Damon

The wind was whistling around Damon as he took the last few steps onto the summit of Mount Everest. He had worked hard to achieve this. Damon had climbed every mountain in the Himalayas and the tallest mountains in the world in order to prepare for his unguided and supplemental oxygen free hike to the peak of the world. Now that he was there however, all he could do was stare at the sky in wonder.

He was far above sea level at this point, every second he spent here put him one second closer to death as his very cells starved for oxygen. The clouds swirled below him as he gazed in awe at the world below.

Beyond the banks of clouds, he could see Tibet far in the distance and looking at a cliff wall he could see another group heading back from exploring the monastic caves in the side of the cliff.

Then in the center of his vision was a screen. He swiped through it to no avail. He thought he must have been hallucinating from the lack of oxygen. Damon read it closely to verify what it said.

Welcome to the Boundless Cosmos! Prepare for integration.

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“Huh?” Damon said and then promptly passed out.

~~

Nova

Nova was basking in the echo of ancient Tibetan monks when her team reached the cave along with her. As she looked through the cave she noticed that the rocky walls gave way to harsh jagged stone that dropped below. Her team swept through the surroundings with cameras sweeping the caves.

Travis said, “Is this the highest cave we’ve managed to find?”

“Yes, this cave is almost 500 meters above the highest ever recorded. We’ve made a discovery!” Nova cheered.

After they had finished documenting the cave her team began to head back down the cliffside. After they had all left she started around at the cave walls. This was thousands of years of history. Briefly she wondered what kind of person it would require to live in a place like this, isolated from all people and exposed to some of the harshest nature in the world.

Nova sighed and wondered when she would get as determined as this monk had been. Then she was about to hook up to the climbing equipment when a curious screen appeared in front of her.

Welcome to the Boundless Cosmos! Prepare for integration.

Then she felt herself slump to the ground as her sight faded away.