“Now that you have created the channels for energy to flow in the three sections of the array, you need to add the flux your body claimed when breathing in the incense,” Toi informed me.

“How do I draw a physical material and imbue a construct created of soul energy?” I asked.

“The three geometric shapes are connected to you within the astral plane. The astral cord that connects your spiritual body to your physical body will serve as the medium. This may be the first time you are directly controlling your astral cord, but everyone that has a soul has an innate ability to control that connection.

“When you dream, your astral body wanders. Your memories and mind influence the makeup of your dreams. You think, and the astral body acts, creating the dreamscape to implement the scenes your subconscious mind expresses.”

“How does that help me move the incense flux from the physical to the spiritual?” I asked again doggedly.

“Your body has already established a medium that you have access to. You unconsciously linked the array and your Dharmic Body via that connection to your astral body. Now you have to try to control that connection, move from instinct to guided control,” Toi explained.

“The same way you would channel a spell through the Dharmic, invoke your will and intent to take control of that flux. In the same way, you cultivate Qi through your meridians and Dantian to access your inner sea; you need to cultivate the flux that your body has captured to power your Dharmic intent.

I wondered if my body differed enough from Toi’s original form that what she suggested was impossible. But I quickly abandoned that line of thought; Toi and I had been able to create a spirit contract. If that was possible, so was this.

The first step would be locating and identifying my astral cord. There should be something that tethered my Dharmic Body, Astral Body, and Physical body together. I just needed to find where that connection existed.

I was having little luck, my frustration growing, when Toi offered some advice that resonated with me. “Center your mind, enter meditation, and attempt to detach yourself from yourself.

“Think of yourself like layers of harmonic resonance, layers of an onion. You have touched upon the [Dao of Movement]. Locating and identifying your astral cord is simply paying attention to the movement of your entire being, looking for a place that flows with life, Qi, and Spirit.”

Her instruction was easier said than done. I was no longer a novice at turning my perception inward, but doing it disembodied as I was, was an entirely different level. The body systems I was used to examining, meridian channels, blood vessels, and nerve fibers, were there, but they were offset from where I expected them to be.

My body was less corporal in this state. My Dharmic body had more prominence than usual, but even it was slightly off-center. Perhaps off-center was the wrong word, but it came close to explaining what I was feeling.

I felt out of alignment. The Dharmic seemed to vibrate at an increased frequency and sense of urgency. My physical body felt slower and more dreamlike. That difference was what was fueling the difficulty I was having.

I felt turned inside out, my body not the driving force behind my actions disconcerting. It took me a while to realize what was going on and act.

I finally struck upon a solution when I focused on Toi’s description of what I should be looking for. Harmonic resonance should be easy enough to agitate, and with that agitation, I would search for that place of life, Qi, and Spirit she described.

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I plucked the string that represented my Dharmic body, creating a dissonance between the layers of my being. It was a simple matter to control that dissonance. I had always used dance as a part of my martial arts, so I was familiar with even the most minor changes.

I began using my Dharmic body as a spiritual tuning fork, changing frequency and vibration to experiment. I was watching as the change in harmonics resonated across each layer of my being, and I was eventually able to notice an anomaly—a point of quiet, a place that ignored the changes in vibration.

I filtered out everything else but that one point, enhancing my perception until I could isolate what I was observing with the [Dao of Movement]. The point within myself where the mix of life, Qi, and Spirit were combined. Once I recognized what I was seeing, that point of intersection expanded until my astral cord was revealed entirely.

The ‘chord’ I had been envisioning was similar to an umbilical cord that connected a fetus to its mother; the reality was something else. My astral cord was more akin to a condom, a whole-body sheath that bridged the connection between every molecule, neuron, and ether that comprised who I was and enfolded those connections within a bubble of protection.

The reason I had trouble finding the astral cord was one of perception. What I thought I was looking for and the reality of what was were so divergent that my perception was actively fighting against me.

The method to move the incense-infused flux from my body into the geometric constructs I had made was a matter of channeling the materials I had accumulated through the psychic connection that I could now control. The astral cord served as the means of transport.

Each geometric shape retained an intangible connection with my inner sea, a bridge that began to glow a pale shade of pink before deepening into the color of blood. As the particles from the incense permeated the array, Toi noticed and explained the next part.

“You need to begin spinning each shape. The triangle should turn counter-clockwise, the pentagram should rotate left to right with the triangle serving as the axis, and the septagram spinning to form a curve, a mobius strip.

“The septagram requires dedication and a delicate touch. You need to spin the mobius strip so that it intersects with the paths of the triangle and pentagram without disrupting their flow.”

The concentration it took to get the two center geometric shapes to spin without losing form or function was difficult. Adding the septagram required me to stretch my control of the [Dao of Movement] to my limits.

I used my [Dao] to control the motion of the combined construct enough that it was slowed. Not wholly frozen but slowed enough that I could make adjustments to each array’s [Movement]. The longer I focused on the cycle of motion, the more I increased my understanding of movement and motion.

There was a mathematical beauty to what I was doing. It wasn’t easy, and if I hadn’t refined my mind, I would have missed the numbers and equations that flashed across my mind. An involuntary computational program that collected data and refined that data into an output that determined speed, position, motion, and gravity.

The array I had created looked like a complex atomic structure, the incense flux acting as the nucleus the geometric shapes were powered by, revolved around, and maintained orbit with.

“Connect the array to the dark energies that permeate the aether, command the array to gather those energies, filter them, and release them once purified.

“Make sure you withdraw your connection to the runes as the demonic energies take hold. Don’t let them cross your astral bridge and invade your body,” Toi warned.

This last step was as tricky as any of the others. I had to coax the dark and demonic energies; much like a fisherman, I had cast my line and needed to tease the energies until they took the bait.

If not for Toi’s final warning, I would have lost myself. The speed of the demonic energies as they surged across the connection was surprising. Those energies followed the lines of each construct until they reached my astral cord.

I finalized the ritual. “As Above, So Below,” My Spirit thundered.

The array was released at my command and burned with intent. I watched as it was branded into the spirit world, the demonic energies trapped in the mobius sphere that would contain those energies. Everything would be consumed until those dark energies had been cleansed of all impurities, and any chance of a Demonic rift opening would be removed.

I’d barely managed to register the array working, the draw of dark energy streaming towards the runes I had created before I snapped back into my body. The physical world reasserted dominion as I fought to contain any backlash that might result from my abrupt departure from the spirit realm.

I’d barely managed before my body betrayed me, and I passed out.