The Restriction
CHAPTER 3: Restriction
While lying on a fine stone bed, the red-haired angel slowly regained consciousness and opened his eyes to see a ceiling with countless black wing patterns engraved on it.
"What?! Where am I?" the red-haired angel said as he sprung from the stone bed, befuddled and perplexed. He looked to his left and right, but there were no angels in the space he was in; all he saw was a semi-dark room filled with strange things.
"Ah!" Like a bolt of lightning striking his mind, he now realized why he had been unconscious a while ago. He remembered collapsing at the tunnel's entrance while attempting to resist the excruciating pain he had suddenly felt, and then seeing the image of the black-haired angel hazily. After that, he had no recollection of anything. What he is confused about right now is the place he was in. He has had no idea where he is or why he has been brought to this place.
As he gazed around, his confusion and perplexity grew even more. He was in a small room that appeared to be an underground basement, with strange symbols and shapes adorning the walls. When he looks at the symbols and shapes, he knows that there is something strange about them, like something that causes you to shiver the first time you look at them. But what's strange is that looking at those things makes him feel calm. When he arrived at the tunnel's entrance, he remembered feeling unusually dark and gloomy when he looked inside. That feeling was similar to when he looked at the shapes and symbols on the walls, but the difference was that he felt uneasy, and his legs were restlessly shaking before, compared to now that he was calm.
"creak! creakk..." the red-haired angel was startled by the creak of a door in a small room. He hastily turned around to see a black-winged angel with long hair enter the small room. Its physique, which stands roughly 5'8 inches tall, somehow slim, and it has a deep black eye that seems like a deep abyss.
"Hello, sorry to surprise you. I'm Perch!" the angel who enters the room utters a soft voice while looking at the red-haired angel with a smile on his face.
".... Um" the red-haired angel simply nodded, unsure about how to answer or not respond to Perch.
"It's alright, you can feel at ease. I'm not here to do anything to you. In fact, I'm here to guide you to the place that will answer your curiosity about how you feel." feeling the uneasiness and cautiousness in the gestures of the red-haired angel, Perch, didn't waste time anymore and said his purpose for being here.
"... Okay." Feeling the sincerity in the words of Perch, the red-haired angel feels a little at ease. He thought that something had probably already happened to him if they were planning to do something bad. Furthermore, he didn't have any other choice.
"What's your name?" Perch inquires, smiling as he approaches the red-haired angel. Perch is an angel with a mysterious and pleasing personality. As a result, it's sometimes easier to be friendly in front of him while yet being curious about what he truly thinks. He moved and positioned his right hand, intending to shake the red-haired angel's hand.
Looking at his soft, feminine hands, anyone could mistakenly think Perch is a girl. However, when you look at his posture carefully, you can see that he's a handsome angel with the elegant posture of a man. His eyes, looking like a deep and mysterious abyss, made the red-haired angel wonder what he really meant as he offered to shake hands. But it's a waste of time to think about it right now, because whether he trusted Perch or not didn't matter anymore, because he had no choice but to follow him.
A little hesitant at first, the red-haired angel shakes Perch's hands "I'm Jashwi."
"What a nice name". Perch uttered in a lively voice.
Hearing the flattery, Jashwi seemed to be a little delighted, but he didn't respond to Perch. On the other hand, Perch seems to notice a slight change in Jashwi's expression.
"Anyway, the Master wants to see you first. He said to bring you to him once you wake up." Perch said in a serious tone.
"Which Master?" feeling a little confused about who the person was talking about, Jashwi asked.
"You know him." Perched said in a way that arouse Jashwi's curiosity.
"I know him?" Perplexed by what Perch said, Jashwi asked.
"Yes, but you will get to know him much better later. Anyway, let's go?" Perch said, while turning towards the door.
"Um...." not asking any more questions, Jashwi just nodded and followed.
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"Hmmm.... Where are we?" Jashwi can't help but wonder where they are as they go down a winding lane that seems like a subway tunnel. After what he saw in the small room where he awoke, the lane they're walking down now looks completely unfamiliar to him.
"We are in another dimension." Perch said, showing an unreadable expression.
"Dimension …?" Jashwi asks in a confusing tone.
"Yes. You know how the heavenly realm was made with different dimensions, right?"
"Yes."
"This place was similar to it. We are in a different dimension separate from the Hines region or should I say separate from the Quatal Dimension, but still in the Heavenly realm." Perch said, looking like it was trying to instill the concept into Jashwi.
"Yes, but... Angels can't easily enter a dimension, right?" Jashwi asked, remembering that despite the countless dimensions of the heavenly realm, angels can't easily go from one dimension to another due to the restriction. A restriction that is only known by a handful of angels. Especially those higher-ranking angels.
"You are right, but those restrictions do not apply to this place." Perch tried to understand what Jashwi was trying to point out, and he said it in a way that would entice Jashwi's curiosity. For him, it's also good to have an active conversation with the red-haired angel, considering it still has a little doubt and hesitation. So, by talking to him openly and actively, he might erase that uncertainty about Jashwi's feelings and thoughts.
"Restrictions?" Jashwi asked, curious. Living in the heavenly realm, especially in the Hines Region, he sometimes desires to go to another dimension, but he is unable to do so due to angelic limits. Worse, the majority of angels are completely unaware of the constraints. All they know is that when they try to enter a dimensional place, they are pushed out of it by an unknown space and a force.
"Yes, but the restrictions only apply to beings of this realm. When an angel with a synergy of the heavenly realm tried to enter a specific realm, the angel would be denied because the system that runs the realm would recognize the angel. " Perch uttered in a more serious tone.
"Then, how are this place and the being of this place able to enter another dimension?" Jashwi asked, looking more confused and not able to understand what Perch was trying to say.
"Do you remember how you felt the first time you came to this place?" Perch suddenly stops and asks, looking straight into the eyes of Jashwi.
"Yes, wait, you mean… Yes, you are right. " Remembering what he felt the first time he came here, Jashwi suddenly came up with an answer, but couldn't finish what he was going to say since Perch answered it right away.
"What?... How…" He has a vague idea of it, but he can't really grasp how it happened. What he's thinking is a completely unfamiliar idea to him, so it's natural to be a little confused about it.
"This place contains an unknown energy which is completely unfamiliar with the heavenly realm. That's the energy you felt the first time you came here. Since it is completely unfamiliar, the system will not be able to recognize it and, therefore, will be able to enter and exit a specific realm." Perch explained.
"But, what's those energies?" Jashwi looking like he understands what Perch was trying to say, still has confusion, especially on what really are those energies.
"The master will make you understand it later." Perch said while grinning.
"Um..." Jashwi just nodded, feeling that he wouldn't get all the answers he needed quickly.
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Jashwi questioned where they were heading while walking through what appeared to be a subway tunnel because there doesn't appear to be any room or door that will lead them to any suitable place to meet what Perch referred to as "master," and all he can see on both sides is a plain wall.
It is common in the heavenly realm to have places where its entrance is something similar to a dimensional door or a teleportation portal where doors are not visible but hidden in space. But for Jashwi, referred as an angel with relatively low rank, these kinds of things are not usually common for him.
"We are here" Perch uttered.
"what …. Here?" Jashwi, looking a little confused, asked. They stopped in front of a 10-meter silver plain wall with an engraving of different kinds of rubies that light up the area, but other than that, there are no notable things that will look like a doorway or entrance that will lead to another place, so Jashwi looked a little confused about the situation.
"Yes, we are here." Perch uttered, consolidating his words to mean that they were in the right place.
"But there isn't anything here." Still looking confused, Jashwi asked, but while speaking, a "clack" sound was suddenly heard. In front of them, the rubies in the plain silver wall suddenly started loosening up, and the wall moved downward, as if submerging itself in the land.
"What is going on?" Jashwi asked, surprised by the sudden movement of the stone in front of them.
Perch responded to Jashwi's confusion by saying, "That's the door to the other dimensions where the Master is."
"What? " Jashwi uttered a rhetorical question.
Despite the many astounding and confounding things in the heavenly realm, such as the power in the fruits of the trees, the strangeness in the species, and the different characteristics, features, and miracles in the heavenly realm, it is uncommon for Jashwi to encounter something like this since strangest things in the heavenly realm can only be encountered by higher-ranking angels, and most of those things are in different dimensions.
"Let's go?" Perch said, feeling the astonishment in Jashwi.
"Ah...yes," Jashwi said, astonished, as if he'd lost his train of thought and abruptly returned to reality.
Jashwi followed Perch, a little trembling. The two of them set out on their voyage to the other dimension.