CHAPTER 16: ASTRAL PLANE
Each universe had its own Astral Plane which was affected by the minds of all conscious beings, except those who transformed their minds into data.
Those Astral Planes were in turn connected to the Astral Realm, which could be described as a bridge connecting every universe of existence.
And Zack was flying through the Astral Plane of this universe.
The Astral Plane was affected by the minds of the inferior beings who touched it, giving it form, and it was here that emotions, fears and apprehensions could become reality as nightmares.
Millennial fears and emotions subsist in this plane that were unaffected by time and although the inferior beings were weak and with a low mental capacity, together they were powerful.
Their massive fears, emotions of natural disasters, or tragedies left marks on this plane and gave life to nightmares.
However, Zack, observing this purple world, could see nothing that stood out.
There were some whirlwinds in the middle of the journey that represented negative thoughts and he also noticed some structures of the minds of inferior beings whose mental power touched this plane.
Still, he did not see nightmares born of the fears of inferior minds, nor did he see structures of past influences.
It was clean, as if someone was recurrently cleansing it.
“...”
Entering a whirlwind to where the mental force was guiding the girl, Zack hid in the girl’s consciousness and let himself be guided as he entered the interior of the whirlwind.
Inside, he realized that this whirlwind was dangerous.
“I want to be free.”
“Who am I?”
“I hate you!”
The first words came from a thousand voices that pricked in the girl’s head. The second was a question that hid an indescribable depth, and the third was a rancorous cry full of anger and madness.
Even though Zack was hidden in the depths of the girl’s consciousness, which was hit by the whirlwind of emotions, he could feel the emotions that made up the whirlwind.
Violent and aggressive emotions that twisted the girl’s weak consciousness, breaking her weak mental defenses.
The girl tried to continue into the whirlwind that was tearing at her consciousness and, feeling the pain in the girl’s mind, Zack moved.
He couldn’t let the second child he knew disappear and most of all, he was curious to find out to whom the mental force pushing the girl belonged.
So when the girl lost all strength to continue, he emerged, drawing energy from the Astral Plane to protect the girl’s mind and push her into the center of the whirlwind.
The negative thoughts were pierced and then he felt the defenses of something hidden inside the whirlwind and then sensed that a mark connected the girl to someone else.
The hurricane-like whirlwinds that represented the negative thoughts hit him and Zack propelled the girl and himself towards the mark, entering through a gap of whatever was hidden inside the whirlwind.
“Ouch...”
Then he felt himself roll across the solid ground and grunted in pain as his mind felt tired.
He had already been exhausted from before and that whirlwind hiding this place practically wore him out.
Zack as he lay down, he could see the white ceiling of this place and then, as he sat up, he noticed the girl’s body that was illusory, just like his small body, then...
“I hate you all! I will kill you! I will destroy this world!”
A scream echoed at his back, emanating a powerful mental force that even surprised him.
That hatred, rancor, madness and that desire for freedom that seeped into the voice reminded him of himself... Zack slowly turned around and then noticed a female figure hitting the boundary of this small white colored dimension.
It was a light blue figure glowing radiantly, and she was hitting the wall of this dimension, wanting to escape unsuccessfully.
The mental force she was emanating in that form made him realize that this was a woman... A transcendental one.
And then she turned as if she felt his gaze, and the two of them exchanged glances.
The woman’s figure was entirely light blue, with no face or features of inferior beings, and was pure glowing radiance that represented mental force condensed.
“Are you a transcendental?” Zack asked stupidly.
Of course, it was a transcendental, no one shone as brightly as they did! And no one had such a magnificent form! Forms created from pure mental force condensed without weak bodies of flesh!
Even though he knew it, it felt unreal to see another of his kind.
“Of course I am. I’m the brightest transcendental of all!” The woman replied loudly and as she walked closer, she noticed the girl and murmured. “You’re the help the girl got? Although I can feel the strength of a transcendental, you are... Small.”
The woman approached, walking past him, and Zack had to lift his head to look at the woman’s figure.
It wasn’t that she was extremely tall, only that he was too short and his mental projection had taken the form of his physical prison.
Obvious proof that he was bound to his body more than he had imagined.
The woman approached the girl and, kneeling down, took her as she helped stabilize the mental wounds.
“She is a foolish girl who was trying to free me from my prison,” the woman said, and reading the girl’s memories, she muttered. “So coincidental...”
She realized that he was not the help she was looking for, but had ended up here by coincidence by following the girl who robbed the place where he worked.
In that murmur, Zack could feel the hope and the pride fighting each other for the hope of escape.
Seeing her up close, he hesitated and...
“How old are you?” he asked curiously.
“1051 years since I gained consciousness.” The woman answered haughtily and with pride, she questioned. “And you, little transcendental?”
It annoyed him that she called him little and more so that she believed this tiny connection to his being was him.
Unable to control his annoyance, he watched her with indifference and contempt.
“Only the young count the years,” He said and, surprising the woman, exclaimed. “We are transcendentals of the Astral Realm! We are not affected by time or space!”
Zack could tell the woman was trembling at the contempt he was showing.
Why would a transcendental like her who was unaffected by time count the years? It didn’t make any sense.
In certain universes, time differed greatly from others and counting years was an enormous ridiculousness.
The woman's light blue figure glowed brighter, and it was clear that she was embarrassed.
“You’re still small!” she rebutted, as if she didn’t want to be intimidated.
“This is not my true self! I am the strongest transcendental of all! A legend among legends!” He shouted in response, thrusting his chest out proudly.
“I’ve never heard of you,” she said as if she wanted to mock and....
“Of course, you’re too young.” He replied calmly.
They both looked at each other and she threw a mental wave at him that twisted reality like a hurricane, wanting to swallow him, and Zack responded by twisting the attack with his meager mental strength.
Frustrating the woman, who looked furious.
“What a temper!” Zack exclaimed and gave a contemptuous smile. “I think instead of a woman I should call you a teenager, you’re as short-tempered as them!”
Did he touch on a subject she didn’t like? She threw up her arms and launched several mental attacks as Zack backed away, retreating and running.
“Don’t run away!”
He ignored her angry shouts and laughingly dodged attack after attack.
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The woman didn’t want to hurt him and while she spent enormous amounts of her mental strength on attacks; they were not deadly and were always inaccurate allowing him to dodge.
It was partly because of this dimension that limited her, but also something she did unconsciously.
Zack, when he couldn't dodge, used what little strength he had left to deflect the woman's attacks and, though he was tiring, she fell to her knees first.
She hadn’t spent all her strength; she was simply exhausted in another way.
From anger, she moved to another darker emotion and came in pain along with despair.
“Please... I don’t want to be here. I can’t take it anymore.”
The voice carried pain, exhaustion and weariness so intense that it made Zack pause and, after hesitation, he moved closer.
To Zack, the woman reminded of himself in his early prison days, though in the woman’s case, she was too young to have his mettle.
At this point, it wasn’t arrogance. Zack could tell she was young by the way she was easily angered or counted her years when it was practically useless.
Sensing how this dimension detected him and was trying to push him out of this place, Zack approached the woman.
“I am five hundred and thirty-one days old in this universe. I am Zack, the strongest transcendental of all. And I have been imprisoned in a physical prison of an inferior being,” He calmly revealed.
Unlike her, who had counted years since her existence, Zack had counted since he came into this world.
The sobbing woman raised her head and although there was no face, it was easy for him to define the woman’s expressions and emotions by the mental waves she was emanating.
At this moment, she was expressing disbelief and...
“Do you have a name?” She asked in surprise.
Of all she could ask, she asked for his name and if he was honest it was not a subject he liked to talk too much about.
And more so as he remembered the form that name had to take.
Zack felt again the tug that was becoming a push that was trying to pull him out of this dimension, which was the prison of the brightest transcendental of all.
“Yes. Yes, I have,” Zack replied and, seeing that she was surprised by putting her hand where her mouth should be, he revealed. “And I swear as the strongest transcendental of all that I will get you out of here.”
His words came out naturally.
Why did he do it? This dimension didn’t seem so bad and being locked in here was possibly better than being in a constantly defecating infant body.
Though he was simply guessing without knowing the truth, and all that mattered was that to her this place was unbearable.
“Can you make it? You don’t look like you’re in good shape,” the woman asked hesitantly.
The force pushed him back to pull him out and as he looked around, he realized that the girl was already floating in the air.
Zack smiled haughtily.
“Of course... I’m the strongest transcendental of all!”
He had to shout, as the force of the dimension pushed him without him being able to resist, and he clung to the girl before they were both ejected by the whirlwind.
The force that pushed him was intense, throwing him from inside the whirlwind, and Zack did not have to resort to using Astral Plane energy to protect himself.
When they emerged, he saw that the girl was about to return to her body in an instant, and he left a mark connected to her before she disappeared.
He was then stranded in this purple world where directions did not exist and the only guidance he had was the subtle connection to his body.
“Another transcendental prisoner...” He muttered observing the purple surroundings.
Questions arose in his mind, but Zack stopped them all, knowing that ahead, he had a long way to go if he wanted to return to his body.
******
Darkness surrounded Jonathan and then he felt blood rising from the ground as his surroundings took shape.
He was in the middle of a ruined city, with destroyed buildings and shattered streets as vehicles burned.
Overhead was the moon, illuminating the surroundings and especially the corpses of the people in the surrounding area.
Debris crushed some, others were burned to death by the flames of the cars, and other corpses were cut into pieces and practically dismembered.
Each of the corpses was bleeding in unreal amounts as the blood moved into the crater where he was staining his feet.
It was impossible to count the number of corpses as they practically filled the ruins around him and the blood from each of his victims was forming a small river of blood that was increasing in size.
Jonathan tried to concentrate by remembering what happened and where he had been.
He had been with the young master and....
“It was you...”
A distorted voice came up in his ear, stopping his thoughts and Jonathan felt the blood increase in quantity, falling into the crater and filling it as it stained his feet.
“This isn’t real. I need to get back to the young master... I need to get back,” Jonathan muttered to concentrate.
The blood rushed up to his ankle and from the bottom a hand revealing flesh and bone came trapping his leg.
“It’s real... Don’t you remember? You and I...”
The voice erupted and blood began to fall from the buildings as he tried to escape from the arm that held him.
Jonathan bit his lips and shook his leg, trying to get away and just as he was about to flee, another hand grabbed him and then another.
Coming out of the blood and then later, a figure raised its head.
A bloody skull, with one eye gouged out, part of the cheek torn off and half the head cut off.
The dead eyes looked back at him.
“It was you...”
Jonathan’s breathing tightened and his heart pounded as he began to despair of escape.
From the buildings came more blood and this time it rose above his waist, rising to his chest and, in an instant, reaching his chin.
The viscous blood tried to choke him and the hands in the blood held him, preventing him from escaping.
Jonathan raised his head, trying to breathe the last second he had left, looking for some way to escape.
The blood, like a wave, was pushing him, drowning him for seconds, covering his whole face and making him swallow blood, all while he raised his head, trying to breathe.
He could see the night sky and the moon overhead illuminating as the corpses tried to drown him in blood.
He was drowning, barely breathing as desperation surged and the dead were holding him down, preventing him from escaping.
Jonathan forced one of his arms out and lifted it to the sky, looking for any object to hold on to, then he could escape for a second long enough to see a figure in the sky watching him.
It was an infant about two years old and the size of the head practically blocked the moonlight.
Gray hair and purple eyes glowed brightly and although the face was infantile and the head bigger than normal, it was impossible not to recognize the contempt and haughtiness it expressed.
Jonathan remembered a night similar to this one where he was being drowned by the darkness of his past and the only difference was that night in his memories, two figures appeared.
And now, just like that night, he felt the same as when his two benefactors pulled him out of the abyss of blood and darkness... He felt hope.
“Awawa.”
The young master’s voice echoed in this world and Jonathan froze as he realized it sounded like an incomprehensible babble, even to him.
Similar to the times when the young master would start talking to his parents and couldn’t formulate words.
Still, Jonathan understood the haughtiness and the look on the young master’s face.
It was a look that told him to stop playing stupid games and move quickly or he would be left behind.
What trouble would the young master get into if he wasn’t by his side? Sometimes the young master was so naïve and other times he was so experienced that Jonathan couldn’t understand it.
Jonathan reached out, wanting to leave and then when the young master’s figure disappeared and the moonlight blinded him for moments, leading him to close his eyes.
“Ughghh...”
A groan of pain, the smell of blood and the soft touch woke him up and Jonathan opened his eyes, noticing that a red laser beam was trying to burn his forehead.
All Jonathan felt was a slight warmth and then he saw that the one launching the beam was one of the female minions Donovan had recruited.
The woman in her late forties, seeing him react, opened her mouth.
“Please...”
Hearing the plea, Jonathan dropped her to the ground, walking away from her.
The woman was a rather weak Super who could open a third eye on her forehead that launched a laser beam and that insignificant attack helped him wake up.
Jonathan saw his hand turned into a grotesque hand of some aberrant monster and he recoiled again trying to return to his form.
Surveying the surroundings, he noticed that he was far from where the young master had started the battle.
“And the young master?” Jonathan asked and realizing that the woman didn’t understand, he questioned. “And the child that was in the baby carrier?”.
Fear seeped in as he saw the destruction he had caused.
Part of the hallway was destroyed. Some of Donovan’s minions were wounded and hurt, while claw marks were all over the walls.
He had hurt the young master?
Jonathan stopped the negative thoughts that were arising, not wanting to be affected by useless fears.
“I don’t know... We... We lead you away...” the woman muttered, holding her throat as she was pale.
They attracted his attention and drew him away from where the battle was... Jonathan, understanding what she was saying, turned around and extending his senses moved to where he had been before.
He could feel the auction continuing uninterrupted and outside Donovan had finished, and what caused his expression to distort was the two presences he felt where those thieves had been.
Breaking through the walls without a care in his way, Jonathan arrived in seconds to where he felt the two presences and saw another female member of the minions holding the young master.
Jonathan approached as his heart pounded with fear as he saw that the young master did not growl, insult or get angry at being near female breasts.
Jonathan's breathing became more agitated and his presence became dangerous and violent.
“He’s fine... he’s breathing. I took care of him after the robbers came for a woman,” The pale woman said as she felt his violent presence.
Jonathan walked as if he could barely control himself and took the young master in his arms.
The young master was energetic, always complaining and looking haughty, but right now he was sweating while his eyes were closed, barely breathing heavily.
Did the thieves do this to him?
The question popped into his mind as his heart pounded, and this time, there was an answer.
Yes, they did it... Kill them all. Follow them and kill them all.
It was the distorted voice that gave the sensation that it sounded close to his ears and Jonathan watched the destruction, sensing the spatial distortion.
If he followed them, he would catch them in ten minutes... The answer whether the hunt was possible was immediate.
“Ugh...”
The desire for revenge was suppressed as the young master stirred again as if he was having nightmares and Jonathan’s breathing grew heavier.
This was no time for revenge, not now.
He needed to help the young master, who seemed affected by something unknown to him.
Follow them. Look what they did to the young master. Follow them and kill them. We must kill them.
“No. No. No. No... We need to help the young master. We need to take care of him,” He muttered unconsciously, not caring if anyone heard him.
Jonathan started toward the other corner of the mansion, where he could sense Donovan’s presence.
He ignored the voice, seeking revenge.
It was his fault... If he hadn’t played along with his young master, if he hadn’t accompanied him, then the young master would be fine.
“Please, young master,” He muttered in a shaky voice as he moved carefully.
He needed to check to see if Donovan could do anything with his psychic abilities and if it wasn’t possible, then he needed to get the young master to the doctor... No, he was going to take the resources from the vault and save him.
He had seen medicines that could help inside the vault.
If anything happened to the young master... Jonathan was going to kill them all.
The violent thoughts ended when Jonathan felt the young master’s trembling and, this time, steadier breathing.
He could feel the young master’s presence growing in a perfect balance of mind and body.
“Ug... Babysitter, are you drooling?”
The young master’s voice was weak and shaky, slightly childish, but the clarity was absolute and Jonathan stiffened as his tears were staining the young master’s face.
“Young master?” Jonathan murmured in a hesitant, trembling tone, barely containing his fear and worry.
He watched the young master wipe away the tears that had fallen on his face without opening his eyes and then snuggled into his arms as Jonathan gently embraced him.
“It feels comfortable... Don’t move... Wa... Wawha...”
The voice continued steadily for a second and then reverted to a babble as the young master fell asleep in his embrace.
Jonathan watched him, lying still as relief overwhelmed him.
The voice in his head disappeared, as did the bloodlust, and he lay there watching the young master sleep tenderly as he looked tired.
“Sleep, young master,” Jonathan murmured.
The tension left his body and Jonathan, taking a deep breath, let go of the anger, malice and madness that threatened to come out.
Seeing Donovan bloodied as he came from outside, he signaled him to take care of everything else.
The young master needed to go home to his parents, and he needed to tell his benefactors that he was not the right one for this job.