Chapter 7: Chapter 6 – Arc 1 – Powers that be?

It was on the third day of my temporary exile in my courtyard that some changes came. 

 

The old man with the long beard visited me. 

 

It was a quick conversation to confirm everything that happened on the first day of arrival. After a few topics which were hard to explain in a broken speech, I kindly asked him to send somebody to teach me their language. 

 

With his acceptance, later that day a new person came. It was a middle-aged man with black hair, just like everybody I had seen so far, including myself. 

 

At first glance, I knew I was in trouble as the script resembled heavily an Asian script with not even a hint of anything western anything in it, not even the numbers. 

 

Resigning myself, I did my best to learn it as fast as possible, but it would take time even with my new cheat.

 

***

 

“ Finally, the time has come for the main dish to appear. ” Declared my original sitting in front of me. “ I am sure you were quite eager too, but you needed to know the basics of the basics, as only then would you be able to understand the whole picture. ”

 

Standing up from the red sofa chair we had been sitting in all this time, he motioned for me to do the same. Once I was up the chairs vanished along with the projection he had used to explain the basics of the Creation.

 

Once everything vanished he took a step and that was all it took for our surroundings to ripple. It started from the foot that touched the white nothingness we were somehow standing on. 

 

From there the ripple traveled around us and with it, the ground changed. Out of the white nothingness came wooden tiles and stone. After they were of sufficient distance from us, pillars began to grow from the ground. 

 

Soon after that, the support structure of a Dojo started to come into existence.

 

This experience and the grand appearance of the Dojo reeked heavily of Matrix movie influence. 

 

Once the roof was done, it was almost identical to the one presented in the movie and if one had to describe a difference, it would be of size.

 

This Dojo was at least 3 times bigger than the one in the movie. “ Still going on with the Matrix theme? ”

 

“ Naturally, there is no better medium for it than actually being inside Dreams. ” He replied. “ That and Virtual Reality as it is currently very popular. ”

 

“VR? Right, you did say that it was 2063 when you sent me. How does it work? Just curious. ” I asked him.

 

“ Well… “ He hesitated for a second before he explained it to me. “ Honestly speaking, it would have gone considerably slower if I hadn't stepped in and pushed on in favor of this and that, by bonking the heads of those I didn't like. I actually did that to quite a few things aside from VR. I pushed a lot for space colonization and currently, there are bases on the Moon and Mars alongside the planned expansion that is slow in progression. ” 

 

“ Too bad I couldn't see it. Why didn't you include any memories of those events? ” I really would have liked to have any of them.

 

Waving his hand, he spoke. “ It’s not as fun as they make it seem in the movies. To be honest, even when I pushed the right buttons, it went on quite slowly. As memories of that aren't important, they weren't included. ”

 

“And why did you push for all this? ” I ask him out of curiosity.

 

“ There are many reasons, but the main ones are that I needed the majority of the public to be distracted from the events happening in the background. VR was the first step to hiding all the shit that people started doing once they gained access to my System. ” He explained. “ After all, if a bunch of superhuman people started showing up all the time it was only a matter of time till the public became aware. This way all of those events were blamed on VR.  As for the Space program, well aside from the changes I have planned for planet Earth and everything living and not living on it, I wanted us to become a space-faring civilization, so that once I am done with Earth I can explore the rest of the Galaxy. ” He smirked at the last part.

 

“ Bastard, I hope I will be able to do something similar in this new life. ” I remarked. “ Ok, with the Dojo here, let's learn the juiciest part of this. ”

 

Agreeing with me, he waved his hand, and at the other end of the Dojo, stone dolls appeared. They looked a bit like stick figures. “ Did you run out of budget when making those? ” I ask in curiosity.

 

“ Nah, I just like blowing them up. ” Was his replay. I wonder if the same applied to me?

 

Taking a familiar pose I heard the first word leaving his mouth. 

 

1.  

 

My inner cringe surfaced immediately but when something gathered in between his hands, it vanished instead.

 

ME

 

Seeing it brought forth quite a few memories of my childhood.

 

HA

 

Those were the best times of my childhood.

 

ME

 

HA 

 

With a shout and a mighty pose, the light flashed from his hands and a beam surged forth to blast the stone stick figures. 

 

Boom

 

Flinching at the explosion of the stick figures, I reflexively retreated a bit. Strangely though, no dust appeared in the aftermath.

 

Done with it, he smiled wide for me to see. “ What do you think about that? ”

 

“ To be honest, at first, a cringe feeling wanted to rush out of me but when something actually happened it vanished. ” I replied a bit unsure.

 

“ Good, here is some advice. Just because something looks flashy, it doesn't mean it's a good attack. You have no idea how many people implemented such actions in real life once they gained access to my system. I even had to ban and censor some of them. ” He explained. 

 

“ Really? Ban them? Why?” I wasn't surprised they did them but actually banning them?

 

“ Aside from it being stupid and wasteful? Well if I had to give a reason, it goes like this. Remember the Stands from JoJo’s? ” Nodding, he went on. “ One of them created a Superman version of it and went on doing heroics. God, it was funny at first, but when other people started to impersonate and replicate other iconic figures I pulled the plug on it. It pulled away too much attention, especially since VR wasn’t yet available at that time. In truth, It was that event, that spurred me to push into the VR field. ”

 

“ For you, it is not important as you are in another world. So you can do anything you want and I can not stop you. But please at least don't go for the embarrassing stuff. ” He said a bit pleadingly. 

 

“ Anyway, let us get back on track. The earlier iconic Kame-Hame-Ha is a good example of what I wanted to show. It's a flashy attack and in some aspects, it is quite strong, but if you compare it to the amount of Power used in fueling such an attack it just ain't worth it. NO, a much better solution would be to apply some Aspects to your attack and go with that. ” My original explained. “ Oh, and Aspects to me are what Laws are for Mages and Dao’s for Daoists. It’s infusing your Power with Concepts, therefore increasing its power and effect. ”

 

“Oh, ok. Show me more, please? ” Rejoicing at what I was seeing, I requested more.

 

“ Don't worry, I was planning on it. After all, I know what ticks the best for me. ” This time he brought forward his right hand with the palm open and pointed upwards. This time something unbelievable happened, that screamed of Magic to me.

 

“ Fireball. ” Above his hand appeared a ball of flames. It wasn’t that big, maybe slightly bigger than his hand and it brought forth heat and light. 

 

“ The most iconic attack known in fantasy. Once you see it, it screams Magic. Doesn’t it? ” My only reply was a nod. 

 

And he pointed the Fireball at the stone figures in the distance. Unlike what I thought, the Fireball didn't move that fast. In truth, it was easy to track it with my eyes. 

 

Contrary to what I imagined would happen when it reached them, nothing happened. It just stayed there. 

 

BOOM

 

Displaced air hit me a second after the sound shockwave hit me and I flinched quite hard. It stunned me for a bit, as I had never been that close to an explosion before. 

 

Again no dust appeared as if it didn't exist in this Dream. “ That packed the same amount of energy I used for the Kame-Hame-Ha. ”

 

“Oh. ” Was my replay. 

 

“ Quite the difference once you infuse an Aspect into your Power, right? ” He asked.

 

“ Yea, does that apply to everything. ” Shaking his head he denied it. “ No, but almost any other force is stronger than pure Power by itself. And here is where we will begin with the lesson. ”

 

Again he raised his right hand and a Fireball appeared, only this time his other hand did the same and another Fireball appeared there. “ To you, it will appear that these two Fireballs are the same when the fact is they are not. They have been materialized by different types of Power. Watch and observe. ”

 

Showing the right one, it traveled slowly and again went BOOM once it reached the targets, which had regenerated before I even noticed. Another shockwave of sound and displaced air hit me. 

 

Being more prepared, it didn't stun me but my instinctive flinching stayed. 

 

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Once it was over I looked and saw no difference from before. The stick figures lie in pieces along with a hole in the ground. Yet in my next blink, I saw the scene reset and the stick figures appeared again. 

 

Noticing my original motioning his left hand I traced this Fireball. It behaved like the last one and soon it too went BOOM. Recovering from it, I saw the difference he was talking about. There was a shimmer in the air from the superheated air in the wake of the Fireball and all around the blast zone, I saw fires flicker.

 

“ I am sure you are seeing the difference, but you can't understand what the difference entails. ” He commented on my way. “ Let me explain. Before I have told you about Chaos and Order, and how they are the same thing but with different principles. In our case; Order represents Structural Powers and Chaos represents Conceptual Powers. ”

 

“ Structural Powers take advantage of the structure after which they have been designed. The second Fireball was created by pulling the gasses out of the air and vibrating their molecular structure to such a degree that it is superheated. With your Power, you shape the Flame and give it commands as to how it should behave. This is how Magic works at its core, by using the Reality around you. ”

 

“ Magic? ” With wonder, I repeat the word.

 

“ Yes, Inherently Magic belongs to Order, at least it was that way on Earth, no idea where you are right now, so I can’t say how it will be for you. Remember the saying that Everything is Energy?”

 

Nodding at him, he went on. “ Well, scientists would be stupefied if I told them that energy is what Magicians call Mana. Fundamentally, Mana is Structured Chaos and the Laws that represent our Universe. Magicians use that Energy and shape spells that behave according to certain Truths and Laws. If you want to simplify it for people, then you could even say that Magic is Reality and Reality is Magic.”

 

Thinking about why my original was painting it as such, it came to me. “ Magic inherently is not Good or Evil, it’s the actions of the individual that paints it with that connotation? ”

“ Indeed, like everything else in life, it is the actions of the individuals that paint the narrative of the World and not Power. ” Confirming it for me, he spoke again. “ Since you understand Structured Power to some degree, let's explain Conceptual Power. As the name implies this type creates things with concepts and it gains its power from them. The first fireball in question contained no superheated gasses and yet it still did the same damage as the second one. What is different is the aftereffects. All Conceptual Powers are temporary and carry no aftereffects unless by design. ”

 

“ Soo, once the Fireball in question did its intended purpose it just vanished, as if it never existed? ” A bit conflicted about that possibility, I ask.

 

“ Yes, in this case, the concept of Fireball was a combination of flame, force, motion, and release infused into my Power.. Once the concept is done it just returns to being Chaos unlike with the real Fireball. ” 

 

“ While there is a distinction at the basics as you become more used to your Power, the lines become far more blurry than you think. It’s easy to get confused but for you, this presentation serves far more than just me showing something cool. It shows you it's possible to categorize the Powers in existence and how they are created. ” Done with his presentation he smirked as he looked at me as if expecting a question.

 

Licking my lips in unconscious action I ask what bothered me the most. “ Which type of Power do you belong to? ” Yet he did not answer and left me hanging. Leaving me no choice but to think about it, I consider my current situation and find my answer. 

 

“ Magic? ” I said the one I hoped was correct, even though I knew deep down it was not.

 

“ You wished, didn't you? But I must disappoint you, I am afraid. ” With an evil smile, he replied.

 

“ No, my Power inherently belongs to the Conceptual type, but before you wallow in disappointment, think of it like this. In most stories, Magic is tied to some bloodline, or something similar? Have you ever in your previous life come across something magical about yourself, before that accident? ” 

 

Hearing it explained like that, does bring forth a few points. “ Sigh, fine. Continue. ” 

 

Nodding, he continued his lecture. “ As I said before, while there are differences on the lower levels of these to groups of Powers, at the top, it's very hard to distinguish those differences. The reason is simple though. Once you reach the top in either category you will reach your limits very quickly. To bypass those limits you tap into your opposite to progress again. In my case that was adding structure to my Concepts. Magic is the opposite as you add Concepts to the already existing structure. ”

 

“ Remember all those magical circles that you saw in anime and stories? ” At that, I nodded. “ Those circles are concepts added to Magic to increase control. For concepts, it is easier to understand. Take a fireball and read some basic thermal laws and its power will increase by a lot. ”

 

“ Here let me show you. ” He waved his right hand, and beside him, another projection appeared. 

 

A one-meter-long line stretched vertically from his hand. At each end, there was one box. The bottom one represented Structural Power and the top one, Conceptual Power. 

 

The line looked similar to a ruler used for measuring distance only this one went both ways as at both ends it displayed a number 100 and a 0, while in the middle stood 50/50.

 

“ I made this graph to display the inherent differences between Powers and their types. In truth, every type of Power could be called Magic, but we humans don’t like that so they have different names. On the bottom should be Mana, but Magic is what it's called by everybody. The inherent characteristic of Magic is that it directly manipulates Reality around the user. ”

 

“ On the top, we have Life Essence as I call it. It is a Power based on Will. With it you can't manipulate Reality as Magic does, what you do is create a Reality, based upon your Will, in a manner of speaking. It’s only at the higher levels that it’s possible to create a Reality, while at the lower levels all you create is an imprint upon Reality. That imprint passively suggests Reality on how to behave in certain ways. ”

 

“ This graph is incomplete, what do you think is missing? ” He asked me.

 

“ Umm, no idea but even I can see where it’s missing. There in the middle where both types meet. ” I answered as best as I could.

 

“ Correct, when one reaches the epitome of either type, their need to improve makes them dip into the other and if they are good enough, at some point in time they will achieve a balance between the two and create a third Power. This Power gains the ability to directly manipulate Reality all while being influenced by Concepts passively. I call it Balance but its name depends on the civilization and here on earth there is one civilization that uses it. They call it Qi. ”

 

“ Qi, as in Cultivator Qi? Could it be that Immortals do exist? ” In a genuine surprise, I ask.

 

“ They do and there is a reason they call themselves Immortals. You see, those who achieve enough results in both Structure and Concept can achieve what is called a Sustained effect. It goes like this, first you imprint the Concept of Immortality on yourself which takes care of the passive influence on Reality. Then you use that imprint and have that influence pull or create the much-needed sustenance for the physical body to continue functioning without aging. ”

 

“ Oh, wow. Is that how you did it? Did you cultivate your immortality, by any chance? ” Smirking back at my original, I ask him.

 

Rolling his eyes at me, he denied it. “ No, my Power stems from a different path. Make no mistake, Qi is quite mighty but it has its flaws too. For one, while it gains the ability to influence Reality, it lacks the scale and power of Magic. A real Magician could take a tenth of the Power I used on those fireballs from before and still have them overpower mine. On the other hand, Qi gains the flexibility of Essence by severely limiting the influence of other Concepts. Usually, users of Qi Powers limit themselves on Concepts and follow one path to the end, unlike me where I can make and use anything that I want if I put work into understanding them. ”

 

Done with the pump-up speech of his choice of Power he waved his hand and in the middle of the projected graph, a new box appeared with Qi written on it. “ All in all Balance is quite a strong Power, but there is a different path, and this one I call the Extremity path. ”

 

“ Alright, I can understand the theory but what would be the extremity of Magic, and what did you call it again, Life Essence, be? ” More questions spurred from my mind but only the obvious ones came out.

 

“ Don’t be stupid, it’s Magic and Life Essence, just extreme of course.  ” Waving his hand again beside the respective category appeared two boxes with saying E.Magic and E.L.Essence.

 

“ Before you say that the name is bad, I must mention that there are different ways to achieve the Extremity of a Power and all of them have one thing in common. They all are exclusive to the Power they came from. The moment you reach this Extremity you lose the ability to use the opposite category. ”

 

“ But? I can feel a “but” in there, so there must be ways to cheat, right? ” I asked my suspicion.

 

“ Yup. ” Agreed my original and waved another hand and two more boxes appeared. These consumed the remaining empty spaces beside Magic and L.Essence. 

 

“Let us start with Magic. Those that forgo Balance, and reach the Extreme, realize that the very Power that served them rejects the other. On Earth and probably in other parts of Creation, Mage’s of old realized that if your very Magic rejects Concepts internally then why not search for them externally? They searched and found their answers. Where do you think they found it? ” 

 

With a new question laid out for me, I began my thinking processes but soon after, it became blindingly obvious. “ Faith? You're talking about the Gods and their Divinities? ” 

 

“ Yes, by using the quantity of a Concept brought forth by Faith they integrated Magic and Faith and created Divine Power. ” Accepting my thoughts with a wave of his hand and the box left of L.Essence wrote Divine on itself. Alongside it arrows appeared on how it all behaved. 

 

Looking at the right side where the last empty box resides, I could see where this lesson was taking it. ‘ If Conceptual Power is immaterial or whatever, then it needs some kind of structure to bind itself to and not dissolve back into Chaos. But what kind of structure? Surely not Reality, as Reality would dissolve it, probably. So it needs something lesser Than Reality but equally complex to contain it, it, it. OH.

 

“ OH, I figured out the last one. ” With a grin I stated.

 

“ Of course you did, you're me after all. Yes, the structure in question is the biological body, or in this case, being the double helix structure of DNA as it is for us humans. Only DNA and its like is complex enough to hold all that information while simple enough to allow itself enough change to accommodate the growth of the user. ”

 

“ An ever-evolving, self-modifying, ever-expanding Reality in biological form carrying the consciousness of the observer in Creation. In the first place, the biological body is how you create Balance, it's where you encode your Magical bloodline and their various abilities, and it's where Powers of all kinds can manifest. ” He explained.

 

“ On Earth, there was only one kind of Extreme Conceptual Power before I came along, and it's called Psionics. There are all kinds of Psionics as their Powers vary by the very Concept that birthed them but to you, the most familiar form they take are those of the X-Men from the comics and movies. ” With another wave Psionics appeared on the right side of Magic with arrows that led to it.

 

“ Wow. ” Was all I said but I knew my original knew what I wanted to ask. 

 

“ I said before that I follow the Extreme path of Life Essence, so no I don't have Psionic Powers but I did use their method of creation and made my own version. I call it Auril in honor of Togashi as it was upon his idea of Aura that I built upon my Power. ”

 

“ Togashi? As in THE Togashi? ” Seeing him nod, nostalgia came upon but at the same time irritation rose from deep within me. “ Please, tell me he finished HxH before he kicked the crap? ”

 

“ He did, though, but only after I paid him a visit, and fixed a certain problem that he had. After that, he was like a teenager on hormones. ” With a wide smile, he replied. 

 

A smile that without a doubt said I am up to something. 

 

Why is he, OH. “ I won’t ever know how the manga continued, will I? ” 

 

When he only laughed, he knew he had me. 

 

‘ Damn it, I am already missing the Internet. ‘

 

***

 

Waking up from the memories, I had no choice but to curse at myself. 

 

To every sentence, he attached meaning and knowledge. In this case, every time I revisited that Dream I could understand his thought line and why he thought in a particular way.

 

The last part of the Dream hit me the hardest this time. Just thinking about not having access to that global repository of knowledge and all its wonders in which I could lose myself, brought me misery.

 

Tears came to me as his smile and its meaning hit me.

 

Crying myself to sleep that night, I slept like a disturbed baby.

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