Chapter 72 History Says

'First, how do you remember the feeling of the white wisps now?' Keng asked. Lee Seng sat up and moved his back to lean against the wall.

'It's a warm energy wrapping around me. I just imagine the fox mask and--'

The familiar white wisp energy enveloped Lee Seng and the fox mask appeared. Lee Seng held his eyes closed and nodded slowly.

'Good. Hold it while you enter the soul world.' Keng told him. Lee Seng took deep breaths and his mind began to flicker. He could feel the disconnect and in an instant, he stood near the tree on a cliff. He saw the forest below and looked around. White wisps circled and shimmered off of him. He lifted his hand to touch his face and felt the mask.

"Woah. What the heck?" Lee Seng gasped. He waved his hands around and felt the familiar energy radiating off of him. "Maybe my soul body reflects my actual body?"

"Not quite all the time." Keng trotted into view. "As long as you and I are connected, I don't think you should have a problem with training with the white wisp form." Lee Seng nodded and began to stroke his chin. He tapped his foot and snapped his fingers.

"White wisp form. Dark Matter eater technique. I think I need to name these techniques. If we go off of feel for everything, it's fine but what if I need to team up with you. It would be hard to explain in a short amount of time..." Lee Seng pondered.

"Name it what you will. You and I are connected so I understand your intentions. If you are simply using me as an excuse then so be it. It would be easier on your combat partner or partners if you have names for them."

"Hmm, then what should I name this then?" Lee Seng turned towards the cliff. The familiar forest view reminded him of some lost memory on the tip of his tongue. He tapped away at his chin taking in the view. "White Aura? Nah. Fox Aura? Eh. Fox Cloak?" Lee Seng removed his fingers tapping away at his chin and clapped.

"We'll name it White Fox Cloak!" Lee Seng proudly announced. He turned and saw Keng standing besides him. Keng nodded and turned to move with Lee Seng. "With that outta the way, how do I do that Dark Matter eating thing?" Keng moved in front of Lee Seng and turned around.

"You know why the White Fox Cloak releases wisps?" Keng asked. Lee Seng thought for awhile, letting silence fill the space.

"I just remember those old stories my parents and people used to consume about kitsunes and kumihos. I think one variation in the old stories was they could wield fox fire?"

"Mmm, the origination of what we are, came from the East. Fox fire is a thing we can do overtime, but as of right now, we cannot. Our resemblance is close to the Asian stories. Foxes who could shapeshift and take form of a beautiful person, usually woman, and snag men and women's spirits away. A ball would be carried around the fox. It was its lifeline. If it lost it, it wouldn't be able to fully grow back to a human.

"The stories from Japan, China and Korea are the basis for understanding what you and I are, but you and I split from the stories and become reality. You don't get your tails from age. You get them through enough souls from the monsters that lurk amongst us. Each tail you gain from your first, you unlock more knowledge and more understanding of what it is to be and who you are.

"Now you're thinking 'why are you giving me a rundown of what I am? When are you going to teach me the Dark Matter eating technique?' First, you need to know the history because our existence is based in it. Knowing my existence is the first step in unlocking everything." Keng explained.

"Your existence originated from Eastern Asia. Chinese, Japanese and Korean stories on the nine-tailed fox." Lee Seng summarized. Keng nodded. "You are based off of that and I took you in and now am a nine-tailed fox?"

"Yup. You're on the verge to becoming a nine-tailed fox."

"I'm going to become a nine-tailed fox so what does that have to do with the Dark Matter eating technique?"

"It is like soul gathering but it isn't like soul gathering. Dark Matter eating technique is one of the core Fox abilities you must master along with your White Fox Cloak. If you can master these two things, when you gain abilities that use these two as a basis, you'll quickly catch on."

"So how does the Dark Matter eating technique work then?" Lee Seng impatiently asked. Keng stood up and Lee Seng watched as White Fox Cloak activated onto Keng. White wisps started to flow off of Keng's body.

"The wisps act as a defense and offense," Keng began. "They can heal non-lethal wounds and heavily lower the impact of your negative. To master this form, you have to be able to stay in this form while asleep. It should become apart of you just like the eyes."

"Like the eyes?" Lee Seng blinked. He had forgotten about his red and blue eyes. He recalled the times his eyes felt like they were straining. He instinctively rubbed his eyes and blinked. "So I keep the White Fox Cloak on for as long as possible?"

"From what I've observed, you can keep it up for 30 minutes. This might lower drastically because you're manipulating the aura like a body part." Keng explained. Lee Seng watched as Keng's wisps moved outwards and began to swipe at the air. It pulled back and reached out to Lee Seng. It connected with Lee Seng and Lee Seng could feel the wisps moving and interlacing with his.

In an instant, he felt something pull at him. Keng's wispy arm pulled back and a grayish-black substance pulled away from Lee Seng. Lee Seng grunted as he watched the grayish-black substance start to dissipate into the wisps. He could feel a cold residue that suddenly became warm. The wisps glowed as the warm feeling came back. Lee Seng glanced at his stomach area and touched it.

"W-what did you do?" Lee Seng stuttered. "Did you just... pull something out of me?"

"I took your Dark Matter and ate it with the cloak. The wisps digested it and fed you the energy back." Keng explained. "The technique is like all the other techniques you've used. You imagine what you want to do with it. The first dozen times you'll have to clearly picture it, but after you get the hang of it, it'll become second nature to you."

"How exactly do I practice this then? I can't just take your Dark Matter. Wouldn't that harm you?"

"Since we're connected, we both feel what's being taken away and given to us. The pain will quickly pass. It's only practice."

Lee Seng slowly nodded. He took a deep breath and imagined the white wisps moving around clockwise. If he could get the hang of the wisps moving at-will, he wouldn't worry too much about the next step. The wisps began to shift clockwise. They slowly shifted right. Lee Seng watched his hands as the wisps spun in a slow circle.

Lee Seng imagined the wisps from his hand extending out towards Keng. The wisps began to slowly build at his fingertips and move out towards Keng. Lee Seng's hand shook as he watched the wisps move slowly towards Keng.

"Breathe." Keng said. Lee Seng released his held breath and the wisps started to flutter around. Lee Seng sucked in air and kept imagining the wisps touching Keng. The wisps moved back together and started their journey towards Keng, again. Lee Seng's slow breaths picked up and the wisps moved faster. His chest felt like it was gonna burst when all of his wisps flew at Keng and surrounded him.

Lee Seng realized all of his wisps surrounded Keng. Keng shook his head violently as the wisps scattered around him. Lee Seng's embrassasment quickly turned to laughter. The wisps pulled away from Keng and floated back to Lee Seng. Lee Seng threw himself backwards and rolled. He hadn't expected his panic to cause that outcome.

"Oh my god." Lee Seng chuckled. "I didn't think that would happen. I panicked and the next thing I knew, they were all on you." Lee Seng watched the gray wispy clouds slowly pass overhead. He wiped his eyes as his smile beamed. "I haven't felt this happy in a long time." His huge smile dimmed.

He couldn't help but feel at ease. The soul world seemed to reflect the sky so well in the monochrome color space. White skies and light gray clouds. He sat up and looked at Keng who was patiently watching Lee Seng. His tail swayed side to side happily. Lee Seng wondered if Keng could feel his happiness too.

"Do you feel what I feel?" Lee Seng asked.

"Not necessarily, but I can tell what you're feeling." Keng responded.

"Makes sense." Lee Seng nodded. He shifted in his spot and raised his hand again. "Alright, let's continue."