“You’re sure my humming isn’t bothering you?” Elach asked while Sentence prepared breakfast for both of them. “I can go somewhere else.” He offered.

“Believe it or not, it reminds me of better days.” Sentence said over the sizzle of some fatty meat, pinching the end of it with two fingers and flipping it to the other side. “You should have heard the cacophony that came from the new apprentices in the schools of old. It was a chorus of grunts, labored breathing, and other bizarre noises they produced while absorbing Issi. They eventually learned to do their exercises in silence, and the dormitories for more advanced apprentices were far quieter.”

“Too bad I have to hum to get mine to work.” Elach said between small sips of freezing cold water. “It would be nice to be able to recharge in silence.”

“That’s what some of the apprentices said, as well.” Sentence chuckled. “You’ll eventually find a method to take in Issi in peace.”

Elach continued taking in Issi as Sentence finished up breakfast, sitting in his rocking chair before the hearth that seemed to be one of only two pieces of furniture Sentence ever used. Elach took in a little bit too much and felt his container shudder at the invasion of Issi, and he stopped. He waited a few moments to make sure his container wasn’t under too much stress, as Sentence had warned him of something called a rupture that would severely hamper his abilities for a long time, but his container seemed stable enough for the moment. Just a little bit uncomfortable.

“You look a little bloated.” Sentence noted, leaning down to place a plate of breakfast next to Elach, including some kind of bright green juice in a cherry red glass. “You haven’t taken in too much Issi, have you?”

Elach smiled and thanked Sentence for the food. “I think I’m on the line between just enough and too much right now. Just like you wanted.”

“Good. Very good” Sentence said, walking back to the kitchen to grab his own plate of food. “And the fact that you managed to do it on your first try speaks volumes for your precision with manipulating Issi.”

“I can’t take all the credit.” Elach said through a mouthful of a red carrot-shaped fruit that tasted like an overly sweetened pumpkin. It reminded him of home. “Flow feels like another voice in the back of my mind telling me when to back off. I would get really close, but when they’re looking out for me I feel safe going to my limit.”

Sentence lowered himself into his own rocking chair, grunting like an old man as he did. “Flow will be an amazing lifelong asset for you. Not to mention a true friend.” He added with a smile. “Wisps like Flow are a rarity in and of themselves, and to bond with one without degrading their mental faculties so that they take years to recover?” Sentence popped a yellow sphere of fruit in his mouth. “You truly wished for nothing beyond the bond.”

“Wait. Is that why my headspace and container are so tiny?” Elach asked. “Because I didn’t tap Flow for more Issi than they were willing to give?”

“Partially; the main reason is because Flow was quite weak when you bonded with them. Death will do that to anyone, you see. If you had pushed for power, you would have devoured them utterly and gained power relative to someone with a normal bond.” Sentence looked around and raised an eyebrow when he didn’t find what he was searching for. “Speaking of, where is Flow?”

Elach tapped the side of his head with his knuckles. “Still sleeping. They were really knocked back by all the Issi manipulation exercises.”

“Wisps are more sensitive to Issi than we are.” Sentence said sagely, leaning over for an embroidered pink cloth to wipe his face. “Unfortunately, we will need Flow awake and alert before we begin today.”

“I’ll let them sleep through breakfast. Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen Flow eat any real food before yesterday. Is that normal for wisps?”

“Issi can be used to substitute for a number of your bodily functions, and people with specific types like recovery or hunger can even support others with their Issi.” Sentence said. “That is how Flow survives without eating.”

“If Flow ate regular food would I have more Issi to work with?”

“Yes.”

Elach looked over to the kitchen. “Then I guess I’ll start bringing Flow three meals a day.”

“Don’t expect Flow to eat exactly the same as you do.” Sentence warned. “Learn what they prefer before you push your own standards on them.”

“Don’t expect Flow to be exactly like me. Gotcha.” Elach said.

“But giving them time to rest is also important.” Sentence said as he ripped off a chunk of pancake, dipping it in a golden syrup tinged ruby red. “I’ll make a meal for them to eat while I explain your tasks for today.”

--------------------------

Elach placed the fruits and meats out on a table made of stone that Sentence had raised for Flow to have a good vantage while Elach trained. He reached into his headspace and felt a connection to Flow instantly, tugging them into Sentence’s realm with little resistance. It was getting easier each time, he realized.

Flow chirped happily as they dug into one of the round fruits, their eyes locked on Elach as he gently ran a finger down their head. A muffled whistle made Elach smile, and he turned to face Sentence for today’s lesson.

“I’m ready.” He said, feeling his container straining with the Issi it held.

Sentence studied him for a second, as if double checking something, then nodded. “You are. Today’s lesson will be on the ways a practitioner can gain strength by themselves, without the intervention of a focus or other permanent progression upgrades.”

“Compression and expansion.” Elach said. “Right?”

“Compression and expansion.” Sentence confirmed. “The normal way would be to begin with compression, so that there is room for expansion, but since your headspace and container are below average in size we need to expand them to their maximum before we can safely compress them.”

“Safely?” Elach asked. “So there is an unsafe way to compress Issi?”

“Multiple unsafe ways, actually.” Sentence said. “Compressing with anything less than a half-filled container can cripple you physically, compressing an overfilled container can create a vacuum that can warp your container and headspace and set you back months of progress. Compressing while your container is already too small can create an Issi diamond, which might sound tempting, but in reality is a mass of Issi inside of your container that reduces the amount of Issi you can take in while offering no positives to speak of. And I could come up with many more, but we are short on time.”

Sentence walked towards the center of the clearing, beckoning Elach to follow. “Just as there are improper ways to compress your Issi, there are improper ways to expand your container, though they are far fewer since you must have more Issi than your safe limit inside of your container to expand it. The main ways are to overfill your container and cause a rupture, as we spoke of yesterday, or to attempt an expansion while your container is filled with a substance other than Issi. Some are safe, and some might actually aid you in expanding your container, but others can cause serious damage that may or may not be irreversible. The safest way to expand your container is to ensure the only thing inside of it is Issi or products specifically designed to aid in expansion.”

“Anything else I shouldn’t do?” Elach asked.

“Unlike compressing your Issi, expanding your container is a process that will damage you if it is not finished correctly.” Sentence said, placing his hand on the axe lodged in the center stone. “Your container will snap back into place if it is not anchored correctly and given time to accommodate its new boundaries. Your container has a maximum size for your body, unlike your headspace, which can grow without bounds. A container also needs to be compressed when it grows too large. Paradoxically, it will still be able to hold the same amount of Issi as before it was compressed, and your headspace will remain the same size as well.”

A massive pulse of issi emanated from the axe, and Elach felt the world around him grow fuzzy. It was like he was seeing everything from very far away, yet it was right there in front of him.

“Unfortunately for you, you will have to compress your Issi without giving your container time to heal.” Sentence spoke, and it echoed from all directions. “I will hold your container in place as you compress it, along with the Issi inside of it, and it will be at a rate far higher than you will ever be able to replicate on your own. You will go from a glass of water to a puddle in one day, but do not expect to become a pond within a week of leaving my realm. It will take weeks, maybe months to get the same results as one day of training with me, and that should be the normal you build your life around.”

“I understand.” Elach said quietly, his voice drowned out by the reverberations Sentence had left behind.

“I’m not sure you do.” Sentence chuckled. “And you probably won’t until you attempt to compress your Issi and expand and compress your container outside of my realm.”

Elach looked forward blankly at Sentence’s blurry form. He took his hand off of the axe and raised it to the sky, a rainbow aura bleeding off of his hand as he moved, and swiped downwards. The world shuddered and shook for a moment before falling still, a gaping wound that led to nowhere now present between Elach and Sentence.

“Place your hand into the existential wound.” Sentence ordered, a calm intensity in his voice that urged Elach to action.

Elach did as Sentence instructed, his hand becoming an outline as he forced it through a pudding-thick layer of nonexistence. It reminded him of the minty space nectar, only far thicker and completely colourless.

“Clasp your hand as if you were about to pull a rope.” Sentence instructed. “And then pull back as swiftly and hard as you can.”

Grasping onto an invisible rope, Elach almost let go in surprise as he felt himself grab onto something in the nothing. Instead he clenched his teeth and pulled as hard as he could, feeling just the slightest bit of give in whatever he was pulling on. But that was it; a very slight give. He pulled for what felt like a minute before letting go and falling backwards, and as his hand left the wound he felt a pain like nothing he’d ever felt before from inside his container. It was like he was beyond full, his container stretched so thin that the lightest of touches would burst it and splatter him over every inch of the stone-covered clearing.

His Issi was trying to escape, and it had to go through the rest of him to do so. A scream ripped through his throat, filled with enough Issi to begin sanding away at the tender flesh of his insides. He fell to his knees, his hands wrapping around his stomach. He felt Flow land on his shoulder, singing a frenetic song that was quick and worried.

“What in the hells did you do to me?!” He half-screamed, half pleaded; forcing his eyes to stay open while he took in Sentence’s unperturbed form.