The police station was about fifteen minutes past his gym, making the walk roughly twenty minutes.
As he strolled through the icy streets, Aaron couldn't help but feel annoyed by the London weather. Despite below-freezing temperatures, there wasn't a single patch of snow in sight. Here, the hallmarks of winter were tall, leafless trees lining the roads and slippery iced pavements, threatening to make you slip when you least expect it. Add to that the heavy winds and frequent rain showers, and it was no surprise that most people usually spent their time at home during the winter season.
Though, tonight there was undoubtedly a strange mood in the air. Turning the corner into a main road, Aaron found a surprising number of people craning their necks through windows and staring at the sky or standing in the streets murmuring to each other. Some people came out of buildings, instantly startled upon looking up, and frantically checked with others to ensure they hadn't gone crazy.
Uninterested, Aaron kept moving forward as he approached the general area of his gym. However, upon getting closer, he noticed an increasingly louder hum. At first, he'd thought it was people mumbling, but he slowly realized it was more of a churning buzz. Rather than originating from the houses, though, it came from the park opposite the gym. He'd been there a few times, even went to play minigolf with Rio and Alice, but he couldn't recall anything that would make such a noise.
Crossing the road to check out the situation, Aaron was quick to spot a police car parked nearby, rousing his interest even further as he moved toward the entrance. He carefully crossed through the park gate, and the churn grew louder. With a general scan of the area, he found something odd about the lighting. All the grass and leaves that hadn't died out were frozen white. That wasn't the weird part, though. What stood out to Aaron was a blue glow that gently bounced off the frozen plants.
Unfortunately, the thick and robust trees blocked his vision, making it impossible to find the light's origin. Deciding to delve further in, Aaron moved towards the ever-louder buzz. While doing so, he noticed he wasn't the only one that had come to investigate. Small groups, families, and couples made their way deeper into the park.
As he moved further in, the trees grew thinner until Aaron found himself in a large clearing where people would often come to play with their dogs. Rather than puppies and happy families, however, Aaron found himself looking at a police perimeter crowded by civilians. And right in the middle of it all stood a crackling blue lightning.
A tear in the fabric of reality.
It didn't hold any particular shape, constantly zapping as it contracted and expanded in a perpetual cycle. It simply looked like an electric bolt out of control, but Aaron knew it was a lot more than that. And chances were, the police and most people here knew as well. But Aaron didn't just know what it was. He also knew he had to go in. His first mission was to enter the first dimension, and he had every intention of seeing it through. The authorities, however, didn't seem interested in allowing that to happen. They were doing their best to keep the people at bay whenever they urged to get closer, shouting that it was dangerous and that they ought to stay away. Too bad Aaron wouldn't listen.
Still, he had no intention of getting caught. He needed the perfect plan to make sure he could cross before the police had a chance to react-
Interrupting his thought process, Aaron noticed a familiar, sly figure shifting about on the opposite side of the clearing. His eyes went wide as he recognized his fox friend, but before he had the chance to wonder what it might be doing here, the animal charged toward the tear, diving between a policeman's legs and leaping over another that tried to tackle it.
The commotion caught the other officers' attention, who turned to watch the spectacle. The sly creature dove into the tear before they could stop it, and the churning turned twice as loud, followed by a blinding flash of light.
Not letting a second go to waste, Aaron's killer instinct kicked in. Still completely dazed, he charged forward in the general direction of the tear.
Unable to see anything in front of him, Aaron barrelled ahead, shoving an unprepared officer out of the way and continuing to charge relentlessly. He grit his teeth as he rushed forward, not knowing what he might find on the other side.
Thump.
Still blinded, Aaron fell to the ground after he felt himself charge into something hard. He rubbed his forehead, which had taken the brunt of the hit, while waiting for his sight to recover. Color slowly returned to his vision, and Aaron instantly felt sick, making him bring his hands up to his mouth to stop himself from puking. After a moment, he started to feel better, allowing him to look up at his surroundings.
In front of him stood a smooth rock wall made of a dark, featureless stone. He turned to look behind him and found that the crowd of people and the police officers were gone. Even the blue lightning had disappeared, now replaced by a similar one, though this one glowed red. He figured it was probably the way back and decided to stay away from it.
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Aside from that, it appeared Aaron found himself at a large cave entrance. It was considerably broad, allowing multiple passages to split off and tunnel down into the darkness.
Outside the cavern, a thick canopy of broad, frondous trees was laid out before him, they brandished large purple leaves, and their bark was ivory white.
The sky above was filled with thundering black clouds, responsible for the torrential tempest that fell heavily against the cave's roof.
Sheltered from the rain, Aaron admired the forest's beauty as it fought back against the raging skies. Sitting on the ground, he stopped for a moment to take it all in before he felt something calling to him from within.
Aaron realized the potential dangers of entering meditation without understanding his surroundings, but he also realized there was a danger in not doing so. Without the Entity's guidance, he wouldn't be able to grow stronger and therefore be unable to protect himself. Aaron took one last scan of his surroundings, in case there may be any threats nearby, and then proceeded to close his eyes, focusing on the Entity's presence.
Suddenly, he found himself back in the reception, with the silhouette still sitting behind its black desk. Everything was as Aaron had left it.
Smirking at it, he walked proudly towards it. "I did it! Made it to the first dimension. You got cool trees over here, by the way. I mean, the scenery, in general, it's remarkable. So what's next? You said something about building my foundation."
The silhouette leaned forward like last time. "Congratulation, we may now begin.
The silhouette motioned upwards with both arms, and double doors appeared at either one of its sides. "Building your foundation is a simple process. Not easy, yet not complex. But before we begin, I should inform you that the area you are currently in is a safe zone, so you are not in danger yet. Additionally, as a reward for making it to the first dimension, I will upgrade your soul hubby equipping it with an alarm system, it only works while you're in meditation, but it will inform you of impending danger.
Moving on, I will explain the nature behind building your foundation. It is essentially a test.
A cavern system and safe zone, such as the ones you're next to, are present at every entrance to the first dimension. You will not find either of these elsewhere, as they are intended to be used by unenhanced lifeforms.
Before starting the test, you may choose whether you complete it alone or as part of a group, but upon entering the caverns, you will not be able to change your mind.
Down there, you will encounter all forms of creatures. Defeating them will grant you soul shards, which you may use to enhance yourself in the room to my right. The other room will allow you to test the enhancements before making a purchase.
When you are satisfied with your enhancements or too tired to continue with the trial, you may exit. However, note that you will not be able to go back.
Building a solid foundation is essential. I advise you to try to earn as many shards as possible." Having finished explaining, the silhouette leaned back once more.
Aaron stared at the silhouette wide-eyed. "That was some long as fuck explanation. Are you going to give me a pamphlet or something to help me remember everything? There were a lot of minor details in there that I'm totally gonna forget about."
Not deeming the question worth an answer, the silhouette ignored his question.
"I guess I'll take that as a no." Aaron spat while giving the silhouette the stink eye.
He was about to check out the augments room but figured he should ask one last question. "By the way, can I call you something? Do you have a name? Like Martin or something? No, you don't look much like a Martin. Maybe something cooler, like Ouroboros or Apophis? Did I get it?"
The silhouette had no eyes, which was tragic because it couldn't roll them before reluctantly answering Aaron's stupid query. "I have no name, child. However, if it pleases you, referring to me as Messenger is appropriate, as that is my role to the Entity."
"Awesome, nice to meet you, Messenger." Finally done squabbling, Aaron pushed through the double doors leading to the enhancement room and was surprised at what he found. Multiple rows of what appeared to be armor pieces filled the room in an organized manner. It almost looked like an armor shop.
In fact, it was. There was a big sign that read "Soul Armor for sale." Behind it, the armor was arranged by type. There were six rows: Helmets, chest pieces, gauntlets, leggings, boots, and cores. Under each piece of armor, there was a sign displaying the stats and capabilities of the armor.
Having a quick glance, Aaron noticed that as he went deeper into the rows, the armor got more expensive while offering more complex capabilities and better stats.
This whole trial thing was starting to make more sense to Aaron. That overcomplicating Messenger could have just said: "Go to cave, kill, get money, buy armor. More kill, better armor." But some people just like overcomplicating things. Aaron couldn't blame the guy. Not everybody was as intelligent and efficient as he was.
Picking up a basic pair of soul boots that increased his movement speed while giving barely any stats, Aaron figured he'd give the testing room a try. He didn't want to spend much time window shopping until he had the soul shards to buy the stuff, so he decided to do a quick test with something simple.
Upon entering the testing room, Aaron found himself a bit lost. At first sight, it was a tiny cube-shaped room, barely granting him enough space to walk in a small circle. Putting aside his skepticism, Aaron sat on the floor and slipped on the boots, which was a bizarre sensation, given that he was equipping them on his soul rather than his physical body.
As soon as they were on, the white walls fizzled out, including the entrance, and Aaron found himself in the middle of a forest. In front of him, standing roughly four meters tall and six meters wide, some fucked up thing with too many legs, and too many eyes stared at him hungrily.
Unfortunately, Aaron didn't get much of a chance to observe the creature further, as he instantly turned around and started to run manically. On a positive note, however, the boots worked great, and he seemed to be putting some distance between himself and the creature. After about five minutes of running while shitting himself, Aaron got far enough from the monster and took off the boots, which caused the walls to reappear around him.
Out of breath, he muttered to himself. "Fuck me, I'm not trying on anything unless I want to buy it."
Walking out of the room exhausted, he put the boots back in their original slot before exiting meditation to start the trial.