The foreign energy that entered my body felt chaotic, but was also enhancing my strength. Sadly, there was no time to understand this pivotal moment. The first of the pursuers finally showed its face. I barely avoided getting caught again, all to start running once more.
My body felt much lighter; my limits from just moments ago were replaced by at least twice the capability. So I was able to gain back some distance from my tails.
The muddy water was above my waist now, each step plunging deeper like quicksand. A normal person would have trouble taking even a few steps, but I had already covered an impossible distance while maintaining an insane pace.
The beasts, with their long limbs, had an easier time, and now they were using all four to traverse. They were catching up—the closest one just a couple of feet away. I could feel its bloodlust scratching at parts of my mind.
The tall grass was no more—only some aquatic weeds remained in the way. And I was mistaken; rather than a marshland or a swamp, it was a riverine. There were island-like patches of land ahead, half-submerged, and to the left were similarly flooded grass fields. That only left one option: escape into the river to my right—and if I was lucky, these bastards wouldn't know how to swim.
There was enough water now to submerge me completely, so I dove in. The current was against me for now, but once I reached the free-flowing river, I could use it to my advantage.
I started gaining distance again. Some were able to swim, though in a crude and savage way. Others simply moved underwater, which I confirmed by sensing their energy.
These beasts finding me first could be attributed to my flashy entrance, but the stray that caught me in the grass field—and now them following me underwater—didn't make any sense. How were they tracking me?
Wait… I'm tracking them by sensing their energy. Could they be using a similar method?
Through my newfound sense, I couldn't perceive space or surroundings—only their twisted masses of energy. So what I needed wasn't to hide my body first—it was to hide the energy being emitted from me.
After leaving my body on autopilot to continue swimming, I focused on the energy I had felt when absorbing that demon. I even closed my eyes to increase my concentration.
"The origin" was what I decided to call that newfound sensation—energy, or whatever it was I felt then. But even after experiencing it once, I wasn't able to find it again. Instead, I found something that breathed life into my body—my 'atma,' or soul energy.
In this case, I felt the soul within my body giving me energy, but the origin was different. Even though it felt like the real me, it was never inside my body… very weird. But rather than chasing that thought, I focused on my atma.
The remnants of the 'asura energy' that belonged to the demon were mostly gone. My soul was burning through it at a frightening speed. It seemed that the temporary burst in strength was due to the asura force serving as firewood for my soul.
I made it to the river, the current now in my favor—but my swimming speed had decreased considerably, and exhaustion was catching up. I feared that after burning through the asura force, I would be fatigued and unable to move properly for a while.
I had to somehow stop emitting my atma energy before that happened.
My soul was like an eternal pyre burning at the center of my heart. My heart and atma seemed to work in tandem to maintain my existence. Maybe it was always there—only now I could sense it.
"Now how the hell was I supposed to suppress this energy? Did I have to kill myself!? …but that would defeat the purpose, I guess...."
I felt the origin in a different plane of reality—a place or space where creation could happen before my mind could even comprehend it, if that makes any sense. I couldn't sense the origin anymore, but if I could circulate my soul energy to that vague realm, it might just work.
So I concentrated and guided my atma energy toward that place. There was some resistance at first, but I succeeded. I pushed a large portion of my energy into that realm all at once.
I suddenly opened my eyes, and my body convulsed violently. Every part of me stopped moving—I lost control completely, like in a sleep paralysis.
And so I drowned… just holding my breath took all the strength I had left.
Ah… damn, I made a mistake. The current dragged me deeper downstream. I closed my eyes again and focused. I reconnected to my atma, slowing the flow of energy into that mysterious dimension by a considerable amount.
But what was lost was lost.
I felt a little strength returning, but possibly not enough to reach the surface. I used the flow of the river, making small movements to rise up.
I was suffocating. My mind grew fuzzy as I slowly lost consciousness.
When I regained a sliver of awareness, I was at the bank of the river, sand beneath my feet. My vision was blurry, and exhaustion weighed heavily on me. I slowly rose, took a few steps—only to collapse again and completely black out.