BLACK STORM: The Abandoned Son

Chapter 19: Ascension

Satoshi promised he was gonna train me. Now I wonder if he was being serious.  We went to sleep after our last conversation. Satoshi let me have a sleeping bag that was in a capsule. I tried to fit him into one, but every time I tried to move him, he would groan in pain and then whack me on the head. So, he slept leaning against the tree. He seems comfortable though. 

That's not the problem though. The problem is I slept through the night, and he slept through the night but also most of the day. Eighteen hours, I estimated, he slept like a log. I guess his injuries left him fatigued. I had to check a couple of times to make sure he didn't perish and I just hadn't realized. He is alive by the way

"Ah... wow. Good morning.", he's finally awake.

"Don't you mean good evening?"

"Was I asleep that long? Why didn't you wake me?"

"Next time maybe I will."

"Anyway, let's begin, stand up."

I stand to my feet.

"Now sit down."

I sit back down. Wait a minute, what was the point of that? That was just a waste of time. Calm down, it's not a big deal.

"Now cross your legs."

 I do what he says.

"What is this?"

"This is our first Arkana, literally, It is Arkana number one, the Magician's Arkana."

"That doesn't sound like a strong technique."

"It's not strength that we need."

"I don't get it."

"Without Magician's Arkana you cannot learn the others."

Okay makes sense. I sit there with my legs crossed. Satoshi doesn't say anything further to me, isn't there anything else? Should I already know what to do? Am I perhaps being super ignorant right now? I have to just ask him; I'm wasting time by worrying about looking dumb.

"Umm... hey Satoshi, what am I supposed to be doing?"

"Isn't it obvious, you need to meditate to channel Chi."

"Chi?"

"Sorry, my people call it Chi. Some call it Dao, some call it Soul force, life force, Magic points, Et cetera. Et cetera. You may know its scientific name; Psionic energy."

"Psionic energy... That does sound familiar."

"Whatever you call it, it doesn't matter. Just bring it forth. Your body has an internal well that can draw upon this energy."

So, I close my eyes and focus on calling forth the energy. Nothing happens. I'm thinking about this all wrong. Let me try focusing on something. Some sort of image that can be an analogy for gathering energy. 

He said I have some sort of well. So let me imagine myself In front of a well. I then picture myself scooping up water with a bucket on a rope. The water glows a brilliant pink colour as it collects in the bucket. I didn't mean to imagine the water as a pink colour. Does this mean it's working? Is this no longer my imagination but reality, a visualization of the immaterial realm?

I open my eyes and look around. I don't see anything different about me, but I kinda feel different. I look down at my palms. I open and close my hands to see if something, anything, has changed. For the life of me, I can't tell.

"Satoshi, did I do it?"

"I sense some volatility in your energy levels, but nothing significant enough to master this Arkana."