Chapter 11
"Take a deep breath and try to expel any frustrations." Ghirahim's voice explained to me. My eyes were closed and the breeze tickled my face. I felt the dead grass under my toes and began to calm down. "Now that we are calm we may begin." I opened my eyes. We were in the front yard of the house but still within the protective barrier. Catto sat on the porch watering and planting some flowers. Ghirahim had gotten his hair cut by Catto earlier. She helped to shape it to his approval, which was a strange, yet flattering, buzzed look with a long bang that covered the left half of his face.
"What are we going to do today?" I asked. He said yesterday that he was going to start training me, I felt as ready as ever.
"We are going over some basics." He explained, "Your mind and soul are vessels." He walked towards me and paced around me. "You have to understand your limits and capitalizations. If not, you will fail and wither yourself away. This not only goes for physical form but spiritual as well." He stopped in front of me and pointed his index finger up. "Rule number one: You are limited to the form that you possess." I nodded but tried to understand it further. "You can see that we are both in humanoid forms, we are limited to what is possible within this form, but our spiritual forms are demons, so we maintain our powers and can manipulate our outcome a little more. When this flesh is injured to the point of human death, the form will shatter and I revert to my demonic being."
"Why wouldn't you die too?" I asked confused. He liked the power of knowledge over me, I could tell.
"Because the spiritual form is everyone's core being. You can only die if something of equal or stronger power kills you." He explained.
"So like how Link used the Goddess' power to vanquish Demise?" I clarified, Ghirahim's face twitched a little.
"You could say that if you wanted to…" He grumbled. "Anyway, if my humanoid form shatters, my body has no choice to revert back to my demonic form."
"Why change out of demon form then?" I asked,
"Akomin, do you like your fleshy body?" He asked rhetorically. I nodded. "Can you imagine being three times as heavy and a foot taller?" I shrugged. "Not just that but there is so much…" He paused to think of the correct word "… expression, when it comes to deciding which humanoid form suits yourself. I went through hundreds during the war. You'd find a decent one, but eventually it shatters and you can't find the original host. And sometimes they aren't good enough and you change your mind."
"So Catto is your host?" I asked. He nodded and looked over towards her. She paid little to no attention as she tended to her plants. "So what about me? Do I have a big metal demon body or something?"
"I don't know." Ghirahim huffed. He snapped his fingers and a small throwing knife was in his hand. He took the blade and slid it down his forearm. Instead of blood oozing from the slice, his dark metallic skin filled the gap. "You bleed when you're injured. You are also the only other known Akomus besides my master, he didn't humble himself to other bodies. There is still a lot to learn about what you are, until then we just have educated guesses."
"Well, what's your educated guess about me?" I asked eagerly. He rolled his eyes.
"You either have a stronger-than-normal bond between your two forms. That mean your humanoid body will take more damage and try to preserve itself better. Or that is the only form you have and if it dies then you die." My eyes widened in shock. "Or you're nosey and I am just making all this up so we can continue with the lesson." I grumbled to myself loudly in response to his attitude. I was getting bored with the lack of information that I actually wanted to learn.
"So let's get on with the lesson then." I insisted in a disappointed voice.
"We are going to start with summoning. It is a necessary skill that paves the way for many others. It is easiest to summon something if you know where it is. Therefore, I would like you to focus on the flower pot over there." He pointed at the pot that Catto was watering. "I want you to envision it floating towards you and then, once you're ready, to reach out and grab it."
I closed my eyes and focused hard. I tried to capture every detail of the pot floating towards my hands across the yard. Just as it was in front of me I opened my eyes in excitement to grab it, but nothing was there. I looked over and Catto was watering the plant next to the pot I was working with. It hadn't moved an inch.
"You failed." Ghirahim chuckled, I shot a glare at him. "Ease yourself and focus, don't get excited. The visual aid gives you a cue as for when the actual summoning will take place. Now, try again." I closed my eyes and envisioned the whole thing all over again. Except for this time I kept my eyes closed all the way through. I reached my hands out to grab the vase but once again I felt nothing. I imagined watching the vase slip between my hands. I felt a huge shove throw me back onto my ass. I opened my eyes and watched the vase crash down from about thirty feet in the air to where I was standing.
"The hell?!" I shouted in fear. Catto was walking over quickly and looking panicked.
"Maybe that's enough for today?" Catto suggested. "I know you don't like begonias but we don't have to shatter them all. Besides, that pot could've killed her." I felt like her reasoning was backwards.
"No, she has to learn. She can't expect everything to go her way the first try. She is the only reason she is messing up." Ghirahim explained. I grunted as I stood up to my feet.
"You aren't teaching it right then!" I snapped. "You didn't explain anything."
"I shouldn't have to." He corrected, "You can't focus and that is your fault. The threshold you're trying to meet is when the pot actually meets your hand. That is all you should allow it to do. Do not get distracted."
"I wasn't distracted! That's what I was doing!" I yelled.
"Clearly not, otherwise I would not have had to be so selfless and push you away from possible imminent death." I closed my eyes again and focused on a new pot from the porch. I focused and concentrated and was about to grab the pot, I felt the ceramic vase press against my hand, it startled me and I jerked back. I opened my eyes and watched the vase crash down and shatter on the ground.
"Now you're letting fear dictate you." Ghirahim sassed. I growled.
"That was an accident!" I snapped at him.
"Accident or not, if you lay a timid foundation you're sure to choke under pressure."
"I'd like to see you almost die from a stupid pot and then not flinch," I yelled. He laughed very loudly.
"I wouldn't, do you know why, Akomin?" He taunted, I didn't respond in hopes he would stop but he, of course, didn't. "Because I know a stupid pot won't kill me." I was fuming at his response but there was a bit of truth that struck me. "Catto, you may have been right, we should end the lesson here. There won't be much more progression from her today." Ghirahim linked his arm with her and Catto looked towards me to indicate that I should follow. I shook my head.
"I'm staying out until I get it." I insisted.
"With the track that you're on, you will run out of pots before you get it right." Ghirahim giggled to himself.
I ignored him and closed my eyes again and tried to get another pot from the front porch. I got so close, but I was again startled by the pot and ended up breaking it. I cursed under my breath and tried again. I began to sit on the ground so that way there was less of a chance of the pots breaking.
I worked all night. I kept missing, breaking, or was unable to move the pots at all. Hours went by and nightfall was coming quick. I didn't understand how complicated this could be. He made it seem so easy. Even Catto was able to transport us and use some basic powers. My sanity was boiling over, but I did my best to control my breathing to stay calm like I was told.
As dusk fell, I saw Catto open the front door with a lantern. She walked towards me and I tried to compose myself for her. She had her comforting smile resting on her face. I gave her a small beam back.
"It's getting late, Akomin." She stated. I nodded showing her I understood. "I made some stew, it might still be a little warm in case you wanted any."
"I might get some later, I'm still practicing." I responded.
"I don't want you to stay out all night. I know he is cocky and annoying but you need rest."
"I almost got it. I won't be much longer."
Catto defeatedly nodded and set the lantern down next to me and walked back inside. I continued to practice and tried to focus in but I was definitely getting tired. Several more hours ended up passing. I remembered what Ghirahim said about not being scared. I needed confidence, but how do I suddenly get some?
"Why not use the skills you already have to your advantage." A voice whispered around me, I thought I was going crazy. I got a bit startled and took a few steps back. "You need a threshold you understand." Was I really that tired?
I was out of pots. All I had left was the lantern and I really couldn't mess this up. I walked about twenty feet away from it and closed my eyes. Instead of imagining what I had been, I visualized it like a target ready for an arrow to be shot at it. I took a deep breath. This lantern couldn't hurt me. The moment where I would normally release my quiver, I felt the lantern firmly in my grasp. I opened my eyes and saw the little glow of the flame inside. Just to test it again, I set down the lantern and took another twenty steps away. Another inhale and the same technique. The lantern was safe in my grasp. I knew how to focus and aim for an object this whole time, I just needed to do it my way.
I played around and got quicker and quicker at the process as I went. I was getting so excited about my graduation. I held tight to the lantern and ran inside. I ran down the dark hallway, completely oblivious that it was the middle of the night. I busted through the master bedroom doors and Ghirahim shot up from his slumber instantly. Catto was cozy in bed in a pretty nightgown and had some reading glasses on as she journaled in the dim candlelight illuminating from her nightstand. Ghirahim was shirtless and his hair was a mess. He looked extremely annoyed that he was woken.
"I got it," I exclaimed in eureka. I set my lantern down on the ground and walked to the other side of the room and shower them. Catto clapped happily.
"Congratulations, you finished the easiest part of your training. Now please put out the lights so I can go back to sleep." Ghirahim fell back into his side of the huge bed and covered his face in pillows. Catto looked at me and had a wide grin.
"I knew you could do it. Now go get some rest. I'll make you some breakfast in the morning so you're ready for your next lesson." She encouraged. I walked myself out of the master bedroom and down the hall to my bedroom.
I opened the doors and my lantern went out quickly when a strong breeze blew against me. The balcony doors had been wide open and the room and gotten chilled from it. It was peculiar because I made sure they were closed this morning. I brushed it off as Ghirahim or Catto could have been in here earlier while I was outside. I quickly put on my pajamas and went to sleep in my bed. I felt the weight of something much bigger lying ahead of me. It was exciting, I almost couldn't get to sleep. Almost.