The Wheel of Teaching
What is this power?
This was no mere physical strength.
Rather than panicking at the alien force he had never experienced before, Adapa sought to understand its cause. Before long, he found the answer in the breathing technique Sunya had taught him. So he ran straight to Sunya and asked about the strange phenomenon he had undergone.
"I had somewhat expected this might happen… but it's far faster than I anticipated."
Fortunately, Sunya seemed to know about the snake-like thing growing inside Adapa's body. Judging by the way he scratched the back of his head with a look of mild embarrassment, he did appear rather put out about it.
"Normally, most people have to practice the breathing technique for years before they can even begin to sense it… Perhaps the fact that you're a demi-god had some influence, Adapa."
In truth, Sunya's lessons had been studies of the mind, pure and simple. The breathing technique had been nothing more than an auxiliary means of stabilizing the spirit and body. Based on experience, he had assumed it would take at least several more years before anyone could feel power and learn to control it—but that had been a thoroughly naive miscalculation.
"Do you know about this, Master?"
"First of all, that 'snake'-like thing growing inside your body is called Prana. Depending on the region, people call it asura, qi, aura, and so forth, but the name itself isn't particularly important."
"What exactly is Prana?"
"You could say Prana is the fundamental force that flows through all things. In truth, Prana flows through every person's body. The amount is so faint that most people never even notice it."
Sunya scratched his cheek.
"The reason gods are so powerful beyond their physical stature and can work miracles is, in fact, thanks to this Prana. Their bodies are composed of vast, pure Prana that cannot even be compared to that of humans."
"…What do you mean by that?"
"Doesn't it strike you as odd? For most living creatures, the larger and heavier the body, the stronger and sturdier they are. There may be slight individual differences, but they don't amount to much. Gods, however, are different."
Outwardly, the gods were not so different from humans. Generally they were a bit more handsome or beautiful, and occasionally they had wings or multiple eyes, but for the most part their skeletal structure itself was not greatly different. And yet the gods possessed physical abilities far superior to those of humans—indeed, to the vast majority of living creatures—and displayed all manner of miracles. Adapa himself, though he had scales and fins, did not have a body particularly better suited for swimming than an actual fish, yet underwater he could move faster than anyone.
"But that's because of the divinity the gods possess…"
"Then what is divinity?"
What was divinity? Was it not the very essence that distinguished the gods from lowly mortals?
"I understand divinity to be the essence of a god."
Adapa answered as he knew. Sunya did not particularly deny the fact.
"That's correct. But in this case, one could call it a type of Prana."
"Pardon?"
"There are many kinds of Prana. And the nature of Prana differs from person to person. Human Prana is faint and incomplete, easily changing with time and circumstance—but the Prana of the gods is not like that. Theirs is complete. You can think of that completed Prana as manifesting in the form of 'divinity.'"
"…I still don't fully understand this Prana you're speaking of, Master. Was the power I felt in the forest just now Prana?"
"That's right. But that is not the essence of Prana. It's merely the Prana that a person can first perceive through cultivation. Originally, there is far more Prana in the world that cannot be perceived or controlled than that which can."
All people possessed Prana to begin with. Though the amount was too faint to perceive, through breathing techniques one amplified a specific Prana within the body until it could be recognized, and then learned to control it.
"The primary purpose of cultivation is to practice and expand the range and domain of Prana one can control. Ultimately, it becomes possible to obtain abilities like those of the gods. In theory, that is."
Adapa was speechless. Had there ever been an attempt to explain the uniqueness and authority of the gods so logically? If anyone else had said it, he would have dismissed it as nonsense—but coming from an actual god himself, he could not help but believe it. And in fact, Adapa himself could feel something flowing through his body.
"Master… how do you know all of this?"
He could not be certain, but even Enki—Adapa's father, called the god of wisdom—likely did not know of the concept of Prana. That was how unfamiliar the concepts and theories Sunya spoke of were. At the same time, a single conjecture flashed through Adapa's mind.
"Master… were you originally human, by any chance?"
It was a question so rude as to border on blasphemy. Even though he could have kept it to himself, in the end he could not suppress his curiosity and let it slip out. But if Sunya's words were true, it was also an undeniable fact that this could clearly explain the strange sense of otherness he felt from him, unlike other gods.
"It's a secret from everyone else."
Sunya brought his index finger to his lips as he spoke. Though he said that, he did not seem to have any real intention of hiding it. It was very much an if I get found out, oh well kind of reaction.
"Th-then, if I cultivate as well, could I become a god?"
To become a god. A strange yearning lit up in Adapa's eyes at the thought that he might become a powerful being and enjoy eternity.
"In theory, yes."
But the way Sunya kept attaching the word in theory bothered him.
"…Is it that successful cases are extremely rare?"
"As far as I know, I'm the only one. I've taught thousands of disciples, but none among them reached a level comparable to mine."
"Th-thousands of disciples…"
And then Sunya casually dropped a shocking revelation.
"You've probably guessed as much, Adapa, but I am not a being of this Kienkingir."
"Yes, well…"
As he said, Adapa had somewhat expected it from the moment Sunya introduced the unheard-of concept of Prana.
"In fact, even in our world, there were those who sought to become gods by training their Prana through breathing techniques and cultivation."
"I… see."
It was only natural. When one could gain power with nothing more than time and effort as the cost, it would be stranger not to try.
"But there was a problem. For a mortal to become a god through normal means required at least several hundred years—sometimes over a thousand—of cultivation."
"That's…"
Even the most powerful demi-gods could not live for hundreds of years. It was essentially saying it was impossible.
"Of course, I've heard that some made up for the insufficient time through means of extending lifespan, such as the nectar of immortality… but I've never really heard of anyone who specifically did so."
"…Then how were you able to do it, Master?"
"You could say there was a method that wasn't quite a method. It's hard to call it a trick, yet it wasn't exactly the proper way either—a strange method of that sort."
"Could you tell me about it?"
"It's not difficult. You simply need to continuously expose yourself to life-threatening situations."
What kind of talk was this now? Fortunately, before Adapa could express his confusion, Sunya spoke first.
"The human body is truly remarkable. Even though it will inevitably age and return to dust with the passage of time, the sheer will to survive is far more powerful than that of the gods."
Simply put, when placed at the brink of life and death, the body—regardless of its master's will—amplified the effects and efficiency of cultivation dozens or hundreds of times over in order to survive.
"Isn't it quite the paradox? To live forever, one must first draw close to death… Of course, unless one is an eccentric like myself, a cultivator would rarely find themselves at the crossroads of life and death."
"…What kind of life have you lived, Master?"
"I do rather enjoy a good gamble, you see. Haha…"
He didn't understand. He had thought he was beginning to understand Sunya, but he still could not quite grasp him.
No—I don't even understand why he'd talk about something like this so casually in the first place.
As Adapa's mind grew more complicated, Sunya continued at just the right moment.
"I'd prefer you keep this as secret as possible. I'll ask the same of Miss Enede."
"…I understand keeping it secret. But why did you tell me all of this in such detail?"
"Because you seem quite intelligent, Adapa."
"…Pardon?"
Adapa made a foolish expression. For the sake of that foolish merman, Sunya explained a bit more clearly.
"Not everyone is like this, but intelligent people tend to think a great deal. When thoughts multiply in a situation where no clear answer can be found, they often veer toward the worst possibilities. Rather than that, I thought it would be better to simply tell you everything."