Path of the Berserker

THE FIRST PART of the Shura went into the details of how to properly kindle someone’s ember into a Flame. I had gotten it mostly right with Kelsey, by evoking [Frenzied Flame] and [Pain and Sorrow], although I did it a bit out of order. It would then be up to the unkindled to overcome their fear of uncertain death to truly ignite their Flame.

Which Kelsey had done by saving me.

Further into the Shura I found exactly what I was looking for—a method of transcribing.

But it wasn’t just instructions, it was a technique.

[Brand of the Frenzied Flame] – the safeguarding of the Shuras is paramount, for there are many who both covet and abhor the revelations of the Flame. For this reason, commit nothing of the Shuras to the page of a scroll, for the Frenzied Flame reveals its own truths to those who follow it.

I smiled inwardly as I read the passage. I’d come to that same conclusion already. It was confirmation yet again that guidance came from the Flame itself. I read onwards.

Therefore, utilize this technique to commit the scripts to a surface of corrupted steel. As one’s inner Flame grows in strength, so too will one’s ability to both comprehend and transcribe the revelations of the Frenzied Flame. A step lower may one transcribe and from a step lower may one also comprehend. Thus, impart thy knowledge to a vessel as thou doth advance and ascend, for a younger practitioner thou may yet aid.

The passage then went on to describe the mechanics of the techniques, including the meridian opening sequences as well as what elements were required, such as a description of Corrupted Steel. Just like Master Edrik had mentioned to me, the stuff was born of Cursed Stars, the solar equivalent of a Bloodmoon. After experiencing that alien god monster, it made me wonder what the hell else was out there in the universe seeking our ultimate demise. The final part of the shura mentioned requiring stage ten in mental capacity in order to fully utilize the technique.

Damm, stage ten? I thought. What would it take to even achieve that?

Mental Refinement Category

Stages

Description

Mental Capacity

VI to X

Increases your ability to store, retain and recall information. At 6th stage, you gain the ability to detect information within the spiritual realm. At 8th stage you are able to comprehend information within the spiritual realm. At 10th stage you can transcribe and convey information within the spiritual realm. Train by seeking increasing revelations of Insight into the hidden and spiritual realms.

Mental Quickness

VI to X

Increases the swiftness at which you can recall and correlate information you have retained. At 6th stage you are able to see within your own consciousness. At 8th stage you can split your thoughts within your own mind. At 10th stage you can project your thoughts outside your own body. Train by meditating and recalling information.

Considering the descriptions, it seemed I was likely already at least Stage Six or even Eight in Mental Capacity considering I could interpret the Shuras imprinted on the sword. And Stage Six in Mental Quickness seeing as I could also recall them from my memory. It was a reminder that advancement was always happening and that sometimes the order in which things progressed were only revealed in hindsight. But to advance further in Mental Capacity, what exactly did ‘seeking increasing revelations of Insight into the hidden and spiritual realms’ actually mean?

I searched the sword for any further explanation and after some time, found only one Shura pertaining to it.

On Insight into the Spiritual Realms…

To see the unseen is the root of all spiritual growth and understanding, but to do so unprepared is to frolic with disaster. The unseen worlds—be they the Heavens or the nine planes of hell—neither can be seen by mortal eyes. For the eyes of mortals are shielded with the merciful veil of ignorance. To peel back this veil is to embark upon a path of both enlightenment and folly, for to see the unseen is to glimpse infinity. Therefore, prepare thyself thusly. Strengthen thy Flame and mind and glimpse only what ye can withstand, for the temptation of knowledge is alluring yet destructive. We sayeth thus again—only glimpse and stare not into void of the unknown, for terrors that can break even the minds of Soul Emperors, within the void doth freely roam.

A chill went through me as I read the passage, dark images of that alien god fitting the description to a tee. Was I actually training my spiritual growth every time I encountered that thing? It also reminded me of what Lieutenant Harris had said about what happened to his men after they looked into that gate.

This was a whole new world to me. Like a shadow world with a strength that dwarfed even the cultivation empire itself. But if I were to progress to the point of aiding Kelsey’s progression as well, then I needed to face this void of infinity or whatever the hell it was. It sounded like playing with literal fire to me, though—the warnings in the passage were clear.

I recalled my most recent encounter with the Bloodmoon, being within that dark void when my vision to the outside world was collapsing. I was trapped in that dark space in between existence. I couldn’t defend myself from that monster at all in that space. Only the candle of Kelsey’s newly kindled Flame had saved me. It was a scary prospect to keep poking into that realm for enlightenment, but then I saw something in the Shuras that gave me hope.

[Soul Shield] – the most elementary of soul techniques. Use it to guard thy Flame from attacks from both without and within the spiritual realm.

Heck yeah! I thought, as a thrill of joy ran through me. This was exactly what I was looking for! I could finally defend myself from both that monster and Hin Wu if I could master this technique.

I read further with eagerness and anticipation, looking for what other techniques might be hidden within the Shuras. After a while, sure enough, I uncovered a whole section devoted to what I could only describe as preparation for ascension into the next realm.

The Realm of the Sacred Soul cultivator.

[Spectral Body] – the form of one’s soul is forever being molded, but for it to take true shape, it must first develop a body. Use this technique to both envision and inhabit a spectral body within thy own Core. Tread thou carefully however, for the refection of one’s true inner self is forged not by will, but the history of one’s thoughts and deeds.

That warning reminded me of something; a passage I had read someplace else. Flexing my memory, I looked within the pages of the Foundation manual and found what I was looking for on page 143.

“Within the later stages of solid core formation, a practitioner will begin to sense a secondary consciousness within their Dantian. This stage is known as the germination of one’s sacred soul. Through further cultivation of Qi, the soul is nourished through a gestation period. The sacred soul is the truest reflection of one’s inner self. Whether a god or a demon, a sacred soul reveals the identity and history of one’s journey. Therefore, caution must be taken in how one accumulates power after this stage is achieved.”

So the methods of cultivation were lining up yet again. I wondered what my inner self would eventually look like. Just the thought of that discovery made me eager to advance to that stage to find out. But how many stages away was that anyway? I looked further in the foundation manual to check the tier list again.

Core Formation

1st

Core Formation

2nd

Core Body Refinement

3rd

Core Mental Refinement

4th

Core Density Refinement

5th

Inner Soul Detection

6th

Inner Soul Focus

7th

Inner Soul Refinement

8th

Inner Soul Projection

9th

Secondary Soul Germination

Yup, I thought. These techniques were all at the higher tiers of core formation level. Far beyond where I was trying to reach right now, but nothing was stopping me from trying to achieve them. Like Mu Lin had taught me, the Tiers between realms took no breakthrough to achieve and could be attempted at any time. And in fact, trying to practice the abilities of higher tiers often accelerated advancement.

I went back to the section of the sword I was on previously and searched for techniques I might be able to employ that would push towards the Sacred Soul Realm. There were more warnings about the implications of one’s actions on one’s soul and then finally I saw the list I was looking for.

[Spectral Armor] – once developed, this armor can embody the strength of one’s soul and protect one’s spectral body in the spiritual realm.

[Spectral Weapon] – the extension of one’s will in spiritual form, use it to inflict damage within the spiritual realm.

[Spectral Domain] – expand the interior of one’s Frenzied Core to create an inner world to be inhabited by one’s spectral body.

Holy crap, I thought. This was next-level stuff.

The possibilities that came with learning and mastering these techniques already had my mind spinning, but then I read something that sent my mind clear through the roof.

[Spectral Form] – an advanced manifestation technique, to summon thy Spectral Body into the physical realm.

I immediately thought of Threja when she transformed herself using that [Furnace of the Frenzied Flame] technique. She’d told me that it was her spectral form that I’d seen. But if that was the case, then [Spectral Form] had to be the Mark techniques on crack. And then I saw the ultimate technique itself in all its glory.

[Furnace of the Frenzied Flame] – manifest your Spectral Domain, Body and Flame into the physical world. When in this state, a Berserker is at once most powerful and most vulnerable, for any who witness such a manifestation will know immediately thy true nature by the revelation of thy Flame. Do so to inspire the unkindled and newly kindled alike, but if an enemy of the Flame doth witness such power, be certain to ensure their demise.

As I read the passage, I couldn’t help but reflect on when Threja had used the [Furnace of the Frenzied Flame] technique in front of me. Knowing what I know now, it was definitely overkill considering the weak Fire Birds she was up against. So had she used it primarily for me? To encourage and inspire a newly kindled Flame?

Just the thought of her doing something like that made me grateful to her once again.

Thanks, Big Sis, I said a prayer to her while caressing the blade. For everything.

I could only imagine what using it for myself would be like, especially to inspire someone like Kelsey. I knew the effect it had had on me.

As I read further into the techniques, I noted all of them required not only full mastery of Body and Mental refinement, but knowledge of meridians I hadn’t even discovered yet. Further, the amount of Frenzy required to both evoke and maintain them looked huge.

It made me all the more eager to get back to killing giant monsters and cultivating.

But as I looked further through the Shuras, I saw new techniques to assist with more advanced forms of Frenzy cultivation as well.

Upon thy path, thou may discover pain, sorrow and rage that is not thy own. However, be it from a collected pain shared by many and aligned with thy own path, one may harness the struggle of the masses to feed one’s own Flame.

I then looked further down and there were three techniques listed, each with their own sets of meridian openings, similar to my normal cultivation techniques like [Your Fear is my Strength] only slightly different, involving a limitation by range as well as requiring both Mental Capacity and Mental Quickness at Stage Eight.

[Everyone’s Fear] [Everyone’s Sorrow] [Everyone’s Rancor] – the lamentations of the masses can hold much strength when in large numbers. Be they the oppressed or the downtrodden, so long as a focus for their oppression can be challenged, so too can a Frenzied Flame lend its strength to aid the many.

That sounded like an incredibly powerful form of cultivation for a Berserker, but quite narrow and specific in its application too. In my case, I wondered if I could tap into the sorrow and pain of the people in the bunker or even others across the city.

I was just about to dive into the details of the technique further when suddenly the image of the characters vanished from my mind’s eye and I saw myself just staring at the sword again. Something nudged me and I realized it was Kelsey.

“Earth to Max!” she shouted. “Wake up, Max!”

I snapped to my senses, and bewilderedly looked up at her. She was sporting a set of aluminum crutches now and her leg was in an actual cast from just below the hip down.

“Oh hey, Kelsey.”

“Damn, you were seriously spaced out there,” she said, still looking at me funny. “Have you been sitting out here this whole time?”

“Huh?”

I then noticed that the sky was twinged with the reddish hue of twilight, the Bloodmoon already on the rise.

Damn, I really had been lost in the scriptures.

More than six hours had gone by in what barely seemed like any time at all.

I chuckled. “I guess time flies.”

“Jim and everyone else are huddled at the entrance,” Kelsey said, nodding towards the bunker. “Chicken shit, I guess. You ready?”

I looked past her to see Jim and his men, along with Susan staring out the bunker door with looks of dismay on their faces. “Did you break orders and come here on your own again?”

Kelsey shrugged. “Hey, I know it’s safe. Come on, let’s go prove it to them too.”

It took a few more minutes to muster everyone together, but eventually Jim and his officers, along with Richards and his crew, stepped sheepishly outside.

“Well, this looks promising,” Flores said, scanning about. “No sign of any of them yet at least.”

“Yeah, but I can hear em?” Harris said and sure enough in the distance the first shrieks of demons began to sound across the night.

“You two want to explain why we need to stand the hell out here to prove this?” Jim said. “We can see well enough from the camera in the bunker.”

“You won’t be able to see what we’re about to show you,” Kelsey said and then looked up at me. “Right, Max?”

I felt a hint of pride as her Flame stirred.

“That’s right,” I said with a smile and stooped slightly to lift Kelsey from the ground and gingerly placed her on my back. “Follow us, Jim. You’ll definitely want to see this with your own eyes.”