"How did you do that?" I gasped.
"One of the perks of being a Holy Beast," Aden said.
"How delightful!"
I ran forward and noticed the deer had sort of a haze over his eyes. I paid no more attention and took out my knife. My Emerald Pendant also decided to fall out. Fiddlesticks!
I reached down to grab it when Aden saw.
"Where'd you get that?" Aden asked.
I picked up the Emerald Pendant and looked over at Aden.
"Oh, this? When I woke up, it was next to me. I just snatched it." I said.
"You wouldn't have happened to die near that Emerald did you?" Aden asked.
"I remember being in a museum in China and a man with a gun came in. I fell back on a pedestal and everything went black. This is all I remember." I said.
"What did the pedestal hold?" Aden asked.
I opened my mouth to close it. I was in the Ancient Jewelry section. Then I looked down at the Emerald Pendant. Oh...but wait.
"The heck. Why did the Emerald Pendant come with me?" I questioned.
"I have no idea, but I can tell you this. That is a treasure. See Emerald is extremely rare in this world. Its price is large. The main reason for this is the mythical properties it has in this world.
The main point though is this pendant. See I saw it in a drawing on an old Monastery wall. It was said this Emerald was very strong but lost to time. It amazed me until now that an amazing Emerald pendant could be lost to time but it was just on Earth."
"Wait how did it get to earth?" I questioned.
"No clue." Aden turned back around to the cave. "But once you actually get stronger, you should find out."
He's right. Somehow this Emerald Pendant and I were tied together. I held it in my hand and watched it glisten in the light. I then pursued my lips and put it back in my shirt. One of these days, I needed to find a good chain for this.
I then walked toward the deer and began cutting. Later that day, I had enough meat to last me a few days.
I ate a late lunch and wondered where I should go from here. Should I stay with the injured snake or try and find a village.
"After you eat, I'm going to teach you how to cultivate," Aden said.
"Cultivate?" I raised a brow.
"Yes, it's actually quite easy," Aden said.
"What kind of Wuxia book world have I fallen into." I sighed.
"What?" Aden asked.
"I don't know how long it's been since you've been on earth but there are a ton of books on a genre called Wuxia. It's all about cultivating and becoming stronger. They all revolve around that idea." I said.
"Wow, yes the last time I was on earth was back in 1890," Aden said.
My eyes grew wide, wow. They were right, this was a Second Chance world. I then thought of myself. I was just a human. I probably still aged the same.
"Alright, how do I cultivate?" I asked.
"Go criss-cross with your legs." I did so. "Now close your eyes." I did that. "From here I have no idea.
I opened my eyes.
"What?!" I looked over at him.
"I'm a Beast. I've just seen humans do that. I don't know what comes after. It's said you either know or you don't. If you don't, you can't cultivate." Aden said.
I sighed.
I then closed my eyes and laid my hands on my knees. I waited for something, anything. I listened to the sounds around me. The birds and water from the stream. I slowly let go of my thoughts. I started to feel the comfort I had never felt before. My mind felt anew. What a wonderful feeling.
I started to get lost in the feeling. It was so comfortable. Then there I was. In my old life. Running. I was running away from my father as he chased me down the beach.
I giggled and laughed in my childish voice. I turned to see him clear as day. His smile and his green eyes. My most favorite memory.
Then everything changed and I was standing in a black outfit. I stood in front of a casket. In front of me was a picture of my father. My worst memory. I was twelve then, in my previous life.
That was when my emotions started spiraling. I tried to grab ahold but they wanted to spiral. I finally just pushed away all thoughts and emotions. I focused on the air as I first did.
Everything started to calm down and I stayed in the middle. Not too much and not too little. I stayed in a safe place where my emotions wouldn't spiral. It was then that I really started to be content.
The air swirled around me and entered into my body. I could feel a nice heat in my lower abdomen. I stayed this way for a while and lost track of time.
The air kept building and building until I felt an enormous force shoot out of me and a warm mess covered me. It was like a hit of ecstasy. I came down from the rush and opened my eyes.
"Seems you're finally out of it," Aden said.
I looked down to see Aden chilling his nest. I wanted to move but my legs felt stiff. I also noticed a layer of dust.
"How long did I have my eyes closed?" I asked.
"Give or take, almost a month," Aden said.
I froze.
"Almost a month!" I exclaimed.
"It's normal for humans to take a while when they first enter cultivation. Your body and soul must get used to the energy in the air. Whether you are capable of such a feat is only for you know. Neither I nor anyone else can help you cultivate. Mainly, because your experiences are different from anyone else.
Also, remember this, the amount of energy you suck in is up to you, but the more you do, the more dangerous it becomes. I would have told you before but I needed to see if you were even capable of cultivating."