NOVEL WEB Naming The Dimension
(Aden's P.O.V)
I was crap at naming things. That wasn't an exaggeration. Despite my dad thinking about getting a dog, what convinced him not to was the frankly atrocious names I gave him. Fluffykiller doesn't exactly roll of the tongue. And Mr.Tyson sounded like plagiarism at best, kinda. You know, like those parents who name their kids after famous people like Barack Obama. Which isn't a crime but...no. Basically, I didn't have that gift. So, faced with an amazing dimension full of limitless possibilities, I chose to keep it simple and straight to the point instead of complicating shit. An attempt to respect it.
So the dimension was an elemental one. Apart from Pangaea, which was just too on the nose and Genesis that would run the risk of being associated with the gods of New Genesis, I only had a small list that was summarily dismissed due to one reason or the other. There was Wakanda, mostly as a shout out to my guy, Chadwick Boseman, The Embassy, that was in line with the whole Ambassador theme that the Avatar System was trying to sell and lastly Elemental Dimension.
I went with Elemental Dimension. It was neutral, all encompassing and would probably not insult anyone while also keeping the spirit of the dimension. The naming itself needed a declaration. So I stepped to the middle of the open space and spread out my hands. My face was slightly blushing due to the theatrics. But if I'm doing it, I should go all in. Plus Ultra! 100%!
"With the Power flowing deep within me and the unification of my body, mind and soul…I name this dimension of power…The Elemental Dimension!"
I felt something suddenly change. As if the whole space was previously just a black and white drawing on the canvas that is reality. But now it was colored and vibrant. Full of life and the essence of existence. A soul.
The notification prompt from the system flashed and I curiously maximized the display, hoping it was something good.
(Congratulations!!! You certainly have a flare for the dramatic. Must be a hit with the theater folk. Maybe that will help you finally get a girlfriend. Ahem… moving on. You have completed the final and hidden step to claiming the dimension as your own. Due to that, no one can enter or exit without your permission.)
Wow. Now I'm suddenly glad that I named it. I can't imagine Apokaliptian forces or even the light boom tubing inside my dimension and catching me off guard. I breathed out and decided on the next course of action. There was something I needed to check to know, if I would have the entire Apokaliptian forces after my ass.
My consciousness delved into that familiar feeling above my groan, steam escaped my mouth as I jumped. Two twin flames appeared under my feet, jetting me off to the shore of the island. The flames were yellow and hot, almost melting my heat resistant boots.
"Whoa."
The flight itself was uncontrolled and erratic. I would suddenly lose control of the flames and spin before smashing into a tree and getting leaves in my mouth. I groaned more in embarrassment than pain while standing up, behind me a trail of broken trees and branches could be seen. This wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. But If Ozai could do it so could I. I was the frigging Avatar for crying out loud.
I tugged on the same warmth burning below my gut and sent it out in a tightly controlled stream towards my legs. That was my mistake. Fire, just like any other element could not really be 'controlled' at my current stage. Only manipulated. Trying to dominate it was like trying to forcefully tame a wild lion, you would get slashed into ribbons for your effort. That's why the blast that occured sent me careening to the side yet again. More trees suffered the same fate as their brethren. I was careful to put out any flames before they could burn the whole place down. Twigs, grass and leaves clung to my hair, annoying me even more.
It was clear that I wasn't going to get this skill down now, so I decided to bench it for the time being. I was getting impatient and frustrated. Those two feelings only made the flames produced harder to control, so I changed tactics to jumping from one tree to the other just like I had done before.
A few minutes later, I arrived at the shore line of the island. I didn't waste a single second and plunged into it's salty depths, while holding my breath. I could go for five minutes without air, a skill that was easy to improve due to my increased lung capacity through practicing my sonic abilities and my physical parameters.
I swam down quickly, following the length of the island bed rock. A few hundred meters down, I came upon a massive humongous head. The sharp teeth and ferocious head, made my heart skipped a bit in surprise, as the Lion Turtle, containing an infinity sign on it's head turned to look at me. The glint of intelligence I had been expecting was…missing. It was just an animal. Maybe it was too early in the Elemental Dimension's development and the creatures inside would get smarter as the dimension grew along with me.
Or maybe I'm just giving myself false hope. 'Who am I kidding, this must be a restriction to make sure I don't convince the Lion Turtle to implant me with the knowledge of energy bending directly. The Avatar System seemed hell bent on me improving by myself. It would provide opportunities and only reward me when I put in the work. In some ways it was the best set up. Getting things easy would feel like such a cheat. This way, atleast I had something to feel proud about. Self made man yo.
I swam closer to the Lion Turtle, which was staring at me unworried about my intentions. I suppose it had a right to feel that way. At my current level, it would take a lot of effort to kill it. Maybe if I could form the same Elemental bomb my Avatar State had, then yes. But that was a slippery slope into losing myself.
I touched it's head and dived into the same connection I felt with everything living in this whole dimension. Then I tried to dominate it's will with my own. A click sounded in my head and I could sort of feel the mind of the Lion Turtle. I nudged on it and gave it an order. The front limb came up and provided me a platform I could step on as I was raised out of the water.
We broke through the water sending it rolling around. I massaged my temple in discomfort and pressure. A pressure that was getting out of hand with each passing second, I tried to keep the Lion Turtle under my control. I sighed and cut off the link. Instantly, the pressure disappeared but I now had my answer. If Darkseid came to associate my control over the animals in my dimension with the Fatherbox's essence used to keep it running…I would have more than a few problems. This dude made subjugating universes a side hustle. Universes.
I couldn't let anyone inside this dimension without getting strong enough to defend it should it come to that, or without trusting them enough to allow them entry. And so the fucking list of things to do continues to grow larger. The answer to all my troubles seemed to be more power. It would pay to be careful not to lose myself in search of it.
With that done, I decided to check out the dimensions I had unlocked. The first one up was of course the air dimension. I closed my eyes and wished to portal there, a yellow boom tube portal appeared before me and I jumped in after waving bye to the Lion Turtle. Not that it could understand me.
The very first thing I noticed was how calming everything felt. I was standing on a cliff. Below me were gently floating clouds, carried around by the breeze. Peaks of snow covered mountains and rocky out crops spread out as far as the eye could see. I could tell that this was what the dimension was made up of. Thousands upon thousands of highlands that had caves where Flying Bisons and other air elemental creatures lived in.
I settled into a meditation pose and fell into a calming trance. I don't know how long I sat there but given the fact that I could feel the tightened muscles and stiff joints in my legs, it must have been more than a few hours. My stomach also growled in hunger. I got up and stretched, feeling relaxed and calmer. I spared one last look at the calm surroundings and promised myself I would definitely come again for the peaceful atmosphere.
Next, I portaled towards the Fire dimension and the difference between it and my previous one was suddenly very clear. It was hot, incredibly hot. The surroundings were active volcanoes with steam coming off of them and darkened clouds above head with continuous flashes of lightning bolts that slammed to the ground and left blackened soil and soot in their wake.
It was harder to breathe and I hadn't noticed it before in the air dimension due to how low a proficiency I had in fire bending but I could feel it now. Suppressing a bending I had beginner proficiency in wouldn't have made a difference but inside the fire dimension, air bending was heavily restricted. And I could feel it. I could feel the shackles placed on it. I sank to my knees breathing heavily. A boom tube appeared on the ground and I sank through. Maybe I should hold off on coming here until I was back to 100%. Then spending a few hours would allow me to slowly adapt to the increased heat low oxygen.
I found myself at the shoreline of the Lion Turtle. Mmmh…this place also needs a name. How about, Sanctuary? In a way it's like my sanctuary. A place, separate from the other four dimensions yet connected. A place to unwind without worry. Sanctuary it is.
To feed myself, this time I decided to have fish. It was really easy catching them when they weren't afraid of me. I almost felt bad. Almost. After trying to roast them with my fire and ending up with charcoal remains, I reluctantly made a fire using some of the dry branches I had acquired from deep within the island. A few fruits, The Grango kind topped off the five star meal and I enjoyed myself while watching the setting sun. So far, only Sanctuary happened to have that function.
The air and fire dimensions had been bright throughout with no discernible source, so I'm thinking that would be the same with the other other two as well. I gathered a few palm leaves before the fire burning and just chilled. Thinking about my plans.
Tomorrow, I would be going back to earth.