Chapter 3: A Literal Twist Of Fate
To Matthew's dismal the previous decrease of the strength was only temporary. For some unknown reason, the pressure came back stronger than before.
The terror in Matthew mind only kept increasing as the pressure escalated. Such strain made him believe that his new form was going to burst at any moment, he felt like a balloon being squeezed by a giant hand.
"aaagggghhhh!!!!" A wave of pain worst than any physical form of pain came to him.
Sadly it was only the start of his plight. Through his original sense, that he kept using even in the face of such agony, he found something approaching. It looked like black water with red particles that congregate in small clusters. These particles moved in such a way that resembled the spirals of galaxies. It gave the feeling that a universe rested in those waters. It would have been a beautiful thing to watch if it weren't for the powerful and violent aura it emitted that left Matthew appalled.
The moment this liquid touch him, Matthew felt a fierce burning sensation. He had once burned his hand when playing with fireworks when he was younger. It was a third-degree burn and only thanks to the advanced medical technology did he recover completely. But that was nowhere close to the heat and pain he was currently experiencing. He suspected that the only reason he was still conscious was that his mind and bearing was more resilient in his current form. Otherwise, he would have already fainted.
Strangely enough, as an unknown amount of time passed, the pain started to abate. The burning sensation transformed into an almost mild and warm touch. As the pain stopped he spotted at the edge of his observation field another sphere of light. It was another soul, and it was being pushed towards his direction.
This other sphere was sleeping just like most of the others he had seen. It gave no other feeling but that of peace and tranquility. Even when covered by the same pressure as him it did not react, which was something Matthew found quite disturbing.
This sphere started to speed up towards him until they were side by side. At that moment Matthew found the attention of the mighty being focus again on his location. He has already learned through pure instinct that grabbing the attention of this entity meant being hurt just by its mere interest.
Then, both he and the other sphere started to be wrapped in the strange black liquid. At the same time, the creature started to squeeze them together.
"agghh!!!!"
And more pain came knocking the moment they touched each other. There was also a sensation of repulsion, so strong that he doubted the previous closeness he felt with these other souls. This whole process felt completely wrong.
"am I going to die? Can one die after death?"
Just when Matthew thought that he couldn't take it anymore, a golden thread of light came out from inside him. Not the sphere but from the part of him that even he himself couldn't see clearly. From inside that blurry part, that he couldn't comprehend, more and more of that golden thread started to come out. And it started to push away the other sphere while it transformed into a cocoon that covered him.
With a powerful burst of power, it took him away at an unmeasurable speed. The last thing he felt was the complete shock and surprise of that cold and indifferent being.
More than a hundred light-years away was a creature whose size was enormous. It had a human shape, blue skin and it's white hair looked and behaved like a fire on this beings head. It's two eyes were completely yellow with no sclera nor irises. While his torso was the canvas for a set of complex and beautiful runes that glowed with a golden light. The rest of his immense body was covered by a thick white mist. He was known by many as daraak e`ktel. He was currently looking in the direction where Matthew had disappeared.
'That golden thread. I'm sure it was the power of destiny, but it was altered in a way I had never seen before. I had picked that soul only because it was able to use soul force in spite of being the soul of a simple mortal. It certainly wasn't the first mortal soul in doing it and since eventually it was going to forget everything, it wasn't that special either.'
'So what happened then? What was it that gave way to such a reaction? It went beyond any of my predictions. I'm doing millions of experiments like that right now but none of those have anything even remotely similar to that golden thread of destiny. It was probably something in that soul, though I cannot be completely sure.'
'It was a normal mortal soul, as soon as that strand of consciousness of mine started concentrating on it, it started suffering. Only when I delegated the actions to my unconscious mind could it stand my presence. That kind of weakness only belongs to weak mortal souls. After all, it wasn't even a millionth of my total awareness.'
'If I want to give chase, I would have to raise the usage of my consciousness in this body. I can stop all my experiments, but to go to that speed, I need at least a 5 percent of my complete consciousness but with my other body fighting that insufferable old bastard...'
'I don't have the luxury to do it, even a minor mistake could cost me a lot.' Even though he could teleport, he needed first to know where the soul was going to be. The cocoon made erratic and fast movements. If he wanted to teleport in front of it, he would need more than 5 percent of his consciousness. 'If it wasn't for the interference that golden light is making I could predict its next position with less effort.'
'Moreover, I'm not confident in destroying that strange cocoon of concentrated and mutated destiny. At least not without compromising the coordination of my other body.' A lapse of concentration or a minor mistake in combat at his and his enemy's level would spell disaster.
'That soul will have to wait for now. Even at my stage, there are many matters about the soul that I can't answer. That's why I'm here experimenting after all, and that thread of destiny had given me some new insights…'
These thoughts went through daraak e`kteld's mind in less than a second and only in the tiny fraction of his consciousness that was overseeing that particular experiment. And as soon as they passed he put that part of his consciousness back to work. He sat in this void filled with light produced by the amorphous shapes coming from all directions. These shapes, of huge size, had an even bigger void separating them. Only from afar could one appreciate how they move together like a flowing river.
On Matthew's side, time kept passing as he traveled inside the light cocoon. At a speed that would put to shame the interstellar 3, the pinnacle of human technology, the cocoon crossed the void. But despite the speed, inside the cocoon everything was quiet and peaceful
In an instant, Matthew felt the cocoon brake some kind of barrier. As he came back to himself he felt that everything was different from the place where he was before breaking that barrier. Before he had the impression of being in a dream, all seemed unreal but now everything felt right.
Shortly after, turbulence struck the cocoon and then everything got confusing again.
He felt emotions that were not his. The most prominent was the rapid dread it took over to whoever or whatever those feelings belonged, everything went black for only a second.
Matthew woke up to more pain but this pain was different from before. It was agonizing and it kept him from doing anything else. How hard must his previous experience had been, that this pain was still nothing in comparison to the ordeal he went through before.
"What happened? Where am I?" Asked Matthew to no one in particular. "Ahhh fuck, it hurts!!"
"Wait! I'm speaking! I hear sounds !!" he opened his eyes wide and all that he saw was white.
"ahhhhhh"
But he knew this feeling. It was physical pain, not the weird all-conquering pain he felt before in his other form. And he could hear his own voice.
'It hurts every single cell of it. And I can barely see right now. But with this familiar feeling, I can tell that I'm back on a body!!' In an outburst of joy, he couldn't help to laugh and yell in his loudest voice.
"HAHAHHA!!! Im back... Im back !!..... FUCK YEESS!! IM BAAACK!!!!! AHAHAHAHA!!!!"
His voice sounded hoarse, high pitched and a little childish but he paid no attention to it. His hearing was yet a little messy.
Yes, in his previous form he had that original sense that was better to the five senses. But the thought of having scaped his previous ordeal was enough to dismiss the longing he had for that form that had felt so natural and comfortable.
Seconds after his yell of joy his vision finally accommodated. He found that he was surrounded by people who were murmuring something he didn't understand. they were all looking at him with concern and shock especially for the man who was touching his head.
Chapter 4: Rough Landing
Darim Vistrage was walking towards the great hall where his guests were waiting for him, it was his job as the head of the family to start the banquet. All branches of the family have come to his mansion to celebrate his birthday, but he knew this day wasn't about him.
He was walking through the ample hallway with its lustrous white tiles and walls decorated with paintings. These paintings depicted scenes of war, telling stories of bravery and honor. In most of them, the hero of these stories was a man with black long hair. He had thin eyebrows that make him look like he was halfway through a frown, a straight and small nose, and medium-sized lips. But what stood out the most were his dark cold and piercing eyes. All was framed by an oval-shaped face that made him look somewhat feminine.
The person on the paintings was a younger version of Darim. From a time when he thirsted for power and wealth, a time when he fought under one of the three grand generals of the empire. A campaign that led to the conquest of the barbarian lands at the northeast, where his current domain laid.
At that time his family only had a small piece of land near the capital. Now, thanks to him on top of that they had more lands on the north in the form of 5000 hectares. It wasn't much, there were certainly people with more lands. But this territory was the Blackwood region, named after one of the best resources the north had to offer.
So, although small in comparison to his accomplishments, what lacked in quantity it had more than enough in quality. Making many of his brothers in arms quite envious. Of course, the importance of the lands near the capital was still the highest but in comparison, he had more freedom here in the north.
Reaching the doors of the great hall he spotted a young boy with roughly his same features. He looked more similar to the hero of the paintings than to the current Darim. But instead of having his black eyes he inherited the light blue from his mother. He had short brown hair, almost blond, and he had a good build for someone his age. This boy was his eldest son.
Seeing his father the boy straightened his back and congratulated him in a formal way. With a clasp of his hand and a slight bow he said. "Happy birthday father, I'm sorry I couldn't congratulate you earlier."
With the same serious look in his eyes, Darim regarded his son. "It's okay. I already notice the moment you broke through. You have reached the qi circulation stage, it is remarkable indeed, Al "
"Thanks, father I will keep working hard I swear I will not disappoint you"
His son was going to be the main character of this event, a 13 years old boy at the qi circulation stage. That was a real genius with nothing to envy from the other talents in the capital. Today he was going to show to everyone that he has a worthy successor, someone worthy of spending enough to send him to the royal academy.
His son entering and graduating from the royal academy meant that they will have another expert of his and his brother level in their family. And with the potential his son has shown there were hopes of him surpassing them. That was not all, attending to this school meant establishing connections with the highest powers of the empire.
That was the best way to ensure the continued prosperity of the Vistrage family. He was almost sure his family will see, despite its cost, the importance of this step. If they invested enough resources and his son made another breakthrough in the next three cycles, then he will be able to join the elite class.
"I know you will." Said Darim with a soft voice both to him and his son.
He proceeded to open the door to the main hall. On the other side, his relatives were sitting at a long and wide table that rested in the center of the spacious hall. The hall was not as decorated as other rooms, it had some minor decorative statues and urns. What predominated in this room were very big windows, making the place look bigger than it actually was. Thanks to these windows, as long as the sun was out, no other type of illumination was needed.
The instant he entered everybody stood up in a show of respect towards the head of the family. Darim took a moment to look at his guests and nodded at them while he went to the main seat followed from behind by his son
As he close in he caught sight of his wife. She had blonde hair and pale blue eyes with a round face that made her look young and innocent. In her arms was his youngest boy, still a baby, but he hoped he will grow up like his brother.
The moment he caught sight of her he saw the frown on her face as she looked at something behind him. At that point he noticed something off, his son who was behind him stopped walking.
Turning around he saw his son, standing there with an empty gaze. After that Darim felt the energy inside his son go out of control "Al control your energy, wats wrong? But it wasn't over, afterward, the boy fell to the floor shaking and convulsing.
Darim moved over to his son side and grabbed the back of his head, then the kid started to mumble and laugh like a maniac. An incomprehensible scream escaped from his son's mouth, coming after it was more incoherent noises.
Matthews eyesight returned to normal to show him that he was surrounded by strangers in what looked like a big spacious room. His joy was soon overcome by disorientation, so swallowing his pain and gritting his teeth he asked.
"Where… where am I? Where is this?"
Nobody answered. He watched as a woman carrying a baby and a handsome man kept telling him something in a language that he didn't understand. He could guess that they were concerned and probably asking if he was alright. Though he had no way to tell them anything, so he tried to make gestures while speaking.
"I'm fine.." and then he realized he couldn't move his arms nor the rest of his body nothing but his neck and mouth answer to him.
Bending his neck he caught a glimpse of his body, he was wearing some kind of robe with an ancient style. But what struck him the most was that he was all sweaty, with a stain of blood on his torso and on top of that he had somehow soiled his pants.
'What do I do now?' He couldn't communicate, and he couldn't move. worse of all he didn't know where he was, he couldn't even recognize the language these people were using.
"well for now I bett-"
ahhhh!!"! The strongest headache he had ever had assaulted him and took his consciousness away.
Images and sounds of a life he had never lived went through his mind. Like a dream or a movie in a first-person perspective, with confusing and blurry parts, they all passed very quickly, some clearer than others.
Waking up Matthew realized that someone had placed him in another room. Looking around while moving his neck, the only part of the body that answered to his wishes, he could see that the room was quite big. The bed he was on, was already quite big and was really comfortable if it wasn't for the pain that didn't allow him to feel anything else he would have enjoyed it
The room in itself was not very furnished. Aside from the bed, there was only a big wardrobe on his right side and a study desk with several drawers on his left. The desk had a fancy air to it thanks to the golden engravings in the form of trees and leaves on its edges and legs. On top of the desk were several books all neatly ordered, with the cover written with illegible words. At the corner of the desk apart from the books was an old oil lamp placed in such a way that illuminated all that part of the room.
Lastly, right in front of the bed was the woman he saw before with the baby, only that now she was sleeping in a chair. 'She fell asleep watching out for me.' He looked at her with pity, she was caring for someone who was probably dead.
Now that he has calmed down he started to sort his mind out. "Let's start with the facts, I'm in the body of someone else. It seems like the body of a kid, for what I can tell probably 14 or 15. I can't move but after waking up I'm feeling a little less pain."
"Well fuck me, so much for the facts, that's all I'm sure of "
"Mmmm the best thing to go with is the ones I think are the most likely assumptions. I'm almost sure those images and sound where not illusions but the memories of the kid whose body I took." A regretful expression crossed his face. " Poor boy. " He couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for this, even if he wasn't in control of what was happening
Trying to not think about that he kept going with his thoughts. "Those memories are not too useful in the short term, it's not like I have lived them I am not able to tell what the boy was thinking watching those images. Moreover, it feels like a movie I had watched long ago, all that he learned was lost even now I cannot speak that strange language. I don't even know the name of his parents, though if i have the time i will be able to learn a few useful things."
"On the bright side, I did learn the kid's name he was Aleran Vistrage, which I guess it is now my name? I don't know how long it will get me to get used to it."
"But, why did all this happen?"
Remembering that time he spent in that mysterious place where everything felt unreal he already had a theory. " If that was really my soul, that would explain a lot. But if I had let go and fall in that strange state like the others, would i have reincarnated without my memories? Or something else would have happened?"
The more he kept going on this train of thought the more questions started to appear. " Why were the other spheres of light or souls, in a state of slumber. And why the ones that were awake were slowly entering that state? Why was I the only one that was wide awake? Did it mean something?" No matter what, the feeling of his own existence and personality fading fill Matthew with concern and apprehension. He was glad he kept his mind active." By the way, why was I the only one capable of using that original sense? And then there's that entity....
And he stopped right there. He didn't want to think about that thing that took control of his soul. Just thinking about it made his mind hurt as if his brain wasn't able to comprehend what that being was. He remembered how only through his original sense and the being´s focus on him he could already feel such awe. More than that, he remembered the fear and helplessness, even in his current situation without being able to move his body Matthew didn't feel with such intensity.
"Well, I guess that any answer I give to these questions would be completely hypothetical." Trying to end this train of thought he went on with more pressing questions.
"Where am I? Am I on earth? There were some disturbing images in the kid´s memories, according to these images there are some beasts that looked like monsters."
"And things other humans did in those memories were more inside the realm of fantasy than in the field of reality. So, unless the boy was insane and was seeing things, I don't think I'm on earth. Besides, I can't see nor feel what was going through his head, so, I don't think I can see what he was imagining. Unless this Aleran suffered from a strong case of dementia till the point he actually saw these things, I'm safe assuming that I'm on another planet."
"So, for now, ill assume that I'm not on earth. Even though I have to say that the probability of there being a planet like earth where life evolves in such a way that gave birth to humans is astronomically small. Even if the only similarity was to be our appearance."
"Moreover, the fact that they have some cultural similarities is weird too. I suppose this will also lead to pure speculation on my part."
"I'm getting thirsty, I better make some noises to wake up this lady and, with a bit of luck, I may be able to make her bring me some water."
Regrettably, he woke her up but with the screams of pain from a sudden migraine. The last thing he saw before fainting was the woman screaming the boy's name.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
DriftingCloud123
DriftingCloud123
Hi, nice to see you again. I have realized that the pace of the story is too slow, so this weekend I'm going to post 5 or 6 more chapters. That's where sh*t starts to happen.
Best regards. I hope you enjoy the chapter
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