Limits

The outside was peaceful. This serene setting awoke a strange feeling inside me. 'I feel like I can achieve anything here, as if I'm above everything else' I thought. I breathed in the fresh air, and exhaled. "Time to try some things", I said to myself, and placed my mask on. Besides the Orbs that were ever present, I also had a different use for the mask.

The mask allowed me to take my Natural Path skill to the next level. Of course, provided I focused. I closed my eyes, then jumped. Head first, as if jumping into a pond or lake. I flew through the air, and suddenly opened my eyes. What I was trying to improve was my calculating skills. 'Chase the shadow? Become a shadow? Meaningless!' I thought, as I was about to crash into the ground.

But I believed in my own skill. I believed that I was able to find a path, a Natural Path. 'There it is' I thought, and tapped the ground lightly before I smashed into it. There was no sound, no explosions. The force I used was abysmal, but it changed my trajectory, and I continued to fall. "Pat", "Pat", "Pat", "Pat", "Pat". I tapped the ground with my hand whenever I was about to smash into it, and continued flying down.

Trees, boulders or animals… Nothing could stop me. With a final, stronger tap on the ground, my body lifted up and I no longer dived downwards. With the use of some trees, boulders and whatnot, I slowed down and landed at the bottom of the mountain. I felt excitement, it was something new. I turned around, and thought 'I can't even see the peak... For now, I'm only able to achieve that with the mask. That doesn't mean, I can't achieve the same thing without the mask. This is great fun anyway'.

I run up the mountain, and repeated that for the rest of the day. I always took a different path, always tried to increase the difficulty. There were a few instances where I almost crashed. Ultimately, I managed to practice like this without any injuries. When I returned to the peak of the mountain again, I roasted some meat over the fire, and enjoyed my meal.

The old man appeared next to me, and said "If I didn't watch you train today, I would think you wanted to commit suicide. You have some crazy ideas kid". I grabbed one piece of meat, and asked "Want some?". He smiled, and sat down near the fire. The old man took a piece of roasted meat, and ate it. I said "I was only able to achieve that with the use of my mask, but I believe I will be able to achieve that without it too".

He laughed "It's not much really. But that's good, you are exploring your talents". I smiled, and pointed at the receding sun. The old man was confused, and asked "What about the sun?". I replied "When it's dark, my real training will start… Or rather, I will test some other things out". He was still confused, and asked "Why do you need darkness, in order to train?". I answered with a question "Can you see the Orbs floating everywhere?".

He looked at me, as if looking at an insane person and replied. "What Orbs? I see no such things". I thought about it, and gave him my mask. I said "Put it on, and activate the Formation. Maybe you will be able to spot them". The old man was intrigued, and took the mask. After he placed it on, the mask changed its shape. 'Although I want to check if you can see them too, I also wonder what would the mask show me' I thought.

The mask changed to that of a smiling face. Creepy smiling face to be exact. Its eyes were in a weird position, and its grin from ear to ear. Not only that, it was changing all the time, showing different phases, as if laughing. 'What the hell? This has never happened before' I thought. I had no idea what to think of it, and simply waited. The old man activated the Formation, and looked around. He said "I can't see…". He stopped mid sentence and exclaimed, "There are indeed floating Orbs! What are those things?".

I replied "I'm not sure myself. I treat them as Elements. There are different colours of the Orbs, I think it depends on the environment". He asked another question "Can those things be used?". I replied "I intend to find out". He tried some stuff as well, but couldn't do anything. Disappointed, he took off the mask. "Hmm? Why does it look like this?". I replied while staring at the fire "The mask changes its shape, based on the user. It's more of a memento for me". He shook his head, and gave my mask back.

We waited like this, until the sun disappeared behind the horizon. When the darkness filled the sky, I placed the mask back on. The old man asked "I saw the Orbs, but why wait for the night?". I replied "Because I can only absorb those Orbs". I didn't worry about him any more, and focused on my own thing.

The Black Orbs floated everywhere. Some were naturally attracted to me, while others just floated around. I noticed that very few of the Orbs were leaving my body. 'So my guess was correct. With a full control of my energy, I'm better able to keep those Orbs inside my body. The question is, why would I need them?' I thought. This, I intended to find out, but I needed to absorb more Orbs.

I reached out my arm, and tried attracting the Orbs towards me. I was stunned when the Orbs rushed towards my arm, and entered my body. 'I can feel something' I thought. My energy seemed to become different. I stopped absorbing the Orbs, and thought about it some more. 'Can this be used for stealth? Well, I can't see any effects, but that old man might say something' I thought, and turned towards the old man. He looked at me with disbelief in his eyes. I asked "What's wrong?".

He answered "Your arm… It's gone. I can't see it. Hell! I can barely feel it. Surely if you attacked, I would manage to feel that. In a state where you just hold it there? It's not as easy anymore". I looked at my arm, and there it was. I said confused "But my arm is still here", and waved it around. Then I noticed something. 'Hmm? This looks like some sort of haze…' I thought. My arm was surrounded by a hazy black smoke, and it was escaping outside. I was lost in my thoughts, when the old man suddenly exclaimed "Oh! I can see it again!".

I looked at him, and the back at my arm. The hazy black smoke was almost gone. 'I have no idea what those Orbs are. Apparently, they can be stored inside one's body, and used as an addition to one's energy. Although, the amount of Orbs I absorb is crucial' I thought. This was not a permanent effect, and the Black Orbs were escaping my body all the time. The rate of escape was slowed down, due to my mastery in the energy control. I could only use this during the night, and perhaps in the morning hours.

'This has uses anyway. If a master in the Art of Stealth has a hard time detecting my arm, does that mean I mastered the Art of Stealth?... No, this shouldn't be right. I can only use it at night. During the day, I have to rely on my own skills. The old man can use his skills whenever he wishes. That is the true mastery' I thought.