Chapitre 37: Kratos-Body-Yoga

Hugo started to sift through the information about mana-channels that had been imprinted into his mind from the scroll.

The manual's first stage was meticulously designed with the intent of raising body awareness and muscle memory to a degree capable of handling the mana used for weaving mystic-spells.

The apprentice and scholar realms were completely dedicated to opening the mana channels in the mystic's esoteric body.

"Mana channels! Why is their distribution so similar to the blood circulatory system?" He wondered.

Hugo started contemplating the deeper meaning behind the Kratos-Body-Yoga manual's initial stages.

He was certain that the network of mana channels was almost an exact replica of the blood circulatory system in the human body. However, they had a surreal element to them since they existed in a different dimension from the physical body.

[The channels are similar in distribution to the circulatory system but exist in the esoteric body situated in the astral plane instead.]

[Will the answers reveal themselves once I train? I need to start from the basics.]

Hugo decided to begin by using the yoga poses from the manual in conjunction with the Fibonacci-Breathing-Sequence to open up his mana-channels.

[This looks like a very dumb idea to me.] Hugo sighed.

Mana channels were analogous to pipes in that they channeled power out of the esoteric body into the physical world. That was the foundation of all spell-casting.

Hugo needed to pose in the raised-tortoise yoga position while sensing mana and concurrently practicing the Fibonacci-breathing-sequence.

Hugo's brows creased in apprehension as he visualized just how complex some of the yoga poses would be.

"…Weird! A person could easily let loose a fart in some of the weirder poses in the manual."

Hugo was particularly amused by the Kratos-Yoga pose which required him to position his head between his legs, while his eyes looked towards his crotch which had to be facing skyward.

"I need to practice this technique while hidden from the others. Otherwise, I will become the joke of the household when Miss Fox finds out."

"Is there a way I can practice the Kratos-Body-Yoga while inside my spiritual world?"

"Starting with the familiar Psykhe exercises before diving into the Kratos-Yoga-Poses should work some magic…" Hugo contemplated as he tried to deduce a way to increase the effectiveness of the exercises.

He needed a spark to light up his path toward mysticism.

"Hmmm!"

"What about leaving the imaginary door to my spiritual world open? I've never tried that before."

[What would happen if I trained my soul in tandem with my body?] Hugo was curious enough to find the answer.

"Here goes nothing," Hugo mumbled as he started once again practicing the familiar Psykhe-Mental-Visualizations while sensing the world mana.

In a blink, Hugo had already transitioned into the Fibonacci-Breathing-Sequences while also attempting the yoga-poses from the Kratos-Body-Yoga manual.

Unlike the prior times in deeper meditation, Hugo did not allow the imaginary door to close by itself but maintained a shred of mental energy that kept it open.

[Oh my God! This is like a brand-new world.] Hugo exclaimed as he sensed the mana particles around him. They moved haphazardly without any interactions with physical objects.

[The mana particles only collide with each other!] Hugo marveled at the phenomenon of the particles phasing through the items in his room.

Only his body maintained a field of energy shielding him from them.

"Wait: Most particles are disappearing into the shelves sealed by the matriarch… Is this the foundation of making physical barriers?" Hugo mumbled almost breaking out of his meditation lotus-pose.

[This is partly due to advancing my soul. But keeping the imaginary door open must also be contributing to this situation. How did I never think of this before?] Hugo mused.

"Practice first… Practice first…"

Hugo started sensing the illusory aorta and vena-cava mana channels within his body as instructed in the Kratos manual.

He concentrated his mind on the mid-section of his physical body where the actual aorta and vena-cava blood vessels were positioned as he practiced the Fibonacci-Breathing-Sequence in tandem with the Kratos-Yoga-Poses.

Hugo periodically transitioned into the various yoga poses, following the instructions of the manual.

He maintained the lotus pose for ten seconds, then moved on to the baby pose…

…the camel pose, the serpent pose…

…And finally ended with the raised-tortoise pose which he continued to maintain while following the Fibonacci-Breathing-Patterns.

Hugo almost failed to recall the familiar visualizations of 3D images within his spiritual world. All his awareness was focused on keeping the illusory door open while attempting to perceive the mana channels in his esoteric body in the astral plane.

Hugo was sweating like a pig; however, he persevered and continued his training.

After a few minutes, two illusory tubes: one light-red the other light-blue appeared in his mind's eye. They were lined with small traces of mana particles in a variety of rainbow colors.

The aorta and vena-cava mana channels were so clear yet surreal in his mind's eye. They flickered with traces of rainbow-colored particles that left behind tracks for him to discover.

By reflex, Hugo started to visualize the mana-particles passing through the two channels in his spiritual world, but while also practicing the Fibonacci-Breathing-Sequence.

This was not intentional but accidentally arose from the heat of the moment.

Hugo maintained the Fibonacci-Breathing-Sequence while simultaneously visualizing the mana-particles' journeys through the surreal tubes that were beginning to tremble intermittently…

Shortly, Hugo felt a tremor like an earthquake pass through his body.

The tremor continuously increased its frequency and oscillations and Hugo's physical body started to twitch uncontrollably.

Hugo was in great pain. He felt like a thousand needles were being inserted into his spine. However, he gritted his teeth and steeled his heart, continuing to practice his modified Kratos-Body-Yoga.

His agony increased with time; his complexion turning more ashen. His natural dark-brown skin had sunken in tone to something pale and inert like he had been sprinkled with powder.

His thoughts started to slow down.

Seconds felt like centuries and minutes felt like millennia, but Hugo endured.

As he increased his progression into the higher sequences of the Fibonacci-Breathing-Patterns, his heart rate started slackening to anomalously low beats per minute.

But Hugo applied all his soul power and entire being to persist.

He could feel that he was on the verge of breaching some sort of enigma that caressed his mind but just remained out of reach.

Maybe this was an illusion or maybe it was real.

Hugo didn't even care at this instant as his mind was fully concentrated on visualizing the illusory tubes trembling erratically at an ever-increasing rate.

Although he had almost no conscious thought at that moment, he had pre-programmed his mind to persevere with all he had while practicing the exercises.

Hugo's ass was still raised skyward in the raised-tortoise pose. He wobbled like the personification of a drunken-master out of a Chinese movie, in a martial-arts scene

"BAAAAAM"

An explosion passed through his entire being as he finally let go of the exercises and transitioned his body into a relaxed-corpse yoga pose on his back…