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Chapter 7 - Chapter 6 - Testing For Roots

"To find one's spiritual root is to glimpse the seed of one's future. But the soil in which it falls may nurture a mighty tree... or wither it into dust."

— Elder Klemens, On the Nature of Qi

 

*Richard POV*

The courtyard was quiet, but charged with an undercurrent of anticipation. Once we arrived at Theo's house, the adults and us two children formed a small circle, all facing the mysterious lady we had met. She was dressed in flowing silk, bedazzled with all sorts of jewellery - Qi artefacts, I'd like to imagine. Either that, or she had ridiculously bad taste in design. The expensive-looking lady coughed to clear her voice and began to speak.

"I am Frau Isolde Varn," she said, her voice both clear and measured. "I am contracted by the Adlerheim Clan to seek out those with potential for cultivation. My task is to test spiritual roots, to determine which children may one day become cultivators worthy of our attention."

She gestured for us two children to enter the middle of this ring of adults, which, despite my newfound closeness to my parents and Theo's, felt rather intimidating. They really should think of the children. This is no environment for toddlers like us.

We were invited to sit crosslegged. The air grew still as she lifted her hands gracefully and faint glimmers of elemental Qi - frosty blue, flickering orange, gentle green - swirled around her figure, almost akin to a ribbon dance of the elements.

"The test is delicate," Isolde explained. "I send out short pulses of Qi, not forcibly, but like whispers through a stream, passing them through the body to seek resonance. Each element carries its own signature vibration, and the body's natural defences respond subtly, like ripples on water. It is by observing these ripples - the way Qi flows, halts, or harmonises - that I discern the child's spiritual roots."

Cool, so essentially some sort of Qi ultrasound, but without uncomfortable gel being slathered over the skin. Finally, this would be my chance to unlock my reincarnator perks. Maybe I'll even unlock a system of sorts.

She closed her eyes briefly, then extended her palms toward Theo, who sat upright and steady, a newfound confidence in his gaze.

"Are you ready, Theo?"

"I am," he answered firmly, without a speck of insecurity or hesitancy.

From Frau Isolde's fingertips burst through a stream of golden light, and the elemental Qi began to pass through Theo's body like gentle streams converging at a confluence. His skin tingled faintly, and his eyes fluttered shut as waves of warmth and coolness intertwined within him, his breath catching as the Qi flowed through him. After a moment of tense silence, Isolde opened her eyes, a smile brightening her features.

"You possess first-class five-element spiritual roots," she announced, a subtle admiration in her tone of voice. "A true Jack-of-all-trades, and often, a master of at least one. Such balance in the body is truly rare, and I wish you consider joining the Adlerheim Clan when you grow older."

Theo's parents erupted in a cacophony of joy, leaving no trace of the worry plastered all over their face just seconds prior. They dashed into the circle to embrace their son, who grinned so hard that his jaw could have easily dislocated. Just looking at him, I could tell that he was overjoyed, not because of what the test had told him, but because of his parents' happiness. That was enough for him.

Now, all eyes turned to me. Gulp.

Isolde repeated her same ritual on me, and I closed my eyes in anticipation of the waves of energy about to resonate through me. Yet... I felt nothing. Her unreadable face slowly warped into one of slight disappointment, like she was expecting greatness from me, who was actually beyond mediocrity. She shook her head.

"There is no discernible resonance," she said flatly. "Only a mild reaction, likely background interference, as Qi is present everywhere."

Excuse me what. So you're telling me that I ended up reborn in a world where every being has Qi, and most people have at least some potential to cultivate, yet end up with nothing. No system, no Heavenly Divine Roots Transcending the Heavens, no grandpa in a ring, no nothing. What. That can't be real.

Hurriedly, I masked my disappointment behind a composed expression and clenched my fists, but I couldn't speak. I heard my family and Theo's praise my intelligence. "Talent comes in many forms," I hear them say warmly, but my thousand yard stare was proof of how I felt.

It was impossible. Perhaps I've got some special constitution, one that people don't know about. Yes, that must be the case. I'll have to experiment by myself to learn. What's one minor hurdle, one step back. I'm destined to be a great cultivator so that I can finally go back home to Earth.

Ah, I had stopped paying attention to my surroundings. Frau Isolde had taken my parents to the side, probably to help them make sure I don't have a breakdown of sorts. She must be an expert with decades of experience meeting "untalented" children like me, so this shouldn't be new to her. I look at my parents, too far away to make out their conversation, but the dread on their face made it all clear to me. They thought I was a failure.

 

 

*Theo POV*

Later that afternoon, after we'd had our roots tested, I felt awful. The air felt so heavy around us after Richard's roots were tested, and I could tell he was holding back tears. The two of us sat together in the garden, away from the adults' watchful eyes, in an extremely uncomfortable silence. I should never have led him on about the roots testing. I wish I could go back and stop this from ever happening.

Then, I heard a quiet voice to my left. "Show me your Qi," Rich said, voice raspy and empty.

"I... I haven't quite figured out how to do it on purpose yet. It just happened last night. I've been trying to recreate that feeling, but I just haven't been able to do so."

"Then, please, tell me how it felt."

"I had a dream about the wind - right after we read that traveller's stories. The air wasn't just air anymore - it pushed and pulled at me like I was part of it. When I leapt, it caught me like hands in a game of toss-the-toddler. I wasn't flying, not yet, but I could almost see how I mig-"

I stopped myself from rambling. I didn't mean to sound like I was bragging, especially not after today's testing, I promise I didn't mean to.

Rich smiled, a little wryly, reading my mind once again. "It's alright. None of it matters anyway."

The two of us sat there, side by side, chattering about cultivation as day slipped quietly into evening.

 

 

*Gertherd POV*

The Detector's hushed warning still echoed in my mind. It had been hours since she left, and I still hadn't got a grip of myself just yet. She spoke, as though this was a regular day at the job for her, unaware of the impact it would have on us.

"He's showing signs of a very rare root... but it's dangerous," the woman said to us. "It often brings changes... dark changes. Personality shifts, instability. Those who possess it often end up in madness, ending tragically. It would be better for him to not cultivate to prevent him from encountering such danger."

She mentioned madness and self-destruction, but our Rich would never do such a thing. I can't imagine him going crazy. But the thing about personality shifts. Maybe I'm just overthinking things, but this past week, he's been very different.

I recognise that he's a growing boy, so changes in personality are normal. But he went from always being at my side and begging me to not go to work to... distant. That's part of why Jo and I wanted to take him with us to work rather than hire a babysitter. Hell, he even ended up going to work with her and making other plans without me. And then didn't complain or say anything about wanting to be with me.

I don't know, maybe I'm reading into things too much.

Regardless, he's my son. And my duty is to protect him. There's no way he's going to end up mad - he's a clever boy and we're good people.

***

It was time for our family to go back home, and the journey home was littered with gaps of silence. I tried, no, Jo and I tried, to keep Rich's spirits up - to keep our spirits up. But it was difficult. God was it hard.

And to make matters worse, Rich didn't shed a single tear. He sort of just dissociated in disbelief, like all that life in his body had been sucked out, and he was left an empty shell.

The two of us tucked him in bed together that night, and he didn't ask for a lullaby or a bedtime story or anything. All he asked was that we leave the door open in case he wants to go get water at night. That reminds me, he hasn't been sleeping properly these past few days either.

 

 

*Richard POV*

I lay there in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to come up with all sorts of reasons to reject the reality around me.

From the room opposite mine, I could hear tears being drowned by shoulders.

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