Chapter VI: Dark Lessons (Pt.2)

"All right, let's try this again," Tymon thought to himself.

Closing his eyes, he tried to focus. He concentrated on his center again, trying to feel for his core. This time, he received a stronger response. The moment he sensed it, he felt a burst of energy spike through his brain.

It was like he developed a new sense that opened his mind to an extension of the world. Within him, Tymon could sense his inner energy circulating like hot blood. He could feel his heartbeat produce waves that pulsated through him. With every pulse, he could sense everything from himself to the furthest reaches of his spirit energy, which stretched five kilometers in every direction. The energy leaving his body felt different from his inner energy; it felt cooler and lighter—calmer, too.

Tymon found it euphoric, feeling his power spread out. He knew it was always out like this, but sensing it brought a recognition of release.

He also couldn't believe the sheer amount and weight of it. It's crazy; he had this much energy and never knew. Judging from what he was feeling, his spirit energy was a huge mass of darkness, capable of destroying anything in its path.

It made him feel...invincible.

Developing this new sense was great, but with it, Tymon noticed something amazing and terrifying about his energy.

He could now see that he had enough power to do anything he wanted; if he could control this power, he could help the world. But this sense also revealed the destructive nature of his energy and exposed him to an intoxicating rush.

What's even more terrifying, Tymon could also tell this power he felt was just a fraction of what he was really capable of. He could sense a more potent storage of energy deeper within him, out of his reach. Its malice was more sinister than the energy he felt being released from him.

This bothered Tymon.

If his spirit energy exuded this much cold malevolence, what does that say about him? Is he supposed to be evil? If this reincarnation thing is true, was he evil before? Is that what being Death meant?

Regardless, Tymon never would've discovered it on his own. Had it not been for this Alissia girl, he'd still be miserable and ignorant of the truth.

He intended to learn all he could from her. Maybe the answer will come once he's uncovered more about himself.

Tymon refocused.

Within one pulse, Tymon could sense the energy fields around Alissia and her partner – Trik, was it? The field felt like a wall keeping as much of his dense energy out as possible.

Inside it, where the weaker energy managed to penetrate the field, he received weaker signals, making it harder to sense anything.

Something odd caught Tymon's attention.

He detected someone lurking further south.

Tymon wasn't sure how he knew, but he could tell the mysterious figure was shielding themselves with their own spirit energy, which felt much denser than his own.Tymon tried to home in on the lurker, but to his surprise, with the next pulse, the figure was gone, leaving no trace of ever being there.

"That was weird," Tymon thought to himself.

It was definitely something he should figure out, but first, he needed to finish what he was doing.

After concentrating, he was about to try something when he was distracted again.

"Can you sense it?" Alissia asked loudly.

Tymon answered – YES –.

"He's still right there, you know," Trik stated. "And he said yes."

"That's great! Now, try to take control of it," she instructed.

Tymon wanted to see what they were seeing to understand better why they have difficulty seeing when he's not in their field. He also wanted to see what his spirit energy looked like.

Refocusing yet again, Tymon continued what he was about to attempt earlier. He remembered Alissia mentioning how inner energy is used to see other's spirit energy. She also said that he'd have to take hold of it first to control it.

Following those instructions, Tymon felt for his inner energy. Once he sensed it, he imagined it as an extension of himself – like an extra limb – and willed it to stop flowing.

To his surprise, it actually stopped. Moving it around, though, was tougher than he thought it would be. He managed to hold some of it to his eyes like Alissia mentioned and was amazed at what he could see.

Before he could take it all in, though, it vanished. Everything went back to normal. It dawned on Tymon, he didn't feel the energy in his eyes anymore, and his inner energy was circulating again.

"So, I have to keep it in place consciously," he contemplated.

Immediately, Tymon thought of a more effective way to use the technique. Instead of controlling all of his inner energy, he would only manipulate the portion he intended to use. That'd lessen the strain and require less concentration to hold. Then, over time, he'd grow accustomed to using it until it was second nature.

Tymon became aware of muttering from the other two.

"...he doing?"

"I don't know. It looks like he's meditating," Trik responded. "Maybe he's having a hard time."