《The Greatest Fight [progression cultivation isekai]》 X1.1.1 - Reset
X1.1 - THE DEFAULT
X1.1.1 - Reset
One fateful evening, the kind that whispers of destiny while no one notices, a boy named Roa found himself standing on a cliff. The last rays of sunlight painted the sky a masterpiece worthy of such a moment. There, staring off the edge, he realized something profound, something that finally shattered the frail illusion that was his normal life. He realized that the Earth¡ªwas flat. The problem with his epiphany was that, although the endless void below was indeed there, Earth was not at all the place he was standing on, nor had there ever been anything ''normal'' about his life, for that matter. Deciding to leave his comfort zone would have had its consequences, after all, but this was probably not what he was expecting. At that moment, he remained unaware of the wise, unseen will of the Universe, his choice¡ªthe final link in a series of forces long in motion, come together at last, poised to set off a chain reaction like none seen before. The old woman''s eyes narrowed as she watched his bewildered reaction, hidden from behind; her mind waiting anxiously for her moment, as a smile widened on her wrinkled face. "Great Mother of Humanity," he said, as he stuck his head over the edge with trembling caution. "I should have stayed in bed today,¡± he glanced down, staring at the pink clouds floating like cotton candy in the golden heavens below. Roa looked over at his girlfriend. Eralay had a blank look in her eyes as she stood next to him. She nodded when asked whether she too saw the strange sight. "Were we roofied at the diner? I''m starting to hallucinate," he continued, as he rubbed his eyes, getting no response from his partner. "You''re not hallucinating¡ªSunflower," the old lady said, causing them to turn with a surprised jolt as she stepped out of the woods. "You''re not on Earth. This isn¡¯t your life. You''re most certainly not an accountant, considering that you hate math, and I am sure this has become apparent¡ªthings are not exactly as they seemed," she explained as her feet stepped in the field of pansies. She was a short, wide woman in her seventies, with blonde hair and an apron. She had previously served them chocolate banana pancakes at the diner, just a few hours prior. Roa stared at her with a confused look. "Why are you here, did we forget to tip or something? And how do you know my nickname?" The woman sighed, then nodded. "Looks like they scrambled you really good this time. Let''s start from the top. My name is Nirvana. Gunhand Nirvana. You''ve been living a lie. Your identity, your beliefs, your values and memories¡ªthey''re not your own. I am here to break you out." "Break me out? Of what?" "Where do you think people are broken out of?" He shrugged. "Prison! I''m breaking you out of prison, idiot," she said. "I''m not in prison though. I''m free. I''m literally outside." She looked at him, annoyed, pointing her hand towards the void below. "You think that you are Free?" she blurted back, scoffing. "Did you take your meds, lady? I am free. Unless the whole world is a prison, and everyone around me is a prisoner too," he responded in a mocking tone, shaking his head as he ridiculed the thought. "No, Roa, just you. This is your prison. The rest¡ªthey''re all part of your prison, basically." "You''ve lost your damn marbles, lady. Also, I never told you my name at the diner, how did you¡ª" He tapped his index finger on his mouth, lost in thought as he interrupted himself. "Wait a minute, I do hate math, now that I think about it," he added. "See? We''re making some small, albeit very tiny progress here. I need you to focus now because, since I am breaking you out, well¡ªthe guards are going to come soon," she said twirling her hand to keep things moving forward. "You see, you are very important, flower boy. Not because you''re talented in any considerable way, but because you know something that EVERYONE wants," she paused. "Or maybe¡ªyou knew. I''m not even sure at this point, considering the terrible state you''re in." He started laughing. "I get it. You put something in our coffees, and now you are going to rob us? Are your criminal buddies going to pop out of the woods next?" Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Nirvana groaned, losing her patience. "Is the suspicious abyss next to you not enough proof that some major fuckery is afoot, genius? I swear¡ªyou do this every time." "That''s from the drugs you gave us." She sighed again, rolling her eyes as she stuck out her arm. "Then step off of it¡ªgo ahead. See if you really fall." She challenged him with a sharp rebuttal. "You''re free to walk off the edge, since you''re so convinced." The boy stood silent, his smile fading away. The elderly lady placed her hand on her forehead, taking an even deeper breath, looked at her watch, and responded with a serious tone. "Alright, we got less than fifteen minutes before the Exit appears. I''m going to try to snap you out of your reset as much as possible before it comes, or you might not be able to see it. I''ll do my best, but I''ll be honest, it''s squeezing a lot in a few minutes, so hopefully your mind doesn''t collapse in the process. No promises!" she forced a smile, as a look of concern revealed itself. He laughed at her again with a scornful tone, shaking his head. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out some lose change and handed it to the stranger; she glared back at him with a fiery look. "You should do as she says. I think she might be telling the truth," said Eralay with a soft, almost resigned tone, placing her hand on his arm. The worried look in her eyes met Roa''s, causing his grin to disappear. Nirvana smiled. "Alright, let''s stop beating around the bush. I''ll show you a little trick, boy. Call it a Gift. You should recognize it, after all, the person who taught it to me, was you." His eyes widened in shock, round and unblinking like an owl¡¯s, and his mouth hung open in disbelief. The woman morphed. Her once brittle skin smoothed out, her wrinkles fading, vibrant color returning to her cheeks. Her body seemed to shed the weight of years, revealing a younger woman where she once stood. She had vibrant, pink hair that seemed to glow against the dark, sleek armor she wore¡ªa futuristic style, completely foreign to those parts. The sight made the young man stumble back in disbelief, his legs giving way as he fell to his knees with a grunt. "My head is on fire. What the hell did you drug me with? Whatever you want from us, just take it. We don''t have much anyway." Nirvana strolled closer to him. "It''s normal. Like I said, we''re pushing it a bit, given the time constraint. You still don''t recognize me, do you?" she crossed her arms and looked away, annoyed. "Ya got lucky, you know. You always do. I picked up your breadcrumbs a few years back¡ªreal cryptic, congrats. It took us exactly forever to infiltrate this forsaken place. Some of us are still looking for you, but you''re under a lot of eyes, boy,¡± she nodded. "I have no idea what you are talking about! What do you want?" "Everyone else thought of you as lost for good, GONE, irrecoverable, after so long had passed. I mean, 300 long ones have gone by¡ªbut I knew you''d turn up somewhere. You always do. I did not give up. I made sure the Exit stayed hidden until we could get you out. When we got your message last week, we knew it was time to act." "I never sent any message. I don''t even know you. You haven''t answered my question. Why are you here?" he groaned, holding his head. "Everyone''s looking for you for the same reason. I don''t know how you did it, but you did it somehow. You found the way to the Dreamer, to the Place Where All Things Meet. The Heart of Hearts¡ªthe very Core of Existence itself! Or so the rumor goes, at least. Whatever Jumpers call it these days, you got the directions to the place where dreams come true, where any wish¡ªbecomes reality." He stared at her, a pained expression twisting his face, sweat trickling down his brow. "You''re insane. I don''t know of any¡ªdreamer or any kind of place like that, I''m nobody. Trust me, I''m just a¡ª" he was going to say "accountant," but stopped when the idea began to feel ridiculous, even before the word came out. She nodded with a grin, her eyes narrowing, as she felt the satisfaction of making some progress. "Stay focused now. The endless labyrinth¡ªthe Palace. Do you remember it? That place with infinite rooms and doors that lead to countless worlds¡ªworlds filled with strange civilizations, mythical creatures, great spirits, evil gods, and more things than any mind could ever fathom." His hands shot up to his temples, fingers digging in as if to crush the pain away, his body trembling. His jaw clenched, and his breath came in sharp, shallow gasps. His troubled state did not slow Nirvana''s words, however. "The Dreamer is said to live in the Palace, at its very top,¡± her index finger shot up to the sky. ¡°Surely you must remember something about all this!" she leaned down, smiled and eagerly nodded at him, as her head tilted to the side. "Any chance you remember the way?" Her eyes opened wide in anticipation, as one of them twitched. He did not respond, letting out a long, loud grunt instead, his hands on the ground as he began to hyperventilate. Nirvana scoffed before glancing at her watch. Her tone shifted, picking up speed, a sense of urgency creeping into her words. ¡°We are running out of time,¡± she muttered. "Listen to me, listen very well. There is a great war brewing, a most-sacred revolution that will change the fate of not only your life, but the very destiny of Existence; and you, mister nobody, are needed elsewhere, urgently, to join the Greatest Fight." "What fight? I told you, NOTHING you say is making ANY sense to me." She kneeled, her presence looming as her eyes narrowed into sharp slits. Her voice dropped to a near-whisper, heavy with passion, her words profound. "The sacred struggle born of a most righteous cause, from a most urgent of needs, in a most pivotal of times¡ªthe fight to awaken ourselves, liberate Humanity, and save Nature from destruction. The final battle against a horrible evil, a sickness, a disease like no other. One that grows and spreads from place to place, sapping each of its life. We Jumpers call this darkness the Great Death¡ªprofane child of the Old Order." She spat on the ground as she uttered those words. She opened her arms as she stood, raising her head up high to the sky. "Default World. We are inside of it as we speak! Look around with open eyes, Sunflower. Behold the enemy¡ªfor you are its prisoner. Countless more are as well, though they do not see the invisible chains that bind them." She then froze and looked around, interrupting her impassioned speech. A terrible feeling swept over her, sending a chill down her spine; a horrible, yet very familiar sensation, like that of an evil presence she once knew. ¡°What?¡± asked Roa. ¡°He¡¯s here.¡± X1.1.2 - The Shadow X1.1.2 - The Shadow
Nirvana''s eyes filled with fear as they darted in all directions, searching for something. "Did you look at the two men when you were in the diner? Were you followed here?" she screamed. Eralay froze, as the apparition materialized a few meters behind them. Towering above them stood a dark figure with his arms crossed. His feet hovered just above the ground, levitating with unsettling stillness. Menacing and silent, his height was one and a half times that of a man''s, his black mantle billowing in the wind, obscuring his form. His face was hidden behind a pearly white mask, a crescent-shaped grin etched across it with eerie perfection. "There you are," said the stranger. His young voice was calm yet cold, carrying an air of presumptive authority. As he spoke, the wind picked up, swirling around them, as the sky darkened. ¡°Hurry up and appear,¡± thought Nirvana, noticing the weather changing, as her eyes shifted around. "I had an odd feeling about today. I could not quite figure out why¡ªbut I understand now. You anomalies always find a way to disrupt the order of how things should be. It doesn''t matter how silently your auras whisper; I always get a strange feeling when you are up to no good," the masked being explained. Nirvana turned to them. Her heart was racing, and her breath was fast. She knew that she had to play her next moves correctly, or things would turn south for all of them. "Here! Take this." She placed something in Roa''s hand. When he opened it, he found a crumpled piece of paper and a small vial filled with a clear liquid. "If we get separated, you must, without ANY deviation, follow the instructions on that paper. Some of the worlds after this one are absolute death traps. It''s not the best way out, but it''s the only one we could keep hidden from them," she paused, sighed, then continued, "hopefully the directions are mostly correct, considering how much we paid for them." He shot a sharp, suspicious look at her, then placed the objects in the pouch tied to his belt. ¡°Face away from the sun¡ªflower boy,¡± Nirvana added with a smile and a nod. ¡°And don¡¯t fall¡ªor you¡¯ll fall forever.¡± His gaze then turned to the masked stranger, and something in him caused his eyebrows to furrow. "I know you. I''ve¡ªseen you before," Roa said, pointing at the dark figure. "You''re like the ones who keep showing up in my dreams¡ª" "Those were not dreams," the pink-haired girl interrupted him. Her eyes narrowed. "Those were escape attempts. Each time you wake up back in your bed to the sound of your alarm¡ªthat''s them resetting you." "How many times will you attempt to escape from us? It is futile. When will you understand that you are not leaving?" the enemy proclaimed. Roa turned to Nirvana. "Who is that man? Why do I feel like I know him?" "He''s one of the Lord''s Shadows. We call him Mr. Briteside because of that stupid smile on his face,¡± she swung her index finger across her mouth, tracing an exaggerated half circle on it. "He''s one of the guards." The pink-haired girl dropped into a defensive stance, her body coiling with tension. She prepared to face the foe, every muscle primed for the fight ahead. Her breath was steady, her eyes locked onto the target. The dark figure raised his clenched fist to his forehead. With a swift motion, he extended his arm and hurled a ball of blue light away from them, leaving a faint trail of energy in its wake. Moving with such formidable speed that her own body blurred as she leaped forward, Nirvana swung her arm like a falling axe, intercepting it just in time. The blur of light vanished with a small flash, as it made contact with her hand. "Your buddies are busy; they said they can''t come," she said, her tone dead serious. The smile on the mask seemed to mock her. "It does not matter. I''m more than plenty to take care of you three," the Shadow answered back. A flash erupted, blinding everyone, including the enemy. The wind shifted direction, howling with an unnatural force. Nirvana turned toward the bright light, her breath catching as she gasped, her eyes darting to the ground. She reappeared behind Eralay and Roa, her hands pressing down on their heads, tilting them toward the floor with a sharp, urgent motion. "Never look at an Exit in the eye, or it''ll disappear. Go through it! I''ll keep him busy." The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Before the enemy could shift his gaze toward the source of the flash, she blasted forward with explosive speed, crashing directly into him. The impact sent them spiraling into a fierce clash, their bodies moving in rapid, fluid motions, hitting and blocking with such intensity that they resembled a cloud of punches and kicks. The massive portal loomed behind the fray, its two towering columns¡ªeach as tall as a building¡ªwere crowned by a triangular pediment. Winds spiraled into the bright, white opening, dragging wisps of clouds and loose debris within. At the top of the Exit, a giant, wide-open eye stared straight ahead with a blank gaze, unmoved by the chaos below. "This feeling¡ªI remember it. It feels so familiar, as if¡ªI''ve felt it many times before," said Roa, a genuine smile spreading across his surprised face. The enemy faded away, reappearing several times until he was far enough from his opponent. He tried glancing at the Exit again, but a blast of light hit his face. Furious, he turned towards Nirvana, blasting off in her direction. "You''re not going to do that either, Shadow," she yelled, her hand pointed towards him in the shape of a gun. She felt the energy within gathering, shifting to her arm. She closed one eye and aimed. A massive blast of light shot out of her index finger, the recoil sending her arm backwards, twisting her body as dust blew in all directions. Her foe vanished, evading it, her shot missing him by an inch. He appeared behind her, her eyes opening wide as she felt his presence next to her. He unleashed a brutal punch onto the back of her head. The force was so immense that it sent her flying across the field, causing her to hit the ground and flip repeatedly, until she crashed into a boulder. ¡°Who are these people?¡± an incredulous look appeared on Roa¡¯s face as the boulder exploded. Light flickered around Nirvana¡¯s body. She was still in one piece. She looked up, lifting her head from the ground, coughed through the dust, noticing Eralay and Roa running. "Damn it!" she said, forcing herself on her feet as Mr. Briteside materialized in front of the boy and his lover. The two froze as he towered in front, blocking their escape. The enemy''s hand shot out like a poisonous snake striking. He grabbed Roa by the neck, raising him up with unnatural ease. Gasping for air, the boy kicked and punched, but no matter how much he tried to break free, the enemy seemed to be made of steel, taking no damage. "Let him down! You''re going to suffocate him!" Eralay screamed at him. "That''s exactly the point," roared the masked man, pushing her away. "Stay out of it. Know your damn place, woman!" The dark being placed his other hand on his victim''s head, causing the boy''s eyes to roll backwards. The air began to vibrate. "Not this time," Nirvana said, making a gun with her hand again. The Shadow''s mask inched closer to the boy''s face as he spoke with an ominous, mocking tone. "Don''t worry¡ªSunflower. Tomorrow, the alarm will go off again, as it always does, and you will think this was all just another, bad, DREAM." Another blast struck the Shadow, but his body was protected by a shield that flickered around him like a cocoon of light. He released the young man¡¯s head, pointed his hand at his rival unleashing countless rays of light, as her agile flips attempted to evade the barrage of attacks. Explosions rocked the field, soon engulfing the area in a thick cloud of dust. She fired back through the smoke, in the direction of the foe. Grabbing his attention for enough time to lose his scanning eyes, she found an opening, reappearing underneath him, leaping up with the force of an exploding volcano. When her fist met his jaw, she forced him to release the grip on Roa''s neck. Mr. Briteside flew several hundred meters in the air. The boy¡¯s head tilted back, his mouth open wide in disbelief, as he followed the enemy''s body, shooting into the sky like a rocket. Nirvana''s entire body glowed with a strange light. Turning to him, she yelled. "We didn''t spend all this time just to lose you again. Jump into the Exit, NOW!" Eralay grabbed her lover by the hand, pulling him up. They ran as she turned to him. "You were never meant to live like this. Your heart will never stop being free. That''s what I always loved about you." Her voice trembled, her breath coming in ragged gasps as they ran. "Never give up, okay?" she smiled, a deep sadness in her eyes. Nirvana followed closely behind them, until the enemy''s strike sent her flying. She came out coughing from a small crater surrounded by a billowing cloud of dust. Her hair disheveled, limping in pain, her eyes darted around for the Shadow. ¡°Where the hell did you go, you faceless bastard,¡± she started blasting in all directions, attempting to keep the foe busy for as long as possible. "NOW! Jump, before he tries to close it!" Nirvana shouted a few meters away as she kept shooting erratically. The air moved above. Something fell at great speed straight down towards them. Nirvana turned her head and gasped, launching up in its direction to chase it, midair. The enemy was too fast, however. A violent gust passed her by, heading towards the young couple below. She had missed her shot. "No!" she backflipped in the air, pivoting, flying down at full speed towards the ground like a meteor. The boy held his breath, shut his eyes, held tightly onto his lover¡¯s hand, and sprinted as fast as he could into the bright light of the Exit. It was too late, however. Mr. Briteside appeared in front, between Roa and Eralay, just as they were crossing the threshold of the magic door. Their hands separated from the momentum, as they hit the enemy''s unmovable chest. In a last-ditch effort, Nirvana pushed off the ground, her leg springing like a coiled trap upon impact, blasting forward with tremendous force, until her shoulder crashed into the boy''s back. "Get in there!" she screamed, forcing him inside the Exit, before the Shadow could grab him. Time seemed to halt. Nirvana stared at the boy, with a satisfied look in her eyes. She smiled. The plan had worked. The Sunflower escaped. He was Free, again. However, as Roa plummeted into the abyss, Nirvana¡¯s attention caught the direction of his gaze. His eyes weren¡¯t on hers; they were locked on something else¡ªEralay. His arm stretched out desperately toward her, his fingers grasping at the ever-widening, empty space between them. Her name erupted from his throat, a raw and agonizing cry that echoed, resonating like a haunting refrain as he fell into the void. Pain shot through Nirvana''s arm, forcing her to turn her head, noticing the Shadow''s powerful grip on her wrist. Behind, past the enemy''s smiling mask, was Roa¡¯s lover. Her long, white hair jerked forward as her body''s momentum was also stopped by the enemy''s powerful grip. A tear from Eralay''s face fell into the void, twinkling as it followed the boy into the unknown. X1.1.3 - The Impossible X1.1.3 - The Impossible
Roa woke up disoriented, his head spinning, when he felt a drop fall on his face. His head was pounding, as if about to explode. When he tried to rise, his body felt as though it was weighed down by a truck, a suffocating heaviness pinning him to the ground. Then, at once, it lightened, only to grow unbearably heavy once more¡ªso heavy that he couldn¡¯t even lift his cheek an inch off the ground. To his horror, his eyes focused onto the chaos unfolding before him, a sight that filled him with dread¡ªreality was tearing itself apart. The ground was made of millions of fragments, floating in every direction. Some wobbled aimlessly, others spun at dizzying speeds, fading in and out of Existence, as if unsure whether they wanted to be there, or not. The sky warped into different, nauseating, neon hues, synced to the crack of thunder. He vomited unto the floor, his mind and body rejecting the dizzying, and unstable natural laws of that nightmarish place. The stuffy air was thick with the pungent smell of burning metal and plastic, as an incessant humming kept scratching at his ears. He felt something small hit his arm once he was able to stand. A bizarre bug caught his attention as it flickered and warped, trickling off his arm as it disintegrated. The dust transformed into a flower, growing tall and strong on the ground before rapidly decaying again. This time, a swarm of butterflies buzzed away, as the sand transformed one last time. In the distance, strange creatures flew, their noises unlike anything he had ever heard on Earth, resembling something electronic, more than anything organic. "I''m dreaming," he repeated, attempting to reassure himself, his breath speeding up, as he was about to hyperventilate. He looked around for Eralay, his head turning in every direction, his heart sinking deeper each time he saw nothing but the impossible vastness of that place. A rush of feelings overwhelmed him, like a kettle overflowing with scolding hot water. He screamed her name at the top of his lungs, but only an echo answered, repeating it over and over back to him, distorting it more each time. Her name warped in the skies above, somehow slowly transforming into a noise that resembled his weekday morning alarm. His mind escaped that living nightmare for a moment, eager to recall the mundane normality of his now previous life. That hated sound went off each morning without fail, forcing an angry groan out of him. Eralay would turn over in bed, half asleep. "Be grateful, my Sunflower. At least we are together," she would say in a gentle tone. He would put off starting his day for as long as possible, clinging to the peaceful quiet before the dreaded alarm inevitably broke the silence again. With cold persistence, it would blare its infuriating tune again, dragging him back into the reality he was trying so hard to avoid. The daily torture routine ceased only when the boy complied with its demands for blind obedience. Eralay''s hugs felt warm and comforting under those sheets, his last few moments of peace before getting up. Within that warmth was the safest place in the world, the only place where he felt alright. The gray, cold outside world stood in stark contrast to her embrace. Stress seemed to be the only thing abundantly available and free, in that place he called home. Most mornings, after enough snoozes had finally driven her insane, Eralay would leap out of bed, feigning excitement. With her fist raised in the air, she¡¯d race toward the kitchen, shouting, ¡°never give up!¡± her silliness enough to make the boy get up out of bed. Roa hated his boss with a burning passion. He wanted to strangle him, hit him over his bald head, and punch his ''professional'' attitude right out of that stupid face of his. His accounting job paid the bills, but at the cost of his mental and physical health, chipping away each day. He had few real friends, little time and even less energy to be happy. They couldn''t afford a home, and even with several university degrees, incessant attempts, and endless patience, society''s message was clear. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "You are never enough." Not rich enough, smart enough, strong enough, cool enough, good-looking enough, and so on. This cruel message was implied over and over, in many creative and subtle ways, until a part deep inside of Roa began to believe it too. The young couple reluctantly accepted the nature of their lives, as everyone else did; an uncomfortable compliance with an unjust system nobody liked. What else could they do? The young man dreamed of escaping the suffocating, unrelenting, and exhausting loop he called his life. He dreamed of what so many others secretly longed for¡ªchange. He wasn¡¯t content with a bit of it, either. No, he wanted a revolution. One that would start in the mind, and spill over onto the halls of power, like a furious tsunami, washing away some of that wretched wrong that filled so much of the world. A revolution where people would finally wake up and be honest with themselves¡ªadmitting that they didn¡¯t want to spend their one life this way¡ªand, more importantly, realize they didn¡¯t have to. However, to Roa''s daily dismay, everyone just seemed¡ªtoo busy, too selfish, or filled with oceans of apathy, deciding instead to remain fast asleep, continuing with their well-practiced, uncomfortable compliance. A perfectly nauseating, daily choreography of firm handshakes, small talk, and glaring screens, as the suffering of millions, and the galloping destruction of Nature went blissfully ignored. ¡°Business as usual.¡± ¡°It is what it is.¡± ¡°Who cares.¡± Roa remembered the blank stares of the people in the subway, wobbling back and forth like bowling pins as the train moved on his commute home. No one spoke, and not a single smile was in sight. He felt just as resigned as the other passengers must have, as the train''s brakes screeched, piercing their ears with a most unpleasant of sounds. A similar screech jolted him back to the unstable reality he had been thrust into, all thanks to Nirvana''s actions. This time, the noise didn''t come from the red line train¡ªbut from a swarm of monsters emerging from behind. They were strange, colorful creatures resembling flying stingrays, their many eyes blinking erratically, as long, whip-like tails spiraled with elegance in the air. The wings made a deafening noise as the flock passed over his head, terrifying the boy as he ducked in fear. He was standing on a floating rock the size of a house; a single light post flickered incessantly, casting erratic shapes across the ground. The creatures, now distant specks in the strangely colored sky, continued their ascent into the unknown. He glanced around, his eyes landing on a melted clock ticking backwards with great speed. Even in this warped land, he found himself tortured by ticking hands and glaring alarms. He then remembered the Jumper''s instructions, his fingers shaking as he opened the piece of paper in his pouch. ¡°JUMP 1: PRISON WORLD¡¯S EDGE NEAR FIELD OF PANSIES AT SUNSET¡± Roa looked at it confused. ¡°No, wait, I already did that one,¡± he studdered. "JUMP 2: IN THE OUTERWORKS FACE AWAY FROM THE SUN AND WALK 5 KM TO EXIT 999." The floating platform tilted as he was reading, a wave of horror warping Roa¡¯s face as he felt himself lose his balance. He scrambled for something to hold on to, but the smooth surface provided no grip. As gravity shifted and lightened, he took a desperate leap toward a much larger chunk of floating debris. Mid-jump, gravity suddenly intensified again, slamming him down onto the surface. He crashed into a rock, his knee striking it with the momentum. His body felt as if it weighed a ton, pinned under a mountain. The sharp pain shot through his leg, radiating up to his thigh, making each breath more difficult. "I am never going to get out of here," he said with a tone of resignation. Careful not to fall into the infinite void below, he crawled, climbed, and leaped from one floating rock to another, waiting for the right moments to make his move, away from the dark blue sun in the colorfully nauseating sky. Instead of falling to the ground, the rain in that place rose, vanishing into the sky above, a light drizzle turning into a full-fledged hurricane without warning. The young man clung to a rock, screaming, as violent winds battered him, shifting direction with each gust. "I want to live!" he shrieked into the storm, as he cursed Nirvana for having sent him there. Back in his old life, he had battled severe depression for years. It had driven him to the edge many times, as the thought of giving up often whispered to him the darkest of thoughts. However, in that strange and hostile place, surrounded by constant danger, that desire to die was suddenly replaced with a very vivid and determined hope to live. X1.1.4 - Who Am I? X1.1.4 - Who Am I?
"Only fools who want to die pass through here," said an ominous voice, startling the boy as he walked along the treacherous path. The traveler froze, as a humanoid figure loomed above him, sitting high upon a rock, its presence both surreal and unsettling. Hours had slipped by since Roa had found himself torn from his old life, and cast into this impossibly strange land. The figure was clad in a yellow suit, its skin an unnerving shade of pink, and its bare feet resting lightly on the ground. It wiggled its toes. Thick smoke billowed in front of it from a wide, bronze container filled with sweet-smelling incense, obscuring its face and body in a haze of mystery. It held out a large, ancient scale. On its left side, was a small cage that contained a hamster running tirelessly on a wheel. On its right, was an open birdcage. A yellow and brown bird took flight, singing as it fluttered away, only to explode into a burst of fireworks in the sky. The boy ducked, his eyes opened wide, reflecting the colorful explosion as they blinked. "The bird cannot go back inside, once it is free," the being warned, as the young man ran away in fear of the apparition. The dark blue sun remained in its place, stuck in the heavens without budging. Unable to gauge the passage of time, the Sunflower walked for several hours when the sky turned dark at once, as if someone had turned off the lights. The traveler''s breath quickened as darkness enveloped him, and the strange noises of that place ceased. Complete silence. He could hear the faint ringing in his ears. He sat down next to a large boulder, placing his face in his palms. An overwhelming feeling of anger began to build up as he remembered Nirvana''s words. "You''ve been living a lie. Your memories¡ªthey''re not your own." Exasperated, he yelled at the top of his lungs, letting out some of the frustration. He did not care what monster might hear him. "Who am? Why am I here?" he asked with a resigned tone after some time. When he opened his eyes, he noticed a swirling galaxy lighting up the darkness above, and a sense of awe overtook him, quelling his anger. "You are the Universe." The silence was shattered by an unexpected answer. The thundering voice startled him, freezing him in place. It seemed to echo from every direction, carrying the tone of a sweet old woman, though no one was visible, no one was lurking in the darkness. "Hello?" he asked, afraid but curious. After a long pause, the voice answered again. "You are the Living Universe." He thought of a question, but couldn''t come up with anything useful. "What does that mean?" Again, after another long pause, a response came. "You are the Universe experiencing Itself as a Human." Roa grew angry again, standing up, he shrieked. "I mean who the hell am I? My whole life is a LIE!" A long, agonizing pause stretched on, the silence thick and suffocating. Every second felt like an hour, and the young man¡¯s frustration grew with each passing moment. His patience was running thin, his fingers twitching with the urge to scream again. Finally, a response came, flowing like a slow, calm and deliberate stream of words. "You are the Universe that has become conscious of Itself." This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. The boy sighed, his shoulders dropping as he unclenched his fists. He plopped himself back down, dropping his face back in the palms of his hands. "That''s not what I meant¡­" "But that is what you are..." the mysterious voice answered one last time. The sky turned bright again, blinding the boy, as the very short night ended with no rhyme or reason. The boy''s heart churned with a raging storm of emotions, as usual. The young man had always felt everything intensely, as if living had been cranked up to the absolute max. The good felt great, and the bad felt horrible. A life-long rollercoaster between heaven and hell. As a result, he felt the pain of others as if it were his own, cultivating in him an unresolved desire to make the world better, at all costs. Eralay loved that about him deeply, for it resembled the nature of her own soul, almost as clearly, as a mirror reflects an image. "Who¡ªam I?" he murmured to himself, sitting there alone in silence, as the voice in the sky had long abandoned him. He remembered when he had asked his lover the same question, during one of the moments when his heart''s rollercoaster dove down. "Who are you? You are my Sunflower. You are unique. You are justice, you are truth, you are courage, you are change. You are you, imperfect, stubborn and Free, just the way I like it," she answered, a warm smile on her face, trying to encourage him to feel better. He did not believe her, but he forced out a smile regardless. He remembered a plane flying above them, listening to its engines roar, as they sat in a park. Roa snapped back to the present, his gaze fixed onto the neon sky. The air suddenly shifted, violently, as though something massive had just passed overhead. A look of terror twisted his face when he noticed not an airplane, but a creature in the heavens above. It was the size of a killer whale, but it appeared far more menacing than its oceanic counterpart. Its body bristled with hundreds of teeth, an unsettling number of eyes, and countless arms and hands flailing chaotically in the air. He stood up with a jolt. It was coming straight for him. The monster dove and the boy scrambled for cover, breath racing in panic. His heart filled with relief when he noticed a tight crevice under a large boulder. He crawled, squeezing through the hole, like a mouse escaping a hawk, his shaking fingers scratching and grabbing the rocky ground, scraping his skin as he forced himself inside. The beast screeched, forcing him to cover his ears. Its long arms reached inside, as they tried to grab hold of him. Luck was on his side, however. The fissure''s depth was enough to avoid being dragged out to his death. At that moment, that damp, uncomfortable hole felt like the safest place in the Universe for the boy. After the screaming ceased and the dust settled, Roa laid there for more than an hour, immobile. He was even afraid of breathing too loudly. When enough time had passed frozen in silence, he gathered the courage to crawl out. The creature was gone, but the encounter left him on edge. A few more hours must have passed when another apparition stood in his way. The boy froze, his hands trembling as he feared another dangerous encounter. Appearing before him was a man, floating vertically upside down, bound from head to toe by a long, tight bandage. The white cloth began to unravel, piling up on the ground as it revealed his face. His eyes were sown shut, and his ears were plugged by two corks, and as he parted his dry, cracked lips, ugly, stained, and misshapen teeth emerged. A foul stench reached the traveler¡¯s nostrils, forcing him to gag and hold his breath. The disconcerting apparition then warned him. "It was safer in the cage, not to know, not to act, and to just¡ªknow your place, instead." The boy ran away as fast as he could for the encounter terrified him. "Now you are free, but at what cost?" the being screamed, its angry, raspy voice cutting through the air. A chill ran down the boy¡¯s spine, as the piercing words burrowed into his deepest fears. His stomach sank as he felt himself fall towards the abyss. His foot slipped off the edge. His fingers grasped at the ground, his arms scratching against the rocks. His flailing hands managed to grab hold of something at the very last moment; a single, twisted root, sticking off the edge of the floating island. He shut his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. He then glanced below and saw the void. The sky turned yellow, green, then pink; swarms of beasts glided through the endless expanse of floating rocks. His stomach dropped at the sight. It just went on, forever, as far as the eyes could see. There was no end to it. He struggled to pull himself up, fighting against the shifting gravity as it began to change once more. When the force became unbearably strong, and his body felt like it was being dragged down by the anchor of a ship, he clung to the tree with both hands, gripping tight for what seemed like an eternity. He didn¡¯t want to die; not like this, in this place, alone. His fingers burned, as he hoped that the little root would hold. Then, his body lightened once more. This was his chance. With nearly no strength left, the desperate will to survive surged within, pushing him to muster the last bit of energy needed. He pulled himself up, reaching for the trunk of the tree, collapsing onto the safe ground above with a thud. His cheek pressed against the floor, dust swirling around his face with every labored breath, he closed his eyes in exhausted relief. Once again, he evaded death''s grasp. He lifted his head, his gaze landing on the olive tree. A soft chuckle escaped his lips¡ªpart disbelief, part triumph¡ªas the respite of safety settled over him. "Thank you." The bark, dry and filled with ancient ripples, felt rough on his fingers, as he dragged his hand across it. He felt tired, both physically and emotionally. Most of all, he felt alone. He sat next to his green savior, leaning his back on it, as minutes turned into hours. X1.1.5 - The Light Post X1.1.4 - The Light Post
"Want to hear a sad story?" Roa said, breaking the silence, as he looked over at the inanimate tree. "There was a time, back in the day, when I would have gladly jumped off the cliff myself. I''m serious,¡± he chuckled, quickly growing serious again. ¡°One night, I was standing on one of the bridges in my city, the rain was pouring down, and the traffic had disappeared. I was drenched from head to toe. I didn¡¯t care. Nothing mattered anymore at that moment. I stood in front of the edge for what seemed like an eternity, my head filled with the darkest thoughts, and my heart with a despair the size of an ocean. I felt hopeless, trapped, with no solution in sight. I was filled with pain, regret, and anger. There was only one thing I didn''t feel that night. Fear. Can you believe it?" The olive tree''s branches swayed in the wind, as if it were nodding. "Death seemed like a relief to me in that abyss of grief. I climbed onto the ledge and looked down. My shaking hand gripped a light post. The rain was so thick that I couldn¡¯t see below, when a rush of terrible feelings overwhelmed me, and I began to cry." The boy was lost in thought for a moment, as his mind lingered on those hard times. His sadness changed to reverence when he recalled what happened next, his tone changing to a deeper one. "My tears mixed with the raindrops, which fell into the river, which made their way to the sea, and became the clouds¡ª" He paused, as the words from the poetic voice in the sky that had previously spoken to him, began to make some sense. "¡ªRight when the agony peaked, something snapped me out of it. You''ll never believe what it was." He glanced over at his silent companion and smiled. "The light post. It flickered¡ªthen turned off. To anyone else, it would have meant nothing at all; just a faulty, electrical issue. But, to me, having lived my whole life seeing light posts flicker above my head, that strange, unexpected sight meant something. I''m still not sure what, exactly, but as I glanced at the row of lights to my left and to my right, standing under the only one that went dark¡ªsomething inside me told me to stop. I thought of Eralay¡¯s warm hugs and longed for one with all my heart. The rain suddenly felt cold, and I noticed that I was shivering. A rush of hope took over, and I shouted into the storm." He placed his hand on the bark, as if patting a good friend on the back. "I screamed ''I want to live!'' That¡¯s what I said.¡± He nodded, as he glanced at the sky. He took a deep sigh. "I did not jump that night; I went home. Water dripped everywhere onto the clean, wooden floors of our apartment, as my soggy socks left footprints all the way to the kitchen. I kneeled, without saying a word, and placed my head on her lap, as she was sitting at the table. I broke down. I couldn¡¯t do it anymore. I couldn¡¯t keep living like that. ''I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with me,'' I said. She stared at me with wide-open eyes, then smiled and nodded, running her fingers through my wet hair." He sighed again, this time his voice began to quiver. ¡°She said to me¡ª ''There¡¯s nothing wrong with you. You are who you are, my Sunflower. Nothing in this, or any other world, will ever change that. If they haven¡¯t changed you by now, they never will. You are invincible in this regard. You just don¡¯t know it yet.'' I remember how warm her hands felt on my face." He said as his breath began to shake. "She put her hand on my shoulder, leaned in and told me with those big eyes of hers, ''I know you¡¯re tired. I know it¡¯s hard, and I know you want it to stop. You don¡¯t really want to die; you just want some relief. So, do something about it then. Change your life, if you hate it so much. Stop talking about it, stop dreaming about it, and do it.'' ¡ªWell¡ªwant to know what I did, my leafy friend?¡± The boy''s face lit up with a smile. "I did something about it." If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He stood up, a surge of energy rushing through his body. He told the rest of the story with a hint of excitement in his voice, as he paced back and forth next to the plant. "The next day, the alarm went off, but I didn¡¯t snooze it. No, I just got up this time, without complaint. I murmured incessantly to myself as she looked at me confused. ¡®I want to live,¡¯ I repeated over and over under my breath, as I packed my bags. When she asked what I was doing, I answered, ''I''m doing something about it. We are leaving. Pack your bags, let''s go. Life is too short to be unhappy.'' She froze, unable to say anything. I told her ''I either give up on myself, or I give up on my current life. I need to choose one¡ªand I choose the latter.'' She sat there, and gave me a warm smile. She agreed, but on one condition. We would leave on Monday, ''and don''t ask me why; I just got a feeling that''s going to be our day'' she said." His eyes lit up, as he remembered the rush of leaving everything behind. "I was confused, but at least she was on board. I trusted her more than I trusted myself. I didn¡¯t pack much, but there was one thing I couldn¡¯t part with¡ªthe pouch she had given me for my birthday. In it, we kept the seeds we would plant in the many colorful, differently shaped pots that filled our little home. Buried among the seeds was something else, however¡ªsomething very special, a secret Eralay didn¡¯t know about. A gift. One I had waited so long to give her." His shoulders dropped, and his heart filled with fear at the thought of never seeing her again. He pressed on regardless, wanting to finish the story. "Monday arrived. We left. No plan, no notice¡ªwe said, ''screw it,'' locked the door, and threw away the keys to make sure we wouldn¡¯t go back so easily. I followed her down to the basement of our building instead of through the front door, and out of a small window in the laundry room. When I asked what we were doing, she answered that we were avoiding the landlord. When I asked whose car we were getting into, she answered her friend''s. We got on the road and left, just like that. She didn''t say a word the whole time. She seemed distant, as if something were bothering her. I guess it''s not easy to make such a jump. We eventually reached the diner, where we met the old lady. ¡®Love¡¯s Diner.¡¯ We approached the lonely building in the middle of the tall, green forest on the outskirts of town. ''Stop here, I''m hungry,'' she said." He spaced out for a moment, his face growing serious, his tone somber. "Everything was going well¡ªuntil we decided to stop at that damn place. We should have just kept going. If we did¡ªmaybe, I wouldn''t have ended up here." He looked up, realizing he had been talking to himself for a while now. He suddenly felt stupid. He felt lost, and he felt alone. "What in the hell am I doing¡ªtalking to a damn tree." He walked away, shaking his head, the weight of hopelessness pressing on his heart, again. More hours passed when he eventually reached a large, flat plain. Dust swirled and danced, as the wind blew. "Thank goodness, this must be it. There are no more rocks I can leap onto after this big one." He looked back at the dark blue sun, recognizing some of the places he had passed through. "Should be about five kilometers." A single, dead tree stuck out of the plain, like a frail hand reaching out to the sky. His eyes scanned the dead plant, noticing something etched onto the wood. A message. " XOXO TRUST IN THE PROCESS OF LIFE." He decided to rest under it and wait for the portal to appear. A large silhouette flashed on the ground, jolting Roa awake, as he realized that he had fallen asleep out of exhaustion. Terror struck him like a runaway train when he looked up, noticing the monstrosity from before, circling in the sky. He was in trouble. He had nowhere to hide this time. The creature locked its many eyes onto him and dove down, ready for a second chance to catch its shivering prey. The boy used the tree to his advantage, as the creature flew back up and down several times, swooping in for the catch. Unable to grab him as he shielded himself behind the wooden obstacle, the beast screeched a deafening scream. The boy did not notice that the winds had begun to shift erratically; he was too focused on not becoming lunch for that horrid spawn of hideousness. A flash blinded him. ¡°The Exit!¡± he said, as his wide-open eyes shifted to the ground, remembering Nirvana¡¯s warning. This portal was smaller, about the size of a street sign, yet it retained the same eerie eye at its top, its blank stare gazing into the distance. The monster circled above and then swooped down again for the kill. The Sunflower¡¯s chest burned with fear but, reaching deep within, he found enough courage to move. He pushed himself forward, away from the safety of the dead tree. Between him and the Exit was the creature, now flying straight down like a falling airplane. The monster''s many hands reached out like talons eager to snatch their prize. Barely evading death, the young man slid on the ground, lifting a cloud of dust in his wake. The beast crashed onto the hard surface, letting out a blood curdling scream, as it flipped several times. "Ha!" he exclaimed, smiling as he got back on his feet. His grin did not last long, however, vanishing when the monster began galloping behind him. He glanced down, ran with all his strength, and repeated Eralay''s words. "Never give up! Never give up! Never give up!" He pushed himself to his limit. His body burned, a fiery surge coursing through him¡ªwhether fueled by adrenaline or some untapped power, he ran. His legs churned beneath him, faster than they ever had before. The fear of death was swept away by hope, as the threshold of the portal blurred beneath his feet. "I want to live!" Roa screamed as he jumped into the Exit, to safety and into the unknown again. He turned and saw the monster disappear, as the light turned to darkness, enveloping him; a proud smile was on his tired face, as he lost consciousness once again. X1.1.6 - Bus Stop to Nowhere X1.1.6 - Bus Stop to Nowhere
"I don''t want to go to work." Roa complained, scratching his head as he sat up. He found himself in the middle of a cold road, surrounded by an endless expanse of gray sand. He stared at the sky and jolted up. Sitting with his mouth open, he marveled in awe at the spectacular sight of thousands of shooting stars. His heart sank, however, when he realized that he wasn''t home. It resembled Earth''s moon, that place, except he had no trouble breathing the brisk air that entered his lungs. He stood and moved his arms around. Things felt different. The gravity was light but stable, the colors and hues of everything were much less vivid compared to the previous world. He waited a moment, expecting some strange shift in the sky or gravity, but, to his great relief, nothing changed. A nauseating churn twisted in his stomach, rising sharply with an unbearable heaviness that spilled over. He stared at his last meal, splotched onto the street. "Chocolate banana pancakes. Well, at least this reality isn''t tearing itself apart" he said, looking around. He had successfully survived his jump to the next world. He sighed and sat back down, placing his head between his knees. He began to cry. The many strange, reality-shattering events he had gone through finally caught up to him, all at once. His heart overflowed with a cascade of feelings rushing through him, filling his chest. A million thoughts ran through his head, saturating him with doubt. He looked around; nothing but empty vastness, in every direction. He felt infinitely far away from home. "What if I never make it back?" Sniffling, he opened Nirvana''s instructions, which read: "JUMP 3: BOOTH 42, GIVE VIAL TO WAITRESS. TAKE BUS. GET OFF AT STOP AND WAIT". The last word was underlined and circled several times. Roa squinted his eyes, noticing something in the distance. Dragging his feet, he made his way in that direction. "I could have just minded my own damn business. Not have asked so many questions" he shook his head, kicking a pebble off the road. He reached what looked like a restaurant. It had no walls or roof, just two long rows of red booths. There wasn''t even a floor, for that matter, as the gray sands filled every nook and cranny of the place. The air hung still. The silence was suffocating. Roa''s heartbeat quickened, the only sound in the heavy stillness, as he approached the entrance. There stood the strange host, dressed in a crisp white suit, cradling a menu against its chest. Its head was a skull, cold and empty. It turned slowly, its hollow gaze locking with Roa¡¯s as he stepped inside. The boy¡¯s eyes opened wide, fixed on the unsettling figure. With a fluid motion, the host extended its left arm wide, a strange, welcoming gesture, as if greeting the unlikely, confused guest. The establishment was empty, no customers or staff anywhere. The boy followed Nirvana''s instructions, and a waitress, one almost as weird as the host, showed up out of nowhere with some food. He hadn''t ordered anything but since the menu was a series of blank pages, he did not dare ask for recommendations. He pulled out the vial and handed it to her. She looked Human, except her skin was bright purple, and sticking out of her forehead was a single, straight horn. The loud, annoying sound of her chewing gum with her mouth open, suddenly stopped, her eyes growing wide at the sight of the flask. Her hand snatched it from his, like the tail of a scorpion, striking and recoiling. "Bus 1, all the way to the end." She dropped the food carelessly onto the table, causing the plate to wobble and sauce to spill, then walked away. Not seeing a kitchen anywhere, the boy stared until she made a left onto the road and continued somewhere. He leaned down and sniffed the meal. He had no idea what it was, but it smelled like lasagna. It looked like some sort of hamburger, except the bread was spongy and soggy, while the meat was bright green and crunchy¡ªand triangular. ¡°I better eat. Who knows where I¡¯ll end up next,¡± he said, as he sighed, sinking his head into his palms again, his cold fingers massaging his temples. The clanking of the spoon as it swirled in his cup of coffee, or whatever it was that he was drinking, reminded him of the diner back home. He was lost in thought for some time again as he rested on the soft, cushioned seat of booth 42. He remembered a raccoon chasing a fox crossing the street, as he and Eralay entered the lonely establishment that afternoon. It had a bright yellow sign that read ¡®LOVE''S DINER¡¯ glowing in the darkness of the tall, rustling trees above. A bell rang as the door swung open, revealing a well-lit room filled with tables, as the greasy smell of fried food greeted them. Two customers, sitting at the last table lifted their heads above their newspapers, their eyes narrowing as the two came in. They sat at the bar, glancing at the menu¡¯s many colorful pictures and dishes. The sounds in the kitchen stopped. Two cooks popped their heads out of the kitchen door, glanced at each other, and disappeared, as the clanking of pots and pans resumed. The old lady finally came out, wobbling back and forth like a penguin as she approached the bar. Roa remembered a strange feeling seeing her for the first time, as if his heart had skipped a beat, for some mysterious reason. She gave them both a thorough look and smiled. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Whatcha having, kids?" ¡°Go ahead and order, babe, I¡¯m going to the restroom,¡± he said, standing up. The old lady¡¯s eyes narrowed, following the boy. As Roa whistled in the stall, his eyes caught something on the walls. Graffiti sprawled everywhere¡ªmost of it nothing more than nonsense and obscenities; some of it, however, stirred a strange, familiar curiosity in him. "FREE YOUR MIND" read one. "XOXOXO WHERE DREAMS COME TRUE" read another, followed by a series of random numbers and ¡®Xs.¡¯ A sharp pain shot through his head, followed by a wave of lightheadedness. "WANT OUT? SEE THE PANSIES." He paused at the threshold, taking a moment to regain his balance. That last piece of graffiti lingered in his mind. He turned to the old lady for directions, but before he could even utter a word, the proprietor cut him off. She gazed straight into his eyes with a suspicious look. "You want to go see the waterfalls, huh? They sure are beautiful! Tourists love them. Let me draw you a map..." The boy looked at her confused. On the sheet of paper, however, she began writing something that made Roa''s eyes open wide. "YOU ARE IN DANGER. DON''T TURN AROUND! The men behind are looking for you. Go to the field of pansies. Follow the road, pass the gas station, west into the woods, all the way to freedom, to the X." The last letter was large, taking up half of the page, and circled repeatedly. She then took the note to the kitchen where she burned it on the stove. The two lovers followed the old lady''s advice until they reached the field. With no plan, her advice seemed like a good start. Roa remembered standing there, frozen at the impossible sight of the edge where the land ended, and the infinite sky began. A loud slam brought Roa back to booth 42, and to the present moment. The waitress'' hand slamming onto the table caused his spoon to fall off. "We''re closing in five minutes," she turned around, popping a bubble as she chewed on her bubble gum. Roa sighed and eventually stood up. He walked out as the host bowed at him, its skull falling on the ground, plopping onto the gray sand in the process. At the nearby bus stop, stood another strange character. He wore a brown hat and a long, brown trench coat, his hand on a brown briefcase. He looked Human, no odd features becoming apparent as the boy stared. His posture was straight, and he glanced at his watch often. Excited to see someone normal there, Roa began to ask some questions. The man, however, calmly looked at him without responding, turning back to look at his watch. His shoulders slouching forward, the boy sighed, awkwardly standing there next to him, waiting for his ride to who-knows-where. "I''m waiting for bus number 1. How about you?" he tried again. The stranger turned and finally spoke. "Bus 777." A long bout of silence followed. "How long have you been waiting?" "Around 2000 years, but it should be here any minute now. That''s what the sign says, and the sign¡ªis always right,¡± he said, pointing up. The young man raised an eyebrow and turned, his gaze fixed on the confusing jumble of words and numbers on the sign above the bus stop, searching in vain for Bus 777. "I''ve been waiting for the bus after my father waited for the bus, after his father waited for the bus, after his..." the man went on and on through countless generations, until the boy eventually tuned out his words. After several hours, Roa grew impatient, then worried, then scared that he too would be stuck there for a long time. After all, he didn''t really know Nirvana''s motivations. What if she lied? What if she got him stuck there, on purpose? After all, it was her fault he had gotten separated from Eralay. After a few more hours, around the time that he had driven himself insane with doubt, a bus finally pulled up. "And he waited for the bus, as his father waited for the bus," continued the man. "But, you''ll see, in my lifetime, the bus will come for sure, and that will fix EVERYTHING!" he paused, nodded vigorously and smiled, "it is written on the sign." Then, he continued listing the remaining ancestors that had waited for the damn bus. The driver, a heavyset man with neon green skin and large bags under his eyes, swung the door open violently, causing the vehicle to wobble. He looked exhausted, his oversized belly pressing against the steering wheel, spilling out of a uniform that was clearly too small for his frame. "Bus 1?" The driver groaned. "Does no one read these days?" he said, pointing up to the big red, flashing number above. The boy from Earth stared out of the window, his body swaying with the motion of the vehicle. A concerned expression reflected in the glass, catching his eye. The annoying man in the coat, with his high-pitched, overly friendly voice, faded into the distance, much to the boy''s relief. The road stretched straight ahead, as the flat landscape was punctuated by the occasional crater. A large planet with colorful swirls appeared in the black sky, rising slowly from below the curved horizon. "Definitely not Earth," he huffed, as his eyes began to grow heavy. Suddenly, the bus jolted to a stop as the driver slammed on the brakes. "Last stop. Get out!" He woke up disoriented, pain pulsing in his forehead where it had slammed against the back of the plastic seat in front of him. For a moment, he thought he was on his usual commute home from work. However, as his eyes caught sight of the strange green man and the odd, unfamiliar landscape outside, a wave of sadness washed over him. He stepped off, finding himself once again in the same surreal landscape that had greeted him after his jump into this world. The large, colorful planet now hung on the opposite side of the sky. Roa surveyed his surroundings, he noticed faint lights flickering in the distance, frustration bubbling up as he squinted his eyes. "Did we circumnavigate the whole planet? That''s that damn restaurant from before! It would have taken me less time walking. What kind of directions are these?" he said shaking the piece of paper. His anger grew for the pink-haired girl, the source of so much of his troubles, until a familiar sight calmed him. A small Exit, the size of a normal door, stood in the distance, away from the road in the empty, silent wilderness. He walked briskly, hoping with all his heart that the next place would lead him back home. However, while he had no clue what was waiting for him on the other side, he did not want to risk spending two thousand years there, waiting for the solution to come to him; so, he closed his eyes, and jumped. X1.1.7 - World Jumping X1.1.7 - World Jumping
Vomit splattered onto a boulder, painting it in streaks of sickly yellow and pink. "There goes my lunch, again. Jumping Exits is definitely not among the things¡ªI enjoy," complained the boy as he stood up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. The next world wasn''t all that much better than the previous ones, although the strange settings were now replaced by one that resembled Earth''s. The problem with Rock World is that it is full of Rock People, eventually Roa realized. He had woken up on a bed of dark gray slabs, their jagged edges poking into his body, as he regained consciousness. His back was sore, and his head was spinning. He was not alone. When his eyes darted around, he noticed that he was surrounded by strange men wearing slates of stone on their bodies, forming a wide circle around him. Their armor seemed neither efficient nor all that comfortable to wear. They did not seem to be too advanced of a civilization, given their grunting and leaping around in response to his presence. Roa glanced at the directions again as the locals moved around him, their eyes a mix of confusion, fear and obtuse ignorance. ¡°JUMP 4: GO DOWN THE MOUNTAIN, BEWARE OF ROCK AND ROLL.¡± ¡°Rock and Roll? These people?¡± the boy chuckled. ¡°I doubt they have even invented a drum in this place.¡± He shook his head, finding Nirvana¡¯s instructions to be poorly written and probably partially incorrect. Regrettably, the directions were indeed accurate. When the boy stood up, the strangers freaked out, screaming as if driven mad by some unknown force. Further adding to his misfortune, the Rock & Roll of this world had little to do with music. The locals pushed a large rock in his direction, which did in fact roll down the side of the mountain, chasing him all the way to the bottom. He ran in a panic, his feet slipping on loose gravel and stones, as he fell several times, covering his skin with cuts and bruises in the process. The Rock People glanced at him with curiosity from up high, their heads popping in and out from behind the edge. They threw tiny rocks his way, as if to want to gauge his reaction, grunting, and shouting noises¡ªperhaps cursing the intruder for his unexpected presence¡ªor his strange, soft clothing. "What the hell do you want from me?" he screamed, opening his arms wide. Frustrated, Roa threw some pebbles back at them, only prompting the locals for an encore to push yet another large rock to roll towards the weary traveler. It didn''t take long to find the Exit out of that unfriendly place. The portal stood as the others did before it¡ªunbothered by anything that was happening around it. The locals did not seem to notice the strange sight either, carrying on with their taunting instead. The boy cursed at the Rock People before he left, vowing to never return to that place. "Earth!" he said excitedly, sitting up with a burst of energy as he realized he had successfully made the jump to the next world. His head turned, scanning every direction, as it barely stuck above the swaying stalks of wheat that gently moved in the warm, summer breeze. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and the colors and gravity seemed normal enough. The last bit of his lunch came up, as the nausea came back. Stolen story; please report. "Couldn''t the side effects of jumping worlds be something more pleasurable?" A giant koi fish floating in the clear, blue sky above him forced his eyebrows to raise. His heart sank and his shoulder slouched. "Just another random world with who knows what terrible dangers waiting for me." He glanced over at the directions, reading the last bullet point out loud. "JUMP 5: WALK SOUTH FOR A DAY, CROUCHING, TO THE BIRD HOUSE. CLIMB. TAKE RIGHT EXIT NOT LEFT!" The last two words were circled, as usual. He glanced about and let out an extremely long and slow exhale, as the warm sun shone on his skin, drying up his damp clothes. The wheat fields went on forever, and other than the occasional giant fish stuck in the sky, nothing around him really gave him the impression of danger. The boy went south, followed the instructions, crouching in the swaying wheat for about an hour until his legs began to burn. Sweating, he noticed some kids playing, tumbling, as they chased each other without a care in the world. ¡°Hopefully the directions are mostly correct,¡± Nirvana¡¯s words echoed in the boy¡¯s mind, when he decided to just walk instead. He asked the children where he was, but they answered in some strange language that he could not understand. He flapped his arms like wings and made the shape of a house with his hands. The smiles on the kids¡¯ faces disappeared. They pointed south, towards a faint line rising vertically on the horizon. ¡°That will take me all day¡± he complained, as he shielded his eyes from the sun. The kids left, giggling and racing to their games, disappearing into the wheat. The traveler, feeling a surge of urgency, decided to run, the stalks brushing against his body. Suddenly, the ground beneath him gave way, as he plunged into a pond that his eyes did not catch in time. His stomach lurched as he gasped, inhaling water. Panic surged through him as he flailed, desperate for air. His arms shot out and finally grasped a stalk, yanking himself out. Gasping for breath, he spent several minutes coughing, struggling to expel the water from his lungs. His stomach growled, reminding him of the gnawing hunger he tried so hard to ignore. He hadn¡¯t eaten much recently, and whatever little he had managed to consume had quickly been expelled after each jump. The nearest towns were far off, perched atop lush, emerald mountains, barely within view. His gaze drifted upward to the giant fish floating lazily above. He couldn¡¯t help but wish he could cook one for himself. He pressed on, heading south, when the peaceful silence of his journey was shattered by the sudden roar of fire. Flames erupted behind him, a blazing inferno that swept across the fields, their heat searing into his neck and singeing his hair. He was unfortunately right, after all. Danger was indeed waiting for him there. A dragon, its scales glistening like molten metal, tore through the landscape, setting the very air alight. The children scattered in a desperate escape, fleeing from the monster¡¯s wrath, scorching the ground, as it closed in on them. The Sunflower waved his arms, desperate to catch its attention. He threw himself on the floor, narrowly dodging its snapping jaws. A powerful gust followed behind the monster¡¯s massive body as it flew past him just a few inches above, sending him tumbling from the force. Gasping for breath, he scrambled into the wheat, pressing himself flat against the ground. He hid until the dragon lost interest and flew away. Around him, the fields burned, the flames closing in from every direction. Noticing the children getting away to safety, the young man ran away, his worried eyes keeping an eye on the skies, scanning for the fire breathing lizard''s return. As evening descended, the towering structure finally came into full view. It was immense¡ªfar taller than any skyscraper Roa had ever seen back in his home world. Its sheer size was staggering. The tower appeared to be made of light-colored wood, an unusual and seemingly unstable material for such an unnaturally tall building. Gigantic planks were haphazardly stacked together, forming the bulk of the vertical structure, their edges jagged and mismatched, creating a sense of vulnerability that contradicted its height. At the very top, well over the clouds, Roa noticed a large, square-shaped structure¡ªlooming mysteriously above, casting a long silhouette over the land below. "I¡¯m supposed to climb this??" he said in dismay, as his eyes followed the tower up, past the first cluster of clouds, then the second, and so on. X1.1.8 - The Dragon X1.1.8 - The Dragon
The sound of birds singing woke him up. They sounded better than his alarm back home ever did, but upon looking up at the immense tower, he instinctively covered his face with his hands to block out the sight. It was only when his stomach grumbled loudly that he gave in, reluctantly sitting up. He gathered his courage and decided to climb. He had only one more Exit to go through, and that thought alone pushed him to move. "Where am I even going?" he wondered, his mind imagining all sorts of horrible things that could be waiting ahead. He shook his head to clear the dark thoughts. There was no room for fear now. Taking one last look at the giant, unstable planks, Roa clenched his fists and began scaling the tower, giant plank by giant plank. The task was daunting, but he had no choice. This was the path forward, and it was the only way to get closer to whatever lay beyond. "What else am I going do?" he thought on his way up, speaking between his labored breaths. "Stay lost in some world with no name? Stick around and get eaten by the kind of dragon that only exists in fairytales, but for some damn reason, is perfectly normal here? No thanks." Roa¡¯s hands were raw, his palms scraped and bruised as he gripped the large nails, splinters, and notches in the wooden structure, each one offering just enough support to keep him from plummeting to the ground. He climbed and climbed for hours, until the ground began to grow hazy and faint below. The immense fields of gold, as well as the towns that dotted the green mountains, now began to look like features on a map. He was terrified. The wind blew, causing him to often lose his balance, his tired hands shaking, his heart dropping in the process. To make matters worse, the dragon reappeared in the sky every so often in the distance, forcing him to freeze in tiring, uncomfortable positions to avoid being noticed. Surely, if the monster found him up there, there would be no escaping from its jaws then. As night fell, the cold air stung his skin, and exhaustion began to take its toll. He found what few flat spots he could and collapsed, desperately trying to get some rest. Sleep was elusive, but he managed to drift off, only to be jolted awake by his racing thoughts in the middle of the night. Disoriented, he forgot where he was at that moment. He rolled over in search of a more comfortable position, only to find himself teetering dangerously close to the edge. His breath caught in his throat, and he scrambled back, his heart racing. Trembling, he sat upright for the rest of the night, unable to sleep, unable to shake the fear of falling that gripped him. When the first light of dawn finally broke across the sky, painting it with streaks of pink and gold, Roa took a deep breath and resumed his climb. The worst of the night was over, but the challenge still loomed before him. There was no turning back now. He was almost there. Three days later, the boy from Earth made it to the top. He was starving, and his legs and arms were bruised and tired, shaking from exhaustion. He had climbed above the clouds, until he reached the flat base of the giant bird house above. Glancing up, a brief smile tugged at his lips, but it quickly faded as his heart sank. "You have got to be kidding me." A horizontal metal ladder attached to the base of the wooden ceiling ran from where he was all the way to the edge. The only way up from there. Seeing no other alternative, Roa spent several hours mustering the courage to climb onto it. He hung on several times to test its strength. Everything looked unstable, but what other option did he have? Go back down? Even if he tried, at that point, he wouldn''t have enough energy to even attempt the descent. He had puked his meals, and had only drank the rain puddling on the planks of wood in the past few days. The ladder was his only way out, and the Exit must have been close. He could already feel its pull coming from above, from within the bird house. He counted the bars on the ladder. "300 or so," he said. He placed his trembling hand on the cold, gritty metal of the rusted ladder, pulling himself up from the safety of the wooden ledge. The wind howled around him, rattling the fragile structure as he hooked his feet onto the bars. Glancing down, fear hit him like a freight train, his breath catching at the sheer drop below. His muscles ached, his arms burning as he forced himself to climb, each movement deliberate but shaky. The raw metal bit into his hands, and the ladder seemed to stretch endlessly in front, mocking his dwindling strength. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Move, Roa, move,¡± he told himself, focusing on the feel of the bars beneath his fingers and the rhythm of his breath. When panic threatened to take hold, he remembered the carved words: ¡®Trust in the process of life.¡¯ Hanging for a moment as he rested his arms, he let the horizon¡¯s vast stillness calm him before pressing on, each movement forward a painful victory. At last, his hand met empty air, and with a final burst of strength, he swung himself up, onto the birdhouse¡¯s floor, collapsing in exhaustion. He made it to the top. Panting and laughing, he screamed in victory and laid there for almost an hour unable to move a single, twitching finger. He did not have a drop of saliva left in his mouth but kept repeating Eralay¡¯s mantra with a hoarse voice. ¡°Never give up. Never give up.¡± Feeling came back to his legs, and he was at last able to squeeze his hands into fists. He stood and walked the perimeter of the enormous wooden box. It was as tall as a ten-story building and the boy began to worry, regretting his loud celebration. "If this is the size of the house, then how big is the bird?" He snuck around each corner until he found the gaping opening. Above it hung a round clock, its hands pointing to 11:11. He took a sigh of relief, and his shoulders relaxed. Inside, two Exits stood near each other, on opposite ends. The place was completely empty, dotted by the occasional pile of bones, armor and treasures. "Well, I''m glad whatever lives here isn''t home for me to have to deal with it," he said, brushing the sweat off his brow. He had cried victory much too soon, however. The sunlight creeping in through the entrance disappeared, causing the boy to turn. He stood frozen, paralyzed by a wave of fear that gripped him. He wasn''t standing at the threshold of a giant bird house, but the nest of the dragon. The bright, orange eyes of the fire-breathing lizard met his. The warmth of its breath covered the young man¡¯s skin with goosebumps. The monster sniffed around inside its home. Its long neck reached down, its mouth opened, revealing its many, giant, curved teeth. Had the boy come so far, only to die but a few steps from his destination? He could not reach the Exit in time. The speed of the monster would surely be greater than his tired, shaking legs could ever muster in that exhausted state. He stood still. His eyes wide open, his breath steady, and his hand clenched tight in a fist. He was done for, he accepted that tragic truth, but at least he would not go down without a fight. The dragon''s head lunged at great speed towards him. He closed his eyes and screamed, as he lunged his fist towards the creature, using every drop of energy he had left. For a moment, it seemed like everything went quiet, and time itself had slowed down to a grinding halt. Just as his knuckles met the nose of the dragon, he opened his eyes. To his surprise, and probably that of the monster, the Sunflower, somehow unleashed a blow of preposterous power. Not only was he able to repel the attack, but the scaly head jolted backwards with such force, that it shot its long neck back out of the entrance it came from, to the top of the wooden house, yanking the entire body of the creature backwards with it. Roa, unable to believe his own eyes, suddenly heard a deafening cracking noise as the roof of the nest began to tear open. The now thoroughly unconscious beast, had dug its talons into the canopy, and as it fell back, limp and lifeless, it dragged the entire structure down with it. The wood creaked and splintered as the sunlight blinded the boy, revealing the bright blue sky above. To his further astonishment, his skin was covered with tattoos that glowed with a golden light, while his fist pulsed with a mysterious energy that swirled like a small hurricane. The young man had no time to marvel at or question the extraordinary sight and situation. They were falling. The structure lurched violently, tilting beneath him and sending him sprawling to the ground with a jarring impact. A deafening snap shattered the air, the sound echoing across the endless expanse of sky. His heart sank as he realized the tall, fragile tower below¡ªsupporting him, the dragon, and the entire structure¡ªhad finally given way. Hands trembling, he fumbled for his pouch, desperate for Nirvana¡¯s instructions. What he pulled out made his stomach drop: a soggy, crumpled mass of wet paper, the writing smudged and unreadable. "Damn it!" Roa stared at the two exits in front of him, avoiding their gazes, his future hanging in the balance of this one decision; his body growing weightless, as the wooden structure plummeted through the clouds toward the golden fields below. "Damn it, which was it?" he screamed. His mind raced, but the answer eluded him. The wind screamed like a hurricane in his ears, tearing through the collapsing box which had now tilted violently, pinning his body against the now upside-down floor. He glanced through the gaping hole where the roof had been, catching a terrifying glimpse of the ground rushing closer with every heartbeat. Then he remembered¡ªLEFT, circled and underlined. Summoning what little strength he had, he crawled. Each movement an agony, his body screaming in protest, he forced himself forward, inch by agonizing inch. He cried out with every push, muscles trembling, lungs burning, as the relentless pull of gravity worked against him. With the ground mere seconds away, he hurled himself through the left Exit, collapsing into the embrace of the magic portal. In a flash, the falling world vanished behind him, and with it, the certainty of death. Amid the chaos, however, the boy failed to notice he had strayed from the path Nirvana had carefully instructed him to take. Instead, he plunged into the depths of darkness, descending once more into the unknown, this time, however, to a place that wasn''t on any map, nor on anyone''s plans. No one''s except the Universe''s, perhaps, who in that moment, sent the boy not where he wanted to go, but where he needed to be. X1.1.lore - Encyclopedia Infinita ENCYCLOPEDIA INFINITA The Great Library of Everything By the powers invested in the Library by the Most-Secret Capital of the Free, the utmost authority in knowledge within all of Free Society, located in [REDACTED] of the Palace, accessible via Exits [REDACTED] and [REDACTED], an introduction to the work is provided here. The reader of the Encyclopedia shall not, under any circumstances alter any of the information below. Signed by: Urbo the Savvy The 455th Rector Maximus of the Great Library of Everything Encyclopedia Introduction Welcome, Dear Reader, This is an introduction to the most complete, precise and trustworthy source of information in the Innerverse. Welcome to the Encyclopedia Infinita. Pages of the Encyclopedia are scattered throughout Free Society in numerous worlds and places within the Palace. Please be advised that any copy of such information may not be reliable, and the Rector does not take any responsibility for any pages outside of the Library itself. The Encyclopedia is divided into several sections:
  1. Birthpalace Blueprints (BPBP)
  2. Detailed Details (DTDT)
  3. Histories of the Innerverse (HOTI)
  4. [REDACTED]
Birthpalace Blueprints (BPBP) What to find here:
  1. Info/Maps on worlds
  2. Info/Maps on Palace floors, rooms, transportation and more
  3. Info/Maps on Exit locations
The BPBP (Birthpalace Blueprints) are the utmost authority in directions within Free Society, dealing with maps and instructions on how to move around. Info on Exits, worlds, Palace floors and rooms and other spatial information is usually collected in the Blueprints. A team of cartographers spanning many worlds, guided by the Rector, gather information from across the Innerverse to include in the Blueprints. First started by Gorgeous Blue, Emperor of Azzurra, and improved and enlarged greatly by Elevar of Pardasia, the great monk of Vertica, these two paragons of travel are still among the greatest cartographers in Free Society. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Loose pages of the BPBP fetch for large prices, especially when they depict important information that is highly sought after. Merchants who deal in the information exchange business are often called collectors. Detailed Details (DTDT) What to find here:
  1. Info on Creatures, Locals, Shadows, Free Folk and Kami.
  2. Info on Items of Interest.
  3. Info on Auric Gifts.
  4. Info on Miscellaneous Matters.
This section of the Encyclopedia explains the living beings that fill the places in the Blueprints. Creatures, Kami, Shadows, locals and Free Folk. These are the five types of beings that fill the Innerverse. Readers can find information on anything from races, aura levels, backstories, and more. It also holds knowledge on items, Gifts, and more. Histories of the Innerverse (HOTI) What to find here:
  1. Local Historical Records of the Worlds
  2. Historical Records of Free Society
  3. Historical Records of Default World
The next section of the Encyclopedia Infinita is the Histories of the Innerverse, a collection of various records from ages past, from different places of interest.
FROM THE DETAILED DETAILS - SECTION OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIA INFINITA
ERALAY CHARACTER INFORMATION
GUNHAND NIRVANA CHARACTER INFORMATION X1.2.1 - Lost X1.2 - THE DESERT
X1.2.1 - Lost
"Where am I?" asked the boy. His eyes were so dry they could hardly open. His voice raspy, and his throat unable to swallow from thirst. The sun shone on his face, blinding him. He tilted his head and noticed an endless expanse of dunes. He paused. He began to laugh hysterically, then scream, then moan. "Of course. When I need water most," he shook his head, "I end up here. In a desert." He began to gag from the nausea, but this time, nothing came out. He hadn''t eaten in days. He wanted to just lay there and give up, but the sun forced him to sit as it burned his face. He remembered the dragon and the unbelievably powerful punch he somehow managed to manifest to defeat the invincible beast. That unlikely victory was enough to motivate him to drag himself out of the heat and into the entrance of a canyon. Flanked by tall pillars of smooth, reddish rocks, he found a bit of shade to rest under. He took his clothes off to inspect his body. The breeze felt good as it cooled him off, but the sand that it carried stung the boy like thousands of needles. His exhausted frustration grew as he frantically twisted and flailed, clumsily trying to kick off his now-entangled pants, which stubbornly clung to his feet. "All that trouble¡ªall that damn trouble for WHAT? To get to a desert? I think that bitch was really trying to kill me after all." The golden tattoos were now so faint that they were barely legible. He scanned his skin but only managed to decipher two. The first had a key, a smiling face, an equal sign and the letters ¡®THX.¡¯ The second tattoo instead was a thumbs-up, topped with a flame, followed by a compass inside of a heart. Exhausted, thirsty, hungry, and covered in bruises, his curiosity gave way to a deeper, more urgent need to address his basic survival. He put his clothes back on and dragged his feet forward, deeper inside the canyon, staying under the shade as much as possible. He noticed two moons over his head, one large red one, and one smaller white one. "Definitely not Earth¡ªagain,¡± he said, slouching. He began to wonder whether he had taken the wrong Exit. Perhaps, the pink-haired stranger was really trying to help him, and her plan would have worked, had he followed it without deviation like she explicitly commanded. "I can''t do anything right." This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. He reached the other side of the canyon, and his heart sank, defeated; another endless expanse of orange dunes, as far as the eyes could see. "Right¡ª¡± he said, resigned, beginning to come to terms with the fact that he might die there. There was no way he could cross that hot and hostile environment, especially as tired, hungry and thirsty as he was. He could barely stand. His knees shaking, he dragged his feet again until he managed to crouch under a large, protruding boulder. The young man laid down and soon passed out on the hard surface. Loose pages floated into his face, waking him up after several hours must have passed. He lifted his head as pain shot through his stiff neck. His eyes noticed many more sheets of paper, rolling around in the canyon as they were carried away by the wind. Surprised, the boy grabbed one to make sure that his mind wasn¡¯t playing tricks on him; he looked around but saw no sign of life, nor any book in sight. He tried to read it but could not understand anything, given that it was written in a foreign alphabet. ¡°Later¡­¡± he murmured, collapsing again, stuffing the mysterious page in his pocket. The sun blazed in the bright, blue sky, framed by towering rock walls that soared on both sides. The twin moons had disappeared, leaving the barren canyon in stark, sunlit stillness. Then, a rhythmic sound grew louder and louder, pulling the boy out of his deep slumber. His dry tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth as he rubbed his weary eyes, trying to clear his blurred vision, with no luck. Despite his disorientation, his sharp hearing caught every beat of the approaching sound. His face lit up as his eyebrows lifted, a faint smile tugging at his lips. Marching feet? "People! Water¡ªfood..." he mumbled. He dragged himself out of the hole, collapsing onto the ground with a dull thud. His relief soon vanished as his eyes fixed on what emerged from the top of the crevice. It wasn¡¯t a band, nor a parade, nor a company of soldiers¡ªnot even close. A grotesque, giant, hairy millipede-like creature, its countless long, spiky legs working in eerie synchrony, scaled the rocks above him. Roa didn¡¯t panic. He didn¡¯t summon a heroic resolve either. He simply had no energy left to do anything at all at that point. Kneeling on the scorching hot, sandy ground, as his knees burned, his arms hung limp at his sides, his mouth open, revealing his tongue, shriveled like a dried prune. The only motion he could muster was the slow turn of his head, tracking the monstrous insect as it moved closer. His thoughts, disjointed and nearing the absurd, latched onto a random observation: the creature must have had more than a thousand legs, its length was that of a train. The boy mumbled something as his lips attempted to make words. ¡°It¡¯s a¡ªmillionpede,¡± he stuttered, giggling. Perhaps, it was the sun baking his brain, or the dehydration warping his thoughts, but Roa found himself dwelling on this trivial detail, as though it mattered in the face of such danger. A cracking noise snapped him out of it. Some of the beast¡¯s legs scrambled, but the brittle rocks beneath them crumbled under its weight. Another sharp crack echoed through the canyon as a chunk of the rocky ledge broke. The creature¡¯s segmented body lost its grip, causing a sinuous cascade to tumble down the crevice. Its fall ended with a loud crash, as it dragged the length of the body down into a chaotic pile, enveloped by a giant cloud of dust. Its many legs now stood straight up in the air, paralyzed, twitching on occasion. The young man buried his face in his hands and began to laugh; the kind of laughter that bubbles up when one has reached their limit, and all one can do is surrender to the absurdity of their misfortune. X1.2.2 - The Caravan and the Kami X1.2.2 - The Caravan and the Kami
When the dust finally settled, he heard voices. At first, he suspected that he was imagining things. To his surprise, however, several people popped out of the wreck. His eyebrows shot up, mimicking the upward stretch of the creature''s rigid legs. His eyes swept across the ground, noticing a green, star-shaped fruit, followed by another, blue and shaped like a cube. Scattered around were several more¡ªpurple, pink, spiky, round, and other ones with even more bizarre shapes and features. The strangers scattered, picking up the fruit strewn on the sand. A man wearing trash as armor rolled out. He made his way out of the tangled mess, screaming orders at the others in a foreign language, saying something along the lines of: "Look at this mess," and "I don''t want to be here; today was supposed to be my day off." Roa attempted to scream, hoping to get their attention, but all that escaped his throat was a weak groan that resembled a rubber chicken being sat on; it was quickly drowned out by the noise of the workers scrambling to fix the mess. He tried to push himself up, but his body betrayed him, leaving him stuck there on his knees, with his arms limp at his sides, and his mouth cracked open. He began to cry, but his eyes could not even spare a tear in that state. He bowed his head, defeated, letting his torso shake and bounce in futile frustration. One of the workers noticed the young man at last, and the strangers gathered around him, rushing over with wide eyes, as they spoke hurried words to one another. They offered him water and strange dates, large and round like grapefruits, and ten times as sweet as their Earthly counterparts. Roa¡¯s eyes shot open as overwhelming sweetness filled his mouth, like thunder landing on his tastebuds. They laid him down with gentle care as he ate and drank to his heart''s content, while the massive bug was unraveled with great patience. Once he had regained enough strength, the boy sat up with a jolt; a wide, terrified look on his face. "G¡ªg¡ªgiant," he screamed, pointing straight up, behind the crew. A massive head popped over the canyon; a monstruous being with the face of a Human, but skin that reminded him of stone and dust. Everyone scrambled, jumping back onto the millionpede in panic. Someone grabbed Roa¡¯s arm, pulling him up onto the creature and shoving him inside one of the tents attached atop its furry back. The bug''s legs activated, like an army on the march, kicking up a dust storm in its wake. Its long body straightened out, whizzing out of the canyon at an impressive speed, into the wide-open desert. The young man, bouncing around inside the tent at first, was heard snoring soon after. He woke up refreshed. He had slept for hours on what turned out to be a much smoother ride than expected. He felt himself coming back to life as energy returned to his body. He glanced at his arms; the tattoos had disappeared. The tent was filled with colorful pillows and soft, comfortable sheets. A tarp shielded him from the rays, as air flowed through the tent, cooling him from the desert heat. The sun was now on the opposite end of the sky, to his surprise, however, it was now followed by a second one, popping out on the other end of the heavens. "No wonder it''s so hot here," he said, gazing at the wilderness whizzing past him, as the bug¡¯s legs marched on like a powerful locomotive never losing speed. The desert was immense. The dunes went on forever and were only occasionally dotted by clusters of rocks, sticking out here and there, like red islands in the orange sea of dunes. The chill of night creeped in after what seemed like a never-ending day, one far longer than any on Earth. The millionpede slowed and rolled up onto itself, forming a large, tight spiral, to rest for the night. The workers had gone to sleep and not a single sound could be heard. When the young traveler felt the need to relieve himself, he lifted the covers and slipped out of the tent. He slid down the creature''s hairy side, landing onto the soft, warm sand. The pitch-black night was darker than anything he had ever seen in the city. When he raised his eyes, his mouth dropped at the sight of an endless sky covered in colorful stars; not white, but resembling a rainbow of dots above. He had never seen so many in his life. He stared up for a while, as if hypnotized by their twinkle, and the faint glow of the twin moons. When his eyes shifted back down, he leapt back, paralyzed in fear, bumping his shoulders against the millionpede. In front of him stood a strange being, emerging from the darkness with slow, deliberate steps. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. It was twice as tall as he, and its hooves pressed on the sand but left no tracks. It looked like an eland antelope, with its large horns twisting onto themselves backwards, its neck skin drooping, ruffling down, and its short, light-brown fur covering its large body. It was painted with many colorful handprints, glowing magically in the darkness, like lanterns in a festival at night. The two stared at each other in the peaceful silence of the cool night, until the being broke the stillness with an ancient, wise voice, speaking in a language the young man could understand. "Long ago, when my ancestors roamed this place, there were rivers, lakes, savannahs and forests. There were bushes, trees, grasses and herbs. There were animals that flew, animals that ran, and animals that swam. Back when my ancestors roamed this place, there was everything," it paused, as the breeze caressed the boy¡¯s hair. "Now¡ªthere is nothing." Roa stood frozen. He had no idea what he was seeing. Then, it continued to speak. "Beware, oh, Humankind, you have forgotten your place within the Sacred Whole. You have abandoned your connection to the Great Mother of Humanity¡ªNature." Roa''s eyes opened wide. He somehow did not feel threatened, a sense of reverence filling him as he quietly listened to the animal¡¯s words. "You destroyed the Sacred Balance for the sake of your own creations. Your¡ªimagination. You destroyed the real, for the sake of fantasy. Now behold the desert before you. Death only greets you now, where life once stood." The Sunflower mustered the courage and replied. "What happened to this place? What did they do to it?" The being shook its head, its horns swinging left and right as it let out a sharp exhale. "The few with power actively destroyed it. They wanted too much. The many without it, let it happen. They did not care enough. They killed everything, together, and manifested it. Death. They called the Desert forth, and so the Desert came." One of the workers heard the boy talk and popped his head out of a tent. He said something to him, gesturing with his arm, as if asking what he was doing out there. "Are you seeing this? What is it?" Roa asked him, pointing over and over towards the creature that towered in front of him. The man, however, did not understand. He looked out into the darkness without noticing anything at all, shrugged and went back inside, yawning. Roa turned around and the large, colorful beast warned him again. "Beware of those who destroy that which is truly Sacred, all that brings forth life and sustains Humanity. Beware, for they will eventually come to destroy you too." It took a few steps forward, and as it was about to touch the young man''s chest with its snout, it disappeared into thin air, leaving him with one last admonition. "Together, you have failed. Together¡ªyou shall fall." "No, wait! Please, there''s still a way!" bargained Roa, but no answer was given. The Sunflower crawled back up into his tent. As he laid down, he thought deeply about what he saw and the words that it revealed to him. He felt a desire to be thankful, remembering Eralay''s words. "Thank you for the water I drank, the food I was given, the shelter I am in. Thank you for my life, and the opportunity to try to find what I am looking for, again¡ªtomorrow." He had only listed a few things, but they felt like a lot at that moment. He stared at the quiet darkness that surrounded him and understood what the first tattoo meant. "Key, smiling face, equals, thanks: The key to happiness is gratitude" he said, smiling and closing his eyes, as the twinkle of the stars above shone through a tiny hole in the tent. X1.2.3 - The Old Lady’s Tea House X1.2.3 - The Old Lady¡¯s Tea House
After about two weeks had passed traversing the expanse, the young man¡¯s worries grew to immense proportions. There was no sign of anyone waiting for him, no clues, no further instructions. He had no idea where he had been, nor where he was going. He was completely lost and alone, several worlds away from home, and each step forward that the bug took made him feel even more lost, and even more alone. "Trust in the process of life," he repeated the mantra to attempt to quell his gnawing anxiety. One morning after the first sunrise, the crew cheered as a small outpost revealed itself on the horizon. At last, the caravan entered worn, stone walls, revealing a small town of tents, mud homes, and withered crops. The bug stopped at the town''s reservoir with a loud thud, as it shoved its head straight into the water to drink. The conductor jumped down. His armor made of trash clanked like a bunch of pots and pans as his feet hit the floor, mostly because that''s exactly what he was wearing. The crew scattered. Some carried fruit down the beast, while others ran into the nearest buildings, disappearing. The young man tried to board the caravan the next day, but the conductor gestured him to stop. Roa¡¯s heart sank. Pointing to his mouth and stomach, shaking his head, the man must have said something along the lines of: "Times are tough, and this isn¡¯t a soup kitchen. I don¡¯t have money to keep feeding an extra mouth¡ªso all the best, and good luck." Once the millionpede had drunk its fill, the caravan left the village, along with the traveler''s only transportation. Feeling abandoned and fearing what was to become of him, Roa gathered his courage. He began looking for solutions after a long bout of anxiety-filled moments. "I made it all the way here, damn it, I even punched a dragon in the face. There is always a solution," he said, shaking his fist. He helped around town for free, and as a reward for his good gestures, he was often fed and even given a humble spot in a stable to sleep in. After a few days snoring next to what looked like a pink camel with three humps, he managed to secure a humble job with a kind, elderly woman. Due to her advanced age, she struggled to get her work done, so the boy¡¯s strong arms were exactly what she needed. "I will work here until I can save some coins. Then, I will pay for the next caravan," he said, as he reassured himself on his little bed, repeating the mantra. "Trust in the process of life." Deep down, his mind was bubbling with worry. He did not have a plan, nor knew where he would end up if he did indeed manage to take the next convoy out. However, the mantra helped somehow, giving him enough hope to keep him going. To his great frustration, he could not understand the locals, never getting a straight answer concerning when the next one would even pass. Maybe they didn¡¯t know. Maybe, there was no next caravan. The thought kept him awake often, until his insecurities were drowned by his persistent repetition of the mantra. It was as if he were trying to carve the words into his panicking mind, just like they were etched into the bark of the tree where he had originally read them¡ªanything to keep the anxiety at bay, creeping in like a thief in the night. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. He spent his days working outdoors under the twin suns in the dried-up vegetable garden that his elderly host owned; he worked with the dead and barren soil as best he could, but understood why little grew there. He also helped indoors, giving her a hand with her tea shop, stocking and serving the few customers that walked in. She made tea and dates for him every few hours, allowing him to rest. She taught him some words in the local language, as the small, metal spoon swirled in their teacups, clanking gently. Most of all, she reinforced the importance of perseverance in his heart, albeit her frailty, poverty and hardships. She kept repeating something in her language each time she saw him sad or slouching, but it was only towards the end of his stay that the boy from Earth realized what those words meant. "Never give up." Eventually a caravan did pass, to his immense relief, after a long and anxious month. His shoulders relaxed as he let out a long, slow sigh of relief as another large insect marched into the outpost, straight into the reservoir, stopping to the sound of a loud thud. The Sunflower now had learned various sentences to communicate with the locals. He bid goodbye to the kind lady and thanked her for her help. She thanked him for his. She then presented him with a humble gift before leaving. Her eyes were kind and almost made the boy cry. She had been the first person to care for him since he had left home, and perhaps, he had been the only one who had taken care of her too, in a very long time. The boy unwrapped the paper, revealing the little teaspoon they shared during their breaks. It was so small and humble of a gift, but to the boy it meant a lot; he valued it as if it were made of solid gold and precious stones. She plopped something heavy, wrapped in a cloth into his hands¡ªgiant dates for the road. She smiled as they hugged, her frail arms barely wrapping around the boy. He said ¡®thank you¡¯ in her native language, and his heart filled with the same pain one feels when saying goodbye to a grandparent for the last time. Roa bounced around inside the tent, holding on for dear life. The second giant bug was shorter, chubbier, and had stubby legs that caused it to move closer to the ground, hitting every dune and rock on the way. He gazed out of his tent, looking for another outpost or city, but nothing but endless, identical dunes filled the immense horizon. The traveler from Earth now wore the clothes of the locals, and his skin had darkened after weeks under the potent, twin suns, Affah, and Ullriah. However, he felt left out and awkward around his new company. This crew was a lot less welcoming, scanning the traveler up and down, as if something were wrong with the way he looked, or acted. One day, the caravan rolled to a stop when the skies grew dark. The boy glanced out of his tent with a confused look on his face. It was the middle of the day. The creature rolled up onto itself, burying its legs in the sand, and the crew went quiet. At first the boy noticed pages falling from above, but soon after, the whole sky disappeared once they found themselves buried under immense piles of paper. He heard someone repeat what sounded like a chant, picking up the meaning of only two of his words. "Page¡ªstorm,¡± Roa murmured in the darkness. Everything went quiet as millions of loose sheets piled up like a mountain on top of them, pressing on their tents and bodies with considerable weight. They emerged to the sight of a cleric reciting, trembling passion in his voice as his hands rose up to the sky. The man wore a tall, conical hat and a long, black robe. His head shook as his lips moved fast, revealing his yellow teeth. The man picked up several pages with great care, pressing them against his chest as he looked up. He closed his eyes, his expression intensifying, as if on the verge of tears. When the young man remembered the page, the one he had found many weeks prior, he pulled out the crumpled piece of paper and showed it to the others with a smile. Their eyes, however, shot open, as fiery looks gave way to shouts. Roa expected gratitude for returning one of the pages, instead, the sight only infuriated his hosts. The holy man¡¯s bony index finger trembled as it pointed at him. His nails were long, brittle and yellow, and his palms were as soft as a baby¡¯s bottom, free of blemishes or calluses. The crew closed in with a threatening stance, forcing the traveler off the caravan, shoving him and abandoning him to the desert. He watched in silence, as the caravan vanished behind the dunes. X1.2.4 - The Fields of Fire X1.2.4 - The Fields of Fire
His arms rose before dropping heavily to his sides as he felt the shock and defeat of being left there to die. The pages rolling on the ground like tumbleweed gave way to an immense field of red flowers, swaying gently in the hot, desert wind. Would this change of scenery, be his last? He walked for hours, lost in thought, when out of nowhere, someone attacked him from behind. ¡°Let me go!" Roa screamed, attempting to loosen the chokehold, his hands grabbing and scratching against the assailant¡¯s arms. "You thought you were going to get lucky again, huh? You won''t steal from me this time. Where''s my stuff?" The stranger tightened his grip, choking the traveler who struggled to breathe, as he tapped desperately on the man''s arm with his hand. "You have me confused for someone else, you fool," he managed to gasp out a few words. The grip loosened, the two froze as the assailant stared at him, inspecting his face from behind. Roa could smell the scent of dates on his breath. "Then why the hell are you here in the middle of nowhere, if you¡¯re not a bandit?" He explained what happened with the caravan as the attacker grew less hostile, eventually releasing him from the hold. "I swore you were one of the thieves that took my belongings. They even took my staff. I left my village after the Desert Fathers charged me with heresy,¡± he explained. ¡°Heresy? What did you do to be charged with that?¡± asked the boy, curious. ¡°Astronomy.¡± Roa¡¯s eyes widened and his eyebrows raised in disbelief, caught between surprise and the urge to laugh at such an unusual claim. ¡°I was teaching the children of a village about the stars when the mob grew wild, incited by their angry, stupid, ignorant words. I decided to get away, promptly. The rest is history. Well, that was this morning, to be precise. I had quite the day," the man sighed. "You can say that again. I also had quite a few days, for that matter." "My name is Rosso Broon Regola, but you can call me Rosso, if you''d like" said he, as they shook hands. His palms were rugged and covered in callouses, and his nails were covered in dirt. His eyes carried a warmth that was inviting yet intense, as if they held both compassion and an unyielding fire. He seemed knowledgeable and quite educated, a stark contrast to many of the locals he had met in the past weeks. He was the only other soul in that desolate expanse, so the boy decided to tag along for a while. ¡°Where are we?¡± "These are called the Fields of Fire, named after the red petals of the Fire Flowers here. We are in the Southern Quadrant of Western Waste, the largest of the deserts in Lalh-Ah Land." "What-a land?" The red-cloaked companion gave him a funny look. "Are you dehydrated or something? Lalh-Ah Land, the name of the world." Roa hesitated at first but then explained to him that he was from another plane of Existence altogether. However, while he expected incredulity from the stranger, his eyes, instead, lit up. "My father¡ªhe spoke of other worlds when he was still alive. Nobody believed him, but I sure did. He was a man of truth¡ªand my hero. He spent his whole life fighting for it. You must tell me more." The sun was low, casting an orange hue across the orange desert as Roa shared his long story. Rosso listened, jotting down every word in his little, red notebook, pausing to glance at the boy as he nodded. The wind had picked up, causing the sand to swirl around them, forcing them to shield their eyes with their hands. A giant stone arm stood before them, sticking out of the sands unwavering, holding a torch, now long dead. It looked like some forgotten monument, left behind in a place that seemed to swallow everything, including history. Roa¡¯s gaze kept drifting toward it as they walked past, its eerie presence sparking his curiosity, as if the very desert was trying to hide its secrets from him. "The ancients had built great wonders,¡± Rosso explained, noticing his curiosity. ¡°Things that our minds cannot replicate in these harsh, ignorant times. However, in their hubris, they put so much of their focus and energy into their fantasies¡ªtheir inventions, that they lost their connection to reality. Their actions led to the destruction of the world, turning what was once green and beautiful, into the desert." The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He pointed at the vastness in front of them, as the silhouette of a giant moved in slow-motion on the horizon, blocking the last setting sun. Rosso¡¯s eyebrows furrowed as he continued. "The holy ones say that it was Humanity''s lack of faith that led the world to the Catastrophe, that the solutions are found in the scriptures that fall from the sky. If we do what they say, supposedly, we will be rewarded by the One Above, one day. They say that the desert is our punishment for our fathers'' sins, but the few historians left know that the ancients had destroyed Nature, causing the desert to come." "That¡¯s terrible. Who are the holy ones?" asked the Sunflower. "They call themselves the Holy Desert Fathers. They belong to the only religion allowed anywhere in the desert. Most of the native beliefs, traditions, and cultures were destroyed years and centuries ago, along with their wisdom. Nothing but the ¡®One True Religion¡¯ remains, as they call it. I think it''s all a steaming pile of crap, if you ask me, so I refer to it by a more proper name.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The Cult of Ignorance. The holy men and their followers revere a deity they call the God of Letters, who they believe drops the scriptures from the skies¡ªlike the one that got you kicked off your ride, for example. They base their lives on whatever nonsense is written on them, forcing everyone else to live that way too." ¡°That sounds¡ª¡± he was going to say ¡®backwards,¡¯ but was interrupted. ¡°Insane. That sounds insane,¡± nodded the heretic. ¡°And intolerant,¡± the boy added, as he looked around. ¡°Where are we heading to?¡± ¡°We are heading towards the nearest village, following an old path that was created long ago by migrating Tharn, a type of walking bird that travels in large herds. They feed on Fire Flowers, which fill their stomachs with potent gases, turning their spicy farts into powerful hallucinogens.¡± ¡°Their what now?¡± Rosso looked at him, sighing as he repeated himself. ¡°Their zesty flatulence, their tangy toots. I just told you. The merchants bottle them up and sell them for lots of money. I wish I had a farm of Tharn, then I wouldn¡¯t be doing odd jobs to survive all the time and could instead focus on my research.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± Roa nodded while trying to hold back a laugh, as he imagined the angry bigots from the caravan sucking spicy farts out of long, colorful ampules. As they walked beneath the blazing suns, the hours seemed to slip away unnoticed. The large, round dates were surprisingly filling, their energy giving the travelers the strength to keep moving forward, despite the oppressive heat. The water from the animal skins they carried was soothing on their parched throats, providing brief moments of comfort as the days wore on. At night, as the desert¡¯s cold winds replaced the heat, they set up camp, their conversations flowing into the late hours of the quiet darkness. Roa felt a sense of connection with Rosso, as if their lives¡ªso vastly different¡ªhad finally converged in the most unlikely of places. They both had very curious minds, and their hearts a strong sense of integrity. Most of all, they were outcasts, never completely fitting in with their respective societies. They spoke of many things, the silence and emptiness of the desert somehow helping them reach deep within, as they discussed the nature of Existence, philosophy, religion, and life. For the first time in a long while, Roa felt less alone. The fire crackled, as Rosso adjusted the skewers, the scent of roasting meat mixing with the desert air. The flames danced, lighting up the sands around them, as the two sat relaxing in silence. Roa could feel the warmth on his face contrasting with the coolness of the night. He watched the flames sway, mesmerized by their movement, his thoughts wandering as they waited for their meal to cook. The roasted animal sizzled, sending a faint aroma of savory meat into the air, Roa¡¯s stomach growling in anticipation. "Not bad for desert food, huh?" Rosso said, his voice warm but tinged with humor. The boy chuckled, nodding in agreement. "What is it?" he asked, but then continued talking before his travel companion could answer, ¡°you know what? I don¡¯t want to know. You¡¯re probably going to tell me it¡¯s some delicacy¡ªthen add some disgusting details that are going to make me lose my appetite.¡± Roa smile faded as he found himself lost in thought when he asked: ¡°by the way, how do you know my language?¡± ¡°My father taught it to me and my mother. He said that he learned it on his travels. We used it to speak freely at home and with each other outside of it, unafraid that our conversations would upset any of our neighbors,¡± he returned his focus to the fire, his expression shifting to one of concentration as he stoked the flames. "You said that you arrived in Lalh-Ah Land through a portal. An Exit?¡± ¡°Yeah, big doors with an eye on top. You fall in, then you puke on the other side,¡± the Earthling explained, causing the other traveler to scribble in his notebook. ¡°Puke? How strange. I have never heard of such things, nor seen one before. I am heading towards an outpost where a group of free-thinking scientists live. They used to work with my father. They are your best bet at finding the portal. It¡¯s only a few months of travel from here. " "A few months?" Roa groaned. "Maybe less¡ªlook!" Rosso pointed at a large bird nearby as they ducked behind a dune. "A Rainbow Tharn! It must be lost. Let''s catch it and ride it!" he whispered excitedly. "Ride it? Are you insane? It¡¯s huge." "It''s the fastest animal in the desert. We''ll greatly reduce the length of our journey." Roa looked at him with a skeptical stare. ¡°Alright¡ªas long as you don¡¯t make me inhale its farts. How do we do it?¡± The two devised a plan as Roa gazed at the beautiful animal, his eyes scanning its exotic features. The bird towered just on the other side of the dune. It was twice as tall as an Earth¡¯s ostrich, its long legs casting shadows in the firelight as it shifted with calm on the sand. Its rainbow-colored feathers gleamed faintly in the glow, long, sharp and spiked like gemstones, catching the pale light from the two moons overhead. As the bird ruffled its plumes, a soft shimmer of metallic blues and purples danced along its neck. They lured it with the sweet scent of the dates, and as it neared, the travelers pounced, rushing to surround it, tying a rope around its neck. The bird struggled, thrashing for several minutes, until it calmed down, at last laying down on the sand. "Stupid bird," Rosso complained. The Sunflower uncorked his animal skin and allowed it to drink. "We should thank this creature for its help," he said, as his companion raised an eyebrow in judgement. The weary travelers passed out soon after, unaware of the trouble that was waiting for them. X1.2.5 - Women on Trial X1.2.5 - Women on Trial
The next day, after several failed attempts at mounting it sent them tumbling into the scorching-hot sands, they shouted in victory. They took off at an astonishing speed, the bird''s feet kicking up a massive wave of sand behind them. Reaching a cluster of houses as the last sun set, they tied the bird up and entered an inn for a sip of tea. "So, what''s up with this God of Letters?" asked the boy from Earth. Rosso shushed him, his eyes darting around the room. "Be careful what you say, my friend. You¡¯re lucky they don¡¯t speak our language. People get imprisoned and killed for little nowadays. My father was burned at the stake for teaching science, let alone for doing anything but revering the One Above. Most of the pages that fall from the sky are gibberish, but that doesn''t stop the Desert Fathers from picking what suits them, for their own agenda. The people are poor and have many fears, their lives are hard, so they don''t have time to think for themselves. Education is nonexistent for most. The stories reassure them, so they follow along. The priests do most of the thinking for them, and they like to keep it that way. I¡¯ve seen the book club do all sorts of evil things in the name of the Author in the Sky. Intolerance, mutilation, cruelty. Wars and destruction. Suffering. Death. The priests say that it¡¯s all the will of the One Above, part of some grand plan, but I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯re just a bunch of liars, misleading the vulnerable.¡± "They follow the fantasies of man, instead of respecting and revering that which is truly sacred,¡± Roa said, as he was lost in thought. ¡°There is nothing sacred in this world. All religion is bad,¡± Rosso said, shaking his head. ¡°No, there is something sacred.¡± ¡°Yeah, and what¡¯s that?¡± ¡°The one thing that gave birth to Humanity and sustains it. The one thing we can¡¯t live without, the one that feeds us, clothes us, gives us the materials to build, the knowledge to heal, and everything else that we need to do all the things we do, including coming up with our inventions¡ªand our fantasies.¡± ¡°What?¡± Rosso asked, impatiently. ¡°Nature.¡± "What are you always saying to yourself? You do this every morning," Rosso stared with an eyebrow raised, and a skeptical look in his eyes. The young man from Earth gave him a warm smile, as he murmured something again and again. "I am giving thanks.¡± His friend scoffed. "The followers of the cult also do that. What god do you thank?" The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. He shook his head, continuing to smile at him. "I¡¯ve read of many cultures and religions, but the ancient myths never convinced me; too outdated for me, written by men from another time, for people from another time, long gone by now. I learn directly from the greatest teacher, instead.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s your teacher? Someone from your world?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not a person. I learn from life itself.¡± ¡°So, you spend your mornings thanking¡ªlife?¡± Rosso looked at him with a confused glance. ¡°Exactly. I just thank life¡ªExistence¡ªthe Universe, reality, whatever you want to call it. It helps me remember what I do have, instead of focusing on what I don''t." The heretic shook his head, as they lifted the last of the supplies onto the bird, ready to leave the village. ¡°Gratitude is key to happiness," said Roa, climbing onto the animal. Upon stopping at a lush oasis for water, the travelers heard women screaming from inside the pristine garden that behind the stone walls. The place was beautiful and was filled with tall trees that priests were picking cherries from with meticulous precision. The screams grew louder, and the travelers rushed inside to investigate. Inside a tall, stone building that smelled of incense, they saw three young women sitting on their knees, as old men in black robes and funny hats screamed at them. ¡°Those are the Desert Fathers I told you about,¡± whispered Rosso leaning over, as the boy recognized the clothes of the chanting man from the last caravan. One of the clerics slapped one of the young women in the face, the sound echoing in the hall. A mob of people stood by, jeering and pointing their fingers. The women kept their heads down, trying to shield their faces from the strikes. "What is going on?" asked Roa, his eyebrows furrowing and a concerned look on his face. Rosso knew the languages of the desert and began translating, occasionally pausing, as he thought of the right words. "They are saying that these women are being brought to trial, as they were captured as slaves in the holy war against people who believed in¡ªidols¡ªdifferent gods from the One Above. They refused to marry the men of this village, and because they did not submit quietly, as women should¡ªthey were raped. Because they did not submit, now they will be¡ªburned, at the stake." The Sunflower looked at him, his eyebrows raised as high as they could. He paused for a good ten seconds, as his eyes blinked over and over. "You''re joking with me, right?" he said, dead serious. His companion, however, closed his eyes, let out a long sigh, shook his head and continued. "They say that¡ªas the Perfect Holy Word of the One Above states, men must rule over women, and that they are our property, especially when taken as slaves, as the Author in the Sky commands. They say that¡ªwe are allowed to murder and kidnap to obtain wives, and because the life of a woman is worth less than a man''s, these women shall be put to death by the sacred fires¡ª" The boy from Earth had heard enough. Rosso couldn''t finish the translation when Roa walked up through the angry mob. He stood in front of the Desert Father, defiant, his chest heaving. The man¡¯s frail, bony fingers were wrapped around one of the girls'' wrists, hoisting her arm upward as she winced in pain. The holy man interrupted his speech as soon as he noticed the boy standing in front of him, his cold, beady eyes narrowing. His gaze was like a predator¡¯s sizing up its prey, scrutinizing every inch of the boy¡¯s body and face. The room went quiet for a second, then everyone gasped. The Sunflower punched the man. He struck him with such raw force that the blow rivaled the one he had unleashed upon the dragon. The wall crumbled from the impact, burying the cleric in a pile of rubble, as the sunlight shone in. "Holy shit," said his red-caped friend, his eyes and mouth widening in shock. The Sunflower''s breath came in ragged, shallow gasps, his clenched fist trembling, as if it were trying to hold back a tsunami of fury. Golden tattoos covered his arms once again, their glow intensifying. He lifted his left fist up, casting a glance down at the word ¡®TRUTH¡¯ emblazoned in bold letters across his bicep. He then raised his other fist, the word ¡®JUSTICE¡¯ reflecting in his fiery eyes. X1.2.6 - For Justice and Truth X1.2.6 - For Justice and Truth
The other clerics, unable to say anything, pointed their fingers as they screamed a most frail of shrills. Before the crowd could react, however, Roa¡¯s body pivoted, delivering yet another powerful punch, sending a second bigot flying out of a window. The locals gasped again, unable to believe their own eyes. The Desert Father¡¯s head ended up buried in the sand of a dune, his legs dangled and twitched, robes flipped over, revealing a pair of pure white underwear stained with a long, dried, brown mark. The crowd swarmed and overwhelmed the boy. Rosso jumped into the fray, swinging fists in every direction, giving it to anyone and everyone equally, without asking any questions. The furious flock pummeled the Sunflower and his companion, thoroughly, for almost an hour, bringing them to an inch of their lives. Their bodies laid lifeless inside a tight hole in the ground that was covered by metal bars. The heretic¡¯s face was swollen like a balloon. He turned over as he groaned, tugging at Roa''s shirt, as he struggled to flip his friend over to check if he was still breathing. "You crazy fool," he said, letting a laugh out that turned into a cough. Blood spilling out of his mouth, he passed out, not receiving an answer from his bludgeoned buddy. Hours passed, then days. They were given little water or food. The angry locals urinated inside their cell from above, spitting at them and kicking sand down on their heads. "We are going to die here, aren''t we?" Roa asked, sitting against the wall of their uncomfortable enclosure, trying to stay clear of the filth falling from above. His friend nodded, as a grin appeared on his cut, swollen lips. "I think that¡ªperhaps, if we had come up with a plan to break those women out at night, or something, it might have been more effective, but¡ª " he looked up, his smile revealing a crooked tooth "I bet punching those two baboons felt really good, didn''t it? I always wanted to do that myself." The two laughed, holding on to their sides in pain, as Rosso pulled out an incisor from his mouth, causing them to chuckle even harder as he threw it towards the boy. One morning, they were dragged outside of the oasis to a stone altar. Five wooden pillars jutted from the sand, their weathered surfaces scarred by the elements, standing silent in the vast, empty desert. The harsh wind whipped across the expanse as the crowd gathered, their faces hidden behind tattered clothes. The head Desert Father stood tall before them, his robes flowing, his gravelly and commanding voice echoed through the hot air, reaching every corner of the assembly. The two captives, along with the captured women, were tied to the posts. Roa¡¯s gaze drifted across the crowd, feeling the weight of the moment, the tension rising with every breath. Rosso stood beside him, translating the holy man¡¯s words at a fast pace and in a mocking tone. "The one with the dirty underwear says¡ªthat as intermediaries between the Human and Divine, we, the Fathers of the Holy Desert, speak for the Author in the Sky, the powerful and just God of Letters," the crowd listened to the sermon, quiet as their heads bowed. "The Perfect, Holy Word of the One Above states in chapter one¡ª" the robed man cleared his throat, and Rosso paused. "It is all women''s fault.¡± Roa glanced over at his friend, his eyes sharp with scrutiny, as he scoffed. The heretic continued his translation. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°The bigot who can¡¯t wipe goes on to say that¡ªthe world is terrible because women are not to be trusted, as the first chapter of the Holy Word teaches us that Eebh plunged Humanity into darkness with her disobedience towards the One Above. In the same way, these three, insolent women have disobeyed our laws, thereby disobeying the God of Letters." The old man smirked as his eyes narrowed. The crowd continued to nod, their hands together, their eyes closed. "He¡¯s talking about us now¡ªthese two outsiders have done the unthinkable, and attacked two holy men, sealing their fates, as well. An attack on us, is an attack on the Author in the Sky!" The crowd roared, rotten fruit and vegetables flying, as a half-eaten date splattered on Rosso¡¯s head. Shaking it off, he went on. "For this, now upon the Altar of Fire they shall burn for their profanities. We, the Fathers of the Desert, shall attempt in our perfect morality¡ªand out of endless mercy, to put out the flames by throwing rocks at the guilty, until either they, or the flames, die out." Rosso scoffed as he finished his translation. He turned to his friend and rolled his eyes. "What they really mean¡ªis that to make sure we''re going to be dead, super dead, not only will they burn us alive, but they are also going to stone us, while putting their rotten hearts at peace. Oh, the hell with this¡ª" The red heretic raised his voice and spoke directly to the crowd. "I¡¯m Rosso, son of Red, the great scientist. I¡¯ve argued that death anxiety and anthropocentrism drive religion¡ªHumans want to escape mortality and wish to see ourselves as important. My father¡¯s philosophy challenged this, suggesting that if Existence is immense or infinite, Humanity loses its privileged place. His gift was undermining our narcissism and the religious worldview that defends it. Religion¡¯s sin is pride, creating a ¡®god mirror¡¯ to make us feel like favorites. My father urged humility, and for this, he was silenced. It seems that now¡ªI too will join him in the fires of truth." The crowd exchanged confused glances before erupting into shouts, resuming their barrage of rotten food toward them. "Great speech, my friend. It was insightful, well-spoken, and based on some profound observations. Although, I think it was wasted on the wrong audience. Plus¡ªthey don¡¯t speak our language.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. I just wanted you to hear it before I die.¡± ¡°Well, it was nice knowing you. Sorry for getting you killed," said Roa, resting his head against the pole. He turned around again. "Wait, your grandfather too?¡± Rosso sighed. "Yeah¡ªI guess it''s a family tradition at this point." The pyre was lit as the clerics chanted their prayers. Roa''s feet began to burn, great pain shooting up as panic set in. Rosso screamed as he closed his eyes, lifting his head up, accepting his fate. ¡°For truth!¡± he screamed. The Sunflower¡¯s eyes darted around, scanning everything around him. "There is always a solution," he thought, his mind racing as fast as it could. The answer presented itself at last, and not a moment too late, when a page storm began to fall from the sky. The priests scrambled. The gales were strong, and the fire had grown wild. In a moment of luck and a stroke of ingenious thinking, Roa managed to grab hold of one of the pages the wind had pushed into his hand. "Look! The words of your god will burn, unless you let us go. Let us go!" He shook the page, his hand tied to the post, catching the clerics¡¯ eyes which opened wide at the sight. One of the robed men tried to snatch the scriptures out of his hand, but the boy crumpled it up into a ball, sealing it inside his tight fist. When the robes began to catch on fire, the cleric ran away screaming, rolling onto the sand, as he attempted to put it out. The sight caused the rest of the people to panic. Fearing divine retribution, the people cut the ropes of all five prisoners, allowing them to escape at the last moment. Rosso suffered burns on his left leg, but the captives made it out of there in one piece. As the people attempted to save the scriptures from the very fire they had started, the two travelers grabbed their things and mounted the large bird with the rest of the captives. Before leaving, however, Roa stopped, turned around and yelled to get the priests'' attention. He pulled out the page that had gotten them out of that situation and tore it to shreds, throwing the pieces up with a flick of his wrist. As they fluttered into the air, they erupted like confetti at the end of a parade, spinning and tumbling in the wind as they scattered in every direction. "For justice and truth,¡± he thundered, as the bird turned, and the prisoners escaped to freedom. X1.2.7 - The Hideout X1.2.7 - The Hideout
"That was brilliant, we were amazing! That''ll teach those smug, ignorant bigots," Rosso said, shaking his fist in the air as Roa laughed, patting him on the back. "Yeah, we make a good team." They dropped off the three women into the arms of their people. As a reward for their heroic endeavors, they were given plenty of supplies by the grateful villagers. The two travelers did not linger, however, continuing towards their destination. They journeyed for around a month on their bird. During that time, they were attacked by bandits, chased by a giant, and worst of all, had to endure the Bubbling Sand Pools where the horrible, blood sucking sand lice covered their skins with their horrible, itchy bites. When evening came one day, they noticed lights in the distance. They were coming from a short, thick tower that had a large telescope sticking out of its conical roof, like a giant''s crooked finger reaching towards the stars. Upon knocking on the door, a group of people with white robes came out, their eyes scanning them with suspicion, questioning them until they were satisfied with their responses. A short, middle-aged woman with curly, gray hair and half-moon-shaped reading glasses perched atop her head, beckoned them inside with a warm, welcoming smile. "I apologize for the paranoid welcome, but we can never be too careful,¡± she said. ¡°We just needed to be sure that you are not enemies passing by as friendly travelers. My name is Professor Zula. I am the head of this small, but resistant stronghold of truth,¡± she stared at the heretic, her eyebrows furrowing as if she were studying every feature on his face. ¡°Boy, you are a splitting image of a man who worked with us long ago. He was a good friend of ours. Anyway, how can I help you boys?" Rosso looked down and gathered his courage. "You must be thinking of Doctor Red. He was my father. I am here to find out about his last days.¡± Her eyebrows raised. "Little Rosso¡ªhis little boy? I remember when you were still sucking on your thumb. Look at you, you¡¯ve become a man," her smiled disappearing as she noticed the heretic¡¯s serious face. "Your father was a good man, but he was also stubborn. We told him not to go that day. He hoped to convince the more open minds in a village with an important discovery he had made, one that would help make their lives easier. We knew it was a losing battle¡ªit was too dangerous. ¡®There is no point in discovering the truth if we never share it with anyone¡¯ he responded. Doctor Katu, our other dear friend and coworker, went after him that morning. Unfortunately¡ªwe only saw him return that night. He was in a panic and said that he was being followed. He did not say much, but when we asked him about your father, he shook his head and left the hideout, never to return." Rosso listened, his hands clasped together, nervously shifting as his leg bounced up and down. "Where did the doctor go?" She paused, as her eyes scanned both travelers. "He said that he was heading¡ª¡± she hesitated, staring deep into their eyes, as if unsure of something ¡°he said he was heading to the Palace." Roa suddenly stood up from his chair, causing it to fall backwards with a loud thud. "The labyrinth?" he said in an excited tone. "What palace? There are no palaces anywhere in the Southern Quadrant," said Rosso, confused. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The professor stared at the boy, shocked. "Yes, the Palace. The world that connects all worlds. You must have come from very far, if you know of such things." The young man explained his story in depth, and Zula continued. "Well, I have never heard of a Jumper called Nirvana, nor of a world called Earth, although that''s a funny name to call a place. I''ll be honest with you, my dear boy, as I don''t want to give you any false hopes. Most Jumpers who get lost in the endless worlds of the Innerverse¡ªnever find their way back home. It''s just too big¡ªtoo complicated to find your way back." Roa''s heart sank as his chest filled with fear. He was never going to see her or his home again, stuck wandering alone for the rest of his days. He gulped, gathering the courage to ask for more information. "Who are the Jumpers?" asked the Sunflower. "You are one of them, my dear. In a nutshell, anyone who can see the Exits. We are Free Folk, as was your father, Rosso. It''s not a black and white thing, as there are always more things one can free themselves from, but there comes a point when a person realizes¡ªthat there is so much more outside the box of identity that they were placed in." The professor prepared some tea for them as night fell outside. "We call the collection of all Free People, Free Society. It used to be much more advanced and connected, but only clusters of us remain. Anyway, most Free Folk can do three things that ''normal'' people cannot. They can use their aura, they can jump through Exits, and they can interact with Kami. These three things are dependent on three aspects of their personal growth. Are they in tune with their inner selves? Then, they can use their aura. Can they see beyond the limitations of their identity and environment? Then they can jump through Exits. Finally, are they in tune with Nature? If so, they can see Kami. I''m sure you already know about Exits, or you wouldn''t be here talking to us. The best way to describe Kami is¡ªnatural spirits. They are aspects of Nature, like the spirit of a river, or a mountain, or even of a single tree. They can be helpful¡ªor dangerous." Roa described the night he met the antelope with the glowing handprints, and the professor agreed that it was most likely a Kami, although it was the rarest of sights, considering there were not many left in their world anymore. "What about aura? What is it?" "I will let Looria tell you more about it, when she returns from her field work in a few days. She is much more adept than I am at the subject." "The pink-haired one that sent me on this dangerous journey said something about Default World too. Who are the Shadows?¡± The professor''s face grew serious, as she sipped on her warm tea. "Default World? It''s not an actual world, per se, like Earth, or Lalh-Ah Land, or the Palace, for example. It''s more of a system that spreads through them, eating their resources, enslaving their people in the process. The Shadows are its managers, the ones who protect it, maintain it, and spread it. I bet they came to this world too, years, maybe centuries ago. I¡¯ve read about them in some of the history books but never met one here. They seem to have left behind remnants of their system." "Why are they doing all this? What do they want?" "I don''t know, but I imagine that they must gain some benefit from such a spectacle," she sighed. "The Shadows work in secret, always behind the scenes. They pull the strings in many worlds; follow them long enough, and you''ll get to them, eventually. The Desert Fathers? Just one small apparatus of a vast inter-world system of control. I don¡¯t know who leads Default World, but I have a feeling I know who runs this world¡¯s cult, and it¡¯s not the Author in the Sky¡ªbut a Shadow. The faceless ones are all incredibly strong, with superhuman abilities and brutal precision; they can jump through Exits and use their auras like we can, except manifesting much more powerful, and deadly abilities. If you see one, run¡ªbut if you cannot, fight with everything you have. They''ll either kill you, or erase your mind, if you¡¯re lucky." They retired for the night, as the professor informed them that an Exit could be found nearby. "I want to see this portal that leads to this¡ªPalace. My dad''s friend is there. I must find him. Where will you go?" asked the red-cloaked man as he laid on his bed. Roa thought about it. "I will go to the Palace as well. No sense in wandering the desert forever. There¡¯s nothing here for me. If that''s the world that leads to all other worlds, then my way back home is through it." Rosso sat up. "Then it¡¯s settled. Our destinies pass through the Palace." The Sunflower paused, contemplating something for a moment. "Plus¡ªI heard that there is a powerful being there¡ªsupposedly I once knew the way to it. The Dreamer, they call it. It can grant any wish. Maybe¡ªwe can just wish for what we want,¡± the Earthling said. Rosso laughed. "Sounds like a load of Tharn crap to me." X1.2.8 - The Compass X1.2.8 - The Compass
Several days later, Looria, the other researcher, returned from her field trip. Professor Z gave the travelers some supplies and some large, loose papers. "These are from the Birthpalace Blueprints, originally written for the Encyclopedia Infinita by the Great Library of Everything. These fetch for a lot among Jumpers, but you can have this one. I already made a copy for us. It will lead you to Simmering Waters, another community of Free People. They will have more information for you, more than we ever will in this desolate place." They thanked their hosts and the three mounted the large bird, heading towards the Exit. "So, you''re going to the Palace, huh?¡± their guide screamed over the roar of the wind, as the Rainbow Tharn ran at the speed of a cheetah, evading dunes and rocks with nimble agility through the expanse. ¡°You''ll have to go through one very tiny, but very dangerous world first. Whatever you do, never, ever, under any circumstances¡ªtake these off while you''re there." Looria lifted her fist, turned around and gave them some ear plugs. "When you get to the Palace, remember that it moves and changes all the time. One day, a wall might be in front of you, the next, it¡¯s gone, revealing a new path to new rooms and doors. That¡¯s why they call it the endless labyrinth," she yelled, as the travelers leaned in, trying to catch every word. "Don''t get separated when you''re there!" "Why?" they said in unison. "Because it¡¯s the endless labyrinth, that¡¯s why. You''ll probably never find each other again¡ªand another word of advice¡ªdon''t trust everyone you meet, including Jumpers. Just because they are Free like us, doesn''t mean they''re good." The travelers camped for the night. As they sat around a fire, eating some succulent roasted vegetables, Rosso asked their guide about aura. "Aura is the life force within you. It is the soul in all things, so to speak. Everything has this life force, even mountains, winds and oceans. We tap into this energy through meditation. The more we meditate, the more it grows, and the more we can do with it. We repair it through eating well, sleeping well, taking care of ourselves, and so on. To use your aura, you must channel it in different ways to do different things. The best way to do so is to learn a Gift¡ª¡± ¡°You mean like shapeshifting? Nirvana did that when I met her,¡± Roa interrupted her. ¡°Probably, although I am not familiar with that Gift. Anyway, you must first understand how to call it forth from within you. To hone and master any Gift, you must train by doing it, again and again, getting better at it each time, just like anything else in life. You must also visualize it, over and over, until you see it clearly in your mind''s eye, so that you may manifest it outwards, into reality. So¡ª" she sat on the ground, crossing her legs "Professor Z asked me to help you, so here''s your first Gift¡ªlet''s sit here and try to quiet our minds, and tap into our auras. I will teach you the only one I know¡ªthe Compass." Hours passed, but Roa''s mind could not concentrate. He struggled with insecurities, curiosity, boredom and just about everything else that could pass through his busy head. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "The Compass is the easiest and most common Gift, and perhaps, the most useful. It takes what you want most in your heart and points you in the direction of the source of your deepest desire. It works, even if your goal is in another world." The boy''s eyes lit up, hope rushing back, filling him with renewed energy and resolve. Days passed but nothing happened. They tried for hours, meditating every time they set up camp, as night fell repeatedly in the quiet desert. The words of their patient guide echoed in Roa¡¯s mind. "Find your inner quiet, focus on what you truly want until you can see it, feel it¡ªthen, focus all that energy into your hand, and stick your thumb up, letting that energy flow out of it, at once." He tried repeatedly, as did Rosso, only to open his eyes to nothing, feeling ridiculous as he stared at his thumb sticking up like a lonely, extinguished candle in the dark. After a week of fruitless attempts, just before falling asleep one night, something flickered¡ªa small, colorful flame. His eyes widened in surprise, his mouth falling open, as the strange fire danced and shifted, growing and shrinking, changing colors with every movement of his hand. "I want to go home to Eralay," he said, staring at the magical flame. The short-haired girl congratulated him, opening her eyes as she was laying down, about to snooze for the night. "Now, remember that it only points to the one thing you want most. Home¡ªand your girl, may just happen to be in two separate places, so make sure you know what you want¡ªwhat you really want in this life¡ªor you might not end up where you think you are going." He sat in silence for several minutes, lost in thought, before finally nodding, his eyes steady with resolve. "My old life¡ªit was not so good. We left for a reason. That was never home. I¡ªdon¡¯t even think that was Earth, to be honest. So¡ªI want to find Eralay. She¡¯s my home." "Good. You got it," she smiled. Rosso on the other hand could not master the Gift, no matter how much he tried. "Don''t get disheartened. It seems like your friend has had some practice before. You will get it eventually, everyone does. However, you must let go of any resistance inside, first." His shoulders slumped, and his gaze fell to the ground, as if the weight of the world had settled on him. His eyes, once bright with determination, now seemed dull, and his lips pressed together in a tight, weary line. "I wish I knew what happened to my father¡ªif he left anything behind for me that day." "Well, there is a way, perhaps. Once you master the Compass, look for Doctor Katu with it. I have no idea where he went, but he was headed to the Palace last time he was seen around these parts. I am sure that if you want it enough, you will find him, and your answers¡ªif he is still alive, of course," she said, turning around as she fell asleep. The large, eerie eye fixed on the desert, unblinking, as if mesmerized by the vast emptiness. Before them, the Exit loomed, a towering door in the middle of nowhere. Rosso stood rooted, his gaze flicking from the ground to the portal, then back again, his mind struggling to reconcile the reality before him. "Now, remember the two rules of jumping. Never look at it in the eye, and hold your breath,¡± Looria stuck two fingers to the sky. "Hold your breath?" said the boy from Earth, surprised. "Right. That way you have less of a chance to get nauseous on the other side." "Oh¡ªwell, I wish someone had told me this before." His friend remained paralyzed, sweat rolling down his face as he stood silent. "I¡ªI¡¯m not sure if I can go¡ªthrough it." Roa placed his hand on his shoulder. "Trust in the process of life, my friend. Don''t worry. I''ve done it a few times before. We¡¯ll be alright.¡± They said their goodbyes to their guide, thanking her and the bird, who was now under her care. "Well¡ªwe get to see this Palace, finally, but first let''s try to get through that small, dangerous world they warned us about," said the Sunflower, as Rosso nodded, his breath shallow, his chest rising and falling a little too fast. They stuck the plugs in their ears and walked toward the portal, their steps steady but cautious. Roa gave his friend a quick pat on the back to reassure him. However, as they crossed the threshold, something fell on the ground, rolling further away with each passing moment as the two disappeared into the next world. The wind blew fiercely, pushing it into the sand until it disappeared without a trace; an important component of their plan¡ªRosso''s left earplug. X1.2.lore - Encyclopedia Infinita
DETAILED DETAILS - SECTION OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIA INFINITA
ROSSO The Scientist, the Heretic, the Rebel Rosso Broonus Regola, son of Red, son of Aka, is a young man from Lahl-Ah Land who befriends Roa during his travels. His father, a great researcher, was attacked by an angry crowd one day when trying to teach the village children about astronomy. He was supposedly burned at the stake. His mother died years prior of a treatable sickness but was left to worsen as the holy men of his village decided to pray for her instead, leaving him completely alone in his teenage years. Rosso represents the desire for truth and reason. He is a militant freethinker, who consumed by his anger against all religion, has shunned any form of spirituality, tradition and ritual from his life. He is also emotionally stuck, intellectualizing his problems instead of dealing with them from an emotional standpoint. Having lived his life according to the remaining notes from his father''s work, he longs for closure, wandering the desert, looking for truth. When he meets Roa, he is on his way to find his father''s old associates, who might provide him with the definitive answers he seeks about his dad. The inspiration for this character came from Giordano Bruno, the father of Freethought. He was burned at the stake for attempting to go against religious thought about the nature of the Universe, dying in a place called Campo de Fiori in Rome (field of flowers). Rosso means ''red'' and wears a red cloak, symbolizing the fire that consumed one of the real-world heroes of truth.
AURA AND THE GIFTS: AN INTRODUCTION The ability to use one''s aura comes from a Free Person''s inner nature. Are they in tune with their inner selves, and how much? If so, they can use their inner life force. Aura, also known as the soul of the Universe, exists within all things, including rivers, mountains, animals, plants and other people. However, it is this inner introspection that allows a Free Person to unlock it within themselves. Aura grows with meditation, it depletes with the use of Gifts, and replenishes by taking care of one''s self through good sleep, healthy food, socializing, exercising and other aspects of a good lifestyle. ''Gifts'' is a fancy word for skills to manipulate one''s aura. One manifests a Gift through two things. One, the knowledge of how to wield such a Gift. This comes from training, meditation and practice. Two, the user''s inner reserves of aura. The more complex, intense, and powerful a Gift is, the more aura it will use. The same Gift can use more or less aura, as well. For example, the Loot Gift, uses more or less life energy depending on the amount of aura that is transferred from the user to the receiver. The Compass Gift: Follow Your Heart The Compass is the most widely-used and easiest Auric Gift to learn. It takes the absolute minimum amount of aura to use, and therefore can be manifested almost anywhere and by virtually anyone, even rookie Jumpers after some practice. By knowing what one truly desires deep in their hearts then focusing that energy outwards, from the heart into the hand and finally into the thumb, one can manifest a small, colorful flame of life energy. By doing a ''thumbs up'' the user can then point, move and eventually gauge the path forward. This flame will change shape, color, intensity and movement, based on the direction it is pointed to, as well as the distance from the destination one''s heart is seeking. The flame will extinguish when the user''s heart wavers in desire, or their focus shifts to something else, clouding their thoughts. There is a caveat, however. The user must know what they want, to avoid following a confused trail that leads to the wrong things. The Compass only points to one destination, so knowing what one truly wants, above all else, is paramount to not getting lost, both in interdimensional travel, and in life. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
EXITS Although their origin is a complete mystery, Exits appear in every world of the Innerverse. Some Exits come in and out of Existence at regular intervals, some often and some taking centuries, or perhaps, millennia. Others instead appear and disappear at unknown moments, although some seasoned travelers argue that it is just a matter of recording their pattern for enough time. Many Exits connect different worlds, while some connect the same plane of Existence, serving as shortcuts to weary travelers. Jumpers and Shadows are the only beings capable of seeing and using the portals to travel from one place to the next. Kami, including Grand Kami, while powerful beings of divine nature, are unable to see the Exits. The same goes for locals, who bound by limitations of perspective, are completely unaware of their existence. The act of traveling through an Exit is called ''jumping,'' giving the name ''Jumper'' to anyone who travels using these portals. Exits have numbers on them, although no apparent logic seems to exist concerning their order. The most important Exit is the one that leads to World Zero, also known as the Heart of Hearts, the Place Where All Things Meet, and the Core. This is the most sought-after Exit in the Innerverse, as both Shadows and Jumpers seek it out due to the legend of the Dreamer; the most powerful being who is able to grant any wish to anyone who manages to find its way to the mythical top of the Palace.
THE CULT OF IGNORANCE OF DEFAULT WORLD The Theological Arm of the Default Default World is a complex society that spans a multitude of worlds. The system that it runs on, known by the Shadows as the Order of the Worlds, and by the Free as the Old Order, is extremely organized, divided into many specialized entities. One of these is referred to by the Shadows as the One True Creed, or by the Free as ''The Cult of Ignorance.'' Supposedly led by a mysterious, religious figure called the Supreme High Priest, its goal is to ensure the adherence of the locals of Default World to the Cult. The theology revolves around the Word of the One Above, a set of ancient scriptures deemed to be perfect. The Free refer to these writings as the Books of Lies due to them being a vast collection of fantastical pasts that never occurred, wild claims of unscientific nature, and great, immoral rules pertaining to abominations such as slavery, misogyny, and more. The followers of the Cult are referred to as the Fantaseers by the Free, for their shared ignorance in seeing fantasies instead of reality for what it is. The Cult in Lahl-Ah Land and the Holy Desert Fathers In World Five, Lahl-Ah Land, the Old Order left behind a local subsidiary of the One True Creed. While Shadow presence is almost completely gone in that world, some of the Default''s systems of control have stayed behind, evolving on their own with time. The Cult''s managers there are called the Holy Desert Fathers, men who interpret the scriptures falling from the skies during Page Storms. These often-nonsensical writings, are twisted and cherry-picked to serve the Fathers'' agenda, often allowing them to gain wealth, power, and influence over local governments and affairs. The scriptures are said to come from a deity the locals call the God of Letters, also known as the Author Above, although its existence has never been proven.
HISTORIES OF THE INNERVERSE - SECTION OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIA INFINITA
HISTORY OF WESTERN WASTE, LAHL-AH LAND WORLD The Rector of the Library has received local historical records from one of the largest, yet most desolate worlds in the Innerverse. Known as World 5, due to it being the fifth one discovered by the First Jumpers in the Everago, it is known as Lahl-Ah Land by the locals. The following is an excerpt from the local historical records: The history of Western Waste is long and complex, however, due to the environmental cataclysm of the previous centuries, and all the Human suffering it has caused, much of the records have gone lost. Ancient maps and books reveal that Western Waste was once known as Tharill, a lush, green expanse filled with cloud forests, rivers and an immense, sweet water lake. Most of the fauna has disappeared as habitats collapsed since the Desert came. The Tharn, a large, flightless, migrating bird, is among the few species that has managed to survive the cataclysm. Among the things that survived, one can also find the trade routes of the caravans of Western Waste. Connecting most Human settlements, these routes span the length of the Waste, from Mount Gash in the north, Red Rock Canyons in the south, and the City of Skar in the east. The trade is centered around food products, salvaged material from the Great Before, and the exchange of slaves captured during the Holy Wars of the Author in the Sky. Tharill was once filled with diverse, colorful cultures. Unfortunately, many died off as the Desert came, when their livelihoods were slowly extinguished. The rest were hunted down by stronger tribes, who one by one, joined the One True Creed. In the current age, Western Waste is almost completely barren of both natural, cultural or religious diversity. With the establishment of the One Religion, education, science and inquiry has been made almost completely illegal, punishable by imprisonment or even death. X1.3.1 - The Never-ending Symphony X1.3 - THE PALACE
X1.3.1 - The Never-ending Symphony Roa woke up with a jolt. His whole body was trembling. His eyes fluttered open as he noticed the vibrations in his hand, shaking like the ground he was lying on. Staring at the sky, he noticed long swirling clouds following along with the pulse. He stood up from the cold, bluish dirt, as pebbles bounced up and down around him like grasshoppers. In the distance, giant blades of blue grass swayed in harmony with the unseen melody. The bass throbbed, a deep, visceral pulse that seemed to rattle his very bones, so powerful that Roa swore his brain hopped around inside his skull. Where was he? Some notes hit so profoundly they forced his eyes to roll back, leaving him gasping as a sense of pleasure made its way through his body, covering his skin with goosebumps. The landscape was strange, starkly different from the previous one he had traversed for so long. There was no sun, but there was light nonetheless, as a strange hue lit up the cobalt-colored sky. Everything was synchronized to the tune¡ªeverything. Even the water drops, jumping up and down in a puddle, seemed to be dancing along. ¡°Rosso,¡± he muttered, his voice swallowed by the omnipresent sound. He turned, scanning the horizon for his friend. No sign of him. He remembered Professor Zula''s warning. His trembling hands shot to his ears, fingers fumbling to check for the plugs. Relief swept over him as he felt them on his fingers. Even with them inside, the music seeped through¡ªmuffled, yet relentless. "The next Exit will be within viewing distance," her words echoed in his mind, as he tried to concentrate through the vibrations. There seemed to be no life in this place. The landscape was dotted by oval-shaped rocks sticking out of the land. Embedded in each were speakers of various sizes, throbbing and shaking in unison. The largest of these stones loomed ahead, a colossal formation the size of a hill. Everything¡ªthe clouds, the grass, even the air¡ªseemed to pulse toward it, as if lured by some magnetic force. Roa felt it too, a tug in his chest drawing him closer. Then, he saw her. Upon the immense rock was the silhouette of a woman who sat levitating cross-legged upon it. Bobbing her head up and down, her long hair flowed outwards, swirling like a long veil in water. Roa squinted, his vision blurred by the unrelenting vibrations. His hands shielding his face, he tried to focus his eyes, when cold fingers suddenly reached inside his ears from behind. The plugs were yanked free. The music slammed into him like a tsunami, deafening and all-consuming. Roa clutched his head, a sharp pain exploding in his ears as he fell to his knees. He spun around, panic flashing across his face, only to meet a familiar grin. Rosso stood there; his missing incisor gleaming as he laughed like a maniac. He threw the plugs with a flick of his wrists, and danced around the boy. By the time the Earthling threw himself desperately on the ground to reach either, the beat dropped; a beat so sublime that his whole body felt like it melted with it, along with any sense of control. The pulse was so thoroughly encompassing that he stopped thinking of the plugs, of finding the Exit, of Earth, Eralay, or anything else for that matter¡ªand instead, began focusing on the music, feeling it. His legs began to move of their own accord, joining his friend in dance; the melody weaving through his muscles like a puppeteer pulling on the strings. At first, the euphoria was indescribable. He had never felt anything like it before. The music wasn''t just in his ears¡ªit was inside of him. He couldn¡¯t help himself. He danced with his friend to his heart''s content, laughing and yelling things at each other neither could hear. He had never felt so blissfully alive before. However, as the hours dragged on, the bliss began to falter. Roa felt a warm trickle of blood slide down his nostril. His throat burned, and his legs ached from the relentless movement. His ears throbbed, the pain sharp and unyielding. He could not catch his breath, and no matter how much pain he was in, he just¡ªcould not stop. He couldn¡¯t say no to the rhythm. "We''re in danger!" he screamed, his voice hoarse and breaking. Rosso didn¡¯t respond. His eyes rolled back, his body convulsing with the beat. Roa collapsed after around ten hours, consumed by the music, his mind now complete mush. He lay there, the cold ground pressing against his cheek, his strength drained from his body. He had no idea what happened to his friend at that point, or how much time had passed. He felt alone again. With the last drop of strength, he flopped his hands forward, his arm landing in a puddle. His eyes shot open. He grabbed some mud out of it and stuffed it in his ears. The music dulled instantly, replaced by a muffled silence, and the loud ringing of his battered eardrums. When he regained his senses, clarity crashing through the haze of exhaustion, he slapped more mud into his ears, further muffling the relentless rhythm. Blood covered his chin and neck in drying streaks; he tried to wipe them with trembling hands. Beside him, Rosso twitched to the beat, unconscious but strangely synchronized with the sound. He applied the same treatment to his friend, sticking his index fingers in his ears. Leaning against Rosso¡¯s limp frame for support, Roa fumbled into his pouch, hands trembling as they searched for anything useful. His fingers brushed against something smooth and cool. Yanking it out, he saw a gleam of metal before it slipped from his grasp, landing on a nearby rock¡ªit was the little teaspoon the old lady had given him. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The music stopped. Rosso sat up with a jolt, as if awoken from deep hypnosis. His hair sticking up and a blank stare on his face, his arm stretched out in front, pointing at something. The silhouette levitating on the towering, oval rock moved. She stood up, uncrossing her legs, gracefully floating down. Her hair flowed behind her like a dragon¡¯s tail, rippling and twisting, as she approached them. Three times their height, she stood towering in front, as they stared up at her, mouths open. The explorers trembled, hands pressing the wet mud harder into their ears, their hearts pounding as her golden eyes swept over them. With a fluid motion, she extended one hand, and the teaspoon and rock rose into the air, gliding into her open palm. The spoon tapped against the stone on its own, producing a single yet powerful note that reverberated across the land, shaking the ground and sky in the process. Her eyes closed as a serene smile spread across her face. "We are the Grand Kami of Symphony Sublime, land of endless song. Our name is Harmoniah, bow before us, mortals," she proclaimed, her powerful and beautiful voice like a chord played on the strings of the Universe itself. The two glanced at each other with fear in their eyes. They dropped to their knees, their foreheads brushing the ground. When Rosso froze in his bowed position, too weak to sit back up, Roa yanked him upright by his shirt. "No one comes here to disturb our sacred rhythm. No one," she roared, her voice rolling in the sky like thunder, as the two voyagers winced, palms clamping tighter over their ears with each word. "However," she continued after a long pause, her tone softening, "a just and synchronized contribution to the sacred rhythm, with such a¡ªhumble, yet pure instrument, on such a¡ªcrude, yet effective surface, must be rewarded appropriately." The two exchanged confused glances, then something floated in Roa''s face. "The Ocarina of Sublime. We, Grand Kami of Music, have forged this instrument with our divine hands¡ªso that fate may bring it to yours." The boy grabbed it from the air, its surface iridescent and humming faintly with a magical hue. "This piece is unlike any other. Each note will summon a new instrument¡ªdrums, guitars, and many more. The ocarina will only produce music when all magical instruments have been called forth. Now¡ªplay for us something sublime." A pause ensued, as the two looked at each other. The Sunflower¡¯s breath entered the ocarina, his fingers covering several random holes. No sound came out. Instead, a white flute materialized out of thin air in a swirl of white smoke, then tumbled onto the ground with a soft tap. The young man stood surprised, but his narrowing eyes soon shifted elsewhere, his brow furrowing. He scanned around for the Exit. No luck: nothing but giant blue grass, and oval rocks filled with speakers, jutting out of the ground. "Oh, Grand Kami of song, I must find the right instrument, as well as a better location for my performance to truly be¡ªsublime" he said to the spirit, choosing his words with caution. Harmoniah tilted her head, her expression curious. "All corners of our world are acoustically precise. However¡ªyou have piqued our interest, musician. Lead the way." With a nervous nod, Roa began summoning instruments one by one: a violin, a trombone, a guitar, and even a piano. Each one appeared with a puff of white smoke, clattering to the ground as their steps hastened, their desperate eyes searching for the way out. The great spirit grew impatient, causing everything to vibrate more each time her voice rose, her tone growing more furious by the minute. A moment of despair engulfed the young man, but then he remembered the Gift. ¡°The path to Eralay¡ªit must lead out of this world, which means that it should point towards the Exit,¡± he thought as he closed his eyes. He stuck his thumb up in the air and imagined her smiling face. A little, colorful flame danced above his thumb. The Compass worked. He moved his arm around until the flame grew larger. ¡°That¡¯s the way,¡± he stuck his chest out and smiled, but there was no time for celebration. "I have had enough of this silence. You stall. You delay my sacred rhythm for NOTHING!" "No, wait¡ªI swear, it''s just a bit farther," Roa said upon seeing the glow of the magic doorway in the distance. "Play now, or I will make you pay!" the Goddess of Music roared her final warning. The Jumpers stopped, nodded at each other, and with a determined look in his eyes, Roa manifested one more random thing from the ocarina¡ªa little drum. Having never laid a finger on any instrument in his life, nor possessing a shred of natural talent, the sounds that erupted from his hands¡ªhitting the skin of the instrument like footsteps tripping down a staircase¡ªwere nothing but a chaotic mess, with no trace of rhythm or coherence to be found. "I will destroy you both!" the Kami screeched, causing the two to duck in terror. The land around them began to shake with increasing force. An earthquake split the ground, as steam escaped from the fissures. The divine being floated up, vibrating until she was but a blur. The boulders around them began to crumble¡ªher long screams piercing the air. The travelers¡¯ hands shot up to their ears, covering them as they fell to their knees. They froze. Behind the horizon appeared something that terrified them¡ªa giant creature. Its body was made of square speakers of all sizes, stacked one onto the next, forming arms, legs, a torso and a head. It was so immense that it blocked half of the sky as it rose over them. The travelers¡¯ eyes shot open, frightened by the monstrosity. Roa had never seen anything so big before. The sound of a hundred random keys hammered on an organ erupted from the colossus, unleashing a shockwave that tore through the air, scattering dust and rocks in every direction, and sending the two Jumpers tumbling like leaves in the wind. They ran at full speed towards the Exit. The Sunflower shoved the ocarina into his pocket as he dove headfirst into the portal, while Rosso clutched the back of his shirt, tumbling in after him. X1.3.2 - The Flooded Basements The Flooded Basements
¡°You¡¯re up next,¡± said a voice from behind. ¡°This is going to get you to the Golden Tapir Awards.¡± Roa found himself sitting on a tiny, swiveling chair¡ªa look of utter confusion on his face. People hurried past him, moving quickly around him¡ªcolorful clowns practicing their laughter, a doctor talking with a nurse, and a woman in a dramatic pose, repeating something while she corrected herself. The air was thick with the scent of popcorn; a cacophony of footsteps and chatter echoing through the space. "Ready up, the next scene starts in three, two, one..." announced a petite woman with large red glasses, her voice high-pitched and demanding as she stood from atop a tall ladder. The giant curtains rose as the lights blinded the two Jumpers. Their squinting eyes darted around at the rows of spectators munching on snacks, pointing and smiling in their direction. The others began to flutter about, dancing and singing while the confused explorers remained stuck to their chairs, unsure of what to do. The music stopped, and the spotlight landed on them. "Doctor, doctor¡ªtell me the truth! What is it?" a young woman on a hospital bed asked, her voice melodramatic, hand delicately resting on her forehead, her eyes pleading upward. The boy¡¯s pulse quickened. He looked at his friend seated beside him in his white lab coat, who shrugged with a raised brow. He gestured him to speak. "Let¡¯s see," the boy looked down at the clipboard in his hands. A blank piece of paper reflected the light from above. "It¡¯s a boy! Congratulations, you¡¯re pregnant," he said, smiling and sweating profusely. The audience gasped, the director''s mouth dropped, and the actress laid there struck, confusion and anger in her eyes. "Cancer¡ªit''s cancer!" whispered the director behind the scenes, shoving her face in her hands. ¡°The play is called ¡®Surprise: It¡¯s Cancer,¡± she said pulling her hair. "Oh, I mean¡ªyou¡¯re not pregnant, obviously," he cleared his throat "but¡ªyou¡¯ll make it?" said Roa, not a hint of confidence in his tone. The audience stared back, bewildered, until someone shouted: "hey, that''s not how this play goes. What the hell is this? I paid good money for this seat." To make matters worse, in the fray of escaping from the musical spirit of the previous world, the traveler had forgotten to hold his breath as Looria had instructed. The vomit shot from his mouth, the projectile splattering well over the stage with a sickening squelch, landing next to the feet of those with front row tickets. A collective inhale filled the room. The silence stretched for a moment, until a piece of fruit splattered on Rosso''s face, followed by a barrage of other soft and squishy stuff. The sound of squelching and clattering echoed through the hall as both Jumpers leapt from their chairs, dodging the flying debris. Boos erupted from the crowd. With no time to lose, they scrambled past rows of surprised patrons, bolting through the main doorway of the theatre. As they stumbled out, the harsh stage lights faded, replaced by a symphony of noises and smells. The scent of street food¡ªsizzling meats, roasted nuts, and sweet pastries¡ªmingled with the earthy aroma of wet soil and fresh plants. The sound of chatter, laughter, and distant music buzzed around them, creating a constant hum. Before them lay a grand hall, its marble walls reflecting the light from its many gorgeous chandeliers. Statues lined the walls, their marble faces solemn, as the gilded trim shimmered with opulence. It felt like a place fit for royalty, yet something gave the whole scene a strange, surreal atmosphere: it was completely flooded. "The Palace!" said Roa, scanning the place with his mouth open. ¡°Look at all this water! I¡¯ve never seen so much before,¡± said his friend filling up his animal skin out of habit. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The ornate marble floors were covered in water up to their ankles. The boy was jolted when a painting on the wall began speaking to him. "Don''t get so close or you''ll ruin my paint!" it said with a high-pitched yet stern tone. "Oh¡ªsorry. I didn''t mean to," he stumbled backward, his feet splashing clumsily in the water as he struggled to regain his balance. "Damn tourists." After a moment of hesitation, Roa asked what this place was called, and if the chatty piece of art knew of an establishment by the name of ¡®Simmering Waters.¡¯ The painting let out a dramatic sigh. "Do I look like a tour guide? This is Cheesecake Village of Blueberry Hall West. I don''t know of any Sparkling Waters¡ªso stop bothering me. I am trying to look my best so that a customer with fine taste might buy me, and finally put me in their home. Maybe placed above the mantle of a fireplace, as the centerpiece of the room. Or perhaps..." it continued to ramble on, its words becoming a blur as the two travelers walked away in silence. Their mouths went dry as they waded through the majestic, flooded hall, the scene growing stranger as they made their way deeper. The place was packed. Performers on stilts danced through the crowd, their legs stretching impossibly high into the air. Four women with glass cups on their heads danced in slow motion, while the audience attempted to throw ping-pong balls their way; the participant had serious looks in their eyes, as if involved in some kind of very important competition. A rock band of penguins strummed on instruments; the rhythm offbeat but somehow fueling the rage of a mosh pit in the crowd. "What''s going on?" Roa asked some passerby. "We''re celebrating tonight," the woman replied with a smile, her voice high and cheerful as she skipped past. The scene grew stranger with each wet step. A polar bear wearing an apron stood behind a stall, steaming buns. A young lady with a flag marched a gaggle of geese like a tour guide. A little girl with a massive rhinoceros on a pink leash passed by, as the travelers stared incredulously. Roa rubbed his eyes, wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him. "Hey, did you see that talking¡ª" the boy turned around, scanning the crowd. His friend was gone. ¡°Rosso?¡± he said, a wave of panic flooding through him, his breath quickening as he searched in a panic. "Hey, where are you going? Want a bun?" said his friend, appearing out of nowhere with some food, as the boy let out a sigh of relief. They noticed that the market stalls were elevated off the ground, standing precariously on rickety stilts and platforms, as though they had been lifted and shifted several times in the past. "What''s with all of the water?" they asked a shopkeeper. Her forehead wrinkled, and the heavy bags beneath her eyes creased as she closed them. "Every year it gets worse. Last year, I lost half of my goods because our storage flooded. Had to throw much of it away¡ªwhat a waste," she took a deep, defeated sigh. Their heads turned. People began to scream as the crowd parted, revealing a wave that was rolling towards them. It carried chairs, trees, and all sorts of goods it had picked up along the way. The explorers grabbed hold of the wooden stilts, their bodies jerking with the force of the current. ¡°What¡¯s causing it?¡± ¡°I guess, it just¡ªis what it is,¡± she shrugged, her weary eyes barely lifting to meet their gaze. A man on a compact but tall street sweeper made its way through the crowd, as the bristles made lazy swishes in the liquid, without cleaning a thing. "Excuse me sir¡ªyou look like staff. Could you tell us if this is the Palace?" The man, a grizzled figure in a faded uniform, didn¡¯t answer as he glanced down. He let out a long, tired exhale, then turned back to his task, leaving the two travelers in the wake of his indifference, and the tiny waves his machine left behind. Despite their confusion, the blueprints seemed to be correct, recognizing various landmarks along the way. ¡°The statue of the hippopotamus eating a watermelon,¡± Rosso¡¯s finger pointing past the crowd, ¡°and there¡¯s the large painting of a duck wearing a monocle¡ªthere should be a carousel soon, somewhere,¡± he explained, lifting his head over the large map. They kept moving, the scene unfolding like a fever dream. The water continued to deepen, ankle-deep, then knee-deep, the sound of waves lapping against the ornate walls as the halls went on forever. "Don''t look up,¡± Roa warned suddenly in a serious tone, his gaze frozen forward, as if avoiding something. ¡°Above, where the wall meets the ceiling, there is a man¡ªtall, cloaked in black, its white mask staring down at us. "Who is it?" "I''m not sure. I think it¡¯s a Shadow. He looks like the ones who used to appear in my dreams, back in my old life¡ªlike the one who tried to keep me from leaving that day." The boy tried to keep his gaze away, but his curiosity got the better of him. His stomach twisted when the eyes behind the mask met his. He looked away, his head jerking back with a swift motion. However, the dark figure had already noticed him. By the time Roa looked up again, the figure was gone. "We need to go," he said with a hurried tone, pulling his friend¡¯s arm. They picked up their pace, the crowd around them thickening. His breath quickened as he turned his head, scanning the sea of faces for the masked figure. X1.3.3 - Follow the Blueprints Follow the Blueprints
¡°Didn¡¯t you say that that Nirvana lady could shapeshift?¡± Rosso asked, bumping into several people. ¡°Yeah, and the professor said the Shadows also know how to use the Gifts, but that they''re even better at using them. ¡°So, he could be anyone,¡± Rosso¡¯s paranoid glances darted around. "There''s a man behind us I keep seeing. I think he¡¯s following us. Keep moving." The stranger trailing behind wore an apron, blending seamlessly with the bustling crowd of shopkeepers. Just when he was about to reach them, Rosso flashed a confident smile and flung his arms open dramatically. "Here it is! We have been looking for some delicious cakes. We thought we missed it," he exclaimed, veering with a sharp, sudden motion into a stall. The shopkeeper greeted them as they launched into a flurry of cheerful small talk. Their words danced lightly, masking the pounding drumbeat of their racing hearts. They could feel the stranger¡¯s gaze behind them, heavy and unyielding. He slowed his pace, lingering for what felt like an eternity before the weight of his presence faded into the crowd. ¡°I¡¯m closing soon so you can have these. I¡¯m just going to throw them out,¡± the shopkeeper explained with a nod and a smile, as he placed two heavy cupcakes, the size of basketballs, into their hands. The sugary aroma clung to their noses as they continued, forced smiles hiding their lingering unease. An hour passed before they allowed themselves a collective sigh of relief. They asked passerby after passerby about the Palace, but their answers were all the same¡ªblank stares and shrugs of confusion. No one had a clue what they were talking about. "This must be the Palace. We have been walking for hours, and this building never ends. Plus, the blueprints the professor gave us check out," said Roa convinced. As he spoke, a man stood in front of them, forcing them to stop with a jolt. He glanced at both, scanning them from head to toe with a look of suspicion. "They found us," he thought as his heart sank, his breath catching in his chest. The man stepped closer, thrusting a carrying case into his hands. ¡°He¡¯s your problem now,¡± he muttered before vanishing into the crowd without another word. They exchanged puzzled glances. ¡°What is it?¡± Rosso asked. "It''s a very chubby cat," said Roa as he peered inside. "Leave it. What are we going to do with a damn cat? We got enough problems," he said, but the boy, not wanting to abandon it in the middle of the crowd, decided to keep it. "How could you abandon such a cutie? Come on." The water deepened as steps disappeared in the dark-blue hues of its depths, revealing a bustling port. They lingered at the docks, the mingling scents of saltwater and fresh-caught seafood filling their lungs. Around them, fishermen hauled in writhing catches of crabs, lobsters, and even a large swordfish. Buoys swayed on gentle waves, their bells chiming in a lazy rhythm. The scene was both surreal and mesmerizing, a bustling harbor in the heart of a palace. Hours later, their ride finally docked. The water rippled and churned as the boat rose higher and higher out of the water, revealing itself to be attached to a massive, green shell. Waves cascaded off its sides, crashing against the dock. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°A sea turtle¡± they said in unison, awe and laughter lighting up their faces. As they prepared to board, a sudden commotion erupted. A horde of twenty cats surged toward them, claws flashing and teeth showing. The air filled with furious yowls as the felines swarmed, scratching and hissing at them. The pair barely managed to scramble aboard the turtle¡¯s shell, their arms and legs covered in cuts. "We left the case on the dock," said Roa. "I think I had enough of cats for today," his friend said as he wiped blood off his arm with a handkerchief. The turtle glided forward, its rhythmic movements carrying them through a grand archway flanked by gilded columns. Two towering marble angels loomed above, their serene faces watching over the travelers. Beyond the threshold lay a room of incomprehensible scale. Rosso stood at the front of the ship, arms wide open, his mouth agape. "I have never seen so much water in my entire life! To think that so much exists¡ªmy mind could never have imagined it like this. Is this how your world looks like?" ¡°Yes, we also have huge places full of water called seas, although ours are always¡ªoutdoors,¡± Roa explained, scratching his head, as he tried to wrap his mind around the size of the room they were in. "Look there. The sky looks like is painted on the ceiling, and the sun here is attached at the top¡ªlike a chandelier. This is unbelievable,¡± he pointed left and right with an excitement he had rarely felt back in his old life. The two marveled at the sights with wide-eyed wonder, like kids discovering something amazing for the first time. "Hurry up, you¡ªstupid, stupid turtle," complained a woman wearing a pirate hat. "We''ll never make it at this pace.¡± Ahead, the opening to the next chamber began to seal, a painted mural of clouds and sky replacing the view. "What¡¯s going on?" they asked. "We will have to find another way or wait it out. Look at the time!" she pointed at something on one of the giant walls in the distance. An immense, intricate mandala hung with a mirror at its center. Made of wood, its elaborate patterns revealed several clocks with too many hands, turning in chaotic harmony. Some spun slowly, some quickly, while others rotated so fast, they were barely visible. ¡°Looria said that the Palace shifts all the time, remember?¡± Roa said. He then gazed down into the water, noticing something that caught his eye. "Look¡ªthere''s a submerged city under the waves." Beneath the rippling surface lay skyscrapers, monorails, and highways, eerily still and forgotten. "What happened to it?" The captain looked at them and smirked grimly. "They got unlucky. Their city was way down there at the bottom. When a wall opened up one day and the water came rushing through it, they went for a really long bath." Roa looked ahead as the briny breeze caressed his skin. The turtle turned left, following the side of the walls where the opening once was, as the waves crashed against it. "Hey, stay away!" screamed Rosso, shielding himself. An orange cat jumped up onto the ledge and sat next to them with an angry look in its eyes. The boy reached out, only for the cat to swat at his hand, claws grazing his skin. Then, to their astonishment, the feline spoke. "Ya messed with the wrong felines, kidnapping our boss. Ya thought you could get away with it, get some ransom money, huh?" its paws swiping again. The pair exchanged bewildered looks. "Ya well, your plan backfired. Now you got yourselves a special spot on top of our hit list,¡± said the kitty. "You mean the chubby cat in that case? We didn''t kidnap your boss¡ªsome random guy just dropped him in our hands," explained the young man, attempting to calm it down. ¡°Oh yeah? So, you just go around picking up random cats, huh?¡± the cat hissed. ¡°I told you we should have just left it,¡± Rosso shot an annoyed glance at this friend. ¡°Who the hell are you, anyways?¡± "Who the hell are we? Who the hell are we?" it said, raising its voice, swiping at him a few times with its paw. "We''re the Cat Mafia¡ªand your days are numbered." The cat lunged at them, narrowly missing as he jerked back. With a hiss, it tumbled into the water, splashing awkwardly before paddling away. Roa blinked, then turned to Rosso. ¡°The Cat Mafia?¡± he said, letting out a chuckle. "What an odd place. Even the cats are strange here," he said as the two laughed their unusual day off.