Touch of Fate

Chapter 212: Inner Piece

Mike sat cross legged with his eyes closed, trying to feel what the book described as a 'quintessential oneness with all things.' After nearly an hour of emptying his mind and attempting to harness his inner world, he'd achieved nothing more than a numb backside. He was beginning to wonder if the meditation guide he'd picked up from the library was some kind of fake.

[I don't think they would keep something ineffective in the restricted section, so is it a flaw in my methodology?] He asked himself while pulling the book out again and scanning the section related to unlocking the skill.

It hadn't taken long for him to finish his other errands, especially since the majority of the items he was looking for were no longer available for sale. Apparently, the Call to Arms included stipulations regarding the sale of certain materials and supplies that impact the war effort. In addition to controlling the price of such things, the edict ensured that the government got first pick. While it was a slightly tyrannical process, Mike couldn't argue against it. He'd read enough to know that war profiteers, price manipulation, and scarcities go hand in hand with sieges, so preventing the worst of it through regulation made sense.

He tried approaching Emmanuel or one of his subordinates about simply requisitioning some of the materials he would need for crafting, but ran afoul of the hastily formed bureaucracy of the University Army's headquarters, which was still operating out of a merchant's office. Due to their abrupt departure from their previous place of work, most of the documentation related to the army's resources had been destroyed along with a fair chunk of their inventory.

To complicate the matter further, some of the material actually belonged to citizens of the city, who were making use of the storehouses to provide for the scratch built militia units. While the staff was in the process of rebuilding the records, it would be several days, at least, before they could even start thinking about releasing anything stored in one of the outlying facilities.

Mike thought he could probably force the issue by leveraging his role as the city's defender, but finally decided it wasn't worth the trouble. He was meeting with the underworld merchants tomorrow, and simply purchasing what he needed would be much less of a headache.

For a few minutes, he was at a loss for how to spend the night. It had been several days since he'd had so much free time, and he didn't want to let it go to waste.

After considering several options, he remembered that the books he'd checked out from the library were due back soon, and he'd made no progress on unlocking the skills included within.

Since Beast Taming was a little impractical, what with the siege and all, and Transmutation required him to expend his limited crafting resources, he decided to try acquiring the Meditation skill. While mana regeneration was no longer as big of an issue for him, he figured that it wouldn't hurt to have the tool under his belt. Besides, he'd read enough stories to suspect that there might be more to the ability than simply improving his regeneration rate. Although, it was proving a little difficult.

"Seriously, who wrote this thing? 'Release yourself from the bonds of your ego, and accept your place as a small piece of cosmic dust within then vast realm of the gods' creation.' This feels like some kind of New Age self-help book written by someone with only a passing familiarity with the actual technique." Mike muttered to himself as he held the pages of the volume down to prevent the wind from flipping them again.

He sighed and put it away again. As far as he could tell, the book was mostly composed of incomprehensible pseudo-spiritualism, and very little of it actually covered the means of learning Meditation. What advice it actually offered was ridiculously simple, essentially consisting of a rudimentary breathing technique coupled with a specific set of concepts to focus on while he practiced them.

It should have been easy, especially with his class bonuses, but he'd been sitting in one place practicing for nearly an hour and didn't feel like he'd made any progress so far. As he once again reached the point of ruminating on the cosmic seed, from which life had sprung eons ago, he'd finally had enough.

Standing, he stretched and took another moment to enjoy the view laid out before him. When choosing a location for his practice, he'd decided to try doing so in a place that inspired deep thoughts. As such, he'd made his way to the top of the Spire on a whim, and was rewarded by finding a small, triangular notch that had been carved into the tip of the structure. Its presence was somewhat mysterious, since it seemed to be the only damage the alien construction had suffered throughout its eons of existence.

Whatever the origin of this small alcove, it proved to be the perfect size for him to sit and attempt to 'become one with the universe.' Unfortunately, while it had been an excellent vantage point to enjoy the sunset and the subsequent starry sky, he wasn't having any luck with unlocking the Meditation skill.

[That's it. I give up. This method isn't working.] He thought to himself, while idly trying to remember how the protagonists always accomplished it in the novels. There were a plethora of techniques, but not many seemed practical to him. Finally, he settled on one he'd heard about actually working in real life.

Taking a deep breath, Mike turned his thoughts inwards, picturing a small, but fathomless pool of water. Looking down into it, he could see no sign of the bottom, only an endless, lightless abyss, from which nothing could escape. All around him was a void of absolute nothingness, stretching limitlessly through his mental landscape.

He slowly started releasing his thoughts, feelings, and worries, letting them sink into the pool like scattered stones. With each rock he dropped into the water, he felt some indescribable part of him relax.

When he'd finally let go of the last one, he was calmer than he'd ever been before, completely free of worry and emotion. This went far beyond the state he achieved while enhancing his willpower, and was only matched by the strange condition he fell into the last time he activated Limit Break.

Staring into the pool, Mike realized that there was something visible now, something that he hadn't seen before. It was a reflection, or at least it should have been.

A dark, vaguely humanoid silhouette took shape in the water. Its features were hazy, as if he was viewing it through a pane of frosted glass, but he sense on an instinctual level that whatever now occupied the pool was an outsider, something that didn't belong in his mind.

The figure suddenly rushed forward, slamming into the surface of the pool with a sound that resembled the crash of metal. It continued to bang on the apparent barrier for a few moments, before finally stopping. Pressing the portion of its form that roughly corresponded with its face to the surface of the pool, the thing growled with a hungry voice. "Still trapped, I see. Well, no matter. At least we finally meet."

Mike waited for it to continue. Normally, he would have been overcome with revulsion by the thought that such a thing was occupying a portion of his mind, but his current emotionless state allowed him to react rationally.

With one hand the creature began to stroke the barrier, eliciting a sharp, piercing noise. "You know, I've been watching you, and I have to say, I'm rather disappointed. You've should have been able to end this war with ease, yet you've struggled with inferior opponents. Why do you lower yourself to fighting with them on even terms? Why do you continue to hold back?"

After briefly considering the question, he responded calmly, "I am not holding back."

The creature made a sound that resembled the groan of tortured metal. It took a few moments for Mike to realize it was laughing. "Come now, there is no need to lie to me. Sure you threw a few meteors at the Tenundians, but we both know you've avoided making full use of your abilities. You've already come up with several methods to deal with their army, but you lacked the will to make use of them."

For a second, Mike felt his internal void tremble and it seemed like the thin barrier holding the creature in place weakened briefly in response. Acting quickly, he flexed his will, and returned to his previous state.

The thing narrowed its eyes, which now gave of a faint red glow. "I'm especially fond of your altered version of that healing cloud spell. It would be quite amusing to watch them start suffocating on that Carbon Monoxide thing without understanding what was happening. Although that flaming wave with white phosphorus would be interesting too, certainly better than that method of rupturing a blood vessel in their brains. Of course, if all else fails, you could always summon a swarm of dragons to simply crush them, but I think that method lacks a certain...finesse."

"What do you want?" He asked, trying hard to maintain his calm.

"Mike, old buddy, the only thing I want is for you to let loose a little. Its painful to watch you keep trying to take the high road, especially since its only making things worse."

He found himself frowning, "What do you mean?"

The creature smiled hazily in a manner that suggested it had a far too many teeth. "Your hesitation prolongs this war. The longer it drags on, the more people will suffer on both sides of this conflict. Do you really think your little healing stunt actually made a difference? The lives you've saved are only a drop in the bucket compared the number who have already died, or who will die. Not to mention the ones you've killed yourself. Why do you continue to play the hypocrite? You could stop this war anytime you want, you just don't have the courage and willpower to do so."

As much as he hated to admit it, the thing had a point. He'd been unconsciously avoiding take that last step.

The void trembled again.

"Cat got your tongue?" The creature asked with another horrendous laugh. "I know its a difficult decision for you, so here's an idea, why don't you just relax and let me in? I'll take care of your enemies for you. It will be easy."

Mike wasn't sure, but he thought it was drooling.

Deciding that he'd learned all he cared to, he wrenched his mind free of the mental construct. As he felt the image start to fade and the void collapsed inwards, he heard the thing growl and slam against the barrier again. Its voice was colored with frustration. "You're a fool! Sooner or later you'll slip up, and then you'll be mine!"

Soon only the pool was left. Within its depths, Mike could still see the creature as its obscured face twisted into another grin. "I'll be watching."

With a gasp he opened his eyes, as the suppressed horror of the event washed over him.

Once he felt a little calmer, he took a brief look at his [Status] to confirm his acquisition of a new secondary skill.

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- Meditation (Tier 2, Rank 1) -

Through ancient techniques the user can enter a state of enhanced relaxation, which makes them more receptive to ambient mana. As a result, they will recover their reserves at a greater rate. While active, provides a minor increase to mana regeneration rate. Serves as the prerequisite and limiter for all other Meditation skills.

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[Nothing about what I experienced, so it must have been some other interference.] Mike thought to himself. [I think I will avoid using this skill for now, at least until I have a better idea of what that creature was, and how it knew so much about me.]

He sat there for a few minutes, contemplating possibilities, and planning for eventualities. So focused was he on this task, he didn't notice that he was absentmindedly rubbing his right arm, which ached slightly.