A young boy — seemingly 11, but actually 14 — ran through a barren city. The difference in age was negligible. No matter where he went, no humans revealed themselves. RReaching a wooden bridge, he ran across it in a hurried manner. There was no reflection in the water below. The entire world seemed like a well brought copy of another, already existing, world.
Reaching a short fence, he did not spend precious time opening it. Instead, he jumped over the barrier with urgency. After jumping over, he sees a fountain. Behind the fountain was a statue. The statue was crafted with such detail that, for a moment, the boy thought he could see through parts of its robe.
Heading past the fountain and statue, Mio heads into the Church that was looming behind.
As he entered the church, a strange shiver ran through his body — as if every nerve was telling him to turn back. But, of course, he didn't listen.
Entering a small room beyond the altar, He sees a familiar scene.
A bed, at first he saw it as a red bed, but now he saw it differently. A bed soaked in blood.
As he thought this, a young man, dressed in a full white tunic, voice rang in the silent cathedral.
He had a soft smile on his face.
"Place your hand on the Testerty please."
Mio was not planning to simply die again. What would happen then? Would he remember the existence of the loop? Would the loop end? If so, would he also meet his end? Mio wasn't willing to find out.
Raising his hand, Mio attempted to grab the young man.
The man dodged the attack with surprising ease — but shock was still written all over his face.
Lifting his hand at the child in front of him, the young man struck down with a karate chop.
Mio blacked out for a moment. And then opened his eyes. In Front of him was his bedroom, or rather a cheap version of it. It was dressed in a layer of grey-blue fog.
"Disappointing, really."
Mio shivered, but turned his head to see a familiar face…. Or something that represented a face.
Void was back.
***
"So….. Do I have to do that all over again?"
Mio's question was answered after a few seconds of thought.
"Well, you don't HAVE TO do it all over again. You could venture beyond the city of Astreal. From what I've figured from years of being here is that the hex only rains in Astreal. Meaning, outside is the normal world."
Mio was confused beyond explanation really.
'How could it only last in Astreal if its simply a mind hex? Shouldn't it all be in my head?'
Seemingly answering the question, Void responded.
"It seems as though the word normal isn't really worthy of being in that sentence. Outside of Astreal is a perfect replica of the world. But it seems that anywhere the host is located is disturbed…. But anyhow, If you escape Astreal, you should be able to gain enough strength to fight the man in the church."
Mio, after deep thought, replied.
"But If the outside world is normal, how come they have not come into Astreal?"
Void sighed and then responded.
"Because, when they do, the revolution restarts again. It seems as though if anyone figures out what is happening in Astreal, the revolution restarts."
Mio starred in bewilderment.
"Doesn't that mean that I have to not only escape Astreal, make sure no one else enters, But also gain strength outside?"
"Yes…. and also, i don't know how you haven't figured it out yet… but you can't pick anything up in Astreal."
Looking down, he realized how futile his last attempt was.
' Not only did I not try to get a weapon first, but I also died from a single hit.'
Void saw his discomfort, and added:
"But don't be distraught, All you have to do is create a signal to alert Verstrie. To our West is Verstri, to our east are the plains, north is Hartire and south is the sea. Astreal, while they do make trade with Verstri, Mostly make trades with Hartire. But as you may know, since in this reflection of the city no other humans exist, the guards on the wall have also disappeared. This will cause confusion for anyone passing by, as it would seem like a wasteland. Which would spark interest in the passerbyers."
Mio pretty much understood what Void was attempting to say.
'Find a way to make Hartire pause trade, enter it, and gain weapons. I also have to do it quick enough that no one notices….. In other words….impossible?
Mio, expressing his discomfort with the situation, responded.
"But, isn't it impossible to do all of this without someone getting too curious?"
Void thought for a while, and then answered.
"It would be…If i didn't exist."
The room was silent. He continued.
"I have many abilities, one of which allows me to be seen by others' eyes. I would be enveloped by blue-grey fog, but remain the same. But to do this, I would need to leave your mind. If I leave your mind, you would be exposed to the inevitable mind hex. The only reason you can resist it right now is because a passive ability of mine is mild protection against mind attacks and hexes. Along with this, my eyes…bring discomfort."
"So you would make the people see you? What difference would that make?"
"Imagine seeing an empty city, and inside of it stands one creature. He's surrounded by a layer of fog, and when you look into his eyes, it feels as though you're going mad. Would you venture into the city then?"
Mio looked at him with an awkward expression.
"So you're planning to create a giant bluff?"
"Precisely so."
***
A young, brown skinned boy. Short brown hair, faint brown eyes and dark indents underneath those emotionless eyes, Mio. He was wearing a dark brown jacket over his plain white shirt. He had shorts on, light brown, with a pair of black and brown sandals, a weird combination in this weather, it was winter after all. He had just finished getting ready to go outside. Looking out the window beside his bed, he sees a repetitious, red and brown blur of towering houses. His house was not on the ground. Astreal was known for the high structures of houses, they called them apartment buildings, something unlike any other city did.
Turning his head slightly, he sees a tree. It was hovering over him, making the seemingly giant apartment building seem small…
But he wasn't going to indulge in the ….beautiful….. sight for long.
Rushing through the door, he flies down the stairs. Opening the gate, he does not head west, where the church was located. Instead he fled North. Luckily, he lived more on the northern side of the city, so he wasn't too far from the enormous gateway.
Passing by various bland and boring buildings, he finally sees the farm land beyond the main city.
After a few minutes, he arrived at the farm land.
From what Void had learnt through his previous revolutions, He should take about an hour to walk towards the church. Of Course sometimes, because of his mild resistance, it would be longer or shorter. Along with this, he had told him that only after about 80-minutes would someone's curiosity come into play.
This simply meant that Mio had 80-Minutes to escape Astreal. And he was far ahead of his time-limit. If he were to guess, he was probably running for 30-minutes. The gate was his destination. He had to escape to Hartire.
Soon, Mio reached it.
In front of him was a towering structure. It stood at about 50-metres high, and 20-metres across.
Although it paled in comparison to the tree that lay in the center of the city, which stood at about 300-metres, often mistaken for a kilometre by some.. It was still enormous.
It was around this time that Mio encountered a problem.
The gate was not open.
***
Mio's life had been quite normal. He would wake up, help with chores, and study the books that the church provided. He had wished to go to school, but school is mostly popular in the central continent 'ARK'. And since Mio resided in Planta, of the northern continent 'Tien', he never experienced it.
Although, Mio had never expected to be climbing a 50-metres gate to escape a city inside of the mind hex of an imaginary world, created by a Blessing Of Marly.
On top of that, he was put into it by a fellow brethren of the church.
The gate was made by rails, but they were small enough to wrap his arm around.
And so he ascended the enormous gate, little by little. His muscles were sore, and he was only about 10-metres up.
'damn-it'
His muscles were so sore in fact, that he completely let go of one of the railings. Thankfully, his other hand miraculously held him up, but Mio didn't forget that encounter with death.
Climbing higher and higher, he feels his palms slipping. Although his biceps and legs were doing the most work, His palms somehow kept him balanced. When they started to slip, he felt his heart jump out of his chest.
45-minutes
30-metres high
His leg slipped, making him hit his head against the metal pole that he held onto so dearly.
50-minutes
35-metres high
His progress had slowed. Although he could slide back down while using his sleeve, he would not have enough time to come back up.
55-minutes
32-metres high
Mio's progress slowed, he wasn't going to make it all the way to the top if he continued on at this pace.
60-minutes
28-metres high
He had slide down a great amount when his arms became sluggish.
Until, finally, he slid down another time.
In the next moment, he was back in the blue-grey fog, surrounded by the cheap copies of his room.
He died.