Rise of the Nameless Heir-Chapter 22: Quiet Ponder

Chirp~! Chirp~!

High-pitched ambient sounds of birds singing and urging me to wake up stream into my ears.

The darkness slowly fades away, and the warm rays of the morning sun replace it, making me squint my eyes as I open them, staring at the grass on the ground on which they reflect.

A strange, unpleasant taste lingers in my tongue, and as I move my tongue around my mouth, I recognize the prickly texture.

"Ptui!" I spit them out.

It’s sand, mixed with some small pieces of leaf too. But spitting them out doesn’t help much, because some tiny grains of sand still swim inside my mouth.

"Mmmn.." I let out a soft groan, my eyes continuously blinking as I shake my head slowly, washing away the morning haziness from my body.

In the far distance, away from this field, random voices echo.

The vibrant sounds of laughter, the annoyed yells and the clanging sound of steel being hit by steel.

I move my neck slowly, staring down at my right wrist that’s been firmly planted on the ground by the metallic bracelet.

I shut my eyes tight, letting out a soft, exhausted sigh.

"Again.." I mutter.

I raise my lower body, sitting cross-legged on the ground. My left hand is on my lap, and my right hand is still in that position. Deeply etched on the ground.

I don’t even try to lift the weighted arm, because, of course, I know the result. I know that I won’t be able to lift it.

I wonder if Dinan has already made his way to the Hanu province by now.

"He must have. I can tell from the hotness of the sun.. It’s already far too late into the morning." I whisper. My head hangs low as I speak, my gaze still calmly hovering on the metal bracelet.

Yesterday..

What was that? That red glow..

How was I able to lift this bracelet? That’s supposed to be impossible.

No, it is impossible. But that hot feeling that traveled around my body, that made my arm glow, I’m sure it’s the reason I was able to lift the bracelet.

"Was it Chi?" I ask myself in a low voice.

My eyes are almost shut; they’re strained, as if I look hard enough, I’ll find the answer to my questions.

I caress my chin with my left hand, raising my head to look up at the sky. Maybe they hold the answer.

"It’s possible," I say, nodding slowly in affirmation. "Dinan said something about Chi to me. He said that it reacts to extreme emotions."

I close my eyes again. Taking deep breaths to soothe my beating heart.

"And yesterday, what I felt was a raw, poignant rage. I think that counts as an extreme emotion." As I say this, I open my eyes. "So it could have influenced my chi."

I calmly place my left palm on my bare chest. My chest is warm, my heart keeps beating inside of it, and the echoes travel to my palm.

"But at that moment, I.. I felt like I could control it. It felt like it obeyed my will. The hot feeling, the red glow, it moved from every part of my body, toward my entire right arm. Was that really Chi? Dinan said Chi is nothing special or glorious. He... he said that. Chi is just a soul energy. Life force, he called it. But it didn’t feel that.."

Wait a minute.

I pause, my mouth hangs open. My eyes slightly widened. My brain shivers, and a weird feeling travels across it. An itching feeling like it needs to be scratched.

That feeling thrums, surging through my body like lightning. And as a result, goosebumps sprout all over my skin.

I think this is what they call a sudden enlightenment.

’Soul’ force.

Soul. My soul as Viriel is different from that of Ralyn’s. Is there a possibility that ’my’ Chi is high? At least higher than Ralyn’s?

If there is, then there’s a high likelihood that what I felt wasn’t Chi at all. That it was Tein. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"That’s.." I manage to speak, moving my almost frozen lips to create dull sounds that only I hear. "Amazing."

All this while I’ve been hearing that Ralyn has low Chi, I failed to consider the fact that I am not Ralyn. That I am Viriel, and that there’s a possibility that my Chi could be higher than his.

"But then, if that hot feeling was Tein, how could I control it? According to the limited knowledge that I have gained from Dinan, the action of ’wielding’ Tein is something that’s learnt. I haven’t learned it." I continue muttering, a hushed, tender tone. Like I’m whispering a sacred secret.

And I can’t say I controlled Tein because of the rage I felt. Tein apparently doesn’t work that way.

"Then what the hell was that hot feeling?!" I yell aloud, the veins on my neck shooting out as my forehead wrinkles, casting a bitter frown on my face.

I shake my head vigorously as I ruffle my hair with my left hand.

As I stop shaking my head and ruffling my hair, I let out a deep, resigned exhale. Relaxing my back on the ground, looking up at the sky.

"So much for ’enlightenment.’ Yeah, right." I whisper, breathing slowly on purpose to stabilize my heartbeat.

"Well, no use thinking about something that I can’t solve. I’d just wait for Dinan. He would have the answers. For now, although I don’t know what it is, I will try to recall that feeling." I sit up immediately, staring at the bracelet on my right wrist. "To raise this thing again. And maybe walk with it this time."

The left side of my lips crooks slightly. A small tugging that I refuse to acknowledge.

It’s starting to get interesting. Would I be able to stand again? If I can, would I be able to walk this time?

I place my blistered knees on the ground. Attempting to raise my right wrist a second time.

"Let’s see."