[...Chaos Flow Protocol - Disengaged ]
[...Basic Search Protocol - Psychic Scan Activating ]
[...Scanning… Scanning… Scanning]
[...Scan Complete - Result - 1 ]
[...Initializing Examination Sequence 1 - Psychic Residue… Grade 1... Confirmed]
[...Initializing Examination Sequence 2 - Soul Residue… Negative… Confirmed]
[...Initializing Examination Sequence 3 - Meta-Physical Residue… Meridian Entity… Confirmed]
[...Initializing Examination Sequence 3.1 - Meridian Entity In-Depth Examination Sequence Initializing… Scanning… Scan Complete… Meridian Entity Inoperable]
[...Initializing Examination Sequence 3.2 - Meridian Entity designated for resource extraction… Confirmed]
[...Initializing Examination Sequence 4 - Physical Residue… Confirmed]
[...Initializing Examination Sequence 4.1 - Physical Residue In-Depth Examination Sequence Initializing… Scanning... Human(Base - Monkey)... Gender(Female)... Age(13)]
[...Initializing Examination Sequence 4.2 - Physical Residue Inactive… Confirmed]
[...Initializing Examination Sequence 4.3 - Physical Residue Frame Stability… Confirmed]
[...Initializing Examination Sequence 4.4 - Physical Residue In-Depth Examination Sequence Complete... Results - Optimal]
[...Initializing Genesis Sequence 1 - Resource Extraction - Deploying Kindling in 3,2,1... Kindling Ignition Confirmed]
[...Initializing Genesis Sequence 1.1 - Fuel Extraction Examination Sequence Initiating… Progress - Sub Optimal… Deploying Stabilization Frame - Observer]
[...Initializing Genesis Sequence 1.2 - Stabilization Frame - Observer Deployed… Scanning… Scanning… Scanning… Scanning… Observer Found… Initiating Second Kindling Ignition]
[...Initializing Genesis Sequence 1.3 - Fuel Extraction Examination Sequence Initiating… Progress - Optimal… Initiating Third Kindling Ignition]
[...Initializing Genesis Sequence 1.4 - Fuel Extraction Examination Sequence Initiating… Progress - Beyond Optimal]
[...Initializing Genesis Sequence 2 - Physical Residue Activation Sequence… Gathering Resources… Generating Electrical Surge… Deploying Electrical Surge... Physical Residue Activation… Confirmed]
[...Initializing Genesis Sequence 2.1 - Physical Residue In-Depth Examination Sequence Initiated… Scanning… Scanning… Scanning… Scan Complete… Results - Sub Optimal]
[...Initializing Genesis Sequence 2.2 - Physical Residue Operation - Sub Optimal… Initiating Examination Sequence 2… Scanning… Scanning… Scanning… Scan Complete… Result - Meridian Entity Inoperable Scarring… Deploying Repair and Stabilization Frame]
[...Initializing Genesis Sequence 3 - Psychic Residue Gathering Sequence Initiated… Complete]
[...Initializing Genesis Sequence 4 - Consciousness Genesis Forge Sequence Initiated… Gathering Resources… Attempting Forge Sequence 1… Genesis Confirmed]
[...Initializing Genesis Sequence 5 - Dream Generator Initiated - Scenario - Who Am I?]
***
I was told that when Death comes for you, and right before IT reaches you, Time stops.
I was told that in that moment of frozen Time, all your memories flash before your eyes.
Your moments of Glory.
Your moments of Despair.
Your Good and Evil deeds reveal themselves. So you would understand how you had lived your life and what brought you to that very moment of Death reaching for you.
I was unsure if that moment had frankly reached me.
Nevertheless, there was no denying the fact.
My life flashed before me, if not precisely in my eyes but in my mind.
From being born, during a complicated childbirth, to the first breath, I took.
From the first cry, I unknowingly and unwillingly had to take because of the temperature difference of being outside my mother’s womb to the first light that grazed my feeble baby eyes.
From the loving and caring gaze of my mother and father as they cared for my frail baby body that pissed and pooped without conscious intent, to the wonder of my first two-legged straight walk identifying me as a Human.
From babyhood, when I explored my surroundings for the first time to the first words spoken.
From the realization of speaking my wants to beatings obtained when my urges clashed with those of my parents.
From my first day of school, full of anxiety from all the other children there feeling the same, to the first time I quarreled with my schoolmates.
From the day I finished primary school and got released into the wider world, only to realize that more of the same awaited me, to the day I finished high school and found out that Life in general sucks.
From the day my parents quarreled and left each other to the day I resented them and the World for being such a shit place. To the moment when I went Sage Mode by hiding in the neverending land that was Anime, Manga, Movies, Series, Books, Novels, and anything else that took my fancy.
From the day I left to the baker’s, down the street, to buy myself some bread for breakfast, to the screeching tires of a car hitting and probably killing me.
The interesting fact, however, stemmed from a different source.
Only after the car hit and probably killed me had I identified myself for who I was.
That was also when I found myself in this white nothingness, where I could contemplate my whole life as if it were a recording being played at my leisure.
Thus, I was unsure if that spoken moment of Time stopping and Death reaching for me had truly made its appearance.
Still, with no Death on the horizon and nothing else to do, I went through my life’s memories from the beginning till the end again.
Every time I did, I experienced everything. The emotions. The motives. The good and the bad. From the physical discomforts of a growing body to the emotional injuries suffered while living a Human life to the revelations embedding themselves into my body and mind, thus, shaping me into Who I ended up becoming.
Truly. It was breathtaking and horrifying to understand everything with a clarity never, ever, even once, experienced before.
That clarity centered me as I went through the memories.
Because of said clarity, I could parse through the intricacies of the life lived in the later stages of my life.
My life had a decent start.
It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t good.
Average if you consider the balancing effect of a good family vs the lacking environment surrounding it. Still, it would not be wrong to say that those harsher times were the good memories, while the softer times that followed magnified the cracks which had formed in my family.
Cracks that only increased as time passed.
Cracks that embodied the materialistic side of living and not the spiritual side.
Cracks that defined more than I had ever pictured they could, yet had defined me just as much.
The worst part, however, was how my current clarity pointed out how things led from one decision to another. Even worse, the clarity pointed to the possibilities, not of my own choices, yet ended up defining me more than I realized while alive.
Like a slow-acting poison injected into my life narrative drop by drop, therefore, unknowingly poisoning me and my view of the World I lived in. Yet, none of those poisoned drops were as clear as the ones manifesting through the cracks of a Life lived without Love.
In this case, however, I am not paying attention to familial love.
No, I am paying attention to my experience with the opposite gender.
As such, the clarity pointed to one moment. It told me of the nudge received, and at first glance, it appeared benign in nature. Truthfully speaking, it was innocent by nature as it had kept me away from all the… females in heat.
However, the more those innocent tiny nudges manifested, placed expertly throughout my younger years, all the way up to my death, the grander the trap became.
Almost as if some unseen force spun a trap for me, string by string. Thus, without female experiences in my life, I never became a true man. A responsible and societal man seeking love, family, and children.
No, in fact, it was the total opposite that awaited me.
Loneliness.
It was loneliness that kept me company more than anything else. Every year I inched closer to 30, the more profound the Pit of Despair became.
The reason was simple.
No matter how many times I've tried. No matter how I tried it. There was always something interrupting my attempts at ridding myself of the tag known as virginity.
Nothing ever worked.
Whether it be through people, resources, or just plain bad luck. There was always, always something interrupting my attempts.
It transpired so many times that many times my thoughts led me to suicide because it seemed the very World disdained my existence. It was as if I were a faulty existence that should never have been born in the first place nor even pass on my genetics.
The only thing actually preventing me from descending deeper into that pit of despair was the distraction known as Anime, Manga, Novels of all kinds, Movies, and Series of all genres.
There was nothing that I had not tried to distract my mind.
Yet, no matter how much of my mind I poured into distractions, I never could get away from that Pit of Despair.
I realize that now.
I was never meant to escape that Pit of Despair.
I was meant to hate and disdain my very existence.
I was meant to be broken from the start.
Why?
Why was I meant to hate and disdain my very existence?
Why was I destined for such a life?
Have I done something evil and grotesque in a past life or something?
No
NO
NO!
Then, clarity pointed out something.
Something I overlooked all these times I reviewed my life’s memories.
Something I would have overlooked for many more reviews.
Yes. Something or someone desired me to be broken.
Yes. Something or someone planned and planted that Pit of Despair.
Yes. Something or someone wanted me to hate and disdain my very existence.
Yet…
Haha
Hahahaha
HAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHA
Hahahaha
Haha
I died.
Haha… I died where I should not have died.
The car accident?
It was not meant to happen.
Yet it did.
.
.
.
You!
You dared?
You dared?
YOU DARED TO SENTENCE ME TO THAT? DID YOU NOT?
BOOM - CRACK - CRACK - CRACK
Whatever my next thought would have been, it ceased to exist immediately.
My right hand felt the familiar sensation of pain and pressure.
Until this point, in this white nothingness, I didn't even realize I had a hand. Yet, in the same instant, I realized I undoubtedly had a right hand, thoughts about said right hand ceased to exist.
All that mattered were the black cracks beside me spreading across the white nothingness. Similar to how cracks formed on a shattered mirror.
Only there was more to these cracks. How I knew that fact went over my mind. However, what did not go over my mind was the impulse to hit it once more.
Without even being conscious of it, my right arm swung at those black cracks.
Bam
The impact and the sensations were minuscule when compared to the first time. Nonetheless, it was as if the very first impact had shattered something.
Neither did it matter because this time, I felt the impact not just with my hand or my mind.
No, I felt it with my Heart as well.
A Heart chock full of Despair, yet the impact had rattled that Pit of Despair.
No, I can feel it. There is more to the sensations in my heart.
Ignoring the ‘How’ of what I did.
I stared inside that Pit of Despair.
Knowing instinctively, without any doubts, what I had to do next, I just did it.
No thought or reflection was given to it. I just did it.
I lit the matchstick, representing my true emotions. Sentiments that were buried because I did not want to cause a massacre just because the World treated me wrongly. It would not have been fair for strangers to pay the price of my suffering.
That and I did not want to go to jail. After all, if I had caused a massacre, I doubted I would have been allowed to distract my mind with the fantastic stories of different worlds, thus losing the very walls keeping my sanity in check.
Accordingly, with the matchstick full of Anger and Hate, I threw it into the Pit of Despair and watched it catch on fire.
At first, it was slow, as the Despair was heavy and thick with years of stockpiling. Eventually, it had no choice but to become an inferno fueling my first-ever tantrum. At least, besides a child's tantrum, when all children sought their parents' attention.
Either way, the Infernal Rage exploded and swallowed me whole.
When it did, all I remembered accomplishing was shouting one sentence before throwing everything I had at the black crack hanging in the air of this white nothingness.
HOW DARE YOU SENTENCE ME TO ETERNAL VIRGINITY!!!
Glimpses of reasoning flickered from time to time.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Glimpses of black and red fists pounding onto invisible walls and cracks.
Only they never lasted long enough before the Infernal Rage found new fuel to burn. Thus, causing me to enter a new cycle of battering my fist against the white walls of nothingness holding me prisoner.
By the time I came to, and many white walls were destroyed, I was on my hands and knees with only embers left in my Heart.
My chest huffed and puffed for air. Air I probably did not need in this unending whiteness. Even my heartbeat slowly came down from the rapid drumming it had done.
I stayed like that in the oblivious bliss of a Heart, never feeling lighter.
For how long have I enjoyed said oblivious bliss? I simply cared not. The only thing that mattered was the enjoyment.
Still, it did have an end. And this one came from strange sensations upon my hands. In fact, the feelings came from every part of my body. However, it was the most obvious on my hands once my eyes locked on the origin.
Skin, a vivid red and inlaid with black lines receded slowly up my arms.
For one moment, I imagined them as stripes often seen on animals. However, with a closer examination, I knew what the strange black lines were. Or at least I knew what they seemed to be.
Tattoos.
As if my arms were tattooed in red and black ink, only now said the tattoo was receding up my arms.
Regardless of its origin, the wonder prompted me to stand up and examine the rest of my apparently naked body.
Thus, with sluggishness, I was back on two feet, observing my body as much as possible.
Trying my best to do so from every angle of my body, I soon realized something agitating behind me. It was slightly thick and long. Yet, no matter how I turned my head, the dastard thing always remained in the corner of my eye. As if it followed my body movement.
Just as I tried to reach back and grab it, a strange little pop was felt at the end of my spine. Touching the base of my spine, I felt nothing. Still, a possibility did occur in my mind.
Whether it was true or not, I did not get to examine it more before a similar popping sensation occurred on my forehead. Only two pops happened this time. Only it was too late again.
Whatever had been there was long gone. Soon, the red skin and black lines had receded completely.
Unfortunately, all further examinations were cut short when a voice reached my ears.
“Feels good? Doesn't it?” The voice stated.
Whipping my head behind me, I saw the strangest things on this day.
It was even stranger than the lightness of my Heart.
It was stranger than the black cracks in this white nothingness.
It was even stranger than whatever my transformation had been.
“I know those shiny black pants. I know that shirt with the green tie!” I heard myself say before even recognizing I had said anything. “I know that black leather overcoat, reaching down to the feet! I even know those tinted no handles sunglasses.”
“There was no way I would even forget that look. Yet… that face? That is so… sooooo… Wrong!!!”
“Haha. Hello to you too, Mir. ” The man responded.
“Please… Please tell me that you are an imposter.” I demanded from the blasphemy clawing at my mind. ”Anything would be better than admitting a white-washed Morhpues stood before me.”
“Haha. Fortunately for you, I don't mind telling you the truth.” The white man said, clad in Morpheus iconic getup. “You're right, though. I am not Morpheus. However, since he and I have quite a few things in common. I am sure he won't mind me borrowing his outlook, at least for a bit.”
The man said and pointedly began swirling his forefinger around.
That’s when it dawned on me. “I… am in the Matrix?”
“Nope.” The answer came, and swiftly at that.
“That… is a relief, I think.” I hesitantly added. “No matter how much I like the franchise, I'd hate to realize I lived in the Matrix all this time.”
“I would not be so sure of that, but that topic can wait.” My ears heard. My mind had a suspicion of where that topic led. “Still, before we get to it, we have things to discuss.”
Then with a SNAP of his right forefinger and middle finger, I felt the white nothingness shift slightly around us. Before I could ask what happened, the fake white-washed Morhpous walked by me and sat on a red sofa chair.
I knew the chair as well. Hence my almost immediate stepping forward for the second one. A tiny round table separated the two chairs. Only it got ignored because the red sofa chair was another iconic sight everybody could recognize.
Especially when the endless white space held two dark red leather sofa chairs.
Still, just before my hands reached for the sensations, I noticed the cuffs of a black shirt on my hands. A moment later, more clothes came to my attention, but only for a moment in favor of examining the primary target.
After satisfying my sense of touch on the red sofa chair, I had to admit one aspect of this, whatever it was.
“Well, whatever this place is, I can't tell if it's fake or not.”
“That is to be expected.” The fake Morhpous implied for me. “Have a seat.”
Not having any other option, I sat on the red sofa chair.
With that done, a moment of silence ensued between us.
Being long used to silence, it should have bothered me as much, but it did. So I answered the first question. “If you’re not Morpheus, then who are you? I… also wouldn't mind being told as to what is going on.”
With a smile on one side, the white-washed fake replied. ”Many things are going on. Let's start with the first one. As I denied it a moment ago. You, Mir, have not found yourself in the Matrix, probably.“ Despite not seeing it because of the black sunglasses, somehow, I imagined a wink from his left eyelid. ”However… There is a reason everything looks similar to the Matrix scene. As geniuses think alike, a Matrix scenario provides an excellent metaphor for everything happening to you, thus easing the process for everything that will soon follow.“
“As for my identity? Have a look at my face and try to guess.” His right hand went for the clasp on his nose, holding the black sunglasses in place. A moment later, he took them off and placed them on the small round table between us.
Then his eyes faced mine directly, and instantly, my right eyebrow twitched.
Without the glasses, I immediately saw the green eyes. Yet, there was more to those eyes because not every green eye was the same. Some were paler, and some were darker.
In his case, his eyes wore a pale green color. The same color I inherited from my fathers' side of the family.
Let's ignore the eye color since everything could be fake in… this place, even the face I am seeing.
Either way, that facial bone structure resembles my uncle on my mother's side of the family. The only other person exhibiting said facial structure is his father, my grandfather.
Yet, the same instant I remembered the old man, a stray thought popped into my head.
Grandpa? Ugh… I kicked the bucket before him… and my parents… and my friends. That's… not good, I think.
Still, I do wonder… Who came to my funeral? If one actually happened. Maybe… I… am not dead yet?
Shaking away those thoughts, and after eliminating every other possibility I could think of, particularly when considering my current situation, there was only one answer.
Only the more I gazed into that face, the more I wanted to curse.
“Fuck…” Eventually, a curse escaped my lips. “Is that really how I would have looked if I embraced physical exercise, from childhood to adulthood, instead of the computer.”
“No point in cursing now.” The Fake Morphoues, wearing a handsome version of my face, declared. Yet, that only made me want to curse even more. Especially now that I knew of the possibility.
“Anway, let's get back to the main point.” For my sanity, I nodded in compliance. “With the reveal over, I am sure you can guess that You are Me!”
“You? Umm… shouldn’t it be the other way? “ I reasoned with the fake. “You being me? Am I not stuck in some limbo waiting for my new life?”
“You're closer to the truth than you think. But… No. You are Me.” Once again, he stated his truth. Only this time, his speech was not done. “The last thing you remember is a screeching noise, minus the instant pain of a car crashing into you, right?”
Nodding, the self-proclaimed handsome version of me continued. “Good. What you should know is this. At that moment in Time, my life ended. However, Death was not my end but my beginning.” With a shake of his head, another sentence echoed out of the smirking mouth. “These looks you see are what I acquired after.”
“And some superpowers.” I pointed out with my right forefinger around us. ”If the current situation I find myself in was any indication.”
With the comment thrown at him, he smiled at my assumption.
“Not quite superpowers, as you will learn soon.” He said before shaking his head. “Either way. Let me explain your situation and the situation I have thrown you in.” There he stopped for a moment before giving a heavy stare as if whatever would be said next would be very heavy for my conscience. ”Before I tell you those things, let me ask you one thing. Who are you?”
“What do you mean by… I… I….” Then it struck me, and deeply at that. “I… I am Mir.” He nodded but spoke nothing. “Only split off from the original, or something similar?”
Nodding, my would-be… Progenitor confirmed my thoughts. “The reason I declared that You are Me is that You are a Clone of Me.”
His words rang into my Consciousness like nothing before. Even my earlier experience was overshadowed before this revelation.
A silence ensued once more as if he was giving me the time to process the revelation.
Maybe it was something in my eyes that triggered him. The next moment, he continued his revelations. “Specifically speaking, You are a Clone engineered with specific memories of The Me before I became what I am. Hence your memories stop at the car accident.”
“I… see…”
With a nod sent to me, my… Progenitor continued explaining stuff. “Your earlier emotional outburst was specially designed to release all the bottled-up emotions inside you. It mimicked an event I took part in. Either way. At the same time, it became the last piece to slot into place. Therefore, defining the identity known as Alat Arim, or as we like to call ourselves, Mir.”
Clone? I…am a Clone?
Ignoring everything else, even the supposed handsome version of me, I leaned back into the red sofa chair.
My head tilted up, and my eyes gazed upward, but there was no sky to look for. Neither were there any clouds upon which to settle my eyes.
For how long I stared at the white nothingness was of no concern. Not with the revelations echoing in me. However, after my mind settled down, at least somewhat, a different realization hit me.
Except for a few emotions of confusion and reluctance, little emotions were surfacing upon me. As such, back in thinking mode, I began processing things once again.
If… I am a Clone… then… I should not be the first one ever created. Not when I consider the earlier emotional outburst. No, that chain of logic and emotions had to have taken many, many trials and errors to perfect.
Strangely, reaching that conclusion only made me feel much better. As if the shared suffering of my hypothetical… brothers helped center my existence.
Weird, but it is what it is.
Shrugging my shoulders, I leveled my gaze back at the supposed original. “Ok, I will take all this for real. For now, that is. The worst-case scenario is that it’s true. The best-case scenario? This is a Dream, and I will forget everything once I wake up.”
“Haha.” My supposed original chuckled. “Indeed, you hit the nail on the head with that one.”
Not quite understanding what he meant, the Progenitor version of me went on. “Ok, with the Clone Reveal part behind us, let us talk about your current location.”
With his right hand, he pointed around us. “The white space you currently find yourself in is a generated scenario. That one is easy to guess, right?” That it was, indeed. “Nevertheless, what is harder to guess is how it was created and who created it in the first place.”
“Umm, you?” I stated the obvious while pointing at him.
As if slightly mocking me, the handsome version of me, and my Progenitor, clapped his hands two times before giving me a big fat NO.
“No, it was You?”
“Me?... That makes no sense. Make it make sense.” I requested.
“This is a Dream.” My Progenitor said while he pointed around us, then himself, and finally at the end me. “The reason you are confused is that you are Dreaming right now. This white space and everything that has happened to you so far is a generated Dream scenario.”
“Mine?... You sure?”
My Progenitor, wearing a Morphous get-up, nodded. “Yes, without any doubt. You are already in a new body. At the same time, your new body is currently in the process of ‘acclimatizing’ to your existence.”
“Alright… I will take your word for it. It's not like I have a choice right now.” I reluctantly agreed. ”So? I am in the process of waking up in a new body. ” Stopping for a second, I searched for a proper sentence to word my thoughts. “But… Why does this sound so convoluted? Since you can make a Clone, and clearly I am not the first, shouldn’t the process be more umm… streamlined?”
“It is. However, you are not aware of everything.” My Progenitor affirmed my suspicion. “Yes, you're not the first Clone, and you won't be the last Clone I ever make.“ With the certainty behind his words, he began explaining the process. ”Usually speaking, for me to make a Clone of myself is very easy. I use some of my Power to give it a body, whether it be a temporary energy construct or something else entirely. Then I separate some of my awareness alongside the needed memories. Pinch up those memories with a bit of Realization alongside its Purpose, and the job is done.”
“However, all that implies that one condition gets satisfied.” With that said, my Progenitor smirked again, from ear to ear. As if a big revelation was coming my way. While grinning, he pointed at himself, then at me, and finally said it.
“The condition is that I and You, the Clone, are in the same World.”
Shocked at the proclamation, it took me a while to propose a question.
“I... am not on Earth anymore? Am I?”
“Haha.” Vigorously shaking his head laughed for a bit more. “Nope. And you know what the most entertaining part is?” Not giving him a reply, as a foreboding thought came to me. “I have no idea where in Creation you are either.”
“Isn't that interesting?” My Progenitor announced.
Strangely, I harbored a strange sensation. Like, he wasn't exactly saying it for my benefit. On the contrary, it looked more like a mad scientist mentally patting himself on the back with success.
“After so many experiments, one finally succeeded and landed somewhere?”
“Wait…“ Revulsion and ridicule cloaked my voice as I voiced my thoughts. “Could it be that you made the Clones and just threw them out blindly in hopes for them to land somewhere?”
“Hmph, barely out of the oven and already criticizing me?” Chastising me as if I was a child, this Progenitor replied. “Don't worry, I am not that blindly in love with experimenting blindly. At least, not without any thought put into it. And especially not when it concerns Me.”
“Oh… Good.“
For a second there, I thought I went mad with Power… I mean… the original version of me.
“Now, let's backtrack it all a bit.” I declared. “I am a Clone of You. Currently, I am not on Earth. And you have no idea where I am? I could be in Hell, seeing as I am stuck in a Dream Limbo or something. And… I won't know more either until I wake up?”
A silent moment passed before I posed another question.
“Any more bad news that I need to know? Like my new body being something grotesque? ” I inquired.
“Don't worry about your new body. It should be relatively human. I have placed requirements on what body you can incarnate into.” That eased my concern a bit. “I don't know what it is since we have not started any of the final calibrations. As for the location, that will be for you to find out. If you are in Hell, though, I hope it is our version of Hell, as I paid it a visit, and trust me on this, you can do much worse.”
Sighing in my mind, I relaxed a bit in the sofa chair.
Tension eased without me ever noticing I even had any in the first place.
Enjoying the sofa a bit more, I rubbed the right side of it in unconscious action when a thought came to me. “Say, since we are in a Dream, are there any Time restraints I am under, and will I remember all this?”
“Yes, and Yes.” He replied. “The incarnation process is extremely complicated. The requirements are even steeper. Honestly, I am surprised it even worked. “With a head shake, he went on. ”This is only a side project of mine, but It took a few years to design the process. Especially since I could not rely on typical Reincarnation.”
Making a pose as if considering his thoughts, he continued. “When designing all this, I had no idea what would await you if it ever succeeded. Hence, I brainstormed quite a few scenarios. With many automatic processes involving logic chains that are frankly not favorable with my type of Power.” Before I had the chance to ask about it, an answer was sent my way. “You'll learn later. Regardless, in the best-case scenario, we can take all the time in the world and not worry at all. Since this place was generated, it can't be the average or the worst-case one.”
“I can imagine the worst-case one even without you. What is the average scenario?” I asked him.
“The average would be a low-powered version. Umm… No Emotional Adjustment… No Inherited Knowledge… No Cheats making life much easier… Worst of all? No clue as to what is going on and with a heavy possibility of becoming an idiot.” My Original explained before adding one last thing. “On the plus side, I made sure there was no baby phase.”
“Aaaa… I… Guess, I am lucky then.”
“Maybe. You will know in the future.” My Progenitor commented. “Now, let us get to the third point of the welcoming ceremony, so to speak.”
With that said, what came next was truly unexpected.
SNAP
My Original snapped his fingers again, and the white nothingness shifted around us.
With every moment that passed, the white left and black replaced it. At least, that was what occurred at the top. The bottom, however, achieved a sort of gray coloring.
We stayed in the red sofa chairs, yet with every moment, our surroundings changed to something I had only ever seen in pictures and movies.
“This is?” Still new to everything mystical, I barely had any words to say upon realizing where we found ourselves.
“Cool. Isn't it?” He added, but my mind had other things to process.
I knew it was fake, but just because something was not real, it did not take away the majesty of being on the surface of the Moon like this.
“Look up.” Listening as instructed, I saw the next breathtaking sight of Earth in all its blue majesty. “After going through a few scenarios, the current scene became the winner for your goodbye. After all, the likelihood of you returning to Earth is infinitely small in the grand scheme of things.”
With that said, my mind immediately sidelined the shiny blue ball in the fake sky and instead settled on every word my Progenitor delivered.
“Why do I get the feeling those words have some hidden double meaning.”
“Duh. Because that is indeed what they contain?” My Progenitor replied. “However, it will be up to you to decode it. Now let's get to the second thing you're leaving behind.”
SNAP
With another snap, our surroundings blurred.
With every moment that passed, we moved closer to Earth while still seated in our red sofa chairs.
First came the atmospheric planetary edge, then we streaked through the sky without moving or feeling anything. Moments later, we reached the ground, but our fake movement was slow enough for me to figure out the destination.
My home, or at least a version of my home.
This home was distinctly… different. The difference wasn't big or anything. However, it was noticeable the moment we touched down in front of it, and for a simple reason. My eyes beheld the complete version of our house, unlike the one I remembered growing up because divorce had taken its share of the pie.
Not given a chance to ponder more, my Progenitor stood up from the red sofa chairs and began walking to the front entrance. A moment later, I followed him, and we entered the house with red bricks acting as its facade.
Inside, we found two people. Which should be impossible considering their aforementioned divorce.
As if we were ghosts, neither of my parents saw us as they zipped around the house.
“The second thing you are leaving behind is family.” Echoed in my ears. Far more than it should have if I considered the emotional distance established between me and them. “Before you ask why they are together, let me give you one sentence. Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey.”
My mouth gaped and closed a few times, as the answer was so wishy-washy and childish, yet it perfectly told me everything it needed to say.
“Anyway, this is an old memory. Stuff happened between this time period you observe right now, and me sending you out into Creation. Regardless, know that I have taken care of our family.” My Progenitor explained. “Both the close and the distant ones. At the same time, I have taken care of our friends in a manner of speaking. Therefore, you do not need to be bothered by old memories hindering you in your new life. At least, not as much as possible because memories are the things that decide Who We Are.”
With all that said, My Progenitor gave me a few moments for myself. In the end, a simple conclusion was reached in my mind, to leave processing anything in depth for later.
And just as I wanted to say that, a third person entered my view, and beauty filled my eyes in just the right ways that spoke to my Soul. Or whatever I had right now.
Yet, it was not meant to be as I heard her utter the next word.
“Brother?”
“Whoops… The memory went too far.” My Progenitor declared, in his Morhpus get-up.
SNAP
Like a beautiful Dream, everything fell apart and blurred out.
The girl in question notwithstanding. Nevertheless, I saw enough of her and her pale green-colored eyes to instantly manifest a conclusion.
Then, the next moment the white nothingness returned, with us, once more, seated in the distinct red sofa chairs.
As if nothing happened in the first place.
Reflecting upon the slight smirk sent my way on purpose, it was easy to guess that there were no ‘Whoops… The memory went too far.’ anywhere in this place.
Still, as things clicked into place, only one sentence was left in my mind. “Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey?”
“Indeed.”
“Sigh… Am I right to say that you won't elaborate about me possibly having a sister I never knew I had?”
“If you ever, by some impossible chance, find a way to return to Earth, I am sure I won't mind explaining it.”
“Sigh… Alright.” I exclaimed with disappointment in my voice because I never had a sibling. Much less a younger sister if her looks were anything to go by. “Since the ‘Leaving Behind’ scenario is apparently over, what is next?”
“With the intro done. It's time we get to the meat of this Dream of Remembrance.” My Progenitor declared. “First will be a general education about the Basics of Reality. The second lesson will be about the Basics of Powers to Be. In the third lesson, we will dive deeper into said Powers, and the fourth will be about Essence and its uses.”
Hope the lessons will not be as stale as they used to be in school.
“Then a Psychic Adjustment will occur.” My Progenitor detailed out. “After that is completed. Your current self will be anchored to your new body with such tight bonds that it would take Divinities to separate them. However, because the process is delicate by nature, and without me being present, be prepared for side effects.”
“Ugh… What kind of side effects are we talking about?”
“I will mention them later. Nonetheless, to ascertain your maximum functionality, a Test will be enforced upon you.” Then with a shrug of his shoulders, he went on. “I don't have to mention what happens if you don't pass the Test. But if you do, you will have gained the requirement to use Essence at its peak.”
“Test? Sigh… Where do we start?” I asked, slightly hesitant.
“Of course, we start with the biggest known explosion you remember, The Big Bang.”