ACCR Chapter 5 Something Beyond

The room was bland. Just by standing in the doorway, gazing at the black walls stripped with bands of white-solidified photon pathways, providing the only illumination in the otherwise simple room.

A query, one of a familiar nature tugged at my divine sense.

Fantasy-like.

That was my choice. Though, I refused to provide a template, allowing for something random, hoping to be surprised enough for thoughts about Lily to disappear.

The moment I had finished my input, the bands of light brightened, and the room transformed instantly, with the blandness vanishing, the walls adopting an illusory image of a continuing landscape that was composed of forests off in the distance, surrounding a lone willow on a green hill, with a bench under it.

The drooping branches were composed of leaves colored red, with white blossoms. The light was akin to high noon, and a gentle breeze was rustling the leaves, which released pleasant chimes upon clinking with each other.

I walked to the bench and plopped down, leaning against the stem, and stared up above into the canopy.

I closed my eyes and breathed in, taking in the clean air, soothing my mind.

It was a partial illusion, that I knew. But it still didn't take away from the naturalness of the scene.

Beautiful!

A certain part of me contemplated sleep, but that wasn't something that could be achieved with the runaway guilt-filled thoughts within my mind.

Lily. The coincidence that had allowed me to get someone like her, valuable to that man, Zeus, was something I couldn't wrap my head around. It had simply been too convenient that I was still suspicious even now.

Yet I was also certain that she wasn't scheming something. So, what had really happened?

My eyes opened, with my gaze focusing off into the fake distant brown mountain range, beyond the green forest below the hill.

Why does he want her?

That was the fundamental question. The most important one that could be asked.

She was a beauty. That wasn't in doubt. But a man like Zeus wouldn't be naive enough to be attracted my mere beauty. Besides, every single female cultivator was pretty in one way or another.

So, what was it that he needed? Was it her metallic-steel core?

That was the most plausible reason, yet I couldn't lock it in because of the lack of more information. Hopefully, Paul would come through.

Now, Zeus!

The man was strong! The gap between me, at the early Nascent Soul stage and him, who was at the peak, was an immense chasm!

It was a chasm that couldn't be bridged by normal means. If Lily was as important to him as I suspected, then he will make a play to get her. That was something that couldn't be refuted.

Then there was his sect, Pantheon. It was a behemoth that had its roots through many aspects of the Federation.

Some crucial industries were even partly in the hands of the massive sect, with many of its disciples spread within the Federation itself.

And this problem had simply stemmed from one simple decision made by the current Zeus.

I hadn't been alive during that time, but apparently, the man hadn't done anything in opposition ton the founding of the Federation, except to ask that the state of Greece be left sovereign. No Federal influence whatsoever.

With the man's disposition, I had been shocked that he had taken such a stance!

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But that only meant one thing. There was something that the sects were hiding, something more important than starting a war with the Federation.

I, and many others suspected that it was something that would allow them to make a comeback, with a legacy that would last for an age.

Yet so far, no one had managed to get a sniff of information. Even those Radiant people, who were far more friendly with the Federation hadn't divulged anything.

Maybe, I should contact the President after Paul finds something.

A dot appeared far off into the horizon, beyond even the mountains, with its movement alone churning up the sparse clouds.

It was a bird, and within mere seconds, which in its perspective translated into just two wing beats, appeared just above the forest, with the wind trailing behind it bending the trees as if they were mere twigs, some even snapping, their top halves being blown up into the sky.

It was a massive bird, a Roc. A legendary creature that had command of the wind itself, making it the master of the skies.

My heartbeat sped up as I gazed at its golden plumage, which gave off a metallic shine that made its body appear to have been cast from gold.

It was freedom in the flesh. The legends about it told of its ability to even fly within the void of space, an ability I envied greatly.

With a maneuver, it dipped its left wing, with its body following that direction to start circling around the hill, devastating the forest below with the wind left in its wake.

But I was attracted by its golden eyes. They weren't focused on the ground... It was a truth I could feel within my bones. No, they were directed skywards!

It was preparing for its eventual ascent.

With each flap of its massive golden wings, the speed increased, forming a tornado right around me, which left the hill, the grass, the willow and I, untouched, yet chaos was unfolding wherever the winds met the ground, having already reduced the trees below into splinters with the tornado, now ripping off the soil of the ground with reckless abandon.

Yet my eyes were drawn by the roc. The bird had this determination, one that I was sure matched my own as it became a blur even to my gaze.

Then it started rising along the walls of the wind, riding the rising currents skywards, where the sky had at some point become cloudy because of the powerful draw caused by the spinning wind pillar.

Its wing beats slowed in the interval they had been flapping. Anticipation gripped me as I stood up and walked out from beneath the shadow cast by the willow.

This was the moment! A pivotal moment that would decide whether the roc had gained enough velocity to escape the clutches of gravity!

Then the wing beats ceased, with the bird only coasting along with its authority over the wind.

But I could feel the energy building within it, with my core dancing along to the suspense, forcing my spiritual energy to race through my channels with the speed akin to that of high pressure liquid spiritual energy flowing through a pipe.

Then the wings rose upwards before a powerful beat caused the entire tornado of wind to collapse, destroying every single thing around me for miles, with the mountains in the distance even crumbling, leaving behind a massive depression with only the hill, the grass, the willow, and I as the only surviving witnesses.

But the illusion shifted around me, as if I was flying just beside the roc while flames licked its skin, and the beak became something that caused the very air before it to be torn apart.

The clouds were blown apart, leaving behind a massive hole within that was enlarging by the minute.

I could feel the bird pulling every single scrap of air around it to aid in its flight, controlling the wind attributed spiritual energy with the familiarity of limbs.

Yet the friction still couldn't be avoided. Sparks had been birthed at the start, before a full conflagration had enveloped the roc. I could see the golden feathers melting, akin to actual gold turning liquid.

But it didn't scream out. It couldn't. A closed beak pierced through the air better than an open one. And there was also the fact that it was determined to surpass its limits. The eyes didn't lie.

Within mere seconds, the planet had become a ball of blues and greens under us as the bird sped to the finish line, the last hurdle that would allow it to escape the shackles of gravity.

My heart roared within my chest as I beheld the feat. It was exhilarating, yet also terrifying.

Finally, a clarion cry, carried on chaotic spiritual energy within the void of space entered my ears from the bird.

Feathers had melted, leaving behind patches of blackened skin, especially on the face. It must have been painful, yet it was all clouded by the joy of accomplishment.

Then I felt the shift as all the solar attributed spiritual energy was pulled towards the bird, being absorbed in order to catalyse a breakthrough into something greater.

Then, I was back on my bench, leaning against the willow. The forest was whole, and the mountains in the distance were still intact, as if everything had been, but a dream.

In essence, it had been. Though, I knew that it had been an imagination, a visual representation of what tribulations a roc demon might go through in order to reach the fabled Deity Transformation stage.

My heart was pounding with excitement. After revenge, this was my dream, to head for the stars themselves. I wanted to see knew things, to explore the universe's wonders, to search for a higher cultivation... And many other things.

But first, I had to get my sweet revenge, and it was all going to be starting with one woman, Lily Toba.

The first step to that was sending a query, which I was hesitating to do. Her refusal to go along with the plan would be detrimental to my goal, yet lying to her would bring about a pit in the depths of my stomach, one I didn't want to face.

The problem with spiritual energy was the fact that it had a tendency to mutate in relation with emotions. Though that was limited to that which was within your body, or produced by you yourself.

That meant that any problems in your mental state could be detrimental to your wellbeing.

I took a breath, resolved myself, sat up straight on the bench, while also willing a new seat to appear, birthed by the programmable matter within the floor, though in its painted over illusion, appeared as a root, willed from the ground by the willow, to eventually morph into a small bench close to mine, yet also allowing the person upon it to lean into the tree, just like me.

Then the query was sent and I waited with bated breath. To others, this might have seemed like a simple decision, something they couldn't lose sleep over. But for me, it was something that would affect my plans.

Others might opt to simply lie to her, or in the event that they decided to present the choice to the person, still pressure her into accepting their own choices.

But I was certain that should miss Toba refuse and decide to go back to her clan, I wouldn't disrespect her choice, instead needing to come up with a new plan.

The part of the illusory holographic construct shifted as something like a portal appeared, though to my senses, the door had just opened.

Her eyes lit up as she took in the scenery for a fraction of a second, with her face almost glowing for an instant before she controlled her self and within two steps, was beside me, on the other bench, seated in a way that denoted a certain measure of unease.

My body was still reeling from the that visual ascension of the roc, with excitement still in a high.

"How do you find the scenery? Is it to your liking?" Surely a mundane question would be a nice way to start, instead of jumping into things, right? Though, small talk wasn't my thing.

"The willow is certainly beautiful, not to mention the realism of the place. I would love to own something like this one day."

"Too expensive. Those Radiant bastards just love stealing money." Even now, my liver still hurt at the sheer cost.

Her fingers tapped at the wooden surface of the bench as we lapsed into silence before she turned towards me, her face a mask of utmost seriousness. "So, why was I summoned?"

Yap! She had decided to leap right into the heart of the matter.

I straightened myself up, then started, "Zeus... Do you have an idea of why he wants you?"

There was a fraction of a second where her pupils widened, before settling back into calmness. Though I could feel sparks of suspicion off her soul aura. I wouldn't have tried to read into that, but this was a conversation I didn't want to risk getting into the wrong hands, so every single pulse of emotion had to be read and analysed.