Dark Caves and Empty Books
Fourteen years had whisked away like the wind, yet Ellie's countenance had become more polished and mature from the passage of time.
Al observed her from below, perched on a branch as she gazed unwaveringly at the sun. Determined, Al began to climb the tree, settling beside her. Moments ticked by in quiet companionship until Al, unable to contain his thoughts any longer, broke the silence.
"I should have listened to you years ago, Ellie. I should have invited Kesha to join us. Perhaps then..."
Ellie remained a silent, present in body only, her eyes fixed on the fiery orb.
"It's as though every choice I've ever made has detonated in my face," Al confessed, a raw honesty lacing his words. "I find myself trapped in a cycle of self-doubt, questioning whether immortality is something I even want. Perhaps, in the grand scheme, death isn't as bad as we perceive it to be."
Ellie remained enigmatic, still gazing sunwards. Slowly, Al registered that her attention had not burrowed itself to him - in fact he didn't even think he was speaking to the real Ellie, "She probably hasn't even left her cave." Al thought as he looked up towards the sun before flinching from the brightness.
"You're going to damage your eyes, Ellie," Al whispered, though he suspected that her unbroken gaze was actually a method to help her Cultivate her Reflective Will. After all her Will resided within the energy plane.
With reluctance, Al descended the tree, leaving Ellie to cultivate her Will in peace. He trudged back to his cave, where he sank down and once again began to try and flood his A.R.C. The flow however felt obstructed, like water struggling to pass through a kinked hose.
His concentration wavered as thoughts cascaded through his consciousness - Agnethe, his parents and Kesha constantly surfaced disrupting his cultivation.
The unshakable sensation that he was being watched became more palpable so much that he broke out into a cold sweat followed by a tingling down his spine, casting shadows of unease.
He lifted the empty book Marcy had given each one of them, he began his mental exercise in a bid to clear the cluttered expanse of his mind.
The incessant thoughts gradually morphed into abstract notions, eventually crystallizing into a singular color. As his mind approached a state of pristine clarity, an enigmatic obstruction still wight down his Stubborn Will.
The sensation of a looming presence intensified, as if someone was lingering just above him.
In an instant, his mind was inundated with a deluge of bizarre images, symbols that coalesced from memories belonging to unfamiliar eyes. Yet, it wasn't the images themselves that struck him; it was the profound perspective that accompanied each one. A mere image carried a thousand words, and astonishingly, he comprehended them all, deciphering them like notes in a symphony.
"You belong to me," a voice declared, breaking his trance.
Al's voice filled the emptiness of his cave, a defiant challenge to the unseen presence. "Show yourself, demon!"
But no entity materialized, leaving him alone in the cave's shadowy depths. After this eerie encounter, his Stubborn Will resumed its free-flowing course, akin to a cascading waterfall.
"Damn this all to hell," Al muttered, his determination unshaken.
Gradually, he fell back into flooding his A.R.C. then he began to saturate his body with his Stubborn Will, losing all track of time in the process.
He meticulously focused on his breath and the continuous flow of his Will, managing to silence the intrusive thoughts that had troubled him earlier. Furthermore, he noticed specific areas within his body where his Stubborn Will gathered and pooled.
Deep within his meditative trance, Al's heightened senses detected the faint but unmistakable sound of footsteps entering his cave.
Cesar's presence shattered Al's meditative cocoon. He delivered somber news that hit Al like a sudden storm.
"Al, I don't mean to interrupt you," Cesar began hesitantly, "but you should know that your mother has passed away. Ellie entered the Mental Domain about a year ago and has been keeping a watchful eye on her, as well as listening for updates about Kesha."
Al slowly opened his eyes, his mind adjusting to the weight of this revelation. Oddly, he found himself not entirely surprised. He had mentally filled endless narratives in the blank book about his mother, visualizing this inevitable moment countless times.
"That's unfortunate," Al responded calmly, his voice carrying the weight of years spent alone with his thoughts which he purged like kindling for a fire.
Al changed the subject "What about you and the others? How close are they to entering the Mental Domain?" he asked.
Cesar didn't wasn't surprised by Al's thoughtful reaction; he, too, understood how time could temper one's mind. Especially when the majority of that time is spent constantly trying to hush the mind.
"I'm only about a year away," Cesar replied, "but as for the rest, I'm not sure. Additionally, Kesha may already be gone. Ellie overheard that Mt. Kali has begun executing their prisoners."
Al stared at Cesar, his thoughts churning like a turbulent sea before he finally spoke, his voice measured and determined.
"Hopefully not. If I don't enter the Mental Domain within the next two years, I'll have to go as I am." Al spoke.
With those words, Cesar retreated from the cave, leaving Al to his solitary cultivation.
Time was slipping through Al's fingers, each grain more precious than the last, yet container that was his physical body felt far from full.
The inexorable march of time pressed on, and shortly, Cesar joined the ranks of the Mental Domain. A year later the 2 years Al had mentioned had passed in total 29 years had gone by.
Stepping into Al's cavern, Cesar conveyed the passage of the 2 years Al had spoken about.
"It's been two years, Al. Jin entered the Mental Domain just yesterday. I'm sad to say you're the last one who has yet to enter Mental Domain."
Al rose to his feet with a deliberateness that betrayed his internal urgency. "That's alright. I've been thinking it over and I don't think it's necessary. We should be able to breach Mt. Kali's prison without resorting to overwhelming force."
Cesar's skepticism hung in the air, an unspoken doubt. He had started to accept Kesha's likely demise, after all he had only known Kesha for less than day. It seemed to him that Al was clutching onto a past life that time had long dissolved.
In their physical forms, both men were well into their fourth decade, although not youthful they seemed to age a lot slower than ordinary humans. They resemble men in their early thirties.
Cesar proceeded to share a troubling development: while they were engrossed in their closed meditations, the Rakh-ahtan had launched a small-scale assault on Kentucky, establishing their presence. Given the irradiated nature of the land, the God Leafs, I.P.S., and Churches found themselves handicapped in response. Meanwhile, the I.S.P. had burgeoned, expanding to encompass significant territory and even founding a self-governed city-state.
While they closed their mind and went within the world continued to move without them, Al and Cesar now stood on the precipice of change.
In the midst of their isolated worlds, New Ark the State of the I.P.S. had risen as a sanctuary, embracing all life born on the Earth as valuable members of their society. Meanwhile, the God Leaves were diligently preparing for the 301st Mortal Rings Tournament, a mere few years away. The shadow of the Churches loomed darker, as they actively hunted down and executed cultivators.
Al absorbed this information about the external world, pondering the fates of those who they had met. Cesar voiced the question that weighed on both their minds.
"I wonder how Loh' and Asoto' are doing?"
On the opposite coast, in the tallest building within New Ark a man with gray hair and glasses commanded the attention of a room filled with men and women. Standing beside him was a striking figure—a dark blue giant with white hair, Robert Sullivan, now an old man, and Loh' Pohlieus, who had not aged at all.
"Our personnel are closely monitoring the situation on the northeastern border of Kentucky," the man reported. "On the opposite side, the Christian and Catholic churches are keeping a vigilant eye on the western front."
The room buzzed with murmurs, a woman raising her hand to voice her concern. "If we overextend ourselves, we leave New Ark vulnerable to an attack from the Eastern Religious sects or to those transmogrified humans."
Robert's smirk bore the confidence of a man with a grand plan. "That's fine. Soon, we'll have the power of our own God."
With this declaration, the meeting concluded.
Back on Shiny Island within the Western coast, Al and Cesar entered Marcy's secluded cave, where they were joined by the rest of their Phantom Seed. Time had etched maturity onto their faces and refined their features. However, it remained a perplexing sight to observe Ellie, who seemed years older than her own mother, Marcy.
Seated on her stone platform, Marcy addressed the group with a question that held the weight of their impending decision. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
Each member of the Phantom Seed met Marcy's gaze with unwavering determination, but they deferred to Cesar to articulate their collective resolve.
"Yes, we've discussed this thoroughly," he replied, his voice unwavering. "Despite Al remaining in the Upper Physical Domain, we believe we can't wait any longer. It's now or never."
Marcy had accepted Cesar as her main disciple years ago, she locked eyes with him, her expression filled with understanding. Ellie, impatiently, turned and spoke up. "Well, let's get going. We don't have time to spare."
With Agnethe quickly following Ellie's lead, the rest of the group fell into step.