God Of Crafting

In the end, the whole process reversed yet again, this time to properly kill the bus\'s downward momentum, grinding it to a complete halt right as the bus\'s wheels softly touched the ground.

Thud.

The whole landing process ended up with just one, slight yet still sudden drop, proving that while precise, the force responsible for landing the vehicle wasn\'t scientifically perfect, forcing the bus\'s suspension to take the brunt of the last few inches of the drop.

"We are here," Chihiro announced in a low, slightly hushed voice.

Contrary to me and Claire, he clearly expected the drop, bracing himself for it just before it happened, which allowed him to remain perfectly composed when the whole vehicle shook underneath our feet.

Thankfully, the drop wasn\'t big enough to send me or Claire flying, merely reaching the level where it just managed to force us to shift our weight around to regain the proper balance.

"That was…" I muttered as I rose back up to a proper position while already reaching out to help Claire do the same… Only to realize that just like her father, she clearly knew what to expect and, while not as smoothly as her father, she managed to brace herself for the slight drop.

"Surprising?" Claire grinned back at me, only to accept the hand I offered and then take half of a step closer, just close enough to imply an intimate relationship while keeping enough distance to keep this sort of presence dignified and decent even in the eyes of the greatest conservative.

"Why didn\'t you…" I attempted to protest, yet, seeing the look on Claire\'s face, I could do nothing but helplessly shake my head. "You got me there, I will give you that," I admitted defeat while putting on a small smile on my own lips.

Even though I was the victim of this small prank, just seeing Claire\'s happy, fulfilled expression was enough to cast aside all the unpleasant feelings of being the target of the joke.

"Guys…" Chihiro sighed while giving us a side-eye. "You can flirt all you want once we are done. Now, focus."

Not giving us any time to reply or even prepare ourselves, Chihiro stepped ahead before pressing the button on the bus\'s wall, pushing the sliding doors of the bus\'s main entrance to open.

The outside…

Was nothing like how I pictured the border of the spiritual world to be. It was… ordinary.

Just a patch of relatively well-maintained area surrounded by nothing but wilderness of two different biomes, a huge, open and rather arid plain to our back and then a lush, green forest encroaching upon the domain of a dense jungle in front of us.

Between those two biomes stood nothing more but a simple shack with two guards armed with extremely simple and clearly ceremonial spears.

"State your purpose!" one of the guards shouted while the both of them, as if following an unspoken command, lowered their blades and pointed them at the three of us.

\'Those little…\'

Before I could do anything stupid, Claire tightened her hold over my hand and threw me a quick glance.

\'Oh,\' I thought, pushing my momentary feelings aside as I took a shallow breath and opted to just keep my mouth shut and face as relaxed as I could get it to be. \'Right, she did mention some sort of a weird welcoming ceremony…\'

"I come in peace to rejoin the fold as one both faithful and worthy," Chihiro announced as he stepped forward precisely three steps only to grind to a halt and then push the folds of his long robe to the back, making them flutter on the slight wind.

Even when hearing this formula, however, the guards\' weapons didn\'t move, instead remaining perfectly still with only the light reflected off their blades slightly shifting as the clouds in the sky interfered with the direct sunlight.

"Reveal your cultivation!"

After a moment of heavy silence, the guard finally called back.

Chihiro didn\'t say a word in response. Instead, he took a deep breath before…

Whoosh!

As if a powerful wind suddenly passed through the open area of the border, I felt as if some sort of powerful breeze suddenly struck me, threatening to throw me off my feet and send me tumbling to the ground.

This feeling was only momentary, before I managed to compensate for this sideways push and restore my balance.

The guards, on the other hand, finally raised their weapons back up, clearly satisfied with Chihiro\'s display.

"You truly are a worthy one," the senior out of the two guards announced before stepping slightly ahead of his companion only to then turn sideways towards us as he pointed with his free hand towards the forest… or, to be more precise, at the shack the entrance to which the two of them were guarding. "Now it\'s time to test your faith."

Chihiro took a breath deep enough for me to notice his chest puffing a bit.

"You two stay here," the man ordered before breathing out and stepping ahead with a confident look on his face.

"Where…"

Before I could say anything more than just a single word, Claire tightened her hold over my hand again before giving me yet another side-eye. This time, however, it was a much more intense, telling look.

\'Oh, I guess I should shut the fuck up and just wait,\' I thought, taking a shallow breath and holding it in all the way to the point when I started to feel the first licks of oxygen deprivation… Or rather, to be scientifically precise, carbon dioxide poisoning.

"Haaa…" breathing the used air out of my lungs, I slightly lowered my eyelids before entering a strange state of half-meditation as I attempted to mute all my thoughts while I waited for Chihiro to come out from the shack he just entered.

The wait turned out to be merely momentary, for before I could even start getting bored or worried, Chihiro casually stepped out of the shack, stopping only for the moment he needed to lean down and dust his knees off. Stay connected through мѵʟ

At this point, the two guards finally lowered their weapons into a proper, resting position before they both bowed to Claire\'s father.

"We welcome the missing brother back into the fold," they both announced as one, only to uniformly turn to the side as they cast their glances at the two of us. "And those are…?"

"My wards, here to experience the goal they are to aim for from now on," Chihiro announced with the same level of confidence as before and not a single hint of hesitation or doubt in his eyes.

"You two!" the same, leading guard as before straightened his back from the bow before digging the butt of his spear into the ground as he looked directly at the two of us. "Reveal your cultivation!"

"That\'s…" At this point, I spoke faster than I could move to purse my lips together.

And it was because this request… put me in quite the spot.

"As ordered," Claire slightly lowered her head before unveiling her cultivation. And just like when her dad did it, a slight breeze of air struck me from the side, pushing me away for the slight moment it took before I managed to get myself used to it.

"Uhm…" I raised my hand - an action that instantly made the two guards grasp their weapons a bit tighter - "I\'m not really sure how to do that, though."

Even though she was done herself, Claire quickly twisted her head and gave me a shocked look, only for the understanding to then flash in her eyes. She then bit down on her lower lips as her face froze, overwhelmed by all the thoughts that passed through her brain all at the same time, only for her to then turn back to the guards and lower her head a bit - all in the time it took me to raise my hand and scratch the side of my head.

"My partner is a man of great talent yet, due to his unfortunate upbringing, sparse practice. That\'s why…"

"I mean, I can move my spiritual energy around if that\'s what they want, but…" I hesitated again only to then lean my head slightly to the side as I alternated my eyes between Claire and the guards, "seeing how on edge those two are, I wouldn\'t want them to think I\'m about to attack them or something…"

The air grew tense as quickly… as quickly as everyone relaxed when they received my explanation.

Heck, apparently, I said something funny enough for all four of them, Claire, Chihiro, and the guards all together, to either smile or outright laugh out a bit.

"Fear not, young man," the leading guard smiled as he spoke out, "we wouldn\'t be here if the cultivation of an initiate\'s wards could be a threat to us. But since you don\'t know how to reveal your cultivation…" the man hesitated for a moment, only to then turn all smiles, his expression somewhere between simple sympathy and amusement.

"Well, if that\'s how it is…" I muttered before taking a deep breath and then digging deep, deep into my soul, to the very bottom of my spirituality, the very core of my spiritual core.

Closing my eyes and holding my breath, I focused all of myself on this single spark of spiritual energy that continued to bring the entirety of my cultivation core to the state of permanent instability… before opening my eyes, breathing out, and reaching out with my hand, imagining that the spark I grasped in my thoughts had now found its way into my tightened hand.

\'They want me to reveal my cultivation, so…\'

I took in a fresh breath.

\'That would suffice, wouldn\'t it?\' I thought, only to then open my palm… and allow the spark of my cultivation to manifest itself into the physical world.

The air was already full of spiritual energy from when Chihiro first, and then Claire, released it out into the air. Adding up the spiritual energy naturally occurring right on the border of the spiritual world and now the very spark of the core of my cultivation… and the whole thing suddenly became a rather troubling mix.

A mixture that, for but one instant, I felt like I could fully control, only to then realize just how abysmal of a task it was and just how inadequate I was to even attempt doing so.

And just like that, all of this free energy…

I somehow grasped it all.

Only for it to then explode right out of my hand.