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With something of a huff Illo turned away from the duo as they vanished into the heat waves bouncing off the mountain. From here it was all solo, it seemed, and so the monk left, one foot in front of the last, up the face of the mountain he was on. He wanted to crush them, but knew he wasn't strong enough yet to take on all of them--a scenario he reasoned was quite feasible. For this he would need a greater power: the Truth his teachers had held as absolute.

With nothing to keep him from training, no partner, no inhibitions, Illo was free to train as hard as he wanted with no regard for his own health. For the next seven days he trained in the most brutal fashion he could, taking only the most necessary breaks for water or a short nap when he felt he was on the verge of succumbing to exhaustion. He'd taken the same approach as he had in Bardo, training at maximum power at all times. This coupled with the fact that he was at the summit for the entire training put his body through Hell and left him skinny and weak when it was all over.


Many of the mountains around had lost their tops, and down below the townsfolk had posted up new signs each day warning of the new spots prone to landslides that seemed to be popping up daily. One the eighth day the rocks seemed to be more stable, and as a strange monk walked into an inn with ragged clothes somehow people know to give him his room--not an actual room, just a wide berth.

As luck would have it--if you don't believe--Illo was given a hot meal and was allowed to stay there for the night. He thanked them and resolved to pray for them always and meditate on their kindness. The people were simply glad to see he was alright.

That, however, may have been an understatement in the scope of a few days' time. Illo had recovered remarkably well, his muscles responding to the desperate conditions by becoming so much stronger that it appeared as though he'd spent a lifetime training for this moment. That too wasn't so far off, himself spending the first fifteen years he could remember in the monastery with the monks grinding away at the rough edges of his flaws until he was a smooth, polished fighter. At this time he remembered how it felt to finally use his power; for it was such a drastic transformation that some of the monks thought he'd ascended right then (before then he could hardly fight on their level at all).

Determined to repay their kindness, the monk had worked out a deal with the inn to let him stay if he agreed to help clear the rocks from the roads. They didn't know at first that it was he who caused the rockslides, but soon it became apparent that that was the case as Illo used his abilities to blast the roads clean. Some of the townsfolk were mad, calling for his removal, but some saw him as a cutely stupid monkey--taking into account the profound lack of lives lost.

By the tenth day Illo'd cleared all the roads that were affected by his overzealous training and made a complete recovery thanks to the hearty, protein rich soups he was served. Now he was free to meditate. Taking a few hours of yoga, the monk invoked his chakra points and allowed himself to be carried off to a place without time. He'd forgone the jnana yoga he'd favored till this point to reteach himself the value of karma yoga, and to sure up his technique so that he would be as precise as ever; fluid as well and limber to boot. It was here that Illo had a vision. He was connected with a different reality, and he could see himself as a fully enlightened being, but felt a distance he could not explain. Illo knew that only the monks could answer his questions, so he left with a quiet bow and vanished instantly into memory.


{exit}