"…What…just…happened?" Before even opening her eyes, Astra muttered drawn out, slowed words.
She had felt strange. Her thoughts were slow, as she felt as if her joints were covered in honey. She was almost immobile, unable to effectively move any of her limbs.
Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
Whoosh….
Strangely, she had heard her heartbeat's pace increase as the sound of wind flew past her. Along with this, a faint, piercing pain was felt in her stomach and chest.
As she struggled to open her eyes, more of her senses were coming to her.
She had now felt as if she was being held up by something. No, she was being held up by someone! She had felt the warmth of the person's hands press against the back of her sweater and the under-leg of her jeans.
"Someone's carrying me? In a princess carry no less…" Astra sulked as she successfully opened her eyes, although they were half-closed.
Her vision was faint at first, but then it slowly became clearer. Immediately, she saw a female figure slowly outline herself.
Staring at her with half-closed eyes that had golden pupils, Astra saw a cute, almost innocent looking woman. She had brown hair and black eyes, and soft Caucasian skin. Her face was pretty, and she appeared as if she was wearing a pitch black suit. It looked like she was wearing the vacuum of space herself.
"Kayla?" Astra slowly blurted out the name of the woman who was holding her.
In that moment, her memories were beginning to come back to her as she immediately recalled the past sequence of events.
"I was in the house…then I saw the darkness twist like a wave…then everything around me froze, then everything around me went to black…I can't remember anything after that." As if she was looking at a flash card, she revisited her memories to gain a better understanding of her situation.
"Yes. This is me." Kayla interrupted Astra's recovering thoughts as her almost robotic-sounding voice resonated in Astra's ears.
"She sounds a little different…" Astra couldn't help but point out the distinction in her head.
"What happened…?" She asked slowly.
"I took care of the people who ambushed us. I do have to sincerely apologize, Miss Astra." Kayla lowered her head slightly.
"…For what?" Astra's voice began to fasten.
"Well, in doing so, I had allowed one of the users of Dreamscape to make you go to 'sleep'. I was forced to do this, since I wanted to use the powers of the Goddess to end the fight quickly." Kayla sighed. "If you were 'awake' when I used those powers, you would've been terribly affected beyond repair due to your strange connection to the First Dimension."
"…" Astra appeared as if she was in thought for sometime. Soon enough, she conjured up the words, "What's the problem with that?"
Kayla closed her eyes as she gave Astra a soft smile.
"For your level, 'Sleep' being casted on you had immediately killed you."
"What?" With no change in her expression, Astra's voice quickly returned back to normal.
"How am I still alive?
"Is this heaven?" With each question, both of her eyebrows raised increasingly.
"No. You're fine, Miss Astra. Since you only died for a short period of time, I was able to rewind your body back to its original state." Kayla replied calmly.
"Oh. How fascinating." Astra looked away from Kayla as her lips turned her mouth into a frown. Inwardly, she said, "So that's how it feels to die and come back to life…I feel like I've been on the verge of death too many times this past couple hours. This is all too scary."
"I guess I shouldn't wish about how boring things are next time…"
Putting away those thoughts, she spoke again. "How were you able to rewind the time on my body? I thought the First Dimension was Science and Physics? As far as I know, doing such things under the realm of physics is theoretically impossible," As a physicist, Astra couldn't help her curiosity.
Kayla chuckled.
"That's not the dimension's name, actually."
Astra's eyes widened.
"Then what is it?"
"The true name of the First Dimension is the Dimension of Space-Time. or, the Dimension of Space, Time and Physics." As soon as Kayla saw Astra's mouth about to open, she immediately interrupted. "Don't ask why, because I can't tell you the reason yet. Again, it has something to do with the Demigoddess."
Astra puckered her lips. Ignoring this, Kayla continued.
"In any case, a lot of the information revolving around the First Dimension is constantly changing. That also includes certain things about myself."
"Hm." Kayla let out a sound, as if she was thinking. "I assume that those people knew that I had been weakened, but they completely underestimated the power difference. If they had the right information, they would've never gone along with such a plan."
Upon hearing those words, Astra creased her eyebrows.
"Are you saying they got tricked?"
Kayla didn't respond directly. Instead, she closed her eyes and chuckled.
"Hehe. Who knows?"
"…" Astra narrowed her eyes while her mouth was shut. Not a second later, she sighed in disappointment.
"I would've hoped that the reason she was able to rewind time was because she had used a scientific application of our dimension, like some weird tachyonic principle. Sadly, it was only because space and time falls under the First Dimension…"
"I guess that makes sense."
"In any case, it's heavily likely that Lucian and Kayla are working together. I guess that partly explains why he didn't take me or Mia in…"
"Right. Kayla knew that I'll be incorporated into the Dreamlanders, and Lucian knew that the Dimensional Thieves were going to get destroyed by Kayla. This seems like this was the deal that they made."
"Though, I shouldn't be nearly that important for a deal to be made."
Astra softened her tense expression as she slowly felt as if she came closer to the truth.
"No. This deal was about the First Dimension. Lucian would let Kayla accomplish her goals, while Kayla would indirectly give Lucian information about the First Dimension through me being in his organization, and through her fight. I heavily doubt the Dreamlanders would allow Kayla to be having a fight like this otherwise. I also heavily doubt they would allow the Dimensional Thieves to come here otherwise, given how easily they were dealt with."
"So all of this was by virtue of the fact that Lucian and Kayla's goals intersected…"
"Sigh. Lucian seems horrifying. He's interested in me because of my connection to the First Dimension. He wants to find the truth of this dimension pretty badly, to the point where he'd manipulate a secret organization just to do so…"
"Then, the Demigoddess…what's up with Her? The way how She is going about things is extremely strange. It's no wonder the information on Her dimension is constantly changing."
Astra widened her eyes for just a moment.
"Wait…could it be that She is also constantly changing? Is She weakened perhaps? Or is someone contesting Her?"
Interrupting Astra's thoughts, Kayla spoke again.
"Okay, Miss Astra. It's time for me to go."
Astra jolted up as if she was caught doing something mischievous. She quickly recollected herself as she curled her lips upwards, her eyes still staying narrow.
"Right. I guess I got too comfortable in your arms," Astra joked with a monotone voice.
"…" Not getting the sarcasm for a second, Kayla remained silent. For some reason, she had felt a strange feeling in her stomach.
"Can I put you down now, Miss Astra?" Kayla asked.
"Please," Astra didn't hesitate to affirm Kayla's thoughts.
Immediately, she slowly lowered her arms as Astra's feet touched the ground. Astra found herself a little out of balance, but she quickly regained her footing.
After she did, she instinctively brushed herself off as she looked around to examine her surroundings.
It was a quiet night. The velvet crescent moon still rested overhead, casting a faint purple glow on the suburbs.
As for the houses, most of them had their inside lights turned off. However, near most houses, soft but numerous bioluminescent lights lit up their driveways and rooftop gardens as neon purple lights streaked the sidewalk.
Then, there were some electronic billboards that showed the time—and occasionally some updates—in a dreamy, starry night background. It was a little past 5 AM.
Astra then casted her gaze down at the 'floor', and examined the 'house' she was previously in.
She had seen that it was completely obliterated. No, erased was a better word. Aside from the glassy-metallic foundation, there were no remnants of the house. You couldn't even have told that it was previously built before.
This scene, along with the strangely quiet atmosphere, gave Astra an eerie feeling.
"It's so quiet…" Astra couldn't help but mutter under her breath. She wanted to say more, but she was in slight disbelief.
"Yes. I had concealed most of the fight, so the people here couldn't have witnessed it. As for those civilians near the intercity, Lucian had done his part." Kayla informed calmly.
"I see." Astra couldn't help but continue staring at the inexistant remnants of the house. Her eerie feelings were turning into a strange sense of awe.
"The Dreamlanders will be coming soon. This will likely be our last time contacting each other for a long time, so I will leave some parting remarks." Kayla turned towards Astra with a soft smile.
Astra returned the gesture and nodded. Kayla then continued,
"When you become a Celestial, always stay true to who you are, and what your principles are. That is, first and foremost, the most important thing."
"The world is cruel, but you can't allow the cruelty of the world to corrupt you. Power is absolute, but you can't allow power to corrupt you. Knowledge is power, so you also can't let that corrupt you or your principles."
Astra nodded without saying anything or even thinking about anything. She listened attentively to her words. Kayla continued to speak.
"Despite entering the Celestial world," Kayla continued to speak. "You haven't even begun to see the true horrors of it. So, you will not experience a situation like this of this level in a long time. This is if you ever choose to become stronger. If you don't, then you can rest easy until death."
"Lastly, regarding anything with Ethereon, always make sure you're prepared first. Never rush into anything without caution. Dealing with such things are extremely dangerous."
"I understand." Considering this entire situation that she just got out of, Astra immediately agreed.
With a poker face, Kayla calmly nodded.
In that moment, Astra saw Kayla's figure begin to disappear into an endless void that appeared behind her. Before she could say anything, Kayla spoke again.
"Is there anything you would like to say to me, Miss Astra?"
With no discerning emotion on her face, Astra didn't hesitate to speak.
"I have one thing to tell you."
"When you're taking care of Mia, please allow her to be as independent as possible. That is, don't push yourself too much on her. Let her make her own decisions, and let her experience life in the way she wants to experience it. Let her find herself properly."
Kayla's eyes widened slightly, as she fully understood what Astra meant.
Astra noticed this, but she continued anyway.
"Even though the source of her trauma is mostly gone, she still needs a lot of time and intentional effort to recover. That is, if she recovers at all."
"I'm saying this because even though you're connected to me in some way, Mia will still be extremely hesitant towards you in many ways. She will probably act in ways you might not understand."
Kayla affirmed.
"Yes. She doesn't trust me, and she doesn't even trust you fully."
Astra closed her eyes as her lips curled up.
"Yeah, and it's totally fine for her not to." She opened her eyes, staring at Kayla's rapidly disappearing figure.
"That's why it's so important to not only treat her well, but allow her to be herself. I think you should know exactly what that entails, right?"
Kayla's eyes softened as she stared into Astra's eyes.
Astra's mouth then began to move as her smile softened.
With a faint smile, she said:
"Allow her to fully experience what it means to be someone."
Kayla processed these words for a second. Afterwards, she chuckled lightly as she gave a slight bow to Astra.
"Understood. I'll do my best."
"It was nice meeting you, Miss Astra."
With those words, Kayla, and the void behind her, completely disappeared.
With that, Astra was left alone under the quiet night sky.
For an inexplicable reason to Astra, Kayla's first remark that she told her kept resonating inside of her mind, and her heart.
"Always stay true to yourself…"
"In order for me to do that, I'd have to fully understand myself in the first place."
Astra thought as she placed her hand on her forehead. After a second, she looked up at the sky.
Removing her hand, she slowly moved her gaze downwards to look at her soft dark skin that wrapped her hands and her entire body.
Thoughtless, she sat down on the glassy-metallic foundation and crossed her legs.
For a while, she stared into the distance without a thought under the gaze of the night sky.
…
Not long after Kayla left, a pale-skinned man wearing a hooded robe calmly walked onto the glassy-metallic floor. He was tall, had deep black hair and eyes, and had a sharp but soft face. His appearance felt intense, but soft. It was as if seeing him would make you fall into a nice slumber.
He was none other than the Saint of Dreams, Lucian.
With a smile, he appeared behind the blonde, dark skinned, beautiful lady that was sitting on the floor. She didn't notice him. Rather, she couldn't even see him or sense his presence.
Not looking at the lady, Lucian then turns his head in multiple directions, appearing as if he was on watch for something.
In truth, he was looking at certain 'fragments' of Ethereon that most people couldn't and shouldn't see.
These fragments looked like little points of blue and white light, and they were scattered all over the foundation—rising up to an infinite distance.
After chuckling, he said, "So that's the abilities of the Saint of Space-Time and The Attendant of ————-"
"What a chaotic dimension. Such a short appearance was able to create an Eclipse-class Anomaly."
"Heh, this was quite fruitful; even exceeding my expectations."
Looking at the points of light, he gradually began to fade away, as if a pencil eraser was erasing him.
As it did, a large, illusory metal door had opened above him. On its surface were ancient but technological patterns of velvet light.
In an instant, all of the points of light that were flying up to an infinite distance were rushing inside of the door. It was as if the door was sucking in the lights like a vacuum. During this, it was shaking lightly.
The moment the door had 'absorbed' all of the points of light, it had immediately closed, causing illusory, abstract shockwaves.
Then, as if Lucian was waiting on the door to close, he fully disappeared—along with the door.