Chapter 541: Undying Revenant

Julius was thankful that Freya was with him, and she saved his nose from being smashed into the stone when he fell. If it were Cain, the man would have let him hit his face and acted surprised about it.

However, he couldn’t really pay that much attention to that at the moment. Currently, it felt like his head was being jammed full of information like one would stuff a turkey on Thanksgiving. Safe to say, he wasn’t very comfortable.

That wasn’t all, either. Before he could realize what was happening, he felt his consciousness blank for a few startling seconds. Then he found himself standing in a small grove full of green lushness.

The moss under his feet was incredibly soft, and he could practically taste the life mana in the air. There was that much of it in the grove.

However, most of his attention was on the man sitting on the rock at the edge of a stream. He wore a simple white tunic and loose white pants. His skin was nicely tanned, and he had a powerfully built body. His black hair hung just above his eyes, but Julius couldn’t see the man’s face entirely.

That was when Julius realized where all of this life mana was coming from. Wave after wave of powerful life mana flowed from this man’s body. The rhythmic pulse invigorated Julius every time it passed through his body.

He was ninety percent sure that this was some kind of vision, but the sensations he was feeling were incredibly realistic. It was hard not to doubt whether this was indeed a vision.

Julius stood there, watching as the man meditated, remaining silent and simply observing the man’s mana. He couldn’t help but relax as he fell into a trance, watching the man with bated breath.

“People often misunderstand life mana and the path of those who use it,” the man suddenly spoke out and turned around to stare at Julius.

Julius, on the other hand, felt his throat tighten when he saw the blazing verdant green eyes staring at him. It wasn’t oppressive or anything of the like, but the potency of the gaze locked his soul in place.

“Misunderstand?” Julius said, forcing himself to speak.

The man, who was likely Tezuko Willow, the person who created this vision, bent down and picked up a small pebble that was sitting on the edge of the stream. The pebble’s surface was incredibly smooth.

“They often believe that life is just that— life. They fail to understand the deeper meanings of life and death…” Tezuko laughed brightly. “Hah! The fools.”

Julius kept silent as the man ran his fingers over the smooth pebble.

“Take this stone, for example. Do you think it has life?” The man asked Julius, staring straight into his soul.

Julius’s immediate instinct was to say no, but he held himself back, knowing full well that it wasn’t such a simple answer.

“I don’t know,” he said honestly.

Tezuko smiled at him. “Good. If you had said no just because you thought I was tricking you, I would have killed you.”

Julius laughed a little bit, but realized that the man wasn’t laughing with him. Tezuko was staring at him with a hint of madness. There was a kindness on his face, but Julius could spot the insanity lurking beneath the surface. He knew a fellow madman when he saw one.

“It’s obviously not alive, at least not in the traditional way. However, what makes life? Is it a beating heartbeat? A sentient mind?”

Julius stayed silent, feeling that the man wasn’t speaking directly to Julius.

“No, I believe that life is given meaning through experiences. The more one experiences makes that life all the brighter. Joy, suffering, tragedy, all of these emotions and experiences leave a mark on someone’s life. It’s what gives it power, and it’s what gives it meaning.”

“Look at this stone. Look at how erosion and time have morphed it. How much has this little pebble seen or experienced? How many centuries has it been sitting in this stream? It is proof of the life it has lived.”

Julius tried to follow along, listening carefully to the man’s explanation. But found himself frowning for some reason.

“You disagree?” The green-eyed man asked with a tight-lipped expression.

Julius grimaced and took a deep breath before answering. “Not exactly.”

“But…?” Tezuko pressed.

“What about the potential?”

“Potential?” The man repeated carefully, as if rolling the word around in his mouth.

Julius nodded. “What about the potential one might experience? The potential for growth? Does a newborn have less life because it has experienced fewer things? Or does it have more because of the endless possibilities it might have since their path is undecided?”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The man stared deeply at Julius for a few long moments. Julius felt a little nervous under his gaze, but kept eye contact.

The silence stretched uncomfortably long, but Julius just stood there, not moving a muscle.

“There’s some hope for you,” the man eventually said with a slow nod.

“Huh? Hope?” Julius asked with confusion.

“Yes, so many people have tried to follow my path and copy my techniques, but they were all fools. As if you can hope to surpass someone by following their exact path,” the man said with a scoff, throwing the stone back into the stream.

“So I’m not supposed to copy your techniques?”

Tezuko stared off in the distance. “You will only be able to mimic them to a certain extent. I can give you the tools, but I can’t tell you how to use them. It will be up to you how to incorporate them into your path.”