It felt like I was more awake than lucidity.
That I rose above awareness.
I was spat out of a long, dark snake.
I saw golden gates—they shined brighter than any star.
In fact, "I" dissolved here.
She was every gender.
He was every race.
He was a godly man—
And a god with human love.
And they were every hero…
No—every sage, every revolutionary, every leader, every role.
It was the death of all limits and restrictions.
[ ] did not see the prison.
The birds were white.
And they flew in more directions than the typical up, down, left, right, forward, and backward.
[ ] walked through a meadow.
It was also golden.
The roses were golden, and they flourished perpetually here.
The air was refreshing—serene in quality.
[ ] flew all the way to the sun.
He had wings no longer black, no longer waxen.
He bathed in its radiance.
Then he saw her.
The girl again.
She was beautiful beyond description.
"Is this what you want?"
"You're a fool," she said.
"You dance, but you know your dance must be predetermined. What is your name again?"
"[ ]" asked her.
"It's Lisa."
"That's a lie though.
No matter how much I die, my memories are permanent.
That isn't your name.
Even now—why do you make me struggle?"
"You're so peaceful," she replied.
"If you don't remember—
is this what you desire?"
"No...
I desire to dance with you.
Again.
Forever."
"What is my name, Lisa?"
"That is what you seek.
I guess I dance—
and you are eternally ignorant forever.
We're both fools, aren't we?"
"Can't you see you're asleep?"
"No—I... I—It's real?" he said.
"Fuck off," he bellowed into the clear blue sky as he saw a looming shadow.
It's The Mystery I am seeking for.
Yes. That's right.
Then it was seen.
It suggested a familiar shape.
A lineage familiar to Thales.
He almost saw the great cosmic dragon—but this wasn't quite it.
He saw a vastness to this creature.
Scales—luminescent.
An eternally contracting death cycle of universes—within them.
It had a myriad of wings.
Swirling stars.
Deep nebulae in their folds.
"No, no, no NO, NO!"
"NOT YOU!"
"NOT NOW!"
The creature had multiple faces, eternally complex.
It had a worm-like tunnel of a vessel.
Many vessels.
Multiple heads.
No eyes.
As its temporal maelstrom was unleashed—
from that wyrm-like, gaping maw—
If the previous beasts had fire of Promethium quality—
this one breathed an aer of Akashic textures.
Each eldritch, horrifying shape we'd call "head"
exhaled a demonstration of true majesty.
Thales' head blurred.
He couldn't register what was happening.
The visuals of the being—if it could even be called that—
were unrecognizable.
He saw the girl—Lisa?—
grab his hand.
She pushed him toward the river.
He tried to resist with all his might.
"If I fall into the river twice,
how do we know I'll be the same me?
Please—don't make me go back.
I don't know who I am!" Thales pleaded.
"You idiot," she whispered.
"I always can see who you are.
Remember."
She pushed him with great force—
with determination.
The last thing he saw was her smile
as he plunged into the great ocean.
He was swallowed by the murky depths.
"DAMN YOU…"
"It's all… THE URD-DRAGON!"
His eyes closed.
And reopened—
as if he had awakened from a bad dream.
He took fast, exhilarating gulps of air.
"You're alive. Well done, Thales Miray.
And I do apologize."
It was him.
The boy.
Thales Miray.
"Don't fuck with me.
What was all that shit for?"
"You faced unusual circumstances," the mirror said expressionlessly.
"But you have now developed the craving—
which is what the first trial is for."
"The craving to eat the Verdant Nectare.
So you can use your Umwelt.
You'll naturally learn to perform your rituals, prayers, and meditations
to cultivate chaos in your Hegemony Elysium."
"With pleasure… he will enjoy the show."
Alone,
Thales was.
And he cried.
Why am I being dragged around a narrative…?