The Whispering Blade - Chapter 11 Learning Curves

“Close your eyes and steady your breathing,” Sintra began. “Deep inhales, and slow exhales.”

What is this, yoga? I started stirring and felt Isa grip my hand harder, subtly telling me to relax. Sitting with my legs crossed I started going along with it. I began to concentrate on my breathing.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

I immediately noticed a distinct beating in my chest. After a few minutes, my heartbeat felt noticeably slower.

“Excellent, now keep that pace and make sure your eyes remain closed,” Sintra instructed. “I am now unlocking your kira pathways. Focus on the feeling that follows.”

What feeling- ouch! I felt something bite my wrist. A searing pain immediately flared at the wound. My eyes clenched as I fought the desire to open them. Like fire in my veins, the sensation spread throughout my body. I could feel Eli and Isa squeezing my hands and I realized we were all experiencing the same pain.

From my wrist, the feeling spread to my arms, then as it approached my chest, it felt like a million fire ants biting at every inch of my skin. Sweat dripped from my brows and I felt faint as I tried to focus on everything I was feeling. I grit my teeth to stop myself from letting out a scream as my entire body felt like it was burning hot. As soon as it began, I immediately felt the intense heat gradually disappear from my limbs until it was concentrated on the right side of my chest. The severity of the heat was then replaced with a gnawing sense of hunger and desire that was imprinted in my brain.

“Open your eyes.”

We collectively looked up and saw circles of white light the size of a grapefruit illuminating from our chests.

“Now, ingrain this feeling into your mind,” Sintra spoke. “This is your second heart, where your kira lies. The hunger you are experiencing is your kira awakening and yearning to connect to Eden.”

I saw the light spread from Eli and Isa’s chest, spiderweb down their arms, and to their hands. Looking down, I saw the same thing happening to myself. After an incredible heat built up, we quickly let go of each other’s hands, unable to hold on any longer.

“Good,” Sintra commented. “As your inner energy, kira will instinctively connect to the Eden around you. Try focusing that feeling from before in your fingertips.”

Our faces twisted in concentration as the kira focused on our fingertips. For Eli, the white glow transformed into a vibrant red. For Isa, they turned into a deep blue. Finally, for me, it transformed into a majestic purple. After all of the lights in our hands transformed into different colors, they slowly began to fade away.

“What does it mean when the light’s gone?” I asked.

“The light only appears the first time you awaken your kira,” Sintra responded. “The streaks you saw were new ‘vessels’ for the kira to travel through.”

We all nodded in blind acknowledgment, barely able to make sense of what just happened.

“So, why did my kira turn red?” Eli asked.

“Kira can be categorized into five groups,” Sintra began explaining. “Reds are Enhancers, greens are Sustainers, blues are Emitters, yellows are Conjurers, and purples are Benders.”

“I’m an enhancer,” Eli processed. “Isa’s an Emitter, and Ez is a Bender.”

Sintra nodded, still perched on the tabletop.

“What does each category do?” Isa questioned.

“Enhancers like Eli are able to strengthen their bodies to easily accomplish what you might consider supernatural feats,” Sintra began explaining. “Sustainers are those that are able to heal and repair injuries and illnesses at a godspeed. Emitters are able to transform Eden into projectiles and fire them, such as what you did yesterday. Conjurers are capable of creating or summoning creatures that will heed to their orders. And finally, Benders are those able to bend the rules of the universe.”

I rubbed my wrist where Sintra bit me and tried to make sense of what he was telling us. Looking around, I saw that Eli and Isa were just as conflicted as I was.

Sensing our confusion, Sintra suggested, “The three of you should go outside and experiment. You must understand what you are capable of before fighting the Servants.”

“Do the Servants have Kira too?” I asked. “How will we know what type of power they have?”

“They do and you won’t,” Sintra confessed. “That is what is the most dangerous, not knowing the capabilities of an unknown enemy. I cannot help you beyond that.”

Worried, Isa questioned, “Then how will we know who’s a servant?

“Over time, you will be able to sense people that are capable of using Eden as you become more proficient, but right now you three are like a beacon drawing in those interested by power,” Sintra began answering. “That is why we must be getting ready to leave in order to avoid the possibility of Fayne Servants finding you. We don’t want them to know what you all look like.”

“So all of this for one god’s Eden?” I asked.

“As I have said before, Bel is one of the oldest gods,” Sintra hissed. “He was one of the first to understand kira and how to use it with Eden. As one of the first users of Eden, he was the first Enhancer the world has ever seen. Together, Bel and many Noir gods tried to stop the greedy individuals that became the Faynes. But, it only resulted in an endless war that still lives on today.”

“So, I know that Ez has to find something for Bel, but what are we supposed to be looking for?” Eli asked.

After a slight pause, Sintra answered. “Ezra is tasked with finding Bel’s second heart, his kira manifested into a physical form.”

Seeing the weird looks on our faces, Sintra tried to change the topic. “But as I said before, you need training. Go outside now and try using your kira. Afterward, you need to pack up and get ready to leave.”

“Sure,” I agreed, anything to lighten the mood. I stood up and walked towards the kitchen counter, “This feels like about 25-30 pounds. Let’s see how far you can toss this chair, Eli.”

Eli shrugged and scooted the couch away from the door. “Bring it.”

I brought the hefty stool to him and opened the door. Isa stood up, scooped up Sintra, and handed him off to me. When we opened the door, we were surprised by the night sky.

“Wait, why is it night time already?” Eli asked. “It’s only like 5 pm.”

I dipped my head inside the apartment and checked the clock hanging in the kitchen.

“Damn, it’s 9 pm,” I hollered. “I didn’t even realize how much time had passed.”

We walked a few feet away from the apartment, looking for a target.

“Okay, try throwing it at that!” I pointed at a dumpster next to a light post.

“That’s gotta be almost a hundred feet away!” Eli’s jaw dropped. “There’s no way I can do that.”

“Not with that attitude,” Isa laughed.

“So, can you walk me through this?” Eli asked Sintra. “What exactly am I supposed to do?”

“First, focus on your kira,” Sintra instructed. “Concentrate on extending it through your veins.”

Eli took a deep breath and stretched his arms outward. This time, there wasn’t a red glow, but we could still feel heat pulsing from his hands.

“Good, now your kira is attaching itself to the Eden around us. Try and draw that energy into your second heart.”

Eli nodded as he clenched his hands in concentration. I automatically sensed a hidden strength slowly building up in Eli. Glancing over, I saw that Isa noticed it too.

“Now, expel that energy into your body.”

Veins began popping out all over Eli’s body. His eyes shot open, brimming with energy. Arms shaking, Eli grabbed the stool by the legs, he quickly spun and heaved it. Eli howled in pain as he grabbed his right arm. The stool crashed straight down a few feet away and splintered into tiny pieces.

Isa and I ran to help him. He dropped to the floor and groaned in pain.

“What went wrong?” I yelled at Sintra.

“It seems,” -Sintra slithered down to Eli- “that Eli experienced backfire.”

“What is that?” Eli asked between labored breaths.

“It is when Eden has not been properly distributed and therefore creates an imbalance within That is why your arms were twitching uncontrollably when you tried to lift the seat. You must learn how to equally distribute the energy within your body or else you can severely injure yourself.”

Eli moaned. “Why is this so hard.”

A noise resembling laughter came from the snake’s mouth. “Did you really believe this would be so easy to master? You need practice and time to learn, that is why we are starting now. I advise you three to humble yourselves and realize that you are novices.”

We awkwardly stared at the ground, trying to avoid the eyes of a snake.

Breaking the silence, Sintra said, “Right now, you are learning. Failure is also a form of learning. That means you should not let this hinder yourself from trying.”

We all nodded in agreement.

“Okay, I’ll try next,” Isa volunteered. But first, I’m going to get Eli some water and ice for his arm.”

Isa began walking back into the apartment. Eli caught his breath while Isa was away. I helped him move so that he was sitting against the wall. His haggard breathing eventually began to slow down as he recovered his energy. When Isa returned, she brought bottles of water and a small bag of ice. She handed Eli the items and he quickly guzzled the water down. He then applied the bag of ice to his arm and thanked her.

“So what was it like?” Isa asked as she leaned against the wall.

“It was like I just drank ten energy drinks,” Eli started. “I’ve never felt that much adrenaline before. At first, I felt a warmth spread through my body. The best way I can describe it is like that feeling when you’re taking a shot of vodka or whatever. You can feel that warm ‘burn’ when it goes down your throat, but in this case, it was throughout my body. When I went to pick up the stool, it felt like it weighed nothing. I honestly think I could have thrown so far if I did it correctly.”

Eli explained to Isa and me how he used Eden. Step-by-step, he walked us through what he did, starting with extending his kira, drawing in Eden, distributing it to his body to enhance his strength.

“Okay, I think I’m ready to try,” Isa said as she got off the wall.

She walked to where Eli stood earlier. Sintra coiled himself around my shoulder as he instructed her. Isa followed the steps and concentrated on extending her kira and drawing in Eden. The air around her began shimmering. Just like Eli, heat began to build up around her and veins began to pop up on her arms.

“Now,” Sintra instructed. “Make sure you balance the Eden within you so that it is not all concentrated in one spot. If you don’t, it will cause another backfire. In this case, it is considered overheating from expelling too much energy from one spot.”

Isa’s brows furrowed as she pointed a palm towards the dumpster. A wave of intense heat washed over us in an instant as a small explosion fired from her like a firework. Isa fell to her knees with a cry of pain, nursing her hand.

“Oh shit,” I jumped to my feet. “Isa, are you okay?”

I ran to her side. Her eyes were tearing up as she clenched her right hand tightly to her chest.

“Ez, careful it hurts a lot,” Isa breathed between her teeth.

After prying it away from her, I saw her palm starting to redden and blister.

“Ez, take a water bottle and pour some on her palm,” Eli directed me. “Then run inside and get a wet towel to wrap around her hand.”

I poured the water over her palm and tried to cool it off. When the bottle emptied, I ran inside and grabbed another bottle of water and a clean towel and soaked it with cool water. I brought the items back outside and tried to dress Isa’s wounds.

“Oh my gosh, that feels so much better,” Isa said as I finished applying the wet towel. “It just stings so much.”

“So is the pain going away?” Eli asked.

“It doesn’t hurt as bad right now,” Isa answered. “It only hurts when I try to move my fingers.”

“Okay, you should try to keep that hand still for now,” I told her.

“You did well,” Sintra told Isa. “You were able to balance your Eden for the most part. What you need to remember is to follow through till the end. You became unbalanced as soon as the energy was expelled.”

Isa nodded her head in acknowledgment. I handed her a bottle of water which she easily finished.

“Whew, guess it’s my turn!” I reluctantly announced.

“You’ve got this!” Eli and Isa lamely cheered on as they nursed their wounds.

Before I started, Sintra instructed, “You are a bender. Instead of guiding Eden to your heart, direct it to your head.”

I took a deep breath and focused on directing the energy towards my head. My arms shook as Eden coursed through them. I could feel every inch of my body twitching with energy. When the Eden reached my head, I felt my ears pop.

“Good, now try picking up this block of concrete on the ground and throw it,” Sintra instructed.

I nodded and focused on the fist-sized piece of concrete on the ground.

“Extend your kira and manipulate the Eden to further your reach.”

I felt a warmth pass through my arms and focused it in my brain. Reaching out, I willed the Eden to grab the chunk of concrete. The piece of debris slightly budged as I struggled to raise it up. I felt a sharp pain in my head as I strained to lift it. The concrete bobbled in the air after I finally raised it off the ground. Exerting all my willpower, the pain in my head intensified as I gave everything I had to hurl the concrete as far as I could. My vision began to fade as I watched the concrete soar through the sky.

“Ez, No!!!!!” Eli and Isa screamed.