《Chaos Cloud》 Prologue: Calm Before the Storm ''I''m going to be late for work if I don''t catch this bus!'' a young man inwardly exclaimed as he was leaving his house with a backpack containing his work uniform. This young man''s name was Lewis Byrne and his home was located on the outskirts of a town in the state of Indiana. Indiana was a state located in a region nicknamed Tornado Alley that experienced tornadoes regularly every year. Lewis had a cellar below his house that he knew he could escape to when a tornado occurred, so he felt confident in his safety. His house was certainly not the best house among the ones nearby since it was relatively small and fairly old. However, he felt fortunate to own a house at all considering the amount of income he received monthly. He also preferred the fields and patches of woodland that surrounded his house as opposed to the busy streets in town. One downside to living in such an area was loneliness, but Lewis didn''t mind much as long as he invited his friends over once in a while to play video games and have paint ball matches. His family rarely sent financial support since they were struggling to have enough money to pay expenses as well. His mom struggled as a single parent with two jobs and was financially burdened with raising his two younger siblings who were both 8 years younger than him. When he was a few years younger and was still living with his family, he would try to fill in the empty gap of not having a dad for his siblings. When his siblings were sad, he would make faces at them to make them laugh. When they wanted to go somewhere, he would accompany them. He also helped his mom around the house by doing chores and doing odd jobs around the neighborhood for small fees. Throughout his high school years, he received slightly above average grades. He was not one of the popular kids in school, but he still managed to have friends. Often, he would take on the role of class clown in his classes when he was bored which would anger his teachers. But they could see that he was fairly intelligent when he actually applied himself, though he mostly didn''t. At the age of 18, He had decided to move out from his family''s home to earn his own income. One of his friends from high school had a father that rented out real estate. His friend had offered a place for him to stay temporarily for reduced rent, which was how he obtained his current abode. Within one month, he settled into his new home and had obtained a job working as a bag boy for the town''s local grocery store in order to make enough money to attend a nearby university in the near future. That was the plan he had in mind, however, he struggled to earn enough money to pay for the expenses of his own home and began to resent his boss who he considered to be an idiot that should visit an anger management counselor. He also became more disconnected with his family as he neglected to visit them and instead hung out with his friends. After jogging several kilometers, he saw the bus stop along with the parked bus. He began to sprint towards the bus. His current face could give one the impression that he was having a heart attack. He knew that if he were to miss this bus, he would have to wait 45 minutes for the next one to arrive at the stop and would ultimately be late for work. ''I have to get on this bus no matter what! I have to get on this bus no matter what!!!'' he repeated to himself while sprinting and flailing his arms around madly. Strangers walking nearby paused in their tracks to watch him run by. "Crazy kid." "Look at him. He must be running late for something important to be running like that." "Maybe he''s having a seizure?" The last passenger boarded the bus and the bus driver shut the doors. Despite seeing this, he did not stop sprinting towards the bus. The passengers in the bus watched him chase the bus''s tail end. "Hey bus driver, do you think you can stop for that guy chasing us?" asked one of the passengers. "No, tough luck for him. I''m on a tight schedule and can''t afford to delay for some punk who can''t even make it to the bus stop on time." Soon Lewis was far behind the bus and the passengers could not see him anymore. They believed that it would be the last time they would see him. After turning at the next intersection and stopping at another bus stop, the bus soon passed below a bridge for pedestrians. Suddenly, there was a loud thump on the roof of the bus. All the passengers were startled by the noise, including the bus driver. The bus soon arrived at the next bus stop which was crowded with people. The bus driver exited the bus and walked a few paces to see what might have landed on the roof. ''Geez, I hope it wasn''t some crazy schmuck attemptin suicide, that''d ruin my day.'' Seeing nothing on the roof from where he was standing, he scratched the back of his head in confusion. "Can we get on the bus or what?" One bystander asked impatiently. "Yeah, yeah. Let me get back on first so I can check your tickets." He reentered the bus and allowed the people waiting to enter the bus, after which the bus departed from the bus stop. Lewis, lying prone on top of the roof of the bus, breathed a sigh of relief. He was clutching the rims of the bus''s emergency roof hatch exit when the bus began to move. ''I made it on the bus! Luckily that dense bus driver didn''t bother to climb the bus to check. Now I just have to pray for all traffic lights to be green.'' he thought satisfyingly with a smile while panting heavily. ------ The bus soon arrived near his destination. Instead of waiting for the bus to park at the bus stop that he usually gets off at a block away, he decided to jump off the bus as soon as possible. Lewis knew that he would likely be injured if he were to simply jump off and land on the sidewalk. He waited until the bus neared a flower patch and then jumped off with the intention of landing in it. The soft dirt that he landed on had completely broken his fall to the extent of not having a single scratch on him. The passengers that were looking out the window had faces filled with surprise. They were even more surprised when they noticed that it was the same person whom they had thought had not boarded the bus. Lewis had been completely aware of how dangerous it was to jump off the bridge and the moving bus. He did not care for his recklessness at all because he loved to show off to others and feel the rush of adrenaline. He did it despite knowing that he could have died if he had jumped off the bridge at the wrong time or if he had fallen off the bus while clinging to the emergency hatch. Work was really only a secondary reason to him for doing such actions and yet he still eagerly wanted to avoid facing the consequences for being late. Partially covered in dirt, he started running towards the grocery store which was only a bit farther from where he was. ------ At the grocery store where Lewis was employed, the employees stood in a line facing the store¡¯s manager as he was doing roll call for this morning¡¯s shift with a pen and clipboard. Many of the employees had sleepy expressions as they had gotten up fairly early this morning to be at work. The manager had started calling out last names in alphabetical order. ¡°Baker¡± (manager) ¡°Here¡± (employee) ¡°Browning¡± (manager) ¡°Here¡± (employee) ¡°Byrne¡± (manager) " ..." ¡°Well, it seems that Byrne is late for the third ti-¡± ¡°I¡¯m here! I¡¯m not late!¡± shouted Lewis upon opening the store¡¯s doors. ¡°No...you are late,¡±the manager replied. ¡°You should know my policy of punctuality just as good as everyone else here. If you are not present the first time I call you, then I will mark you as late. As I was saying earlier, this is the third time you¡¯ve arrived late. You¡¯re aware of my other policy right?¡± the manager asked sternly. "¡­" Some of the employees standing in the line started snickering under their breath. ¡°If an employee is late three times, then they''re fired. Byrne, you¡¯re fired.¡± ¡°Fine¡­.but can I at least keep my job here until I find another?¡± pleaded Lewis with a worried tone. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Nope, you¡¯re fired effective immediately. Now get out of my store punk,¡± grumbled the manager. At this point, he felt that talking to him any further would get him nowhere, so he decided to leave the grocery store. ------ Sitting with two of his friends in the town''s diner, Lewis dejectedly told them about how he was fired after being late for the third time while they were drinking beverages. ¡°Cheer up Lewis, it''s not as if you lost the best job in the entire world. Besides, you should know better than any of us how strictly that store manager treated his employees. You¡¯re better off looking for another job even if you did screw up by being late,¡± said one of his friends while sipping soda from a straw. A waitress approached their table with a pen and notepad to take their order. ¡°What would you like to order sirs?¡± ¡°Are you still serving breakfast?¡± ¡°We sure are sir.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll have the Early Bird combo with sausages.¡± ¡°Alright sir, and what about you?¡± asked the waitress as she turned to the other friend. ¡°Umm...I¡¯ll have a cheeseburger with french fries on the side please.¡± After the waitress was finished writing their orders on the notepad, she looked at Lewis. ¡°I¡¯ll just have a refill...I¡¯m not that hungry,¡± mumbled Lewis who was still feeling depressed. The waitress took his empty glass and left their table. Both of his friends felt concerned for Lewis''s current mood. Lewis did perceive the manager to be strict, but he knew it wasn''t the reason why he was fired. He had been late two times prior and wasn''t fired, so to that extent, the manager could actually be perceived as lenient despite his tone towards his employees. It was his fault in being late that made him lose his job. ¡°Hey, I think I know what would lift your spirits.¡± ------ At a large lake surrounded by patches of woodland and sandy banks, many people were enjoying themselves with recreational activities such as swimming, kayaking, and fishing. Concession stands were busily selling fast food as customers flocked to them. A middle-aged man and woman were setting up their picnic blanket on the sandy banks under the shade provided by overarching tree branches. ¡°Honey, I¡¯m going to go buy a cheeseburger for myself, do you want anything?¡± asked the man who was was shirtless and wearing swim trunks. ¡°A hot dog please,¡± replied the woman who was wearing a bikini. As the man left to go buy the food, the woman applied sunblock to her body. Afterwards, she put on sunglasses and laid herself down on the picnic blanket with her head placed on her crossed arms. After a while, she began to feel a slightly tingling sensation on her back which she began to scratch, relieving her of the itchiness she had felt. The tingling sensation reoccurred once more on her back. She thought that maybe something might be touching her back. She lifted her head from her crossed arms and turned to see what it was. There was nothing in the woman¡¯s sight as she looked over her back. She guessed that it was merely the sunblock that had made her feel that way. She turned her head back to her crossed arms only to press her face against something that felt rubbery as she did so. Startled, she looked at what it was and saw that it was a floating one-eyed snake that she had pressed her face against. ¡°EEEK!!!¡± the woman screamed as she hurriedly jumped up and bolted in the direction of her husband who was waiting in line at a concession stand. Many people had heard the woman scream and some had even thought she was being attacked which caused them to go see what happened where she was resting. ------ Up in a tree near where the woman had been resting, Lewis and his two friends were struggling to suppress the urge to laugh at the scene that unfolded as a result of their prank. Lewis and his friends had managed to pull off the prank successfully by using a fishing rod, nearly invisible fishing line, and a rubber one-eyed snake. They descended down the tree while still feeling giddy with laughter at just recalling how the woman reacted to the floating one-eyed snake. ¡°So Lewis, I bet you don¡¯t feel depressed over losing your bagging job anymore. Am I right?¡± asked one of his friends. ¡°Yeah, you were right in suggesting that doing a prank was exactly what I needed to get over it," replied Lewis with a smirk on his face. He felt the nostalgia of his childhood experiences after doing this prank. He and his friends had often pulled pranks all the time when they were younger. However, nowadays they hardly ever did them as they were now older. For the rest of the day, Lewis and his friends played volleyball and also went swimming in the lake. When the sun was starting to set, they decided to head back to town where they said their goodbyes and parted ways. ------ By the time Lewis had reached his house that evening, it was nightfall and the sky seemed to be covered completely with dark clouds while there was also a slight breeze in the air. ¡®Looks like there will be rain later on tonight. I''d better check that all the windows are shut.'' He entered his house, shut his open windows, and went to his bathroom upstairs to take a hot shower. After showering, he changed into his bed clothes and sat on his bed with his back supported by the backboard behind his bed. He then turned the TV in his room on and turned the lights off. While watching the TV, he pondered how and where he should begin looking for another job tomorrow. Lewis had soon fallen asleep while the TV was still on. A while later, the TV was still showing the channel he had been watching until the screen suddenly turned gray. Then a message was displayed on the TV in white font: ¡°EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM National Weather Service Issued a Tornado Warning¡± Exhausted from the day¡¯s events, he continued to sleep comfortably despite how the TV was also making beeping sounds while displaying the message. The message soon stopped and the TV resumed displaying the channel it was initially on. ------ Awoken from the howling wind and thunder outside, Lewis got out of bed and went to the window as he was curious to see how severe of a storm it was outside. The landscape was pitch black and he could not see anything outside until a flash of lightning brightened up the landscape for one second. Within that one second, what he had seen instantly made his face¡¯s complexion turn pale. A giant black tornado that was quite possibly an F-5 class (261-318 mph wind) was approaching his house. His house started to shake violently as the wind started to pound against the walls like fists. In a panicked frenzy, he was trying to figure out if he could make it in time to the cellar below his house, but believed it was already too late. One side of his house was instantly torn off by the force of the wind. He dashed for the door knob of the door to his room. By the time he grabbed ahold of the door knob, his body became weightless as the tornado¡¯s pull became stronger and stronger. His ears popped as a result of the decreased air pressure. Terror-stricken, he desperately clung to the door knob with all his might as he was being pulled by the tornado. ''I don''t want to die yet, not like this!¡¯ he cried inwardly. At this moment, his life flashed before his eyes. He thought about the good times and the bad times he had throughout his life. He also thought about his family, his friends, and even his ex-colleagues at the local store. His grip around the doorknob loosened as the tornado¡¯s pull became too strong to bear. Suddenly, the hinges that held the door in place had broken off and Lewis was sucked into the tornado. He rose higher and higher into the air as the vortex swirled him around like a rag doll while being pelted by flying debris. ¡°Even if I die. I-I have no regrets,¡± he affirmed to himself. Feeling severe pain all around his body and having difficulty breathing, he soon lost consciousness. Chapter 1: New Beginnings Slowly awakening as he struggled to recover his bearings, Lewis saw below him what he believed was a surface filled with desert sand dunes. ¡®Did I really die? Is this the afterlife?¡¯ Everything he had experienced so far had all felt like a dream to him. He was still having a hard time believing everything that happened was real and also figuring out what happened to himself after he lost consciousness. ¡®The pain from being thrashed around by that twister did not feel like a dream at all, so I should assume that this is likely not a dream. There also seemed to be no chance that I could have survived being sucked into that tornado, so I must have died,¡¯ he reasoned. ¡®But more importantly, where am I?¡¯he questioned as he looked around at his surroundings. Above him was a clear blue open sky while below him were sand dunes in all directions as far as his eyes could see. Suddenly realizing that he was in midair, he started to panic out of fear from feeling vertigo when he noticed the height at which he was at. He appeared to be several thousand feet above the ground. ¡®Why am I not falling? And why does my body feel so different?'' As he began to adjust to the situation he was in, he realized that he was having difficulty seeing his own body. He stretched out what he thought was his hand in front of his face only to have a puff of white vapor extended before him. Surprised upon seeing the white vapor, he knew that a change had occurred to his body, but he was still not exactly sure how the rest of his body had changed since he did not have a mirror to view his appearance. ''Am I not human anymore?!'' Concerned about whether he could still speak, he tried to make vocal sounds with his mouth. ¡°AAaAhhHhhHhHhhh.¡± He noticed his voice sounded abnormally hoarse and raspy. He tried moving his body and had begun to fly through the air. As he did so, the sensation of vertigo increased as he continued to look at the ground below him. He needed to overcome his fear if he wanted to fly comfortably, so he continued to look at the ground to become more accustomed to the sight. It sort of had the opposite effect by increasing his fear momentarily but he could tell it was slowly working. After a few minutes of flying, he had somewhat overcome the vertigo and also had grown more used to flying. There were sand dunes in every direction, which made him wonder if he might be floating over the Sahara Desert. He continued gliding until he saw a pillar of black smoke rising from what he could make out to be people down below who were wearing tattered cloaks. He eagerly desired to go down to meet them to ask where he was and if they knew how to get out of this desert. He descended towards the ground and noticed that the people were huddled around some sort of campfire. He thought it was strange that there would be people circled around a campfire in the middle of the desert but still wanted to meet them in spite of that. After descending near ground level, he was now a small distance away from their fire and slowly started to glide towards them. He began to hear growls and hisses as he approached them which almost made him change his mind about wanting to see them up close. He would have done so if not for his piqued curiosity which he wanted to satisfy. Between two of the figures, he could see that they were roasting something but could not make out what it was. As he moved closer, he finally saw what they were roasting on the fire and instantly froze. Three human heads and body parts separated into pieces were hung by a wooden pole that impaled them. One of the figures finally noticed his presence and pointed at where he was which alerted the rest of his companions around the campfire. Being fairly close to them now, Lewis could see that what he had mistakenly thought were ordinary people had scales that resembled that of a reptile''s and also had lizard tails trailing them behind. The lizard men viciously tried to lunge at him with spears, but he escaped by ascending higher into the air. After reaching a certain height, Lewis felt that he had successfully evaded them. They were in a frenzy trying to throw spears at him, but they all missed by a large margin as he was very high up. ''What the heck are those things. They really don''t seem like a friendly bunch. I''d better be careful. Tired of seeing the failed attempts of the lizard men at spearing him, he chose to continue exploring the desert. ----------- It had been several hours since Lewis had last seen the lizard men and he had yet to see anything else below that stood out to him. In the meantime, he had been astounded by how he was not that thirsty or hungry, despite how long he had been without food or drink in a blazing desert. He soon found something below again that piqued his curiosity. Recallinghis experience with the lizard men, he was more cautious while investigating by staying high above ground. What he saw was a man that seemed to be laying flat on his back on a sand dune with his arms stretched out on both sides. The man seemed to be wearing a brown vest over a grey long sleeved shirt and had ragged brown hair. The man also had a large sack on the ground near him. After gliding to a position directly over the man, he guessed that the man might be suffering from dehydration and decided to descend a bit closer to investigate further. The man¡¯s face was covered in sweat and completely red. Although his eyes were wide open, he didn''t appear to be conscious. Lewis began to believe that this man really was suffering from dehydration and decided to take a risk. He descended down to the man¡¯s side at which point he tried to touch the man¡¯s neck with his puffs of vapor in order to see if the man still had a pulse. As soon as he made contact, the man who was laying down suddenly faced Lewis and started to gulp the vapor. The man then reached out with his hands and grabbed something that made Lewis unable to move. ¡°Let me go! Let go of me!!!¡± Lewis shouted while struggling to break free. The man eventually regained his senses and noticed Lewis¡¯s shouts. The man began speaking, but Lewis could not understand the strange language he was speaking. The man spoke for a while, but suddenly Lewis heard a faint whispering in his mind that sounded like gibberish. He could not understand what was being said but the whispering quickly ceased. Right after the whispering had ended, Lewis was able to understand what the man was saying. ¡°...and I did not mean to frighten you,¡± stated the man holding Lewis. ¡°You...I can understand you now?¡± Lewis asked. ¡°What do you mean you can understand me now? Haven¡¯t you been listening to anything I¡¯ve been saying so far?¡± The man replied. ¡°Were you the one who was whispering in my mind just now?¡± Lewis inquired. ¡°No. I don¡¯t have any idea what you¡¯re talking about." The man took a minute to pull himself together and brushed the sand off of himself. ¡°In any case, you saved my life just now and I would like to show gratitude to my savior somehow. But may I ask what kind of creature exactly my savior is? You seem to be some type of wisp, but it''s strange, I¡¯ve never seen nor heard of one that gives off water before. I suppose that''s because of how large Ireth actually is, with many things such as yourself that I have yet to encounter. Within the last few decades especially, water has been so scarce. It must be a divine omen that I encounter such a wisp in the middle of this desert." Lewis¡¯s curiosity piqued upon hearing these words. ¡°What kind of thing do I look like to you? Describe me in detail.¡± ¡°You resemble a small white cloud. You have a glowing white orb surrounded by mist which looks to be your core." Lewis was having a hard time believing it, but given how his body was strange from what he had noticed so far, he took the man for his word. "Unbelievable. Sounds like I somehow turned into a ghoslty floating basketball. Just great. I get sucked into a tornado and now this happens." He had essentially changed from being a human to a cloud. If so, then how could he hear sounds without ears? How could he see without eyes? He could also still use his nose, but again, how? The man who had been holding Lewis¡¯s core, released him from his grasp. ¡°It seems my savior doesn¡¯t even know what he is and possibly where he is. I would be willing to assist you if you so desire,¡± said the man while picking up his sac and strapping it over his shoulders. ¡°My name is Razul Arafayne. I am a traveling merchant who is journeying to the city of Yatar to sell my wares. If you like, you could accompany me for the rest of my journey there." Lewis wasn''t too knowledgeable about the geography of countries that made up the Sahara Desert, but he presumed the city of Yatar was in one of them. In any case, he had been lost in the desert for quite a while and readily agreed to Razul¡¯s offer. Together, they headed in the direction of Yatar. ----------- While on their way to the city of Yatar, Razul resumed his conversation with Lewis. ¡°Does my savior have a name?¡± Razul the merchant asked. ¡°Lewis Byrne.¡± ¡°What an odd name. Well, I suppose it''s only fitting for an odd creature such as you to have, ¡± Razul remarked casually. Lewis recalled what he was curious about earlier. "What is this desert? The Sahara Desert? Also, earlier I heard you mention Ireth, where or what is Ireth? " "To answer your first question, no, this is the Deyarka Desert. I am not aware of any desert called ''Sahara''. It''s very dangerous to be out here with limited supplies, but that is part of the reason I am on this journey as it pays very well to transport goods across it. If I had not met you, I would have most certainly perished under the scorching sun. I''ve only been through this desert a few times myself, but even I sometimes get lost. As for your second question, of which I am astounded you would even ask, Ireth is the world we know. It encompasses all lands. " ''That doesn''t make sense. We live on planet Earth. I guess this guy is just a crazy lunatic or maybe the heat got to his head,''Lewis inferred. They continued traveling until Razul wanted to stop for a break. Lewis had been gliding longer than Razul had been walking before he met him and he still did not feel thirsty or hungry nor did he feel the urge to rest like Razul. Lewis could only guess that it was due to strange physiological effects from becoming a wisp. He wondered though, if the mist that was around his core was evaporating like water would normally do under a desert¡¯s blazing sun. Lewis soon noticed that Razul seemed to be sweating profusely similarly to when he had found him collapsed on the sand dune. ¡°You look like you need more water. I don¡¯t mind if you drink a small bit of the droplets floating around me but just don¡¯t grab onto me like last time." ¡°You truly would not mind?¡± Razul asked. "Yeah, it doesn''t seem like it''ll be a problem for me. Besides, you really do look like you''re going to die if you don''t drink something," Lewis warned. ¡°Twice now you have saved me from this heat. Before accepting, I should certainly return the favor to my savior,¡± Razul said as he took off the large sac from his shoulders. He reached into his large sac and pulled out a gray hooded cloak along with a mask that resembled a plague doctor¡¯s mask. ¡°I wish for you to accept these. I had planned on selling them for profit in Yatar, but I am a man who always pays his debts. However, I do not yet know if you will be able to wear them with the form that you have,¡± Razul said with concern. ¡°Why don''t you try them on?¡± Razul suggested. Lewis, who was also eager to see if he could wear them properly, agreed to Razul¡¯s suggestion. He couldn¡¯t put them on by himself, so Razul started putting them on for him. First, Razul placed the mask on Lewis¡¯s core. Razul chose this mask in particular because the mask had three straps, two that were on both sides of the core and one that was tied above the core. The strap above the core kept the mask from vertically falling through. Razul then placed the cloak over Lewis¡¯s core and lifted the hood over the core so that it was holding the cloak up. He then proceeded to tie the two collar ends of the cloak together. Lewis, who had developed some control over how to shape his cloud body, moved his cloud body into the cloak. As long as hovered at a height low enough to the extent that the ends of the cloak were being dragged on the ground, no one would be able to tell that he didn''t have legs. ¡°This outfit will be especially helpful when we arrive at Yatar. Your wisp appearance would certainly attract the attention of everyone around without it." Lewis mutually agreed with what Razul was saying since he also worried about that issue. After all, he wasn¡¯t a human being anymore for some reason, so he believed that people might even be tempted to attack him on sight if they were to think he was some sort of monster. He gave his thanks to Razul for the clothing and gave him some water. After Razul finished drinking, they continued heading to Yatar. ¡°There is one problem we will have to face before entering the city," Razul stated with a serious face. ¡°In front of the gates, there will most likely be guards on patrol. They will certainly conduct a thorough search and I¡¯m worried that they would notice you''re not a human. I am familiar with most of the guards at the gate as I have made journeys to Yatar on many occasions. I could try to bribe them, but I am currently low on funds at the moment. If I presented an amount too low, then they might not accept and would perhaps even report us to their superiors.¡± ¡°If I need to get over a wall, then there is no problem,"Lewis replied confidently. Razul, who had only seen Lewis hovering over the ground and not flying, was rather surprised at what he confidently claimed. ----------- After walking for many hours, the city of Yatar appeared before them just as the desert sky was starting to shift from day to night. In the distance far beyond the city, there were the dark outlines of a long mountain range that stretched across the horizon. The mountains faded into blackness as the sky grew darker. The only thing visible now was theilluminated city up ahead, whichhad outer walls and buildings made from sandstone. Lewis was stunned and let out a gasp when he noticed something different about the night sky. Instead of seeing the white moon and stars he was so familiar in seeing, an abnormal amount of stars above him were red while there were two faintly bright circles that looked similar to the Earth''s moon. One looked white but also slightly pinkish while another was a dark purple. ''Wh-what the....Was everything Razul said actually true? Am I really not on Earth anymore?!''he thought worriedly. He soon had an epiphany that changed his perspective.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ''No wait, even if I''m not on Earth or even if I''m not in my original world for that matter anymore, it wouldn''t make any difference since it wasn''t all that good of a life I was living anyway, if anything, I should be excited about this. Who else would get the chance to explore a new world? Screw my old life.'' Lewis, having watched many movies and played many video games, was all to familiar with this sort of setting. It was like something straight out of a fantasy novel. Instead of worrying, he was gleeful to explore this world. Now that he was aware he actually was in a different world, he had many questions. "Razul, could you tell me more about Ireth?" "Oh, you really do not know about Ireth? Well in any case, I am only a mere traveling merchant of the Deyarka Desert. I wouldn''t be able to describe to you much more than what I have already told you about Ireth as this desert is all I''ve ever known. You would have to perhaps ask a transcontinental merchant who specializes in maps of Ireth concerning the various lands and such, but I can tell you that the Deyarka Desert is a vast desert land surrounded by a ring of mountain ranges." Lewis didn''t know where exactly to find a transcontinental merchant, but he decided it would be good to try to find one in the city of Yatar if possible. In accordance to what they had planned earlier, after reaching the gates, Razul went through inspection just as he normally did. When he entered the city, he went towards the center of the busy main square near a giant bronze statue. He had put on one of his most distinguishably colorful mask from his sac and looked up at the night sky. After confirming what he saw in the sky, he made his way to an alleyway between two buildings. As soon as he did, a figure descended from above to meet him. ¡°See? I told you it wouldn¡¯t be a problem,¡± Lewis reaffirmed. ¡°That is quite a feat that you just did. If you became a thief, you would undoubtedly be extremely proficient at sneaking.¡± Razul said with a surprised expression on his face. ¡°What now?¡± asked Lewis. ¡°It may still be late out, but this city is livelier during the night more so than during the day, as the people here prefer the cold at night as oppose to the sun''s harsh heat during the day, so there should be plenty of shops that are open if you would care to look around nearby while I trademy wares in the main square. Just be careful not to run into any trouble." They both exited the alley and entered the square. A few lanterns were strung up on a rope over the main square where people were going about their business among all the merchant stands. While Razul visited merchant shops to trade his wares, Lewis walked towards the center of the square to look at atall bronze statue that caught his attention. The statue was of a woman wearing a blindfold. In her left hand, she was holding a balance scale while in her right hand, she held a broadsword. Meanwhile, there were people who looked like thugs that were staring at him menacingly from a bench nearby, but he ignored them since he could fly away easily if attacked. As Lewis continued gazing at the statue, a beggar dressed in a ragged tunic who had been sitting near the statue approached him. ¡°Pardon me stranger for asking, do you have any water that you could spare for me?¡± the beggar requested. ¡°Even if its one drop, I would be entirely grateful." the beggar added. ¡°I don¡¯t have any water, sorry." In actuallity, he did have water since he was a cloud wisp, but he didn''t have anything to give it in that wouldn''t reveal himself. Besides that, he didn''t really care for someone he just met. The beggar who continued to stay near Lewis, noticed he was gazing at the statue. ¡°Ahh stranger, do you not know of Themis?¡± the beggar inquired. Lewis did not know what sort of things were in this world, but the name Themis and the bronze statue were oddly familiar. He didn''t have that much knowledge concerning polytheistic religions, but the name Themis did sound Greek. ¡°She is said to be the embodiment of justice and is one of the mysterious Atora. The citizens here set up this statue with the hope of intimidating the outlaws here, but alas, it''s a futile endeavor as they do not revere Themis in the slightest.¡± "What are the Atora?" Lewis asked with growing interest. "Legendary entities, rumored to have great power. No one knows for certain where they came from. They are rarely seen, and even more rarely converse with the likes of us inhabitants of Ireth. I only know what I have told you from what I''ve heard, but if you have further interest, you could try searching for a book on the subject. However, there aren''t any libraries here in this city. You would have to visit one of the larger cities under a kingdom''s rule." The begger soon returned to where he had been sitting near the statue. Lewis had listened in fascination while the beggar had spoken. He wanted to follow the begger''s suggestion and discover more about the Atora. He speculated that where there are libraries, he could probably find books with information not only about the Atora, but the geography of Ireth and information about its local inhabitants. He was a bit glad now that he at least had a plan in mind for discovering more about this new world he was in. -------- Razul reunited with Lewis after he had finished sellingall of his wares. ¡°There is one person that we should visit who might know more about what kind of existence you are and who also might have maps of Ireth. Do you want to go see him?¡± Razul asked. Lewis readily accepted the offer since he believed there was no reason why he should decline the offer if he could obtain more information. Soon they reached the entrance of a building that was a shop specializing in alchemy. Lewis knew this because he could understand the unfamiliar words on the shop¡¯s sign. He wondered if the whispering that he had heard in his mind earlier had somehow played a part in giving him this ability. In the shop that they had entered, they saw various ingredients could that were organized in wall cabinets throughout. In one corner of the room, a scorpion the size of a large bathtub was resting on a pile of sand. Lewis looked in awe at the animal as he walked towards the shop¡¯s counter with Razul. An old man wearing a brown robe was busy observing something on the counter through a magnifying glass. ¡°Greetings Galyn.¡± Razul said in a friendly manner. ¡°Razul Arafayne? What did you come here for? I''m not interested in any of the petty wares you so often have.¡± Galyn asked while still focused on his work. ¡°I have brought someone who needs your expertise in finding out what he is,¡± Razul replied. ¡°Finding out...what he is?¡± Galyn questioned with a quizzical look and raised his head from his work. Razul took the mask and cloak off of Lewis in order to show Galyn just by what he meant. As Galyn quietly observed Lewis¡¯s cloud form, he was gawking at what he was seeing in a stunned manner. ¡°Razul... come with me upstairs to my quarters for a minute.¡± Galyn requested. The two men walked upstairs to the 2nd floor of the shop, leaving Lewis alone in the 1st floor with the resting scorpion. Moments later, he began to hear low shouts coming from upstairs. He could not help but feel a sudden interest in the conversation they were having upstairs. He levitated himself close to the ceiling of the 1st floor and began to make out what they were discussing. ¡°I cannot do what you are asking of me, Lewis is my savior! I cannot betray him,¡± Razul shouted. ¡°Fool. You don''t even know the value of the item that you just brought into my shop,¡± Galyn retorted. Lewis noticed that Galyn was not even referring to him as a living thing and began to feel very uneasy at the situation unfolding before him. ¡°No matter the value, I will not betray him,¡± Razul firmly declared. ¡°Would you still speak those words if I said that thing could be worth at least five hundred gold coins? Would you deny having even half of that much wealth? What kind of merchant would you be if you didn''t accept this offer? You would still be selling the wares you fetched from the garbage,¡± Galyn said with a mocking tone. Galyn''s words affected Razul''s temperment, and Razul had instantly showed a surprised expression upon hearing the numerical figure that Galyn mentioned. ¡°F-f-five h-h-hundred c-coins! Of gold?!!¡± Razul exclaimed. ¡°Indeed. You''ve finally come to your senses,¡± Galyn affirmed. A smile then appeared on Razul''s face. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll capture him.¡± Lewis, aware that Razul nowseeked to betray him, dashed for the exit of the shop. However, as soon as he was about to exit through the doorway, a giant claw lashed out and grabbed his core. He struggled to escape, but his efforts were in vainas the scorpion''sclaw held him tightly. Galyn and Razul soon returned to the 1st floor. "What a surprise! Seems like I did not need your help after all Razul. For capturing the wisp, I will surely give you a reward later, Spizar." Galyn pulled a heavy metal crate and some chains from under his counter and walked to where Lewis was held. Razul was standing behind Galyn and watched Galyn as he beckoned for his scorpion familiar to release Lewis into the crate with a hand gesture. Galyn then quickly shut the crate and applied the chains around it. Inside the box, Lewis felt really cramped since the crate didn''t have that much space inside. He was panicking, trying to break free from the crate. He struggled to move the crate but was unable to do so due to the weight of it. He then heard Razul speaking to him from outside. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Lewis, but in my line of work, profit almost always comes first before everything and petty friendships are no exception, ¡± Razul said while laughing. Lewis was surprised by how much the friendly and thankful attitude of Razul had suddenly disappeared and was replaced by one that was smug and unappreciative. Were some people always so easily corruptible? ''If you were even remotely sorry, you wouldn''t have betrayed me in the first place,'' Lewis thought angrily. ''Oh well, its normal that there are people like this even in this world. It was my own fault for trusting too much.'' Although he tried fooling himself with such thoughts, he genuinely felt hurt because of how unexpected it was after Razul consistently referred to him as his saviour and he fell for it. Galyn and Razul resumed their conversation. "So, Galyn, what makes him worth that much of a fortune?" "First, let me ask you this, have you showed it to anyone else besides me?" "No, you''re the only one I told. Why do you ask?" Galyn pointed towards where Razul was standing. "Spizar, take care of him." Galyn commanded. The scorpion quickly darted forward towards Razul, piercing him in the abdomen with its tail before he could even begin to run away. He immediately collapsed onto the floor and had begun foaming at the mouth. His body twitched until it was completely motionless. "You were merely an ignorant greenhorn if you truly thought I would share any portion of my wealth. I don''t value things such as comaraderie or friendship, what I value is purely profit. For someone who just betrayed his own friend, you should have been more cautious of those near yourself Razul. Now you''re nothing more than a corpse that I have to dispose of."Galyn said while sneering at the corpse. Lewis, having paid close attention to what was occuring outside the box, believed Razul to be dead. Even though he had been betrayed by him, he still felt a bit sorry for Razul since he really didn''t seem like a bad guy at first. However, more than anything else, he felt apathetic. He thought Razul overall, was a horrible person for selling him out and yet he somewhat pitied him. He betrayed Lewis out of a desire for money, only to have his life end after being betrayed by someone else for money. The crate he was in was moving to another part of the shop as he could hear a door opening. It seemed that the crate was placed on some sort of table. The door closed, followed by an eerie silence.He felt scared when imagining what outcome was awaiting him after being captured. He tried to move the crate again, but it would not budge at all from where it was. Perhaps it was now chained to something outside. The series of events so far, were more like a bad dream rather than the adventure he had wanted to have. Despite feeling anxiety, he decided it would be best if he calmed himself down and try to get some rest for the time being since he was fairly tired. ----------- Several hours later, he awoke upon hearing the door creak open, along with someone shuffling about the room with what sounded like a tool box. Soon, the chains around his crate were being fiddled with, he could hear them being removed and tossed on the ground. This was the moment that he decided it was a good opportunity to escape. When the lid of the crate opens, his plan was to burst out as soon as he could, maybe ram into the person''s face whom he thought was most likely Galyn, and then find an escape however possible. It seemed like a decent enough plan given the current predicament he was in. The moment came when the lid was removed, just like the plan he conceived, Lewis burst out of the box but was surprised at being entangled in a metal netting which covered the entire table. "You won''t be going anywhere little one. This netting is strapped to impressively heavy weights on all four sides of the table. No, you will be my new specimen of which I am quite excited to study. That fool Razul had no idea of your true value, but I do." Lewis was not paying as much attention to Galyn so much as he was focused on looking for a way to escape. He noticed that the room he was in appeared to be used for storage. It was filled with an assortment of glass containers containing various substances of who knows what. Some of the glasses were small while others were gigantic the size of barrels. Galyn was sitting in a chair studying Lewis. He was wearing something that looked like a set of magnifying monacles and began to poke Lewis with a wooden rod. Lewis felt awkward being looked at creepily and poked as if he was some sort of dead frog in a biology class. He was being poked, tapped, and even wacked by the wooden rod. Although he did not feel the pain that might have resulted from such an experience, it was still really annoying. Galyn reached into a small chest at his side and took out a sharp metal drill. He held it with both hands, and pointed it at Lewis. He then started turning a crank on the drill''s side, causing it to spin rapidly. Lewis was now greatly fearful for his life. He didn''t want his life to end. He especially didn''t want his death to be as if he were a frog being dissected. It had now genuinely become a nightmare and the only thing he was able to do was uncontrollably panic at the sight of the drill. He was thrashing about, trying to break free from the net, but the weights really were too unbearably heavy. Driven by primal fear, there was only one thing on his mind at this very moment. "Stop this...I want..." The old man ignored Lewis and began to hum a tune while inching the drill closer and closer. Fear turned into rage. "I want to go home!!!!!!!" Suddenly, a voice whispered to him just like when he first met Razul. He couldn''t understand the language being spoken, but he was too angry and frustrated to even notice he was being spoken to. As soon as the voice stopped whispering, there was an electrical discharge that emitted from him. The metal net conducted the electricity and shocked Galyn whose arms had been resting on it. Galyn yelled out in pain and immediately stood out of his chair. He backed away from the table with a pained expression due to the burn he received. Lewis, who was still in a fit of rage, was emitting even more electrical discharges. Glass containers throughout the storage room were shattering upon being struck. Galyn gawked at what was occuring before him. He soon realized something dangerous when he worringly looked over at some large containers filled with an orange liquid. His worst fears manifested when one of the electrical discharges struck the containers. It was much too late for him to run away. The whole shop was illuminated as a fiery explosion erupted from within the storage room. Lewis was violently thrown about during the explosion and ended up being thrusted outside the storage room and into the main part of the shop. The suddeness of the explosion caused him to cease his fit of rage and he was suprised to find that he was still alive. He could see a burnt and bloody corpse inside the storage room. The explosion was fairly loud so people nearby would likely come to investigate the noise. He quickly flew out of one of the shop''s windows and ascended into the night sky. He did not know where he was heading but after what felt like a nightmare, all he wanted to do at this point was get out of the city. Chapter 2:The Long Journey of a Lonely Cloud Dawn was approaching and Lewis had fled from the city of Yatar. At the moment, he kept himself high above the ground so that he could have a good vantage point of the surrounding area and because he thought it was probably safer. He didn''t have his mask and cloak he was wearing earlier, so it was useless to go back there anyway without attracting attention. It was still too dark to see much of anything. Uncertain of the direction he should travel, he decided to wait for the sun to rise and illuminate his surroundings. In the meantime, he was thinking about his recent near-death experience back in the city. It left a grave impression on him, that this wasn''t turning out to be the joyful adventure he had hoped for. It wasn''t the same as some video game or light novel. This was now his reality. Despite how unreal and fantasy-like everything that had happened to him may seem to be, he now believed he needed to ''wake up''. He needed to be wary of people and of their hidden nature, he could not afford to be so trusting again. The tornado might not have ended his life, but who knows if he''ll get a revival a second time. He didn''t want to risk it, especially because he was so grateful when it happened the first time. He hadn''t been aware of it himself, but his personality had changed somewhat. Instead of embracing the thrill of danger as he had done so recklessly when he lept off a pedestrian''s bridge before, he was now more considerate for the safety of his own life, something any ordinary person should have had to begin with. The starry night sky began to fade as the sun was making its way over the horizon. Just like yesterday evening, there was a mountain range that appeared beyond the city of Yatar. Lewisstill wasn''t exactly sure what he should do, but he thought it would be best if he explored this world himself. Even though he wasn''t hungry or thirsty much earlier, he was now starting to feel a bit thirsty. He also felt a bit out of a energy, but he knew it was impossible to relieve himself by eating. Was he taking a toll because of earlier when he somehow emitted electricity? He wondered how it happened in the first place. Was it because he was angry at the time? Despite his questioning of how he could produce electricity, it wasn''t as if he did not know anything about the subject. Quite the contrary, Lewis was actually quite knowledgeable about how electricity was produced in clouds. Unlike his sisters, he grew up alongside his father during his childhood. His father worked as a storm chaser for the state government. As a storm chaser, he made weather maps, took measurements, developed computer models that would analyze meteorological data, and prepared weather forecasts. He often took Lewis along with him in his van when going on excursions and would explain all sorts of things about storms. Lewis very much enjoyed spending time with his father and his father enjoyed Lewis''s company. But something happened that ended such memorable times. One stormy night, his father didn''t come home from an excursion. The storm his father went to observe that night, was said to be the most severe storm to occur in over one-hundred and fifty years. Amazingly, the only death that had occured throughout the entire storm''s duration was his father''s. His father''s van was found days later in a badly crumpled state lying in a farmer''s field. The body was never found, but investigators were certain that he died given the fact that he hadn''t been found and because there was blood on the front seat, indicating that he was still in the car when it was picked up by the tornado. The media was all over the story, slandering his father as a nutty idiot to be the only one to go out during the storm and get killed. His father''s reputation was ruined and it angered Lewis to no end. He couldn''t believe people would say such despicable things about his father, who was always very careful around storms and helped people by issuing emergency warnings. In an attempt to emit electricity again, Lewis tried to replicate the same anger he felt before in Galyn''s shop, but it wasn''t as easy as he thought it would be when there wasn''t a reason to be angry. Besides, he realized that if making electricity did weaken him, then he shouldn''t attempt it right now. He didn''t have the same physiology as he did when he was human, so what would he need to do to relieve himself from this unpleasant feeling? Well, he couldn''t eat anything if he really was a wisp, but perhaps he still needed water. He presumed that maybe he could find some water in the far off mountains he had seen the day before. Perhaps by traveling towards them, he could exit out of this inhospitable desert and find water. After all, clouds often form near mountains. For now at least, he had a destination in mind. He started his journey towards them, flying through the air at as fast as he could as he didn''t tire easily being a cloud wisp. ----------- It had been almost a dozen hours since Lewis set out towards the mountains. During his travels, his flight speed had noticeably improved a bit as he became more accustomed to flying. The mountains, as when he started his journey however, did not seem to be getting visually bigger as he traveled towards them even though he was high above the sand dunes. ''Just how absurdly big...are those mountains... for them to still appear to be so far away even after travelling for quite a distance...'' Unlike when he left, he was now feeling slightly dehydrated and he also perceived that his white puffs were becoming thinner. He had yet to drink any water ever since he first arrived in this world. If he were human though, he probably would have lasted only one day under such intense heat without water, especially if he were running at a pace that matched his flight speed. Most likely as a wisp, he guessed he was more resilient to dehydration than when he was a human which was why only now was he feeling moderate effects of dehydration and not yesterday. Traveling through the desert was also becoming more and more mundane and boring. He had no one to talk to as he did when Razul travelled with him. Even though Razul was tempted relatively easy by a large amount of money, he was still a decent travelling companion while their relationship lasted. However, he was now very lonely and wanted at least someone to talk to. He suddenly paused in mid flight hesitatingly. ''Maybe I should have stayed in Yatar, at least then I could have...No...I shouldn''t have any regrets. Even if it would have been a better choice. I''ve come this far. I must keep going.'' Onwards he continued, holding back any unwillingness he might have had within himself. ----------- After an entire day of traveling, the terrain changed from desert sand dunes to a completely flat and cracked land. In the last few hours, Lewis''s mind had played tricks on him. Sometimes while flying, he would hallucinate that he saw people below or even an oasis surrounded by greenery. Except, when he approached the things he thought he had seen, they always disappeared. He was becoming more and more mentally exhausted and was alsosuffering from moderate dehydration, but luckily still had plenty of energy left to go on. He wondered what would happen if he didn''t get water soon. Just like how they did earlier, his puffs were now even thinner to the extent that he could barely make them out. But one notably good thing happened that made Lewis''s mood perk up, which was that he could now see the base of the mountain range which seemed to be only a few miles away. It may not seem like much of an accomplishment to someone else, but after journeying for so long, it showed him just how much progress he had made in his journey. It was enough to boost his willpower significantly. Now that he was closer, he could see that some of the mountains really were gigantic and that behind the mountain range, extended even more mountains of various sizes. In particular, there were several mountains in the back that were significantly bigger than all the rest. They were without a doubt the ones he could see all the way to Yatar. ''Only a little more to go, and I''ll finally reach my destination,'' he thought enthusiastically. As he flew across the barren land, the sun had neared closer to the horizon''s edge on Lewis''s left. By the time he reached the slopes of one of the mountains, the sun had completely set and the sky let off a twilight glow. To go over the mountains, he still had to ascend even higher. He could see that the mountain he was closest to was made of gray granite rock. After passing over the first row of mountains, he saw that there was a large valley below in the midst of the mountains. So far, he had only traveled through barren deserts and recently, over these desolate rocky mountains. But he could now see greenery throughout the valley. It vaguely reminded him of the area around his home made up of plains and patches of woodland. It was now nightfall and on this night the two moons appeared in the sky, glowing brighter than they were the nights before. They lit up the valley like how the Earth''s moon would as a full moon. The only difference being that the moonlight wasn''t completely white, but a mix of faint pink and gloomy purple light. Lewis was observing the valley from above, when suddenly a swarm of bats burst from a crevice in one of the mountains and swerved in many directions. Upon seeing these bats, he noticed these ones were definitely larger than those back on Earth, some of them even reaching the size of small planes. Moments later, they were now flocking straight towards him. He dodged them just barely, but they swerved around and were flocking towards him again. ''It looks like they are coming after me. Annoying. Why can''t they just leave me alone?!'' He wasn''t sure if they could injure him. Probably not, he thought, but he also just didn''t want to take a risk like allowing himself to be swallowed by some large bat, if they were really targeting him as food. He descended nearer to the ground until he was hidden among the tree tops. The bats passed by above where he was hidden. ''Bats rely mostly on echolocation to perceive their environment, so they most likely can''t see me now that I''m not in the open sky anymore'' he guessed. Now that he had evaded the swarm of bats, he believed it would be the best course of action if he searched for a safe place to sleep nearby since it was nightfall and because he didn''t know what other creatuers might be out in the forest at night. He was thirsty, but he didn''t urgently need water to the extent that he would be willing to venture out while it was still dark in an unfamiliar terrain. After a short while, he found a tree with a hollow space in its trunk at a good height above the ground. When he peered inside, there was a scared looking squirrel, but he didn''t think much of it. He wanted a place to sleep for himself, so he slowly floated towards the squirrel moaning as if he was a ghost, causing it to scurry out of the tree hollow and down the tree. Lewis flew into the tree hollow and kept an eye on the branch outside the entrance. He did not want to be cornered like the squirrel if something dangerous came along and cornered him while he was caught off guard, but it couldn''t be helped. At least he was far safer in the tree hollow rather than out in the open. Some time later, after he was close to falling asleep, he heard noise on the branch in front of the tree hollow''s entrance. The squirrel he had scared away had come back. After being alone for so long, Lewis decided to humor himself by talking to the squirrel as if it were a trained dog. "Hmm? Why''d you come back? You want your home back? I don''t feel like bunking with a rodent. So get lost." The squirrel simply continued to stare at him with melancholic eyes. As it did so, Lewis began to feel just a bit bad for this little critter. "I won''t eat you, unless I really do get hungry of course, so why don''t you come back in?" He offered. His intentions being a little serious and mostly as a jest to himself. Seeing that the squirrel merely continued to stare blankly, he laughed. Not minding the staring squirrel at all, he soon went to sleep. --------- The morning light pierced through the forest and birds were chirping. Lewis woke up to the chirping and was looking around groggily. He now felt severely thirsty.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. The squirrel from last night was was sound asleep on the other side of the tree hollow. Before coming to this world, he would often enjoy having a big breakfast in the morning at the town''s diner when he didn''t have to work, usually ordering french toast and delicious bacon. As a cloud wisp however, he couldn''t eat anything and it seemed that it was unnecessary for him to do so. But he did miss being able to eat. He was looking at the squirrel appraisingly and wondered how skewered squirrel would taste. Too bad he couldn''t find out any time soon, he thought. It was now time for him to explore the forest. He exited out of the tree hollow and ascended higher to get a decent view of the landscape. He had only ascended a bit when he noticed there was a clearing in the middle of some trees not far from the tree hollow he had just exited. He wondered what might be there and so he flew towards the clearing. At the clearing below, there was a small clear blue pond surrounded by tall grass. He had finally found water, something he could not find at all in the desert and hadn''t bothered to in Yatar. Lewis noticed he could see his reflection in the water. Razul had told him what he looked like and he accepted what he said, but seeing it for himself was entirely different. He really wasn''t human anymore. At this point in time, his white puffs were almost nonexistant and all there seemed to be was a white floating wisp core in the reflection. ''So how do I drink...'' he pondered. He felt quite silly for having to figure out how to drink water, something that should be so simple. Obviously, he couldn''t use his mouth since he didn''t have one. ''Ah, maybe if I dunked myself in the water.'' He dunked himself, creating a splash that rippled across the whole pond. After a few seconds, he ascended back above the water. ''That...Why didn''t that work? I still feel really thirsty. How the heck am I suppose to do this?!'' he exclaimed inwardly. Water was right in front of him and yet he couldn''t even drink. He tried staying underwater for a much longer period of time but still nothing happened. He badly needed something to drink and began to panic a bit. ''Okay, calm down. I need to put on my thinking cap. How do clouds normally refill on water?'' He asked himself. ''First water evaporates, then air and water vapor rise, and finally the vapor condenses to form clou-'' All of a sudden, water droplets were forming all around him within about a two foot radius. "What...how?!" he questioned outloud in a dumbfounded manner. It was as if he was harnessing the water as his own body. It wasn''t simply just water anymore when it formed around him, it was now apart of his body. The water moved with his wisp core as the core moved. Some kind of force he was producing seemed to have constantly pulled the water. The water droplets had soon immediately ceased to form when he took his mind off of visualizing how clouds formed. ''I don''t feel thirsty anymore!! How did I do that? What was I doing at the time to make that happen?'' He pondered. He was contemplating why, when he realized something. At the time, he was recalling how clouds were formed. ''Maybe it had something to do with visualizing the process of cloud formation.'' In a second attempt, he visualized it the same way he did before and water droplets were forming around him yet again, this time within a seven foot radius. He continued growing larger until suddenly, he felt mental pain. A great deal of mental stress had started to accumulate, so he stopped visualizing the process. It seemed that there was a limit on how much water he could absorb. The pain soon went away but he was puzzled why it happened in the first place. He wondered if it was because he was overburdening himself with the amount of water he could absorb. If so, it kind of seemed like a super power sort of like telekinesis in terms of using mental images to affect the environment in some way and yet, it wasn''t simply telekinesis. The water was animated as part of his cloud form now rather than inanimate as it would naturally be. His school teachers would always tell the class: "Think of your brain as a muscle, the more often you use it, the more mentally fit it will be." Lewis wasn''t even sure if he had a human brain anymore after becoming a wisp, but assuming that it worked the same anyway, maybe he could accumulate more water if he practiced. At present, his size was bigger by a few feet in diameter than when he had first arrived in this world. He was more than satisfied now since he felt much better physically and mentally. Furthermore, if the key to accumulating water was visualization, maybe he could apply it to other things too. He thought about all the cool things he could do as a cloud if he mastered how to control the water that made up his body. Now that his thirst was quenched, what Lewis badly wanted now, was to be able to protect himself. This was a perilous world and he did not want to be travelling without learning how to fight. If he didn''t and he encountered something dangerous while unprepared, it would almost certainly be the end of his life. Thus, he decided it would be best to remain in this valley and practice for a while. Besides, the tree hollow was a decent place to sleep given his current form as a cloud wisp. He was ascending from the pond into the air when he spotted something overhead shadowing parts of the landscape. From the angle he was watching, he could not clearly see what it was because it was flying at the same angle as where the sun currently was set. Even though he did not have human eyes, his vision reacted similarly to light as if he did have them and so the sun blinded him. It was flying at a relatively high altitude and was circling like a hawk trying to find prey. Lewis descended back down to the tree line and hid among some branches to avoid being seen. Whatever it was, it was fairly lengthy, much much bigger than an ordinary bird or bat. It wascircling the sky, focusing on a particular area on the ground until abruptly swooping down. Now Lewis could see what it was. It had a dark green sixty-foot elongated snake-like body with a feathery tail at the end. There were four feathered wings on its back. The first two wings nearest to the head, were long, wide, and thin. While the other wings of which were at the middle part of the snake, closer to the tail, were short, narrow, and thick. It''s head was covered in feathers of which made up a feathered crest and had a hooked beak that resembled a hawk''s or an eagle''s. As it flew, it''s body went in arcs going up and down. The long and wide wings near the head allowed it to glide through the air, moving only with every arc. While it''s smaller wings like a humming bird''s, were flapping very fast. The creature soon disappeared below the tree line and he could hear terrified squeals in the direction that it had landed. ''What was that thing? It looked like a snake and also sort of like a hawk. A dragon, maybe?'' Lewis had never seen anything quite like this hawk-serpent creature and was naturally a tad curious about it. However, Lewis decided that it would be safest if he waited for the hawk-serpent creature to finish hunting before heading back to the tree hollow since he could still hear the squealing. Quickly though, he realized exactly where the hawk-serpent creature had landed. It was the same area as where the tree hollow was located. ''Did it get the squirrel? Damn. Well, at least now I''ll have the tree hollow all to myself. R.I.P. Have fun in nut heaven.'' He was thinking the squirrel was already a goner, but it seemed that had yet to be the case since he could still hear the high pitched squeals. He wondered what was taking so long for the hawk-serpent to kill one measly squirrel. His curiosity won over his fear as he chose to head in the direction of the squeals to investigate. As he neared the source of the squeals, he approached cautiously while hidden among the treetop branches. The tree and it''s hollow soon came within his view, along with a sight that slightly irritated him. The squirrel was cornered in the tree hollow while the hawk-serpent was violently striking the hole continuously but couldn''t actually fit its hooked beak through the gap to reach the cornered squirrel. What made Lewis bitter though, was that the tree hollow''s entrance was becoming more and more damaged as the hawk-serpent creature was trying to destroy it with each strike. Although there were other places to stay for a night, it might take a while to find as good of a place like this tree hollow hidden in this surrounding dense green foliage. ''Even if I wanted to, how would I fight it?'' He soon recalled the event where he emitted electricity and it shocked Galyn. At the time, he had been in an angered state of mind, so perhaps that was probably how he could do it. But the power of this hawk-serpent creature was no joke whatsoever. After a little deliberation, he quickly chose that it would be a really really bad idea to attack the hawk-serpent, and that he should just quietly fly away so as to not cause a disturbance and alert the hawk-serpent creature. He was right about to do just that, when suddenly, a figure appeared from the tree hollow. At a moment when the hawk-snake wasn''t striking the hollow, the squirrel scurried from the hollow and jumped onto a series of branches, heading towards Lewis''s direction, as if it knew he was there. ''This squirrel actually has balls this big??? Are you kidding me?!'' In fact, the squirrel really didn''t know he was there and was just running in that direction to try to escape the hawk-serpent creature in the highly dense foliage of the hiding spot Lewis had chosen. In his shock, Lewis had already lost the small crucial moments he had to flee to somewhere away from his current hiding spot. Because right behind the squirrel was the hawk-serpent in pursuit. The squirrel had already made it''s way into the dense foliage around Lewis and so with powerful thrusts of the more larger wings it had, the hawk-serpent creature actually had the idea of blowing away the leafy foliage in order to flush out the squirrel. At the same time though, the squirrel had also actually been blown away with the foliage, flying through the trees and landing relatively safely among some branches far away. Meanwhile, Lewis was all by himself out in the open in front of the hawk-serpent, floating. He, being able to float steadily enough to maintain his position in the air, was not blown away by the strong winds like the squirrel, something at which he cursed internally. The hawk-serpent''s attention was now most definitely on Lewis, as it was looking at him in surprise. It then thought that Lewis looked like one of the giant white doves it would often prey on, and it''s gaze turned keener and keener. ''If I try to run from it and I can''t escape, I would have lost precious time to prepare an attack. But if I try to attack it and can''t in the end, then I''m dead. What to do?!!!'' He was truly beginning to panic, just like in Galyn''s shop before. Quickly trying to calm himself, his thoughts quickly flashed in his mind: ''Trying to get away means I might not see it coming close to me in time. But if I decide to stand my ground somehow, I might at least be able to dodge it if it tries to strike at me.'' In choosing to stand his ground, he thought about how he could even attack it. He remembered way back, when he had made himself as angry as he had been in Galyn''s shop.That had triggered an electrical attack of some sort. However, he was having a hard time getting the same feeling. He recalled one of the times when he was very angry, when the corrupt media slandered his dad as a nutjob after he passed away. ''How dare they. Those evil and corrupt media outlets.'' He managed to convince himself of a reason to be angry and was now genuinely angry. Except, the only problem now was that he wasn''t actually emitting any electrical discharges despite being angry, so clearly he was doing something wrong. He ceased recalling the unhappy memories and tried to think of what he might have done wrong. ''Is it maybe because I''m not trapped like I was in Galyn''s shop? Did it happen last time because I was?'' he questioned. He was recalling exactly what had happened in Galyn''s shop, when he remembered something he hadn''t before. When he was angry, he had heard a voice whispering to him in a foreign language. If there wasn''t a voice whispering to him, could he not emit lightning? ''Well that would be a dumb requirement for a super power to have.'' He grunted internally. At present, the hawk-serpent had immediately drew it''s wings open and flew at it''s fastest speed. Lewis was about to give up trying to fight the hawk-serpent and despite being very risky, was simply going to try dodging it''s strike at this point, when he realized there was one last thing he could try. If he could create cloud droplets through visualization, maybe he could do the same thing if he were visualizing how lightning forms in a cloud. He quickly remembered the times he spent with his father talking about lightning when they went storm chasing together. There were certain conditions necessary for lightning to form and even more conditions for lighting to be a cloud to ground strike. The general theory behind the formation of lightning in a cloud, was that there was a seperation of positive and negative charge fields within a cloud and electrons from the negative field flowed toward a positive charge field. To make the separation of charges, he first needed to adjust the temperature of his cloud droplets so that his bottom half was cooler while his upper half was warmer, shifting the cloud droplets between the two so that they collided. Suddenly, he could somehow feel the changes being made within his cloud droplets. It felt surreal. ''Okay, so I think I''m on the right track to doing this. But this wasn''t how it happened in Galyn''s shop when I was angry. How did it work back then? Did that whispering voice cause me to do it somehow?'' He couldn''t help but think that it was odd and wondered what that whispering was. ''Well, whatever. At least it''s working now. Time to fry some hawk-serpent.'' Continuing on, he tried imagining how a stepped leader (a channel of negative charge) could pass through the atmosphere and strike the hawk-serpent. At this point, he had built up a strong negatively charged field. He had to build up a strong electrostatic field since the atmosphere was a fairly good insulator. Due to the electric field he was producing, he could sense that pools of positively charged particles were gathering all around nearby. But he wanted to strike the hawk-serpent, so he held the electricity in like holding his breath as a human, with numerous small electric currents flowing throughout his cloud body. Up to this point, only a very short amount of time had actually passed as the hawk-serpent was flying straight towards him. While doing so, it had also instinctively sensed danger and began to slow down and eyed Lewis cautiously as he lit up with bright electricty. All of a sudden, Lewis flew away into the sky, away from the approaching hawk-serpent. Seeing this, the hawk-serpent instinctively gave chase as if Lewis were prey. It closed the distance bit by bit, getting even as close as twenty feet. *BOOM. BOOM.* Down went the wounded and burnt hawk-serpent, falling towards the forest floor while it''s body convulsed. It had happened so fast the hawk-serpent didn''t have any time whatsoever to react. Upon impact with the ground, it''s body had suffered even more injuries. ''If it''s not dead, I''ll finish it off.'' Lewis flew down to verify this.