Saga: Journey to the Sunrise
Arc 1: Retro Anomaly
Chapter 16
Axis
Lanmyth looked around, as if the visible space he was in was just limited to his siblings, the anomaly, and some trees. Other than that, it was a whole cube, and outside it was a whole void.
"What is happening!?" He looked around, gasped. Everyone froze like it was a still frame.
Slowly, with alienatic sound, another cube just a little above their cube's corner formed. It was same as there, but... even Lanmyth was frozen in it, and in the place of anomaly was a bright white light. Scyures's half body was glowing bright, hint of vaporization.
"That.. is.. wait I can't move." He couldn't, but at least his head could. He looked elsewhere, and another cube?
In this one, the faces of his siblings and even his were frozen in a stretched state. All the stretched lines went in a circular pattern towards the anomaly's place.
It was like a black hole. Wait, if this is a black hole, and the other one had a bright light. Is it a supernova?
He looked back and confirmed his theory, which was terrifying. He couldn't understand three things.
One, why was everyone frozen? Time-stop could be an answer to this, but then why wasn't he?
Two, why are there many cubes? They look like the possibilities in the next second.
Third but not the least, when will this freeze stop? What will happen then?
These questions cursed his brain like an eldritch horror.
Another cube he saw — it seemed perfectly identical to theirs except there was one difference.
By perfectly identical he meant by poses, but their skin was frozen or dumped in lava, and the anomaly was leaking some liquid. Of course, it all was frozen in it, but still, it looked like liquid.
Slowly, there were multiple cubes with possibilities.
He stared at the supernova cube for long enough that their cube started moving there.
Would that trigger the explosion? He looked away and it was moving backwards.
To avoid any unwanted conclusion, he looked at his own land. Slowly, his body was loose enough to move but rigid enough to not be able to leave his place.
He picked up some sand and clenched it. Just then he heard a seductive melody printed in words..
{So you are the one...}
"Who was that?" He wasn't able to move but he could talk.
{Some know me as the mother of everyone. Some call me the living omnipotency.}
"Are you... the stained ruler?"
Could Lanmyth have encountered someone he read about in books?
The stained ruler. Her figure was unknown but referred to be female. She was called the epitome of omnipotency. Anyone claiming to be omnipotent is a fraud when she is against that person.
{No, you're mistaken}
"Huh?"
{Let me introduce myself. Don't interrupt.}
"U-understood..."
{I am the one who sees it all. I am called by different names.
Some call me heaven,
Others refer to me as hell.
I was born so you all could thrive.
The one from the three pillars of true omni-consciousness.
I saw birth, death, force, love, hatred, emotions, existence, knowledge.
THY AM.
Mother Gyca.
In your world you knew me as Mother Earth.}
"Mother... Earth? How do you know about my wor...? Three pillars of omni-consciousness?"
{Good grief, you're quite impatient. Yes, I am Mother Earth.
Your world? The transmigration in this world is common. And the day I entered this realm, I let this void have life. I am the first living to pass across dimensions.}
"That means... You were always watching us? But all those religions? And all those wars?"
{Don't hurry, we have a lot of time. Yes, I have always watched everyone, I know everything about you. Your real name, identity. I have suffered every being's pain and every pleasure. I was the god shaped by different minds.}
"But about that three pillars?"
{I, Mother Earth, Mother Nature, am the first omnipotent being. The other two were born from me. The Stained Ruler you mentioned is nearly as strong as me. I know her past, present. We three keep each other in check. The reality is born from us.
In particular, the Stained Ruler—she is the fabric of existence. I was the first brick laid to run. And the third one.
The Eternal Sword—he actually has no powers.}
"No powers? So how is he one of you three?"
{Because his power is no power. No matter how strong you are, how much power you carry—when you encounter him, your powers die. Whether it's universal or beyond time, it all turns to bones and skulls. You are just an ordinary human in front of him.}
"He sounds like..."
{The perfect counterpart of the Stained Ruler.}
"Y-yes. So what do you want? Did you do this all? How can I move? And how to make this all right? Who is this anomaly?"
{The anomaly... you call him that?}
She giggled.
"Does it have a real name?"
{Don't worry. I won't complicate it. Let's call it anomaly.}
{He carries the power of belief. And it was once so strong a belief, he inherited it all. And now no one remembers that one belief. He is on the path to become one of the pillars. The fourth pillar.}
"So... you're telling me. We have trapped an omnipotent being?"
{Not quite. He is like a chick hatched from an egg. He is still beyond our level. As for this state you're in? It's his omni-uniqueness. A power only special to him.}
"What does that supposed to mean?" My body was frozen again so I couldn't move. But I have to fetch as much info as I want.
{I can hear your thoughts!}
"HUH?"
{Don't huh me. Also don't worry, I'll tell you whatever you ask. And rest assured, you'll one day get to see me, and it's a little secret but...
I look hotter than you think.}
"A..u..."
{I like pervert-minded shy guys. They look so cute sometimes. Anyways, back to the topic. His power, it's called... you might already be aware of it.}
"What is it? Something like..."
{The 4rth dimension.}
The fourth dimension? It is a widely debated topic, some say it's time, others say it's a spatial dimension.
"And when I look at a cube it comes near me."
{It still hasn't evolved yet, so it's giving you the choice to choose a future for yourself.}
"But I'll die in every one of them."
{You missed one future.}
"One?" I looked around. I couldn't see faraway ones but...
"Is it?" I looked in front of me. Scyures had slashed the anomaly, but it was still the same as before — intact.
{You're right. If you choose this, you'll be safe. But you would let the anomaly live.}
"I'll choose this!"
{Oh my! You're quite bold.}
"So, what about you? Will you talk to me like this or disappear?"
{I'll go away as it ends, but you'll be able to find me somewhere. Because I'm sealed.}
"And what will I get in exchange?"
{You'll get to see my astonishingly beautiful body. And maybe a way to return home. I think that's enough motivation for you.}
"Where can I find you?"
{You'll know yourself.}
"Expected."
{I guess it's time to leave. Be aware, they are coming.}
"They who?"
{There are other strong people, lower but still stronger besides the omnipotents. And they have senses that something here is beyond fishy.}
"I'll be aware."
{Good for you, my little baby boy.}
"Don't call me that."
{See you soon.}