Chapter 34 - Abilities and Chakras

"My name is Yukio Sazuke, I'm more than humbled to be in your presence, Hero."

"Yukio Sazuke, that's a nice name. It means Snow Ninja. Are you perhaps skilled in the usage of cold-tempered weapons, or ice abilities?"

I never really considered the meaning of my name outside of its direct translation. Perhaps in this world, names had some kind of hidden meaning. Maybe I did have an affinity for ice abilities.

But what about someone like Daphne, whose name doesn't have much of a direct meaning, or Ambrosia, who's literally named after salad? I decided not to dwell on these thoughts, and instead focus on the incredible person in front of me.

"Not that I'm aware of. Although, I do have a question to ask you. Ever since I was summoned here, I've wondered how abilities worked. How are they gained, and how can one learn their abilities? Apparently, Ambrosia said I have infinite potential energy dormant inside of me..."

Hero walked closer to me and put his hand on my heart. Then, with two fingers on his other hand, he touched my forehead. He closed his eyes and turned his head slightly to the left. He opened his eyes again, and this time they were green...

"Yeah, she's right. You do seem to have an unfathomable amount of sheer strength lying inside of you. Although I'm not an esper, and can't feel it as well, it's still potent enough to be sensed by a trained hero."

"In terms of actual abilities though, most of them are acquired at birth. There are a few that can be learned, mainly melee combat abilities, and speed/agility. But for things such as magic, and in Ambrosia's case, esper abilities, they're acquired at birth."

"Nobody knows where they originated from though, or how abilities evolved through family bloodlines, but they're pretty rare. In Natsuo's case, he gained his abilities through sheer devotion and frequent praying to God."

Interesting. It seemed as if abilities were indeed inherited. In my case though, I was blessed by The Shade with the ability to tame monsters... but this other power hidden inside me, I had no clue how I got it...

"Heh, I can feel some of Ambrosia's energy idle inside of you. What have you two been doing? If I recall correctly, doesn't she have an ability to transfer her energy to others around her, boosting their strength?" asked Hero, chuckling.

"Yeah, we're doing energy infusions to bring out this power that Ambrosia said I had inside of me. She said that if I could manifest all of it, that I would become a God, but I'm sure she's exaggerating..."

Hero then changed his expression to something a bit more serious.

"No Yukio, she isn't. I can feel it too, powers inside you that greatly exceed mine. If you were to gain control of this, you could potentially be infinitely powerful. But it would take many years to even harness a fraction of it if you trained properly..."

"How can you sense these things inside of me? You sound just like Ambrosia, but you aren't even an esper."

Hero then blinked and instantly changed his eye color back to lavender. He smiled as if he was excited at my curiosity.

"I'm sure you've noticed my eyes by now. When Ambrosia was telling you about me, what color did she say my eyes were?"

"She said they were gold... but you seem to be changing them at will. Does this affect your powers?"

"Exactly. If they were gold, I was probably focusing on strength. Whenever I focus on a specific ability, I change my eye color to match. My natural eye color is lavender, though."

Hero was an interesting boy. He could change his eye color, similar to how Ambrosia's eyes can become heterochromatic, meaning each eye is a different color.

"I see, that's neat. I have Hazel eyes, so I'm not too sure what that means about my abilities."

"Well, Hazel might just mean that you're balanced all around, which is great. All of your abilities should be around a similar level of power, depending on how strong you are generally."

"Oh, that's pretty good to hear. So, each eye color relates to a different type of ability it seems. When Ambrosia focuses her energy, her eyes become yellow and pink."

"Ah yes, her eyes are special. Her eyes are pink which means she has a natural affinity for esper abilities, an incredibly rare type of ability, with only 2 families currently known to possess it. Her yellow eye has to do with energy, meaning she can control and manipulate it." said Hero.

"That makes sense, considering her eyes turn yellow AND pink during an energy infusion. She's using two abilities at the same time. That's pretty incredible." I replied.

So, the eye color system had been explained, but I still had another question for him... how the hell did he appear so young? I immediately asked this. Everyone else in the top 10 aside from Tasuki and Hero seemed so middle-aged. Tasuki and Hero were my age!

"One more thing, Hero... how old are you?" I asked, skeptically. Hero gave me a funny look and chuckled to himself.

"Heh, do you believe your eyes to be deceiving you?"

"Well, it's just that everybody in the top ten seems older, and I thought that considering how long it took to get to level 7, and that Ambrosia said you were already at the top before she joined, you HAD to be older than you appeared to be..."

"I see, very observant of you, Yukio. I'll explain to you what's going on."

Hero then turned around, facing away from me. He walked a few feet away from me, before suddenly levitating in the air, effortlessly. He turned back around, hovering in midair, and opened his eyes. They were rainbow... his eyes were color wheels.

He held his arms out, and he began to change. His hair remained the same color but became thinner. He grew wrinkly and shrank in height. He glided to the ground and took the appearance of an elderly man. Then, he walked back over to me.

"I'm as old as I want to be... Yukio," said Hero, in an old, dry voice.

"What? How did you do that? What's going on here?"

"Chakras," said Hero. One word, that was all he needed to say. I thought back to what Ambrosia told me in the bathroom. She mentioned how Hero had opened things called Chakras. How did this affect him though?

"However, this form doesn't appeal to me as much. It must suck for those who have to be like this from the time they turn elderly until their death. Fortunately for me, I don't have to worry about death."

Hero then returned to his original form, of a teenage boy. He smiled, and his face lit up. He was awaiting my reaction, and he received it shortly thereafter.

"You don't have to worry about death? A-are you...immortal?"

"Simply put, yes, I am immortal. However, that doesn't mean I can't be slain, for I am not invincible."

"How did you even manage to do any of that? Were you born with all of these abilities? You possess infinite strength, immortality, flight, and probably a thousand other things I'm unaware of."

Hero was the definition of overpowered. I was certain I would never be able to reach his level, or anywhere close. Ambrosia was right, he really was a deity. I'm shocked he hasn't been able to defeat The Shade. Perhaps he really is that terrifying...

"I'll tell you how I did it, and how you can do it too. Despite it potentially taking years for you to harness this power of yours, you could probably speed up the process... allow me to explain," said Hero.

"They're called Chakras. I opened them, and they broke my ceiling. Everybody has a ceiling, representing their maximum potential. You cannot exceed your ability ceiling, unless you do what I did... opening chakras allows you to tap into the deepest parts of your body, and mind, and break your ceiling... unlocking infinite potential..."

"I tried to explain this to Ambrosia, but she accused me of spitting buzzwords to her. She seemed disinterested in what I had to say, but I hope that you're at least somewhat interested."

I was interested. I had heard of Chakras, and how they worked back on Earth, but perhaps they had a different purpose in Etheria. I inquired about this.

"I'm very interested, tell me everything! How do you open them, and what can they do for you?"

"I'm thrilled you're asking. Opening them can allow you to use parts of your body and mind that would otherwise be inaccessible, leading you to be able to do amazing things that would traditionally be considered impossible."

"However, opening them is a long-drawn-out process, and can take years to complete. It is quite dangerous too, as once you start the process of opening them, you cannot back out. Leaving any of them closed after beginning the process could severely hinder your performance."

"You will need to make mental sacrifices, but if you are in search of great power, then you should have no problem. I just want you to be ready for what you're going to get yourself into..."

To me, it seemed as if opening your Chakras meant trading in your values, and parts of yourself, in exchange for great power. I inquired further, interested to know what the actual process was. Had Hero made these sacrifices?

"How do you begin the process, and what is required of you? Do you open them one at a time?"

"Yes. You open them one at a time, starting anywhere you'd like. Though, I chose to start with my crown and move down my body. In terms of the process, you will need to perform deep meditation, each day, and let go of what binds you together."

"This will include letting go of things you love, for the benefit of the mind, and the body. If you're willing to do so, then you shouldn't find the process challenging."

Letting go of the things I love? Did this include people? I began to think about my family back on Earth and my friends. Yui and Ambrosia crossed my mind too, but only briefly. If this was what it took, then it would be challenging...

"I'll have to think about it... if I do choose to try opening them, and succeed, will this power laying inside me manifest itself, and will I become strong?" I asked.

"I cannot guarantee you will be able to harness your abilities instantly, but I can guarantee that they will come around much easier if you have access to 100% of your body and mind."

"When I opened mine, I was able to break my ceiling, and get stronger, no matter what state I was in. Still to this day, I can get stronger until I reach my true limit, which not even I understand. I'm not even sure if I have a limit."

This sounded both exciting, and terrifying, all at the same time. If I was able to successfully open my Chakras, it would mean I could access my powers easily, but if I failed, or found myself without the courage to continue the process, then my power could be hindered for the rest of my life...

"You know, Yukio. Time has been frozen for quite a while now. I'm going to resume it. You might feel faint at first, but try to stay on your feet."

"Okay. What will the others around us see? Are they aware of our encounter?"

"Not at all. To them, as soon as time resumes, it will be as if I appeared out of nowhere, and the body of Marius suddenly evaporated. That's how I usually work when I need to save lives. Don't be shocked at their reactions."

"Although time for us continued in an idle state, to the others, it's as if nothing ever happened at all. Are you ready, Yukio?" asked Hero, holding his hand in the air, ready to snap his fingers.

"I'm ready. Go ahead, Hero."

*Snap*

Time resumed. The air began to blow once more, something I didn't notice was absent while time was frozen. How was I breathing then? I didn't question it.

The others began to move, and the screams suddenly continued but were quickly diminished upon realizing what was taking place. Ambrosia opened her eyes, came to her feet, and her jaw dropped.

"H-H-HERO!? IS THAT YOU!? YOU'RE BACK!"

"Hah, yeah, it's me. It's good to see you again, Ambie."