Soil. A garden without end. A sleeping figure in the mud.
"Time to rise, Chieloka." A voice booms from everywhere.
The man stirs from a slumber of the ages. His eyes snap open to a forest of green and brown.
"Papa was right." Chieloka says as he scans around, "Heaven is a garden… in every season."
"You are never without commentary, Chieloka." A voice booms from all around.
"I dig the scenery, God." Chieloka says, "Glad you could look past my artful browser history."
"Hahaha." The voice booms from everywhere, "I am not God, merely one of an infinite."
"Then who can you be? An angel?" Chieloka queries.
"I wonder how you'll react…" The voice booms all around once more.
Clay suddenly gathers in front of Chieloka. From the clay, a figure forms. A tortoise.
"Surprise." The tortoise says flailing its arms and legs.
"Ezinwa?" Chieloka is shocked at the tortoise no larger than two fists, "Is that really you?"
"In the shell!" Ezinwa the tortoise says with jauntiness.
"So talking tortoises are real?" Chieloka asks as he grabs Ezinwa from the air.
"There is so much to say but time is of the essence." Ezinwa says, "Look around you."
Chieloka looks around at the luscious green world. Beyond this zone of spring, the world experiences all sorts of seasons and terrain. Some Chieloka has never even dreamed of.
"If this isn't heaven, where am I then?" Chieloka asks, "Garden of Eden? I'm naked after all."
"No, no." Ezinwa says, "This is your Dao-Heart."
"Dao? Like a dantian?" Chieloka asks with growing excitement.
"Your Dao-Heart contains your dantians, all three of them." Ezinwa says.
"My wildest dream is coming true!" Chieloka shouts as he raises Ezinwa into the air, "Isekai adventure, here we come!"
"Haha! Slow down there." Ezinwa says, "You aren't getting reincarnated or moving to a different universe. Just experiencing your current world differently."
"So no waking up with OP abilities in a new body?" Chieloka asks with growing disappointment.
"Now, now. I'm sure we can find a happy medium." Ezinwa says with a head tilt, "Take a look."
A mirror shimmers into existence beside Chieloka and Ezinwa. Holding the tortoise is a man of sculpted ebony. Gone is the bulky build of a 47-year-old, now his body is slender. His once brown eyes are now a dance of brown and green. His dark hair now has green and brown tips.
"Where did all my muscles go?" Chieloka asks in shock, "At least I've still got abs."
"That's your first question?" Ezinwa asks back.
"I might be better looking than Chloe…" Chieloka says admiring his 24-year-old looking self.
"Are you a betting man?" Ezinwa teases.
After a momentary silence, Chieloka asks, "What about the chief? The others? Are they safe?"
"You'll rejoin them soon." Ezinwa reassures, "Now, what do you see? Really sense around you."
Chieloka looks around the endless garden. All seasons happening at once yet separate. Like moments in a cycle. A cycle without a beginning or an ending. Repeating without ceasing.
Chieloka is unknowingly engrossed in this musing when he notices the garden is no longer at his feet but all around him. A ring of soil orbits him. He floats in the midst of bountifulness.
"I am... flying." Chieloka says breathlessly, "Wait till the fam gets a load of this!"
Just as Ezinwa begins to fade, it says, "Stand together and shine brightly."
The world fades away...
Churning Darkness. An island of pink. 3 figures are inside this pink haven. One woman has pink hair and two distinct eye colors - light blue and brown. One woman has purple hair with matching purple eyes. The last woman has glossy black hair and blank-obsidian eyes.
"Why?" The purple one asks.
"I didn't call a meeting." The pink one says while shaking her head.
The black one growls while examining the other two.
"It was I who brought you here." A voice booms from the storming darkness beyond.
All 3 women go on high alert. The pink one, the youngest, takes shelter behind the purple one.
"Do not be afraid." The voice booms again, "Perhaps a familiar form would do."
Ink leaks through the pink membrane in between the 3 women. It coalesces as it floats into the middle of the women. It finally settles into the shape of a black cat.
"Hello again, Kaori." The black cat says facing the pink one hiding behind the purple one.
Suddenly, the black-haired woman attacks the black cat from behind. Except, her hands go right through the cat. She tries to punch and choke but nothing happens. She gives up, frustrated.
"Only Kaori may hold me." The black cat says, "I won't harm her or any of you, Shade."
The purple one, Shade, thinks for a bit. She turns to the pink one, Kaori, then says, "Go."
Kaori leaves Shade's back and approaches the black cat with caution.
"Kuroi?" Kaori asks hesitantly.
"The one and only." Kuroi the black cat says waving its claws.
Kaori grabs hold of Kuroi, its real. She sniffs it then hugs it. For a moment, everything feels right.
"I've never left you." Kuroi says reassuringly.
"Hai." Kaori says, "So why are you reappearing now?
"In Dantian?" Shade asks.
The black one, Abyss, sulks in her corner. Distant from the conversation.
"This is Kaori's Dao-Heart." Kuroi explains, "It contains all 3 Dantians and many more wonders."
Kaori looks around, beyond her bubble of pink haven, into the roaring, all-encompassing void.
"As for why I am here now…" Kuroi says, "It is because your awakening happened early."
"My awakening?" Kaori asks.
"A lifetime ago, you made a wish." Kuroi says, "I'm here to facilitate that wish."
Kaori tilts her head, even more confused.
"Unfortunately, my time is short so we'll have to skip quite a few steps." Kuroi says.
The pink barrier begins to fade away. Kaori panics yet hangs on to Kuroi. Shade moves in to cover Kaori. The void storm surges in like an ocean. Chaos. Nothingness. Desolate.
"Shade, Kaori chose to do this." Kuroi says, "Let her shine."
Kaori is clinging onto Kuroi and Shade tightly. Kaori is in a full-blown panic. Violently shaking.
Shade looks at Kuroi in anger then, with a sigh, she caresses Kaori's head and says, "Safe."
"Cast your senses outward." Kuroi says spreading its paws, "Feel it all. Accept it all."
Kaori's shaking eases. Gradually she loosens up. As her senses cast out, she realizes the darkness swirls around her. As if she was the darkness itself. Not darkness, just the unknown. An ocean of mystery. Not every question needs an answer. Not every question has an answer.
"I'm not... afraid." Kaori mouthes as she stares out into the dark.
Kaori's previously left brown eye grows dark while her right light blue eye is now white.
"My time is up." Kuroi says as it fades, "We will meet again, properly next time."
The darkness dissolves.
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