บท 147: Chapter 147 – A Question without an Answer
[2009 – September]
Breaking through the limit that had held me back from using my ethereal shields to affect the physical world directly wasn't just a simple add-on to my power, it was more akin to adding wings to a tiger.
Through my Energy Vessel ability, my physical parameters had reached a state that I couldn't even quantify, and they were still growing as I was absorbing the sun's radiation and the ambient psionic energy as well as other forms of energy at all times.
And since I had to greatly suppress my strength to avoid causing destruction with every move that I made, I was limited in how much strength I could effectively use.
Now though, things were different.
My ethereal barrier now functioned as a gate that allowed my mind to directly interfere with the world around me, it was similar to a forcefield that enabled me to enact my will on my surroundings.
In the same sense, I could now also make true use of my strengthened physical parameters, especially my speed.
Purely physical Superspeed in itself was a myth as such an ability simply went against the laws of physics. To be able to reach great speed, one first had to accelerate but with that came the need for traction and a resulting counterforce.
Without an object or construct that could receive the force generated by one's muscles, there would be no movement. In addition to that, the direction of the generated force was equally important.
Moving forward was a result of different forces interacting and negating each other, among which the force generated by one's muscles, friction, and the gravitation pull were the most important, which ultimately resulted in an acceleration in a forward direction.
Still, even if one's muscular strength and overall physique increased greatly, to a point where superhuman movement speed seemed to be a possibility, there would come a point where the force generated by one's muscles would just enable one to jump very high and very far, instead of actually running at superhuman speed.
This was because the gravitational pull would be too weak in comparison to the force generated by one's muscles, which meant that the actual direction of acceleration would be mostly upward and not forward.
This was also the reason that the tires of Formula One race cars had to be preheated to a temperature of around 100 degrees Celsius to ensure that they provided enough traction, which helped them 'stick' to the ground and direct the acceleration into forward movement, along with the spoilers that ensured that the air pressure generated by air resistance also pressed the car down on the road.
Pure muscular strength was therefore useless if one wanted to move at superhuman speed, at least that was the case without the ability to direct the generated force of one's muscles precisely.
This also led me to believe that Pietro passively generated an energy field around himself whenever he moved at superspeed which allowed him to do exactly that.
And now, through the help of an ethereal barrier, I could do the same. I might have been able to do something like this even with a normal barrier but it would have been a much more complicated and less efficient process.
Letting go of my hold on the air, I dispersed the snake-shaped tornados around myself while releasing the water back into the lake.
I didn't stop levitating in the air though.
Raising my head, white flames started to burn in my eyes as I looked beyond the blue sky above, my gaze resting on the endless dark void filled with stars and planets.
The space around me trembled violently as I accumulated more strength, desire burning in my veins hotter than the sun itself.
Taking a deep breath, my eyes flashed with power as the air exploded around my figure while I flew up, breaking apart any resistance with only minor effort as my will forced the ethereal barrier around my body to carry me higher and higher.
I wasn't sure how fast I moved but waves of burning heat washed over my body as the air around me was ignited due to the friction generated by the incredible speed.
And yet, not a single hair on my body was harmed even though the heat was enough to turn most metals into boiling sludge. Even my clothes were perfectly fine as the ethereal barrier shielded them from any kind of damage.
Increasing the force that I exerted on my own body as far as I dared to while still within Earth's atmosphere, my mind pushing me further and further, I broke through the atmosphere in mere seconds as an endless expense of darkness greeted my sight.
Heat turned into freezing cold while oxygen was wholly absent, though I didn't care for any of that. I didn't need to breathe either way nor did temperature have any effect on my Superhuman Physique.
Eyes glowing with suppressed power, I flew forward for a few more seconds before slowly coming to a stop, the lacking gravity causing my hair and cloak to float around as if weightless.
Turning around slowly, I saw it - Earth.
An expanse of blue and white was all that I could with hints of green and brown beneath the clouds. It was a rather surreal feeling to just look down on the planet that had been my whole world for the last few months.
Looking to the side, I saw the massive grey rock that was the moon. While just beyond the edge of the blue sphere, I could see the faint glow of the sun in the distance.
Focusing a bit, I moved even faster as I flew towards the moon, my speed several times greater than before as I didn't have to worry about causing destruction to the atmosphere now that I was in space.
In the blink of an eye, I landed harshly, cracking the surface of the moon in a radius of a few hundred meters around me as I shattered the grey rocks under my feet.
Still, there was only silence as there existed no atmosphere that could act as a medium for sound. Or at least that would be the case for a normal human.
Outer Space existed in a 'near-perfect' vacuum, which meant that it wasn't technically empty space. It just meant that the density of molecules was much much lower than on Earth.
My sense of hearing though was strengthened to such a degree that I could 'hear' even in Outer Space if I did not suppress my senses. Realizing this, even I found this to be simply inhuman.
Looking up again, I could now capture the whole blue planet with my eyes while I felt the cosmic radiation strike my flesh, leaving me empowered instead of dying.
I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips as I realized how far I had come, from dying in a car crash to walking on the moon with my physical body alone.
And yet, when I thought about this second chance at life that I had been gifted, the thing that I was most thankful for was the chance to meet Jean.
Even now, after I had just done something as unthinkable as flying to the moon, the joy and the sense of achievement that I felt could not compare in the least to how I felt when I succeeded in making my lovely redhead laugh.
My lips curved up into a gentle smile just thinking about seeing her laugh with her bright green eyes lighting up in joy and warmth.
I understood very well what it meant to be lonely as I had been exactly that in my last life. Loneliness had been like a poison that had left me numb and gnawed at my will to live.
Jean was like a warm and tender light, and being with her made me feel safe and human.
Looking at my barren surroundings, an idea came to my mind. And even though I knew that it was probably a very bad one which might have some serious consequences, it would be a lie if I said that I cared about those.
After all, if I never used my power to act just a bit recklessly, was I really free?
…
Entering the main surveillance room with fast steps, Fury yelled out with urgency: "Status report!"
Agent Hill, one of his most-trusted agents, immediately turned towards him from her position in the back of the room and told him what he wanted to know.
"Just seven minutes ago, our satellites picked up on some unusual activity on the surface of the moon.", she started to report, "The source is unclear but analysts have already ruled out the probability of this being just a natural phenomenon."
"As of yet, half a dozen deep craters have appeared on the moon's surface that span over hundreds of kilometers, with each of them at least ten kilometers wide.", she ended, her tone grave.
"Show me!", Fury ordered without hesitation, wanting to see with his own eyes what was happening on the moon.
It took only a few seconds for the large screen at the front, which had been flooded with data a moment before, to light up and show the image of the barren grey surface of the moon.
Though what had formerly been just a celestial object rattled with craters of different sizes now showed deep canyons that had seemingly been carved into it with a planetary-sized knife.
For a moment the whole room went silent, dozen of technicians, analysts, and agents shocked by what they bore witness to.
Even Fury himself paused for a moment as he looked at the screen with a deep frown. And his frown only continued to deepen when he saw how rapidly the canyons were expanding.
Though just as he was about to order his agents to stop staring and to continue to do their job and find out what the hell was going on, a hint of confusion appeared in his single eye.
" … Why does this look like a bird?", he voiced out questioningly with furrowed brows.
Unfortunately though, no one present knew the answer to this question.
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GodOfFreedom
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This story has more than 60 advanced chapters on my p@treon account. I will probably only upload it here occasionally, as this account isn't a priority of mine and just exists to stop others from stealing my intellectual property.
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