If persistence wasn't working, then there had to be a flaw in the technique. Frank remembered an old saying that rose to the surface of his mind: "Work smart, not hard." The words resonated with him, and he sensed a kinship between that saying and his current struggle. Determined, he began to examine his technique critically, searching for hidden flaws.
He recalled what he knew about drifting: it was about manipulating natural forces, and the mysterious purple substance was the key. So what was the flaw in his technique?
As the facts filtered through his thoughts, Frank realized the problem wasn't knowledge—it was action. He knew where the natural forces lay, and he understood the role of the purple substance, yet he hadn't turned the key. He had the means, but he hadn't activated it. To drift, he needed to act. And now the question remained: How would he act?
Looking down at his paralyzed leg, he noticed something strange. Despite his immobility, he was already floating—just slightly, which explained why he hadn't noticed before. The purple substance beneath him was enabling this levitation. That meant wherever the substance appeared, he would float. Frank had figured it out!
But his feelings were mixed. Yes, he had uncovered the mechanism behind floating, but drifting was something more. He still didn't know how to move the purple substance to another tile, nor how to transform floating into true drifting. And the most troubling question lingered: Did he have to repeatedly lose control of his leg to drift?
Frank sensed that this repeated loss of control was taking a dangerous toll. If he needed to travel long distances, would he be forced to endure that weakness over and over? Surely there had to be a better way—a way to drift freely, anytime, anywhere.
For his questions to be answered, Frank first had to successfully drift—a task far from simple. He knew the action required, but he had never manipulated natural forces before, nor controlled the purple substance. Only days earlier, he hadn't even believed the purple substance existed. To direct it into another tile, he would have to search for knowledge within himself.
Then came an epiphany: a nagging feeling that he had heard of this purple substance before, perhaps under another name. He searched his memories, racking his mind until he recalled the servant's chores mystical wooden frame. Number two on the list had been "Energy absorption practices." At the time, he hadn't thought much of it—until when he assumed the meditative state and he spied on how other soul beings mined. He remembered Nigel, a soul being who used the same purple substance to blast holes into the ground. At first Frank wondered how Nigel had acquired such a vast amount, but later, during training, he learned the truth: the substance came from within Nigel himself.
Working through this realization, Frank understood Nigel wasn't absorbing energy—he was releasing it. That discovery unsettled him. He had already accepted that he was no longer human, confirmed by medical examination as an Underdeveloped Soul Vampire. But now the truth felt heavier: the energy within him was the purple substance. He almost missed the days when blood spilled from his body after injury or when harmless fluids came from his orifices.
Still, it was clear—the purple substance was released from within him. After some time, he came to terms with it. Yet new questions pressed on his mind: should he release more of the substance, or did his own version follow another aspect of Energy Absorption Practices? And how could he manipulate it to move across the tiles around him?
As he pondered, an unexpected notification appeared before him:
[You have gained control of your leg.]
Frank's eyes glowed with a silent, iron-clad resolve. Though the unexpected notification had startled him, he was now determined to master Drifting while maintaining absolute control over his own body. He settled into a meditation stance, searching deep within; he suspected the final clue for controlling the purple substance was hidden in the recesses of his own mind.
This time, meditation felt different. His perception, mind, and awareness were nearing the peak of human possibility, making the act of accessing past memories effortless and vivid. He recalled the day he said goodbye to Earth and stepped into the dark portal. He remembered the shock of losing his hunger and the wistful realization that he no longer grew tired or needed to release organic waste. But the trade-off was grim: he was forever "not human."
His dwindling health was a constant reminder that death was just around the corner. And speaking of Death, he had truly met it. Though he hadn't looked upon its terrifying face, losing a year of his lifespan without feeling a spark of pain showed him its true power. He had gained a functioning Meditation skill in exchange for that year, but looking back, Frank didn't think the trade was worth it. He felt he should have demanded immortality, as dying was his greatest fear in this new world. Instead, Death had goaded him into becoming a lackey by trading a degraded skill for a functional one. He felt he likely deserved the title: "Dumbest Soul Being."
Pushing aside the bitterness of that memory, he focused on what happened next: more stupidity. Frank had entered a long meditation session shortly around the time Death arrived, and so the Escape skill had been generated, only to activate at the worst possible moment. He had lost half his health and escaped absolutely nothing.
However, that failure wasn't entirely empty. Shortly after that "escape," he had gained Drifting and Breathing. At the time, he had no idea how to use them; they seemed to activate at random. Yet, Drifting had saved his life, and Breathing had given him a vital second chance.
Thinking back now, Frank noticed a connection. He had unlocked both skills on the same day, and both had served as his salvation. His eyes brightened as he recalled the old saying: "One is an accident, two is a coincidence, and three is a pattern." It was too suspicious to be random. Could Breathing be the underlying pattern linking the purple substance and Drifting together?