Mystic Forces

Chapter 12

They followed a trail down the desolate valley, guided by the priest's voice. Not a soul was to be seen anywhere.

"Master, this place looks empty." Charles muttered.

"Yeah. That's why I brought you here in the first place."

Tea raised her brow as they neared a dead end.

They had reached the edge of the valley. Sara looked down and she was startled by the great depth below, losing her balance.

"Be careful." Kai shot her a glare as he pulled her up.

She muttered a 'thank you' with an apologetic look.

The priest's voice resounded again.

"You have come here to test your patience. I want all of you to sit down in a circle and close your eyes."

They obeyed and sat down beside each other.

"I want you to focus and resist thinking about anything. There will be distractions to made your task harder. So, shall we begin?"

"Yeah." They replied in unison.

Then, the voice faded away, replaced by a gloomy silence.

A chilly wind started blowing, threatening to break their concentration. Their teeth chattered with the shivering. Kai seemed to be the least affected of all. He caught Sara's hand, comforting her, she in turn caught Tom's, and so on till Tea's hand met Kai's.

To add to the inconvenience, a harsh rainfall commenced.

"Stay strong." Kai muttered.

They were all drenched but their spirits didn't wither.

The rainfall transformed into a light drizzle and faded away. Then, they had to face the insolent wrath of the sun. The temperature gradually increased and the friends eventually found themselves drenched not by the rain but by the intense sweating.

"Hold on guys." Tom spoke, withholding a certain emotion in his voice.

"We can do it." Tea added.

"Yeah." All of them agreed.

"We'll be together no matter what and so we aren't afraid of the consequences." Kai stated.

They used all their will power and gave it one more try. This time, they struck the right chord.

They felt a certain flow of energy encompassing their bodies as they felt light headed and a little dizzy. It was the first time they experienced nothingness. Imagine the mind floating in vaccum, without any thought, feeling, emotion, pain, anxiety and even indifference. It seems a bit absurd because our minds were trained to work constantly. There's not a single span of time it doesn't work. Sleep may deprive only the voluntary action of the brain but the involuntary action still carries on, manipulating the mind to work based on past experiences or traumas.

It would really be like a heavenly bliss to be truely free or devoid of any feeling, even if for a while. And very few holy man have claimed to achieve it, though it's humanly impossible.

Kai and the others came back from their reverie, seeming as if a new soul had possessed each of them. Some slight changes were noticeable on them. Their faces were more brighter, valiant and optimistic then they ever was before.

"We.....did...it." Charles said in a dreamy tone.

"Well done, my children." The priest's voice resounded.

Normally, they used to shudder a bit with the sudden upheaval of the priest's voice, but this time, they didn't even wince.

"Ready for your next test?"

"Bring it on." Genus grinned while Kai had a stern expression.

"The next test will test your speed and agility." The voice directed them towards a narrow passage, they didn't notice at the edge of the valley. It went down steeply.

Sarah stepped on a couple of loose stones and lost her balance. She was about to fall but luckily Kai grabbed her hand just in time.

"Be careful, Sara." Worry plastered all over his serious face.

"Sorry." Sara said apologetically.

"It's okay."

They were more careful from then onwards. Genus was at the end of the descending group. He had an uneasy feeling and his subconscious mind told him to turn back.

"Woah, guys hurry up. We got company."

As the others looked back, they saw a huge bird that resembled an oversized vulture descending downwards in high speed, her claws ready to pounce on 'The Freaks'.

"Oh my God!" Cynthia exclaimed. "What are we going to do?"

They were descending at a fast pace with careful steps.

Kai was at the front. He dediced to use the slope to his advantage. He turned to his sides and slided down the slope, just like using a skateboard. He knew that the landing would be one very tough job and it was a huge risk but he took it.

The others followed his example without a second thought, Sara being the next in position, to Kai.

Nearing the end of the slope, Kai did a double back flip and landed unhurt. He then helped Sara. She nearly hit the ground because of a minor miscalculation on her part, but Kai caught her just in time.

She blushed as he brought her up, bridal style.

"You okay?"

"YupP!" Sara blushed even redder, popping the 'p'.

They helped the rest of their friends to descend while the huge bird was no where to be seen.

"So, this was also part of the test?" Charles thought.

The voice answered thunderously.

"Just a little... trailer of what your next test is about. You did well again. But now, you are going to face the actual 'speed and ability' test. Are you afraid?"

"Not a chance." Maria smirked, speaking for the first time after the little moment she had with Tom at their first test.

"Head towards that cavern." The voice instructed them towards a gigantic cave, that seemed as huge as the great pyramid of Cairo.

"What would be next?" Tom whispered.

"All I can say is that, it will be more interesting." Kai stated.

"Bet it will." Tea added glancing towards Kai with a smile.

Charles sneered. "Awesome!"

**A/N : So sorry for the late upload but I was really busy. So, this is the training part 1. Part 2 will continue on next and it will be more mysterious than ever, I assure you. Hope you like it!!

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