The Heathen

Aos, now briefed on what would transpire mentally braced for what the old man had described as excruciating pain. The old man then asked Aos, "Are you ready?" then, Aos, braced herself with all the mental fortitude she could muster. Finally giving a slow nod to the old man.

The old man began slowly channeling energy into Aos' forehead. The pain then immediately began. It began at a manageable level but quickly escalated into such a pain that her breathing became erratic and panicked. The old man sensing that Aos was becoming overwhelmed loudly shouted, "Focus!". Aos remembering what she was told to do, attempted to perceive this energy the old man described. She could barely even notice an extremely faint network of energy in the trees around her. This network wasn't stuck to a single tree but rather it connected every tree to every blade of grass covered by snow. Aos noticing how the network seemed to connect to her, then turned her focus away from what she had been told to do. Her gaze turned to herself and as she attempted to sense for similar energy being channeled from the old man. She noticed that a similar network of energy had begun forming within her. The network had only begun and was only surface level, stretching over Aos' skin. The old man then began to increase the rate in which energy was being channeled to the young child. Aos sensed the energy seeping through her skin reaching her muscles. Aos' could feel them repeatedly tearing and reforming countless times at an astonishing rate. Aos couldn't withhold the pain and gave out an extremely pained scream. The pain slowly overwhelming her she began to cry alongside her screams. The energy once again increasing it seeped further into her being passing the muscles and into her very bones. The bones repeatedly snapped at the strain the energy placed on them. Then, just as they broke they would mend themselves over and over again. Finally, the energy began to spread past the bones and began making its way to the organs. The organs twisted and tore into tiny parts eventually reforming into entirely new and foreign organs. The pain reaching a new height Aos released a bloodcurdling crescendo of screams. Just as Aos began to lose her consciousness from the pain it suddenly all stopped. The old man had stopped forcefully channeling energy into Aos.

Aos, had successfully awoken. She had forcefully suffered in order for her body change into one with attuned with nature. Aos unwilling to open her eyes focused once again on the energy around her. Aos, could now see and comprehend the flow of the energy networks that lined the foliage and trees around her. The networks which had been dim now glowed with a green vibrance, the energy inside truly unwavering. Her ability to view these networks completely contradicted the old man's explanation of slowly gaining insight towards these networks.

Aos in a moment of intrigue turned her focus onto the old man. She instantly regretted it as she felt blinded by a green light comparable to the strength of the sun itself. Not willing to relent she tried peering past the blinding aspect and only barely managed to glimpse at a network of energy hundreds if not thousands of times more complex and intricate than her own within the old man.

The old man feeling Aos' sightless gaze laughed as he saw her struggling futilely to see further within him. After giving Aos a few moments he said, "When you train your own internal energy network will grow and improve alongside you.

Finally, Aos, relented and opened her eyes while still looking at the old man. Although she could now look at the old man without focusing she could innately see a faint green aura around the old man; alongside the other faint auras given off by all the other living things in her vicinity.

Aos' gaze eventually met the old man's and the old man couldn't help but note that there had been an invisible change in Aos' eyes. Somehow they had grown more vibrant and profound with her awakening.

Aos having suffered from the near infinite pain had very little mental and physicall energy remaining. The last few moments of her looking around finally depleted it completely, causing Aos to pass out.