2

Kel never stopped walking under the scorching heat even though his legs were sore and his feet were aching with blisters. Days turned into weeks, closing to a month. There was no sign of another human or even animal in Jalgare or even the neighboring cities in the Kingdom of Nevaeh. He was barely living on water and what the hearth would provide. At least, there was still rain.

 

On his journey towards the capitol, he was contemplating whether he woke up on a different timeline or he entered another dream set on a different time.

 

How long was he in meditation? How long did he remain in the darkness? These questions kept running around his head and were left unanswered. Weeds had already been growing on the cracks of the wall ruins. The destruction couldn’t have happened over a few hours. But he knew that he couldn’t have been gone for even more than a year. His physical appearance told him so.

 

Sweat was dripping from his skin and he was dehydrated. But as he was about to collapse, he found hope ahead. Finally, Kell reached Nevaeh’s capital, Midgar. But upon stepping inside the city gates, he was left dumbfounded. The city before him wasn’t the Midgar he knew of. Midgar never was the exact replica of the unknown city he dreamed of.

 

It wasn’t his first time in the capital. Master Rafah brought him there once a month to buy spices and to check out the latest on technology. The city gates and marker even told him that he was in the right place.

 

Did I really skip time?

 

If he really did, there would only be one reason for it. He was taken to the future to prevent it from happening in the past.

 

But how can I go back? Am I not inside the dream world? Isn’t it normal for dreams to be this weird?

 

But he was anything but normal and his dreams were starting to make sense. While others forget most of what they see in their dreams, Kel remembered every single one of them. Every morning since he started talking, Kel would tell them about his dreams. They would eagerly listen to him but when the dreams became more frequent and detailed; he saw the worried glances of the priests.

 

They told him he was special. That he has a special gift. But he should know not to be controlled by it. Master Rafah taught him the art of meditation; from Master Jireh, it was control; martial arts from Master Ezer; and Master Rohi saw to it that he would learn to unlock his full potential.

 

However, he never finished his training.

 

He shook the painful and frightening memory of that day out of his thoughts. Dream or not, he was in the future and he need to tell them what he saw in order to prevent it from happening. He would find the answers. He was given this ability for a purpose. With that in mind, Kel trudged down the city streets, determined to bring back what he lost or what he will lose.

 

Unlike in his dream, the city was left untouched. There weren’t any signs of ruin or even struggle as opposed to its neighboring cities and his dreams. It was as if people who lived there just vanished all of a sudden. He was beginning to suspect the amphibious monsters for tearing down his home and the cities in Nevaeh. But Midgar was a mystery.

 

Kel strolled down the pavement, his curious eyes lighting up, amazed by the modernity of the structures. Then one establishment caught his eyes and he decided to enter it. Clothes were still either stacked or hanged neatly and they still look brand new. The style didn’t change that much but he was only looking for comfort so anything other than his current clothing would do.

 

Kel skipped to the nearest dressing room and saw the deep black rings around his red eyes. His hair was like a bird’s nest, sticking out in all directions. Despite taking every opportunity to bathe in the rain, he still felt dirty and sticky, now he could clearly see why. He lost some weight but thanks to the edible fruits, leaves and roots, at least he didn’t look pale and sickly. But if he were to save his people, he had to be equipped. He had to stay alive so that he could bring the news back to the temple, to Jalgare…to Nevaeh.

 

Kel looked around the shop and got himself a new pair of running shoes, a jacket and two changes of clothes. Desperately in need of a shower, he went out and entered one of the houses right across the street. He smiled feeling clean and refreshed once again the moment he stepped out of the bathroom.

 

He was tired and he wanted to rest. The queen sized bed was calling out to him but he fought the urge to sleep. There would be time for that later when it gets dark. He continued his journey within the city walls, keeping himself close to the buildings so that he couldn’t easily be spotted. He entered several shops and stuffed everything he found necessary inside a backpack. At least he would be ready if the invaders came back to Midgar. There must have been a reason why the city was spared and there was no doubt, they would return.

 

Standing just a little over five feet and not having those added muscles, Kel could never take on the invaders with just his physical strength. He needed strategy. Besides, if he would have it his way, he would never want to face those monsters again. After finding out what happened to his colony, he would find a way back in time.

 

The old court building, he found out, became the new library in Midgar. The emblem engraved on the façade was a head of a lion on top of the capital roman letter M enclosed in a circle. That alone proved that he was indeed in Midgar. The city always used the insignia of a lion, which symbolizes strength and power. Then he remembered that the unidentified city in his dream used a griffin for their emblem. The creature has the head of an eagle and the body of a lion – a chimera. The eagle is the ruler of the skies while the lion is the king of the beasts. By using such symbol, that city was claiming to be all powerful and mighty.

 

What could possibly cause its downfall? The boy mused but he was determined to find out.

 

For hours, the boy browsed news clippings. He was glad to have found stacks of news papers in one of the basement rooms of the city library. The computers were completely useless to him without stellar, nuclear or even electrical power. He used the catalogue to search for any recent post that would have explained the current situation of Midgar and possibly, Nevaeh. His eyes rounded at the year indicated on the paper. It was 2200 AT.

 

“I skipped more than 688 years?!” He exclaimed in disbelief, his hands were shaking as he stared at the material.

 

How long has the colony been like this after 2200?

 

After a few stunned moments, the boy finally calmed down and thus, continued with his research.

 

Nothing was out of the ordinary. There weren’t any altercations among Nevaeh and the other kingdoms that might have caused such devastation. The city, in fact, was flourishing and in an era of peace.

 

But one column intrigued him. The editor-in-chief of the journal he was reading was charged with libel. Someone with such stature and working for the government would not have committed that mistake. Kel took note of the back issues and went straight ahead to the controversial article dated eight months before the last journal issue.

 

Two words - black operations – had his mind reeling. The kingdoms weren’t at peace with each other.

 

“… they fought secret black ops wars to undermine each other behind the scenes while showing a united front to the public…”

 

The citizens of Nevaeh would have opposed and overthrow their ruler if it were proven true. Nevaehians were peace-loving people. They were scholars not soldiers.

 

Scholars?

 

The striking similarity between the two cities was starting to frighten him – the sophisticated architecture, the complex language and the creatures. He hoped that this hunch was wrong because otherwise, he would be fighting against his own.

 

Kel resumed his search, focusing on recent discoveries, unexplained events in laboratories, secret societies and everything that had to deal with the scientific community. He went back ten years until he found out what he was looking for. A group of seven scientists went missing mysteriously over a span of three months. It was odd that no one followed up on that one report. Moving a few months ahead, the writer of said article also vanished.

 

He took note of the names of the missing persons and tore the articles from the journals. Moving around the basement would have been impossible if not for the torch light, cellular batteries and blueprints he found. Scaling up the massive flight of stairs, Kel would stop and catch his breath from time to time, until he reached the fifth floor and skipped to the third door.

 

He was thinking that the government library should have kept information about them here in the civil registry section. Pulling and pushing card boxes, Kel flipped through the card catalogue and found the codes to the personal files of the missing scientists: a female biochemist, a female bioinformatics analyst, a neurosurgeon doctor, two molecular biologists and two engineers. He too searched the data sheets of the two writers.

 

The boy then spread the documents on the table and tried to find a link. He met a dead end with the scientists but found out that the missing writer and the editor-in-chief worked for the government news journal. He placed the two data sheets side by side and noticed that they could be brothers based on striking resemblances – a square jaw, bridged nose and a prominent forehead.

 

“They even have cleft chins,” he chuckled but something seems suspicious about the two. He pulled one photo close to his face and realized that the editor-in-chief, Dmitri, had a scar and not a cleft chin. His eyes then focused to Carr’s image.

 

“You got to be kidding me!”

 

The two writers were one and the same. He looked at the place of birth and dates of employment. Carr disappeared just after a year when he started working while Dmitri appeared nine years after. Kel then focused on the articles they wrote.

 

Light was slowly disappearing outside and his torch light wouldn’t suffice. So he rummaged his bag for two more and set them on the table. The moment he moved the articles near the light source, some words started glowing. One of the torches was actually giving out UV light.

 

And the real message of the editor-in-chief’s article read:

 

The Human sphere that's what it was called, our spiralling arm of the galaxy, before they came. We could have made it great but we ruined it, just like we ruined Terra, carving out our own little empires, looking to satisfy petty material wants and needs and never seeing the bigger picture of humanity as a whole. Maybe that's why they got their foothold, at the center of the sphere no less. They, they are or were, I can’t be sure now, the combined army of an Evolved Intelligence, a malevolent mind with no physical form. Apparently they are were different races conquered by the E.I. and deemed too primitive, violent or stupid to assist it in its goal of figuring out how to transcend reality, so they were charged with slaughtering races like us and rounding up the survivors to toil in their slave-colleges studying to solve the problem.

 

 

I look at the desperate situation I find myself in and can’t help but laugh; we could have contained them at the start had we only put our differences aside. But no, our governments couldn't have one another making any gains and coming out stronger at the end of the war instead they fought secret black ops wars to undermine each other behind the scenes while showing a united front to the public. I can’t say how long I've been running or how long I've been fighting; time is something that has little meaning to me now, I can’t even tell if what I remember is my past or if it's my future. I don’t even know what made me think we could run in the first place, it seems so obvious now, if a being was on the verge of transcending reality, what was there to stop it transcending time and space?

 

After he finished reading the hidden message, goose bumps erupted on his skin and he could feel the hairs at the back of his neck standing. Excitement pumped in his veins but at the same time, he was terrified with the knowledge he just acquired.

 

“Transcending time and space,” the words rolled out of his tongue smoothly and it triggered something within him. “Am I…Is that what I have been doing all this time?” He was thrilled with the idea, his curious sapphire blue eyes mirroring the emotions exploding within him. Finally, everything that happened or was happening to him made sense. Master Rohi's parting words made sense.

 

But it was early for a celebration. The enemies were still out there. It was a desperate attempt on the part of the writer to inform the public but the government shut him up.

 

He then went back to the articles about the missing scientists and tried to connect the research studies they were working on before they disappeared.

 

“A novel compound that has invisible properties, maximizing the brain’s potential, a super computer, evolution of new forms of li-fe…” his voice trailed as his mind pulled back images of the invisible entity that took over the mind and body of the warrior.

 

“It can’t be,” he gasped, his voice trembling, “Evolved Intelligence.”

 

The moment he uttered those words a strong force knocked him from behind, his waist hitting the table before he dropped on his knees. He was in a daze because of the impact and he couldn’t see clearly against the dark. There was only so much three torches could do. He raised his hands and gripped the table, using his strength to pull his weight up. He struggled to stand on his feet but he was thrown in the air, the unseen force driving him towards the farthest wall.

 

He whimpered in pain as he slammed on to the solid surface. He shook his head to rid out the dizziness. Kel tried assessing the situation he was in and not give in to fear.

 

A heavy weight was still on him, meaning whatever it was it had him pinned against the wall. But after what he had experienced and read, he need not guess.

 

Who is this human? Everyone should have been held captive.

 

Despite his current predicament, Kel heard the voice of the E.I. He was surprised that the E.I. speaks in his language and its voice was just like that of a female human, not auto-tuned, clear and not hoarse.

 

What is he doing here? He is too young to be one of the renegades.

 

Kel listened intently, his façade not giving out what he was doing. The E.I. doesn’t have any clue that he could hear it or read its thought, he wasn’t sure which of the two he was doing but he was glad that at least he had some leverage. And the thought that there are other humans out there alive and fighting gave him courage.

 

I should bring him back to Lutgard.

 

With that said, he felt the E.I. enter his body. If he resisted, he would die. If he let it in, he would be taken to Lutgard where he will either die or be held captive. At least, he could prolong his life with the latter. Kel then moved back to his hiding place and let the E.I. reside in his body. The being was still clueless that he had been conscious all the time.

 

It entered with a fluid movement. There was no pain. And then in an instant, Kel had access to the information he was looking for. His mind opened as it downloaded memories from the E.I.

 

Greed and the hunger for immense power drove the leaders of Nevaeh to create the ultimate weapons of destruction. The seven missing scientists were the pioneers of the research to create an invisible army with human intelligence. They were dispatched to another colony where the first lab was set-up. They called the place, Lutgard, Nevaeh’s center of defense. In 2200, the people of Midgar moved to the new colony and built the fortified city. The city under the red heavens flourished and amassed great wealth. They claimed to be untouchable but Kel knew that they would be proven wrong the moment creation turned against creators.

 

Still oblivious of Kel digging into its mind, the E.I. carried on with its task, moving in, out and around buildings, doing a full sweep of the place. By the time they reached the light single carrier, Kel had already found the answers he had been looking for. But he held back on his escape.

 

The carrier moved in a blurring fast speed and reached the colony in less than a day. Upon reaching the space dock, they or he was surrounded by the alien soldiers, all hideous in appearance. Loud and ferocious growls welcomed him the moment he stepped out. Fortunately, the E.I. was still in Kel’s body or he’d be dead meat already. It sent out an order and the creatures bowed their heads in submission. Strangely, he heard a different language but he was able to understand it nonetheless.

 

He remained silent as the E.I. navigated within the confines of the port, the only entrance and exit in Lutgard. The colony was protected by an electrical force field which he saw upon landing. A gravity-defying, open-roofed cab waited for them just outside. The E.I. punched in the location and the vehicle moved even without a driver. Traffic was non-existent, mainly because the movement of the vehicles were controlled. Black mega-structures towered above him and were heavily guarded. Laser beams were like beacons as they scanned every corner of the city from the top of several towers. Needless to say, the fortress was highly organized and peaceful.

 

The cab stopped in front of a dome-structure, the doors opening automatically. He just slipped out of the vehicle and entered the building where he encountered other alien species who bowed their heads in respect. Although the recruited aliens were barbaric in nature, they appear to be disciplined and civilized. He couldn’t believe he was inside the enemy’s barracks.

 

The E.I. ignored mostly everyone in the building and everyone seemed to recognize it inside him. They entered a lift and the E.I. punched a character. Kel could tell that he was nearing judgment and he had to find a way to escape. What would be the use of the information he gathered if he wounds up dead or held captive.

 

The double metal doors on the fifth floor slid open and several guards ushered him through the corridors. They left shortly upon reaching the very end of the hall. The E.I. pushed open the metal door and led him inside the dimly-lit court. It was eerily silent and vacant but he knew the E.I. Council were there. He could feel their presence.

 

“I found him inside the central library of Midgar.” The E.I. inside his body explained. They were speaking in their language, but just like earlier, Kel understood the words.

 

“Manaia, you can move out of his body now.” One of the unseen beings ordered and he felt Manaia slip away from his mind and body.

 

“Oh no you don’t,” Kel asserted, making his presence known that led the court into an uproar.

 

“He was conscious all this time!”

 

“The boy speaks our language!”

 

Kel grinned, he couldn’t be any prouder of himself. His masters would have been proud. He then focused on the goal at hand.

 

“Let me go!” Manaia hissed as it struggled within Kel’s mind. He could feel it trying to turn his body against him. But Kel was sneaky. He had been in control the whole time. “Human, let me go!”

 

“No, you stay inside. This is my mind. I am the boss here,” Kel emphasized, restraining it by adding more barriers inside his head thus keeping Manaia his captive.

 

Tension rose within the court and he could feel the intensity of their life forces. No doubt they would kill him after his stunt.

 

“Those cerulean blue orbs!”

 

“That tribe has been annihilated a long time ago! What is the meaning of this Feros? ”

 

“Don’t accuse me of not doing my job!”

 

While the Council erupted in arguments, Kel used the distraction to set his plan into motion. He had been preparing his mind to extract himself from there. It would have been nice if he had more practice since his previous attempts only led him farther and farther away from his goal. But it was worth taking another shot.

 

Fortunately for him, Manaia used its energy to move his body around, saving his. With one nudge, he pushed Manaia out of his body. And then released the energy he contained.

 

“ENOUGH! Seize the human!”

 

He could feel every fibre of his being. His heart was thumping hard in his chest, his veins pulsing with blood and all nerve endings creating synaptic impulses.

 

The E.I had surrounded him with an immense amount of pressure as they closed in on him.

 

He could hear their menacing growls and hisses. Kel pushed forth the last wave of energy he had and then darkness engulfed him.

 

Kel felt warm and weightless as he drifted inside the void. He opened his eyes and saw a bright light ahead of him.

 

He smiled.