The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 347: When you finally realize how many times you’re brushing with death already

Chapter 347: When you finally realize how many times you’re brushing with death already

And so it seemed like I would have a piercing. But that would be a story for another day.

For now, I put the earrings on my storage ring, and we’d stave off mastering water for another time. No matter, since I still had a lot of things to learn. Besides, Amarein’s time was limited due to her status. It wasn’t good for her to be away too long from the tribes.

"So, we only have two days?"

"Yes, so we’ll have you doing the purification repeatedly," she told me as we flew toward the cliff with Vrida. "On the cliff today, and while flying tomorrow."

"Can you explain further?" I asked, and Amarein kindly gave me an explanation.

What I needed to do was rooting my consciousness to my real body, instead of letting it wander with the elemental mana. Of course, I knew it, but being able to do it was another thing. The problem was, that there was no concrete method to root one’s consciousness in one place aside from...well, self-awareness. For that, I needed to recognize when I started to drift off. Once I recognize it, I would be able to stop and pull my consciousness back to my real body, without having to cut off my control over the mana.

Kind of hard for someone who was easily distracted like me.

But that wasn’t a ’me’ problem. All young druids experienced it, which was why they would always be under surveillance. Senior druids like their parents, relatives, or teachers would stay and watch over their souls, pulling the consciousness back to the real body when it drifted too much.

And my stupid self had been doing it without any supervision.

Anyway, young druids had to do it repeatedly until they could recognize the difference between drifting off and staying still. They were forbidden from doing it alone before they got a pass from their supervisor.

Well, well...how many rules had you broken, Valen?

"Aunty, why was I floating when I tried to purify air elemental mana before?"

"Because your own mana wanted to fuse with the air elemental mana," she said. "And you, who has druid blood, had mana in every inch of your body. As a result, the mana affected your organs, your muscles, and everything inside your body to gradually be weightless. If you weren’t stopped, you might drift away, lighter than a feather, following the wind without ever coming back down--unless another experienced druid found you and helped you down. Even then..."

I gulped and glanced back at her. "Even then?"

"Even then, your mind might already..."

She didn’t complete her sentence, but it was pretty clear what she wanted to convey. Looking dazedly at the horizon, I felt like I needed to apologize some more to Natha, even though it was unintentional and came from my lack of knowledge.

Amarein also told me that some druids intentionally let their consciousness drift away, fusing their bodies and souls with nature. It was one of the preferred deaths for druids. Even if they died normally, they would be ’cremated’ with elemental magic. Rather than ash, they became particles of mana, absorbed by the world.

That was why there was no cemetery in the settlement.

"But, like...how do I stay still? How do I root myself?" I frowned in confusion as we climbed off Vrida’s back, to the top of the cliff in the back of the Lair, the one facing the border with the realm of nature. "How to not drifting away?"

"How do ships and airships stay still when they are parked?" Amarein asked me back.

"Umm...with an anchor?"

She nodded with a smile. "That’s right, an anchor. So that’s what you need, an anchor. Actually, you need two."

"Two anchors?"

She turned so we were face to face, and her hand touched my chest. "An anchor for your soul, something that will let you remember that you still need to exist in this world as yourself," she looked at my eyes and smiled. "I don’t think that’ll be too hard for you."

I blushed involuntarily. Well, she was right. I did have a lot of reasons to stay in this world. It wasn’t just Natha, but all of the relationships I had forged in this world, including my cute companions. I stroked Jade’s nuzzling head as a smile crept to my lips.

But even without all of that, I would still want to stay, to live my life. I was ready to do that, even if I had to endure a heartbreak. Because this was my second chance in life, and I would not let it end in confinement or timely death.

Well, it was good that I didn’t have to go through the worst scenario.

"And the other one?"

"It’s much simpler," she tapped the ground with her foot. "You just need a physical anchor; the easiest is the ground you’re standing at. This is why we start on a cliff. It’ll be too hard for you to use your wyvern as an anchor."

"I see..."

"But first, you need to know how it feels to have self-awareness and be anchored while doing the purification," she turned me around so I faced the border, and placed her palm against my back. "I’ll strictly keep your body and your consciousness here while you do it."

"So you’ll become my anchor," I nodded and took a deep breath to ready myself.

"This will be the only time. After this, I will only pull you back if you drift away too much," she added. "Make sure to remember how it feels to be in control, and not just become part of it."

"Okay."

[Good luck, Master!]

With the shout of my personal cheerleader, I closed my eyes and began to circulate my mana. Just like the time I did it on Vrida’s back, I started to bleed my consciousness outward, all around me, like a tool to catch the elemental mana inside the air and the belting wind.

All elemental mana had its own characteristic, and the air elemental mana was so...light, and free, and made me feel like I could do anything, go anywhere. To the sea I had never seen, to the other demon realms, to the hidden island of a mighty race, to the place where my love was.

Oh, can I go to the Lord Castle like thi--

No. I stopped my wandering thoughts instantly. You know how it feels when you suddenly discover something interesting in a movie you watched nonchalantly, and then suddenly all of your focus is back on the screen?

Suddenly, I could hear Jade’s chirping, Vrida’s purr, and Amarein’s palms on my back. The hard ground beneath my feet became more vivid, and the wind circling my arms sent my hair and clothes all around.

I gasped and filled my lungs with air, like someone who was just surfacing from the water. The light, free, refreshing feeling was still there, flowing into my astral vein. I could feel it vividly now, with my consciousness back in my body rather than spreading out everywhere.

Reflexively, I started to absorb the mana into my core and circulate it around my circuit. The circling wind around my arms disappeared slowly--or rather, getting swallowed--and a new ball of energy formed on top of my palm.

It wasn’t big, which told me it hadn’t been long since I drifted. The output came to a stop when the ball reached the size of an apple, and I could hear Jade’s disappointed chirp. After all, I usually made one to be as big as a football, so Jade could roll around inside it.

But this was just training, a first attempt no less. I would have to do this until lunch, when we’d have a break, and continue in the afternoon until dinner. The output, of course, would be small. But also a lot.

"Alright, that’s enough."

I exhaled slowly and stopped the process as Amarein pulled her hands away from my back. Turning around to throw the foggy ball to the awaiting little bird, I looked at Amarein to hear her review.

"I noticed this from the way you do it in the settlement, but your method seemed to be spreading your consciousness widely," she rubbed her lips in contemplation. "That’s why you’re easily distracted."

"Umm...I’m already easily distracted before attempting anything..."

"And that influences your way of doing things," Amarein smiled at my confession, and I scratched my cheek in embarrassment. "I understand, it’s not a rare thing. Your method is to run around herding the elemental mana to go into your body."

Oh, how spot on!

"But you shouldn’t have to," she walked toward the cliff and waved her hand. A soft breeze coiled around her arms and concentrated on her palm. "A Shepperd doesn’t have to run around the field to herd their sheep. The Shepperd could just call them."

Hmm...true; it was usually the Shepperd’s dog that was running around to herd, or probably using a whistle. Would it work?

"So...I could do it without spreading my consciousness?"

"You will, eventually," she scattered the accumulated mana back into the air. "But let’s try something easier for now. Walk first before running, yes?"

"Mm!"

"Rather than spreading it all over the place, try to make your consciousness only pointing into one side," she raised her arm, pointing forward. "Just in front of you. And then we’ll try to gradually shorten the length, until you can do it by spreading your conscience in one narrow lane."

Oh! That was surely easier! Although...I still had no idea if I could stop my mind from wandering around. But well...that was why we did this training, right?

Also...if I managed to control the way my consciousness spread, it might increase my proficiency in controlling what happened inside my body. If I could focus my consciousness inward, I’d be able to control the binding of the essence for Shwa’s conception.

Yes. I had to master this as soon as possible!

"I was about to offer you a break, but..." Amarein looked into my eyes and smiled. "It seems like you’re raring to go already."

"Of course!"

With a clenched fist, I nodded and got ready for an endless training session.

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