“What did you think?” Egron, the wise man of the white tower, master of all and General Commander , questioned a blind woman wearing a blindfold.

“They… are an anomaly, they’re not who we were looking for...” He stared in disbelief at her.

“This tower is going to fall because of you, and all you say is it was an accident? Slipped on a banana, and now we’ve got a big problem to deal with?” She remained silent, observing him.

“That deal couldn’t have been a bigger lie, everyone is going to betray each other, it’s just a matter of time. The only reason they haven’t attacked each other yet is that they still don’t know what to expect from them. But anyway, did we find what we were after?” She nodded.

“It’s safe. Your position may be complicated because of them, but our future is certain…”

…

…

“Is the world infinite?” Alice almost shouted while reading the book in front of the other novices. Stark also found it ridiculous—how could they be so sure of that?

“According to them, it’s flat and infinite, somehow containing several other worlds, one of which we came from. And on top of that, the moon has been missing for millennia” Agatha whispered quietly.

“You two lower your voices! This is a library, and the others are giving us dirty looks.”According to the highly dubious books of this world, it was completely infinite, or at the very least extremely vast.

Millions of kilometers had already been explored, and no curvature had been found. If you climbed high enough and had a good view, you could see the other side of the world. The souls, as they called themselves, had appeared at a central point, expanding their domain over many millions of years toward what is now called the outer edge. The journey had been extremely challenging due to the various death zones along the way.

No soul had been born or generated in centuries; all souls had been discovered within 'Illusory' worlds, where natural laws were easily broken and distorted. Moreover, the souls are not awakened.

According to known history, through great effort and evolution, the first world had created its awakened ones, who one day managed to escape the illusory world on their own. Along the way, they encountered other worlds like theirs, which they helped.

The truth was that the real world was highly hostile to all, which had confined them to the center. Only when resources began to run out and wars broke out did a few adventurers dare to spread into the smaller intermediary region. There, they faced conflicts of their own, pushing them again and again until they reached the current outer edge.

The current information was outdated. The fact was simple: although there were forms of communication with a wider reach—an embryonic form of magical internet—the distance between the citadels was too great for regular communication.

As a result, everyone had been stuck on their isolated islands for thousands of years until some conflict forced them further. The records told stories of several beings that transcended humanity completely, and apparently, traveling at the speed of light was the minimum requirement to become even a low rank adventurer.

“The speed of light isn’t absolute, nor the highest...” Stark struggled to understand this. Light had a constant speed from where he came, but here, that wasn’t true. Many things were faster, especially the soul essence, an energy that inhabited souls and basically composed their being. The author’s understanding of the book was shallow on the subject, knowing only that it was an energy produced by souls over time.

It could take many forms, and with proper training, its allocation could even exceed the speed of light. Apparently, great masters used it to somehow replace their vision.

Its basic allocation could enhance or replace several bodily functions. People who, for some rare reason, became paralyzed could use it to move normally, and its use in combat was indispensable.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“The first step to using soul essence is feeling it. It’s a part of you, so it’s like becoming aware of your muscles or breathing.” He scratched his head as he tried to repeat what had been said to him.

‘Easy.’ He could feel it, like a cold liquid churning inside him. The second step was trying to take control of it, as if pulling a thread, so he tried to tug on the essence, his desires and intentions pulling at it.

“No…” A lazy voice echoed in his mind, and immediately, he lost control. It was the same voice from before, sounding like him but with a layer of distance. He repeated the process, only to hear the same thing again.

“Hey, is anyone else trying to feel their soul essence?” To his surprise, most were engaged in the same exercise. The high-level ones just nodded and said how easy and smooth it was, their expressions confirming it. Meanwhile, Agatha and Alice seemed embarrassed, saying it was very simple.

He exchanged glances with them, quickly understanding the situation.

“Ahh, I’m so tired. I was thinking of taking a break and having a drink. You two coming?” Agatha stretched and faked a yawn.

“Wow, I can’t believe how exhausting this is. I really need to rest…”

‘Could she be any more fake? She can go days without sleep...’ Alice followed suit and practically ran off. The three gathered in one of the rooms.

“Everyone’s hearing the same voices, right?” They sighed in mutual agreement. Agatha, with a spark of realization, asked:

“How did it feel to awaken?” Stark recalled the world of threads he saw, the sensation of rising from the bed for the first time, as if being reborn, peeking through the shadows at the real world, and he tried to describe it to them in detail. And obviously the feeling of someone chained by his side.

“That’s not how it was for me…” Agatha firmly denied.

“It was as if… the shadow that dwells in everyone’s heart looked at me, wanting to be part of something bigger and at the same time wanting to kill me. They called out to me, waking me up, insisting to be seen…” Alice then followed with her account:

“It felt like the hidden nature of everything was trying to… kill me. It wanted to destroy me completely, but at the last moment, it recoiled. In the end, it became part of me through the Weaver…” The Weaver, the creature that stitched her body together.

“What do the books say about awakening?” Agatha flipped through a few pages of a book she carried.

“People just wake up in a new, mutated body that has been made using part of the old, feeling more aware. Well, at least that’s the account of someone low-level. There’s something off here, though. After all, the ‘Weaver’ is never mentioned.” They sighed. She continued offering ideas and solutions.

“In theory, we should be doing this under the guidance of our masters since it’s supposed to be quite difficult, but we could try accessing the Soul Sea to avoid any… ‘disruptions.’ This way we can see and understand better the power inside of us.” She emphasized the word ‘disruptions’. The truth was obvious—the commotion was already significant, and it would grow larger if whatever made them special became clearer.

Stark was the first to try, and Agatha attempted to guide him through a meditation.

“Take a deep breath, and at three, a wave of relaxation will wash over your body. One, your body is getting more relaxed. Two, your body feels heavier and sleepier. And at three, it will rest completely. Three.” His consciousness seemed to dive again, his vision retreating into a small figure watching through the mind’s gears.

This time, though, there was no ground beneath him, making him fall endlessly into the abyss, until he hit water—an oceanic depth. He tried to flail and swim but couldn’t, no matter what he did. Around him, a massive leviathan swam, its head small compared to its body but already his size. Its eyes reflected the bottomless abyss as it stopped in front of Stark, who was still falling. From this distance, a single bite would be enough to devour him, yet it remained still.

He stood frozen, watching the leviathan as it left him to sink further. His gaze fell on a titan walking on the ocean floor, its appearance like that of a furry goat on its legs and chest. It was at least a hundred meters tall here.

“Son of Baphomet…” The creature glared at him with hatred as he sank deeper, its feet close enough to threaten to crush him. Yet instead, it continued walking through the infinite void.

The sand at the bottom seemed like glass, and the fine dust was radiant and silver. When he ran his hand over it, he could sense there was a barrier beneath—a thin membrane.

“Return. This is not your place.” He looked to the side and saw several beasts he had never seen before gathered there, most of them deformed and strange. They all roared at him, terrifying him, as he had no strength or power here.

“Return. Fear and weakness are not tolerated.” The lazy voice continued to echo. He stood up as best he could, his tone firm and solemn.

“Nor is insolence. I don’t know what you are, but you’re inside my soul and are me, one way or another. So shut your damn mouth and obey me.” The animals stopped roaring, and the membrane seemed to give way as he fell further. This time, everything here was empty and lonely.

Reaching the bottom again, he looked around, and the shadows greeted him.

“You shouldn’t have come…”