He placed his palm against the scanner. The light scanned his hand. Soon, a soft beep followed. The seemingly solid wall slid open, revealing his chamber.
He stepped inside.
As always, his eyes first gazed at the white window.
Hmm, so they did bring in the stuff as I thought.
A white desk and chair sat in the middle of the room.
Dante moved to the chair and sat, placing his hands on the desk. The moment he did, a holographic display activated, projecting text before him:
A series of statements appeared below:
- To understand the void, one must first empty oneself.
- In stillness, clarity emerges. In clarity, truth is revealed.
- The strongest position is formlessness - to be adaptable to all situations.
- Power comes not from resistance but from alignment.
- The superior strategist wins without fighting.
The display shifted, presenting a geometric puzzle. Three-dimensional shapes hovered in the air, complex and interconnected. Below them, a single instruction:
ARRANGE THESE FORMS TO REPRESENT THE PRINCIPLE OF THE UNIFIED VOID.
A holographic countdown began.
1800
1799
Dante began to arrange them in various patterns - a sphere, a pyramid, a cube - but none seemed to capture the principle described. He then stared at them and began to think.
…
Time passed quickly as Dante continued thinking and trying solutions.
…
…
Dante glanced at the time left.
383
Damn how did so much time pass so quickly.
Dante stared at the shapes hovering before him. Despite all his attempts at conventional arrangements, nothing seemed to capture the concept of “unified void.”
To understand the void, one must first empty oneself.
What if I’m overthinking this?
342
341
He tried again, arranging the shapes into what seemed like perfect balance. Yet as soon as he released them, they drifted back to discord.
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287
286
Perhaps it’s about the space between them? Not the shapes themselves...
150
149
Power comes not from resistance but from alignment.
Dante attempted to align the shapes along invisible axes. He felt that he had something this time. That was until the alignment collapsed into chaos once again.
50
49
Hmm
Dante didn’t give up as he continued trying.
5
4
3
2
1
0
“Assessment failed,” announced the voice
The shapes disappeared, replaced by text:
THE MIND THAT SEEKS TO CONTROL CANNOT PERCEIVE THE VOID.
FAILURE IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARD UNDERSTANDING.
RETURN TOMORROW FOR CONTINUATION.
PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS - MODULE 1
A series of quotes materialized:
“In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In the pursuit of the Way, every day something is dropped.”
“The wise man is one who knows what he does not know.”
“Victory belongs to the one who knows when to fight and when not to fight.”
“True power lies not in dominating others, but in mastering oneself.”
“The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things without striving.”
The quotes rotated slowly, each one appearing long enough for Dante to read and contemplate. No instructions were given.
Then boxes with categories appeared.
[Principle of Stillness in Motion] [The Echo of Intention] [What is a sword]
[Improvement of ones mind] [Concept of learning] [Concept of understanding]
[Duality: Creation and Destruction] [Ego and Emptiness] [order and chaos]
[Rebith] [the nature of the sword] [understanding destruction] [Enemy is oneself]
Hmm, no idea what any of these mean, so I might as well choose randomly.
Some of these sound like they are about the same thing.
How about the nature of the sword.
Dante touched the tab and the text appeared before him:
“A sword does not choose. It simple cuts”
Uh ok…
“It is the wielder who defines a swords purpose. But the blade does not care.”
“Do you fear the sword because of what it does or what you become when you grasp it?”
“Understand the purpose, do not simply follow the movement. Then you shall find the flow of your own sword and your self.”
Dante spent minutes looking through the nature of the sword. Then he moved on to a new tab.
[understanding destruction]
“To understand a thing the answer is simple. Break it.”
I kinda miss math now…
“Disassemble its shape, strip its name, Remove all meaning.”
“What survives is the truth and an understanding of it.”
That makes very little sense, but I'm sure it will.
…
Eventually. Ok, time to keep reading.
Dante yawned as time passed.
My day just started and I'm already exhausted. I still have time for another one so might as well.
[Enemy is ones self]
“You were born soft. Shaped by fear. Molded by comfort.”
Ha, born sure, but dear old father has been molding me since I could walk… probably.
“Before you overcome anything else—conquer yourself.”
So, obviously, they want me to clone myself and beat my clone up? Right? That's it… isn’t it? Ok, shut up now, random thoughts and focus.
“Your first enemy is not out there. It’s in the mirror.”
Dante spent hours reading through the philosophical texts, moving from one concept to another. Some made immediate sense, others seemed deliberately obscure. By the time the session approached its end, his mind felt simultaneously expanded and exhausted.