Is it really heaven?

Enlightenment of Thunder and Lightning. It was one a great family art, but had been lost after the fall. I didn’t know much, but what I did know was that everything changed. The sacred arts of the heavens were altered to a single inheritance. In this methodology, each sacred art would be passed down to one single student. This kept the secrets of the art protected, and ensured maximum ability of its original style. I had spent the last sixteen years working to restore the heavens, and in all of the spare time I had, learning under my master.
Each day I would return to the building on the outskirts of Caelestis Regnum where he resided. He had studied logs and researched the style to help somewhat restore it. Whether or not it was complete didn’t matter. The style had been rather powerful in a lost time, and having its strength added to the military was a potentially huge asset.
“What’s the principle?”
“Master.. we amplify the presence of Metal element in the atmosphere and collides it with a medium, creating lightning. Enlightenment has long gotten rid of the traditional movements and forms and has instead been taught so that each successor could incorporate the basic principles of the style into their own fighting methods as a way to advance the art. In short, for me, it just means quality over quantity, as the art relies on having a very refined and pure energy even if not much in amount, instead of enormous quantity of unrefined energy. The breathing method is the key to purifying the individual energy to be used. “
“And what is the focal point?”
“The focal point of breathing is Yin of inhaling (negative charge) and Yang of exhaling (positive charge). Due to the Metal elements presence in the body the user's body is naturally tougher than normal, allowing a shell to store the strong energy.”
“good.”

370 experience

This was the beginning of each of our days. It had been like this for nearly twelve years. Ever since he discovered me sparring with anyone who looked like they could kick my ass. That was how it worked. I had unfortunately gotten myself into something that I shouldn’t, and was massively outnumbered. That was when he came. I don’t know how, or why, but he was different. The level of strength he exhibited was something I had never witnessed before. It was something out of legends. It was impossible for one being to take on any more than two, or at least that was my current thought on the matter. However, this being easily dispatched eight other spirit, without breaking a sweat. I was half impressed, half terrified. After that, he turned to look at me before casually walking away before nothing happened. I followed him for sixty one days before he finally agreed to teach me.
Although I was fairly dense in my initial stages of learning, I had come to accept the one truth about this style of sacred art. Mastery of the basics was vital to everything else. The basis of the technique, breathing, allowed me to slowly press energy through my body while filtering it. To accomplish this, I had many hours of visualization training every day. Remembering back to the first week of actual training, this was all I did. I remember complaining, a lot.
The days were long while I was growing up. We didn’t have jobs or anything to do, other than rebuild our lost society. The once pristine civilization was slowly being rebuilt. Buildings were being replaced, and that was taking a collaborative effort from all of us. The older spirits designed and organized, while younger ones helped out on the sides with small things. Even I helped out by organizing supplies and assisting the ladies with their efforts. Between shifts of delivering baked goods and helping water the gardens that needed tending, I would spend my time sitting on the rear balcony of the building we were assigned. What would I be doing? You guessed it, visualization training. This training was tedious beyond all belief, but it was the basics that drove me forward. I would use a clear tea pot with a stack of filters. Slowly, the water would trickle through the filter, and I would visualize that with each breath. Each inhale and exhale would be me balancing a small, highly refined amount of energy through my body. Over time, I would learn to expand that energy, and control it across my body. The path that this opened for me, however, was not one that I ever would have expected.
Closing my eyes, the time would shift across blackened space while I visualized my body lined with filters. A deep breath in would mark negative energy being formed. Holding that breath would shift it across my body towards my left hand, where it would be stored until exhaling. On the exhale, a rapidly charged burst of positive energy would press into my right arm. Pointing my right arm outwards while I sat there, my fingers would curl into a fist. At that point a rapid breath would be released before a light spark of electrical current swirled around my arm. It wasn’t anywhere close to what my master could do, but it was something. The basis of lightning was all in the breathing, as was everything else.

650 experience
Total : 1,020 experience

The strange feeling around my fist was enjoyable. It had actually grown on me since my first time utilizing such a technique. I had remembered back to when it was first used. The ability had turned out to be a disaster. My breathing was inconsistent, and I tried to force its application. The result was something tremendously bad for me. With more internally purified energy than I could handle, the result paralyzed my arm for nearly four days, and it took me another week afterwards to regain control of my breathing. It had been a hard lesson, but one that had needed learning after all. I wasn’t about to try and rush something I wasn’t ready for. After all, it took time to master the most difficult techniques, and it all started with the basics. Uncurling my fist, my fingers would expand before closing rapidly again. When they shut, tension would cut off the energy releasing the electrical charge. The lightning would disperse and I would open my eyes to see the result. It was a basic, archaic technique but it was rather effective most days.
Laying back on the balcony, I looked up to see a familiar face. My master, standing there watching, would shake his head at seeing me take a leisurely moment to myself. He was an old fashioned, or I guess whatever that was called, individual. All work, no play, that stuff. Taking a seat, he would look out across the buildings while beginning to talk about something that didn’t make much sense. Without realizing it, a light shower began to form, and rain hit the roof of the balcony. The noise was rather calming to my ears, and the cooler air swept across my body. I would continue to lay there with my legs crossed, listening to the older man.
“You are young, and have never been down there.. but you may have to. We have a great enemy in time. Time, is the enemy of everyone. I chose you because you have something important, you have compassion. You know fear, and you know strength. I have watched you practice every day, and every day you grow stronger. It is the way of the world for a student to surpass his master, but you still have a long way to go.”
The rain slackened and stopped. The old man smiled for a moment before standing and heading to the door.
“keep working on it, you’re getting closer.”
With his final words, he disappeared into the building. Where he was going or why he stopped by, I had no idea. It wasn’t really like him to explain anything in detail, he just did what he did. We had an interesting relationship for a master and student. He was my master, I was his student, and that was that. Looking out towards the sky of our realm, I wondered what things were like before everything was born. What was our great civilization like before this? I had pondered that question many times, but never really cared to find out. After all, I was far too busy with training to even bother with something like that.

582 experience
Total : 1,602 experience

Leaning forward, I would sit up before hopping up to my feet. The air was a little bit cooler, but still comfortable. The sky was beautiful, even across a wrecked society. The buildings were being reconstructed… whether or not they were anything close to their former glory was beyond any of us. All that we knew was that we didn’t like living in a broken down place and would work hard to rebuild it. Picking up the tea pot I would take it inside before sitting it on a table and getting a robe to wear. The ceremonial armor of my family was built on a body shaped rack in the corner of the room. What I would ever wear it for I didn’t know. We had no need for any form of military or anything like that. After all, the things important to us were building the greater good. That was all any of us cared about. At times, I wondered if this was it, and if there was anything else out there. Thankfully, the answer would be something I least expected.
Floating down to the main door, I would pull it open before sliding it quietly shut behind me. There was work to be done in the gardens, and I enjoyed going to watch the other spirits take care of their parts. I could usually get a lot of work done while there since it was easier to focus. I hadn’t thought about how I made it there the first time, all I knew was that it was usually the place where I would end up when I least expected it. I would end up there while I watched younger spirits follow the direct instruction of older ones. As a society, we had little need for government or organized hierarchy, but there were some who used it. Even though we were in heaven, there were a few people that one could call undesirable, and yet it was always necessary for a certain number of poor and unfortunates to exist in such a place. Every powerful spirit, reputable or otherwise, required other spirits to work for them. Honorable spirits, in spite of their lowly birth, that did as they were told for the pittance they were often paid. It was rather disturbing to me that there were others like this, though no one questioned it.
On this particular day, I had randomly decided to stray from my normal path to the gardens and head towards the outskirts. It was nice to come out here and get some extra training in. While the whole visualization training really helped me out a lot, the best way for me to learn was while under high stress situations. As long as I kept the breathing basics down, everything would be okay. At the same time every day, a group of spirits my age would get together and spar for physical training and entertainment. We all had our reputations to put on the line, and it was rather enjoyable for me to partake in it. There were also a few others like myself, people who followed the single spirit inheritance. Crossing over a small break in the ground that was left from the fall, I would come into an open area between buildings. Other spirits were already gathering and sparring in the center. There was a large round platform that was raised about two feet off the ground. Once on the platform, you were able to spar. Come to think of it, my master saved me not far from here.

634 experience
Total : 2,236 experience

I had learned my less about coming here, but hadn’t really paid any heed to it since then. After training for weeks to get his attention, he finally accepted me as his student and has been training me ever since. Shaking my head, I smiled over to a few associates who had arrived before me.
“Hey, we don’t see you much anymore, getting too busy to hang?”
I would smile and laugh while scratching me head. I was busy, but he really didn’t know the half of it. “Well, it’s been rough and I’m working a lot to contribute.. I’m here now though, that’s what matters.” He shrugged before heading over to the platform and hopping up. “Come on, let’s go.”
I had just arrived and already someone wanted to have a round with me. It wasn’t in me to turn down a challenge, and the two of us had been pretty evenly matched for the most part. Now it was time to get things going and see how far I had really progressed. I had solid trick up my arsenal, and that was something I was ready to use now. Lightning fist was great in theory, and my master said it was something he used the most, but I had yet to do it in a practical environment. Now I was prepared to the point of being able to perform it. Whether or not it would make a difference I didn’t know, but I wouldn’t know until I tried.
Walking over to the platform, I would take a half step up before floating the rest of the way. It would look like I was stepping on air even though I didn’t really have to. It was a personal preference for showing off. With a light sigh, the robe that I wore would drop across my shoulders before hitting the boarded area behind me. At that instant, the two of us would sprint towards each other. Planting my right foot, my left one would slide forward. With the slide would be a deep inhale while I held it, pressing a negative force to my fist. Twisting hips would be accompanied by an arm thrust forward. “lightning..” The negative energy would rush as I exhale, colliding a positive charge into my fist. The result would be a sizzle of lightning that would surround the surface of my hand and up a bit on my forearm. It seemed like the other was feeling the same vibe when his stance mirrored mine.
Shifting weight, my upper body would lean slightly into it, putting his fist right across my shoulder. “FIST!” The result was a swift strike planted into his face. I hadn’t anticipated him to do something so rash and easy to counter, but he did. Pressing my weight forward, I would completely floor him, sending his body backwards while I made a step forward. The lightning would crackle from the impact before dispersing. Those who had been watching grew quiet at seeing me finally, after weeks of getting beaten, actually make a huge step forward in progress.

551 experience
Total : 2,787 experience
+ 2 TEXP