It has been more than ten days of sleepless nights for Arash.
During the day, Arash spent it well with his daughters, treating them to sugary bribes, oily delicacies, indoor parks, cat cafes, and playgrounds upon playgrounds daily.
Long story short, it was the most time he had spent on his daughters since they were born. What started as a gesture to appease the kids turned into an actual memorable father-daughter bonding time which satisfies both parties.
In a sense, it was the kind of 'vacation' that Aira longed for.
Arash had inadvertently fulfilled his daughter's term without him knowing way before the actual 'vacation' started.
Three days in, the kids started to idolize him, just the way they idolize their mama. They started to listen to his advice and suggestions, behaved cutely, and constantly demand hugs. It was so adorable!
Arash could now proudly posture off his 'Best Papa in the World' homemade name card Aira had gifted him the other day.
Due to how much the kids played during the day, they went to bed as early as 7 pm after dinner; exhausted and fully satisfied.
This new routine had given Arash more time to practice.
During the night, Arash worked on his newfound 'abilities' where he tried to find ways to utilize the now-visible Soul Particle Energy. His first objective was to continue building the partially completed bridge within his soul, but after a while, he knew it would be too time-consuming.
Next, he tried to use the little pulses to detect the illusive Spiritual Energy explained by Tok Silihan for pendant activation. He performed the same routine until it became effortless to enter his Soul Hall Domain. Once he was in control of the Soul Particle Energy flow, he will then attempt to 'grab' the illusory heaven and earth energy. He tried countless tactics, but he just couldn't quite get it right. The pendant hadn't warmed up even the slightest bit, to Arash's dismay. Yet, as the days went by, his mastery of manipulating the willful little pulses improved bit by bit.
Arash hadn't truly slept and only got a few nap moments in between tasks. What surprised him the most was his ability to function quite well, regardless of his hectic sleeping patterns.
Although Arash knew his inability to activate the pendant affected him, he never lose heart, as he tried to work on the things that he could actually do for a change. He was too old to be overtly emotional about every little thing. When there is a problem, there will surely be a solution. One only hadn't found it. His proficiency in handling the Soul Particle Energy led to new possibilities, and as of now, Arash desperately wanted to improve himself in as many ways as possible during this precious 'down time'. He will wait until he returned to Tok Silihan's cave to resume his endeavors.
Arash swiped open his smartphone to launch an app. A video depicting the sleeping girls in real-time HD could be seen. He switched between the camera frame, going through every inch of the apartment. Nothing seemed to be out of place. This was the risk he had to take since he no longer trusts the caretaker.
Arash took a few minutes to calm himself and effortlessly connected to his Soul Hall Domain.
With a renewed resolve, Arash walked into a heavily-trafficked mall with long strides.
...
In the middle of a brightly lit mall in the heart of KL, two young ladies in early twenties and a slightly older man in his late-twenties were manning an open bakery selling cute-looking mini cakes, wide ranges of buns, and colorful desserts. The two ladies were obviously new since they did not have the efficiency of a seasoned helper and kept on making tiny mistakes during the packaging of orders submitted.
The delays resulted in a long queue at the receiving counter.
Paid customers were getting restless and many of them wouldn't be bothered to cover their annoyed expressions anymore. Since they already paid, they couldn't walk away and had to wait. The line was increasingly longer.
Tension was in the air, and everyone was emitting a slight hostility towards the establishment. Since it was just after dinner time, everyone was rushing home but got delayed unexpectedly.
Arash observed the whole fiasco calculatingly.
He switched on a recording pen and talked in a low voice.
''Experiment twenty-eight. 8.12 pm.
So far, I have cleared the rules involving one-on-one interaction with a single target.
I will now attempt the third trial to verify the rules for passive group mental suggestion.''
Yes, something that he could do.
He now had a new direction to improve. Through multiple trials, Arash confirmed that he could influence others in different situations actively or passively. He named his newfound ability as 'mental suggestion', although he knew his ability specifically targeted other people's souls. He postulated that the soul and the mind were connected somehow since any influence on the soul was reflected in the mind before finally being translated into actions by the body.
Arash walked over to the back of the crowd. He tapped the shoulder of the last person in the waiting line who was visibly fuming.
Currently, the thickness of the invisible Soul Particle Energy had tripled on Arash's body due to his diligence. The energy particles circulating around Arash attempted to infiltrate the person via his touch, but he painstakingly held them back. It was tough, but he was able to do it. This time, he wanted to influence this person passively without directly pouring in the energy particles.
Arash concentrated and roughly directed the soul energy particles revolving around him to cover a wider range, but they still continue to orbit around him at the center. Arash only managed to disperse them as far as a meter and a half away from his body after repeated practice.
''What?!'' A man with a cap turned with an annoyed expression, and was slightly taken aback to see Arash smiling back at him without being affected by his raised voice. He didn't notice that he was now within the range of the energy particles' orbit.
''You look so stressed, Brother. Take a deep breath and calm down. Could you tell me your name, your job, any special info on your job that others shouldn't know, why are you here, and what's your fear?'' Arash blinked his eyes as sensitive questions rolled through his practiced lips. Anyone else would be horrified and would immediately turn suspicious of those questions.
A few stray Soul Energy Particles entered the man's body as his eyes glazed over for a fraction of a second.
The man took a particularly deep breath and simply smiled. After a short pause, he answered back in a low whispery tone, ''I'm Rizal, and I'm a programmer for an international company, A. I did important coding to weaponize a third party's internal structure of a sub, I think that's what it is. I'm not even sure who our clients truly were. I'm worried. I'm here to get myself some sweet stuff to reduce my anxiety. My greatest fear is speaking in public; I tend to talk nonsense when I'm told to give a speech. It has created lots of misunderstandings as of late.'' Rizal sighed helplessly.
Once sensitive information pours, it pours like rain. Arash sweated in disbelief and was silent for a second. He planned to ignore and forget what he heard just now.
''Don't be nervous. Talking in public confidently is the key to success in any career. You can do this, Rizal. Could you help me by calling the others in front of you to come over? Just tell them I would like to have a moment with them.''
The man visibly calm down immediately. He smiled back, ''Sure, Brother!''
He turned to the front and raised his voice slightly, "Excuse me! Excuse me! Brothers, Sisters who are waiting in line!" Not even a slight amount of nervousness could be traced from Rizal's confident announcement.
Puzzled, the rest of the crowd turned towards their back with unhappy expressions. Although they didn't plan to just flock towards the back and fulfill the unreasonable demand, they were curious and wished to know what was that all about. Was it part of a sales gimmick?
"Thanks, Rizal. I'll take it from here. You did great! Keep it up and stay positive, okay?" Arash patted the unknown man's shoulder good-naturedly. They seemed like old friends who knew each other for ages.
Arash whispered into the man's ear, "Forget about what you told me just now, alright?"
The man nodded while smiling.
"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen." The small crowd consisted of 6 people; four ladies, one man, and a high school boy. All heads turned toward Arash in synchronization. As Arash walked towards them, all six individuals were finally covered within the range of the orbiting energy particles. A few particles dis-attached themselves from their personal orbit to enter each individual. The hostility disappeared totally, and Arash was served with only curious expressions.
"Please let me cut the line."
There was a visible pause in the air for three seconds.
Everyone smiled back and nodded, to the astonishment of the man manning the cashier a few meters away. The mini cheese tart held by one of the girls fell flat on the floor.
...
"Observation; it is confirmed that using passive mental suggestion is more cost-saving than active mental suggestion. I noticed a significant difference in Soul Particle Energy disappearing between the two methods. However, there is a two to three-second delay in divulging information, especially sensitive ones. The effect wasn't absolute as compared to Active Mind Suggestion." Arash added a note since he felt that these findings were very important.
Arash added, "Soul Particle Energy, or SPE is a non-renewable resource. Once used, they will be expended and will not recover until more are generated by the Chant. I have verified this time and time again. I noticed a significant increase in effectiveness when performing Passive Mental Suggestion when a high amount of SPE orbited within the vicinity. Experimental subjects' responses improved slightly today compared to yesterday, and yesterday's were better than the day before. However, the SPE used on the experimental subjects was somewhat similar in amount. For now, I have no reliable method to quantify SPE and only roughly observed the clusters of wave-like soul energy particles. More studies will be performed to study the nature of SPE in the future. Currently, six people can be influenced at the same time using Passive Mental Suggestion. It coincides with how large I can personally stretch the SPE's orbit."
Arash switched off his recording pen and walked directly to the very front, as he was ushered enthusiastically by the others. Although he took a moment to record his findings, the others waited patiently for him without showing the slightest bit of displeasure.
"I'm glad you all willingly waited for me. Thank you, everyone! Sigh, I didn't order anything yet. What is your suggestion?" Arash asked no one in particular, testing his theory.
"Take the mini tartlets with pistachio cream. It's my favorite!" The middle-aged man quickly replied with enthusiasm.
"No, no, no. The triple cheese delight with dark chocolate mousse cake is way better." Rizal countered from the back as he raised his voice slightly. He had become someone very vocal since a few minutes back; a different person altogether.
"Yes, yes! I agree with Uncle's suggestion! That is my favorite too!" The young school boy chimed in, agreeing with the unknown man at the end of the line.
"I think you should get the pannacotta. This bakery sells excellent ones." One of the ladies commented after discussing softly with each other. They sincerely brainstormed before recommending the dessert.
Everybody was throwing helpful suggestions as if it was a light-hearted banter amongst close friends discussing what they should get for desserts. The mood was very harmonious and the previous hostility was but an illusion. The three workers and customers on the payment line were so baffled, they became speechless as they eye each other suspiciously. Was there a camera somewhere? Lately, it was very popular to make social experiments. They really needed to control their attitude towards these people!
Arash walked languidly towards the front counter where the two ladies were.
"Excuse me, I would like to order something."
"The ordering counter is on that side, Mister." One of the ladies answered nervously while the other was busy cleaning the fallen cheese tart.
"Can I order here?" Arash asked the girl, who made a difficult expression.
Without waiting for the girl's anweer, Arash then turned to talk to the cashier, "I would like to buy something nice for my girls here, will it be okay?"
"You need to line up, Sir."
"But I would like to pay over here. Please let me this once?"
"Sure, Sir. Not a problem!"
Again, the two ladies were so speechless at the cashier's response. He was very strict and would not entertain any demands which would disrupt the flow. The long line of customers in front of the cashier immediately showed dissatisfied expressions when the cashier stepped out of his way to service Arash with a bright smile.
"What would you like, Sir? If I may recommend, this delectable tiramisu mini-cake would be perfect for your taste. The layerings of creamy mascarpone and expresso will instantly delight you."
"Haha, not for me. For my little girls. No caffeine for them." Arash goodnaturedly rejected the cashier's recommendation with a polite chuckle. "Could you get me that lovely-looking mixed fruit jellies, and ah, the pannacotta too. Three of them each."
"Right away, Sir." The cashier nodded and instructed the helpers to start packing for Arash while he moved to the cash register five steps away.
"Pack them up gently and fold the box using both hands simultaneously to make it symmetry. It will reduce a lot of errors. The food you wish to place inside the box can only go in once the box is perfectly done. You just need to keep practicing until it became perfect. Arrange according to how fragile a dessert is. Never place too close to each other and be gentle." Arash added a helpful comment softly.
"I already advise her, Sir. But Natalie is naturally clumsy. I regret hiring her. However, since she's the daughter of a friend, I had to oblige."
The unnecessary added information from the man at the cashier counter made Arash feel bad for the girl. She was trying her hardest not to burst into tears.
"It's alright. Everyone needs to start from somewhere. You can do it. Just follow what I told you to the T. Don't be too slow until you make the customers unhappy, alright?"
Natalie nodded. In less than three minutes, the jellies and pannacotta were packed properly and were ready to go without problems. She couldn't believe that she didn't make a single mistake this time. She looked at her clumsy shaky hands and felt confusion mixed with relief.
"See? I told you. You can do it."
"Yes, I can do it. I will do better from now on."
"Good for you. Don't be discouraged by a little critic. It points out your mistake and weakness, which will help you to easily identify them and improve."
Arash tapped his credit card and walked away with a gentle smile. While he stepped away, he talked softly to the dissatisfied line, "Apologies for making you wait. Please forgive me for cutting the line."
The bad vibes disappeared like nothing ever happened.
...