Volume-1(Part.2)
William was hurled into a dimension filled with darkness. He found himself unable to move. Seeing a small, white "Portel," he cried out in panic, "What is this?! I can't move! My hands..." The Portel approached him, touched him gently, and both floated in the air for a moment. Stepping back, the Portel began to speak: "I am trapped here. Will you help me?" Surprised, William asked, "But I... how... why?!"
The Portel explained: "I have been observing you since morning. I realized you are a good being. Just as you call yourselves 'humans,' we call ourselves 'Portels.' The 'Overlights,' who have destroyed many planets, are our sworn enemies. We are the ones who stop them whenever they try to destroy a world. During a battle between us, they managed to track Earth's location. I accidentally opened a portal and ended up on Earth without a specific destination in mind, but an Overlight followed me. Now, Earth is in danger. You must help me." Terrified, William replied, "But can I really do it? I can't even escape from your power. How can I possibly help you?"
William tried to run, but a shield blocked his path. The Portel explained, "If you want to leave this place, you must first make a contract with me. You must help me send a message. In return, I can unlock your powers. Truthfully, you are far stronger than me; I can only remove the outer layer of your locked power. You must strengthen it yourself." The word 'powers' intrigued William. He said, "State your requirement and make the deal. Then let me out! If you take me out of this dimension, I will help you send your message."
They reached an agreement. William stipulated, "Fine! On the condition that you tell me about all my powers, train me to use them, and get me out of this dimension." The Portel agreed, "Deal. But you must always keep me with you and protect me from the Overlights." The deal was sealed.
The Portel struck William's stomach, and the energy surged through him. His 'Muscle Shifter' power awakened. His eyes flickered through various colors. "The contract is fulfilled. Your powers are awakened. Now, everything is in your hands," said the Portel, whose name was Rocky. Rocky shrunk and tucked himself into William's pocket. William asked, "What is all this? I feel a heavy weight there now!"
Returning to school, William saw his English teacher, but she didn't notice him. Back home, Rocky explained their abilities: "We Portels can shrink our bodies, we have unlocking powers, the ability to create portals, and advanced technical knowledge. Overlights, however, can change their shape to look like anyone if they drink their blood. Be careful!" Meanwhile, at the school computer lab, the English teacher opened the door. Thunder crashed behind her, and her form flickered—revealing a creature resembling a chameleon. It was an Overlight. The Overlight was making secret moves, attaching chips to the computers to communicate with its kind and transmitting Earth's location. Rocky continued, "Our technology is different from theirs. We are fewer in number but stronger in tech. They have powerful bodies and a tongue as sharp as a sword with deadly venom. They can also grow or shrink their bodies and possess technology to travel faster than light." Later, both went to sleep.
The next day was a school holiday, so they decided to start training. William asked, "So, what's the plan for today?" Rocky replied, "First, go brush your teeth. The smell is unbearable!" After William brushed, Rocky said, "To send my message, I need to go to the highest point here... a mountain range starting with 'Hima...'. We have a hideout there. Do you know the place?" William replied, "Yes, you mean the Himalayas, right?"
They prepared to head to the Himalayas. As they stepped out, Rocky said, "Before we go, let's introduce you to the powers within you." Using his special sight, Rocky looked at William and said, "You have many powers. Unlocking them won't bring them all out at once; you can only master them through hard work. The easiest for you to learn now are 'Eyeose' power and 'Muscle Shifting.' Let's start with those." Using a hologram, Rocky began training William near their house. During a fierce holographic fight with an Overlight, Rocky instructed, "For Eyeose power, you must calm your mind, understand the 'Chakra Flow,' and center it in your eyes." William followed the instructions. His eyes turned blue and green—one eye green, the other blue—and his eyebrows changed too. After a long practice session, Rocky asked, "I saw your father's photo, but I didn't see him. Where is he? And why are you so alone at school? No close friends?"
William explained, "My father experienced many supernatural things and left four years ago to study them. My search led me to believe he last went to Nepal. On the
calendar in his room, the day he disappeared was marked 'M.E.' Perhaps it stands for Mount Everest. Then there's my friend Tom; we've been friends since childhood. He was absent the other day. His father was also studying these things with my dad, but he passed away. Tom is interested in all this too, so we started a club for people with similar interests. It's been a week since we started. Two days ago, a girl named Ieno joined us."
Just then, a neighbor arrived. They quickly deactivated the hologram. William approached her and asked, "What is it, Chechi (elder sister)?" She replied, "Nothing, I came to see Jasmine. Where is she?" "Mom is inside, the door is open." Before leaving for the journey, William bid farewell to his mother. She cried, saying, "Son, don't end up like your father and never return." Her friend comforted her. William reassured her, "I will definitely come back. I will bring Dad back for you one day. I might be late; I'll be back by the day after tomorrow." Using Rocky's portal, they reached the Himalayas. As they sent the signal, Rocky sensed many powerful chakras. They moved into another dimension where William fought armored wolves and bears using his new powers.
After a long struggle, William knocked down the leader of the bears, only to realize it was a human. Upon questioning him, the man opened another dimension and took them to their Guru. William expressed his desire to become a disciple. The Guru gave him two tests. The first was to swim across a raging river. William struggled initially but used his 'Eyeose' to find a calm path and completed it. The second test was to leave a scratch on a massive rock. William concentrated his chakra into his hands, used a bit of Muscle Shifting and Eyeose, and struck the rock. When nothing appeared to happen on the surface, the other disciples mocked him. But the Guru, sensing something, inspected the rock with his favorite disciple. When he tapped the back of the rock with his finger, it shattered like an eggshell, crumbling into dust from the inside. William remarked, "It's enough if I scratch the inside of the rock, right?" The Guru smiled and said, "You have one more test."
The final test was a duel with the Guru. William used his Eyeose to read the Guru's chakra flow, but the Guru constantly shifted his flow, leaving William no room to think. The battle grew intense. As it would be a disgrace for the Guru to lose to a boy, he began using his full power. William tried to attack with lightning in his hand, but the Guru dodged. In the heat of the battle, the Guru lost control of a massive, lethal fireball that headed straight for William. Everyone was terrified. As some disciples rushed to stop it, William, facing death, used Muscle Shifting to massive enlarge his arms, creating a shield that deflected the fireball. Exhausted by the surge of power, William collapsed. The amazed Guru exclaimed, "Our hope, the last Muscle Shifter!"
William woke up later and checked his phone; it was past 11 PM. With Rocky's help, he opened a portal to Earth to connect to the internet and messaged his mother that he would be home the next day. The following morning, the head disciple approached him and offered to show him around. They reached a place with four statues. William asked, "Who are these?" Thomas replied, "These are the four Great Warriors. There are actually four such dimensions. They were created by these individuals to train students. But only our dimension is currently connected to the outside world. An 'Evil Lord' arrived at the gateway connecting the dimensions and cut off all connections. They cannot reach Earth now, and that evil spirit—an 'Evil Serpent'—is slowly destroying this dimension."
The Guru arrived and added, "Furthermore, no natural powers work against the Evil Serpent. Only Eyeose and Muscle Shifting, along with human physical strength, can harm it. Muscle Shifting is a rare power found in only one in ten thousand people, and you have it. We need your help to face that serpent. You must prepare." William agreed. The head disciple then challenged William to a duel for practice. They trained on a flat hilltop, where William learned new tactics. Exhausted, they rested under a tree. William decided to ask about his father. He first asked the disciple how he ended up there. The disciple shared his story: "I had a small amount of Muscle Shifting ability myself. I arrived here four years ago. Since there was no one else to stop the Evil Serpent, I stayed to help. I was the only one who could use even a bit of Muscle Shifting. My home is in Branch Village 44, Gios."
Hearing this, William became suspicious. "What is your full name, including your house name?"
To be continued...