Divine Apostasy Book 12 - Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Ruwen, Sift, and Echo sat facing each other in a tight circle while Ash practiced his Step forms twenty feet away.

"What do you see?" Ruwen asked Echo.

Echo studied Ash as he moved through a basic transition sequence. "His technique is nearly flawless for a Master. The movements are precise. But..." She hesitated.

Ruwen waited quietly while Echo gathered her thoughts.

"He’s disconnected,” Echo continued. “Like he's performing two different forms that happen to use the same movements."

"That’s an excellent description,” Ruwen replied. “Do you think this disconnection is what’s blocking him?"

"I'm not sure. I feel like he's listening to something I can't hear, making adjustments based on information not related to his physical movements."

Sift leaned forward, genuinely curious. "What kind of information?"

Echo shrugged.

"Ash," Ruwen called, “tell us about your chakras."

Ruwen studied Ash, trying to catch the rapid cycling of his chakras. Ash’s Root chakra pulsed with survival instinct, injecting adrenaline into his system and increasing his heart rate.

Solar Plexus energy saturated Ash’s body, calming his heart and controlling the adrenaline. Using Harmony, Ruwen was shocked to see an actual Third Eye open on Ash’s forehead. It’s unblinking stare was aimed directly at Ruwen. He wondered if his forehead had a visible eye yet.

This all happened in the fraction of a second, and Ash’s response, affected by all this, came immediately nonetheless. "Seven Awakened, and many have advanced in level. I rely too much on Third Eye but it hasn’t failed me yet."

Echo's eyes narrowed. "What are chakras and why are they involved with your Steps? The forms already contain everything you need.”

“Everyone has chakras,” Ash responded, “and honestly, I’m not trying to use them.”

Echo turned to Ruwen for a better explanation.

“I’m not sure everyone has chakras,” Ruwen said, “but to answer your question in general, they’re a spiritual magic system based on eight specific locations within the body.”

Ruwen turned from Echo to Ash. “Your chakras have created a dependency in you.”

With the new information, Echo put the pieces together immediately. “He’s filtering the Steps through that spiritual system rather than allowing the Steps to reveal balance directly."

“It’s likely where his issues start,” Ruwen agreed.

"I don't understand," Ash said.

“You will,” Ruwen replied. He looked at Echo. “If that’s the source, what’s the real issue?"

Echo stood and walked over to Ash. “Start at Snapping Branch.”

Ash immediately started the form and Echo studied him carefully.

Echo had Ash repeat the form twice before she offered an opinion.

“He lacks unity,” Echo said. “These chakras are directing his movements, but his body wants to follow the Steps. They're not aligned."

Ruwen didn’t bother voicing agreement as the facts couldn’t be ignored once recognized.

“Is that bad?” Ash asked.

Echo twisted her lip for five seconds before responding. "The Steps aren't really about martial techniques. They're to integrate all aspects of the self.”

Sift scratched his head. "So his spiritual side is getting in the way?"

"Yes, I’m sure of it," Echo responded. "The Steps develop physical and spiritual balance together. By advancing these chakras separately, he's created an imbalance."

"I agree with you,” Ruwen said. “How do you help him rebalance?"

Echo turned to Ruwen. “Can I rip these chakras out of his body?”

Ruwen couldn’t tell if Echo was serious or not, but he guessed she was as Ash took a very concerned step away from her.

“Not that I’m aware of,” Ruwen said.

Echo paced as she worked through all this new information. A minute later she stopped and pointed at Ash. "If these chakras act unconsciously and I can’t burn them out of his body, he needs to elevate his Steps to match his spiritual development. If he can get them close enough, it should allow him to advance."

Echo spent three minutes searching for a solution and Ruwen could sense her growing frustration and anxiety. Suddenly she shifted her attention to him. “How do you know about these chakras?”

Ruwen didn’t want to answer that, so he grinned and used deflection. “I know everything.”

Echo rolled her eyes. “God help me.” She started to ask Ruwen another question but Sift interrupted.

“Which god?” Sift asked.

This flustered Echo and she turned to Sift. “What?”

“You said, ‘God help me,’ and if there’s another one around here, I’d like to race.”

Echo’s brow furrowed. “It’s just an expression I picked up here.”

Sift snapped his fingers and looked at Ruwen. “You had one of those. ‘What. The. Actual. Hell.’”

Echo glared at Ruwen. “Stop copying me!”

Ruwen turned from the angry Echo to face Sift. “How did you know that?”

“Know what?”

Ruwen gritted his teeth. “That I said that? I’ve never used that phrase around you.”

“My phrase,” Echo clarified.

“Oh, Vex told me,” Sift said.

“Now your horse is using my stuff?” Echo demanded.

Ruwen held up his hands, one palm facing Sift and one Echo. “Everybody hold on. This is serious.”

Echo nodded in agreement and Sift looked confused. Ash had sat down and was watching them with wide eyes.

Ruwen focused on Sift. “You can talk to Vex?”

“What?” Echo exploded. She pointed a finger at Ruwen. “That’s what you think is serious? Your talking horse?”

“Vex does way more than talk,” Sift said. “He does accents and impersonations and I think he has a crush on your horse.”

Echo froze and then slowly turned toward Sift. Ruwen stood up and took a step backward.

“What about my horse?” Echo asked in a quiet voice.

Sift seemed to sense he was in danger for the first time and stood up as well.

“Well,” Sift said carefully, “it might not be your horse. I’m sure there’s a lot of pale horses.”

Ruwen watched in fascination as Echo strode toward Sift. He hoped she didn’t try and kill him. They were supposed to be helping Ash after all and that probably wasn’t a good lesson. Still, Sift kind of deserved it.

Halfway to Sift, Echo stopped suddenly and turned toward Ruwen.

Ruwen took another step backward. “What did I do?”

“Summon that troublemaker right now,” Echo demanded.

“Vex,” Ruwen called.

Everyone waited in silence for three seconds, but nothing happened.

Ruwen cleared his throat and called louder this time. “Vex!”

Once again, they waited. After five seconds it was obvious Vex was letting Ruwen reap the consequences of this situation alone.

“You’ll pay for this,” Ruwen muttered.

Echo suddenly remembered Ash and turned to look at her student. He remained wide eyed and intently focused on their discussion. She rubbed her temples and sighed.

Glancing between Ruwen and Sift she spoke. “We’ll finish this discussion later.” Shaking her head she continued. “What were we talking about?”

Sift responded immediately. "You were explaining how Ash could overcome fifteen years of chakra dependence. Blah blah… foundation something... blah blah or something like that. Honestly, I think the zombie thing is making my brain foggy and I might’ve dozed off.”

Ash perked up at hearing Sift’s response and Echo noticed. She swallowed whatever comment she’d wanted to give Sift and took another deep breath.

Ruwen studied Sift. They hadn’t been talking about “fundamental” anything. Echo had isolated the problem but hadn’t found a solution. She’d refocused her attention on Ruwen and demanded details about his chakra knowledge, which he didn’t want to discuss quite yet. That’s when Sift completely derailed the conversation.

If Sift noticed Ruwen’s attention, he didn’t show it. Instead, Sift’s eyelids drooped, and he visibly fought to stay awake.

“Thanks to you two, I’ve completely lost my train of thought. I knew this was a bad idea. Bringing you both was a colossal mistake. You two are like a vortex of stupid. You suck the joy out of—”

Echo’s eyes went wide. She immediately sat, crossed her legs, and cycled her breathing.

Sift opened one eye as if checking that everything was safe. He saw Echo meditating, smiled, and produced another black jellybean from somewhere. He chewed a few times before stopping and slowly looking over at Ruwen.

What? Sift signaled in Shade Speak. Staring. Rude. Need. Manners.

You. Fake. Ruwen gestured back. You. Hint. Death.

Her. Sad. Sift ate another jellybean and then continued. Sad. Make. Blind. He grinned. Mad. Destroy. Sad.

Sift stood and waved to get Ash’s attention, then gestured for him to come over. Sift strode another thirty feet away from Echo and sat. Ruwen and Ash joined him.

“I’m confused,” Ash whispered. “Is this normal? Do you guys argue like that a lot? There was a complete disconnect between the words and emotions. It was like an auditory illusion.”

“Auditory illusion,” Sift repeated. “That’s going on the list.”

“What list?” Ruwen asked.

“Guild names.”

“What? Are you still thinking about that?”

“How about Resonant Delusion?” Ash offered to Sift. “That’s the phrase that popped into my head when you spoke.”

Ruwen raised an eyebrow. “Wow, that’s really good.”

“Bravo,” Sift said. He produced a fist sized bag and offered it to Ash.

Ash opened it and gasped. “I haven’t had a jellybean in months.”

Ruwen turned to Sift. “Why did you make such a big deal about getting jellybeans from Lylan and Hamma if you had a whole bag?”

Sift pulled another bag of jellybeans from dimensional storage, this one even bigger. “Pilfered pies taste sweetest.”

Ruwen shook his head. “You’re playing a dangerous game. Lylan will kill you.”

“Who’s Lylan?” Ash asked. “An Assassin?”