Echoes of the Abyssal Blade: Path to Free Will-Chapter 63: Spiritual Pressure Training

Jonan slept soundly for days when he returned from the front line, upon waking, he felt perfectly at peace, he kept telling himself, "There is no place like home, ughh, but my body hasn’t recovered yet.".

"Grasping his fists, he was aware of his bones shaking a little and his muscles shaking. But just lounging about would no longer suffice. Previously, he was carefree and irresponsible, but now he was different.".

He could not do any exercise at all at the time because it would only worsen his condition. He thought for a while before recalling something that he had read a long time before, something that had to do with the spirit.

While Jonan had been late in his path to power, he felt that nothing would make him feel fear, but meeting the abomination changed his perception, directly facing a fearsome being is not as easy as it sounds.

At the time, others were also not faring any better, and while he couldn’t think about this point at that time, now that he was free, he remembered how the first humans couldn’t directly face even the beasts, but over time, they got rid of their fears, and started facing them with courage.

Commoners on the continent of Dreavows weren’t privy to some secrets as well as those of noble households were, even for commoners, it is possible to rid oneself of their fear by directly facing the beasts, but not everyone can do so.

Here comes the perk of being born in a noble family, who hold vast information, which many are not privy to, Jonan would not consider himself or members of his cohort cowards; it’s just that some powerful beings can instill great fear in your spirit, and unfortunately that abomination had powers related to spirit.

Jonan wouldn’t have time to learn spirit arts, because they are not a very powerful profession, and it would instead be a waste of time. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

In the library of the Starfall family, he had read multiple ways in which a person can resist themselves from such spiritual pressure, the first one was to face the horror that made your spirit palpate again and again, which will diminish the potency of the said pressure over time, and practicing your Battle Skills under such pressure is also quite helpful in mastering the Battle Art.

Jonan exhaled slowly, his breath a visible mist in the cold morning air, the sun hadn’t fully risen yet, its soft light filtering in muted gold through the tall windows of the Starfall estate.

The maids crept silently along the hallways, their footsteps softened out of respect for the people who were still recovering from the atrocities of the trenches.

But Jonan was done resting.

He made his way to the training grounds.

Even at a distance, he could hear the keen clank of colliding steel, the relentless tread on hard stone, and the firm bellowing of the drillmasters, these were no regular troops but the finest students of the Starfall clan, knights and students undergoing the strict tutelage of the clan’s experienced masters.

Farthest out on the grounds, Master Vega stood like an unyielding pillar, arms crossed, hawk-like eyes ablaze with intensity, the veteran teacher once a great fighter on the battlefield, and even in his advanced years, his very presence exuding the kind of pressure that made even the most battle-hardened fighters stand up straight in the presence of this man.

Jonan crept close.

He knew better than to interrupt the master during a session, so he stood at the periphery, watching as students practiced their forms, spears were thrust in, and blades flashed, and some of the younger aspirants struggled with massive chains while they practiced in mock assaults.

Vega’s icy, piercing stare finally settled on Jonan.

The old man’s eyes were narrowed, and for a fleeting moment Jonan felt the man could pierce the folds of his skin, through to the very depths of his soul, then a tiny, imperceptible nod.

Following the drill, Vega gestured with his hand in a sweeping motion, and the students broke up like autumn leaves in the wind. Jonan proceeded with no time to lose.

"Master Vega." "Jonan," the older man saluted, voice deep and gravelly, honed by war and discipline over the years. His eyes surveyed Jonan, his pale complexion, his tired look, and his stiffened stance. "Appears to me that you’ve worked very hard on your training, and even experienced some rather remarkable situations."

"I do not deserve the applause."

"You don’t have to fake being humble, I can see that you are trying, and that is something to be proud of."

There was a weak, approving smile on the corner of Vega’s mouth. "Whether it gets wasted or not can’t be said unless you’ve used it, while on the other hand I do know of your troubles, and previous to this, you’ve avoided training due to no progress being made, now that you’ve begun again though is something welcome, whether or not you can’t get above level one or not, isn’t my place to worry, at least though you would’ve tried."

Shaking his head, Master Vega then said, "Look at me getting snobby, I believe you must have some questions for me."

Jonan hesitated, and with a firm gaze, he recounted, "Master. I... I faced something out there, a high-grade beast, it pinned me to the floor with its gaze itself, and I couldn’t even move under its spiritual pressure... it wasn’t just suffocating, it made my body freeze, made my soul feel like it was being crushed under its gaze, I had thought myself brave, and I thought that I had no fear, but in that moment... I was completely crushed and helpless."

Vega’s expression remained unchanged, though his eyes softened by a fraction.

"Good," the old master said, much to Jonan’s confusion.

"Good?"

"A warrior who claims to be fearless is either a liar or a fool," Vega explained. "Fear is a companion that never leaves a fighter’s side, it has many forms by which it can adversely affect one, but it has its benefits too. It sharpens you, reminds you when something is out of your station, and it is better to retreat, and as you climb higher, the pressures you face won’t diminish, they will grow heavier, darker, stranger, whether it be the beasts, or any other fearsome being, who can overwhelmingly crush you, and your soul, and some can create fear in you in a different way, it’s not about erasing fear, it’s about learning to move despite it."

Jonan clenched his fists again, but this time not out of pain. "How? How do I resist it? I remember reading that one can temper their spirit by exposure, but I can’t exactly go back out there and face such a ferocious beast again, not yet."

"That’s the right question."

Vega gestured for Jonan to follow, leading him away from the training grounds and down a lesser-used path behind the armory, which wound through a cluster of ancient oaks and came to a heavy stone stairwell descending underground.

"Do you know what lies beneath the estate, boy?"

Jonan nodded slightly, and with a heavy voice, he said, "Further lies the Starfall prison."

"Not many outside the family do, it’s not a place for common criminals, it’s where we keep those whom we either cannot kill due to their status or their own abilities, and don’t take them for granted, they are some of the most menacing beings to ever live on this continent, if any one of them is unleashed, rivers of blood will flow."

"Another thing that you must remember is not to stare at them, or provoke them, just keep your eyes down, the prisoners here have a multitude of strange abilities, which cannot be understood by common sense, and apart from being weird, those abilities can harm a person in the worst possible way."

Vega’s voice dropped lower, becoming almost a growl.

After going inside, they made their way deeply into the prison, where the smell was earthy, and while Jonan couldn’t smell anything bad, the place was glaring at him, his senses were blaringly sounding to escape from here, but with Vega’s protection, he had nothing to worry about.

"Here, this is Cell 692, the being inside it is long past redemption, it is bound by special chains, because it is also quite a special being, it is not too dangerous for you from this distance, nor too weak for you, but try not to look at it, or you will be in for a nightmare."

Jonan felt a chill crawl up his spine. "And you want me to...?"

"I want you to face it."

Vega’s eyes locked with his, unflinching. "Stand before that cell, take a step closer, then another, until you can endure ten steps into its presence without faltering, each step will feel like wading through a storm of blades, your spirit will be shredded and battered, but if you endure long enough, and if you can stand there with your back straight and your will unbroken, you will succeed in your goal."

He set his hand firmly upon Jonan’s shoulder. "I can promise you, you will emerge stronger from this, and when you find your next terror, you’ll recall that you’ve already faced one of the Starfall’s hidden horrors, that’s how you develop resistance, boy, not by magic or charm, but by blood, sweat, and will."

Jonan’s parched throat could only muster a nod. "So when do I start?"

"Now."