Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 129

Chapter 129

Chapter 129

Lyra and Zoe sat cross-legged, facing each other.

“There’s only one thing you need to remember,” Lyra said, holding up a finger. “Don’t think about anything.”

Zoe nodded.

“Alright, close your eyes and just focus on your breathing. Don’t worry about your core, the flame, or me. Just let everything go, Lyra instructed.

Zoe closed her eyes.

Lyra watched as Zoe sat with her back straight, shoulders squared, and her breathing steady. She looked like a pro, as if she’d done this a hundred times before.

A minute passed.

Two minutes passed.

Zoe’s brows furrowed slightly.

Three minutes.

Her brows drew even tighter, almost knitting together.

“Zoe,” Lyra couldn’t help but call out.

Zoe opened her eyes. “Hm?”

“What were you thinking about just now?” Lyra asked.

“Nothing, I wasn’t thinking about anything,” Zoe replied.

Lyra pointed to her own forehead. “Your brows kept getting tighter, and your whole face was all twisted up.”

Zoe reached up and touched her own forehead.

“The more you tell yourself not to think, the more you think about not thinking,” Lyra said. “Even that is a thought, and you have to let it go too.”

Zoe was silent for a few seconds. “What you’re saying, it’s kind of like deep meditation.”

Lyra tilted her head. “Meditation?”

“We had meditation training in the military. I used to do it. Once you settle in, your mind naturally quiets down, no need to force anything.” Zoe explained.

“Why not just start with meditation?” Lyra suggested.

Zoe nodded and closed her eyes again.

This time, she didn’t think about her core, the flame, or even the idea of not thinking. She used the method she was familiar with: starting with her breath, then focusing her attention on her core.

Inhale, exhale.

Inhale, exhale. Repeat.

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Lyra watched her closely. After a minute, Zoe’s shoulders finally relaxed.

Two minutes later, her breathing grew so shallow that her chest barely moved.

Three minutes in, her brows unfurled completely, and her whole aura shifted, gone was the military tension, replaced by a

soft relaxation.

Lyra silently pumped her fist, rooting for Zoe. You can do it, Zoe!

Five minutes passed.

Ten minutes.

Twenty minutes.

Lyra stayed completely silent, even making her breathing as quiet as possible so she wouldn’t disturb Zoe.

Half an hour.

Zoe opened her eyes.

“How was it?” Lyra asked eagerly.

Zoe looked down at her palm, turning it over and over.

“I felt a pulse in my core,” she said.

Lyra’s eyes lit up. She thought, ‘That’s exactly what I felt too!’

“It was really faint, just a single beat. I tried to draw it into my palm, but the moment I focused on it, it vanished,” Zoe said.

“That’s totally normal!” Lyra said, slapping her knee. “The first time I did it, it just jumped and shrank back too. It wasn’t until the second beat that I managed to pull it over.”

As she spoke, Lyra concentrated and opened her left palm. “Gather.”

A tiny orange-red flame flickered to life in her palm, gently swaying.

Zoe stared at the flame, her pupils dilating. Is this the Vital Flame?

“Go ahead, feel it,” Lyra said, offering her palm to Zoe.

Zoe instinctively reached out, her fingertips stopping just two inches from the flame. She stopped short, not daring to make contact, but a wave of heat and an unexplainable energy seemed to travel from her fingertips up her arm.

Her fingers trembled slightly.

“Did you feel it?” Lyra asked.

“Yeah, it’s just like that pulse I felt in my core,” Zoe replied.

She pulled her hand back and shut her eyes. “Lyra, let me try again.”

Lyra extinguished the flame and stepped back a little, keeping quiet.

Zoe’s breathing deepened again, and she slipped into the state even faster than before.

Five seconds.

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Chapter 129

Ten seconds.

Fifteen seconds.

30

Zoe’s left palm glowed for a moment.

A faint orange-red light emerged from beneath her skin, coalescing in the center of her palm into a tiny flame

Poof!

Lyra watched as the little flame appeared, only to vanish in a heartbeat, but it was definitely there!

Zoe opened her eyes, staring at her palm in shock. She wondered, ‘Did I really just make that happen?’

“Zoe!” Lyra jumped up, grabbing her hand and turning it over to see for herself.

“You did it! You just conjured the flame.” Lyra exclaimed.

Zoe blinked in disbelief. “Really?”

“Really! I saw it with my own eyes! There was a tiny flame in your palm. Even if it was just for a moment, that was the Vital Flame! You did it!” Lyra said, her voice brimming with excitement.

Zoe looked down at her palm, curling and uncurling her fingers. Her hand was back to normal. Nothing left at all.

But she could still remember that fleeting sensation.

She looked up and met Lyra’s eyes, which were practically sparkling with excitement, and couldn’t help but smile.

“Thank you, Lyra,” Zoe said.

“Why thank me? You’re amazing! You started with meditation and figured it out all on your own,” Lyra said, letting out a big

yawn.

Zoe glanced at her watch. It was already 11:40.

“It’s getting late. Let’s head to bed,” Zoe said.

“But you haven’t really mastered it yet…” Lyra protested.

“Now that I’ve managed it once, I can keep practicing on my own. You’ve got the Wraith zone to deal with tomorrow, better get some rest so you’ll have the energy,” Zoe replied.

Lyra yawned again, her eyes watering with sleepiness. She couldn’t fight off the drowsiness any longer.

“Alright, but don’t stay up too late practicing, okay?” Lyra said.

“Got it, Zoe replied.

“Goodnight, Zoe,” Lyra said.

Lyra dragged herself back to her temporary room and crashed onto the bed, out like a light.

Zoe closed her eyes again.

The next morning, just after dawn.

Early the next morning, just as the sky was starting to lighten, Lyra shuffled out of her room, running her fingers through her messy hair. She spotted Zoe waiting right outside her door.

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Zoe’s face lit up the moment she saw Lyra. “Lyra!”

“I did it.” Zoe said, her voice brimming with excitement.

Zoe opened her left palm, palm up, and closed her eyes for a moment.

A flame shot up from her palm, way bigger than last night’s, at least ten times the size.

“Did you practice all night?” Lyra eyed the dark circles under Zoe’s eyes.

“I practiced until four in the morning.” Zoe admitted.

Lyra gave her a thumbs-up. “Congrats.”

“I already sent my notes to the Chief Advisor,” Zoe said. “I wrote down everything from meditation to sensing my core and/ guiding the flame to my palm. Now we have two approaches.”

“That’s awesome,” Lyra said.

“The Chief Advisor replied. She said the whole army has started training, and our notes have been combined with Ms. Reed’s manual into an official course,” Zoe added.

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