Chapter 32: Spiritual Vision

Chapter 32: Spirit Vision

Klein looked at the deep blue, viscous liquid—it was hard to tell if it was a cupful or a chunk—and swallowed hard, asking with difficulty

"I just drink it like this?"

"Don't I need any other preparations? Like a ritual, incantations, or prayers?"

Old Neil gave an "uh" and said

"Preparations? Of course. First, have a glass of Ormir wine from Intis, then smoke a Deici cigar, hum a melodious tune, dance a light court dance—tap dancing is fine too—and finally, play a game of Quintet..."

Seeing Klein's expression grow increasingly blank, Old Neil smiled and provided a summary of his previous description

"If you feel nervous."

*...You're quite the humorist...* Klein's mouth twitched, and he suppressed the urge to draw his gun.

He set down his cane, extended his right hand, and picked up the opaque cup as if it were a heavy object. The smell of the potion was faint and ethereal, almost non-existent.

"Young man, do not hesitate. The more you hesitate, the more nervous and afraid you become, and the more it will affect your absorption later," Old Neil said casually, his back turned to Klein.

At some point, he had walked to the nearby sink, turned on the tap, and was washing his hands with a splashing sound.

Klein nodded silently and took a deep breath. Just like when he was a child pinching his nose to take medicine, he brought the opaque cup to his lips, tilted his head back, and gulped it down.

A cool, slippery sensation rapidly filled his mouth, then slid down his esophagus and into his stomach.

The thick, deep blue liquid seemed to sprout thin, long tentacles; coldness and stimulation instantly pierced into every one of Klein's cells.

He began to twitch involuntarily. His vision blurred rapidly, and all colors intensified—reds became redder, blues bluer, and blacks blacker. The color blocks were dense and jumbled, like an oil painting splashed by an Impressionist master.

Klein had experienced such a scene before; it was the vision presented when the "Seer" Daly had questioned him.

At this moment, his vision was blurred and his thoughts were drifting yet clear, like a survivor floating at sea.

Gradually, he saw the surrounding scenery clearly. All the colors overlapped distinctly with one another, and a gray, illusory mist drifted faintly.

Surrounding him were things of indescribable shapes, some so transparent they seemed non-existent. Deep within, there were streaks of clear, bright light of different colors. These lights seemed to possess life or contained infinite knowledge.

*This is somewhat similar to what I saw during the "Luck-Changing Ritual"...* Klein instinctively looked down and found that "himself" was still standing in place, body twitching rhythmically.

Suddenly, he had an epiphany. His consciousness plunged violently, merging with his body.

Boom!

The mist dissipated quickly, the color blocks returned to normal, and the bright lights and non-existent objects vanished in an instant.

The scene in the alchemy lab returned to normal, but Klein felt as if his head were expanding, as if it were about to burst. Everything he looked at had countless afterimages, and a faint, ethereal whispering came from somewhere near his ears

"Honackis... Freggra... Honackis... Freggra... Honackis... Freggra..."

A sharp pain shot through Klein's forehead, and his heart was suddenly filled with an impulse to vent, to destroy.

He frowned and shook his head repeatedly.

"Is your vision abnormal? And are you hearing sounds you couldn't hear before?" Old Neil asked with a smile from beside him.

"Yes, Mr. Neil, what should I do?" Klein asked, suppressing a strong sense of mania.

Old Neil chuckled

"That is because the power of the potion is overflowing, and you lack a method of control. Alright, do as I say. Imagine an object in your mind—something common, simple, and easy."

Klein focused his attention and outlined his own black silk top hat in his mind, thinking about the sensation of stroking it and its specific shape.

"Place all your attention on it. Keep repeating it, keep outlining it. Do you feel a bit better?" Old Neil's voice pierced through, sounding like a soothing lullaby.

Klein shifted his attention bit by bit to the imagined silk top hat. He felt the whispers in his ears gradually grow quieter until they vanished, and the afterimages in his eyes slowly merged, no longer blurred.

"Much better," Klein said, exhaling as he calmed his chaotic emotions.

He looked down at his body and found nothing unusual.

Moving his hands and feet, Klein asked with half-expectation and half-doubt

"Did I succeed? Am I considered a 'Diviner' now?"

Old Neil pulled out a mercury-plated mirror from the side, held it in front of him, and said

"Look at your eyes."

Klein stared intently. He saw himself in the mirror wearing the black top hat, with deep contours and ordinary features. Aside from the sweat covering his face, he seemed no different from before.

Following Old Neil's prompt, he looked seriously at his eyes, only to find that his originally brown pupils had deepened significantly—so deep they were like a pitch-black night without a hint of light, as if they could absorb the souls of others.

—Normally, dark brown pupils are easily mistaken for black; without careful scrutiny, even Klein himself would have found it hard to notice.

"This is the external manifestation of the potion's power. Once you learn meditation and know how to restrain it, your eyes will return to normal." Old Neil smiled and extended his right hand. "Congratulations, new Beyonder, our Diviner."

"Thank you." Klein reached out and shook his hand. "Mr. Neil, when can I learn meditation?"

"You can start now. Preliminary meditation is quite simple, especially for a Beyonder," Old Neil said with a smile. "The way you outlined an object in your mind just now to shift your attention and restrain the overflowing power was actually the first step of meditation. Do it again."

Klein closed his eyes and once again depicted the black silk top hat in his mind.

His attention seemed easier to concentrate than before. Soon, some stray thoughts emerged and then fell away, leaving only the outlined top hat.

"Let your head go slightly blank, then replace the outlined object with something that does not exist in this world—something imagined out of thin air."

"You must follow this rule. Only in this way can you enter meditation, only then can you gradually merge with the transcendent 'Self,' the infinite 'Self,' and the cosmic 'Self,' gaining insight and revelation into truth, and obtaining knowledge that can only be realized by oneself. In the field of mysticism, this is called 'Mystical Experience,'" Old Neil said in a soothing tone. "You only need to listen to the rest of the description for now; the most important thing is to enter meditation."

*Something that doesn't exist in this world, imagined out of thin air... does an object from Earth count?* Klein tried to replace the black silk top hat with the earthy-green, long, and thick intercontinental ballistic missile he had seen on television.

However, no matter how he outlined or imagined, he could only make his attention more concentrated.

*It seems that won't work...* Klein had to use his imagination. He outlined a sphere of light, then outlined many similar things and brought them together.

The spheres of light overlapped, filled with a sense of fantasy. Klein's thoughts gradually went blank, feeling somewhat ethereal.

Both his body and mind grew tranquil. The illusory gray mist filled with non-existent objects and bright lights, along with the mixed color blocks, reappeared, floating silently in the sky, within reach.

His spirituality extended bit by bit, unfolding inch by inch. Klein looked down at it quietly, feeling it, and gathering it.

"Very good. As expected of a 'Diviner.' Your entry into meditation was very smooth, only slightly less than mine back then—just a tiny bit," Old Neil chuckled. "Since that's the case, I will begin teaching you the most commonly used, easiest to master, and most promising ability in the mystical field: Spirit Vision!"

He turned off the gas lamps one by one, but opened the secret door of the alchemy lab, making the area where Klein was exceptionally dim, yet not so dark that the outlines of objects could not be seen.

"Alright, maintain your current state. Raise your hands and place them before your eyes, with your index fingers facing each other, but do not let them touch."

"Open your eyes until you adapt to the darkness."

Following Old Neil's instructions, Klein completed the steps one by one, seeing the outlines of his facing fingers and the surrounding objects.

"Normally, you should lie down and let your body relax completely, but since your meditation effect is good, let's continue," Old Neil laughed. "Place the focus of your vision behind your hands—it must be behind them. Then, slowly move your fingers, maintaining a state of being facing each other without touching, and do not let them leave your field of vision."

Klein listened calmly, fixed his gaze on the void behind his palms, and allowed the two index fingers to move slowly within his sight.

Once, twice, three times... suddenly, Klein saw a speck of fiery red color between his fingers.

"Huh..." he made a sound.

"You see color? Good. This is preliminary Spirit Vision. The color you see is your own aura," Old Neil chuckled. "Don't rush. Do it a few more times to stabilize it, then look elsewhere. I'll take this opportunity to explain the meanings of different colors to you."

"Alright." Klein moved his fingers back and forth, focusing intently on that speck of fiery red.

Old Neil thought for a moment and said

"To put it simply, the mainstream fields of mysticism divide each person's non-physical parts into four layers. The core is called the 'Spirit Body,' which is everyone's most fundamental spirituality. Animists believe that all living things possess spirituality and a Spirit Body."

"I am not sure about other things, but for a Seer, the purpose of meditation and the way to increase power both point toward the 'Spirit Body.'"

"Outside the 'Spirit Body' is the 'Astral Body.' It is the way the former communicates with the Spirit World and the starry sky; it is an external manifestation of the former and is directly related to your own will and current emotions... The scene you saw after consuming the potion was the image seen by the 'Astral Body' wandering the Spirit World. Rules of the material world do not apply there; it involves the transcendent 'Self,' the infinite 'Self,' and the cosmic 'Self.' The past, present, and future may overlap. This is the root of divination."

"In the Spirit World, what you see are merely images and symbols. They must be interpreted to understand the specific meaning."

"Divination and many other magics are performed through the 'Astral Body.'"

"Do not confuse its relationship and distinction with the 'Spirit Body.'"

*One is the substance, the other is the application...* Klein made a concise summary as he continued to watch the aura at his fingertips.

"Further out is the 'Mind Body.' From here, it begins to combine with the physical body... It involves the brain and is a comprehensive manifestation of your reasoning, thinking, insight, and perception. Some potions primarily aim to enhance this, and many magics target it."

Old Neil explained in considerable detail, "The outermost layer is the 'Etheric Body.' It is the manifestation of your life energy and physical state."

"The aura color you see is the external symbol of the 'Etheric Body.' In other words, by using Spirit Vision, besides being able to directly see some spirit bodies, ghosts, and wraiths—hehe, perhaps even certain existences that shouldn't be seen—you can also see others' 'Etheric Bodies,' or auras. Thus, you can judge their health and emotional state through its varying thickness, brightness, and color."

"Once your Spirit Vision improves and you master more mystical knowledge, you can even discover more detailed things, allowing you to judge a person's lifespan."

"Yes, I mentioned emotional state just now, because the 'Astral Body' also has a slight external manifestation. Once your sequence rises and your Spirit Vision reaches a fairly strong stage, you can even see the other person's 'Astral Body,' which allows you to know even more. This is a level that only Beyonders like 'Diviners' and 'Seers' can reach."

"Some fellows even claim that at its strongest, Spirit Vision can see anything, anywhere, including the past and the future. However, I don't quite believe that."

*Sounds very impressive...* Klein was almost starting to feel a sense of longing.

Old Neil coughed and continued

"Let's return to the colors of the 'Etheric Body,' or the aura. Areas involving movement, like your hands and feet, will appear red; the head and brain surface will appear purple; areas of excretion and detoxification will appear orange; the digestive system will correspond to yellow; areas outside the heart and regulatory systems will appear green; the throat and parts of the nervous system will appear blue; and overall balance will shroud the body in white... these are the symbols of health."

"Once they become dim, or the thickness thins, or the color changes, it means the corresponding part has a problem and is in a state of fatigue or illness."

"Additionally, the colors of the inner Astral Body represent current emotions: red for passion and excitement, orange for warmth and satisfaction, yellow for happiness and extroversion, green for calm and peace, blue for calmness and being lost in thought, white for brightness and positivity, dark colors for melancholy, sadness, and silence, and purple indicates that spirituality is dominant, appearing cold and detached..."

Klein memorized it silently, stabilizing his preliminary Spirit Vision.

"Alright, you can look at other things now," Old Neil said, nodding, without further elaboration.

Klein slowly turned his head toward Old Neil and indeed found that he had an aura of different colors, some thick and some thin. The purple at his head was the brightest, the red at his hands and feet was relatively dim, and the overall white was somewhat thin.

*Is it really just because of old age...* Klein muttered silently to himself.

It was only at this moment, upon seeing these things, that he truly felt the sensation of having become a "Beyonder"!

"I am a 'Beyonder'!"

He moved his gaze, carefully observing Old Neil, but suddenly, he saw a pair of eyes in the void behind the man—eyes without eyelashes, indifferent, ruthless, and tending toward transparency!

These nearly illusory eyes were quietly watching Old Neil, and watching him!

"This..." Klein shuddered, opened his mouth, and blurted out

"There are eyes behind you!"

Old Neil froze for a moment, then squeezed out a smile and said

"Don't mind them."