“You’ve mentioned Awakening and Awakened several times. I must confess I don’t know what you mean when you talk about those”, Jack decided to open with.

“I see. Although I shouldn’t be surprised. Awakened are rare enough that it’s understandable if you haven’t met one, or heard of them”, Isaac replied. “Awakened are those that are fortunate enough to have condensed the energy in one of their Chakra points to a liquid state. It makes them…”, he paused, thinking of the words to use, “It makes them more than human. Faster, stronger, tougher”.

“Is Captain Ishmeal an Awakened? He looks more like a scholar”, asked Jack, a hint of scepticism in his tone.

“Looks can be deceiving”, smiled Isaac.

“Can I ask a stupid question?”, Jack probed. He didn’t want to reveal his lack of knowledge, but he had decided that since Isaac was providing answers, he’d be foolish not to try and fill in the gaps.

“There are no stupid questions”, replied Isaac.

“What energy are you talking about? And what are Chakra points?”, Jack asked bluntly.

Isaac stared at Jack, eyebrows raised. “Where do you come from that you don’t even know this?”, he asked after a long few seconds.

“Earth”, he thought, contemplating how much to tell Isaac. “Far, far away. It’s a long story, and I’m not sure I could explain even if I wanted to”, he eventually ventured. It wasn’t a lie, but neither was it an answer.

“We all have our secrets”, Isaac shrugged, “But back to your questions”.

“The universe is full of energy, that is unseen and yet surrounds us at all times”, he started, not sure where to begin.

Jack nodded.

“As people live, as they grow, they absorb some of this universal energy and gather it in certain parts of the body. The human body has seven of these energy points, which are called Chakras, and each Chakra is able to absorb a specific type of energy”.

“What kinds of energy do people absorb?”, interjected Jack. Some of these words were familiar, but the meanings were different.

“The Shēnghuó Chakra, located at the base of the spine, absorbs vitality”, Isaac started.

“I wonder if that’s why my arse felt like it was on fire when I meditated on the Mìngmài?”, mused Jack to himself.

“The Huǒ Chakra, below the navel, absorbs fire energy. The Dìqiú, just below the ribs, is for earth energy. The Mù, the heart Chakra, is for wood. The Shuǐ, at the throat, is for water. The Shǎndiàn is for lightning, between the eyes, and last but not least comes the Fēng point, at the crown of your head.” Isaac listed off the seven chakra points and their corresponding elements.

“So how do we absorb these energies? Meditation?”, probed Jack.

“How do you grow your bones, your hair, your organs?” Isaac laughed. “Us mere mortals have no control over such matters, and likewise we have no control over how we absorb the energy around us. We take what the universe deigns to give us”

Jack sat, absorbing this new, this alien information. For a while, he was lost in thought.

“So we just absorb these energies. And then what? What are these energies, and the Chakras used for?” he eventually asked.

“And then what?” repeated Isaac. “And then… nothing. Us mortals cannot directly use the Chakras or the energy. Which is not to say that they have no use; Someone with more life energy will recover faster from disease and injury, while someone with more lightning energy will have quicker reactions. Each elemental energy has its own benefits”, he explained further.

“So what of people like Captain Ishmeal?”, Jack asked, perplexed. “If no one has any control over this energy, how did he become Awakened?”.

“Why are some people tall, or short, or handsome, or ugly?” mused Isaac with a snort. “As a youngster he was blessed by the universe, given enough energy to condense one of his Chakras, putting him above mere mortals such as you and I.”

“So does he just have more of one kind of energy? That doesn’t sound like much of a difference”, Jack asked, not comprehending what Isaac was trying to say.

“I’m not an Awakened, so all I know is what I’ve heard over the years”, another shrug from Isaac. “Have you heard the saying, ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’? The Chakras - the energies - are like that. Individually, each is useful in their own way. But Awakening even one allows one to use them as a whole, together. The benefits an Awakened gets from each Chakra point is at least double that of a mortal, even if their Chakras are full but not condensed.”

“Are there people with more than one condensed Chakra?”, enquired Jack, picking up on Isaac’s very specific phrasing.

“You’re a fast learner. As far as I know, being a single element Awakened is the minimum requirement for being a Captain. I’d imagine there are those among the higher ranks, the royalty and nobility that have awakened more. Not exactly my social circle”, Isaac said in self deprecation. “If you want to know more, you’ll have to ask an Awakened”.

“This is all a lot to take in. But one last question; if everyone passively absorbs these energies, won’t everyone eventually be able to become an Awakened?”, Jack asked.

“Most of the energy we absorb, we absorb while young and growing. Once a person is fully grown, that’s the energy that they’ll have for the rest of their life.” Isaac answered him.

“Thanks for explaining”, Jack said. “I guess it all makes sense, even if it’s all just metaphysical mambo jumbo to me”, a wry thought crossed his mind.