Chapter 148 - Eight Hours of Suffering

(Jane's PoV)

One hour passed and I started to feel something. My body started to feel like I was surrounded by intense fire. The fire didn't touch me, but the heat was enough to make me uncomfortable.

I was thinking to stop my meditation and open my eyes, to see what was going on around me. But, I held back. I remembered what Siji told me.

"Whatever happens, don't lose focus," He said.

It was hard to distract my mind from the scorching heat but I forced myself to do that. It was not easy, but I persisted. Not to mention the temperature increased as time passed.

Fortunately, I was a quick learner and strong-willed. Before long, even when I was supposed to feel my body was burning, I actually felt nothing. I managed to put my focus entirely in the flow of my spiritual power.

I had heard about how ones' senses could be manipulated by using strong suggestion. As long as the person had strong mind power, he/she would not feel the pain of walking on the path with broken glasses, literally. There would be no wounds either.

At that time, I forgot with the boiling hot I felt. Instead, there was something else that attracted me.

After being able to get rid of the heat I was feeling, I could sense something from my spiritual power. I could only feel foreign feeling when I tried to feel my spiritual power before. I knew it was there, but I couldn't figure out the form. I couldn't explain it in detail for my lack of knowledge about spiritual power.

However, after the heat dissipated, I could see something resembled white smokes in my consciousness.

Was this my spiritual power?

My consciousness which was usually a bit dark with four to five torches illuminating the area turned brighter. There was no need for torches anymore. Instead of a single room, I found my consciousness was more like a soccer field, no, even bigger than that. I couldn't see the end of it. As far as my eyes could see, I could only identify that white smokes flowing around freely.

What happened actually?

At time like this, where is Siji?

Before I could use my connection to call him, I felt a piercing pain in my left thigh, as if someone had just sliced a big piece of meat from my thigh. It was so painful that I forgot to breath for a while and I was pulled out from my consciousness by force. Cold sweat started to wet my clothes, but I didn't open my eyes. Siji's message echoed in my mind, to keep my composure and stay focus.

The excruciating pain didn't dissipate as quickly as the burning sensation from before. It was even harder for me to focus on my meditation. Another slash came and I bit my lips to prevent myself from screaming out of pain. My whole body trembled badly and I almost lost my composure. Pain was radiating from my back where the second slash was and tears threatened to spill from the corner of my eyes.

It hurts so bad!

No matter what happens, don't lose my focus! I reminded myself.

I took a deep breath before I pulled myself from the pain like I did before. Somehow, I managed to re-enter my consciousness again, but the pain didn't go away. What happened?

The pain was still there but it was bearable now. I noticed the flow of the white smokes was slightly disturbed in several parts of my consciousness. I reached out to feel the agitated white smokes and found out that it was because of the pain I was feeling.

The more I whined about the pain, the faster I surrendered to the pain, the worse would my spiritual power be. It would affect my ability, of course.

But, who could endure such pain?!

Even though my heart was complaining so much, still I willed myself to endure the pain. There would be no more distraction. I couldn't distract myself, I could only endure it.

It was hard. I spent hours to get used to the pain each time another slash came upon my body. The burning sensation didn't disappear either, the effect was something I couldn't explain.

Just imagine yourself being surrounded by intense fire, the heat caresses your skin, and the temperature doesn't show any signs to drop. On top of that, someone is whipping your body with a whip with long and thin blade being attached to the whip. Someone would occasionally slice a bit of your meat and the slow and careful slicing action put you in agony.

That was what happened to me, and I was forced to endure that.

Did I ever think to give up?

I did! But, I couldn't. Not because I remembered about what Siji told me, but more like I had no way to stop my force meditation.

It couldn't be called meditation anymore! It was pure torture! Who in the world created that set of training?!

But, the more I complained, the more I felt agitated, the harsher the torture would be. I had no other choice but to regulate my own spiritual power and forcefully calm the agitated white smokes.

I was so engrossed in soothing the spiritual power that I forgot which situation I was in. It was almost at the end of time being given to me by Siji that I realized the pain was nothing like before. Not only that, even with the pain attacking me, I could still focus on the main point; to appease the agitated flow of my spiritual power.

My spiritual power moved faster and steadier than before. It was as if I accidentally opened up the tap from the source of my power and it was flooding my consciousness until I felt I was slightly bloated from the excessive amount of spiritual power.

Is it possible for someone to die from excessive amount of spiritual power?

But, how do I stop it?

Don't be panic, don't be panic. I can handle it. I'll find a way until Siji come.

I repeatedly said that, but Siji didn't come. He came to find me after eight hours had passed and I could see the golden light of sun fell upon my tightly closed eyes.

I thought I almost died!

Even though I managed to find the way to surpress the erratic flowing of my own spiritual power, the process took some time and instead of pain, I felt I almost lost my calm.

It was a good thing that I managed to survive.

Siji brought me back to my house and I almost collapsed the moment I felt the familiar surrounding enveloped my senses. I totally didn't care where I would crash on as long as I knew I was at home. My staggering feet couldn't hold me up any longer as I started to lose my consciousness due to fatigue.

That was eight hours full of suffering for me. It was just eight hours, yet it could rival the other hellish training Siji gave to me and sat at the top spot as the most evil training Siji had given to me. Fortunately, I did gain much from these last hours, otherwise... Siji would get a heavy punishment for making me endure that kind of pain. I did a good job enduring it and it took almost all my rationality to stay focus, but now that I was at home, I deserved to be slightly at ease, right?

Before my body hit the floor, a pair of sturdy arms caught me and a familiar smell hit my senses. Well, it was a proof that I was really at home. With Siji and him guarding me, I could freely sleep to recover myself.