Enlightenment
The Twelfth man put his palm on the young man's shoulder without a word, and everything disappeared again. This time the new world was not in a hurry to appear, and all four of them plunged into darkness.
«What is this place?» Ling asked uneasily.
«This place is like a vault, everything can be found here, including your powers, knowledge, and memories. But we can only get to the first two.
Suddenly Ling heard a gurgling sound and immediately his feet were in the water. Seventh guided Ling, giving hints.
«Elder, close your eyes and try to feel what belongs to you here,» she said.
Ling obediently closed his eyes and mentally searched the darkness for a glimmer of hope.
Suddenly he saw a bright star on the horizon. It was rushing toward him, transforming into an incredible silver horse.
The steed was hurtling toward the group of people at breakneck speed and Ling was numb with horror as suddenly the horse spilled like water and a silver current approached Ling, enveloping him. He was frightened and fell. From all sides, the sparkling currents reached for him.
«Don't fight it, Elder,» the Twelfth urged him.
Ling had no choice; he trusted these men and tried to pull himself together. In his mind, he allowed the unusual substance to seep into his soul, and he was instantly filled with a surge of warmth and power from everywhere.
All fear vanished, leaving only a sense of peace and certainty. At last the last of the sparkling droplets hastily entered Ling and he was able to rise.
«How do you feel?» Three asked.
«I feel fine,» Ling said, not trusting his feelings.
«Dinner at my place is the next stop,» Seventh said, but Ling could only hear her voice because it was still dark. Then he asked:
«What exactly am I absorbing now?
«Your power represents the brave water dragon of antiquity, which sometimes takes the form of a silver horse.» the Twelfth explained.
«I see, but what about knowledge?» Ling persisted as if someone wanted to deceive him.
«Let's have dinner and get back to it,» Seventh suggested, and everyone agreed.
Sitting on a low cushion in Seven's house, Ling couldn't help wondering what different tastes everyone had. The whole room was hung with dried herbs and stacked with bottles and different liquids.
A persistent medicinal aroma floated in the air. The Elders overlooked that the Ninth had forgotten everything, and so, seeing his surprise, hastened to explain that the Seventh Elder had devoted her life to researching in the field of pharmacy.
It is much easier to experiment in Aether space, and her practice is quite successful. She passes on ready formulas to people in dreams or through inspiration, and in this way helps the development of medicine.
Ling had no idea this was possible. Still, in a state of mild shock, he heard that the Twelfth is in turn studying the foundations of creation and advising on new worlds.
It seemed to Ling that he had opened the door to a completely different world and touched something incredible. The Twelfth decided to shine with his knowledge and continued:
«Right now, at this very moment, about two hundred thousand elders are at the far reaches of our universe. Some of them have creative energy and are busy creating new planets. We welcome diversity with one condition reason must prevail and no aggression. All of our creations are peaceful and beautiful.»
Ling's mouth went dry at what he heard, and the Twelfth continued.
«Creation of worlds is not only a fascinating work but also dangerous. At the edge of the universe, one has to engage the spirits of chaos and death.»
Ling felt his cheeks flush with excitement.
«In addition to the creators, there are also the protectors. They are elders with strong attacking energy. They are capable of engaging in battle and attacking. As a rule, defenders and creators have been teaming up since they were still studying here.»
«What do you mean here?» Ling wondered, «Is there anyone else here besides us?»
The third one was the youngest and clutched at her stomach, dying with laughter. The other Elders held back laughter and hurried to explain.
«The Aether is a wonderful infinite space, saturated with powerful energy,» Seventh spoke. «Millions of gifted people live here.»
Ling was amazed, but then, why didn't they see anyone else? As if understanding his bewilderment, the woman continued.
«You might never meet anyone here. The Aether is like countless subspaces and everyone lives in their place.
We are all at one point, but we don't intersect. And we don't walk to get somewhere; we connect ourselves to that place through thought and our crystals.»
«So there are many, many people here, but nobody gets in each other's way?» Ling gradually began to realize.
«Yes, this amazing space takes on the appearance that the host wants. While you found the Third, you tried it out. She said you created a world with a lot of difficulties, and by overcoming them, you reached it. That's so human,» Seventh smiled, and Ling felt ashamed and covered his eyes.
He never thought he would be ashamed of acting like a human being.
«Where do elders come from?» The young man changed the subject.
«They are born like other people, but from the beginning of their life, they receive a gift. As you know it can be a gift for creativity or power to defend or to attack.»
Ling nodded, reflecting on what he had heard.
«It is the job of the elders in the borderlands to spot such people and determine the nature of their gift. The most capable become apprentices and then elders...»
«And then?»
«The next stage is training in the Academy. It is for those whose abilities are exceptional. After training, they are sent to expand our universe, pushing back evil at the borders.»
«And why do you call the land «frontier» ?» Ling wanted all the answers.
«The earth became a cradle for the elders. We call it the frontier because no distress or destruction of this world should ever be allowed. It is our last frontier, our frontier, which, if lost, will all crumble.»
Ling sighed. A whole new perception of life and death was gradually coming to him. And somewhere in all this, he saw his humble role, for he too was an elder and therefore had disciples. I wonder what kind of power he had. And did he have disciples? How lousy a teacher was he?
Ling also wondered which of his two lives to count as his own. And who was he?
His memories of working in Jiang Wei and Tai Bing's company gradually became covered in a thick layer of dust and no longer defined his identity.
On the contrary, the adventures he had experienced had excited his taste for life, and he realized that he was an adventurer at heart. And also... Ling suddenly remembered... He was born to love. His fervent, hot heart was made for warming and caring.
As Ling sat immersed in his thoughts, the crystal of the Twelfth flashed a yellow light. As he touched it, the man's eyes widened in surprise, and then he jumped up.
Everyone's eyes focused on him. It was obvious that someone had contacted him. But Ling didn't know that yellow meant an incoming from the ground, while the others knew and were concerned, too.
«That's right, we'll hurry,» the man finished and took his hand off the crystal.
«Is something wrong?» The Third squeaked.
«Yes. The Ancient felt the mark of the Ninth. It was the return of his power. It's a very powerful energy, even in the Aether you can't hide the true source,» the man was silent for a moment, thoughtful.
«What is True Source?» Ling asked the girl next to him.
«It's one whose power is both protective and creative, one in a million,» she then turned to Ling and pushed him forcefully on the chest with her finger, «you are the one!»
Ling took a step back from the unexpected attack and staggered. At the same time, he really wanted to hear more information about the source, but he did not dare to break the silence of the group.
Seventh was the first to emerge from her reverie. She insisted on accelerated enlightenment, though the Twelfth was apparently against it, the Third supported the woman, and, outnumbered, the Elder surrendered. Ling didn't understand what was going on at all and remained stupidly silent.
All four of them went immediately into a cave of some sort. The domed vault of this natural wonder was dotted with fireflies of various colors. It seemed as if these cute creatures had never seen flowers, so they so faithfully guarded their sullen home.
A sort of altar was arranged in the center of the cave, but Ling later realized that he was mistaken and it was a sort of operating table. As he was laid on the stone platform, he tried not to get cranky or make his new friends angry.
The Twelfth stood near the young man's head, the Seventh took a place at his feet, and the Third scooped into lily leaf water from the spring that was gushing in the depths of the cave and also stood by his side.
When all had taken their places, the Twelfth said: «the Ninth Elder's re-enlightenment.» After his words, the vault of the cave came alive. Thousands of moths swirled in a bizarre dance right above Ling.
This made the young man feel dizzy and suddenly black out. The man placed his palms on Ling's head. Very soon the young man's soul began to shudder and shake like the cold, while he gradually became covered in sweat.
His lips were dry from the intense heat, and Third gave him water one drop at a time, and when the water ran out, she would run to the spring and come back.
It was evident from everything that the soul was in agony. Ling was thrashing about as if in delirium, burning with an internal fever. Then Seventh and Twelfth began to channel the spiritual energy of the Ether into his tormented essence.
Usually, this process takes a long time and disciples stretch it out so as not to suffer unnecessarily. But in the case of the Ninth, there was no time. Or rather, in the Aether there was no time at all, but on earth, yes, time played an important role.
Suddenly Ling stopped trembling, his lips turned blue like a drowned man's, and the energy could no longer enter. The disturbed Seventh tried again and again to resume the circulation of life-giving power, but nothing worked.
The twelfth also retreated. They watched in silence as the young man's soul fell into petrified agony. The third was about to cry but still held on. A few endless moments of suspense and waiting passed...
Ling opened his eyes. He could not yet move or say a word, but he came to his senses after all. The third gave him water again, and the elders continued to infuse energy. Gradually Ling felt better and heard the conversation of the elders.
«Fourth contacted me,» the man said. Seventh looked at him silently, waiting for him to continue. «The Ancient Spirit has discovered the Ninth's body and will soon catch up with him. Though Cal is near, his memory is sealed, as are his powers. He will not be able to withstand it.»
«That's why we're in such a hurry, isn't it?» Seventh answered, «Risking that glorious child's head,» she added.
Third, didn't understand anything, but she was in solidarity with everyone. Ling thought of Cal. He vaguely remembered the night he supposedly died, but he remembered well their... ahem... no, better not to think about it.
«Can someone explain the Ancient Spirit?» Barely able to speak, he asked.