F-Rank Soul Eater-Chapter 59: Awakening Senses.

Chapter 59: Awakening Senses.
Slacker was taken aback. His eyes looking into Soren’s.
Searching for something... hesitation, perhaps.
But Soren’s gaze was unwavering.
Slacker’s eyes drifted towards Vinegar, but this time around, it was not in consideration for her feelings.
Instead, it was in pity.
His gaze settled on Soren again. "Good... YOUR PAIN."
He pushed him.
The force had not been too much, but just enough for Soren to stagger two steps back, feet landing into the small pond Handler and Vinegar just saved Ratler from.
As if having a life of its own, the pond rose, climbing Soren’s leg, rushing towards his upper body.
He tried to break free. But Slackers’ words stopped him.
"NOT YET."
Soren understood. He did not struggle, and the pond, like a monster made into living water... swallowed him.
"We shall start with the first and most obvious of the five senses. We stimulate your sense of Touch.
Concentrate on the Pain." Slacker’s voice reached him. Hollow.
"...Only on the pain. Recognize it. It’s source... It’s result.
Recognize pressure, intention... proximity.
Find contact before...
contact
."
Soren felt the sting, like a million ants biting into every cell of his flesh, attempting to consume him.
Digest him.
It was terrible.
He had experienced pain before. A lot, even. And many times walked into it willingly.
Maybe that was why it was easier to not scream and instead concentrate on the lesson.
Slacker, watching the consumption, was impressed that Soren did not scream.
But also... concerned.
"When we bond with a Shade, it enhances our entire being. It’s the reason Soulbound warriors are stronger, faster, and more resilient. But it comes with its downside.
We become more sensitive... physically and emotionally.
Regardless, we are plunged into a world that only rewards acceptance of this pain.
But when we keep taking, we forget the most primal of emotions.
The one thing that has ensured our survival for thousands of years.
Fear
."
However, Soren still did not struggle.
The liquid consumed him... more.
"Slacker," Handler called out.
But the teacher did not respond.
"SLACKER... he is going to die." He called again.
Slacker frowned. He placed a hand into the liquid.
Splash.
It exploded outward, revealing Soren within.
Vinegar, not so far away, fell on her knees, tears gathering in her eyes. "No. No. No...." She held a hand to her mouth as the tears fell.
All the while, Handler and Ratler had to hold her back.
After all, Soren had made up his mind.
But this... this was madness.
Right now Soren’s skin was burnt off, like he had been showered with acid. His left eye popped from the socket, hanging by a vein.
His lips burnt off to reveal his dentures.
Exposed bones and muscle fibers here and there.
"Have... I learned... Blackfield yet?" Soren asked, giving a creepy smile.
Slacker did not remove his eyes.
"What happened to you?" he asked, puzzled. "Where is your fear?"
Those were the last words Soren heard before his body slumped.
[You died]
...
Soren woke up. He sat cross-legged on his bed.
He remembered Slacker’s words clear as day. "...where is your fear?"
Those were very valued words.
According to Slacker, for him to understand the first sense of Touch, he needed to feel fear.
It was easy to understand that Slacker meant, at the very least, the fear of death.
This helped to create
aversion.
However, the current Soren was immune to its hold.
Therefore, not a respecter of its
authority
.
How do I fear what I cannot respect?
This was a question that sank deep into his mind.
To think fear was even a trigger was not surprising.
But one did not go through the things he had gone through expecting to still hold fear in high regard.
At least, not of harm to his person.
And from what he knew, Chronovore would not let him go again.
He looked down at his pendant.
How was it even possible that Chronovore could even stay in...
He stopped his train of thoughts. That did not matter now.
It would seem that even Slacker’s method of learning Blackfield, while harsh, was not so promising.
For a regular person, fear was an excellent teacher.
A child touches a burning candle, and the fear of burning ensures he does not try it again.
Without fear, that lesson is not learned.
But.
Soren closed his eyes. There was something else. Something deep. He could not put a finger on it. But it was there.
Like a light flickering in and out of existence.
He knew he was about to grab something.
He smiled, "Let’s do it again."
He rushed to his feet and out to find Slacker.
Cynthia just looked at him, surprised.
[You died]
.....
[You died]
.....
[You died]
Swallowed by the pond, again and again and again.
...
(234 deaths later)
Soren looked at his hands, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
He had finally gotten it. He now understood it. The entire goal of fear was evasion—the instinct to survive and preserve.
While he’s was gone. Something else had replaced it.
Adaptation
.
Adaptation was usually due to the inability to overcome, and thus the individual develops characteristics that let them survive regardless of the danger.
Adaptation is the resistance to the result of fear.
While it came in different forms, mostly physically, adaptation was also a mental awaking—an acceptance.
Soren rushed out of bed again to meet Slacker.
.... This time around, when he attempted to push Soren, Soren’s body moved, dodging it.
’Wait. What was that just now?’ Slacker thought to himself. ’A fluke?’
He tried again, and Soren moved. And again.
He suddenly increased his speed, baiting Soren into the right direction, but the moment the pond launched for Soren’s leg, he moved.
Dodging it.
Slacker was speechless. ’Didn’t he say he did not know Blackfield?’
Slacker attacked some more, baiting Soren into a corner.
This, he did not realize.
Slacker looked behind him.
Nodded.
Instantly, Ratler moved, tail whipping against Soren’s legs.
He fell back first to the ground.
Soren groaned. "That’s a dirty move."
Slacker walked up to him. "The sense of Touch is the hardest to learn in order to get Blackfield. With it comes the awakening of the other senses."
He presented a hand—
Soren took it, and he was pulled to his feet.
"Whether you know it or not, your other senses are now awake—aware. But to get Blackfield, you need to recognize them.
Acknowledge them.
And then make them work as
one
."
Slacker smiled. "The true training starts now."