Mystical Tantra | bxb

Chapter 8, Life itself

They stopped gathering around him, instead sitting down in a circle around the tree. Except for Diciple11, who was laying on his side like he was dead inside, everyone sat in a elegant lotus position. Mc copied them and was about to close his eyes when Dicple7 spoke to him again. "Your goal is to free your mind. Leave your ego, your sense of self and your thoughts. Having a quiet mind will allow you to feel like the tree. Remerging with the energy around you will be the first step to control it. Just take your time." His tone was soft and caused a fire to ignite in Mc's stomach. That sounded way better than what he thought earlier. It made meditation sound profound. The whole concept of it slowly started to make sense to him. What a good teacher. Somebody should pay him.

All Mc had to offer was a smile. He wished the other could see his gratefullness, not knowing that it reflected clearly in his voice. "Thanks, you're too good at explaining."

Diciple7 smiled back, posture looking gracefull. "You're welcome. There's a lot more I'll teach you once your hair has grown. Now, concentrate." With that, silence fell.

The world turned black as Mc closed his eyes. His ears picked up the sounds of the leaves fluttering in the slight breeze. His behind felt the hard and cold stone underneath and his back muscles were tight from sitting straight. They weren't used to the position yet due to always lounging around and leaning on something. He wasn't one of these painters who did it while standing up. He didn't notice at night, which meant that the wine was even good for his muscles, seemingly having rid them of that sensation before. A great effect if he didn't have to pay for it with his soul. His thoughts always circled back to it naturally. That was no suprise when he had to hold the glass at all times and couldn't get away from the smell. And the taste.. The taste made his mouth water and throat thirsty just by remembering it. He swallowed heavily. 'I'll never drink from it again..' The voice in his head sounded sad but he tried to make it stop. He need not think. He had something to accomplish here.

He listened to his own breathing, keeping it steady before lowering it like he was trying to go to sleep. That's all he could do without knowing any special tactics. A birds feathers ruffled somewhere to his right. It seemed to jump around while chirping. Chirp Chirp. The whisteling resembled a melody that would sound good played on a flute. Something hit the tree a few times and then it was quiet again. He didn't hear it fly away. His eyelids twitched with the urge to look for it but he forcefully kept them shut.
In and out, air flew into his lungs where it turned toxic. What came out was for the trees to clean.
They were so strong and unmoving, working tireless all the time to provide food and fire to whoever steals from it or whoever kills it. Existing just to exist, needing only the sun and the rain. They only care about growing, never bothered by human emotions. Plants held no fear and no grief and therefore had no reason to think. Mc needed to learn from them to complete this task.

It was harder than wood on a spring morning though, with how many questions he had. What will happen when his hair has grown? Will he look good with long hair? Will he wake up tomorrow? What does the tree look like that made the plums? Where did the bird go? He forcefully subdued each thought only for two more to emerge. What's up with the statue in the temple? What's wrong with the scary forest?

It took a long time until he finally managed to keep his mind quiet for a few seconds. That's why he felt a ping of irritation when something small and light suddenly turned up on his lap. He couldn't ignore that so he had to open his eyes.
Suprise flashed in them when he found that a beautiful cherry lay on his thigh.
Slightly confused, he looked around and saw that nobody had moved. They all looked as peaceful as statues. From their faces that might as well have been carved by a great artist to their bodies. Head to toe, everyone looked special in their own ways and was physically fit caused by their good diet and going on missions. After watching them for a while, Mc noticed that only Diciple1 looked a bit off. His lips twitched as if he was trying to supress a smile.