I was getting really quite tired of not understanding what was happening. None of my questions were getting answered. As soon as I thought I was nearing a solution, several more problems appeared. That was when I decided that since my knowledge wasn't increasing from just repeating that mysterious activation word and hoping the spark would suddenly make sense, I instead would stop fiddling with it and just think for myself. Without distractions.

After what I could only guess was years, I came up with an idea. One idea of a thousand others. I tried to recreate the spark without using the activation word. Since I didn't know how anything related to it worked, I had to use a trial-and-error method. But I had time, lots of time. I tested and tested. Every time a new idea came to mind, no matter how stupid it sounded, I tried it anyway. Since all I did was let my mind wander and test things out every now and then, I managed to avoid reverting back to an empty state of mind.

Years passed, and I slowly grew more confident that I was going in the right direction. I discovered a way of forming patterns in my mind that somehow managed to remind me of that spark. But nothing happened when I formed these patterns, except that familiar feeling. During this time, I also pondered some other things, like what I was doing there in a dark and cramped box. I came up with many potential answers but had no way to confirm or deny them.

Decades passed, and the patterns I tested slowly became more and more complex. In the beginning, they looked similar to snowflakes, but after so long they had transformed into incredibly large 3D structures that looked like fractals from a distance. I wasn't just modifying them randomly, I tested several alternatives and chose to continue on the one that reminded me the most of that spark. I felt I was getting closer, but something was missing.

It's not enough.

Adding that extra dimension from the snowflake had certainly helped, but it wasn't enough. I needed to go beyond my own reality. But how could I imagine something like that? The answer I came up with was with time. A lot of time.

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...

Time passed, a lot of time. After managing to create 4D structures, I kept on going. Every step got me closer, closer to that small spark that had first not seemed so complex. At some point, I lost track of the number of dimensions I was at. All that mattered was that I kept on going. I had long since disconnected from my physical body, instead, I had created a complex space inside my mind that a mental image of me existed in. In there, I could create anything just by thinking about it. I was like a god. But that didn't matter, it didn't feel real like that spark had.

At some point, progress slowed down. Eventually, every time I changed something, it just felt more wrong than before. It took me a while to realize, but I had actually reached my goal. My problem then was I didn't know how to use it. I used the now very familiar trial-and-error method. After only a couple of tries, I found the solution. I had to exit my mental space before releasing control over it.

When I first tried the method, my body felt unusual and weak. I had gotten quite used to my mental space, and it took me some time to readjust.

Mentally creating the incredibly complex pattern that had long since left reality behind in front of me, I watched in anticipation as it was released from my mental control. Instantly, a spark, exactly the same as the one summoned by that activation word, appeared in front of me. I must've looked quite calm on the outside, on on the inside I was overjoyed.

It was much brighter than the original and moved more sporadically. My theory as to why this was happening was that it had nothing to do with the pattern itself, but instead had to do with his mental capability.

To test this theory, he said the activation word in his mind. He was surprised that he still remembered it without having to look at the smooth stone with the carving.

Perhaps all of this thinking had improved my memory, he thought happily.

A spark identical to the one he had summoned before using the pattern appeared before him, strengthening his theory. But to make sure they actually were the same, he tried to study the feeling he got from it. Exactly as he remembered it. It appeared as if the sparks generated by the activation word and the ones created by himself used the same pattern.