-white dust could be seen merging into this flowing wind, then slowly formed a very thin strand, and entered Rihanna through the pores on her skin and every breath that she was inhaling. As more and more wind started circling around her, more and more silver energy particles poured into her body.

Initially Rihanna was feeling the warmth of energy entering her, caressing her, lifting up her body and soul. She was almost dancing like the flowers within her inner conscience. As her focus turned sharper, she guided this feeling through every part of her body, from head to toe, and then back to the head....letting it envelop her body from inside to outside...and then the warm energy started turning warmer!

Within moments it became so hot, that she could feel it scalding her insides. She tried to open her eyes, but failed. Sensing her distraction, the energy started going haywire, dragging away from her control, rushing ever which way inside her body. Parts of it started separating and forcefully entered her flesh and bones and muscles and meridians.

What followed, obviously, was a world of pain. Even with her eyes closed and sitting in half-hibernation, Rihanna could hear the screams coming out of her mouth. But she had completely lost control over her body, and no matter how much she tried, she could neither open her eyes, nor stop the energy from entering.