The smell that filled the small space was unlike what one would think
He took the herb off and ate it first, as instructed by the old soul's small gesture.
The herb tasted of stone and cold water and something green.
Then he ate the meat.
The first bite hit him like a thrown stone, but a soft one.
The essence in the alpha flank, prepared by the slow-cooking method the old soul had described, was organized. The raw alpha essence yesterday had hit him as a rolling wave, dense but disorganized, his soul-body absorbing what it could and probably wasting some at the edges. Tonight's preparation arrived already broken down into the patterns his soul could absorb directly. There was no waste. Every fraction of the essence in the flank went into him cleanly.
The essence sank straight to his foundational layer.
