Red Bottom Step (Chapter 23)

Mimi flew around Ari, searching for Hupia. Luckily she planted a tracer seal on him beforehand. Once activated, she could use her source power to easily locate Hupia. Eventually, she did and remained out of sight to continue observing his situation. Hours passed, and he was still roaming the city. Hupia seemed to know where he was headed, but this made no sense, considering he'd suffered from severe amnesia, so there was no way he knew his way around town. He began nearing the dead-zone, and Mimi began to worry. Her heart skipped a beat when she thought about whether or not he was planning to walk through the mist. She was apprehensive about stopping him because she didn't want to blow her cover just yet, but she couldn't wait for him to walk the mist to save him either. Mimi was about to take off and save him when she noticed someone flying in towards Hupia. This person was too fast. Mimi couldn't react by the time the man appeared in front of Hupia. It was Vido! he'd been watching Hupia before Mimi had ever arrived. "Vido? What are you doing here? I thought you didn't want to come along. Don't even think about trying to stop me." Hupia declared in an affirmative tone.

Shifting his eyes in Mimi's direction, Vido glanced back over at Hupia, saying, "relax, I just changed my mind; someone I saw got me interested in your origins. So where did you plan to go, Blood Mountain?" Vido asked, shooting up into the sky, holding Hupia up by his jacket, racing over across the dead-zone to Blood Mountain. Hupia had long since passed out. Ordinary people simply cannot remain conscious while traveling at lightning-fast speeds in high altitudes. Worried about him, Mimi followed closely behind the pair the best that she could. Upon arrival at the mountain, Vido could sense two more people on the mountain. He determined that they would not pose a threat and headed in their direction to introduce himself, dragging Hupia's unconscious body along with him.

Lucy and Cero were in the middle of practicing a dual-cultivation technique; losing concentration would likely result in disastrous consequences for both people practicing the technique. This gave anyone on the mountain an easy opportunity to kill them. However, they were not worried about this because the likelihood of finding another sorcerer powerful enough to block the energy of the dead zone is extremely small. Vido located the dojo Cero and Lucy have been living out of. He found a secluded spot for cultivation a short distance away and lead Hupia there. This spot was surrounded by nature and rare herbs, so this would be a great start to cultivating the soul, especially for a novice sorcerer. Within an hour, Hupia began to wake up. "Ay, now that you are finally up, why don't you get out that grimoire and try to envision a projection of yourself opening the grimoire while focusing on meditation to help clear your mind, Vido instructed. Although he was a bit disoriented, he did as he said. Hupia tried to calm his mind as he did previously and followed what Vido told him.

Once Hupia imagined his projection opening the grimoire, his mind went blank. He could vaguely make out the face of an older man. The man's voice echoed throughout Hupia's mind saying, "There is no need to worry. I feel great. I love you all, be strong." The old man said, smiling and holding his thumb up as the vision faded to darkness. Hupia remained silent as his mind raced a mile a minute. He couldn't help but feel hurt deep down inside. "Could that be my grandpa I heard about? I could feel an undeniable bond with him as I watched him fade away in the vision," Hupia talked with himself, upset that he wasn't able to get his memory back as easily as he'd hoped. Hupia entered his Inner Realm once again after half an hour. His mind took slightly longer to relax due to the sudden influx of emotion caused by the sudden vision he was forced to watch. Upon entering his realm, Hupia took a moment to brace his spirit to endure the pressure from the beast's overbearing presence. The force it expels, not even being in the same realm as Hupia, was extremely intense, not to mention the pressure released from his booming voice. Hupia had to brace himself for it so he wouldn't get overwhelmed. Unlike before, he knew this after coming back to his body, aching every time he left his realm to possess his physical body. If it wasn't for the grimoire, when opening his realm to the beast for merging, the extreme difference in source energy would've crushed his soul before entering the same realm.

"Ay! I'm back!" Hupia yelled out loudly, echoing through his realm. This go around it's as if he projected his voice through all of the realm space, Hupia unconsciously learned to project his Inner Voice. He felt an ominous presence faintly and braced himself, anticipating the moment the beast would appear. A dense amount of energy overwhelmed Hupia's Realm as a wisp from its voice reached Hupia. "Back so soon?" It asked simply, in a carefree tone. It had the same roar as the thunder of the heavens used to smite man. Trying to maintain his bearing, Hupia responded boldly, "Yea, I think I saw my gramps in a vision earlier, but first things first, you need a name, so it's easier for me to talk with you. If you're stuck with me anyway, we should get familiar with each other." trying to exude a certain level of arrogance that shows that he does not feel intimidated. The entity laughed, "ha, so you know how to use your true voice. Now, do you? It looks like you even adjusted to the pressure; how amusing. haha, go ahead, give this one a name. I will play along with your little naming practice."

Without much thought, a name came across his mind. Achi. "Alright then, from now on, I'll call you Achi. Last names are usually the name of the family we were born from, so you can figure out your own last name. Of course, if you ever want me to decide, I'd be happy to give you mine. He explained triumphantly. The feeling of being able to decide the name of a fierce beast such as Achi went to his head. "Achi, since we're at Blood Mountain now, I need you to teach me about cultivation so I can learn about what happened here," Hupia demanded, feeling cocky. A brief moment of silence passed them by; he felt chills run through his center. *WOOSH* A strong force clamped onto Hupia's spirit, suspending his spirit in the abyss. "Wait! Wait! I was joking. I promise it won't happen again. Please guide my cultivation!" He begged. "I don't know how you look so much like him, yet you behave in this way... Is this what J would have been like without experiencing all of that trauma, just a cheerful, goofy little boy. Wow, I guess there are still some things that can surprise me." Achi silently considered, reminiscing about the memories he had with Hupia's grandfather. Releasing the hold he had on Hupia, Achi started. "Know I'm here out of respect for your grandfather, so if you wish for me to guide you, you need to tighten up; I won't stand to let you blemish his lineage because of your careless actions."

Achi compromised with Hupia, agreeing to instruct him on different techniques and styles to use them in different circumstances during cultivation practice. This would leave him with an erratic training routine. Entering back into his physical body Hupia took a few breaths of air and looked around. Vido walked up to him, asking, "So, what happened in there?" Hupia responded, saying, "I saw a vision of someone, but that's it. I blacked out after I saw the vision." He didn't want to reveal everything to him. He was still a stranger to him. "Man, I was hoping that would jam your memory; well then, good luck, I'm going back home." Assuming he was joking, Hupia did not take him seriously; before he could say anything, Vido flew off in the distance. Mimi was still watching as Vido left. Waiting to see if Hupia could survive alone, she would only go down to help if he was on the verge of death. Regardless of how cruel it appeared, Mimi couldn't be blamed; she was merely following Daisy's orders. Hupia roamed the area on the mountain, searching for signs of life and a reliable supply of food and water. Cero and Lucy were returning from a long session of cultivation at the dojo, proceeding to rest shortly after arrival.