The Wanderer's Rebirth: Other Paths

Chapter 001

He woke up and looked around blearily, wondering why- and more importantly, how- he’d managed to fall asleep on the floor. The floor was in no way comfortable, being tile glued directly to concrete. Sure, it made cleaning easier, not having to worry about hardwood or carpet and all that came with its maintenance.

But as a surface on which to sit, or lay upon, it downright sucked.

He rolled over with a groan, idly noting how sore he wasn’t, but then his attention was drawn away as he looked over and noted just how shiny his floor was. Now, he wasn’t a slouch when it came to cleaning and mopping, but his floor looked like it had just been laid, then waxed to a mirror polish. He even reached down and rubbed the floor, feeling a tile so smooth that he wondered what was going on.

He looked around a bit more, noting the distinct lack of any dust, anywhere. Again, he wasn’t shy about cleaning, but given how inefficient the centralized air ducts were in the apartment, dust would easily accumulate to the point where it could be seen just one day after dusting.

He got up and stepped over to the attached kitchen, as his living room and kitchen were an open concept affair. Likely due to the limited space available in the unit. Or any unit in the building, really. Once there, he inspected the small pot, bowl, and cutlery he’d left in the sink from lunchtime.

Spotless.

What really threw him for a loop was his old blue bowl. It was on the larger side of things, as he preferred to eat from bowls these days due to his habit of eating at his desk. Sure, a plate would have worked, but it took up much more room than the bowl did. They also held about the same amount of food, so that also played into his preference.

Anyway, what caught his attention was the perfect rim of the bowl. A couple of years ago, he’d accidentally knocked over an empty pickle jar into the sink. It had crashed into the ceramic bowl and knocked a chip off the rim, yet the damn jar had escaped uninjured. Well, not that that was a bad thing, as cleaning up glass at the bottom of a sink full of sudsy dishwater was a pain in the… glutes.

He shook his head, wondering if he was dreaming. He’d always had vivid dreams, either bordering on lucid or passing that threshold into fully lucid dreaming. Given how real everything felt, he was certain that he’d passed that threshold already.

But that also gave him pause. For, every time he realized that he was in a dream, he’d soon wake, or the dream would shift scenes, as it were. Yet, here he was, staring at the clock on the new stove the building had installed a few weeks ago. He could read the time.

Getting a weird feeling that bordered on bad, he stepped over to his laptop, lifted the screen, and turned it on. About twenty seconds later, it was booted up and waiting for his password. He looked down at the keyboard, noting that all the keys looked as they should, the letters, numbers, and symbols clear as days. He slid into his chair, reached over, and typed in his password.

Again, things proceeded as normal, even showing the expanded start menu that was there every time he put his laptop into hibernate mode. He glanced over the various icons on his desktop just to be sure things were where they should be, given his assumption that he was in a dream and all that. But his eyes stopped on a new folder slightly off to the right, labelled “Altaea’s Visit”.

He found that his mouth was suddenly dry, an unusual occurrence given that that didn’t usually happen in dreams. Usually, he was limited to three of his six senses while dreaming: sight, hearing, and touch. Scent, taste, and proprioception/extrasensory perception didn’t usually enter his dreams. Sure, sometimes he could taste something he was eating in a dream. That was normal. Heck, even having four of the six senses going in a dream happened sometimes.

But he could smell the faint scent of the oregano plant in the front window. He could also taste that annoying “morning” taste in his mouth.

He looked at the new folder again as his thumb rolled the mouse’s ball to direct the cursor on the monitor he’d plugged into his laptop for a larger viewing experience over to the new folder. He hesitated for a few moments before double clicking the folder, causing a new window to open that showed him a video file and a more than a few additional folders.

The video file’s icon showed a devastatingly beautiful woman who looked to be about twenty years old, if he was being generous. She looked closer to eighteen, with rich sapphire blue hair that faded to a deep amethyst purple that then faded to a ruby red at the end. All-in-all, each solid colour took up about 1/5th of the length of her hair, while the transitions areas each took up 1/5th of the length between the solid colours.

Well, the three main colours, anyway.

He knew that his mind was just doing anything it could to avoid what was happening, what was in front of him.

He looked around again, spied a fork standing up in the cutlery pocket of his dish rack. A few seconds later saw him back in his chair, fork in hand. He looked back at the smiling face of an impossibility and raised the fork.

Down it went, right into the top his left thigh.

It was then that a few thoughts crossed his mind with great clarity.

One: death by fork would be one of the worst ways to go, as his new wound quite vigorously attested as tears came to his eyes.

Two: he wasn’t dreaming. He’d had countless dreams where he’d suffered injuries, even injuries that would prove fatal it they’d occurred in the waking world.

Three: he needed a Band-Aid. Or some crazy glue. Either would work.

Four: he regretted not having chosen a spot that was covered in clothing. He’d really liked his jeans.

Shaking his head, instead choosing to just press his left hand onto his thigh to stop the bleeding, he double clicked on the video.

“Hello,” Altaea paused a fraction of a second before continuing with a smile, “Joram. I hope that you didn’t do something rash while under the assumption that you’re dreaming,” she said, a knowing glint in her eyes told him that she already knew the answer to that.

“So, they’re more than a few things to go over.

“First, you’re no longer on Earth,” she said, pausing to let him process that statement. “The stories that you wrote about me are uncannily accurate. I was indeed banished by Asmodeus and… fragmented in the process.

“One of my other selves came to Earth, your Earth. The prison crashed through your apartment and landed on you.”

She paused again, seeming to know that his mind would immediately scatter to the four winds, as it were, as thoughts and tangents whirled like a cyclone.

If that thing landed on me, how am I even alive? Not just that, but how did she get out? It’s impossible to get out of there by herself…

His thoughts were interrupted as she continued.

“I’m pretty sure that you didn’t pause the video, but just in case, sorry for the pause,” she said with a smile that could raise the dead back to life just so they could witness its brilliance.

“From what I could gather, you, with your failing strength, had somehow managed to release the seal on my prison. Once out, I found you, a foot already in the grave.

“I stabilized you until I could read your memories,” she said once again pausing briefly before continuing. “Sorry about that. Needs must and all that.

“Anyway, to make a long story short, we’ve met before. I know, that sounds crazy. But every story you wrote about me was true. Well, true in the sense that you seem to have a connection with me that allowed you to know and write about me.

“Here’s where it gets a bit more complicated. Somehow, my arrival also caused you to… fragment, scattering who knows how many versions of you across the multiverse.

“As of this recording, you’re the first fragment that I’ve found. That said, I wasn’t specifically searching for you, but for my other selves. I assure you that I am as surprised as you are by this discovery.

“So, going back to having met you before. Your… prime version, I’ll call it, is who I met. We spent a few years together after you requested to become like me, and to also be trained by me. After that, I needed to leave somewhat abruptly, and I apologize for that. I’m not sure when, or even if you’ll find a way to reunite with your other selves and merge like I seem to have done when other versions of myself after they managed to reconnect.

“Anyways, that leads to the next point. I could have easily reconstructed your body, leaving you as the human you started out as. But knowing you, and having read your memories here, I decided to once again convert you into a High Elan.

“I know, that’s a lot to take in, but please keep watching.

“I also left a small Crystal Mind for you to assimilate,” he was about to ask where it was, but then the recording of Altaea gave him a Look. “It’s under the sheet of paper to your right. Now, listen.

“To access it is as simple as you remember. But I would counsel you to assimilate it. Now, that’s a bit different than you’re probably thinking. Just clearly, and firmly, think [Activate Assimilation Protocol].”

She paused here, likely because she knew that he’d want to immediately try that out.

He lifted the sheet of paper to his right, and sure enough, a Crystal Mind was hiding there. He marvelled for a few moments, taking in the beauty of it. It looked like nothing more than a diamond, albeit a diamond the size of golf ball. Its facets caught the light, refracting it in amazing ways and colours.

He shook his head, dislodging the thoughts of just keeping the amazing gem. He then concentrated on one thought as he stared at the diamond.

Activate Assimilation Protocol.

Immediately, he felt a shift in himself. Knowledge of knowledge flooded his mind, almost like opening a file folder and seeing hundreds, if not thousands, of file folders waiting for him to explore. It kept going, filling his head until he felt dizzy, then kept on going until he needed to brace to keep himself from falling over.

After what felt like a very long time, his vision cleared along with the extreme vertigo. He looked back at the image of Altaea waiting patiently as the seconds ticked by on the bottom of the window.

“I’m sure that that wasn’t particularly pleasant, but I’m glad it went well,” she said, confounding him as to how she could possibly know that.

“It will take a little while for you to completely absorb the information I left for you, but I know that you’re up to the task. That said, the Crystal Mind directly implanted for, and trained your brain as, a Metacreationist; a Shaper. It also directly implanted the related ‘feats’ that you’d learned, as well as several modifications that you have worked on. And the Power lists for each Discipline, and a few Powers of my own creation.

“That said, there are also many other repositories that will unlock as you grow and learn. I’m sure that they’ll be useful to you in the future. For now, what’s available to you should help you get used to your new body and abilities. I’ve also provided a V.I. to help you along with any questions that you might have.

“Now,” she said, shaking her head a bit and looking… thoughtful. “Now, I need to talk a bit about the world you find yourself in.

“Upon arrival, a foreign… what you would refer to as a “System” tried to integrate me. Because I had no intention of remaining here, I managed to stop its efforts to integrate me. You, on the other hand, will need to integrate, as the temporary protection that I gave you will wear off eventually. One of your old phones has a timer running, and it should tell you how much time you have left before integration.

“I’m not sure what the purpose of that ‘System’ is, but it feels very… neutral, for lack of a better word. Not kind, not malicious, just there. Again, I’m not sure what it’s all about, but I don’t think that it will be detrimental to you. That said, I am sure that you’ll need all the help that you can get since I won’t be there to help train you.”

Altaea paused there, once again looking thoughtful before she finally continued.

“I wish you luck and great fortune. I know that you’ll do well if you remember to take things one step at a time. So, please, keep safe. And tell the Prime version of yourself that I’m sorry, but I hope to see you all again one day.

“Walk in the Light,” she said, ending the video.