Staring into the distance, Astra, who was wearing a bruised purple sweater and torn jeans, finally began her usual thinking process.
"I've finally entered the Celestial world…" She again thought to herself as she recollected the past events.
"I've finally gotten an opportunity to get stronger and to get more knowledge. I'm one step closer into both connecting with the heavens, and finding my mother, Xavier, and Aria."
"As for the former, I have to find another way to talk to the Demigoddess. If I do so, then I'd be able to fully understand the reason behind the hallucinations, the cosmic event, the woman in the void, and that hologram that appeared when we first arrived. As for the latter, I currently have no leads…"
Astra sighed as she laid her back on the floor, its cold surface removing the warmth from her sweater and jeans.
"As for right now, I've currently lost my house, and likely also Astraia." Astra chuckled dryly. "Heh. I guess I'll have to find a way to bring back her consciousness…"
"More importantly, even though Mia is in Kayla's hands, I still feel a little worried for her. I just have to hope Kayla isn't just acting trustworthy or benevolent."
Astra's brow furrowed as she thought about the only way to see Mia again, which was through Kayla's messenger.
"Sigh, this just means I have to find a way to get those materials as soon as possible. I need to see Mia's development as soon as possible. I need to get stronger as soon as possible. I need to know more about this world as soon as possible…"
"As soon as possible…as soon as possible…" These words had continuously repeated itself inside of her head over and over again.
Along with those words, all of her near death experiences in the past few hours had also repeated itself. Her pupils had constricted and her mouth was slightly open as her body trembled slightly.
The smile on Omar's face.
The desperate cries from Mia's voice.
The large, yellow circle that contained all of those symbols.
Then…Astra's chest tightened as her mind flashed to a different scene.
The glistening blue sparks of hope that were her eyes.
The genuine smile that she had for the first time.
"As soon as possible…" Astra muttered out words that came from her heart. In that moment, her body had relaxed as her eyes started to droop.
Her breathing slowed to a normal pace as her mind had finally stopped racing.
In the distance, she could've seen the blue sun beginning to rise, casting a faint purple hue over the horizon. The shimmering rings that streaked the night sky began to slowly fade into something less opaque and more translucent.
Astra continued to lay thoughtless as her heartbeat slowed—her eyelids beginning to close themselves.
At that moment, right before she was about to lay dormant on the glassy-metallic foundation, a figure appeared in the lower corner of her eye.
Alarmed, she immediately used all of her strength to open her eyelids.
Then, it didn't take long for Astra to see the features of this figure.
He was tall, and had a sharp face with intense black eyes. He was well built, but his soft, fair yellow skin gave his aura a slight tinge of femininity. His black hair was parted 70-30 and it appeared as if it was lightly flowing with each passing breeze. He was wearing a stylish black and white suit which had a crescent velvet moon on his right breast.
He was none other than Luminary Loken Izuru, the Vice Leader of the Dreamlanders in Luna.
Immediately, Astra sat herself up. With some struggle, she eventually stood herself up, meeting him at eye-level.
"Isn't it a bit rude to disturb my attempted sleep..." Astra wants to say, but she ended up yawning instead.
"Sorry," Loken closed his eyes as he gave a slight smile. "I don't think that sleeping on a destroyed house's foundation is going to do you any good."
"Well…sleep is sleep, isn't it?" As a physicist who's spent some sleepless nights, Astra truly valued her sleep.
"I can't argue against that." Loken remarked as he opened his eyes, still keeping his smile.
Astra sluggishly looked around, her eyes half closed. "The Dreamlanders didn't come with you? Neither did the police?"
"No. I believe this is my personal responsibility," Loken glanced at Astra's still intact immigrant band. He made eye contact with her and continued, "Of course, all of this happened because I had personally let you become a citizen of Morpheus."
"Personally…what do you mean by that exactly?" With furrowed brows, Astra couldn't help but question.
Loken chuckled.
"I have ways of 'testing' large groups of people at the same time at the Department. Such a manner doesn't involve my 'actual' body."
"But for you, I had specifically tested you personally, and dealt with you personally."
Astra scratched her head. Normally, her mind would've been racing, but she felt too exhausted. Indeed, one wouldn't be in their peak physical condition after dying not too long ago.
After a few seconds, she spoke again.
"Why did you do such a thing?"
"No reason in particular." Loken smiled as he took a step closer.
Upon hearing this, Astra's intuition rang bells of doubt inside of her head. With her mind facing a little more clarity, Astra began thinking, despite feeling some traces of brain fog in her head.
"That doesn't sound right…he's the Vice Leader, and he should be working with Lucian, right? Wouldn't the reason he came to me personally is because Lucian wants me join the Dreamlanders…"
"Either my information is incomplete, or this is deeper than I thought."
"There's also a possibility of Lucian doing this on his own accord…"
Noticing the silence, Loken didn't hesitate to continue.
"Don't worry, it has nothing to do with my good friend Lucian," Loken emphasized the 'good friend' in an almost exaggerated manner. He also said it casually, as he knew Astra knew the name of the Saint of Dreams. "It doesn't have anything to do with your strange abnormality that attracted those two Saints."
"I see. so Lucian's doing was of his own accord. That matches Kayla's words. It doesn't seem to get deeper. That's good." Astra noticed the fact that Loken spoke as if he was separated from the deal of the two powerhouses.
"In truth, from what I've observed, there was nothing wrong with you that could've brought danger to Morpheus. Not even the in-built systems that could detect the most minute Ethereon presences and the smallest brainwaves saw anything wrong with you." Loken elaborated on the tests that he had done. As he did so, the smile on his face slowly began to fade.
"However, you attracted that Saint who caused the Anomaly, which then attracted Lucian. I'm sure you already know what these words mean."
Astra's eyes fully opened.
"So, you said a half-truth earlier?" Astra asked, referring to when Loken said he had no reason why he personally came to her.
"You can say that." Loken smiled once more, his tone teasing.
"I see…so he always had a feeling there was something off about me. That's the reason why he personally met with me in the Department...that's the reason why he tried to impress me. Ha, too bad he couldn't prove it then."
"Now that I think about it, I'm guessing Lucian had the same feeling, judging by the way he talked to me. In his case, he already knew something was strange with me."
"Through Lucian, he finally knows that the quality that was off about me is the connection that I have with the First Dimension—with the reason for both of them knowing coming from Kayla."
"Now…it seems as if the reason he's coming to me personally is because of that 'abnormality'—or so he calls it—that I have." Astra's mind began to think like usual, however still slower than its usual pace.
"You believe you have a responsibility to come to me because you were proven correct about your feelings about me?" Astra asked.
Loken's eyes widened slightly.
"You're shockingly perceptive."
"But yes, you're precisely correct."
Astra placed her fingers on her forehead, gently rubbing them.
"Isn't that a big flaw? I mean, your systems couldn't detect the abnormalities that Kayla and I have. That led to this situation, did it not?" Astra asked.
Loken immediately knew who Astra meant when she said 'Kayla'.
Despite this, he spent a few seconds silent, as if he was contemplating. After this period of time, he continued to speak.
"That's right. However, the problem is that it's a strange and new dimension—one that isn't registered by our systems." Loken said in a casual tone, his voice soft and reassuring.
Astra didn't buy this explanation. She tilted her head back slightly to the left as she narrowed her eyes.
"That doesn't sound right. Doesn't the third—no, Fourth Dimension have powers of concealment also, given what Lucian has done during that fight?"
"Is there some special innate property of the First Dimension that allows it to have unusually powerful concealment abilities?"
"No. Even if there is, I doubt it'd be stronger than the anti-concealment powers that the Fourth Dimension has. This is just by common sense, the powers of Dreams directly influence the subconscious! Space-Time doesn't!"
Loken giggled intently, interrupting Astra's thoughts.
"Well, that's normally what I would say. But for someone like you, I'd tell the truth."
Astra calmed her expression as she saw Loken rest his hand on his cheek. Raising his voice slightly, he uttered:
"Lucian has done quite a number of preparations to ensure his goals have been achieved. He is quite a bold and interesting fellow. Who would've known he would've gone to such lengths?" Loken gave an exaggerated sigh afterwards.
"Lucian intentionally made Kayla and I pass through the systems? Without even consulting the Dreamlanders no less…"
"He really fooled everyone…except for the Demigoddess and Kayla."
"As for the Demigoddess, She was the one that allowed me to even come to Luna in the first place, completing Kayla's preparations…"
"As for Kayla, she had made sure not to tell me about the Demigoddess until the last moment so as to not deter me from screwing up her other preparations. She wanted me to go on a 'route', if you will. Heh, that's the real reason why she never told me until that moment. It seems like matters regarding Lucian makes her speak half-truths. Loken appears to be the same way, hm…"
"These guys really do operate on a different level. I can understand what Kayla meant about not comprehending these matters." Astra thought as she couldn't help but feel a weird feeling in her abdomen. Unsurprisingly, she felt a bit of fear.
"I'm glad I can say that I have one of these monsters as my ally." She didn't hesitate to claim Kayla as an ally upon hearing Loken's explanation.
"The Demigoddess remains to be seen however, but I know She basically is my ally! Hehe." Feeling happy, she inwardly giggled. Though, she did this to calm her feelings of fear she was experiencing.
With a respectful tone, Astra spoke again. "Does that mean that both you and the Royal Lucian had planned such things out?"
Loken shook his head with a smile.
"No. It was just Lucian. He seems quite interested in that new dimension of yours." He confirmed Astra's thoughts.
However, that wasn't what she wanted to know. Rather she was testing to see how much information Loken was willing to give her.
Knowing this, she asked another question.
"Why are you telling me all of this information? I don't think it's necessary for you to do so."
Loken stayed silent, still keeping his rather subtle smile. He stepped forward one step, and then leaned forward slightly. It looked like he was inching closer to Astra because he couldn't hear what she was saying—however she wasn't speaking. It was a strange movement.
Nonetheless, he met Astra's gaze.
"It's because you're special, Astra Sera. You're different."
"…" Astra didn't respond, in words or in expression. She looked at Loken blankly. It was as if those words never moved her.
Indeed, those words have never moved her.
Noticing this, and keeping his same stance, Loken began to speak.
"Of course, because of this, you will be accepted into the Dreamlanders immediately. Lucian has already finished all of the cyberwork, funnily enough. Even regarding your previous job, status, identification and other boring things. It didn't take him long to do," As he finished speaking, he finally straightened his back.
"Is that this world's saying of 'paperwork'?" Astra questioned inwardly at the mention of the word "cyberwork".
"Once you do, you'll join the Dreamlanders and become a Celestial. You will definitely progress fast given your superhuman body. As for your abnormality, it remains to be seen how it'll affect your progress."
"Then, for the fights you've been in, they have also been cleared from the public and legal eye, so you will also not experience any hiccups from the police or similar institutions." Loken said while looking to his side, the blue sun behind him increasingly getting more visible, painting the sky with an increasingly visible light purple hue.
Astra's face still had shown no reaction. She continued to contemplate.
"Everything is being handed to me generously. Is this all because of my connection…"
"It makes sense. After all, this is their chance of finally discovering some truths about this 'new' dimension." Astra emphasized the quotations in her head.
"Heh…doesn't that mean I'm being used…?" She later thought to herself, her chest tightening slightly as a form of nervousness.
Astra let out a breath of exhaustion. It seemed like she wanted to signal to Loken that she wanted to sleep.
"What's going to happen to my immigration status?" With narrowed eyes, Astra made eye contact with Loken.
"When you're a Dreamlander, your immigration status would be terminated and you would now have an official status as a citizen of Morpheus. More importantly, depending on how fond Lucian was of you while dealing with the cyberwork, you could actually have an official government position as a Protector. This comes with even more benefits."
"Now, regardless of what Lucian has done, you will become a fully fledged citizen who is a part of the Dreamlanders. As such, you will have your own living space, income, bank account, and other mundane things."
"Since you won't have an immigrant band anymore, your information wouldn't be displayed on it. Rather, it can be displayed on any item of your choice. Though, you can have a separate account for this if you'd rather to only access it there." Loken spoke in a tone similar to how he spoke to Astra at the Department of Immigration. He spoke in a soft, informative voice.
Astra closed her eyes and nodded. Opening them up to look at Loken, she paused for a second.
"When can I join?" She asked in a low voice, appearing fatigued.
"You can do so now." Loken replied.
"How convenient…sure. I want to join now."
Loken smiled.
"Okay."
…
It was a calm, sunny afternoon. The blue sun had started to dip below the horizon, casting a light purple blanket over the atmosphere.
Beneath this blanket there were faintly lit green and blue megastructures that had interwoven into each other, representing something akin to neurons and dendrites inside of a brain. Most of these edifices were curved, connecting to each other like an intricate yet purposeful maze. Translucent sky-bridges that looked like veins from afar provided many inhabitants transport, with automatic futuristic vehicles that moved based off of the rider's mood and emotion flying past.
Pedestrians also walked on these sky bridges, with some tourists admiring the scenery. Sky animals flew about occasionally, sometimes landing on all types of buildings, some floating and some interwoven into the megastructures.
This numerous yet orderly organization of structures stretched out toward the sky and pierced through the clouds, casting the entire city in a light green illumination that pulsed occasionally—tantamount to an artificial jungle of life.
At the ground level of this mega city, there were large, technological emerald spires that were coiled like serpents—showcasing all types of information. Information such as weather, mood reports for inhabitants and tourists walking by, news reports, advertisements, directions, city events, entertainment and so on. At the same time, there were also many buildings that you would normally find in a city: shops, malls, government buildings, police stations, hotels, tourist attractions, etc.
Not to be outdone, natural spots and areas like forests, jungles and lakes were present in different areas in the city. Each of these areas were teeming with all sorts of animals. However, they were separated by a transparent barrier from the rest of the city.
This enchanting ambience made all those who walked in this city felt as if the city itself was alive.
This was the capital of the Sentaic Republic, Neura. It was also called the City of Life—the largest megacity that worshipped the official Second Dimension, Emotion and Sentience.
In the center of Neura, there was a vast, elegant cathedral that had neuron shaped spikes at its roof. It floated in mid-air powered by invisible currents of Ethereon aided with antigravity technology. At the top of it was an emerald statue, about as tall as the cathedral itself, stretching out into the sky as the structures above seemed to part way for it.
The sculpture was a man that exuded maturity and confidence. He was young, handsome and had short hair that almost covered his eyes. He was wearing a priest's robe, and his eyes were closed—despite his head facing up towards the opening of the sky that came from the parting of the structures above. He appeared to be lit by a faint light that came from the sky.
"Saint Abel's Cathedral…" Speaking in Sentaic, the voice of a woman near the cathedral sounded out.
It was almost drowned out by the lively atmosphere of those also near the cathedral, with many such people taking pictures of it. Of course, there was proper protocol for anyone who wanted to enter.
"Hehe," The woman giggled cutely. "This is such a fascinating cathedral, isn't it?"
She was wearing a mid-length white sundress with floral green patterns and a cream-colored sorbet sun hat. She had tanned skin and bright blue hooded eyes. Her chestnut hair—which had reddish streaks—flew down to the edge of her neck like a waterfall.
She had an above average height for a woman, and was well built. She gave off a mature and elegant aura while also looking quite beautiful.
After saying those words, she turned her head towards a girl who was right next to her. The girl's hands were together by her waist, appearing shy.
She tilted her head up at the woman, and as if she was responding to her question, she nodded.
The woman gave a soft smile.
"Go on, you can take a picture."
"Oh!" Responding in Sentaic, the girl jolted.
"Sorry, I forgot…I'm not used to having these things. Sorry…" She excessively apologized as she rushed to tap a button on her wrist. It later manifested a hologram that snapped a picture of Saint Abel's Cathedral.
This girl was wearing a sleek dark blue windbreaker with sweatpants of the same color. The windbreaker had neural patterns, and it pulsed as if it was alive. Her brown hair was wrapped in a ponytail, and her blue eyes gave off a slight sense of vibrancy. Her skin was bright and fair, although there were faint marks left on it.
She was none other than Mia.
"How does it feel like taking a picture on your new phone?" The woman later asked, her eyes still looking at Mia.
"I don't know…" Mia then turned her gaze towards the top of the cathedral, where the sculpture towered over the ground area of the city.
"I feel strange emotions that I've never felt before. But I can't say I feel bad." After a pause, Mia later elaborated.
The woman continued smiling, as if she expected that answer.
"That's good." The woman cast her gaze back onto the cathedral. "Pictures are evidence for what you've experienced. They document the past, for what you experienced in the present, for what you wish to go back to in the future."
"Fitting for someone finding a new life, is it not?"
Mia looked back at the woman. She again nodded, still giving off an air of shyness.
Inwardly, she was a little confused.
"She's being completely different from back then. Did she change her personality also…? She's quite talented. As expected of a such a powerhouse…"
The woman kept looking at the sculpture above with curled up lips.
Curious, Mia mustered up the courage to ask a question.
"Do you know who that is? Well, the person on top of the cathedral. Is that Saint Abel?"
The woman kept her gaze on the sculpture.
"Heh. I wonder…it could also be the Demigod of Consciousness."
Mia nodded and didn't pry any further.
Instead, she began to think about something else.
After a few seconds, she turned her head back towards the woman.
"Uh, I'm sorry for asking if this bothers you. But, Miss Kayla, when can I see Miss Astra again?"
The woman finally stopped staring at the cathedral. Locking her blue eyes with Mia's, she gave a warm smile that contrasted with the cool breeze that blew their hair and apparels. At the same time, Mia felt as if the area surrounding her got warped slightly.
With a calm voice, the woman spoke.
"I don't know, Mia. But Miss Astra Sera is quite an enigma. I'm sure with the Demigoddess' help she'll get strong enough to protect you again like how she did back then."
"Until then, she has entrusted me to use my strength to not only protect you, but to also make sure you find yourself properly."
"What does 'finding yourself' mean?" Mia asked curiously.
The woman gave an innocent chuckle.
"It means that you'll finally be aware of who you are as a person. You'll find what you like, dislike, interested in or uninterested in, or somewhere in between."
Mia's eyes widened slightly, as if she experienced an epiphany.
Noticing this, the woman continued.
"But don't worry. I'm sure you'll see her again."
Mia nodded once more.
"Also, Mia…" The woman's smile left her body.
"Remember, I'm not Kayla here. I'm Miina Reinhard."
Upon seeing Miina's warm face turn into an expressionless one, Mia couldn't help but shudder inwardly.
"I'm sorry!" Fearful, Mia immediately tried to rectify the situation.
Miina gave an innocent, adorable smile in contrast to her nonchalant attitude earlier. Her eyebrows curled up, revealing a caring expression.
"You don't have to apologize so much…"