I arrived at the yard, behind the inn—next to the stable filled with sleeping horses.
I'm glad I didn't wake her up. I stretched my arms ahead of me.
'So how are you going to teach me?' I hadn't let go of my sword, since I left the room.
I looked around the yard,
This is quite big—big enough to swing my sword around.
It had around the same size as our house, with the horses more than half in.
'...just follow my instructions.'
'Wait, you haven't thought of a method yet?'
'I tried to, but... I'm unsure whether it works. So just follow my lead.'
'Okay I will, what do you need me to do?'
'So I believe you are just using the base of the real techniques.'
'The base?'
'Yes, and those techniques are the embodiment of that base—techniques are what enables essence to come to life.'
'...so I should not have been able to use essence then'
'I believe so—but your father's breathing along with that talent of yours, made you able to fight.'
'Talent?'
'Yes talent, you were able to use the base with essence just from feeling it. But that talent was also your undoing.'
'Will you teach me those techniques then...'
'No... I can't help you with that.'
I let go of my sword,
'What can we do...?' Looking at the cobblestone I stood on.
'I'll teach you how to read—without knowing those letters.'
'Isn't that what I am already doing? You said it was impossible.'
'Yes it is impossible—normally, but you are not normal Tjer, you have me.'
'You?'
'Yes, imagine the words themselves talking to you—showing you each letter. I'm part of your essence—I can show it to you!' I could hear his excited voice within each word he said.
Even the cold evening air felt warm hearing him speak.
'Really...'
'Yes! I'll show you how to control your essence, and you follow the path I laid out.'
'...that sounds plausible... what do you need me to do?'
'Nothing.'
'Nothing?' I couldn't help but tilt my head hearing it.
'Yes you will just sit down, and close your eyes.'
'Okay...' I said, sitting down on the cold cobblestone, hearing the thunk of wood next to me as I let go of my scabbard.
'What should I do now?'
'Breathe. Just follow your breathing—the one that feels like you.'
'And try to follow my voice into the deep.'
I started breathing,
I felt the cold absorbed into my body run through me—followed by the slight shivers.
I could hear the slight breathing of the horses next to me—followed by my own.
'Good, forget all of it.'
As he said, all of it drowned out,
I was unsure whether I was cold,
Whether I was shivering,
Whether the horses were still there,
Or whether I was still breathing.
But my heartbeat was still there,
Even within the well I found myself falling in,
My breathing slowly returned to me.
It followed the same rhythm—that of my own heartbeat,
It had mixed in with every sensation,
The only thing I saw was darkness,
I felt nothing,
I heard not even my thoughts.
This sight was one I had seen before—one of pure darkness.
Until a familiar voice echoed through, it sounded clearer—heavier than before.
'Do you know where you are?'
'No... it's just darkness'
'Exactly, this is your realm—it's still empty.'
'Realm?'
'Yes—your essence.'
'I'll lead a small flow of essence, follow it.'
A light flowed in—a silver one, a silver that eliminated all darkness inside.
But something intertwined—feeding the darkness—moving parallel to one another.
A black light—a shadow.
It all gathered in one place, as if a cup was getting filled.
Without anyone telling me I understood it,
'So that's the essence core...'
'That's all I can manage for now, and this is the most important part—where it all collapses.'
The core trembled as the essence burst out of it, drilling through its surrounding—in a vein like form.
It had broken through the core—like a cup cracking by the liquid.
The right side stopped spreading before the left, it started taking shape—it was my own body that got lightened up.
'Wait, wait... I am not going to die now right!?'
'Don't worry about it, these are small amounts, your real body can't even notice it.'
'Is this not my body?'
'Yes it is, they are the same, but just on different layers.'
'You can see the essence here, because it's part of you—'you' and your essence are one, and your body is the vessel holding both in.'
'Vessel... does that mean you can live, even when losing your body...?'
'Maybe... 'you' and your essence are one, if you have perfect control you might be able to achieve it, but the reverse is impossible—you can't live without either yourself, or your essence.'
'But before I had essence I was still alive wasn't I?'
'You mean before you were conscious of it. Essence has always been within you—within everybody—it just hadn't been formed into a core yet, but it was somewhere else.'
'So not everybody can use it then...'
'Look everybody has it, but not everyone knows how to use it, and that is what techniques are for—breathing is just the first brick you lay.'
'And without the correct application, people end up like you—one without a body fit for control. While normally this destruction goes slower, it can't be reversed—unlike you, someone with a vessel that is able to repair itself.'
'And Wode then... he was able to use essence, but he was just a mercenary.'
'In that case he was already doomed, before he even sacrificed himself.'
'...'
The light slowly pulled back—deeper into my realm—beyond the core, back into emptiness. Leaving only the wounds they created.
'Huh?'