Dimensional Descent

Leonel’s eyes snapped open.

He didn’t even bother to look around, he just stared at the ceiling above. It was a simple ceiling, a white one he could see through the mesh that was the canopy of his bed.

It wasn’t particularly interesting. At least, it wasn’t interesting for much other than what it represented.

It represented that he could see, that when he breathed, air came in and his lungs expanded, that he was alive.

Leonel didn’t need anyone to tell him what that meant. He didn’t need to be there to see how the war ended, or what it meant for him to be lying here completely intact.

He had no idea where he was, but it felt like that didn’t matter at all. That was absolutely worthless information and there was nothing worth learning about it. He didn’t even care about the fact there was a familiar figure leaning on the window sill of an enormous opening.

Cool wind blew in and the light curtains shifted from side to side.

“Seems the brat is finally awake,” the figure spoke.

Leonel didn’t respond, not even looking over. He just stared at the ceiling. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking, or if he was even thinking at all.

In truth, he felt that his speed of thought was far slower than what it had been in the past. His mind wasn’t nearly as nimble, and he almost felt a bit… stupid.

It was amusing because he could still feel his Dream Force being at the Peak Creation State, his Wise Star and Sea Order status were still there, as was his Ability Index. But it felt that something that was core to keeping them together was gone.

No… it wasn’t something that had kept them together, but rather something that had allowed them to work together. It was a subtle difference, but it was only now that it was gone that Leonel could truly feel it.

It was funny. He remembered in the past struggling to consolidate his paths into one, not realizing that maybe his most important path had already accomplished that for him.

Now, instead of stacking, multiplying, and playing off of one another, each one of his individual talents of the mind had become too independent. Instead of building off of each other, in some facets, they even hindered one another, leaving his mind feeling much slower and less assured than it had in the past.

However, none of that seemed to matter as Leonel continued to stare up into the ceiling.

“A mute now, are we? Why does it seem like you’re not very sad, though?”

Leonel still didn’t respond, continuing to stare at the ceiling.

His heart rate was slow and steady.

His heart…

He listened to it for a moment, realizing that in the past he would never hear it so often. It was like his body had gone back to normal. It was beating 40 times a minute, which was excellent for an athlete of Earth, but it was a far cry from his former one beat per several minutes.

It was dull and almost weak in comparison. There were no reverberating impacts, no heart-shuddering ripples of reality.

It was just a normal heart. Well, comparatively. The fact that it was beating at all in what Leonel was sure was the God Realm went to show that it was actually pretty far from truly normal. But it was this sort of normal heart that made his chest feel particularly empty.

“That’s good,” the voice spoke again. “I thought I’d have to pick you out of a pit of despair again. You see, I’m a very free-flowing spirit. I don’t have the patience for all that bullshit. You get me?”

Leonel still didn’t respond.

He could feel his Ethereal Glabella. It was mostly the same as well. The Demoness had seemed completely uninterested in his Life Tablet and had left it behind.

Honestly, he couldn’t help but wonder if that was another ploy. Although he knew she had a Life Tablet herself, that Life Tablet was a Legacy Tablet. It shouldn’t have all the same abilities as a Wise Tablet. In fact, they would likely only be able to cover for the weaknesses of one another when they were together.

Then again, one of the strongest abilities of the Wise Tablet, that being controlling the Envoys, was useless now. What good was it when they were all dead?

The figure by the window moved and looked back. With a few steps, it picked up a stool and plopped it beside Leonel’s bed.

“So tell me, kid…”

The last thing Leonel felt were his Innate Nodes. They were still there, but he could already feel a burning sensation. His body wasn’t nearly as strong as it had been in the past, but he had already evolved his Innate Nodes to the point that they were true monsters.

Each one was even larger than his original kidneys had been, making them likely larger than any other Innate Node on the God Realm. But now, he didn’t have a body or constitution strong enough to let them circulate through his body despite how exceptional his Force Manipulation had already become.

Was his talent really so high? So high that even his mother’s sacrifice could only bring him back in such a pitiful state?

Leonel’s eyes never left the ceiling. It seemed like he could see his mother’s reflection on it.

“… When are we gonna flip the world upside down?”

The words echoed in the room almost as though it was empty. They penetrated down into Leonel’s heart, and he finally looked over at the figure.

It was the very same man who had disappeared inexplicably all those years ago.

Nilrem. Wise Star Order.

Leonel stared at him for a long while, his eyes as deep as an abyss and yet as bright as Amethysts. It felt like one was staring into the deepest pool of water to ever exist.

“Now.” He said as he slowly got up.