Returning to his lodging in the evening, after a simple meal, Thorfinn couldn't wait to begin his first meditation. He emptied his mind, adjusted his breathing, and sought stillness.
Meditation is the path to achieving a state of oneness. All genuine meditation practices ultimately aim to guide a person toward liberation, to subdue the mind and transcend material desire by feeling a direct connection to the Source of All Things. The true essence of mindful focus is to concentrate the heart, will, and spirit completely on the Primal Beginning.
To better overcome material desires through meditation, one must master the traditional concept of the three states of the material world: ignorance, passion, and goodness.
The ultimate goal of meditation is not to make the mind a blank slate or reach a state of "selflessness," but to allow the mind to sense a spiritual, transcendental voice, thus achieving the purification of consciousness. Yet... that state, similar to "selflessness," is notoriously difficult to attain.
After an entire night, Thorfinn had only managed to scratch the surface; this requires long periods of spiritual cultivation. That Thorfinn was able to reach even this point was genuinely remarkable. Perhaps this growth was an accumulation from his two lives, as just this single step of meditation is enough to stop ninety-nine percent of people in their tracks.
After persistent effort, Thorfinn finally succeeded on the seventh night. After numerous false starts, he at last successfully opened the door to his first meditation...
The world was ethereal, all things silent. He felt like an insignificant speck of dust, yet simultaneously the very center of the entire world. In this profound and mysterious state, Thorfinn entered his inner world.
It was the familiar place, the one where he was born and grew up—the shelter made of various hides, his cozy home. The familiar arrangement of things gave Thorfinn an urge to step inside. Would Reynar and Darie be inside? And Orrik, Morla, and Merek?
He lifted the tent flap. The familiar furniture was all there, a little worn and chipped, but especially warm. Someone was sitting with their back to Thorfinn. It wasn't his family, but the person felt strangely familiar.
Thorfinn couldn't help but ask, "Who are you?"
The person turned, smiled, and tried to appear friendly, but the face chilled Thorfinn to the bone—it was his own.
The person chuckled, "Thorfinn, of course, who else would I be?"
Thorfinn was stunned, unable to believe it. "You're Thorfinn? Then who am I?"
The person looked at him like he was watching a spectacle. "You're Thorfinn, too, aren't you? We both are. Since the day you were reborn, eleven years of living side by side, we've long been indistinguishable. Haven't you realized? Our thoughts are identical; we just never met until now."
Thorfinn: "Could you be... my so-called dark side? Yes, that must be it."
The person opposite him looked helpless. "Come on, now. You're not some kind of container for a demon. You've never suffered any great trauma since childhood, so how could I be a 'dark side'?"
Thorfinn quickly examined himself, then the person across from him—identical clothes, identical face. On closer inspection, even the color of their eyes was the same. It was only now that Thorfinn realized the person opposite him hadn't opened their mouth once; he and the other were truly one entity.
Thorfinn said incredulously, "How is this possible? What is the meaning of us two being here? If we share one consciousness, how can another 'me' appear?"
The person shrugged. "I don't know, either. We clearly share one mind, yet here we are, meeting in this place—our own world, the inner world that belongs only to us."
Thorfinn suddenly realized something. "Don't tell me..."
The other person looked the same way. "Could it be?"
They both spoke at the same time: "We have two souls!"
Thorfinn: "It's highly probable! When I was born, the two souls merged like water and milk, yet remained separate. And so, we have two souls."
The Thorfinn across from him also said, "It's truly unbelievable."
The two faced each other and couldn't help but start letting their imaginations run wild. Of course, they weren't fantasizing about that kind of thing, but they had many wild ideas. After all, having an extra soul is a massive boon for a Skinchanger, and it would greatly benefit the study of magic.
Following this discovery, Thorfinn tried a few more things, such as the two souls being able to merge without hindrance and easily separate into two individuals.
A Dual-Souled Body—the advantages were truly manifold...
When the souls were merged, Thorfinn could see the magical energy more clearly, appearing as tiny, scattered specks, like dust. Collecting them felt like picking pearls from the endless sand on a beach. His soul merely needed to brush against it, and it would melt into his body. A cool, refreshing sensation would follow, pervading his heart, as if his soul had been uplifted.
When the souls separated, the efficiency was faster, but he couldn't see the magic as clearly. It was truly fascinating. Thorfinn maintained this meditative state for the entire night. When he awoke the next morning, his spirit was full, and he distinctly felt a slight increase in his mental strength. Thorfinn was ecstatic.
Later, Thorfinn read Thenya's research on the soul and finally confirmed his suspicion—it truly was his other soul. Two souls sharing one consciousness; such a unique gift unequivocally proved his potential for studying magic. From that day on, "Dual-Souled Body" became Thorfinn's greatest secret, second only to his transmigration.
There was no inherent difference in strength between the two souls, but to distinguish them, Thorfinn had no choice but to call them the Primary Soul and the Secondary Soul...
Magical energy truly has many wonderful uses. These days, Thorfinn has been constantly feeling the changes it brings. With the support of the magic, his hearing and sight seemed to improve greatly, and his body felt lighter. Even though Thenya said the current level of magic is pitifully thin, Thorfinn still managed to accumulate a small amount during this time.
As a total novice who had just stepped through the gates of magic, Thorfinn was particularly grateful to Thenya for being his guide. In fact, the greatest benefit of Reynar sending him here wasn't becoming a qualified Skinchanger; the greater reward was the invaluable knowledge gained from Thenya.
Even though much of what he learned about magic came from Thenya's theories, Thorfinn benefited endlessly.
Thorfinn currently needed an open-minded mentor like her, and meeting Thenya felt like a gift from the heavens. He was deeply grateful, but he didn't thank the gods or fate—he only thanked Thenya herself.
Thorfinn agreed with Thenya's hypothesis: magic would return to the world. All they had to do was wait for the magical tide's trough to pass and for the magical revival. It would surely be a magnificent and glorious era, as Thorfinn believed. Learning magic cannot be achieved overnight, and the more deeply Thorfinn understood it, the more he urgently sought its mysteries.
The very nature of mysterious magic possesses power; what young man has never fantasized about the supernatural? Now that he had fulfilled his wish and stepped into the door of the arcane, Thorfinn cherished everything he had.
Since his first meditation, when Thorfinn became aware of his "Dual-Souled Body," he had been training himself to perform two mental tasks simultaneously. While this training seemed simple, it was actually very difficult. Fortunately, with his unique talent, his progress was not bad.
Originally, both souls were on the same channel, so abruptly dividing his attention was not easy. However, the accumulation of daily training played a crucial role, and the two souls could now cooperate and divide their work. For instance, when warging into Alpha, Thorfinn could completely let go of the reins, as the other soul was inside Alpha's body. This made Thorfinn wonder: could he use this divided-attention skill to control even more animals?
After all, with the precedent of Varamyr, he could certainly make him his goal. The title "Sixskins" isn't given for nothing; legend says he can control six beasts simultaneously. Wouldn't that be a six-way mental split? Compared to that, Thorfinn's current achievements were negligible, so he began setting new goals for himself.
He made a surprising discovery, however: long-term practice of divided attention seemed to make his mental strength grow faster during meditation. Thorfinn only noticed this during a meditation session after numerous training periods.
According to the knowledge Thenya taught, mental strength and soul power are closely related. Meditation can increase mental strength, and greater mental strength can, in turn, stimulate and strengthen the soul. Thorfinn's soul power was gradually increasing day by day.
However, Thorfinn also began to feel the "magic addiction" he needed to watch out for. He seemed to never be satisfied with the magical energy. Thorfinn once asked his granny Thenya about it. According to her, this situation seemed to be related to the current low ebb of the "magic tide," and there were also slight individual differences. Still, even though Thorfinn didn't command much magic, he had never stopped drawing on it since his first time.
Magic addiction—drawing in too much magical energy at once, exceeding the mind's capacity, is dangerous. Stopping the absorption of magic would be even more agonizing. As expected, anything involving the mind is extremely perilous! Perhaps this situation would only lessen once his cultivation became profound, Thorfinn could only reassure himself uncertainly.
Fortunately, Thorfinn was already able to keep his Secondary Soul in a constant state of meditation. The Primary Soul could handle daily life and training, without forgetting the double-speed cultivation they could maintain at night.
During these days, Thorfinn truly made significant progress in all aspects. Every day and night, he was full of drive—one could even say he was bursting with energy.
In these fulfilling days, Thorfinn had no complaints. He believed that by taking one step at a time, he would surely have a bright future. He was certain that the path he was on was one no one had ever walked before—a path that was destined for the extraordinary...
Yearning for the future, the young man was especially vibrant. With his feet on the ground and relentlessly cutting through obstacles, Thorfinn was always in high spirits. Perhaps... this was the taste of youthful vigor!