A Peaceful Morning… Until It Wasn't

The sun had barely risen, casting soft golden light across the dojo grounds. The air was quiet, the morning breeze carrying the scent of damp earth and fresh leaves from the nearby forest.

The disciples sat in a semi-circle, waiting, their breaths steady, their minds prepared. The previous day, Sensei had spoken of Samurai energy—the force within them, always present but rarely acknowledged. Now, he was here to teach them how to feel it.

Sensei stood before them, calm, steady, as he always was. He did not speak immediately. Instead, he let the moment linger, allowing the silence to settle over them. Then, finally, he addressed them.

"You have trained your bodies," he said. "You have strengthened your muscles, sharpened your reflexes, disciplined your movements. But without understanding the energy inside you, you are incomplete."

Mono exhaled, resting his hands on his knees. "Alright. So, how do we do this?"

Sensei observed them, then gestured for them to sit properly, legs crossed, hands resting gently over their stomachs.

"Close your eyes," he instructed.

The disciples obeyed, their breathing steady as the world around them faded into darkness.

"Now," Sensei continued, his voice calm but firm, "imagine yourself as a vast, black space. There is nothing around you. No sounds. No weight. No distractions. Only emptiness."

The silence grew heavier, deeper. The world felt distant, yet there was something in the quiet—something they hadn't noticed before.

"Now," Sensei said, "focus on your stomach. Not the surface. Not the muscles. Deep inside. There is something there. Something alive."

Mono frowned slightly, though his eyes remained closed. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel.

"Your Samurai energy," Sensei continued, "is there. It has always been there. But you must become aware of it. Do not force it. Simply feel it."

Josei took in a slow breath, her fingers relaxing against her abdomen.

Raiba furrowed his brow. "I don't feel anything."

Sensei did not react to the statement. "That is because you are searching too hard," he replied. "Let it come to you."

Hito tilted his head slightly, his breathing calm but focused.

Tokira remained completely still, unmoving.

Mono let out a quiet sigh. "I feel… something. I don't know what."

Sensei nodded. "That is the beginning."

Sensei's voice was steady as he spoke once more.

"To master yourself, you must first feel yourself. The warrior who knows his energy cannot be shaken."

---

Sensei stood with his arms crossed, watching his disciples attempt meditation. It was always interesting to see how they approached it—some with discipline, some with struggle, and some with pure confusion.

Raiba sat like a statue, as if remaining completely still would lead to enlightenment. Tokira's forehead was tight with concentration, clearly trying to fight off distractions. Josei looked calm, almost graceful, but her fingers twitched every so often—betraying the frustration bubbling beneath the surface.

And Mono… well, Mono looked lost in a battle against his own thoughts.

Sensei sighed internally.

Then, he squinted.

Something had changed.

The air wasn't different in any way that could be seen or heard—but it felt different. A quiet shift, something only those who trained for years could notice.

---

Mono focused.

He tried not to think, but thoughts still came. What was he supposed to feel? How did energy work? Would it be like a spark, like fire, like weight?

No, none of those.

He stopped chasing answers.

Instead, he just sat.

And as he did, something stirred deep inside him—small, like the first ripple of water. Not heat, not cold, but something else.

His mind settled. The feeling did not come from outside. It did not belong to the world—it belonged to him.

It had always been there.

---

Five long seconds passed.

Then, without warning, a pulse spread outward.

It was silent but strong, moving like an unseen wave across the dojo grounds. Leaves trembled. Dust curled upward in thin wisps. The air itself felt briefly heavier, as if something had pushed through it.

For a moment, the pressure lingered—hanging in the air, stretching beyond the dojo walls, touching places far beyond what Mono could imagine.

Then, slowly, it faded.

The dust settled. The leaves stilled. The world returned to how it had been.

---

Far beyond the dojo, in the busy town marketplace, two merchants paused mid-conversation.

One of them—a middle-aged man hauling a bundle of cloth—blinked and looked around.

"Did you feel that?"

His companion, a shorter man with a broad frame, glanced up from his weighing scale.

"Yeah… What was that?"

The market carried on as usual—voices arguing over prices, carts rolling down the narrow roads—but something felt different, as if the air had shifted in a way they couldn't explain.

---

Back at the dojo, Sensei watched in silence.

Then, slowly, a smirk touched the corner of his lips.

'The book.'