Steampunk Apocalypse! - 182 MahaBodhi Tree

Ed excitedly walked towards the golden temple, Tao and Flair following closely behind him. As he got closer, the elegant carvings along the walls became clearer. Centaurs, elephants, horses, winged lions, and other creatures, real and fake, decorated the temple. There were also many carvings of people arguing, dining, and going about other activities. One such carving had a man with the head of a horse, and another seemed to depict a type of sun god.

‘Reminds me of the ruins at the Purple Origin Sect.’ Ed thought as he neared the entrance. Glancing above the doorway, he saw a statue of a Buddha sitting in the lotus position. Entering inside, he hurriedly examined his surroundings. The temple had tall ceilings and a well-polished tile floor. A giant golden Buddha statue sat at the other end of the temple. It was surrounded by ornate gold, red, and green carvings similar to the carvings he had seen outside. The surrounding pillars and walls all matched it in theme and color, making for a striking image. Several Buddhist monks seemed to be praying in front of the statue.

Continuing to look around, Ed frowned. He had yet to spot the so-called Buddha he was supposed to meet. Additionally, the temple was rather sparsely populated despite the busy streets outside. ‘Did Huo really tell him I was coming?’ He scratched his head while looking back at the giant statue.

“Hello.” A voice suddenly said.

Startled, Ed hurriedly spun back around. A young and short Indian man stood before him. He was bald and covered in modest yellow monk robes. He smiled politely, seemingly waiting for Ed to return his greeting.

“Hi…?” Ed replied, confused as to why this man was talking to him. ‘Is this the Buddha?’ He wondered as he studied the man carefully before disregarding the possibility. ‘Not possible.’ He snorted to himself. Even if the Buddha was an ordinary human, the man in front of him had no presence at all. Someone as famous and mighty as to be nicknamed Buddha in the age of espers was sure to be an intimidating man.

The monk turned towards Flair and Tao. “Please wait here.” He gestured with his hand towards the side of the hall. “I will show you to your long-term residence in a short while.” He looked back to Ed. “Follow me, please.” He spun around, not waiting for a response, and immediately headed for the temple exit.

‘Is he taking me to the Buddha?’ Ed nodded to himself, sure he was correct. “I’ll see you two later.” He said to Flair and Tao. “And Tao, don’t cause any trouble. I can’t be bothered to protect you in this city.”

“Humph.” Tao snorted in disdain, not taking the words to heart. The croc had quickly grown used to Ed’s newly twisted personality, and if any espers in this city wanted to mess with the mighty crocodile, Tao would happily show them a thing or two!

Ed followed behind the short man and exited the temple. The monk immediately turned left, taking a stony path through the grass towards the back of the temple. Surprisingly, there were no people at all on this path. In fact, Ed even felt a strange sense of pressure weighing down on his shoulders. It was as if he was being allowed access to this path by some special force, and if said force wanted to kick him out, he had a feeling he would be unable to resist.

After only a few minutes, the duo reached the end of the path. A short distance away stood a beautiful tree. The tall tree had long reaching branches that twisted and curved outwards, and each branch was covered in healthy green leaves.

The monk led Ed through an area surrounded by an ornate wooden fence, allowing them to reach the other side of the tree. A golden plaque sat in front of the tree. It called the tree the MahaBodhi Tree and described it as a descendant of the Bodhi Tree where Buddha had originally attained his enlightenment.

Suddenly, the short monk waved his hand towards the tree, causing golden light to shimmer upon it. The golden sparks of light were like fireflies floating up over the tree’s beautiful green leaves. Stunned, Ed hurriedly glanced back at the monk. ‘I was wrong.’ He immediately concluded. ‘This man is the Buddha after all.’ In hindsight, it made sense. How could an ordinary human sneak up on him without him even noticing his presence? Such a thing was basically impossible, for Ed was always hyper-aware of his surroundings. ‘How disgustingly terrifying.’ His eyes narrowed as he decided to be more cautious around the man. The scariest part of the interaction wasn’t even that he had been snuck up on, but that he hadn’t questioned it. The Buddha seemed to have a certain aspect to him that immediately calmed and soothed Ed, making it so that he didn’t even think to question the unusual event.

As the golden light started to fade, a shocking sight was revealed. Seven men and two women sat cross-legged around the MahaBodhi Tree. Each of them had their eyes closed, appearing to be in meditation. Even more interesting was that a golden glow covered each of their bodies, and the glow was coming from neither themselves nor the Buddha. It was difficult to put into words, but Ed could instinctively feel the golden light was coming from the tree itself as opposed to another source.

“This is where you will learn golden faith cultivation.” The monk finally spoke.

Turning to the tree, Ed noticed there was a single spot open. It seemed that the spot had been saved just for him. “Where did these people come from?” He asked, knowing that the Buddha dressed as a monk had no powers beyond that of golden faith energy. It shouldn’t have been possible for him to hide these people from his sight so easily.

“The tree conceals them during meditation.” The monk calmly replied. “I only pushed back a bit, and it will soon cover them from sight once again.” He gestured towards the open spot. “Are you ready?”

Ed hesitated, unsure of whether he should immediately sit down or not. He didn’t like the idea of being left vulnerable to attack, and it was clear that none of the other nine people cultivating had an ounce of awareness for their surroundings. “How long will it take to master the golden faith energy?” He asked. Even if he was willing to risk it, he wanted to calculate the risk. Truthfully though, he really had no choice but to learn it, as healing his soul was an absolute necessity.

“It depends.” The Buddha smiled. He pointed towards an old man sitting next to the tree. “That man sat down underneath the tree at the same time as me over fifty years ago. He still hasn’t mastered the energy and will likely soon pass into Samsara.” He pointed to a young woman that sat next to the old man. “This one has only been meditating for a short month, but I expect her to finish mastering it in just another week or so. She has great talent.”

Ed’s eyes widened in shock over hearing the failure and feat of the two different people. ’50 years? My mana-core can last two years at most…’ He seriously stared into the Buddha’s eyes. “Please tell me. How long do you think it’ll take for me?”

“Hmm…” The Buddha slowly rubbed his chin, a slight hint of golden light sparking in his eyes. “A split soul… Very rare. Normally your soul shards would have already faded into Samsara to heal and be reborn. Your will is great, and you’ve already taken the first step of escaping Samsara by lasting this long.” He lowered his hand from his chin. “With your soul issues, I’m guessing it’ll take you around ten years. It could take five if you’re fast or even twenty if you’re slow though. I’ll have a better idea once you actually start.”

“Five years?!” Ed replied in shock as he immediately grabbed ahold of the shortest length of time. “My mana-core will shatter in two years at most! There’s no way I can last for five, ten, or twenty years!”

“You’ll be fine.” The Buddha calmly folded his hands behind his back and glanced slightly above Ed’s head, seeming to stare at something that wasn’t there. “The MahaBodhi tree places the body in stasis, allowing only the soul to continue on. Your body won’t change a bit even if you spend hundreds of years under the tree.” He pointed back towards the old man. “My friend hasn’t aged a day since we entered meditation together.”

Ed frowned. “Then why did you say he would pass to Samsara soon?” He didn’t know much about Buddhism, but he had read a short summary about some of their beliefs. Samara was a cycle of death and rebirth, and the Buddha had just said the old man would enter it soon.

“The soul will age even if the body doesn’t.” The Buddha shook his head. “My friend only lasted this long because he is an esper. Alas, it was I, the ordinary one, that mastered golden faith energy instead.” He smiled. “But I greatly look forward to meeting my friend again in his next life. It will be a new journey for the two of us, and I will ensure he lives a good life.”

“I see…” Ed nodded. ‘Five years… or maybe even twenty.’ He grimaced. How much in the world would change in that time? He was only seventeen years old, so such a length of time felt incredibly long. Especially when considering how much he had accomplished over the short period the last two years. ‘Will Harmony even last that long without me? How much will Feather and Nexus grow? Will I miss the entire war between Eastern and Western Europe?’ He shook his head and sighed. Ultimately, he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Healing his soul was his number one priority, and even if things changed by the time he got out, he believed himself fully capable of rising again in such a world.

“Thanks.” He nodded towards the Buddha while moving towards the tree and sitting down cross-legged. Sparks of golden light fell from the tree leaves and slowly covered his body. ‘I wonder what Flair will do while stuck here for such a long time?’ He shook his head, disregarding the thought. ‘Focus! I need to conquer the other soul shards so that I can keep control!’ A red flash of greed sparked in his eyes as he closed them. He slowly lost consciousness, feeling as if something was pulling his soul away from his body.

…

A dark void. Ed looked around, feeling the place to be completely familiar. Perhaps it was his own consciousness, or maybe it was something similar. ‘Seems I sure visit these places a lot lately.’ He chuckled to himself. Looking down at his hands, he was surprised to see his soul form once again looking like shattered glass. In fact, all of his soul shards had come back together while glowing in golden light. However, the fusion was rudimentary at best, as he still felt disconnected from the various shards. However, he could feel that his soul and personality had been loosely restored to normal. ‘Who would’ve thought my personality would be so disgusting when broken up.’ He thought to himself. He wasn’t particularly pleased with any of the soul shard’s behaviors. The reddish-black one was too single-minded and crazy. The silvery-red one had way too many anger issues, and the reddish-blue one was just annoying. Only the blue one had some semblance of proper behavior, but that one lacked any real ambition. ‘As I thought.’ He nodded to himself. ‘Healing my soul is definitely my top priority.’

Looking around the void, Ed still didn’t see anyone or anything. Unlike his usual void when he lost consciousness, there wasn’t even a trace of his mana, mana-core, or anything similar. Soon growing impatient, he picked a random direction and started walking through the empty void. One step after another, he slowly traveled. However, the surroundings never changed. In fact, he wasn’t even certain if he was really moving or not.

‘What is this?’ He frowned as he stopped walking. He felt no sense of time here, and it was greatly discomforting. It was to the extent that he didn’t know if he had just walked for five minutes or five days. Looking back, he couldn’t tell anything different from before.

‘Maybe I should just meditate…?’ He hesitantly guessed and sat down in the lotus position. Closing his eyes, he attempted to relax and connect with his surroundings. However, all he continued to feel was nothing. It was truly nothing more than an empty void!

Time continued to pass. Days? Weeks? Years? Decades? Seconds? Ed had no idea, and his frustration continued to grow. Finally, he stood up and shouted. “WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!” His voice didn’t even echo within the void, and silence was his only reply.

‘There’s gotta be a solution to this!’ His eyes narrowed as he rubbed his chin. He hurriedly paced back-and-forth while running through ideas. ‘Is this a test of some sort? If yes, then what’s the answer? Patience to stay in place? Persistence to travel far distance? Willpower to hold onto sanity within a void of nothing?’ He looked around in all directions. ‘I need a hint or an idea. Something! Anything!’

As he continued to think, his thoughts returned to the people he had seen meditating around the MahaBodhi Tree. The old man had been there for fifty years! Clearly this wasn’t an easy problem to solve! However, the girl had only been there a month and seemed to already be on the verge of mastering it. ‘Have I already been here a month?’ Ed grew worried, his confidence in his own abilities wavering greatly for the first time. The one thing he had always believed himself to truly excel in was his analytical capabilities. If nothing else, he believed himself an intelligent man.

“Was I conceited?” He sat back down muttering to himself in disbelief. ‘Am I not as good as I think I am? Am I not as smart as I think I am?’ Doubts ran through his mind hundreds of thousands of times. ‘My father once told me that a wise man had said that the more he learned that the less he believed himself to know… Meanwhile, a town fool had believed himself to be the smartest man in the world… am I the fool?’

“I’M NOT!” He suddenly stood up and shouted at nothing. “I’M NO FOOL! THE WISE MAN JUST LACKS CONFIDENCE!”

“Fool.” A voice seemingly whispered into Ed’s ear.

“WHO?!” Ed hurriedly turned around and threw his fist forward, but nothing was there. ‘Am I hearing voices? Hallucinations due to extended solitary confinement? Such things have been observed in multiple experiments before… Or is this part of the test? Attacking my weak points… making me question myself?’

“I won’t fall for it.” He said aloud as he sat back down and closed his eyes. ‘If I can’t find the answer, then I’ll wait for the answer to come to me.’ He forced himself to calmly meditate as best he could, time seeming to drag on forever as he did so.

“Fool.” A voice whispered again.

“Conceited.” Another said, the tone slightly more feminine.

“Father killer. How vile!” A high-pitched voice scolded in disgust.

“Weak.”

“Inhuman.”

“Monster.”

“Talentless.”

“Bullied.”

“Trash.”

“Waste of space.”

Suddenly, Ed laughed aloud. “HAHAHA! SO WHAT?!” His eyes shot open. “I don’t care if I’m weak or a fool. I don’t care if I have no talent or if I’m a monster!” His eyes narrowed. “In the end, the world will be mine and I’ll write the rules. The king takes everything and everyone else weeps. Let them talk and complain! Their words mean nothing to me, as they aren’t even worthy of being compared to me!”

Silence answered him, and what felt like a long time passed once again.

“So elegant!” A beautiful voice praised him.

“Handsome!”

“Domineering!”

“Genius!”

“Strong!”

It was like the heavens were singing his praises, and the voices didn’t stop. However, Ed had already learned his lesson from previous experience. He didn’t respond, nor did he let the words enter his heart. Instead, he just kept meditating in silence.

Soon, the voices faded away. Ed opened his eyes, looking at the empty void once again,

Suddenly, an illusory figure started to fade into being right before Ed’s eyes. The figure was a beautiful young Asian woman with long half-white and half-black hair. Her deep blue eyes stared into Ed’s eyes, and the two continued to look at each other in silence for a long time.

…

Time passed. The two continued to stare at each other with no intentions to stop.

…

Even more time passed. Still, the two had no desire to stop their intense staring battle.

…

“Enough.” Ed finally shook his head in understanding. “We will meet again when the time comes, and I will open my heart for you alone.” He smiled, seeming to have found peace with himself. He had been denying his feelings for the girl in front of him for far too long, and he knew what he really wanted. He didn’t know how much time had passed between himself and her illusory figure, but he felt himself to have matured greatly during this time. “However.” He continued as his eyes narrowed. “I won’t let it interfere with my goals. The world will be mine, and I will recreate it as I see fit. Those that serve me will find solace, and those that defy me will wish for nothing more than the sweet release of death.”

Yuki’s illusory figure slowly faded away, returning the void to emptiness once again. Vaguely, Ed could tell the golden light covering his soul had grown somewhat stronger, and he could even slightly control it. However, he had a long way to go before he was capable of healing his damaged soul.