The world echoed his words; the ground shifted under the weight of his voice. The ground soon went back to normal. Sun blinked. He stood up and glanced around the landscape. The same plain stretched on for miles, seemingly infinite. He summoned his staff and started to walk around the strange place, trying to find anything other than green and blue. Eventually, he stopped and fell on the grassy plain. He sighed.
"Okay…this is either a dream or a god's sick joke."
He continued walking through the vast plain. It felt different for some unknown reason like it has not been crafted from soil or air but from… memories. Then, a second voice cut through the land.
"You're early."
Sun spun around, his staff ready to strike. A house formed from mist and memory and from it a man came out. He had silver hair with streaks of blue, crystalline eyes and wore black shirt and red pants with a red cloak.
"Who are you?!" Sun snapped.
"Christopher von Ashking." Chris didn't flinch.
"Never heard of you." Sun growled.
"Means you've been lucky enough to avoid me until this time." Chris replied.
"My next question, where are we?" Sun asked.
"The bubble of thought." Chris sighed.
'The bubble of thought?'
His thoughts echoed across the vast plain, reshaping the meadow. Chris heard those thoughts and replied in a calm manner.
"Thoughts are heavy here so, be careful with them…A slip of a tongue and you'll be in another dimension."
"Thoughts are heavy?" Sun asked letting his guard down. "Then, how did I get here? I only remember getting knocked out after that officer screamed." Sun said.
"You're more annoying than I expected." Chris whispered.
"Thanks, I try." Sun asked.
"You lucid-dreamed your way here." Chris scoffed.
"Lucid what?" Sun inquired with curiosity.
"Your really stupid…Haven't you gone to school?" Chris scolded him.
"Bruh…I'm from the Tibetan monk's tribe. Do you really think we have a school there? The only book I read was a bible." Sun said in a calm voice.
"Ha…Lucid dream means realizing you're dreaming when you are in a dream. Then, you can enter the foundation stage." Chris said as he halted near Sun.
"What's a foundat-"
Before sun could ask, Chris cut him off and said quickly.
"There are stages in the bubble of thought. The first stage is the transition stage where you enter the bubble of thought after lucid dreaming. Then, there is the foundation stage where dreams are made."
"Thank you. Now, I would like to politely ask you to Not cut me off next time?" Sun replied.
"Huh? What did you say?" Chris asked, holding his head to his ear.
"Never mind. Your clearly deaf." Sun shrugged.
"Anyways, any other stupid question you have to ask?" Chris inquired.
"Yes." Sun said. "What do you want from me? And why did you kidnap me?"
There was a long silence between the two individuals. After a few minutes, Sun raised a brow and asked.
"So…are you going to answer me or not?"
"…Fine." Chris replied. "First, I will train you and second, I didn't kidnap you."
"I'm 17." Sun said.
"That's beside the point." Chris shrugged.
"And why do I have to train under you?" Sun asked while standing up.
He came face-to-face with Chris. His face was inches away from the supreme commander's face.
"So?" Sun questioned.
"I'll tell it to you straight. Your God asked me to train you." Chris replied nonchalantly.
"What do you mean my 'God'?"
Right then, a white-hot spear of agony lanced through his skull, and the voice returned — divine and familiar. He clutched his head in agony; his screams reshaping the foundation stage of the bubble.
"Train under him, my avatar."
Sun's rage burned in his head as he gritted his teeth.
'Damn you, get out of my head! You're the one who made them leave! Why should I listen to you now?'
The voice thundered back, softer this time as if trying to assure him.
"When you fulfill your destiny... you will see them again."
The words echoed until only silence remained. Sun's breathing slowed. His eyes dilated in shock. Memories flashed like stars in the night sky
'Can I…really see them…again?'
He asked Sun Wukong. After a few short moments, the gods voice came back with a tender yet thunderous softness.
"I'm not one to break my promises…you will see them but only after you are stronger."
Sun lips trembled as he remembered the moments before he was left behind. The Bubble responded, his parent's figure – their faces manifested in the form of blurry figures. His heart yearned for their embrace once more.
'…Okay…I accept.'
Sun could hear the God chuckle and almost sense his excitement and satisfaction. The God's voice resounded once more now with a layer of divinity.
"Very well, then…"
He bit his lip and dispelled the mental image with a shake of his head. When he looked up, Chris towered over him like a giant. Suddenly, Sun Wukong's image clearer than the one in his dream appeared between him and Chris. He could see the monkey king's fur, his headband and tiger-skinned clothes. His fierce face resembled a demon more than a monkey. The air suddenly became heavier; he could feel the tension of the bubble cracking under the Gods presence.
He opened his mouth and spoke, his voice ethereal and demonic.
"Take good care of my avatar, friend. Make him the strongest."
"The strongest…ay…That is a possibility but I've seen people with more talent than this brat but…I will make him one of the strongest." Chris said, unfazed by the deity's aura.
Sun Wukong grinned amused by the prideful man's comment. The God then disappeared into mist.
"So," Sun said quietly. "I have no choice, huh?"
"No choice. Indeed" Chris smirked.
Sun exhaled, gripping his staff tighter. "Then let's get this over with."
"Good. From now on address me as Master Chris." Chris replied.
"…Alright, Master Chris." Sun said with a cracking voice. "Lead the way."