Isabella… Alex muttered as he saw his wife while standing in a dark space.
Her beautiful smile was imprinted in his heart.
He tried to take a step forward. To embrace her.
But the closer he got, the farther she got from him.
Growing impatient, he ran… but the distance only widened.
"Bella!" He cried out.
Unfortunately, she didn't stop and only kept going further until Alex could barely recall her appearance.
Just as Alex was about to despair, however, he heard a voice.
"Alex."
He glanced up and saw a bright light.
Reaching out, Alex attempted to grab the body of light, and the moment he did… he was gone.
***
He opened his eyes to find himself staring at a ceiling.
Blinking a few times, Alex caught the smell of tobacco causing him to frown.
Glancing forward, he found Arthur seated not too far from him, staring at him with a strange expression.
He massaged his temples while trying to make sense of what had happened.
"How did I get here?"
Arthur took a drag from his pipe as he replied. "Nadia brought you."
Taking a moment to get his bearings, Alex muttered. "I nearly died."
"Indeed." Arthur sighed. "Nearly lost a good son-in-law."
"... I nearly died," Alex repeated in a bid to drive home the seriousness of the situation.
"Hah." Arthur breathed out a puff of smoke.
The next moment, Alex quickly understood that the latter was serious.
"You broke the boundary."
"Indeed, I did."
"Human Wheel?" Arthur raised a brow.
"Yes."
"Unbelievable," Arthur remarked. He scanned Alex briefly before he added. "Who would have thought that the Catalyst was that potent."
"Why did I almost die after breaking the boundary?"
Arthur pointed to nowhere in particular. "Did you see the spectrum of white light after breaking the boundary?"
"Mn." Alex nodded.
"It's referred to by many titles, including Lifeblood of the Absolute, Essence of Life, Everlasting light and Will of the World. But most refer to it as… aether."
"Aether?"
"Indeed. Thankfully Nadia brought you here when she did, else you would have suffered a fate worse than death."
"Hmm?" Alex revealed a confused expression.
Arthur sighed. "First day. In mysticism, this refers to when a person breaks the boundary and their Spirituality activates, allowing their pneuma to bathe in Aether.
"This is a subconscious act and it's impossible to avoid. Because of that, Most newborn Mystics would only attempt to break the boundary with a veteran around or at least with the basics down. Of course, I had no idea that you'd awaken one day after taking the Catalyst."
"..." Alex blinked a few times trying to make sense of what Arthur said.
His attempts were futile at best.
Noticing his confused expression, Arthur muttered. "You don't understand anything I just said, do you?"
"...No."
"Hah. I guess we'll be having your second class on Mysticism today then." Arthur remarked as he got to his feet and moved back to the chair he sat on before Alex's appearance.
Making himself comfortable, he added. "You might want to sit down for this."
Sighing helplessly, Alex rose to his feet and dusted himself before walking over and grabbing a chair as well.
With a table between them, the current scenery reminded Alex of their previous meeting.
Arthur took a drag from his pipe as he pulled open his drawer and offered Alex a cigar.
"I don't smoke," Alex replied.
"A boy with good morals." Arthur nodded. "An extra point to your potential son in law resume."
"...Can we just get back on track?"
"Ahem." Returning the cigar, Arthur began. "There is something you have to know before anything else."
"What's that?"
"In mysticism, 3 things make up a living person. Soma which represents the body, Pneuma which represents the spirit and Avatar which represents the soul. These 3 things have to be in harmony for a person to exist. If even one is missing… the person can no longer be referred to as living. Understood?"
Alex nodded as he soaked in everything Arthur said.
This was the knowledge that would follow him in his journey as a Mystic, so missing a single detail could prove costly.
Receiving Alex's response, Arthur continued. "When a person becomes a Mystic, the first thing that happens is the formation of Spirituality. This is when we become aware of the supernatural."
Taking a moment to take a drag from his pipe, Arthur glanced over to check if Alex was following to which he received a positive response.
Releasing a sigh, he continued. "At first, it would look amazing, like you have entered a new world and of course, you have, but after that comes the problem."
"Problem?"
"Mn, once our Spirituality awakens, we are exposed to a state where our Pneuma bathes in the light that is aether.
"The initial part would be soothing but just as we are not meant to stay in water for too long, our Pneuma is not meant to be in contact with aether for so long."
"Why?"
"The law of Origin."
"Huh." Alex put up a brow at the unfamiliar term.
Arthur took another drag from his pipe. "Some old scholars postulated an interesting theory. That we are all a part of the Absolute.
"Because of that, once our Pneuma comes into contact with aether which is the lifeblood of the Absolute, an innate desire to return to its origin arises. The more that desire grows, the more likely you could lose your spirit and become an empty husk."
Alex sucked in the cold air as he now understood what Arthur meant by him escaping a fate worse than death.
"Mn, it's a terrifying thing that happened a lot in the past. Mystics were unable to control themselves and ended up losing their spirits, turning into empty husks. Such a fate is worse than death since at least if you die, you could pass over to the AfterLife."
"So the meditation…"
"...Is a means to remind both yourself and your spirit that you aren't just a part of the Absolute, but you have an identity, an identity that would be lost once your Pneuma returns to the origin."
"…I see."
"But then as a Mystic, aether is a means to an end. Which is why the Ancient Mystics came up with a means to manipulate the supernatural without losing your soul."
"How?" Alex curiously asked.
"We call it the Rule of Triune."