Chapter 41: True Meditation

"Both of them are right, but they're also speaking from their own stubborn perspectives," Grandma Ail sighed. "The most crucial point is that True Meditation is a method to see the truth. Only a true heart and soul can communicate with the Black Star."

"True heart and soul?"

"Yes, the truth within your own heart. Simply practicing meditation isn't enough to reach the ideal state of this technique. You must face your inner self and see your desires from within," Grandma Ail nodded, pointing at Asa's chest. "Seeing the truest version of yourself is the true meaning of this meditation."

"Do you know why almost no mage has ever been able to fully master this meditation? Because they're too smart, and their minds are filled with too many thoughts," Grandma Ail sighed deeply and continued. "Since Archmage Akibard founded the Necromancer's Guild, every mage in Dehya Valley has been an outstanding and unparalleled figure in the secular world. Each of them is incredibly intelligent, and their ability to rise above others is a testament to their cunning and scheming. But precisely because of this, they cannot master True Meditation."

"When a person is too smart, they tend to rely on their head to think rather than their heart to feel. With too much scheming and calculation, they cannot directly face their inner selves. That's why they can't complete True Meditation. Those who force themselves to practice it end up with their magical energy spiraling out of control and collapsing."

"Hehehe… A mage can never let their heart override their mind. On the other hand, a butcher selling meat on the street or a bandit robbing and looting can achieve this with ease. There's a saying: 'The most righteous are often those who slay animals for a living.' I suppose that explains it."

"So that's how it is... It makes sense," Asa nodded thoughtfully. Sandru's seemingly reckless and scatterbrained personality didn't quite fit the demeanor of a mage, which explained why he was one of the few necromancers who had mastered True Meditation.

"He founded the Necromancer's Guild, which only the smartest, most capable, and most talented individuals could join, yet he left behind a supreme meditation technique suited for simple-minded folks like street vendors and laborers... Archmage Akibard, the greatest magical genius in the history of the continent, was he playing an enormous joke, or was there a deeper meaning?" Grandma Ail smiled bitterly. "But perhaps this is why he warned necromancers to remain clear-minded and detached. It took me many years after leaving Dehya Valley to gradually understand this. I once wanted to practice True Meditation but found I couldn't. Now, perhaps I've gradually developed that clear-minded and detached mindset, but I no longer want to practice it."

Asa nodded and said, "I only started practicing that meditation by chance. At first, I treated it like any ordinary magical meditation."

"Given your personality, you're indeed well-suited for True Meditation. But to reach its true completion, you must genuinely face your inner self, including its ugliness and weaknesses. It's a difficult task, but I know you've already done it," Grandma Ail's smile was kind. "That's why I say you've grown up."

It was true. Only when his inner self had fully matured and reached completion did True Meditation reach its peak. Asa remembered his experience in the magical dungeon. Back then, it was through True Meditation that he fused the powers of the World Tree Leaf and the Sun Well, allowing him to break free from the prison and resolve the crisis. He then asked, "What about the World Tree Leaf and the Sun Well..."

"The World Tree Leaf and the Sun Well are ancient relics left by the elves, embodying the powers of life and the sun, which naturally oppose the power of the Black Star. With these two powers, you indeed have the ability to hold the Black Star without being harmed and to wield it. In other words, you do have the qualifications to become the person in Akibard's prophecy," Grandma Ail's voice paused, then she spoke slowly and solemnly, word by word. "But having the qualifications doesn't mean you truly are that person. You saw it yourself in the earlier test—your heart isn't compatible with the Black Star, which is why you let go instead of holding onto it."

"In other words..."

"In other words, you're not that person. You're not the one in the prophecy."

"I'm not. I never was," Asa murmured in response. He had already told himself this countless times in his heart.

Grandma Ail's tone became light, much like when she used to explain things to him in his youth. "Although you have the ability, you don't have the heart. You're not the first person in five hundred years to be granted power by the Sun Well and the World Tree Leaf. There's nothing strange about it."

"So that's how it is," Asa let out a long sigh of relief.

The last trace of doubt in his chest finally dissipated. Even though it was a prophecy he didn't fully believe in, knowing that it truly had nothing to do with him was a relief. In fact, when he thought about it, he had never harbored such ambitions.

In the end, whether it was the Sun Well, the World Tree Leaf, or True Meditation, these were all things he had obtained by chance. He had merely been caught up in the whirlpool created by others. Even though he was now at the center of this whirlpool, his goal was simply to calm the storm and resolve the conflicts.

He was just an outsider after all. This realization finally settled in his mind, clear and unquestionable. His chest felt light and open.

"Thank you, Grandma," Asa nodded heavily. "Whether you're Agrenel or someone else, no matter what our relationship is, you're the person I'm most grateful to in my life."

Grandma Ail smiled kindly, though Asa didn't notice the deep-seated bitterness and helplessness hidden within that smile.

"Alright, all that's left is to find a place to hide this properly. If that stubborn Ronis had been willing to humble himself and ask me for this ring back then, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out this way. He went to great lengths to create a secret chamber to seal it, along with so many magical barriers, but in the end, it was all for nothing."

Asa nodded, then after a moment of thought, suddenly asked, "By the way, why did Sandru break the hilt and take it out of Dehya Valley back then?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"I did, but he wouldn't tell me," Asa shook his head with a bitter smile.

"I don't know the specifics either. At the time, I was recovering from serious injuries sustained during the assassination of Pope Decken," Grandma Ail pointed at the ring on the hilt and answered calmly. "This ring was what that old man Decken prepared to use to draw the Black Star. Although it could never suppress the power of the Black Star, the fact that it can guide and suppress the hilt's power shows how much effort the old man put into it over a decade... If he had truly gone to Einfast and obtained the World Tree Leaf back then, perhaps..." Grandma Ail coughed lightly, seemingly unconsciously touching her chest. Asa knew she often suffered from chest pain during particularly cold weather, an old injury from many years ago. "That guy was indeed the continent's top expert at the time... Hmph, truly the former..."

Asa opened his mouth, wanting to ask but ultimately deciding against it. He no longer wanted to pry into these old stories out of mere curiosity. He had learned from Sandru that these old-timers with too many stories would tell you what they wanted to, and there was no use digging for what they didn't.

"That bastard Sandru really gave me a tough problem. Why didn't he find a suitable place to hide this himself? He finally wants to return to the detached state befitting a necromancer, but in the end, he pushed me out. Ah, forget it. I'll just give you one last direction," Grandma Ail smiled bitterly, lowering her head in thought.

After a long while, she looked up and sighed, still wearing a bitter smile as she looked at Asa. "Take it to Nigen. I know someone there who would be more than happy to accept this. If you can truly deliver it to him, then perhaps all of this will come to a temporary end."

"Nigen? The underground?" Asa was shocked and uncertain. He never expected Grandma Ail to point him to such a place.

"Even with Ronis and Sandru guarding it together for twenty years, it was still destroyed by someone's scheme. Do you really think there's anyone on this continent who can protect this thing now? The thing itself is dangerous, but what's most dangerous is the greed and ambition it incites. Only in that place, perhaps, is where human greed and ambition cannot reach."

"Really... will everything truly come to an end?" Asa sighed. If this was true, then this long journey would finally have a clear destination.

"Perhaps. This ring has already altered the hilt's fluctuations, and the consumption rate of the Sun Well water will slow significantly. The water in this pouch should last at least twenty years. And in that time, with that guy's abilities, replenishing the water shouldn't be a problem."

"Who is this person you're talking about?" Asa frowned. He found it hard to imagine anyone surpassing Sandru and Ronis combined. From Grandma Ail's words, it seemed this person was far stronger than the two of them together. If this had come from anyone else's mouth, he wouldn't have believed it.