《My Mythical Odyssey》 Prologue: New Beginnings Stretching from the earth to defy the heavens, was a forest of another world. Walls of bushes and other greenery littered the forest floor, while insects of abnormally large size feasted upon leaves that draped down from various plants. A bug with four wings speedily flew within the forest. The bug dodged the trees with perfect accuracy, but it was not ready for the large hand that reached down from a tree branch wrapping around it. In a moment the bug that quickly flew with finesse in the forest, was devoured by a large red haired beast. In this other worldly forest where beasts and giant insects dwelled was a man that strolled along an open path. A deep black robe that seemed to echo the depths of space was wrapped around the man. In contrast to his robe, the man''s white hair that sat upon his head seemed to welcome the rays of sunlight that managed to pierce through the canopy into the forest depths. With each step, the man seemed to walk deeper into the thickness of the forest and yet his path remained clear. Anything that would dare to follow him would have to weave its way past the trees and other greenery and yet the black robed man walked with out turning of deviating from his path. Not even the large beasts or mindless insects could be seen unless one looked far away into the trees where the large red hair beasts stared with interest at the man in the distance. Though they looked on in intrigue their instincts would not allow them to venture even the slightest bit closer. Their instincts told them that they were prey already laid out waiting to be devoured. In the same forest, a faint ball of light moved slowly with no mind to its surroundings. The light seemed to move from one stream of sunlight, that managed to escape into the forest floor, to another stream of sunlight. This small ball of light was a soul dwarfed by its environment. It would pass through the trees and plants that blocked its path as if everything were an illusion. The weak little light would vanish upon entering the streams of light, if not for the deep darkness of the forest floor this small light would be too faint to see. Moving through the forest with out a thought for its surroundings the ball of light swerved through the forest as if searching. The black robed man also paid no mind to his surroundings and walked straight. With each step, these two came closer to each other as if pulled by the strings of fate.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The beasts of the forest watched from a distance as this faint ball of light came closer to the black robed man. Even the beasts, driven by instincts alone, could sense that the black robed man was a dangerous existence. No normal man could walk in this forest undisturbed by the environment as he did. He was, by all means, a being that should not be approached mindlessly. But how could the little ball of light, who had no thought, know the dangers that laid before him. The things that are most feared, bring a great fortune with them, even if they could easily bring misfortune to all their surroundings. Just as fire brings destruction but it''s warmth and light bring life. If our little ball of light is lucky perhaps this man will bring fortune rather than misfortune. Then the two came to halt as if both had recognized the other that stands before them. The man stood in front of the faint light as it came to a halt in front of him. Off in the distance, the many beasts staring began to mock with snickers. The beasts peered at this scene glad that they had bodies and minds to escape from this dangerous existence. But what they saw next was in all measure, unexpected and could only appear when an existence that stood above all mortals was present. "A soul? And it''s visible as well... Truly the creator has led me here for this day." He spoke with soft excitement as his eyes glared at the soul before him. "You seem to have had a long journey... but now a new one will start. I can only do this much and pray that we will meet again soon." He spoke softly and quietly as if speaking to a child, his smile seemed to become the smile of a loving parent. The small soul began to change, becoming a tiny white ball that lay in the man''s palm. This tiny white ball was visible to all the creatures of the forest and no longer a dim light that only the beasts with special vision could see. "Good luck, and may we meet again if destiny so chooses." The man gives his regards to the little soul and vanishes from the forest without a trace. The little ball sat on a leaf of a forest plant. For many days and nights, the beasts of the forest stared in wonder at this new creature. But the beasts were driven by instincts and soon left growing bored of this egg like object. During this time the sun had set and rose many times, repeating the cycle of days. The egg had gone untouched but then as a beam of light poured down on the forest floor, illuminating the small white ball, the small egg began to turn and wiggle. It began to roll and in doing so it fell from the leaf onto the forest floor. Then next the ball began to crack and break apart. From the small ball, a fully white wisp looking creature with a human shape, sat there peering off into the great forest. As the wisp like creature looked around the egg that had housed it began to fade into particles of light. The small wisp had only one thought at that moment. "Where... am I?" It''s soft and almost inaudible voice disappeared into the darkness of the forest floor. Chapter 1: Waking up Bright, everything is bright. Where am I? I can''t seem to remember much of what I was doing. Though I try to look past the blinding white light it is keeping me from seeing anything. I reach out with my hands as far as I can and feel them stop against something. Feeling around I can tell this is some kind of circular room, but where are the doors at? I try hitting the wallandfelt the whole roomslightly shake. After giving it another hit the entireroombegan rapidly move as if spinning. My whole world was spinning, I toppled over several times going round and round. I couldn''t feel a sense of dizziness from the spinning, in fact, I could even tell that I was falling as well. CRUNCH "Ooof." I fell flat on my face after coming to a sudden stop. Picking myself up I looked into the surrounding darkness. As I did so the room that had broken in two began to dissipate from around me and only a stream of light showed down on me. "Where... am I?" I look towards the darkness, strangely enough, I can see rather well, maybe it''s not as dark as I thought? Surrounding me on all sides aretrees the size of mountains and plants the size of normal trees. "What is that!?" In the distance, I could see large insects which stood even higher than some of the plants. ''Munch'', ''munch'', ''munch'', hearing a strange noise I look up to see a giant bug with a red shell and black polka-dots. "A ladybug?! It''s so big!" I got sucked in by the large ladybug''s appearance Paying no mind to me, the ladybug continued munching on the leaves. The leaves were not only large in size but thick as well, but that didn''t stop the ladybug from devouring them in large bites. "I suppose that is where I fell down from." Glancing up at the plant I make a guess that I fell from there, luckily I wasn''t gobbled up. As I was thinking to myself the giant lady bug stopped munching on the leaves and as if it had noticed something, peered down at me. For a moment we just stared at each other. To my surprise, the face of the ladybug was fairly lady like, like the face of a mother, there was just one thing that didn''t look motherly. Two extensions rose from above its eyes forming sharp peaks. ROAR While I was lost in thought the motherly looking ladybug roared and began to dive at me with its head. This situation definitely seems bad, it''s almost like a strange nightmare, but oddly I don''t feel scared like I would normally. This feels so much like a dream. I don''t know if dreams could imitate the stinky breath and hot air that is seeping out from the ladybug''s mouth, or the clear vivid colors that paint its back and the large bead like eyes glaring at me with foul intent. CHOMP I hopped out of the way at the last second, I really should stop getting lost in my own thoughts. This ladybug really wants to eat me for dinner, though I think I would only pass as a snack at this size.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. CHOMP "Woah!" I jump away again, my reflexes are really good. I turn and run away leaving the ladybug in the dust. I don''t remember having such good reflexes or being a fast runner though. For some reason, I get the feeling that I''m supposed to be slow. Stopping for a moment I place my left elbow in my hand and with my free hand, I grab my chin to ponder. Doing this I notice something strange. "No hands... and... no chin?" This is strange, too strange. I remember having hands with five fingers, but now I only have stubs? I also remember having a pointy chin and round cheeks. Now I can only feel a completely rounded head. I don''t have ears either, okay what''s going on here? "It''s like I thought, this must be a dream, definitely, a dream, totally a dre..." I try to reassure myself. CHOMP "... Okay, that''s enough." The ladybug had caught up to me and jumped at me with its large mouth. I''m sure I left it in the dust. Irritated by the ladybug''s persistence I Turn around. Strangely confident in myself I plant my feet into the ground and take a striking pose. As the ladybug came down again to chomp at me this time turned and throw out what should be a fist. CRACK Next what I saw was the ladybug taking a step back with a new scar on its face or rather... its face was now cracked in between its large eyes. "ROOOOOOOOAAAAR" The ladybug made a loud noisy roar that soared into the sky. After pausing for a moment as if to figure out what just happened the ladybug looked back at me with a renewed anger. Its face was filled with concentrated hatred, and it was concentrating it all on me. Maybe I should start running. Before I could even turn around to run, a large hand appeared above the ladybug. Descending from aboveits fingers wrapped around the ladybug and squeezed tightly. I heard several crunching sounds. Looking up I saw a giant red haired beast hanging from a tree limb as if it were natural. "Gooor.... rilla..." I stared dumbfounded at the large beast as It chewed on the ladybug. It was indeed a gorilla, a gorilla that could make gorillas that kidnap women and climb towers look like cute little babies. It also had deep blood red hair covering its entire body. The gorilla began munching on the ladybug, only giving me a casual glance before ascending the tree with ease. The trees were not incredibly wide and the branches were not nearly as thick as the gorilla''s arm, but the tree still managed to support the gorilla as it soared to the top. "Thank goodness I''m not worth eating." After mumbling to myself I began looking around to see where I am but... No matter where I looked all I saw where plants and trees. Ithink this isa forest. I have a vague feeling that I did not live in a forest, but perhaps I lived near one? But I can''t recall having seen a forest such as this one. Beasts the size of mountains, large bugs that made people seem small, and trees that had no end to them. Looking in the distant darkness I saw many bugs and beasts. Though from what I see, they seem to be extremely far apart, in fact, they are even further from me than each other.Since when can I see so far? I can''t remember if I had good eye sight, but I think this is beyond having good or bad eyesight. In the first place, I don''t think I had night vision. I look around myself, on all sides are large plants and tall grass. Beyond the plants are the trees and the creatures of the forest. Oh, it seems that I am also in another beam of light, I didn''t notice this but for a forest as dark as this, there are an awful lot of beams of light coming from the top of the forest. Looking up, I don''t see where the light could be coming from. Well, that is not important, for now, let''s wander around, If I run into another bug or beast I think I can run away from it rather easily with my current speed. As I walked around I found a stream of water flowing through the forest, the water was flowing slowly down stream. Occasionally a large fish would swim towards me to get a look at me and then quickly swim away as if it had seen a ghost. Ghost or not, what ever I had become, I''m no longer what I use to be, this was the strong feeling I felt after looking at my reflection in the water. Two large black holes peered at me from a white rounded face. I also had a constantly open mouth that was another black hole, I could somehow make it smaller and bigger, but I couldn''t seem to close it. I continued looking into the water at those eyes, their deepness seemed to pull my consciousness into them and my mind began to wander off, or rather I was really sucked into those eyes. Everything around me became dark and then I began to hear something, and a light began to appear in front of me as memories of another time came to me. Chapter 2: Lost Memories And A Burning Passion "Waah, waah..." The sounds of a crying baby filled a small room cluttered with tools and equipment. In the center was a bed where a Beautifull blonde young lady laid covered up in white sheets. "It''s a boy, congratulations to the two of you." A man dressed in a white gown wearing blue rubber gloves and a face mask congratulated the women laying down and the man that was standing at the side of the bed. It was the long awaited moment, the birth of their baby boy had finally come, but despite the occasion being a joyful one, there was an odd heaviness to the atmosphere of the room. The man stood at the bedside taking a glance at his new baby boy, he gave a bitter smile then quickly looked down to his wife lying in the bed. "Cough, cough, I''ll be fine, stop looking so pale I''m the one who just gave birth right?" Despite her best attempts at sarcasm, the lady lying in the bed couldn''t lift this heavy atmosphere. "Doctor, please, is there anything you can do?" The man turned to the doctor, his face had become disfigured and despite his best efforts, he could not control the tears that began to drip from his face. "I''m sorry, I tried everything, I''ll give you two some time." The doctor had taken the baby and turned to leave. "Wait, cough, cough, doctor please let me see my child, please." The doctor looked at the pleading lady lying down, he knew she didn''t have long and there was nothing he could do. He bit his lip trying to block his own tears from falling. "Of course here hold him gently now." The doctor leaned over the bed and carefully place the child in the lady''s arms. Looking at the new life she had brought into the world her face had become filled with a special glow. This is a glow that only mothers could give when looking at their newborn child. "So cute... I''m so happy, I was able to bring you into this world. I''m so sorry that mother won''t be able to watch you grow up, I''m sorry. So please don''t hate mommy." She held her baby tightly to her cheek as tears began to fluster. Finally losing control the man fell at the bed side, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. He wrapped his arms around his wife and child. The child sniffed, then raising his hand he placed his palm on his mother''s cheek and his other palm rested on his father''s cheek. "Ah." "Look, he''s smiling. Isn''t this just like your smile?" The wife made a wide grin as she looked at her child''s brilliant smile. Even the man couldn''t help but grin at this sight. The stiffness of the room seems to vanish in that same moment. "Such a bright child, his smile is like the cure for all illness. Let''s name him Bright!" Letting out a chuckle she put her nose to her new born child''s nose. ''What kind of name is Bright?'' though those were his thoughts the man just nodded. His wife had always come up with the oddest names. "Heh." The man let out a chuckle, but his wife turned to him with puffed up cheeks. "What''s so funny? It''s a good name! Look even he likes it, isn''t that right Bright!" It was like this that the family remained, laughing and talking. But the happiness was short lived. "I... I''m so... sorry, you''ll have to raise for the both of us." The doctor had taken the baby out of the room, there wasn''t much time left for the young lady and this was a time for just her and the young man. "Don''t be silly, you did all you could." The man held his wife''s hand is his as he rubbed his cheek against hers. "Please... please keep smiling for our child. I want him to grow up knowing the man that I fell in love with." Those were her parting words. Drawing her last breath she made one last look at her husband. Making his best effort, the man put on one last smile for his wife. "I promise." . . . . "Hey B! Wait up!" I was walking home from school when someone behind me called my nickname. "Okay, but I wanna hurry home, dad will be there early today!" "Such a daddy''s boy jeez." Alex, that was my friend''s name. We often walk together from school since our houses are on the same street. I heard that normally parents wouldn''t let their 10-year-olds walk alone, but both of our houses are only a block from school and there''s a lot of other children walking home too so it''s okay. My dad tells me I need the exercise anyway. "Hm? But I consider myself a mommy''s boy?" I look at Alex sideways, it''s true that I can''t wait to get home to see dad, but there''s a secret why. "That again? Well, it is true you talk a ton about her. But I thought you never met her?" Alex is a good friend, but he can insensitive sometimes, that''s what I heard the old people say. "Alex, and your with Bright again. You too sure are good friends its so good to see children getting along." "Eeh?! Great its the granny." Alex jumps when he hears the high pitched feminen voice. Granny, that''s her nickname since we don''t know her real name, she''s an old lady that sits on her porch after school is out to watch the kids pass by. Honestly she is really nice. She sometimes hands out candy and cookies for the hollidays. She also always seems to remember everyone''s birthday some how and bakes a small cake the children that walk past her house.That being said, she has a... difficult personality?This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Oh, you don''t have to be so shy! Here I baked a cake for you Alex, happy 11th birthday!" The granny stands up. She''s actually really short and her hair would reach her feet if she didn''t keep it up in that weird tower shape she has going on. Really how does that old lady manage to walk around with out her hair falling all over? "Uhm... Thanks but me and B need to get home, he''s goign to see his dad today." Alex was trying to run away, not that granny''s cakes where bad it''s just... "Oh dont be like that I''m sure you can spare a hug and a kiss!" Granny waves the back of her hand as she comes down the steps of her porch. She is really fast for an old lady. "Yeah, Alex is right! Dad is gunna tell me a story about mom today!" "Oh? About your mother? That sounds important, I guess I can''t keep you waiting here''s the cake. Why don''t you stop by and tell me a story about your mother sometime?" Granny hands the cake to me and gives me a pat on the head. "Wait wasn''t that suppose to be mine?" Alex stares at me, or rather, he stares dead eye at the cake. "Boy''s shouldn''t be picky now, you always need a cake to go with a good story don''t you know?" Granny nods as if it was a fact and smiles. She has a really awsome smile, though it''s a bit crooked and some teeth are missing, it''s a smile that really makes you feel good. "Yeah, hey why don''t you stop by and listen too? Then we can share the cake!" Heading home I try to cheer Alex up. "Ah, well my mom wanted me back early today, it seems we''re going to see my uncle today." Alex hung his head and sighed. "Well see you tomarrow B." "See ya!" I wave good by to Alex and turn to enter my house. It was a small house for two, there was a little porch and a small fence in the front yard. Opening the door I walk inside, I can smell pork being cooked on the stove. I make a dash for the kitchen to the left of the living room. Dad is standing at the stove cooking something in a skillet. Running over I drop my bags and still holding the cake, I give dad a hug around his leg. "Oh! Welcome home Bright." Dad''s calm voice rang out. Sometimes I mistake dad for mom, because he''s really pretty. He has short tanned hair and sky blue eyes. I have my mothers bright Blonde hair and dad''s blue eyes, many of the lunch lady''s at school talk about how lucky I was to have two beutifull parents. "Hey dad, Granny gave me a cake today! It was suppose to be Alex''s though." "I see, well that sure is nice of her. I guess that means Alex didn''t want a hug then. He-he" Dad lets out a soft chuckle. "Hey, you promised you''d talk about mom today!" I begin pinching dad''s leg impatiently. "Okay, lets finish our meal first then we can go sit of the sofa and talk." Dad pats me on the head then pushes my back so I''d leave him alone. I pateintly go sit at the table. After the meal was over I cleaned my plate and placed it in the sink. Without waiting for dad I rush quickly to the sofa in the living room. "Come on dad hurry up." I call for dad who was just finishing cleaning off his plate. "I''m coming. Give me a second." Dad patiently awnsers me and then walks over to the sofa. Along the way he picks up a picter from one of the side tables. Dad sits down on the sofa and I jump into his lap. He makes an oof sound but I ignore it and sungle into his lap. He help the picture of a pretty lady in front of us. She had long straight blonder hair that looked like strings of gold. Her green eyes twinkled like emralds. Mom was really pretty, but so was dad. I really am lucky! One day, I''ll get to meet mom again, for sure! Then she can tell me stories about dad! "Lets see, how about this one. Me and your mom''s first fight!" Dad begins telling the story, I listen closly and stare at the picture. "It was actually quite funny, it was about weather we would have a boy or a girl." "You can decide that?" I ask curously. "Of course we can''t, and that''s why it was so funny." Dad begins laughing. I smile and giggle with him. "She was dead certain that you would be a boy, and I tried to tell her that you might be a girl and we should decide on a girls name. But she was for certain you would be a boy and would give boy names." Dad let out a sigh, he often did that when talking about mom. "She was right! Like always huh?!" I shout in excitement. Dad would always say that mom was always right. "Yep." Dad confirms it with a smile, I love dad''s smiles. One day I''m going to go find mom and bring her back so I can monopolize dad''s and mom''s smiles! "Hurry, Hurry, tell me what happened next. Cough, cough." I was getting more and more excited, but then I started coughing. The world around me began to grow dim. Ah, it''s another one of those... "Bright?? Hold on let me go get your medicine." Dad drops the picture onto the side of the couch and lays me down, then rushing to the kitchen he grabs my medicine. I was told once that I had the same sickness mom had that caused her to pass away. AlthoughI was never told, I think mine is worse than mom''s was. I could sometimes here dad and the doctor talking about it in another room. "Ugh." I could feel sharp pains and dizzyness. Everything is getting darker. "I got the medicine here bright take it." Dad neals down holding my head he puts some pills in my mouth. Dad is always so kind. I love dad. "Dad..." I weekly raise my hands and place them on his cheeks. I smile the best I could at him. "Eat the pills son, the pain will stop soon here." Dad reaches to remove my hands, but I hold tighter. "I... love dad, but I think it''s time to go find mommy. Don''t worry dad, I''ll bring her back... and we can be a family togeather again." "Son, eat the pills. Eat the..." Dad grabs tightly to my hands looking down at me, his face had gone pale. No, that''s no good, dad doesn''t look cute at all. "Dad, you don''t look cute when your sad... can you smile please?" He made a shocked face at first then nodded. Making a bright smile as best he could he held my hands to his cheek and placed his nose on mine. "Make sure to bring her back son, I''ll be sure to have a meal ready." I could feel hot tears fall onto my cheek, dad is the best. I hope it''s his grilled chicken, that''s the best... I really do love dad. "I promise, I will find mom!" Like that everything becomes dark again. I stare into the darknothingness, a hot burrning fealing in my chest. Chapter 3: The Black Robed Man Appears The light faded away leaving only the darkness remained. Standing there I think about everything that had just happened. "Bright..." So my name was Bright. It was an awkward name and I remember being made fun of by other kids when they heard it. That''s why I chose the nickname B instead. I had not known that it was mom who chose my name. I always thought it was dad playing a joke on me... I suppose parents wouldn''t joke aroundwith something like a name. While I was thinking the darkness began to twist on itself forming a figure of a man dressed in a robe. His short messy hair seemed to offset not only his appearance but the darkness around us as well. His hair was white, so white that it felt like a light was on top of his head. He looked a lot like a lamp, but I suppose that would be rude. "Indeed it is." His voice was mature and sharp, it was very fitting for a man that looked like what I thought a dad would. Unlike my dad who had a really pretty face. Sometimes dad''s tanned hair would become blonde after staying in the sun for a while and I would mistake him for mom. Wait, did I just remember something that wasn''t in that light from earlier? "Yes, that illusion earlier was only a portion of your memories. The rest of your memories will return to you slowly over time." He gave a quick nod as he spoke softly to me. "I see, but what about those memories of mom and dad in the hospital? I don''t think a baby could remember something like that?" It was strange how I had seen memories that weren''t mine, I wonder how I saw them? "Normally you would have to wait till you are older and more devoloped, however our souls can record memories well before we are born and those are the memories you saw." I don''t really understand what he said but I suppose it''s not all that important. After all, I got to see my mom while she was still with dad. Now that I know what she looks like I will definitely have an easier time finding her! "Trying to find someone who has already died would be impossible. After death, a person''s soul is judged by the creator. If they lived according to the creators will they will be allowed into the eternal garden called Heaven, where they will live eternally with the Creator." I see, so mother is in Heaven. Then I should go there quickly, but how do I get there? I look at the black robed lamp and start to ask him the question before he shakes his head at me. "Not all souls are sent to the eternal garden. Some are sent to eternal torment for their great misdeeds." He paused after speaking, wait what is he trying to say? There is no way someone as awesome as my mother would be considered evil! Mom is good, dad told me so! He would always say how gentle and kind she was. He described mom as an angel. "I''m sorry, it seems I mislead you. Your mother isn''t in either of those places so don''t fret. Also if she was in Heaven you still wouldn''t be able to reach her as that is a place only for the true followers of the creator." "Why didn''t you say so sooner!" I couldn''t help but shout. "Well, I thought that comparing someone to something like a lamp was indecent and should be punished properly you see?" So he says with a slight grin on his face. His deep blue eyes seem to sparkle for a moment as if he were having fun. "I''m sorry..." I bow my head. I knew it may have been a little rude but he''s just mean! Fooling me with that gentle man''s tone and mature look. "I apologize for my ill humor." Apologizing he nods his head at me, I see so he is a good guy that likes to play jokes. "My ill humour aside, your mother really isn''t in either Heaven or Hell. Aside from these two places, a person''s soul can be sentenced to reincarnation. Reincarnation is for the souls that have managed to live decently but failed to meet the creators requirments to enter into eternal life with him." He continues to explain in a gentle soft tone, it''s almost sounding like one of the school teachers. "After seeing your memories I can say that your mother has indeed been reborn in a new world, however..." He makes another pause. So being reincarnated means she was born as a baby again I think is what he was saying. I see so I''m looking for a baby version of mom! Easy, all I have to do is search the whole world for her right? "... There are countless number of worlds that your mother could have been born on and not just this one. Actually the world you are on now is not the one you where on before. Searching every planet would be impossible even if you were reborn over and over." I see, then I might never find mom... Wait, what if dad is also reborn! Then I would have to hunt him down too, It will be impossible for me to find just mom and now i''ll have to find dad too!? The black robed man smiled and shook his head.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Don''t worry, I have already talked to the creator and he will have your dad reborn somewhere in this world. As for your mother I suppose I might be able to give you some hope on finding her." Hearing him say so makes me lift my head. I grin happily and wait for what he will say next. He sure likes taking his pauses. "It''s important to be patient in these things. Well your mother is probably in this world." Wait I thought he just said that would be impossible? "Don''t worry, while it would have been unlikly it''s not impossible. I can say this because you are here." He points at me giving that gentle man smile. "Why would me being here mean that mom is here? Wait it couldn''t be that mom wanted to find me so badly that she came looking for me?" I began to feel excitment, mom is the best! "Well, rather than her trying to find you, it was you trying to find her!" The black robed guy lets out a chuckle. "Normally a soul is judged then sentenced based on how they lived. However, in very rare occasions, a soul will wonder off into the universe to search for something. When I found you, you where a wondering soul, most likely you where searching for your mother." So I will get to see mom! She might even be on this world then? I can barely contain my excitement. I jump up and down. "That aside I will explain to you the reason I have come here to speak to you." Suddenly the black robed man''s voice becomes more strict. The reason? "Wasn''t it to show me those memories?" I ask tilting my head. "That was only part of it. The real reason is to tell you that after I found your soul wondering on this planet, I put you into an egg and had you reborn as someone from my race." "So that''s why I look different and can do stuff I couldn''t before!" "That''s right, but don''t worry about your looks too much. Right now is when you are growing and changing the most. Most likely you will end up looking very close to what you did originally. The only difference is you will have my white hair." So I will still look like dad does? I see... I felt happy hearing that, knowing that I will be able to keep something that my dad had given me. Well I guess this black robes guy would be my second dad though.Yeah black robes is dad number two, but my first dad will always be number one. "There are a few things about our race you will need to know." He holds up his hand raising a single finger. "First, it is very difficult for a member of our race to be born so there are very few of us. Since you already had a soul and where reincarnated into our race you had a higher chance than normal." He raises his second finger. "Second, our race is special and has special traits at birth. It is similar to how some insects and animals are born with poisen or other traits." While he was talking I couldn''t help but think about a certain commic book with a hero that had a S on his shirt that dad would read to me. "Well if compared to the people from your old world I suppose it would be like having super powers." Black robes chuckles. "You see, our race is madefromlight. The egg you where born from is called a light egg and will turn into light when destroyed. It''s just like how a humans body will turn into dirt when they die. When we die, we will become particles of light." Oh, that''s why the egg dissapeared when it hit the ground. Does that mean I''ll do the same thing if I hit something to hard? Hm, lets not think about it. "If you get hit hard enough you''ll probably break like that egg." I could see him holding back his laughfter. His sense of humor is kinda mean. But I guess it''s alright. My friend Alex was alot like that too. "Don''t worry though, our light bodies are really durable and won''t break easily. You can also absorb different forms of light to make yourself stronger." "We can also create duplicate bodies so if our orginal bodies get destroyed we will still be able to live within our duplicates. Be carefull on how many you make though since it will use up your bodies light energy each time you make a clone." "What happens if I use up all my bodies light energy?" I had to ask, it seems important. I look at black robes waiting for an awnser. "If you loose to much light energy, your body will not be able to hold togeather and will break apart just like the egg." "Oh." I just stared at black robes, I think I''ll try not to make too many copies. But it does sound really cool so I''ll only make a few. Yeah just a few. "Now then, thirdly..." Black robes held up a third fingure, "There are many different races within the universe and amongst them, ours is quite rare. Because of our unuiqe ability to abosrb light and convert it into energy with our bodies, there are many who will hunt us down to take advantage of this." Black robes started using a sharper tone. "You need to be very carefull about interacting with different people.No one on this worldshould know of our race or its special properties so you will be safe here for the time being." I began to think about being turned into a battery to power someone''s gameboy. That would deffinetly be unpleasent, I will absolutly not tell anyone that''s for sure. "This also means you should keep your abilities a seceret. Now then that''s all for now, oh one last thing. I thought that you might have trouble finding your parent''s reincarnations so I gave you a special ability that I learned while traveling through the univerese." Black robes started using his gentle but mature tone again. I really hope he gave me the ability to teleport, that would be awsome. I mean we are made out of light so we should be able to move fast enough to teleport right? "It''s not to teleport..." He awnsered while shaking his head. Okay, I have been thinking this for a while now, "can you read my mind?" I asked while making the most seroiuse face I could. "Hm, I was wondering when you would ask. Rather than reading your mind, I am reading the thoughts of your soul. It is the special ability that I am giving you." "All you have to do is look into a persons eyes and imagen that you are looking at their soul. If you become as good as me, you can see a persons soul just by being near them." He begins to brag with a satisfied look on his face. "When looking at a persons soul you can see the memories of each life that soul has lived, unlike if you where to just read their mind. Reading a persons mind will only show you the memories they have had in this life after all." Black robes nods while smiling at me. Really the things he talks about are complicated, but I have a feeling he''s been speaking in a childish tone so that I would understand it. "So if I find someone that might be my mom I will be able to tell by looking at her soul?" Ha, I''m not as childish as you think! "OH! That''s right, good job." Black robes clasps his hands togeather and smiles fatherly like at me. "..." I have nothing to say to this mister black robes. Chapter 4 Whistling, "Off we go, off we go, la-lala-la." Whistling. Right now I was walking without worry through the forest while whistling and singing to myself. After talking to the black robed man, I set off on my journey. But... maybe I shouldn''t have picked a random direction. Right now... "To the right ismot... a ladybug and to the left is a group of unnaturallooking hills." After choosing a random direction it seems that I have come to a cross section in the forest and both paths seem doubtful. In this situation, the normal choice would be to head back... let''s try using that soul looky thing he gave me. "Okay... focus... focus... focus..." Hm, I''m looking at the ladybug but... I''m not sure how to imaginelooking at a soul. That silly man said that if I focus I''llknow the rest by instinct. I''m trying but... wait let''s try looking at myself first! I try looking at my hands... or rather since when did I get thumbs? Well, he did say I was growing so let''s leave it at that.I continue to look at my hand. "hm, still what does a soul look like?!" After staring at my hand for some time I begin to get a strange image in my head of a small glowing circle. And then memories of my past life began flashing in my head one after another. They were the same memories as before. I see it''s the same feeling as when I was sucked into that dark space. Though I didn''t get sucked into that space again, the feeling was similar. It was as if I was being sucked into my own memories. I then look up at the bug still standing in the distance. Surroundingthe ladybug were bushes and trees, it seemed to be eating something off of one of the bushes. Focusing on the bug, I try to make the same feeling as remembering my memories. It was like I was trying to remember the memories of the ladybug. An image of a small ball like glowing thing appeared in my head and along with it came memories of a ladybug. The ladybug I am seeing in my mind is not the same one that I am ''reading'', or rather this is its memory. The ladybug in my mind bent down and nudged at me and licked me a few times before leaving.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Several scenes of the ladybug leaving and coming back with different types of berries or small animal like creatures began to flash by. Eventually, that ladybug stopped coming back and that''s where the memories ended. "So you lost your mother too." I began to feel a connection to this ladybug. Subcouncouisly I head towards the ladybug however after coming within a yard of the ladybug it lifts up its head from the bush and stares at me. For a period of time we simply stared at each other, then slowly our hearts connect and dance towards each otheras I spread my arms to give the ladybug a warm hug. CRUNCH, or at least that''s how it was playing out in my head. The ladybug looked smaller than the one I met when I left my egg and was much faster. It chased after me as I ran with all my might. The black robed man said that I should be able to defend myself against normal monsters, but this ladybug is just too scary. It continues to chase me with a fierce look in its eyes, I can''t bring myself to punch a comrade who has lost his mother so, for now, lets just run. CRUNCH. CRUNCH. The ladybug continued to chase me and I continued to run from it. Somehow I ended up running towards the group of hills, well perhaps I can find a place to hide over there. Finally reaching the hills I quickly look for a hiding spot. The ladybug kept running after me giving me no time to hide, but then the ladybug was smacked hard. In fact, it was hit so hard that its side completely caved in. "Ah, my comrade..." I looked shockingly at the little ladybug that lay with its side caved in. It''s unlikely that it will ever move again. I felt that we had an attatchment with eachother but it seems that it just wasn''t meant to be. I Turn my head back to see the cause and what I saw was... "A lizard..." It was a large lizard with rocks and dirt on its back. It looked like a hill had formed on its back and if it layed down I wouldn''t be able to tell if it was a lizard or not unless I got close to it. If I compare its size to the gorilla then I''d say the rock lizard is slightly bigger because of the mounds of rock and dirt sticking off of its back. While I looked at the lizard an image of my dad''s truck appeared in my mind, but even when comparing the two this lizard was at least 3 times bigger. The other ''hills'' began to move as well and in an instant, I was surrounded by a large group of rock lizards. Each lizard looked similar to the other, their dark grass colored skin let their bottom half blend into the tall grass in the forest and the ''hills'' mounted on their backs let them become apart of the landscape. Though, in this forest having a random pack of hills laying around in a cluster looks very awkward. Either way, I am now surounded by this awkward group of hills. Looking over where the ladybug lay, I whispered to it. "Well comrade, it looks like I will be joining you soon." Then I cried. Chapter 5 Surrounded by large trees that dive for the skies, there are four hills. The four hills are currently standing up and moving because they are not hills but giant lizards with rock formations on their backs. As the lizards move they form a circle around an innocent creature. Their large eyes glare with murderous intentions and their wide mouths drip with saliva as they focus their gaze on a smallfigure. Of course, that small figure was me. Not far from where I was, where the remains of my fallen comrade. The ladybug had died the instant it was hit by one of the lizard''s tail. I''m sure with my height and speed I could easily escape past the lizard''s encirclement but then I would be whipped to death by those tails. The lizards were taking their time watching me, waiting for me to try and run so that one of them can take me down. It seems this isn''t going to be a cartoon comedy where they all come at once and ram into each other. I suppose if I don''t move they''ll eventually come at me one at a time until one of them gets me. If only I could move in multiple directions at once, then I''d be able to have a higher chance of success. AH! Didn''t black robes say that I could create copies of myself? In that case, I would be able to have at least one copy survive right? Alright then, now that I have a plan let''s do it. The only problem is... how do I do it? He never told me how to, did he... really telling me I can do something but not showing or telling me how. What a careless dad that guy is! I much prefer my first dad, he always showed me how to do something before telling me to do it, I think. Rumble, I could hear a soft rumbling getting closer. Looking up I saw one of the lizards getting extremely close, any closer and I would be swept away by its large claws. I suppose it''s now or never. Without thinking I just dove at the lizard, running as fast as I could. ROAR! The lizard shouted as it dove towards me with its claw. In that instant I turned to go right, no I turned to go left. With both my arms and legs sticking out in opposite directions I floated in place for an instant and then I felt something. A large claw swung down on my head splitting me in half, or rather did I split myself in half? I could feel strength leave my body as I fell on my backside. Looking up I saw another me sitting there looking back. For a second not only was I at a lossbut even the giant lizards began to look back and forth between us wondering what had just happened. It wouldn''t be long before the lizards regain themselves and charge towards me... us? What ever! We got up and ran away in opposite directions. The lizards gave chase but amidst the confusion two of the lizards rammed into each other as they dove for us.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "AWSOME IT REALLY DID HAPPEN!" We couldn''t containit and let ourvoice slip out, it was funny hearing two of the same exact voices in unison. Right now we both see two views, though our focus is on the same scene. It is strange seeing two views at once, while we have two bodies our mind is one. The other lizards rather than pay attention to the cartoon like scene going on charge after us. We take off once more in opposite directions. The lizards also split up to chase us. "See you on the other side brother!" "See you on the other side brother!" We chuckle after exchanging words with each other. This is actually pretty fun! RAWR, well if we weren''t being chased by these lizards. Wish there was something... Ah! Managing to take distance from the Lizards we jump onto a tree, using the branches that were sticking out from the trees we climb high up. However, before we get very high up, SLAM, one of the lizards ram into the tree and we fall. Suddenly one of my two views were cut off. Ah, so my clone died, or was that me? I don''t remember, I feel confused. For some reason, I felt as if I was two beings with one mind. Now I feel as if I am missing a part of myself, like a missing limb. SLAM "Wo, wo, wo!" The lizard below me slams hard into the tree as I grasp as tightly as I could to an extending branch. At that time a giant gorilla comes falling past me. So there was a gorilla in this tree? The gorilla falls directly on top of the lizard, the rock formations on the lizards back look like they dug into the gorilla, however, the gorilla simply got angry and began beating down on top of the lizard. SLAM SLAM SLAM I hold onto the tree while looking down. The gorilla smashes its fists against the lizard, blindly smacking it in a fit of rage. At first, I thought the lizard was a goner, but after pounding repeatedly into the lizard''s rock covered back rather than the lizard being beaten down the gorilla''s hands had become covered in its own blood. The lizard swung its tail smashing the gorilla into the tree. Although I kept my grip and held on, CRACK, the tree couldn''t withstand being hit twice by such big creatures and started to give and fall. Luckily this is a forest and the tree fell into another tree letting me escape to it. Although I''d like to stay and watch the fight, I really need to get out of here. While planning my escape, I see a squirrel jump past me. Wait! That''s a flying squirrel, although I''ve never seen one before I have read about them in a picture book in my past life. I watch as the squirrel lands on a tree branch, it turns back to me and stares. I stare back at the flying squirrel, although I want to keep calling it a flying squirrel there is something different about this one. Aside from its fully white color, it also has sharp fangs and blood red eyes. The squirrel is not that much smaller than me and I am also fully white, maybe it thinks I am one of its own? For now, I decided to try following the squirrel after all black robes told me I should go find people right? Though a squirrel isn''t really people at least it''s not trying to kill me. Another thing has beenbothering me though. There is no light shining through the trees right now, and yet it is as bright as day. Looking down at my hands I realize the reason. This is probably the reason why all the other creatures notice me, despite being a ways off. That reason was... I''m completely lit up, or rather I am letting out a lot of light from my body. Chapter 6 Since when have I been letting out so much light? The sun has already stopped coming through the trees and yet the area around me is lit up. The squirrel on the tree branch across from me stood still on its two back legs to stare at me with its head half turned. Ignoring the squirrel, for now, I focus on my hands and arms, which by the way, now have fingers. Thinking for a moment, I glance down to look at my feet and there I see a foot with toes. Black robes did say that I am in the growing period, maybe this light is part of the growing period? Focusing back on my hands I try focusing my mind of the light coming from my palms. When I focused on my palms, the light began to grow brighter. "Ah, this is really bright..." Normally something this bright would hurt my eyes, like looking at the sun would. But instead, all I could see was a white blinding light. So let''s try something else. I focus my mind on my palms again and begin to imagine the light decreasing. Just as I thought that I heard some scampering and a squill come from the branch across from me on the other tree. The light had dissipated back to normal and I could see clearly again. Over where I heard the noise I saw the white squirrel rolling dangerously on a branch holding its eyes. "If you roll around like that you''re gonna...." SQEEL As I was warningthe squirrel, it rolled off the tree branch. Just when I thought the squirrel was a goner, he twisted his body and grabbed the branch he fell from. It was a perfect spin! "Alright, I''ve decided, you are gonna be comrade 2!" I made my declaration to the squirrel that was now hanging from the branch. My last comrade tried to kill me though, well I''m sure this one is a good guy. With that out of the way, now let''s save comrade 2 before he falls. I watched comrade 2 struggling, I think he might be able to take care of himself but just in case lets go over to him. With that thought in mind, I take a few steps back and then make a running leap for the other branch. Hm, though for some reason... I can''t help but feel this wasn''t a good idea. As I flew in the air towards the other branch, I got an exciting feeling. This sense of being free from the ground... it really is fun! Just as I thought that a tree branch appeared in my view, then a squirrel, and now I am falling. ''What a fluffy tail'', is what I was thinking at the time. Reaching out in desperation I grabbed on to the fluffy tail in front of me. SQEEL "Sorry comrade 2 just hang in there okay?" And now a squirrel and a human shaped wisp are now hanging from a tree branch, that is currently bending abnormally. SNAP, yeah I was wondering when that would happen.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. SQEEEEE We both began tumbling towards the ground at a quickened paste. At this right I''m not sure if either of us will survive the fall but... I grab the squirrel and wrap my arms and body around it best I could. I then try to remember the sensation of making a clone. While falling from the sky we hit many branches on the way down, and when my back hit a branch I got a feeling like I was split in half. I also got an extremely tired and my single view became two. For now, lets call ourselves clone 1 and clone 2, with clone 1 I grabbed the squirrel that was now falling by itself and fling it towards the branch that split us. Clone 2 grabs the branch and pulls himself up quickly and grabs the squirrel flying towards him. Managing to save the squirrel I try to move clone 1 but there wasn''t anything to grab and clone 1 hit the ground hard. I had once again lost my view from clone 1, from clone 2''s view I watched clone 1 hit the ground and then clone 1 began to turn into light. The light became really bright and then disappeared along with clone 1. So that''s what happens when I lose a clone? Ah, that drowsiness from earlier is still there, I can barely stand on this branch. Sitting down on the branch I try to rest. Comrade 2 sits up suddenly looking around, spotting me it makes a strained face. Hey don''t blame me, it was an accident. I tried to make a pleading face but I''m not sure the squirrel understood me because it shoved me off the branch. Now I''m falling and will soon go splat on the ground. What a mean comrade, maybe I should give up on making comrades out of animals... Now, what am I going to do about this? While falling I looking in every direction for something to grab on to.''LUCKY''! I shout in my mind as I saw a vine hanging from one of the branches, it had a weird tattoo pattern on it but I had no time to mind it. Reaching out as quickly as I could I muster all my strength into grabbing the vine. Sssss! The vine began to be pulled down as I grabbed onto it and what appeared in my vision next was the head of a large snake. Without thinking much about it I twist the end of the snake into a cushion for me to fall on, but the snake wasn''t so lucky and hit his head on a branch as he fell. When we hit the ground, thanks to the snake absorbing most of the fall, I wasn''t hurt but the snake... CLUNK, a few seconds after I hit the ground the snake''s head came slamming into the forest floor. After that, the snake did not move. "Ah, it seems I did something bad." Looking around I don''t see anything that would try to eat or kill me. I then take a glance up and see the squirrel smiling down at me making squeaking noises. It seems to find this incident funny. "Comrade 2 is really mean." Comrade 2 is definitely on the naughty list. With that in mind, I look at the now unmoving snake. Unfortunately, he was dragged into this incident without warning and I feel really bad for him. Grrrr, just as I was thinking that I heard a growling noise come from below me. Looking down all I see was a pudgy stomach looking up at me. Grrrr Yep, it seems I am hungry. That is also when I noticed just how drowsy. My vision started becoming unclear and I blacked out. Waking up, I could see light coming from the cracks in the trees above. A powerful sense of hunger gripped me and without thinking I began to bite into the snake. Moments later the snake had vanished from this world, bones and all. Not only did I drag the snake into my dispute with comrade 2, I also ate him. Well, let''s not dwell on the past too much. I took a broken branch and stuck it into the ground and made a quick prayer to thank the snake for the meal. I remembered from my past life that dad would always fold his hands and closed his eyes to make a prayer for every meal we ate. He told me that it''s called ''giving thanks''. After thanking the snake, I look around the forest. Well, it''s all trees and leaves so there isn''t much to see. "I''m telling you it was over here!" I then heard a noise that sounded familiar but at the same time, foreign and strange. And then what I saw next coming from behind a tree, was a tall figure with two arms and standing on two legs. Yup, that''s definitely a man. Making some changes After finishing chapter six I began to think about where i want my novel to go and the things I want to do. I then relised that there where a few plot holes and also... well I needed far more description and flavor added to my writting. Other wise it was just a spew of information rather than an interesting read. This is my first novel so I will be taking some liberties with it and redoing it from time to time, but I know not to go over board because that will be unfair to you guys. For this weak and next weak I will be redoing all the chapter I have put out so far. I have already finished my prologue so feel free to go look that over. Luckily my chapters are very short but I relise that''s no excuse. I think I''ll also take this time to talk about my self a little though there isn''t much to talk about. First and foremost, I come from a religous back ground as you may notice I try to keep my writting as graphically clean as possible (You wont see any strong language or graphical depictions of gore/blood/nudity/ect.). I am also single *wink* *wink*, work at walmart (I''m sorry om) and love teaching children and playing video games. Yeah those two deffinetly go togeather so just role will it. >.