Volume 4 Chapter 20 'Samyama'
Five hours had passed.
"Pant, pant! Huff...!"
"Huff, ...pant, huff, ...!"
Without a single break, we kept running. Five hours straight. Non-stop.
Our route covered the entire area of Karditsa. Mudi ran without choosing a specific place, and we just silently followed along.
The speed was pushing us to our limits. In other words, full-on sprinting. We had been doing that for five hours straight.
"Pant! Ugh, pant, ...!"
We had already run a distance surpassing a full marathon. Sometimes running through the city, sometimes along the outer walls, and sometimes through the forest.
At first, I had the luxury of worrying about my surroundings and the eyes on us. But every time I did, Mudi moved.
Mudi's casual fist hit my left chest.
"Don't lose focus, you IDIOTTT!"
Being yelled at up close felt like being roared at by a lion right in front of me. But more than that, the impact that resonated in my heart brought back my consciousness.
"Tch. Let's go!"
Mudi knew everything. That I had lost focus. That I quickly regained consciousness after being scolded. There was no unnecessary scolding. He was just strictly, meticulously monitoring our 'Samyama'.
The scolding happened within the first three hours of running. There was none in the following two hours. Because we no longer had the luxury of diverting our gaze from our surroundings.
Moreover, due to exhaustion and the full-on sprinting under intense stress for a long time, I had long lost the ability to divert my focus from my heart. While running, I just stared at my heart beating steadily.
"Pant, pant...ugh, ...pant, pant...!"
Sandra running beside me was also at her limit. But I could only vaguely think that it must be her limit. If I spoke up, I would be scolded, and just diverting my focus would result in a hit to my left chest.
So, as I ran, I gradually forgot to divert my focus away from my heart.
My sense of time became vague.
I had gradually lost track of how many hours we had been running. I no longer knew what was around me. I wasn't even sure if I was really running. All I could see was my heart. My heart beating steadily.
Then, I found myself in darkness. It felt like I had lost my sense of body. How long had I been running? Where was I now? Such questions and doubts were not present within me at that moment.
"..."
Only my heart floated in my mind. Beating earnestly, diligently.
"...I wonder if it's okay."
I thought as if it were someone else's concern. My diligent heart seemed so exhausted that it might burst if left as it was.
"If it breaks, that would be bad..."
What should I do? How should I handle this? Touch it. Comfort it.
Then, I realized. If it's tired, I should give it energy.
"Oh, but..."
I then noticed that my stamina was depleted. My thoughts were not coherent. It felt like I was in a dream-like state.
"What should I do..."
I pondered while looking at my heart. At that moment, I suddenly realized.
"Magic."
I embraced my heart. And, as if praying, I transferred magic to it.
My heart accepted the magic and gradually, bit by bit, started to recover. The intense, almost breaking heartbeat grew faster and stronger with each passing moment.
"Good."
I poured in more magic. The large vessel that was my heart filled with magic.
Fortunately, my magic was abundant. The well-trained magic I had been using didn't let me down.
And in exchange for all my magic, my heart was filled. It beat fiercely, vigorously, filled with vitality like an engine.
I said,
"I see. This is what it means to create a god within myself."
My heart detached from my body, turned into a concept, and solidified with magic. This magical heart would never break. It would function as my second heart.
In other words, the chakra of the heart. Anahata Chakra.
Then, I was splashed with water.
"Cough! Cough, cough, cough!"
I struggled to get up while coughing heavily. And for the first time, I realized that I had collapsed. What had I been seeing all this time? Darkness and my heart.
"Hmm."
With a bucket in hand, Mudi was looking down at me. Mudi had been staring at my left chest area. Then, he squatted down to meet my gaze.
"Hey, you've activated the Heart Chakra, haven't you?"
"Huh...? Oh, yeah. ...I guess I did?"
"Hah, I see..."
I then noticed. The sky. It was pitch black. I thought it had turned into night. Sandra, Ice, and Alex were all looking at me with great concern.
"Um, what's wrong, everyone?"
"Wade-kun!"
Ice clung to me, and Sandra also gently embraced me. As I wondered what was going on, Alex spoke up.
"Wade. Sandra reached her limit after a full-speed sprint in 10 hours and dropped out, but you kept going with Mudi for 18 hours and collapsed. It's now 10 p.m."
"Oh, really?"
I looked down at Ice and Sandra. Ice was crying softly, saying, "I'm glad...! I thought you might die...!" as she hugged me tightly with trembling hands.
Meanwhile, Sandra, seemingly unfamiliar with expressing worry, awkwardly touched me. Like a lonely cat, she intertwined her fingers with mine.
"I was worried. I thought about implementing recovery measures right away, but Mudi stopped me. ...Mudi, you must have achieved something."
"Hey Alex-san, don't worry. But—Ha! I see, I see... Yeah, that makes sense. Encountering chakra at the brink of death and reaching a state of selflessness is theoretically the fastest way to achieve enlightenment."
With sharp eyes, Mudi stared at me. Then he said, "Your name is Wade, right?"
I was surprised by the confirmation.
"Wade, starting tomorrow, you will move on to training in Siddhi (ṛddhi)."
"Huh, already? You said this morning that it doesn't seem possible right away."
"Do you think there's anyone who can finish 'Samyama' in a day, you little punk? Just listen quietly."
I fell silent with mixed feelings. Insults are insults, but, how should I put it, I'm moving up from trash to a small fry.
"Also, help out with that kid's 'Samyama' over there. Mastering the Anahata Chakra is not easy. The Swadhisthana Chakra is tricky."
Well, that's the end of today's 'Samyama.' Mudi left everyone behind and walked towards the city.
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