Chapter 3: The Transformation
Jack's unconscious body laid on the cave floor in a rather unimpressive fashion while it underwent changes.
"Filthy." said Ana. "I'll deal with that first." The glowing orb passed through his bones and vessels as she made her way from the center of his chest to the base of his skull, making note of the nicotine traces, metals, and other pollutants in Jack's body.
A sudden twitch flared up from his shoulder and moved to his chest. It convulsed as if something was trying to get out. And as the spasms got stronger, a black and green bile erupted from his mouth. Chunks of some unidentifiable substance followed the sludge leaking out of his mouth to form a puddle that took up most of the cave space. The convulsions died down as the discharge stopped.
However, this wasn't the end. More of the black substance bled from his nose, eyes and ears and his skin started to wrinkle. The skin hardened and then broke like a dried egg, revealing new skin underneath. Jack's curly, brown hair grew a few feet while his 5 o' clock shadow turned into a full beard. His nails grew longer, pushing against his dress shoes, thus completing his rebirth.
****
And like that, a few hours had passed. Most of the bile in the cave dried up into a muddy substance mixed with the sediments in the wind and bizzare, six-legged lizards passed up the chance for shade after catching the smell coming from the cave. The Sun hung high, unmoving and bathed the desert in a red glow like Earth's sunset.
"Mmmn" Jack opened his eyes and shot up as soon as he processed the smell.
"Shit! What the fuck!" Looking over his body and the cave floor he rubbed his skin, peeling off the moist, dead layer. Between the smell and fainting twice, only to wake up to one strangeness after another he wanted to cry.
"You fainted. Since you were napping anyway, I decided to detox your body. It was no place for a god like myself." said Ana.
"Wha'..." Jack looked around the cave. "Why do I hear you inside my head? And why do you sound like a little girl now?" he asked while looking over himself. He could tell there was something different about his body, but he just felt unclean at the moment.
"This is my voice because you're weak!" Ana's squeaking only gave him another reason to feel overwhelmed.
Jack stripped off his clothes, revealing a muscular body covered in scars of various sizes.
[One thing at a time..] he thought to himself, feeling overwhelmed once again.
"You can thank me after you clean yourself up." said Ana.
"What do I have to be thankful for?! You kidnapped me and knocked me out twice and now I'm in the middle of nowhere, covered in god knows what. Save the world? God of Justice? You must think I'm stupid. When I get to the next town, I'm pressing full charges against whatever this is for kidnapping and conspiracy." After his rant, Jack did a few breathing exercises. Anger always hit him like a storm, but he couldn't remember the last time he got this frustrated. The lack of control got on his nerves. Ana didn't respond, but he didn't care.
Jack collected his ID, cellphone and salvaged a single untainted cigarette.
[I've never felt this dirty before and this smell...fuck.]
"Hey girl, you got something I can wash myself with?" he asked, looking at his chest.
"You will call me Ana and you can clean yourself up with the items under that rock in the back. It's where Justinia kept all her supplies."
Jack caught sight of Justinia's parka. "Where's her body?"
"It's with Karma now" Ana replied in her trademark lecturing tone of voice.
"Sure."
[One thing at a time..]
Jack took a few steps into the cave and lifted the only rock there. Despite it being big enough to carry with both hands, it was surprisingly light. There was a hole under the rock with a single, leather bag inside. Jack tossed the rock to the side and jumped in shock when the heavy rock slammed against the wall of the cave, causing a loud sound to echo off the walls.
"Surprised?"
"What did you do to me?" he asked, clenching his hands repeatedly.
"First, clean yourself up."
Looking at his hands and the rock again, Jack sorted out his priorities and grabbed the bag. The contents were mixed up, but there were glass bottles of various colored liquids, a couple of canteens with something splashing inside, a pouch full of coins, dried crust wrapped in leaves, some colorful looking crystals, and a fancy looking dagger. The dagger had a black sheath with an unfamiliar sigil that seemed like a lion engraved on it. It was shaped like a ceremonial jambiya and upon unveiling it, he saw four gems going down the ridge of the blade.
Jack traced his hand along the cold metal. Just holding the blade in his hand made him feel a rising lust for power.
"Don't. It's an artefact and it's too high level for you." said Ana.
Jack snapped out of his reverie and stored the dagger away, picking up his own pocket knife instead. He immediately started trimming his hair.
"Which one of these is soap and how about the water?" he asked, fumbling through the strange items.
"That blue rock in your hand is a water stone. There's a water spirit inside so just squeeze it a little and water will come out. It won't run out, but if you drink it you'll probably die so be careful. The purple bottle is a fragrance J liked. You can use that for soap."
"Water spirit?" he was already sick of the nerd crap that reminded him of several cults. Jack squeezed the blue stone and cool water poured out from between his fingers. Elated, he squeezed harder and the water pressure increased, pushing against his fingers. He noticed there was something like a tiny, white light at its center mostly obscured by the Sun's reflection. The feeling of fresh water reminded him of his parched throat so he lifted a canteen and shook it for good measure.
"If you're thirsty, the canteens contain drinkable water." said Ana.
"Alright, thanks...Ana" Jack could glimpse something like concern from her voice and it helped his nerves.
As a lawyer that lived in the city his whole life, Jack had no experience with rationing and took several gulps of water in one sitting. The water was cold on his teeth and he made sure none of it escaped his lips. After a satisfying "Ahhh," Jack stood there and felt the water go down his esophagus. His lips were still cracked, but at least now his throat wasn't burning.
[This is the best water I've ever had in my life. I wonder if this is also magic water. Maybe Poseidon made this.]
Chuckling to himself, he sat down against the wall of the cave and stared at the ceiling. He often did this when he had to think.
[This must be what coming back to life feels like.]
[So many things happened. Lost a case, met a dying lady, argued with a tennis ball, passed out twice. Is this punishment?]
Picking up the stone again, Jack splashed his body with water and cleaned himself up with the purple solution. It had a sweet, floral smell like honey and it helped to mask the bile still on the floor. His naked body now clean, revealed soft, unblemished skin. The scars washed away, his muscles seemed more defined, and his hair thicker.
"Now can you tell me what's going on?" he asked, picking the gunk out his ears.
"I cleaned your body. Well the inside at least. I'm sure you can feel it, but whatever toxins existed in your body are no longer there. You should be able to breath easier and your muscles should feel more relaxed, your five senses should also be more acute. Do yourself a favor and no more doping."
"So that's what this stuff is." Jack looked around the cave floor, terrified of thinking any of this stuff was sitting in his body his entire life.
"Now that I think about it, my body does feel fresh. I guess it wasn't just the purple stuff and the holy water" said Jack.
"Holy water?"
"Nevermind"
"Anyway, this is the first step to get your body use to Devi. Justinia sacrificed her Zodian for you, so you can survive in this world. Without it, you would've died the same way she did as soon as you got here so you better be grateful!"
"I apologise about what I said earlier. If what you're saying is true, then you saved my life. Besides there was nothing like this water stone on Earth. At the very least I can believe you're probably not lying." Jack said politely. "By the way, what is a Zodian?"
"I can tell you're being sincere, thank you." said Ana.
"I'll tell you what a Zodian is later. For now you have to follow my instructions or else you'll be in a lot of pain soon. The atmosphere will attack you if you don't acclimate to it." she warned.
"What should I do?"
"First get into a comfortable position and then try to feel the foreign energy in your chest."
Jack sat against the cave wall in a clearing free from the sludge, crossing his legs and relaxed his shoulders. After a few deep breaths he closed his eyes and started focusing on the different parts of his body. The many changes that occured from the massive 'detox' left him shocked. His breathing was light as air, his joints didn't hurt anymore, the tension in his shoulders and back disappeared and the sound of the desert breeze seemed clearer. After a few minutes of going over these changes, Jack noticed a heavy feeling behind his sternum. It felt like something was next to his heart.
"Good, now guide that energy down to your stomach. Your body is the same as the people of this planet and it's also compatible with Justinia's Zodian. Once you get use to it, your life won't be in immediate danger anymore."
Jack noticed a few things about her voice as he listened to her explanation. The feeling reminded him of his late mother and he pushed the thought away. He focused on the 'heaviness' in his chest and tried to move that 'heaviness' further down. It didn't budge. Jack took a few more deep breaths and relaxed into a near trance state as he kept his focus on the heavy feeling. After several minutes he could hear his heartbeat loud and clear, but he felt a small pulse come from the heavy feeling, like an echo. The pulse moved through his sternum and brushed against his heart, but it didn't hurt. Seizing this chance, he focused on moving the pulsing 'heaviness' down to his stomach as he exhaled and it started to move. When the pulse reached his stomach, it exploded in a greater 'heaviness' that he could clearly feel without focusing. It felt overwhelming like something was grasping and vibrating his bones and organs at a high frequency.
"Guide the new feeling through your body. Make sure it reaches every part! This is Devi. You'll have to figure this part out on your own again!"
Heeding her advice, Jack focused on the center of the pulse and went through a few mental gymnastics before discovering a way to move the 'vibrations' through his body. Starting with his lower body, the muscles started contracting lightly in intervals before stopping. Then he moved the 'vibration' up his body and through his arms. Once it reached the ends of his fingers, he moved the 'vibration' to the crown of his head and the overwhelming feeling stopped. He felt light headed, but his body felt relief.
"What was that vibration?" he asked as he opened his eyes. The glare from the Sun blinded him now and he could see dust hanging in the air. His vision could make out small details in the cave wall he couldn't see before and he didn't know where to look with his new vision so he looked at his hands. He could clearly make out the small movements in his hands and his pulsing veins.
"That is Devi. The moment you absorbed Justinia's Zodian, your body welcomed it. If it didn't, the Devi would've killed you. How do you feel?"
"It feels comfortable. I feel awake and I'm not hungry anymore. Is this what zen is?"
"Good, it seems you have some talent. People usually spend entire childhood getting to this point, but you've managed to do it in half an hour thanks to your compatibility with Justinia's Zodian. I'll admit that this is experimental. Your basic compatibility with Devi has kept you alive for now, but you can do much more with it. Most people spend their lives building up their compatibility with Devi in order to reach new heights so I suggest you do the same if you want to live long enough to return to your world. You now know how to sense Devi. Like you mentioned, it's a vibration. This is the first step."
"Wait, what else can I do with this? I feels intangible." Jack asked.
"Try picking up a rock and squeezing it"
Jack took a small fragment of the previous rock he smashed and gave it a light squeeze. It crumbled in his palm like fine snow, prompting his bated breath.
"....is this really a rock?" he asked, looking at the pebbles in his hand. His hand was unscathed.
"That was a piece of the cave. It's too early to feel surprised. Crushing pebbles is something anyone can do here. All you've managed to accomplish is absorbing a little Devi. Because I improved the conditions of your body, you'll be able to absorb more. There are also Devi arts you can learn later which affect the natural laws of the world, and your own body. The masters of this world can burn down entire cities, freeze the air you breath, move faster than sound. If you can count on people to do anything, it's turn everything into a weapon." she said, sounding reproachful at the last bit.
[That sounds amazing.] Jack thought as he looked at his hand wistfully.
"Can you teach me something?" Jack felt anticipation for the first time since he got here. Completing forgetting about his previous skepticism.
"I don't have a body so I can't learn Devi arts. I'll teach you the basics to survive, but if you want anymore you'll have to use your own effort." she said.
"That sounds fair. By the way if you're a god, why are you in a cave in the middle of nowhere?" Jack dusted off his hands and got up. He did few light jumps to get a handle for what felt like his new body.
[Saving the world, a god of Justice, a god's apostle and yet the reception has been lackluster as Justinia mentioned before she died. Is this god unpopular?]
[That wouldn't be surprising.]
"That's a long story and we don't have time. For now, focus on absorbing more Devi. As you are, you only have the barest of protection on your body. You will have to increase the volume of your Devi if you want to cross the Wastelands without dying."
"Got it."
Jack adjusted his seating and took a Sukhasana pose. He could feel the vibrations or Devi pressing against his skin. The moment he focused on the Zodian in his navel, the Devi permeated his skin and traveled through his bones and muscles before stopping at his navel where it gathered.
"You're a fast learner, but let's hope it's fast enough. Continue this until I tell you to stop!"
****
And like that, 6 hours passed. During this time, the Sun moved slightly westward and the afternoon wind turned into a short gale. A duststorm was blowing through, dimming the Sun's glare, but Jack inadvertently closed off his hearing while focusing. Ana left him alone and silently observed his effort. He was making good progress and both of their lives were at stake. By this time there were no noticeable changes to Jack's appearance but for Jack, he felt an oppressive heaviness permeating his body. The high frequency vibrations turned into beats, until it stopped pulsing altogether.
"Now rest. This is probably the best you can do with the body you have. You'll have to train your body more if you want to handle more Devi. Increasing the volume too much will hurt you."
Jack relaxed his pose, panting. From a relatively comfortable life as a city lawyer, to meditating in a cave. No one would believe it. He missed his flat, but he was also impressed with himself. He meditated in the past, but only to clear his mind after a kill.
"It feels heavy. How strong do you think I am now?"
"Not strong enough. Don't get impatient. The point is to survive in the desert until the next town over. With your Devi now, the Sun won't affect you as much and the poisonous lizards won't see you as lunch." said Ana with enthusiasm.
"It's time to pack up!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Deviier
Deviier My grammar is in the process of being edited. Be kind.
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