บท 4: Information
Everything was blurry, and I felt like I was still drifting between sleep and wakefulness. As I approached the table, there were blurry figures around it. "So son," said a figure with a male voice, "Today you will start a whole new beginning..." The image of the dining room and the two figures began to move away from me. I reached forward and tried to move quickly after them, but they disappeared into the blackness.
I felt as if I was floating into heat and light, accompanied by crackling sounds echoing in my ears. A reddish light and the smell of fire filled my senses. Slowly, I opened my eyes to find a starry sky above me, beside a burning camp fire with crackling sounds of burning branches. Near the fire, a pot emitted the aroma of a stew, and the mother and daughter sat eating from metal utensils held in their hands.
"Mom," said the girl, pointing in my direction. The mother set down her dinnerware and approached me. I tried to sit up, but dizziness gripped me, and the headache reminded me of its existence. "Slowly, slowly," she said, supporting me until I sat firmly. The mother looked at me and asked, "Okay?" I nodded my head.
"My name is Aya, and this is my daughter Jenny," she said. "We thank you for saving us." They brought their palms together and bowed slightly—a custom I vaguely remembered, perhaps from the east.
"Hello," I greeted them with a nod. "I am relieved to see that you both are safe and well." I mimicked their gesture of palms together and a slight bow. "I apologize for not being able to give my name. I hurt my head a few days ago, and my memory..." I let my words trail off.
They looked at me with concern, and Aya asked, "You don't remember where you are from, or any information?" she asked.
"Fighting in the air… a crash... that's it," I answered.
"In the air? But you're a geomancer, aren't you?" she asked.
"Geomancer?" I asked back.
"A wizard who specializes in controlling the earth," she answered.
"I don't know about that," I replied. "I think I control gravity," I added.
"Gravitation?" She looked at me in amazement.
"In Lumia, magic is divided into the five elements: earth, air, fire, water, and life. If you control gravity, you are not a native of Lumia," she explained.
"Lumia?" I asked.
"Lumia is the name of the planet we live in. It's in Jerar's universe," she replied.
"Jerar's universe?" I asked.
"Jerar's universe, a link in the eternal chain," she answered.
Aya saw my confusion and began to explain, "There are endless universes, or so they say. In the beginning, there was only one universe known as 'Genesis'. Nations fought each other in the struggle for limited resources, and this stopped with the discovery of interstellar space travel. Humans inhabited their own solar system and then, with progress, spread throughout the galaxy."
"But after millions of years, it is said, they once again reached a state of resource scarcity, and wars resumed. There was much suffering in the universe, death from starvation or wars were everywhere. Until one day, on the planet Elm, it is said, among the monks of the 'Alfi' monastery, monks who believed that the outside emanates from the inside, a monk named Link reached enlightenment. He managed to create a world internal, and this world grew to a universe of its own."
"He managed to create a portal in the universe of 'Genesis' from which it was possible to move to the new universe named 'Link' after its creator. Link allowed people who were willing, to migrate to his universe, and thus the shortage began to disappear from 'Genesis'. In Link, it is said that the monks of the 'Elfi' monastery spent all their time learning the technique that Link discovered. They also discovered that Link, after creating his inner universe, did not age, and his life span went on and on. His inner universe had an affinity with him, and he was like a god in his universe."
"After a few hundred years, another monk managed to create his own universe and opened a portal to it from Link's universe. The name Link, and the very eternal life that the creators were given led to the establishment of the name 'Eternal Link,' which is accepted ever since as the name of the chain of universes linked to each other."
"Since there is a time difference between universes, in one, time moves slower, and in the other, faster. It is not possible to know exactly when Link's universe was created and how much time has passed since then. We know how to recite the first ten universes from 'Genesis' to 'Berny' and a few names that lead to our universe. But at a certain point, the chain began to branch, and in one universe, you can find several portals to universes that lead from it. Therefore, today we do not know how many universes there are and what is the path to the first universe."
"One thing was discovered: when a creator of a universe dies, something that cannot happen naturally, the universe he created and the universes that continue from it in the chain are in danger. The universe begins a process of disintegration, and it works against the creatures that inhabit it."
"Jerar's universe is relatively a young universe. My grandfather's generation is the first generation to inhabit it. But about 30 years ago, the universe changed, and now you can see that life here has become dangerous. We can't find the portal out, we couldn't find Jerar. We are grateful that no new chain universes have been created here so that the disaster is not even mor tragic. But every day new disasters happen here. The wolves that chased us are only part of the problems. If we don't find the portal leading out or we dont find Jerar's body and someone can inherit the universe from him, our end will be harsh".
Aya finished her words, and we all fell silent. Jenny came closer to Aya and clung to her, seeking comfort.
"If I can control gravity, then I am not of this universe?" I asked.
"True. In every universe, the creator sets the rules that operate within it. In our universe, the five elements are the rule. However, in the universe where you have originated, they are likely different, its rules determine your abilities. Even the first immigrants to Jerar brought abilities from the universe they came from. The generations born here can only use abilities according to the local rules, and this is subject to Jerar's decisions. Only he can change the rules, if he is somehow still alive. Or his successor, if one is found in time," Aya explained.
"I used up all my energy in an earlier fight, so I need to meditate to regain my energy," I said.
"Don't you need to eat first?" she asked.
"I guess so. It's strange, but the last time I ate was a few days ago, and since then, all I've needed is meditation and a little water when I've consumed my strength." I said. " I'd love a little of the stew you made" I gestured towards the pot. "But of course" she answered and prepared the hot dish for me on one of the plates and handed it to me with a spoon to use. And then I noticed the many objects scattered around the fire—blankets, cooking utensils, pillows, and more.
"When I watched you running away from the wolves, I didn't see that you were carrying all that equipment. May I ask where it came from?" I asked.
Aya, while stirring the liquid in the pot and adding water from a steamer, answered, "This is an inheritance from my grandfather—a storage ring. It contains an inner space and allows inanimate objects to be stored within it. Time in the inner space is slow, so food can be preserved for a long time." She raised her hand and presented me with the ring.
I sent my consciousness towards the ring and felt the way it worked, realizing that it seemed familiar. I looked at my hand and noticed a tattoo in the shape of a mandala on the back of it. I felt the tattoo with my mind, and it produced a similar feeling to the ring. I sent my consciousness into the tattoo and found myself in a vast space that felt infinite. In this space, I could sense many objects, but I couldn't find a way to examine them thoroughly—no list or method to explore everything. I decided to focus on finding food and immediately felt the presence of various foods. I chose an apple and felt my hand holding it. I thought of peeling the apple and found a selection of items in the tattoo to carry out the task. Soon, I had an apple in one hand and a peeler in the other.
I wondered if I could also find clothes to change into and, to my surprise, I saw my character wearing the current clothes in my mind's eye. I explored various clothes in the tattoo's inner space and replaced my current attire with a different set. Aya and Jenny looked at me in surprise.
"I found out that my tattoo functions like your ring," I said.
"My ring doesn't work that way. I have a grid of cells that represent a volume of three-by-three cubic meters. I can choose which cell to pull an item from or put an item into. Extra-large items take up several cells. I can't put an item that I wear or pull an article of clothing directly onto my body. Your tattoo is of a higher rank than my ring. What is the capacity of your tattoo?" she asked.
"I can't seem to reach the end of its capacity. From my perspective, it seems to have an infinite volume," I replied.
She looked puzzled. "You come from a very rich family, from a very high class. I'm sure you'll be missed by someone. In time, I'm sure they'll start looking for you. I wonder how you got to Jerar," she wondered.
"jerar," I thought, remembering images of sitting in a pub, glasses of beer, laughter, and a smiling figure appeared in my mind. "Can you describe to me what Jerar looks like?" I asked.
Aya pulled out an electronic pad from her ring and showed me a photograph of a man—the same man from my previous memory.
"I think I know him. I think we are friends," I said.
Aya's eyes widened at my words. "So maybe you came to find out what happened to him," she said. "You are the miracle we've been waiting for. We were on our way to buy supplies from the nearest town for our village, but the wolves ambushed us on the way. If you join us, you might be able to find answers about your identity and about Gerar. You could help us find a way out of this predicament," she said.
I nodded my head and started eating. The food was delicious, the meat rich with a hint of sweetness.
"An interesting recipe, what are its ingredients?" I asked.
"A few Root Vegetables" she replied, "and wolf meat," she added.
I sent my consciousness around and found that there wasn't much left of any of the wolves—remnants of internal organs and a little fur And that's all.
"You cleaned out all the wolves. How long was I unconscious?" I asked.
"About a day and a half," she replied.
It was alarming. What happens if I lose consciousness during combat? I thought to myself.
After finishing my meal, I sat down in a meditation position. "I need to store up energy. Interrupt me if there is an urgent reason to do so," I said.
Aya nodded her head, and I began my meditation, focusing on restoring my energy and contemplating the mysteries of this universe called Jerar.
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