Chapter 15: Weight

Alphonse walked around aimlessly, not sure of what he should do.

{Walking aimlessly is pointless, I may not be able to read your thoughts, but I can read your body language. This is not a good way to cope.} Prism spoke for the first time in months. Alphonse shook his head as he walked into the living room.

Alphonse walked to a chair and sat in it. Alphonse sat straight in a meditative stance and began to attempt energy focus. 'I need to get my mind off of this, and what better way than to meditate.' Alphonse thought to himself as he decided which energy to focus.

Alphonse thought for a few moments then sighed. 'I have to ask her a question... She won't be happy...' Alphonse thought as he braced himself. "P-Prism..." He said.

{What is it?} Prism said with an excited yet cold voice.

"Will you tell me which energy is used in immortal cultivation?" He asked as he looked down.

{So you just need something... Well, it's a start. Spirit energy. Spirit energy is the energy which nourishes the spirit and creates the spirits, spirits have innate control over it while beings of the material plane must train to control it.} Prism responded with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Thanks... As a warning, I will tell you... I most likely will not speak for a long time..." Alphonse said quietly. Prism didn't respond, though Alphonse did see an angry Prism in his mind. Alphonse relaxed his muscles as he controlled his breathing and closed his eyes. 'Where is the spirit located?' Alphonse asked himself. 'I'll just make a guess...' Alphonse thought.

Alphonse imagined the spirit in the solar plex, a small orb in the center of the torso. Alphonse imagined the coloration of the spirit as a light blue, not quite sky blue, and transparent. Alphonse imagined that every breath he took with his lungs his spirit took in a breath of energy, letting it fuel his spirit, then releasing the remainder when he expells the breath.

Every breath Alphonse takes he counts, inhale 1, 2, 3, hold 1, 2, 3, 4, exhale 1, 2, 3. Over time Alphonse began to feel a warmth near his bladder, it felt as if something was moving upward. After a few minutes, the warmth got stronger and stopped at his solar plex, where it remained. After the heat stopped, every breath Alphonse could feel energy fill the little ball he imagined in his solar plex.

Slowly, the heat got stronger and his mind began to go on autopilot, Alphonse could see the little ball he imagined begin to become bigger and more opaque. After ten minutes Alphonse was breathing slightly faster, only holding his breath for three seconds, inhaling and exhaling for only two seconds.

Another forty minutes passed and the heat intensified to a burning sensation, though Alphonse could handle it because of the temperature chamber. (I honestly have no idea what to call that thing...) It was only after two hours that Alphonse had to stop due to the growth of his spirit and collection of energy. When Alphonse opened his eyes, he saw Raeloph in front of him and a feeling of fear, anger, and sadness overwhelmed him.

"So, you learned to meditate." Raeloph said. Alphonse nodded. "Your energy increased, you must have some talent to have lasted that long and gained this much energy after only three hours." Raeloph said as he walked away. Alphonse watched him walk away before going to the basement.

Alphonse walked down the stairs ad entered the basement. The basement is rather large, being 50 yards by 50 yards. There are several shelves here and there, some have ciders, others with some wines on them, some shelves had some old weapons as well. In front of Alphonse was a rug lined up with a little pillar, which has a small part of it dugout, making enough room for a fifteen-year-old to sleep there.

'Ah, the place I woke up when I was one.' Alphonse thought to himself as he remembered what had happened. Alphonse walked to the pillar and laid down inside it before going to sleep. When Alphonse woke up he wasn't sure what time it was, but he didn't really care and just tried to go back to sleep.

After a few moments, the basement door opened and Alphonse could hear heavy steps coming down. Alphonse tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, but a voice started speaking. "You have training today, get up." Raeloph spoke with his usual tone of voice. Alphonse ignored him and just tried to sleep. "I said get up." Raeloph said gruffly.

Alphonse continued to ignore him. {Alphonse, you know what will happen if you continue to ignore him.} Prism said, though he ignored her too.

'I was able to ignore it yesterday, but not today...' Alphonse thought to himself as Raeloph grabbed his arm and threw him to the stairs. Alphonse hit the first stair, then fell to the ground. Ignoring the pain Alphonse curled into a ball, pulling his tail to his arms.

"I don't like being ignored!" Raeloph said with an annoyed tone. Alphonse didn't even look up and closed his eyes. Raeloph walked over to Alphonse and grabbed his leg as he dragged him up the stone stairs. Alphonse's head hit the stairs, though he didn't care.

'I just want to sleep, then I wouldn't have to feel...' Alphonse thought to himself as he reluctantly pulled his leg away and stood up. Raeloph looked back with a surprised expression, Alphonse got out of his grip rather easily after all. 'I don't have time to grieve, I have to stop myself from dying.' Alphonse thought to himself as he walked past Raeloph and headed to the dojo.

Alphonse entered the dojo and waited for Raeloph to enter. "Get ready to spar." Raeloph said as he went into his tiger stance, keeping his guard up more than usual. Alphonse copied the stance. Alphonse has grown accustomed to the Tiger stance as he uses it often and it is comfortable for him.