Chapter 104 - Spirit Aura (2)
"Do you want to face me in battle to learn Spirit Aura, or do you want me to teach you?" Hearing Chowan's question made Kretos really want to ask for a battle, but when he saw Leo's expression, looking like he knows everything, Kretos changed his mind.
"Can you please teach me." Kretos bowed his head in front of the incarnation that was his senior. He had never shown anyone this much respect, but seeing how powerful these guys were Kretos thought that they were worthy of respect.
When Leo and Chowan saw what happened they had their mouths wide open in shock. It was as if they saw the most unbelievable thing in the whole universe. Kretos noticed the expression of the two and asked.
"Is there a problem? Why are the two of you looking at me like that?"
"I just can't believe that it was possible for one of the incarnations to actually bow in front of another. Not only that, you actually said please to someone else, and you did it with actual sincerity. Aside from when an incarnation was in battle, I have never heard of an incarnation that would say please." Leo spoke truly shocked by the development.
"Leo is right, even I who was devoted to saving the souls of numerous people, never bowed my head nor said please." Chowan added his own opinion.
"You guys are overreacting, surely one of the thousands of incarnations have done something similar." Kretos couldn't believe what the other two were saying. Though it was true that when he was still Demon lord Kretos, he had never bowed to anyone before, except for right now. Still Kretos believed that surely with a literal hundred thousands of incarnations one of them must have said please with some sincerity, or bowed their heads.
"I don't think there was ever an incarnation that did so, and I've been here for quite some time. I'm sure, that there has never been an incarnation that bowed his head, nor was there any incarnation that said please to something unrelated to battle. Though I did say please to someone before, but that's because I wanted to fight some more. Aside from that time, I can't think of any other time that I said please." Leo shrugged his shoulders after saying this.
"Yes, sir Leo is right, the different incarnations have high pride and would never bow down to anyone. Also most of them would never ask anything from another, since for most of us only battle was what we desired. So the only time the numerous incarnations ever said please with sincerity would be during a battle." Chowan started talking seriously as he explained the relevance of Kretos bowing his head and saying please in his sentence.
Hearing what the other two said made Kretos sigh.
'So that's how most of my incarnations acted, confidence bordering arrogance. Well I do understand where their coming from... Still overreacting like this for just those two things is too much.'
"Fine, let's not talk about that anymore. Just go ahead and teach me already." Kretos decided to give up with the topic before and just directly asked to be tutored. When Kretos asked to be taught in such an aggressive way made the other two respond with a sigh.
"Now that's what I expect to hear from someone who shares the same soul as us." Leo spoke in relief, while Chowan nodded his head in agreement. This made Kretos slightly irritated, just a tiny bit. Talking to these people was like talking to a reflection that had its own sapience.
"Let's just stop talking about that and get right to the part were you teach me Spirit Aura." Even after Kretos said this, it took Leo and Chowan a while before they were finally willing to stop talking about the past incident.
...
"Okay then first let me explain what Spirit Aura is. Spirit Aura is the physical manifestation of ones spirit, after achieving unification of body and spirit. It is when one spirit exceeds a certain threshold and the body acknowledges it that its aura could manifest on physical terms. Most martial artists who try to reach perfection in their art are able to unconsciously utilize spirit aura. The reason for this is because once one is already at the peak of their bodily training, the next step would be to train ones spirit, or vice versa. Others on the other hand, train them both at the same time. Still no matter which pattern of training they choose, they all reach the same end. So when a martial artists reaches a certain point of their training he/she is able to easily use Spirit Aura."
While Chowan was trying to explain Spirit Aura, Kretos interrupted him.
"I'm confused, if what you are saying is true, then why haven't I been able to use Spirit Aura? I'm sure that I have reached that so called threshold in my martial art, meaning I should be able to use Spirit Aura."
"The reason for you being unable to use Spirit Aura naturally, is because you understand mana. Actually it's because since birth you have been influenced by mana." Chowan answered calmly.
"Does that mean I wasn't able to use Spirit Aura because I knew of mana? That still doesn't make any sense. Since if what you are saying is true, then why can Leo utilize mana and Spirit Aura at the same time?"
"That's because Leo wasn't aware of mana before learning of Spirit Aura. You see Kretos, it is much easier to learn Spirit Aura if you don't have any knowledge of some other power. Because you knew of mana, you couldn't truly feel your spirit, since mana and spirit feel almost the same. So the first thing I want you to do is learn to differentiate between mana and Spirit. This might sound hard for some, but I'm sure you would be able to do it real quickly."
When Chowan said this, the benevolent smile that made him look like a Saint disappeared as it was replaced with a vicious smile, the same smile all the incarnations show when they get excited.