Chapter 5: Long Awaited Breakthrough

"Don't force yourself, Zax, stop. You should take a break".

In an incomplete apartment with dust all over and a two meters in diameter hole in the floor, an apartment in Zetsa's building, a Mor and her Tal were seated in a meditative position.

A month and a half had passed since Zax's tenth birthday. The date for this year Great Earth's Core Pursuit has been decided and released to the public. This year the Great Earth's Core Pursuit will launch earlier than the year before, in the first of April and will continue until the thirtieth of June.

The fourth of April was the designated date for the participants from cave twenty five and the participants from seven other caves.

With another month and a half before the biggest event in every coreless child's life, not a lot of time remained for Zax to achieve the objective of the taxing soul training his big sister elected for him. Coincidentally, eight days ago Zax's interaction with the bottleneck of level F has reached a critical stage. Since then, Zax could not enhance his soul anymore by training in the Inner Spirit formation or by performing Somnolence Meditation, each time he tried the results were less and less affective, as if behind the bottleneck was an insatiable abyss that devoured all of his attempts to strengthen himself.

To pass through the difficult bottleneck in time for the Great Earth's Core Pursuit, after consulting with his big sister, Zetsa came up with a method, which was more of a gamble, to improve Zax's chances in a task that the number of coreless children who faced it before him could be counted on two hands, and for the number of those who passed successfully it one hand was too much.

Environmental Stimulus was the technique in question. It emphasize on training all three aspects of a living being, body, Qi\mist and soul at the same time in rotation in uncommon environments that the participant was unaccustomed for. The belief was that by broadening horizons one can stimulate any of the three aspects or all three; therefore the probability to attain insight in his or her practice could increase significantly. Needless to say the for the chance to gain insight, those who walk on the Martial paths, particularly experts, at the verge of the next phase or level would go to substantial lengths, even risking their lives.

Zetsa was anxious due to the limited time her brother had. She selected four different locations for Zax to stay in and survey himself, hoping for a glint of accomplishment to appear in his eyes as soon as possible. During this period of introspection Zetsa chose to be at Zax's side every second of the day. The bottleneck to level F was not the same as the bottleneck to level E and D. Although it seemed insignificant, since any child above the age of ten who participated in the Great Earth's Core Pursuit has afterwards crossed it, it was really misconception to believe that it is so simple. Only those who reached naturally to level F, that is, without an Earth's Core, or researched the matter were able to realize what sort of juncture it is, comparable even to the bottleneck to level C!

The first location that Zetsa chose was their grandparents' farm. There, she reminded to Zax that it is a form of training before instructing him to do whatever he feels like doing, so they walked.

Leaving Zetsa's Sun K-79 behind, they walked for hours, from the early morning till late at night when eventually they ended up arriving home. Since the mentioning of the word "training" Zetsa noticed that her Tal interpreted the meaning of this method of exercise in a much complex manner than it was.

Admittedly she did not explain to Zax the concept of Environmental Stimulus, for it was something he had to find out for himself, but as a result it turned out counterproductive. Still, Zetsa did not say anything to Zax and at the second day she informed to pack a small backpack cause they were going back to get her Sun K-79. The predetermined second location had been replaced. The new second location was the road.

Going forward to a day later, Zetsa took Zax to the apartment building she owned. There, she picked one of the incomplete apartments, one with a giant hole in the floor, and told him to just seat down however likes. For two days they walked. On the first day the agricultural vicinity was the epicenter of Zax's environmental perception. On the second day it was the road and familiar buildings that were emptier than he recognized. It was the silent scenery that only a child who did not go to school nor have to work could encounter. At the third day Zetsa wanted for Zax find to be at ease and merge with an incomplete form, obviously, she did not tell him that either.

The fourth location was so radical that Zax lost the feeling in his legs when he and Zetsa arrived there. It was a little bit past tunnel seventy eight, one of the border tunnels between humanity's territory and the beasts'.

"Big sis ... staying here is illegal for minors, you'll be in trouble..." Zax tried to alter her decision.

"No one will know, come on, there is a hill a kilometer that way". Zetsa ignored Zax's pleas. She grabbed his hand and pulled him after her apathetically to his fears.

In New Earth any cave visited by a member of humanity, even those in the beasts' territory, was numbered. There was only a slight difference in the numbering process between the caves in humanity's territory and the beasts'. The first difference was that beasts' caves that were numbered had zero as an initial digit. The second difference was a rule that required the humans who ventured into caves in the beasts' territory to fully map them before retreating.

Cave zero eight was a soundless jungle. It gave the impression that the only beasts roaming were the spirits of dead ones. Nevertheless, here and there were signs of large and small footprints and gusts of wind rattled the thick vegetation, carrying uniquely refreshing smells.

The hill that Zetsa took Zax was around a hundred meters tall. Many of the surrounding trees were much taller, though, and were able to provide shelter from the constant baring light of the Sun Stones at the high ceiling of the cave, since it did not have anything like the Nightly Cover formation applied to it.

"There are four tunnels connecting to this cave, Zax. One leads to cave twenty five while the other three to deeper parts in the beasts' territory". Zetsa lower her head as she explained to Zax. Her little Tal stuck so close to her that his breath tickled her exposed bellybutton. The only thing that he was shy of doing was cling to her leg, like his third years old self whenever she was about to leave home.

Zetsa pushed Zax away with an impervious facial expression, indicating that she was not joking and this is exactly the fourth location. "In a couple of hours I'll return to take you back, Zax. Where I go is doesn't matter, why can't I stay you should not ask and getting back on your own is on you, Zax". Her tone was rigid and callous. It was worse than a stab to the chest, treating he beloved little brother in such a harsh manner, but it was for his sake. There was not a lot of time remaining for the Great Earth's Core Pursuit and if Zax's soul will not reach level F before that, much of his future prospects will diminish.

"No ... no ... You can't leave me her, big sis, I want to go, take me back..." Zax was on the verge of crying. What he could not understand was why he was so uncomfortable, why the concept of being in the beasts' territory frightened him to this degree.

Well, there was an answer, one which Zetsa was aware of and hoped that her little brother will be able to prevail against it. The answer was Zax's highly sensitive soul. Whether it was a coreless boy or a Mist User at the Core Breaker level, if either of them was here instead of Zax, he or she would not have felt any different than how he or she felt on the safe side of New Earth.

Of the three aspects of a living being, two are capable of sensing the environment. The basic one is the body of a living being, whatever it may be. The more complicated one is the soul of a living being. A Mist User can first utilize the soul to sense the environment at the Beginner phase of the Core Breaker level, to what extent is a whole different story.

Zax's soul level was only at the top phase of level G. Common sense dictate that he should not be able to sense the environment with his soul, especially involuntarily. Zax, however, was an enigma beyond common sense. In comparison to a Core Breaker, his soul was of lower quality and his soul energy in lesser quantity. From some reason, though, he still was able to perform a soul attack, even if by the simpler method there is. Sensing the environment, although a far more difficult feat, to a certain degree, by experimenting for a while with the new grasp of his soul energy, has made possible for it to developed on its own.

On top of the desolated hill, Zax stood alone. Zetsa disappeared in a speed he could not comprehend. Being there on his own, Zax's Soul Sense could extend only as far as the skin on his body. Generally, he was not able to perceive farther than his body sense of touch, but when he came to contact with specks of the environmental essence he could feel a minuscule bit of the terror it carried. As to what specifically was the source of the invisible terror, that was too hard to tell.

Zax waited for hours, not daring to leave to hill, afraid to even move from his initial place. Misperception of sounds and shadows deluded him to think that sometimes something was watching him, sometimes he himself saw something besides the thick vegetation, other times to even feel warm breaths at the back of his neck.