Chapter 6
Spot and Zen arrive at the campsite, only for them to see Ry lying on the sand, unconscious. The duo ran towards the unconscious Ry and checked his breathing and pulse and noticed that the little boy was just sleeping.
They wake him up to ask him about what he did when they were not here as many things were scattered around implying that he ran through one of the storage modules and got tired.
"Well, I was just looking around, " Said Ry, as he did not want to get scolded by his elder brother.
"Oh! That's great, now clean this place and put back everything you took out." Said Zen in a commanding tone.
Observing his brother's wrath, Little Ry had no choice but to clean up but Uncle Spot also helped him in this endeavor.
Zen also joined in to help his brother and they put back all the things in the storage but then Zen noticed the bracer on Ry's arm.
"Ry, put that in the box as well," said Zen while pointing at the bracer.
After his brother reminded him of the trouble that was on his arm, Ry's mind was flooded by the things that happened before his nap. He did not have a suitable answer to tell Zen and started to panic internally but formed a suitable enough reason to tell his older brother.
I love this, so I'm definitely keeping it," Ry stated confidently.
"We do not know anything about that thing so keep it inside the box, it will be safe there." commanded Zen, then he tried to wrestle the bracer out of Ry's arm.
Ry stood his ground against the big brother Zen, who was big for his age, was taller and had more strength as well, Ry had no chance of defending himself or his bracer. But as the bracer had bonded with Ry's soul, no matter how much force Zen applied was not enough to accomplish the task of removing the bracer.
Seeing the boy's fight, Spot intervened and noticed that the bracer had become significantly smaller and the dead crystal was full of life as it had been revived by someone or something letting it regain a light which the crystal like it should possess.
Spot asked Ry to show him the bracer, but all he received in response was Ry's silent gaze, filled with a pleading expression, silently conveying that he didn't want to show his bracer.
But this was a serious matter, So Spot resiliently asked him to show the bracer.
Ry walked up to Spot and showed his arm to Spot.
Ry cried uncomfortably, "It's stuck to my arm."
Spot checked the bracer and did not find anything that could imply it would hurt his nephew.
But still asked him some questions.
"Hey, could you fill me in on what happened after we took off?" asked Uncle Spot with a calm and friendly tone.
Ry still didn't want to answer his uncle's question, but Zen pushed Ry to speak. Spot intervened and attempted to bribe Ry by showing him the keys to the gilder bike like a carrot on a stick.
Ry remained steadfast in his refusal to disclose the bracer, as doing so would also force him to divulge the truth about his secret friend, Vay.
Upon facing Ry's firmness, Spot felt unsure about how to proceed, in a way that would not hurt Ry. but Zen had other thoughts, as he felt Ry was just acting in front of Spot.
After witnessing his uncle struggle against his little brother, Zen asked Ry once again but this time he had a kinder and worrying tone in his voice.
"What is wrong with you? Why are you acting all weird, you were lying in the sand sleeping and now you have a bracer thingy all of a sudden in your arm, I know you are hiding something, just say it, What's wrong?."
Ry did not feel good after making his brother and Uncle worry. So finally he decided to tell them something that was on his mind.
"So tell us everything you are hiding." asked Uncle Spot and Ry nodded his head.
Ry didn't know where to start but he had done enough thinking and was getting frustrated so he looked at Zen and Uncle Spot and just told them.
"You get to use that bow, and I get nothing. This cool-looking bracer is mine now." A furious Ry spoke.
Uncle spot and Zen saw each other and thought the kid had a point to be angry. At his age they would have done the same thing, it was an easy win for Ry.
"Whatever, if that bracer is cool for you, you can have it, but keep this in mind that if there is any problem you have to inform us ." Said Zen to Ry.
Seeing the matter settling, Zen suggested something important to Spot.
"Uncle Spot, awakens the soul of Ry as well."
Hearing this Ry flinched as he remembered the pain his brother had to go through but he looked towards Spot to silently plead with him.
Spot hearing this started thinking as awakening one's soul is not an easy matter and on top of that Ry is not at an appropriate age for it so he said a Resounding "No" to Zen.
"I do not think that is a good idea, Zen. As Ry is not even the appropriate age." Stated Spot.
"But there is no harm in trying it." Zen argued.
Spot started clearing all the misconceptions that Zen had regarding awakenings...
"Zen, let me get rid of some misconceptions of awakenings you might have. To awaken a soul that candidate needs to be prepared and trained for upto 6 months to a year. As any discrepancies can have harmful effects." a serious Spot stated.
"But Uncle Spot, I did not do anything like that." Questioned Zen.
"Cause you are a Prodigy. I could feel that you did not need any training to awaken. I was just probing how much time you might take and what aspect you might need the most training in." Exclaimed Spot continued speaking "But you just started the awakening process even before I told you how?"
Spot continued to say " To awaken one's soul, three things need to be in balance: Mind, Base Soul and Body. Your Base soul needs to be suitable for awakening and should possess soul energy needed during the process. Afterwards you need to use your mind to guide the energy and spread it inside your body. After the body has gotten comfortable with your own energy you can start accumulating energy from the universe."
After Hearing saying this, Spot looked towards Ry and said " Ry's body is clearly not fit enough and we do not know the status of his soul."
After Hearing this lengthy explanation by Spot, Zen finally understood.
Ry who was quietly listening to the conversation between his Uncle and Brother did not know what to say as he did want the ability to do things that Spot and Zen could do but even the little boy understood the dangers he might face. if awakening not done in its rightful manner.
But Ry was happy with the fact that his Brother was a prodigy, a genius. So he hugged his brother and said with a wide smile on his face
" Brother Zen, when my time comes I will be a bigger prodigy than you."
Caught off-guard with his little brother's sudden affection, Zen could not hold back his happiness as well because he knew it meant something big, he understood that moving forward their lives will have a drastic change, but for good this time.
"I don't think anyone for the past 1000 years has done something that you have done now, Zen." Spot clamored and seeing his nephews hugging he picked them up and started to laugh as well.
"But why did you not tell me earlier about the matter, Uncle Spot?" questioned Zen.
"Yes, Uncle Spot, why did you not tell us earlier?" questioned Ry as well.
Seeing the look on their faces, Spot had no choice but to tell them the reason albeit begrudgingly.
"Prodigy's like Zen are really rare so I did not want to give you guys false hope also it takes a little while after awakenings to know if it was successful completely, but looking at Zen it's clear that he had completely awakened his soul potential and his mind-soul-body are in perfect balance." reasoned Spot.
Hearing their Uncle's reasons the boys understood why he did not inform them about this special matter.
Suddenly, there was a beeping sound coming from another storage module of Uncle Spot's Glider bike, So Spot quickly opened it and took out the circular shaped device and pressed the middle screen on it.
Then they saw a figure of an old man, who started talking to them.