Limits

I thought about it some more, and tried to figure out what else the mastery in my energy could accomplish. 'I can control things like heartbeat rate, or even make my body enter a temporary death state. I can control every inch of my body perfectly, which improves my movements. I can even absorb and store the Black Orbs during the night. But, what else can I do?' I thought.

An idea came to my mind, and although it seemed far fetched, I decided to try it out. I manipulated my energy to flow differently. Not only that, I tried to shrink some parts of my body, while expanding others. The effect was unexpected. Even the old man was surprised, and asked "What is wrong with you?".

I smiled, and replied "Can you control your energy perfectly?". He replied confused "Of course I can, Everyone who at least trained themselves properly, can achieve the same thing". I said "No. What I meant is not the ability to use your energy, but manipulate it. In other words, do this", and I showed him how my body changed.

Although I couldn't reconstruct my body, I could make myself a bit taller, or a bit shorter by compressing and expanding my bones. I could also change my heartbeat rate, my breathing to match someone else. My muscles could expand or contract, and my overall posture could change. The old man looked at me weirdly, when I showed him how a mastery in energy control looks like.

I then got an idea. 'My regenerative abilities should've improved now. I wonder what would happen if I am wounded, and direct all my energy to recover that one spot only?' I thought, and immediately put that idea into action. I slashed my left palm with a dagger. The old man again asked, "What are you up to this time?". I replied "Just watch". I had a good feeling about this, and directed all the energy flow onto that one wound. The bleeding stopped almost instantly, and I could feel itchiness in my palm. The wound started closing slowly. A while later, the wound was closed, and a small scab formed atop the wounded area.

'Just as I suspected. If I will for my energy to focus only on one thing, the strength of my regeneration is much faster' I thought. The old man was visibly shocked, and asked "Are you some sort of walking medicine?". I smiled, and replied "This is also due to my mastery in energy control. I can regenerate much faster now… Although I guess my regenerative abilities were already quite strong".

He said "I've heard of a technique that can change one's body, but I never saw one. This type of regeneration… I never saw something like this. Without the use of Formations or medicine, this shouldn't be possible. Are you sure it's not some sort of technique, and you only want to fool this old man?". I replied "I told you, I have perfect control of my energy. If you don't know how to do it, then that simply means you don't have full control of your energy. Even as a master, you can still learn things".

He was a bit stunned for a while, but then laughed loudly while saying "To think that this old man would indeed witness something like this. That's true boy. Even though I'm a master in the Art of Stealth, that doesn't mean I'm omnipotent. There is a saying that goes, 'You can't teach new tricks to an old dog'. The new generation will always overtake the old one".

'New generation... ', for some reason, his words reminded me of Nick's. 'Gods that descend, shall be mortals. Those who inherit, shall follow. Those who live, shall die and those who thrive, shall pass', was what Nick once told me. Now I understood what he meant. 'One day in the future, I will become someone like this old man. I will be confused and surprised at the younger generation. "Who knows what the future holds" right?' I thought.

'What he considered crazy, impossible or non-existent, I might be in the same situation in the future', my thoughts continued. Nick wasn't talking about the Gods, but Humans. A metaphor used to describe Humans above all others. One might've been a god amongst men, but his time would pass sooner or later. He would die, just like any other man, like any other mortal.

The old man was a master in Arts, but his time was passing. A new generation would take his place. With time, he would become irrelevant, just like other historic figures. They had books about them, but nothing else besides that. Their glory gone. Their skills either passed on and improved upon, or changed many times. Or forgotten with the passage of time.

I stared at the fire, and said "You know, life is weird". He looked at me, and asked "Why?". I continued "People chase fame or power, but in the end? They will still pass away one day or another. What does the fame mean, if you are dead? Why care about wealth, if you will die anyway? Why explore one's life, if nothing awaits you at the end?". This was the first time, I questioned my own life's goal.

The old man thought for a while, then smiled and said. "I don't think like that. I look at it differently. Imagine that your life is a story, a story that you write by yourself. Some stories are short, others long. Some will be interesting, while others are not. Does that matter? No. In my view, every story should have an end to it. Don't you think?".

I thought about it, and replied "Why would it matter?". He said with a smile, "Would you be happy if an interesting story suddenly stopped? Never to be finished? Humans are like that, it's part of our nature really. The older we get, the more we worry, care and think about the future. If your life is not exciting, does that mean you shouldn't explore it? No one knows what you find in the end, even if your life is mundane".

He thought a bit more, and continued "Remember the story about Arien? She wasn't some sort of great figure. A normal villager, just a bit more curious than others. In the end, she developed the Art of Stealth. All stories can become interesting, and everyone has a story to tell, this includes you".

He leaned back, and continued "You are too young to question and worry about the meaning of life. Your whole life is still in front of you. What you make of it, it's up to you". I nodded my head, and replied "You are right". He smiled, and asked "So, what else can you do with that energy control of yours?".

I replied "I don't know. I only mastered it recently. I can control everything about my body, which means my movement, strength and even look can be altered to a certain extent. I don't know what else I could use it for". The old man thought about it for a while, and said "This is something I can't really help you with. Maybe you will find more uses for that, or maybe not. You already found some, which is a success. We shouldn't be greedy sometimes, and take what we have".

I appreciated his honesty. He didn't try to motivate me, or point me in a certain direction. He simply shared his honest thoughts, and this meant a lot to me. I was used to people lying and scheming, but I felt like I could talk about anything with this old man. 'Why should I worry? Why question my own goals, when I have loads in front of me. It's not like I can't become someone too. It's not like I can't leave a legacy. I will die one day, but so what? Why shouldn't I strive to improve and enjoy myself' I thought.

I probably had such thoughts due to Royals, the difficulty of life and overall realisations. 'Yea, my early childhood was great, but then I guess everything went downhill. Maybe I grew up to fast, maybe I forgot how to enjoy myself' I thought, and recalled the training I did during the day. It was exciting. it was something else, something new. I decided to do more of such things, to worry less and just enjoy myself.

I stood up, took off my mask and said "I believe I can accomplish some things. A master of three different Arts eh? No one ever achieved that, so why not make it my goal?". The old man laughed while replying "That's the spirit". I stood at the peak, and closed my eyes. 'This is it' I thought, as the wind brushed passed my body. I forgot about all the chasing, hate and shenanigans. I simply jumped forwards.