Visdre moved his head, seemingly looking at a random direction.
"Who are you?"
He got no response. He squinted his eyes and stared for a few minutes.
"I felt something for a moment. But that feeling has disappeared."
Visdre was thinking about his current predicament. He was in a situation where he was locked out of his accounts and was jobless. Unlike the stories he had read before, when his spirit body was formed in the dream of this body. He didn't experience a fusion of memories.
"Where should I start?"
Visdre felt as if he had reached a dead-end. Despite getting another chance. He was lacking information and had no connections.
"I am still in the same situation as before, no friends, no family... Now I even lack a job."
"60,000 hours... I'll become homeless before then in my current situation."
Visdre started to think about ways he could make money. He had no skills and no future knowledge.
"Contracts!"
Visdre had read ahead and knew that souls could be used to rotate the technique. If he could somehow get people to sell their souls to him. He might be able to pass the first bottleneck!
Visdre got up and went to a store to buy materials. Unfortunately, in this day and age. He had used his phone to purchase things. Right now, he had reset it already and it wasn't linked to his accounts.
He sat outside of the store and waited patiently. When he saw someone about to come in. He stopped them and asked:
"Are you interested in buying a used phone?"
The person told him no and ignored him. They went inside the store.
He spent 4 hours asking people if they were interested in buying his phone. Eventually, he found someone that would buy it.
He requested cash.
After haggling with them and wasting a lot of time. He only got 70$ for it.
But this was cash that he could use without access to his bank account.
"A hidden existence doesn't need a phone..."
"This sacrifice is necessary!"
He went inside the store and bought some art supplies. Such as markers, chalk and a poster. He still had 40$ left.
He also bought a cheap mask from the toy section.
He wrote on the sign:
'Seer!
Free readings...'
He then walked towards a neighborhood and stood with his sign.
People mostly ignored him. Although some were amused. He had one 'participant'.
"My readings are free... they don't require any physical money. I instead require something more spiritual..."
"Spiritual?"
"Yes!"
Visdre didn't mention anything about souls as he felt that would scare off most people. He instead asked for a favor.
"What do you mean?"
"I just need you to perform a calculation in your mind."
"A calculation? How is that spiritual?"
Visdre then said:
"Consciousness itself is very mysterious. Your brain is like a operating system. You hallucinate your reality. Neurons are constantly firing off and changing. But think about it. Is your decision making a result of evolution and cause and effect? Or is it something more mysterious? You have an inner world that no machine in reality can measure!"
"There are people in this world that believe in a higher power. Some go through great lengths and even dedicate their lives to spreading the 'word' of this power. Some say that simply believing in and repenting to these foreign entities before death can leave you in eternal bliss..."
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
"There are also people that only believe in science and its methods. I don't care what you believe in. My calculation is special."
He had grabbed this persons attention and soon they got into a conversation about what this 'calculation' would be.
Visdre intentionally tried to make it seem more scientific then it was. His 'calculation' wasn't a calculation at all. It was a prayer! A mantra! A chant!
Visdre took the person to the side and took out some of the chalk he had bought. He drew three circles on the sidewalk.
"Stand in the center..."
The person was curious and wondered what exactly would happen.
"Hold this chalk."
Visdre used his hands to adjust the posture of the person.
"Repeat after me..."
"Esteemed Somnus. Master and Dreamer of Worlds. I present a key towards your calculation..."
The person said these words with a weird look in their eyes. They thought to themselves that this guy was a little weird.
"Now turn to the right."
They turned to the right.
"Good. Now say this..."
"Reasoning has now become the subject."
The person did as they were told and rotated again
"Remembering has now become the question."
"Now say this..."
"Thinking has now become the idea."
Visdre watched them perform a full loop as he focused on his sea of consciousness. He didn't feel anything at all. He frowned and told them to squat and hold the chalk on the ground.
He then told them to spin as he adjusted their posture again. Soon they had drawn a magic circle into the sidewalk.
"Was something supposed to happen?"
Visdre smiled and told them.
"Remember that first line?"
They had already forgotten it!
"Chant 'Esteemed Somnus. Master and Dreamer of Worlds. I present a key towards your calculation...' in your mind repeatedly. I'll have then considered you to have paid for my services."
The person started to chant the mantra in their mind.
Visdre focused heavily on his sea of consciousness.
He used the 'feeling' of rotating his 'key'. Despite not having one. He still tried!
It was like flicking a switch.
It felt like something had ignited a flame. His sea of consciousness lit up. It wasn't simply his sea of consciousness that experienced change. His source castle that had been scattered and that had shifted when he woke up started to pulse as if it was alive.
Visdre was no longer focusing on his empty sea of consciousness. He directly felt his spirit body! It was in the abyss. It was similar to when he split his spiritual weight before dying. Just like how he was able to be conscious in his body and aware of the white room at the same time.
His spirit body was in his source castle! He felt it surrounded by the abyss.
Visdre's spirit body was in a suit and was in stark contrast to his regular body. The face was covered in fog and had no expression. While his actual body was wearing casual clothes.
The source castle that looked as if it was about to fall apart started to repair itself as if it was a living organism. The cracks and pieces started to become perfect.
A white ball of energy also appeared in front of his spirit body. It pulsed with information.
What was this information? It was whisperings and chants from some mortal. But Visdre's pupils widened in surprise.
He heard the voices chant:
Esteemed Somnus. Master and Dreamer of Worlds. I present a key towards your calculation...
The voice matched that of the person that had done the ritual!
"Alright! I thank you for doing these weird motions. What did you want me to divine?"
"What?"
"You came because of the sign right?"
"Ohhhh... I had forgotten all about that."
"..."
"What are the winning lottery numbers for XXX?"
"Hold out your hands!"
The person held out his hands as Visdre grabbed them. In his source castle, he held out both hands and put them around the ball of energy. This was some sort of phantom connection with the persons soul.
Visdre felt all sorts of events and memories of this person. His head ached and he felt his spirit body dim as he searched forcefully through everything.
He then said:
"14, 18, 19..."
The person was shocked. Not because he thought these were the winning numbers. But because he had seen these numbers before!
"Wait right here!"
Visdre left as soon as the person disappeared from his sight.
He didn't feel like dealing with the aftermath.
----------------------------------------
Mark's POV:
"Are the readings really free?"
"My readings are free... they don't require any physical money. I instead require something more spiritual..."
"Spiritual?"
"Yes!"
"What do you mean?"
"I just need you to perform a calculation in your mind."
"A calculation? How is that spiritual?"
The weird man says...
"Consciousness itself is very mysterious. Your brain is like a operating system. You hallucinate your reality. Neurons are constantly firing off and changing. But think about it. Is your decision making a result of evolution and cause and effect? Or is it something more mysterious? You have an inner world that no machine in reality can measure."
"There are people in this world that believe in a higher power. Some go through great lengths and even dedicate their lives to spreading the 'word' of this power. Some say that simply believing in and repenting to these foreign entities before death can leave you in eternal bliss..."
I get told to say some random phrases while standing in the middle of three circles of chalk on the ground. Nothing happens.
"Was something supposed to happen?"
The man in the mask seems happy.
"Remember that first line?"
"First line?"
"..."
"I'll repeat it.
"Chant 'Esteemed Somnus. Master and Dreamer of Worlds. I present a key towards your calculation...' in your mind repeatedly. I'll have then considered you to have paid for my services."
'Esteemed Somnus. Master and Dreamer of Worlds. I present a key towards your calculation...'
Nothing seems to happen...
"Alright! I thank you for doing these weird motions. What did you want me to divine?"
"What?"
"You came because of the sign right?"
"Ohhhh... I had forgotten all about that."
"..."
"What are the winning lottery numbers for XXX?"
"Hold out your hands!"
I do as I am told. He grabs my hands and I start to feel a weird sensation in my head. It feels as if someone has poured cold water on top of it.
"14, 18, 19..."
'Wait? Wasn't that...'
'The lucky numbers from my fortune cookie!?'
'What are the odds?'
'This guy might... be the real deal!?'
"Wait right here!"
I run off to go look for my fortune. When I return...
"He's gone..."