Things Not Subject To Gravity

CERTAIN PSHYCO-CHEMICAL TRANSFORMATIONS: 15

15. THE PLEASURE ACCORDING TO SYBIL VAIN

A sea lies underneath my ribs:

it's growing stronger now (...)

And it spreads like particles of light, like particles of light

You'll see me shimmering like crystals in the stars

(My Heart Is A Storm, Aurora)

Sybil stepped in between them. They didn't notice when he came back, so he took the chance to sneak a peek at the scene, but he'd decided to intervene before the situation could deteriorate any further. He stopped Set's hand before it reached Maria and guided it to his own shoulder.

The boy let him. Even if his eyes were looking into a different world, he tilted his head to the side, surprise showing on his face.

Sybil glanced back at Maria and gave her a reassuring smile. Sheltered by the Oracle's body, she was still shivering. Her eyes showed concern for Set, rather than fear for her own sake.

"It's alright," Sybil whispered.

She nodded and stepped back. As she dropped to the floor, her back leaning against the white wall, Sybil's eyes trailed back to Set's. Slowly, he brought his hands to the boy's shoulders.

Taking in somebody's energy meant experiencing all the blockages and sufferings of that person, but there was no other way to soothe the boy and restore his balance. Unsettling, dark energy seeped through Sybil's palms and filled his body. It ran down his joints, mixing with his Chi. It stuck in his chest, making it hard to breathe. It flooded his stomach and clamped onto it like a vice. Lastly, the flow slammed against his spinal cord, causing him a dull pain in the lower back.

Set's feelings and emotions became Sybil's and almost overwhelmed him. Somehow, the Oracle managed to keep his detachment and just look inward. He let them swipe his heart and affect his body, while all of Set's fears and memories pooled in his mind. Sybil watched within until he sank deep into his own consciousness, reaching the bottom of the abyss, the holy darkness where even demons dissolved and only silence remained.

Set's arms fell down by his sides. Once the energy was released, the urge for violence subsided. Yet, the boy's eyes were still lost somewhere and his body was trembling.

With an extremely slow movement, Sybil hugged him. His hands slipped over the boy's bare skin, traveling along his back. The right one rested at the height of Set's heart and the left one at the bottom of his spine. The heat of Set's body seeped through the cotton of Sybil's white robe. The sound of the boy's fast breathing filled the Oracle's ears. Set's heartbeat thundered under Sybil's palms.

The Oracle rested his chin over the boy's shoulder and slowly closed his eyes as his whole being became one with Set's.

Meanwhile, the energy flow kept running down Sybil's legs, a cascade of shiverings, shaking them all along until it reached his feet, and got out of his system where his soles met the cold floor. Little by little, the energy simmered down and Sybil's heart became lighter. The painful contractions in his chest and lower back dissolved, turning into a bubble of warmth. The pleasant sensation expanded from within, filling his body with space and light.

Sybil called that final state of grace – of pure, tantric meditation – the Opening. He could sense his own breath as it moved through his body. He could follow the air all along its circular path – from the moment it entered his nostrils to the moment it reached the farthest and smallest parts of his body. In some points, the air would be stuck facing some obstacle, but the breathing seeped through Sybil's every cell and slowly released each tension.