Chapter 22: Guiding Akimitsu
Edited by: ASaltedFish
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Marshal Caecius looked at Akimitsu and motioned with his eyes to go to the sofa signaling for Akimitsu to go first.
Akimitsu didn't need any words and understood what his boss meant. "I can go first. I get regularly guided, so you won't need to use as much spiritual energy when guiding me."
Ellery thought that was a good idea too, so he motioned them over to sit down and relax.
Marshal Caecius stood behind the couch Akimitsu was sitting on and wanted to see what guiding sessions looked like. It was the first time he would have a guiding session, so he wanted to know what to expect before getting one.
As for Akimitsu, it was not his first time, so he was not nervous.
For guiding sessions, there was no intense physical contact to get the process going. Since it's to cleanse the spiritual sea, the guide only needs to have one hand touching the patient. So, most guides opt to hold a sentinel's hand when doing guiding sessions in safe environments. If they have to do a guiding session in a dangerous environment like on the battlefield when physical contact is not possible, as long as the guide's quantum beast is able to come into contact with the sentinel's quantum beast, guiding is possible at a distance, but they would not experience the "spiritual experience" a guide can invoke.
Of course, if a guide doesn't want to touch a sentinel, they can do the latter method regardless of the circumstances.
Ellery grabbed one of Akimitsu's hands and closed his eyes. "Since you already know how guiding sessions work, I won't walk you step by step. Be sure to keep in mind that you are giving me permission to enter your spiritual sea." He then summoned Sol.
"I know." Akimitsu nodded while closing his eyes. He took a deep breath and his black bear quantum beast, Dusky, came out as Sol was being summoned.
Dusky walked over to Sol, intending to cuddle with him. As for Sol, he let Dusky sit next to him to allow Ellery easier access to Akimitsu's spiritual sea.
With the two quantum beasts summoned, the gateway to Akimitsu's spiritual sea was opened, and Ellery was able to enter.
Unlike a guide's spiritual sea that can allow people to see a spiritual experience unique to the guide, sentinel's spiritual seas were much duller. It had a dark purple background with white clouds everywhere. The quantum beast usually stayed on a specific cloud called the home cloud that floated in the middle of the sentinel's spiritual sea.
The corrupted, chaotic energy could be found in the clouds, slowly spreading until all a guide could see was a blood-red energy moving through the clouds. Once the chaotic energy attaches to and consumes a quantum beast, the sentinel's spiritual sea would collapse and explode.
Luckily for Akimitsu, he didn't have much red chaotic energy. It was scattered here and there, but it seemed rather tame.
In guiding sessions, the guides would clean out the chaotic energy. If it's a more in-depth cleaning, the guide could put a barrier around the sentinel's quantum beast's home cloud, shielding it from the chaotic energy, which in turn, would protect a sentinel's spiritual sea to a certain degree. Of course, it was not omnipotent and the more a sentinel uses their spiritual powers, the more worn out the barrier becomes until it disappears and needs to be reapplied.
This time, Ellery was not going to put a barrier around Dusky. He was only going to clean out the chaotic energy to see how Akimitsu reacted to his guidance.
Sometimes, when guides and sentinels had high compatibilities, the sentinel may react strongly to the guiding, like feeling aroused or having uncontrollable beast characteristics that would pop out. When the beast characteristics come out of a sentinel, a powerful pressure coming from the sentinel could disrupt the guiding session.
Overall, Ellery was not trying to get attacked during a session. Sometimes, a slow and steady approach was better than a quick and strong one. As much as he wanted to be fast, he knew that he could be put in danger if he was not careful.
Ellery found himself standing on top of the clouds that lined the floor of the spiritual sea. There were fluffy clouds up in the air, like the home cloud the black bear would be on if he were there. It hovered above the ground clouds as a form of protection.
He took a deep breath and called upon his spiritual energy. Placing his hands on the clouds, Ellery let his spiritual energy slowly move through them, dispelling any chaotic energy it came across. As an experienced guide, he easily swept through Akimitsu's spiritual sea.
Still, he took his time while making sure that Akimitsu was okay.
Meanwhile, Akimitsu did his best to control some of his bestial characteristics, but his ears still turned into bear ears. Still, it didn't hurt Ellery, so he continued.
Akimitsu and Dusky were experiencing Ellery's spiritual sea together. It was so comfortable, a little bit of drool slipped out of Akimitsu's mouth. He didn't seem to care as he immersed himself in the beach scenery with a mango-passion fruit smoothie in his hands.
If they used the other guiding method that was mainly used in dangerous circumstances, Akimitsu would still be conscious and alert. The only thing that would indicate that he was being guided was the faint smell of the guide's spiritual experience that lingered in the air. That scent would keep the sentinel sane in the middle of battle.
It only took 15 minutes for Ellery to comb through Akimitsu's large spiritual sea. The higher the rank, the larger the spiritual sea.
When he finished, he had Sol guide him out of Akimitsu's spiritual sea. Properly leaving was the best way to ensure that the sentinel would not have any adverse side effects.
He opened his eyes and saw that Akimitsu was still in a daze.
Ellery glanced over at Marshal Caecius, who was looking at him anxiously. "Let's wait for him to wake up and when he does, I will switch with Aster. Be sure to control yourself as best as you can. You do not want to hurt Aster again, right?"
"Of course… I will do my best." Marshal Caecius nodded.
"Good. If you can, before the guiding session, have a conversation with Aster. It may help him feel a bit better about guiding you."
"I understand… I'm nervous, though. What should I talk about?" The socially awkward Marshal Caecius felt that his lack of social experience was finally catching up to him.
"He likes talking about gems and crystals, and collecting them. If you know a thing or two about that, you should be able to hold a decent conversation with him."
As a sentinel influenced by a dragon quantum beast who likes shiny things like gems, he knew plenty about them. He even had mining planets and a stash hidden at his house!
"I understand, thank you for your guidance, Ellery." Marshal Caecius felt relieved to know that he had something in common with Aster. It would make it much easier to have a conversation when they had a topic they liked.
Seeing that Marshal Caecius understood, Ellery felt a bit better switching out with Aster. However, if something went wrong during the session, he would switch their souls.
Plus, he had an ulterior motive for letting Aster talk with Marshal Caecius. He wanted Aster to get to know the Marshal who saved his life twice. If they mutually liked each other, then it would be a blessing. He was a good man, and he didn't mean to attack Aster that time. He deserved another chance to make things right. If, in the end, Aster couldn't come to love Marshal Caecius, Ellery would back off and let Aster find someone he loved or support him in remaining single.
It was up to Aster in the end.
Ellery saw that Akimitsu was finally waking up and put his attention back on him.
Once Akimitsu wiped away his drool, he looked at Ellery excitedly. "This is the first time I feel so refreshed! I've never felt this… clean before in my life. Having high compatibility with a guide is a game changer!"
"Well, it's good to know that you are doing well." Ellery pointed at Akimitsu's bear ears. "Now put your bear ears away."
Akimitsu realized he still had his bear ears and did his best to control his spiritual energy. It took several seconds, but they finally disappeared, leaving behind his normal ears.
Ellery nodded in satisfaction. "In the next session, I will do a deep cleaning and put up a barrier since you responded well. Since I didn't put a barrier up for you this time, be careful not to overdo it, okay?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Alright, now switch places with Marshal Caecius. It is his turn now. If something happens, be sure to do your best to protect Aster if Marshal Caecius has a hard time controlling himself."
This was the main reason Ellery had the two come together for a guiding session. He wanted Akimitsu to be there to protect Aster if something went wrong. Especially if he could not switch souls fast enough.
Once Marshal Caecius sat down, Ellery switched souls with Aster. The change in aura was evident. The two knew that Aster was now the one controlling the body.
Aster looked a bit anxiously at the two, avoiding eye contact with Marshal Caecius.
"I… I would like to hear the state of your spiritual sea first before starting the guiding session. Is that okay, Marshal Caecius?"
"That's fine, but if it makes you a bit more comfortable, you can call me Edros. Can I call you Aster instead of Mr. Aster?"
"Yes, that's fine." Aster nodded, looking everywhere except at Edros. "Then… Edros, since it's your first time getting a guiding session, is there anything you want to know before you describe your spiritual sea?"
Edros felt a bit heartbroken, but he knew that he could only be patient.
He really hoped that Aster, with time, would feel a bit more comfortable around him.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
MakusCorner
MakusCorner Grandpa Marky: Hey everyone! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter :D I am a little late with updating because cooking took me FOREVER. Prepping everything before cooking takes me the longest because the arthritis in my hands starts to act up and I'm miserable. At least it's still Saturday where I am from so this is considered to be an on-time update XD
Anyway, that's it from me. I will see you all on Wednesday most likely. Have a wonderful day/night my beautiful grandchildren!
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