Jake left Nancy's house not knowing how to feel. If before it was the murder, now it was Nancy and guilt that gnawed at him.
"I won't be able to enter deep sleep like this!"
Jake made a decision and bought several bottles of nutritious serum and ran towards the trees in the forest.
Although he couldn't enter deep sleep, he could induce himself into a fetal breathing state.
He was right; he could enter fetal breathing. But after leaving that special state, he couldn't enter deep sleep on his own.
The two mysterious trees and their mysterious ability to send him into deep sleep were a great opportunity that changed his fate. But he didn't want to be completely dependent on it.
Jake thought about it for a long time, but all he managed to do was scratch his head in frustration.
He returned to fetal breathing and practiced martial arts, trying to forget everything else.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but the sun wasn't shining strongly, and a cool, relaxing breeze began to blow.
Jake felt very comfortable and stopped training to lie on the ground and enjoy the soft, relaxing breeze.
Jake felt so good and at peace that he almost fell asleep. But a sudden weight on his chest woke him up.
Opening his eyes, Jake was surprised to see the small dachshund shaking him with a plastic bag in its mouth.
"What a surprise!" Jake petted the dog's head and smiled. "It's good to see you, buddy. What do you have in that bag?"
The dog dropped the bag on the ground and nudged it with its nose.
"Is it for me?" Jake was surprised to see the dog nod as if it understood him.
Opening the bag, Jake found several sodas and some snacks.
"Wow! This day can't get any better." Jake took a lemonade-flavored soda, his favorite, and took a big sip eagerly.
"Ahhh!"
Jake was in a great mood and started petting and playing with the dog. He even let the dog taste some of his soda, but the dog wrinkled its face so much that Jake burst into laughter.
He ran, played, and petted the dog. When he got tired of that, he sat in the shade of a tree and started talking to the dog as if it understood him.
He told the dog many things and secrets he had kept. He told it about his worries, insecurities, and even his new trauma. In the end, the dog licked his face, almost as if consoling him... Almost as if it could understand him.
Sometimes a man just needs to vent, to be heard without fear of being criticized or mocked.
Jake petted the dog and began to reflect on himself and his life.
He felt disgusted by taking another person's life. But on the other hand, he felt good about helping someone and removing that garbage from society.
If he were put in the same situation again, he knew he wouldn't hesitate to act and even kill the men again.
He couldn't deny that he was very lustful, much more than the average man. But if he put it into perspective, his desires and mistakes were nothing compared to what many men throughout history had done.
That didn't change what he had done and how he felt.
But he could try to make amends and be a better person.
Slowly, Jake began to make peace with himself. He began to accept himself with his flaws and shortcomings.
Almost unintentionally, Jake fell into a deep sleep, but half an hour later, everything changed. He was asleep, but he could feel the weight of the dachshund on his legs, the cool afternoon breeze brushing his face, and the occasional sounds of wildlife around him.
His senses were heightened to the point that even with his eyes closed, he could have a somewhat blurry mental image of his surroundings.
Slowly, Jake became aware of senses like touch, hearing, taste, and more.
With his eyes still closed, Jake began to rise from his meditative state and started stretching. Slowly but surely, he began to perform more complicated movements like jumps and acrobatics.
The movements of the Tiger Fist began to be performed a bit stiffly at first, then refined into their ideal form.
His movements became smoother with an indescribable rhythm, and the speed and strength of his movements were greater than he could exhibit normally.
When his body was completely exhausted and covered in sweat, he came out of that special state and fell to the ground panting between shallow breaths.
But a huge smile filled his face despite this.
Ecstasy!
That was the state called ecstasy.
Entering deep sleep whenever and wherever he wanted, even while awake.
It was strange and contradictory, but the feeling was incredible, as if his spirit had momentarily left his body to see what was around and inside him.
So, that's what they meant by peace of mind!
Jake felt like a fool for not discovering it earlier. His talent was very low, so he couldn't enter deep sleep on his own.
Before, he used the analogy of learning to run before walking, so he could walk. But it wasn't exactly like that; he had help to run, knowing how it felt helped him learn to walk.
He took a shortcut, but if he really wanted to progress in meditation, he had to meet its requirements.
Now he had reached the second phase of meditation, ecstasy. This would be equivalent to jogging in his analogy.
Excited and full of energy, Jake went back to training under the trees and then tried to re-enter ecstasy.
As before, it took him about half an hour to re-enter ecstasy. Slowly, he began to get used to the sensation and mentality needed to enter such a state.
Jake looked at the starry sky with a smile on his face as he petted the dachshund.
"From now on, I'll call you Scotty." Jake petted the dog, which seemed to smile. "Together, we'll explore this wonderful world."
Woof!
Jake smiled at Scotty's antics as he continued to gaze at the starry sky.
...
Several kilometers away from his location, on the outskirts of the city, a boy ran like crazy, bathed in his own blood.
His arm was bent in a strange direction, and he had several stab wounds on his body, but his eyes were only filled with anger and a desire for revenge.
"Dad, Mom, sister."
Just thinking about these three people made his eyes cloud over for a moment before he bit his lips in frustration and despair.
Puff!
The boy fell to the ground, his legs powerless, and looked up at the starry sky with the little light he had left in his eyes.
Please, someone help me!
Please!!
When the boy's eyes were about to close, letters appeared in his vision.
"Supreme cultivation system activated..."
...
The room was dark, except for the desk where a shadow moved busily writing in a notebook. The language seemed indecipherable, nothing from this world.
Closing the books on the desk, the shadow looked at the ceiling and sighed.
"So, you've received the system." Bending his head and holding it in his hands, the boy became a little desperate. "There's little time left, and everything is chaos; nothing seems to happen as it should."
The boy got up from the desk and walked to his own balcony, looking up at the stars.
Unlike Jake, who looked at them with excitement and anticipation. Or the boy in the forest who saw them as his last hope, the boy looked up at the sky and could only feel... Terror.
A terror that kept him from sleeping!