by G L Rathweg
This had the added effect of tossing the blanket off my body, which I forgot was still undressed.
Dangun raised an eyebrow at me and then nodded and gazed downward. I followed his gaze and realized I was fucking naked.
“Oh shit!” I yelped, dashing over to my dresser and getting some underwear as fast as I could.
“Don’t hurry on my account pretty boy.” Tiffany hooted.
Looks like she was over the Dangun thing.
“As I said, they will be here in a little less than an hour. That should give us enough time to cultivate. Your woman and I will handle getting the home prepared for the demon’s arrival.” Dangun said, in a tone that said it was already decided.
I finished putting on my blue Adidas tracksuit as it was the only one I had that mildly fit anymore.
“You look like a wannabe Beastie Boy.” Tiffany chortled, but in a playful way.
I chuckled and smiled at her then turned my attention back to Dangun.
“How is this going to work?” I asked him.
“First, you will sit in Lotus and cultivate to harden your body to the First Stage, Wooden Tier. You must do this in the next thirty minutes, or everything that Tiffany and I do will be useless.” Dangun explained.
“What are you two going to do and Tiffany you’re ok with this, right?” I asked.
“Yeah, count me in. I want some payback for those motherfucking pieces of shit rapist demon fucks!” Tiffany growled.
“Ok, Tiffany is in, but I just sit here and think like last time?” I asked.
“Yes and no. This is going to be a bit harder and honestly you may not make it through in time even with your natural ability.” Dangun said.
“Bring it on! If it means protecting Tiffany and getting my revenge on Nick, I can handle any goddamned thing you throw at me!” I said, meaning it.
Tiffany gave me a fist pump and a cheer in support.
“Yes, I hope you can. I really do. Now, let’s get to work. Tiffany I will meet you in the kitchen.” Dangun commanded.
“Yes sir!” She said, standing up and giving a mock salute.
The gesture had the devastating effect of causing the shirt she was wearing to ride up and give me a view of her perfect backside. And of course, she wasn’t wearing any underwear. She turned her head back and winked at me as she headed upstairs, backside swaying the whole while.
“Put your tongue away and assume the position boy.” Dangun commanded.
My mouth clacked shut and I bit my tongue as Dangun’s voice shocked me from my impure thoughts.
“On it.” I replied, dropping into Lotus at the foot of my bed and putting my hands in the correct positions.
When I was set Dangun nodded then continued his instruction.
“This time you are in the real world and time is going at the normal speed. As before, you are going to go to your Ki Ocean and create the Ki Ball. This time it will be in your hands here not in your Ki Soul.” Dangun said.
“Ok, so just manifest my Ki Ocean here in the real world. No problem.” I said, mostly being sarcastic.
“Yes, and then you will transfer it from Your Ki Ocean till it covers your entire body at which point I will bombard you with Ki attacks from every direction. You must hold out the whole time until your physical body advances to Wooden Tier. Still no problem, right?” Dangun finished, with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, right, no problem.” I answered, with a squeak and audible swallow.
“Close your eyes and begin.” Dangun instructed, then disappeared with an almost audible pop.
He was probably going to get ready with Tiffany now so I did as he said and began to cultivate. I did like before picturing the images in my mind and pulling my Ki together. It went much faster than before and I felt like I was getting the hang of it. A few moments into it and I had my Ki Ocean in my hands in my mind’s eye. Here was the part I wasn’t quite sure about. Was I supposed to just imagine the ball outside in the real world and held in my physical hands? It was what my instincts told me to do so I gave it a try.
At first nothing happened. Then all at once I felt my hands grow extremely heavy and my face lit up with heat like I was standing by a fire. I opened my eyes with a quickness and stared at my hands in awe. Sitting above my face up palms was my white glowing and roiling Ki Ocean. Spinning and spitting Ki around its surface like a thunderstorm the sphere of energy moved like a living thing.
“No fucking way… I did it…” I breathed softly, as I stared at the roiling technicolor ball of Ki.
“Quit admiring your handiwork like a damn fool. Move on to the next part. Make the Ki flow around you until it covers your body from top to bottom.” Dangun said, appearing from out of nowhere.
“Fucking A man, you scared me, quit just popping out of thin air. Yeah, I know that’s the next part. I’m just struggling with how I’m going to do it.” I replied, a little miffed and annoyed at his tone after my amazing feat.
“Just imagine your body being coated with honey from head to toe.” Dangun said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“What the hell? Who coats their whole body in honey?” I replied, incredulously.
“Oh, I forget you are a young boy. When you are older you may experience the joy of a harem of women covering your body from head to toe in honey and then all of them licking it off. It is one of my favorite memories.” Dangun said, looking up and away to memories of a different time before shaking his head and disappearing once again.
I had to admit it sounded pretty dope, if extremely sticky... I shook my head of the growing fantasy and refocused on the task at hand. Even though I had never been covered in honey by a harem of beautiful women I had been covered from head to toe in oatmeal by an old lady, my grandma.
Yeah, I know they are polar opposites on the sexy scale but I figure the viscosity was pretty close. Back when I was in kindergarten I came up with a bad case of Chicken Pox. One of the ways to stop you from itching was to throw you in a bath of oatmeal. I won’t lie I remember it feeling better than anything I’d ever felt before. My whole body had been one giant itching sensation and I hadn’t been allowed to scratch it. Even as a four year old I was losing my little mind. The oatmeal was like one long cooling breath around my whole body.
So, that’s what I imagined. The oatmeal covering me from head to toe like when I was in the bathtub. Like before, I didn’t feel anything at first but a few minutes later I could sense my Ki energy changing and then the ball changed. I felt it moving from my hands and reforming until it was a floating blanket of Ki energy. I willed the floating miasma of Ki to cover me and it hit my skin like it was electric. It took all my will power to not freak out and lose my concentration.
A minute later, I was covered and I could feel the Ki energy settle. I opened my eyes and for a minute didn’t know what I was seeing. The world around me looked like I was staring at it from the bottom of a pool. Everything was covered and shone with a bright glowing haze. Then I realized it was my Ki and things started to come into focus. The next thing I noticed was that although I was still sitting in Lotus position my whole body was floating about twelve inches or so above the ground.
“This is so fucking cool.” I whispered, but due to my covering of Ki it came out garbled and sounding like I was talking with a mouthful of marbles.
Dangun reappeared and nodded at me in satisfaction before taking his own Lotus position and floating in the air directly in front of me.
“Good, now it is time to move on to the next step. I will gather my Ki and attack you with Ki blasts from every angle putting your whole body through the proverbial fire. I won’t lie to you Hiro. This is going to hurt and it is going to hurt very badly. The pain you experienced when you first saw your Ki Ocean is going to feel like a walk in the park compared to this. Are you ready?” Dangun asked, putting his hands together and forming a point with his index fingers.
Suddenly his aura, the light blue one from before, appeared as a small bal
l of Ki just like it had in my Ki Soul. It burst out into dozens, then hundreds, then more tiny Ki balls than I could count, spreading out around my whole body like a sphere. I swallowed audibly and saw Dangun wasn’t fucking around. I steeled my nerves and nodded that I was ready.
He didn’t say anything just nodded in return and then his eyes flared with his aura catching fire and burning brightly. That was all I had time to see because the thousands of tiny Ki Balls rocketed towards me like tiny meteors towards the earth. And then they hit and I forgot about anything else but the pain and holding on for my life.
And then I screamed bloody murder...
TRACK 7 – RIGHT ABOVE IT – LIL WAYNE, DRAKE
And I kept screaming, or at least in my mind I did. Over and over I screamed like a little girl on the inside, but on the outside I gritted my teeth and dealt with it. The pain was excruciating. Dangun had been right. It’s not like I was going to thank him for the warning, but it was nothing like the pain I had felt in the Ki Ocean. This was a rapid-fire unyielding all-consuming full-bodied attack. There wasn’t one part of me that didn’t feel like it was getting stabbed with a rusty needle over and over in the same spot relentlessly.
The longer it continued the more painful it became. I felt like there would be no end. It was this forever, for eternity. I would be stuck in this looping timeline of pain. Dangun would fire his Ki and it would punish me forever for being a bad son and grandson. A weak boy and man. For letting other people take advantage of me and beat my ass.
It was all punishment for me being weak, a disgrace, someone not even their parents would love or want to be around. It was why my father was never around and why my mother had died when I was born. Because she couldn’t stand the sight of me, couldn’t stand what she had birthed.
These thoughts and even darker ones ran through my mind in a downward spiral of pity and self-loathing. I went through and replayed every terrible thing real and imagined that had ever happened to me, starting from birth. People say you can’t remember being a baby but I did. I remembered everything. Every loss, every failure, every time I was teased, every hit both physical and verbal.
I remembered the first time my stepmom hit me, really hit me, I was three. I remember when my stepbrother tried to kill me by drowning, I was four. I remembered it all, every excruciating second. Every memory causing my depression and self-regret to grow and grow until it was all-encompassing and then something happened. The pain stopped. My mental anguish hurt so much that the physical pain from Dangun’s stabbing Ki no longer bothered me.
Then I compared the two from my pit of self-hate and despair. They were so different yet so similar. They both crushed body and spirit. They both hurt so bad yet neither of them killed me. Not only that, but they made me stronger. All the pain and hurt that I had gone through had been preparing me for this moment.
I had been like clay in a kiln getting harder and tougher. It had taken so long because like clay I needed time to harden so I wouldn’t break. I could neither be in the fire too long or too short. I had been hardened to just the right point.
I laughed. I laughed at the pain from my memories. I laughed at the pain from the Ki assaulting me. Most of all I laughed at the world. I laughed at the cruel and twisted way it made people live. I laughed at the unfairness of it all. Then I cried for all those who were like me.
I cried for all those suffering like I had and would always suffer ad infinitum. I cried for those who would never get the chance I was getting right now. The chance to change their lives. The chance to dig themselves out of all the despair, pain, hate, rage, fear, and hurt. The chance to become better than they ever imagined they could be.
I wasn’t going to waste that chance. I was going to take advantage of my chance with both fucking hands and I was going to hold on tight. I was going to ride my chance like a god damn bucking bronco and go down fighting. I would weather any amount of pain, fear, hurt, rage, ridicule, and anything else because I was given this chance. It wasn’t going to go to waste.
My crying and laughing changed to a scream. A long, loud, and deep scream from deep within the depths of my soul. It was a primal thing of emotions that I had held deep inside and nurtured with hate and rage. It was a conglomeration of all the hurt I had taken, all the ridicule I’d felt, all the pain I’d received. I accepted it and made it a part of me and then let it all out in one primal screaming wave of rage.
The Ki surrounding my body shot out in every direction. One giant reverse sphere of energy attacking and overwhelming Dangun’s Ki along with my shout. Then it receded as my voice died down and returned to my body infusing itself into my skin. I began to glow and then shine like I was made of a dark burnished metal. Everything from my head down to my toes was gleaming gunmetal grey.
“You did it, boy! You jumped right to Iron Tier Second Stage! Iron body! I knew you could do it, boy!” Dangun cheered.
I looked around disoriented and then fell to the ground suddenly exhausted. I hit the metal frame of my bed with a loud clank which caused me to look at myself from my prone position. I was made of fucking metal! My exhaustion was slowly receding and when I was ready I sat up still staring at myself in amazement.
“Holy shit… I’m mother fucking Colossus.” I whispered, in amazement.
“I’m sorry for earlier Hiro. I had to push you as hard as I could. I was hoping you’d be strong enough to make the direct transformation. I gambled with your life. My gamble may have paid off but you still could have died. I’m sorry.” Dangun said, lowering his head and bowing to me in forgiveness.
“Hey man, it’s ok. I’m not happy with you but I ain’t mad at cha. I understand we need to go full throttle. What’s going on with the demons and Tiffany?” I asked, getting up and still admiring my newly acquired iron-hard body.
“She is currently working on traps I have devised in the upstairs and outside. She is a particularly vicious woman. I like her. You have chosen your first wife well.” Dangun said, with a broad super creepy smile.
“First wife?” I asked, with a raised eyebrow.
“Did I stutter? Yes, your first wife, followed by your second, then third, and fourth. Why, is that not the custom anymore? How many wives is the norm now?” Dangun asked, this time with real surprise in his voice.
“Err, no, that is not the custom anymore, not at all. And the custom for most people is one wife. Anyway, back to the now and the incoming demons.” I said.
“I can’t believe it. Only one wife? That is ridiculous. How do they separate the filial duties there are so many…” Dangun said, voice trailed off in thought.
“Dangun! Get your head in the game!” I snapped, grabbing the ancient spirit’s attention.
“Yes, yes, yes. We have a little time before they arrive. You must now learn the most rudimentary of fighting skills, the kick and the punch. These combined with your Iron Body should be enough to get us through this, along with the traps that your woman and I have prepared.” Dangun explained.
“Seriously? A punch and a kick? That’s it?” I asked, skeptically.
“Yes, it will be different training than before. You will be gathering your Ki to cover your fists when you attack. Each strike is a finishing move. Your Iron Body will be able to withstand the lesser demon’s attacks so you just need to concentrate on offense. Your Ki Strikes if done correctly should destroy the demons as I did in your shop.” Dangun explained.
“Badass! You didn’t say I would be doing kickass Ki strikes. Let’s get it on!” I said, gleefully.
“First, spread your legs shoulder-width apart and drop your knees down till you are in a low balanced stance. Next, raise your hands to your sides palm facing upward with your arms bent at a ninety degree angle. Then, close your eyes and focus on gathering the Ki that isn’t powering your Iron Body to your fists.” Dangun instructed.
I nodded and then did as he instructed, recognizing the stance he was talking about from numerous martial arts movies. He nodded when I was set and I c
losed my eyes and began picturing the Ki inside my body. At first nothing happened, and then like a movie theater slowly raising its lights I began to see my Ki. It was beautiful to behold. I felt like I was watching a video of the cosmos when they did the inner space stuff.
My Ki ran through my body and looked like bright white lightning shooting through my veins everywhere from my feet to my head. There were twelve areas in my body which I recognized as meridians from my new knowledge and love of anime, Naruto especially. Don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t learn anything from cartoons!
I watched the Ki travel through my body and saw how it was supporting my Iron Body form. But I also noticed that there was Ki that was not being used and that was free-flowing, while the other Ki stayed in place. I began to direct the free-flowing Ki until it was all in my hands and no longer flowing throughout my body. Then I opened my eyes and looked at my open palms. I grinned at the flowing white energy that coated them. I had done it. Dangun was still there and he nodded at my success.
“Well done. Now, you should know that the whole time you have your Ki outside your body it will be used up. You must monitor how much Ki you have at all times because if you run out you will get Ki Sickness again. That was how you felt after the first battle. Believe me, it just gets worse each time.” Dangun said.
I nodded and then closed my eyes again trying to see how much Ki I was using between Iron Body and covering my hands. I could feel the Ki draining but couldn’t tell exactly how much. After a moment’s thought I had an idea and a second later a small blue bar appeared in my mind’s eye. When I opened my eyes, the bar was up in the top left of my periphery just out of the way and slightly opaque so I could see through it.
KI BAR – 187/250
“Nice!” I exclaimed, cheering my successful idea.
Dangun looked at me and raised an eyebrow in question.
“I figured out a way to tell exactly how much Ki I have and how fast it depletes and regenerates when I’m using Iron Body and powering my fists.” I told him.