Creation: The Path of a God (Updated Edition)

Chapter 5 - Part 11 (Book 1 - Fantasy World)

For some reason, time didn't have any meaning, as though he were trying to merge into an ocean of knowledge with an unfathomable depth. While conscious of the world around him, Han's mind struggled to keep pace with what was transpiring. Slowly, there was something akin to particles floating in the air, like dust, though they glittered akin to snowflakes catching the sun's light as they lazily drifted in the air. He couldn't help but think of memories of traveling to relative houses in what felt like mystical and ancient lands, feeling far closer to being his home than where he spent most of his life, entering large storage sheds, and seeing the particles floating in the air as they interacted magically with the light. Though the dust would make him sneeze or cough, something eldritch lurked around the corner whenever he could explore the shelves and sealed containers made from some ancient material stacked on top of one another. At that age, he always imagined that someday he would discover something otherworldly, just like in the stories his grandma would tell him as she scooped rice onto roasted and salted seaweed, rolling them for him to eat, or while cutting up slightly chilled local pears, which would always explode with juices and tasted like ice cream. This would often be after his grandmother or grandfather would catch him exploring areas of the property that he was told were too dangerous, despite how they stirred his imagination.

As though focusing on the dust hovering in the air, Han slowly realized that the dust was a different color. Sometimes, it would look blue, while other times, it appeared reddish. He couldn't help but feel the emotions he had felt back when he was a child, perpetually curious about whatever secrets lay hiding somewhere deep -- waiting to be uncovered.

Han's eyes slowly focused on one of the nearby students and began to see some haze or shimmer on the female student, who hadn't noticed that he was staring at her. Redirecting his gaze to another student, the shimmer surrounding the next one was slightly more pronounced but with a negligibly different color. He struggled to understand what he was seeing, discerning that color wasn't the correct term for what his eyes were showing him.

While many of the students had a similar haze or shimmer, Han couldn't help but notice that there were slight differences, such as the shimmer being inside of them, like some kind of internal furnace that swirled about as it glittered under some unfamiliar light or was generating the illumination.

"Master?"

Blinking a few times, the haze and particles in the air faded out of focus as though he had imagined it. And just as if it had been a dream, the pressure which felt as though it were rushing into his mind vanished, just as if he had woken up and couldn't help but wonder why he was feeling emotional or experiencing a slight chill from something traumatic brought up during his deep slumber into the world of dreams. Shaking his head slightly, Han tried to clear whatever cobwebs remained inside his mind.

"Master?"

Turning his head, he saw Helania standing next to him. Her eyebrows slightly raised.

His mind slowly woke up as he realized his current situation; it took several moments for him to remember that they were making their way to the second floor of the Tower inside the Academy. He glimpsed a few students, glancing at him in confusion, whispering amongst themselves as they continued up the steps. Many of the people coming down disregarded his behavior, their worn-out expressions indicating how little they cared about what happened to him.

Brittany's eyes were tearing up as she pressed herself against him, her hands lightly grasping his clothes. "Are you okay, Master?" Her voice trembled.

"What happened?" He raised a hand to his head and pressed it to his forever as he blinked a few more times.

"I suspect that you were lost in a trance, Master," Helania calmly said as her eyes scanned Han's face, clearly searching to see if anything was the matter with him. Her lips were slightly parted as though wanting to say more, but she was unable to express her thoughts and decided to keep her worries to herself for the moment.