Kael, how much time has passed?
What do you mean, how much time has passed? None, I guess.
Why do you ask?
"Oh, you'll see for yourself quietly," he said.
I really was beyond time and space. Now how do I get out of here? Hey, somebody get me out of here! Anyone!!
"Dammit, it won't work," he thought, the bubble messing with the vibrations of my voice.
I could try and scream louder, but that won't work.
What are you trying to do, Axis, my friend?
I'm trying to get out of here to fight that thing.
The hell, I think I trapped myself in here with a mental PATIENT.
Why would you try and fight that THING?
Because I have to.
There's no reason that you have to die.
But there is a reason for living, isn't there? Shouldn't those who have died have revenge for having their reason vanish—that's why I want to fight that thing.
I'm no hero. I'm just a real petty guy.
Well, my friend, if you plan on getting out, it seems we have to pop it somehow.
Even though it seems really thin, it's surprisingly sturdy.
Kael taps the side of the bubble.
JUST FOR IT to bounce right back.
The thing is, what's powering this?
What do you mean? What's powering it?
Well, my friends, to create a bubble LIKE THIS, you need some type of power source.
I know it's the powers of old, but how are they doing this?
Kael, you're right. I almost forgot substrate energy.
Substrate what?
Once you talk to your dealer, you'll find out all about it.
AXIS MUTTERED TO HIMSELF.
What if I could—then started to place their hands on the bubble?
Focusing deeply, he reached deep into his soul.
How do I start it? How do I start my infinite engine?
"You have the right approach," a feminine voice said, "but let me help you look."
Up from above, he saw Aiona.
I didn't think I would leave you alone.
We dealers can leave the fractal realm and come to the physical world. But we leave by our real bodies back there.
Thanks for being here, Aiona.
No problem.
Now to start your infinite engine, go back deep into your soul, but I want you to hear the whir where your heart should be, but now our engine resides.
Listen to it. It wants to start. It wants to come alive now.
Now let it start your infinite engine.
A loud sound could be heard. An engine sound; he could hear it clearly himself, his new heart beating faster and faster like the stampede of a herd.
Kael looked upon Axis and said, "Who were you talking to, and what was that sound?"
"Well, this is Aiona," who I don't see anybody talking to directly in his mind.
Aiona said, "One who has yet to awaken can't see somebody else's dealer."
And oh yeah, I can also read and talk to you in your mind; that's how I knew your name.
Kael, to truly put it into words, these are the powers of old you told me about. I've now got them.
And I think—keeping his hand on the bubble, he focuses deeply not on his engine heart this time but on the flow of substrate energy within his mind.
He saw it, the unstable energy, even with the help of a dealer; it was still wild, trying to be free, becoming one with that blue tornado.
The outcome was certain.
I found it.
Trying to draw in that substrate energy from the bubble into him, he says, "Here goes nothing."
He pictured in his mind that blue tornado being sucked away towards his heart.
The bubble then pops with a loud, deafening bang.
All was going according to plan, but what none of the people in the bubble had thought of before falling was how they would land safely; after all, they were up towards the ceiling, yelling and screaming to what they thought was the end.
Another bubble appeared right below them just as they were about to make impact.
"What in the hell are you 3 doing standing above them?"
There was a pink-haired girl with 2 massive curly buns on top of her head and along the sides of her head. 2 little strands of that curly hair flowed downwards; she wore clothes that appeared to be high quality with lots of style.
"Hey dummies, answer my question."
"What are you doing? We're not dummies," said Axis.
"We're here to fight."
"Not me, I'm not fighting," says Kael from behind Axis.
Looking above, she ponders, "Just how did they escape? My dealer said that bubble was nearly impenetrable."
"You, what's your name?"
"It's Axis Knight."
"I will grace you with my name as well; you are in the presence of Lillian V. Dyinaminte."
From the back, Kael scurries forward with his mouth wide open; he says the dynamite.
The dynamite, one of the great pristine families of the heroes of old.
Pushing him away from her, she says in the flesh, "Little boy, now enough chitchat. I have much work to do in the distance."
The tall blonde man from earlier was fending off the monster flying from left to right, exploding the monster, but he was no use; the monster's skin was way too thick for him to penetrate.
"Wait, Lillian, that's Lillian V. Dynamite to you, all right? Just tell me any way I can help."
"Stay back, you fool; let the strong handle this one."
"No, I won't; I know my own strength. And if you won't let me help you, I'll help myself by killing that monster out of the way."
Pushing her aside, she falls to the ground straight on her ass.
"Hey, who are you to put your hands on me?"
"I'm Axis, the Axis Knight, the world's worst nightmare."
Rushing towards it, he turns his head and tells Kael to try and help people get far away from the monster on it.
"My friend," he says, "Aiona, with me as you wish, Axis, Aiona, tell me the truth: is this too much for me to handle?"
"No, it's not. You can persevere; you just need to trust yourself and believe in your engine."
"You control all of space as substrate energy, the base layer of the universe. So does that give a glimpse into your true power?"
"I guess it does."
Standing tall above them both was a giant; they were like ants and a human if that human were insanely tall.
"Let's get climbing."
Maneuvering quickly to the back leg of the giant, he begins to climb by holding on to its hair.
"Damn, this thing seriously needs to take a shower," but in that moment the giant creature tries to stomp on the man, who could produce lava, dodging out of the way.
The man was safe, but the same couldn't be said about Axis, dangling from its leg with one hand.
Axis tried using his upper body strength to climb back up; it was to no avail.
"Dammit, I can't get back up."
"Axis, don't die. Hear me, climb. I would help you climb if I could."
"I can't hold on any longer," and then out of nowhere a hand from above sticks out.
"Need help there, pal?"
It was the same short boy who wielded that scythe with incredible strength.
Sticking his hand out up to try and get Axis. Axis grabs onto his hand tightly and with little to no motion.
The boy rests his arm, slightly sending the axis right back to where it is in his mind.
Axis thought, "The hell was that? How did he pick me up so easily? I know I'm not the heaviest, but I still think I've got some muscle."
Looking at the boy, he noticed he had messy, chaotic grey hair.
He also noticed right close, cuts and spots and patches of dirt mixed in with some pig blood, but he also noticed something strange: he had an eye patch over his right eye now, which could just be some sort of fashion statement or something, but near that eye, his skin looked like it had lost pigmentation, which was somewhat off-putting.
"What are you doing up here?"
The same could be said for you two.
"I'm here to fight this monster and relax," said the boy. "This is tiring. What's your guys' name?"
"I'm Axis. And this is my dealer, Aiona."
The dealer, looking at her, the man said, "Now, I was so distracted being on this fat old pig that I didn't clearly see the lady floating."
"See, what are you doing all the way over here, or shouldn't you be, like, somewhere else?"
"What are you talking about? We dealers can come to the physical world anytime to honor our contract, really."
"Hmm, I think I remember something like I haven't seen my dealer in years now, so you were awakened before this," said Axis.
"Yeah, I was. I just so happened to be dragged here to join this little club, but that's besides the point. Nothing I can do about any of that now. I'm here, and I might as well get used to it. By the way, the name's DMW."
"What does that stand for?"
As he was about to tell Axis, they could feel it: the pig was getting more angry; it was making more erratic movements.
"Alright, I'll tell you later. For now we need a plan on how to fight this thing."
"I said, 'Axis, I'm the plan.'"
"DMW, I want you to throw me all the way to the top of this monster pig."
"Are you sure you can do this alone?"
"I'm not alone; I've got Aiona. Also, you and the rest of AWAKENED PEOPLE ARE HERE. I JUST WANT A CRACK AT IT, ALRIGHT? IT'S YOUR LIFE; DON'T WASTE IT. ONCE YOU LOSE IT, YOU CAN NEVER GET IT BACK."
Grabbing him by the arm, DMW makes another effort, less movement, raising both of their arms into the sky with immense strength.
Piercing into the sky like a sonic jet, in no time Axis was able to reach the top of the pig with his target right in front.
His job still wasn't done; he was in mid-air still and beginning his free fall, so he had to think quickly.
"AioNA, WHAT DO I NEED TO DO NOT DIE HERE?"
"WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IS PICTURE A WAY FOR YOU TO STAY AFLOAT IN THE AIR. DIG DEEP INTO YOUR HEART. USE THAT SUBSTRATE ENERGY TO FORM ANY CONSTRUCT YOU DEEM FIT IN THIS MOMENT. REACH AXIS. SHOW ME WHO YOU ARE."
And with Axis formed his substrate energy into something magical—angelic blue angel wings that flapped up and down in the sky.
"WHAT THE HELL I DID IT WOOAH."
"DON'T LOSE CONTROL REMEMBER AXIS YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON THE CONSTRUCT AT ALL TIMES OR IT SHALL DISSIPATE."
"ALRIGHT I WILL."
Well then, at the top of his lungs Axis screamed, "BIG UGLY PIG!!!"
And for the first time the pig looked at Axis, and Axis was proud of that fact, for it meant that the moment for him to fight and defeat him was here.
The pig's attention wasn't the only thing he had caught.
The boy who could fly in the air as well yelled at him from across the pig, "YO GET DOWN THE AIR IS MY TERRITORY."
"HUH? WHO DECIDED THAT? I'M HERE TO TAKE THIS THING DOWN SO THE TERRITORY IS ALL MINE."
Rushing in, Axis thought he had formed a construct. Now all that was left was to fight.
But how? With what?
He thought, should he make another construct and try fighting with that? But no, the risk was too high—the amount of concentration it was already taking to keep one construct stable was immense. He wasn't ready for that yet.
Wait, space substrate energy is space?
"Aiona?"
"Yes, Axis."
"Do you think if I tried I could use the space factor of substrate energy and turn that into a weapon?"
"Yes, if you really tried. All you need to do is manipulate the energy moving not in your heart but the energy outside of it, basically drawing energy this time and not holding, not exerting it."
Looking in deep once more, Axis felt the energy move through his heart but ignored it.
He looked outside of his body.
He grabbed that surrounding energy and sucked it all up.
The blue tornado was now contained.
Holding onto this energy for a long time changed him.
He was now surrounded by this blue light that constantly seemed to be hopping all over the place.
"I'm ready. It seems to kick its ass."