4 AM, Lunan time.
Velvet, golden, teal and all sorts of colors lit up the dark side of the Earth, forming little streaks and points of light. Most were stationary, but some were moving with varying speeds and directions.
In the skies, there were many towering circular metallic behemoths with various spots that faintly illuminated the large aircraft and spacecraft they were on. They were also moving with various speeds and directions, but they flew through the sky slowly—maneuvering in predestined paths so as to not hit the large semi-glowing skyscrapers that pierced through the clouds.
Far above the skies that rested above Luna, the horizon of the Earth could've been seen. It glowed a soft purple light as the light of the blue sun intended on peaking through.
In the midst of all of this, in a particular space far above the clouds, a faint grey fog with a hint of glowing purple light began to manifest itself. In the center of this manifestation, a metal door formed from the churning and spiraling grey fog had outlined itself.
Once the door had fully appeared, the grey fog stopped spiraling as it flattened out below the door, appearing as an illusory ocean of clouds.
With no sound, the door had opened itself. Soon after, three figures who had their bodies concealed in a faint gray mist had walked out and stepped into the illusory clouds.
They had looked down on the vast and busy city of Luna while the velvet crescent moon was situated above them—behind the large Saturn-like rings.
"Have all the preparations been completed?" A muffled voice that appeared female had vibrated into the ears of the other two clouded figures.
"Yes. I've done my part. The Ember has been captured by the second Royal Heir. Even though some things didn't go as expected, the general goal has been achieved. He has also captured him in a rather roundabout way." Another voice had vibrated, but this time it was a male who had said it.
"Great. Clearly, that is his attempt to deceive the Attendant by acting like he's deceiving us. That means we have his tacit approval to carry along with our plans to finish her off." The female voice replied.
She glanced at the other clouded figure who hadn't spoken yet and continued, "You. Did you prepare the payment?"
In a hoarse voice, he replied, "Yes. The shipments have already been paid for. It'll be sent after the Royal finishes his arrangements in Westoria."
The female voice chuckled. With a smile that couldn't be seen, she looked down on Luna.
"Heh. Who would've known that we would've had to work with the highest echelon of the Dreamlanders to take care of our biggest threat…"
"Of course we had to work with them. We wouldn't have gotten as far as we have inside Luna without the Royal's help." The hoarse male voice elaborated. "He was even gracious enough to give us this opportunity when the Attendant is weakened."
…
At the same time, in the main Lunan Hospital—the Dreamer's Haven.
"Miss Astra, I can hear the whispers of the Demigoddess calling out to you…"
The moment Astra had heard those words, her thoughts had exploded.
"What is she talking about? Is she trying to deceive me, trying to make me go with her?"
"Even if she's telling the truth, why is she telling me this now? What's the significance?"
"Is she telling the truth? No, she is telling the truth!"
"No, it makes sense!"
Immediately, Astra's head flooded with memories of her hallucinations. Both on the previous Earth, and on this Earth.
On the previous earth, she had recalled all those strange memories in school, at work, in the bathroom, at scientific expeditions, playing games…
Every single memory she had where she had seen those little points of light that could've been mistaken as stars in her vision had come to her.
Every single memory she had where she had heard strange, unrecognizable voices in her head had come to her.
Every single memory she had where she had felt as if she was suddenly placed in weird sceneries had come to her!
"That night—that night where I saw colors coming out of the Milky Way! Where I saw glass falling from the sky!"
"That night where I saw the message 'DO NOT LOOK AT THE NIGHT SKY' for the first time…!"
"All of them…every last one…was a message from the Demigoddess of Science and Physics?"
"Isn't that strange? I was right!"
Astra's thoughts again raced to another scenario.
"On the night I saw that hallucination, after I felt an immense pain in my head, I screamed and my appearance had changed. What message did that send?"
"I've seen situations like these in novels I've read before! Could it be that She is trying to corrupt me? Or does She just like sending me strange messages and imagery?"
As her thoughts bounced from one question to another, her heart had started to pump excessively as she thought of another scenario.
"Shortly after the banquet, on the same night, a cosmic event that brought all of humanity here appeared. It looked eerily similar to that hallucination I had earlier in the night. I also had ringing sounds vibrate in my head, similar to the sounds I have when I face Ethereon here, but on a much lesser scale obviously."
"But most importantly! The 'hand' of that cosmic event was pointing at me!"
Astra's heart almost palpitated as she almost couldn't control her outside expression.
"The being that caused that cosmic event…was the Demigoddess!"
As her mind spelt out each word, she trembled slightly as she tried her best to compose herself. As her lips began to twitch, she grabbed her head with her hand, covering her face completely.
"Wait, the Demigoddess is calling out to Miss Astra? The Demigoddess of that new religion…? Miss Astra is even more special than I thought…" On the other hand, Mia's heart felt a sense of fearful curiosity.
Just as she finished that thought though, Mia had noticed Astra's countenance had changed—it had visibly become unusually tense.
At that moment, she had heard Astra's faint voice sound through the hologram.
"Why…"
Kayla, who still was bowing slightly, straightened her back upon hearing that soft, trembling sound. Removing her smile, she observed Astra with a neutral expression.
With a calm and polite tone, she responded, "I don't know why She's calling out to you in that way. I can guess, but I doubt that you'd be able to understand my reasons."
Kayla sighed.
"Unfortunately, I can't hear the contents of her whispers. If I had regained some of my previous strength, then I would've been able to hear it clearly."
"But I do know why She's calling out to you in the first place. There's something quite special that you have that interests Her. I don't know what it is, but if I had to guess, it's because you have a connection to the true first dimension."
Astra took a deep breath as she removed her hand from her head.
"Ha…"
The edges of her mouth and eyes were beginning to show themselves in a slow, almost awkward motion. Her lips were revealed to be curled up, and her eyes looked as if they were squinting.
Astra had an eccentric look on her face, one that expressed an unusual amount of joy. It was completely different from the look of anxiety she had when Kayla first walked in.
Mia caught her breath for a moment but then later creased her eyebrows. She had felt a strange shiver run down her spine, but she didn't know why.
Kayla, on the other hand, appeared as if she wasn't surprised by this. She let out a small smirk as she heard Astra's voice speak again.
"I have a connection to the first dimension?" In a higher pitched voice, Astra had asked. Noticing the strangeness with her face, she allowed her smile to be less exaggerated.
Kayla, in turn, returned to her calm and neutral bearing.
"Yes. It's evident based on Her revelations that she has given me. She has put a lot of emphasis on you, and I respect that emphasis. In turn, I also respect you."
With her eyes widening slightly, Astra glanced at Kayla's direction. Still, she had a smirk that looked like she was about to laugh. She said, "Is there a chance that the Demigoddess of our dimension is corrupting me?"
Kayla's mouth crept open in apparent surprise, so she hesitated for a short second. Regardless, she replied, "No. Interestingly, you haven't made any sort of ethereal connection with Her."
Astra took a deep breath as her mood began to gradually turn more indifferent.
"That's good. Hehe, who would've known that I really was having a conversation this entire time…"
"Now, I know who 'saved' me from the darkness, and I know why I was coincidentally placed by Luna, and all sorts of other coincidences…"
"This explains why Kayla is so polite to me despite being such a powerhouse. It also explains why I just so happened to choose her house." Astra's mind flashed to the moment where she noticed how Kayla flinched when she appeared at their house.
"Hehe, despite not corrupting me, the Demigoddess of Science is influencing me in some way. Well, this makes sense! I am someone who has been connecting with the heavens!"
After thinking this, Astra had allowed herself to smile once again.
Then, she allowed her mouth to open, letting out a small chuckle.
In just a short second, she laughed—her almost angelic voice resounding throughout the room.
"Hahaha! This is great! I'm so happy!"
"Why haven't you told me about this earlier?"
With a soothing smile, Kayla didn't hesitate to reply earnestly.
"Miss Astra, I doubt you would've understood if I told you earlier. I had only waited until you would've been brought into the Celestial world."
"How interesting. Hehe, I guess that makes sense, doesn't it? I've been influenced by the Demigoddess, and because of that you had planned to make certain arrangements for me."
"Astra…I mean, Miss Astra, don't you seem a little too happy?" Hurriedly, Mia interjected. Her voice fluctuated as it seemed as if it was trembling.
Though, she was quick to elaborate, like she thought she had said something she wasn't supposed to say.
"I mean! Well, you never know what's going to happen…as far as I know, interacting with such high level beings is dangerous…"
Kayla turned her head to stare at the hologram. Mia couldn't help but immediately twitch her arms and bring them to her waist in an attempt to shrink herself.
Astra didn't comment on this. Instead, she proceeded to answer Mia's question.
"Your thought process is correct Mia. Perhaps this is something dangerous for me. I am aware of that." With a faint, almost ethereal voice, Astra had clarified.
"But I don't feel this way because I'm thinking about the opportunities I can get by interacting with an existence. Instead, I feel this way for a weirder reason."
"I feel this way because I've been reaching out to the unknown, and it has extended its hand out to me when nothing else has reached me…"
She closed her eyes as she said this, and her indifferent expression turned into one that showcased a faint smile.
Mia felt a strange feeling in her stomach, as the almost angelic voice from the hologram echoed in her room.
She had felt that she had vaguely understood what Astra was saying, but she didn't know why. As such, she didn't respond.
Meanwhile, in a fastened pace, Kayla turned her head to look down at Astra.
"So, Miss Astra."
"Are you willing to come with me?"
Still keeping her smile, Astra opened her eyes half-way without looking at either Kayla or Mia.
"I still don't fully trust Kayla. There's a chance this is all a trap and she could be leading me into something dangerous that I don't fully understand."
"That's only based on skepticism and cautiousness though, not on any actual evidence. As for evidence that I'll be safe going with her, I know that she will at the very least not hurt me, or put me into anything dangerous. After all, I am under the influence of her Demigoddess. A bonus, if I go with her, is that I can gain some more information from Kayla about the Demigoddess."
"Regardless, the most important thing to consider is Mia. Whether I go or stay, the Dreamlanders are going to take Mia, and she doesn't want to be taken by them."
"To effectively guarantee both of our safeties, I can ask Kayla to take care of Mia in exchange for me being present for that fight. Sigh, this still makes me rely on Kayla, but I don't have any other choice. It's either the Dreamlanders or Kayla, and Mia doesn't trust the Dreamlanders…"
"Therefore, the best choice right now is to go with Kayla." After putting away those thoughts, Astra opened her mouth.
"Yes," Astra stood up as she said with an authoritative voice. "I want more opportunities to find ways to interact with the Demigoddess. I want to know more about the Celestial world."
Kayla nodded indifferently.
"Okay. Let's go. They should've already started heading their way over to the expected place."
Soon after she said that, she soundlessly walked over to Astra, who was towering over her.
The black suited Kayla then clutched her tie and placed her remaining hand on the back of Astra.
Since Mia knew that they were going to be leaving soon, she took a deep breath and prepared to cut off the connection between the screen and her room.
But right before she was about to do so, the large, thin blue rectangle of light began to emit noise once again. The tall, beautiful lady had turned her head towards the screen.
"Mia. Just because I'm influenced by a higher power doesn't mean that what I said before to you was in vain."
"You're still stronger than me."
In an instant, and without a sound, both her and Kayla had disappeared into something that looked as if it was a void that had countless stars in it.
Not even a second later, the void too had disappeared.
And in that second, Mia saw her reflection in the light of the fading blue hologram.
She saw that the ends of her lips were curled up slightly, and in a strange manner.
…
In a normal looking house, a strange void that had countless spots of white light had appeared in the small living room.
Immediately, two figures appeared out of the void and next to the TV. The two figures that had appeared next to the TV were Astra Sera and Kayla Hindsey.
"Damn…that's trippy…" Dizzy, Astra held her head as she tried to recollect herself and gain her balance.
"You'll get used to it." Kayla, who was still wearing a calm expression, had responded.
"Heh." Noticing this, Astra let out a soft chuckle as she regained her balance.
Once she did, she proceeded to examine her surroundings.
The entire house was dark, and all pieces of technology that could've been turned off, was turned off.
The faint glow of the velvet crescent moon pierced through the windows, illuminating certain spots of the living room, kitchen, and dining room.
In the spots where the light didn't reach—like the hallway and staircase—there was only a soundless darkness. It complemented the smooth and almost silent humming of the air conditioning—the only source of sound present.
Everything that was supposed to be there, was there. All of the pieces of furniture didn't move from their original positions, the dishes that were arranged by a robot were also in their original positions, the books that were inside the bookshelves didn't even move once.
Everything was normal.
"It seems like no one broke in," Astra remarked in a casual tone as she turned towards Kayla, who was still observing.
"Well, this is a pretty decent neighborhood." Kayla didn't hesitate to reply in kind.
Astra chuckled.
"Now that I'm here, can you do me a favor?" Without any anxiety, Astra had asked boldly.
"Go ahead."
"When you're done, are you able to take care of Mia for me? That is, when you leave the country and also change your name and backstory." Knowing what Astra told Mia earlier in the corridor, she didn't want Mia to hear this 'deal'.
Upon hearing her words, Kayla couldn't help but smile.
"Ha, you seemed to notice that my name and background aren't real. Well, that's pretty obvious."
"That's not a problem, though. I can take care of Mia."
"Now," Astra put one of her hands on her hips as she recalled Kayla complaining about children. "You know what I mean, right?"
"Of course. I'll protect her. I have enough resources. You can also think of it as me paying you back for bringing you here, in a way."
Astra, still keeping her hand on her hips, nodded. She didn't do this because she felt sassy, but she moved in such a manner because she was in a good mood.
Kayla then began to hold her hand up, resting her chin on her hand.
"I wonder…what could the Demigoddess be telling you?" Kayla asked, her voice getting slightly quieter.
Astra placed her hands to her side and thought for a moment.
"I'm in the same boat as you," Astra spoke in a soft voice. "For the longest, I usually got Her messages in the form of hallucinations. However, most of them were either indiscernible voices, points of light, or strange imagery."
"Is that so?" Kayla, who was unamused, had replied.
"Yes. However, one day, I experienced something strange."
Kayla's eyes shot up towards Astra the moment she heard her say that sentence.
"One day, I saw a hallucination that involved the spilling of colors and glass fragments in the night sky. Then I turned pale out of nowhere, and I had a message outline in my head telling me not to look at the night sky." Astra had recalled her experiences, intentionally leaving out some details.
"Not…to look at the night sky?" Kayla was astonished. Her eyebrows began to crease as she cast her gaze downwards.
She then paced herself throughout the living room, eventually stopping at the entrance to the staircase. Behind her was the soundless darkness that the velvet moonlight couldn't reach. Her face was slightly covered by a faint purple glow.
"That message is a lot more complicated than I thought, then…" Astra thought to herself as she saw Kayla visibly looking disturbed.
Kayla then sighed. Her face slowly returned to its neutral bearing as she glanced at Astra.
"Astra…you said you turned pale, right?"
"Yes."
"Did you experience any pain during, before, or after that experience?" Kayla anxiously asked, and for the first time, her eyebrows curled up slightly.
Astra felt a shiver run down her spine as she heard Kayla's voice echo in the empty and dark house.
"Yes…"
"That explains it. Yes…you were extremely lucky not to die right then and there." Kayla didn't care how cryptic her words had sounded. She crossed her legs and continued to gaze at Astra.
Astra raised an eyebrow as she couldn't help but ask.
"Why?"
"I can't tell you the reason. You're not strong enough to know why. You would go insane upon hearing it."
Astra shook slightly as she managed to recall how the information regarding Ethereon was strictly controlled.
"That can explain why. Just knowing about certain things is dangerous…"
"Right. Knowledge is power, and power is knowledge…"
Kayla continued, "I can tell you that it involves not only the Demigoddess, but also the reason why the first dimension only appeared a few thousand years ago, instead of being a constant like the others."
Astra didn't probe further. Controlling her composure, she continued to ask questions as she walked in front of Kayla.
"Then why would She message me like that in the first place? Why is She doing it this way?"
Kayla's expression immediately turned serious as the light that was on her face appeared as if it had shifted. It looked as if it accentuated the darkness that loomed behind her.
"She has no other choice but to. That's all I can tell you right now."
Astra closed her eyes and then sighed.
"Okay, so what do I do now?"
"Become a Celestial and become stronger. Once you do, see if you can interpret the message for yourself."
"I can consider you a believer of the Goddess of our dimension. In that case, I'll try to help you as much as possible within my ability."
"But I'm restricted by many of the world governments, so you cannot rely on me most of the time. The good thing is that you'll join the Dreamlanders, and they can help you for the most part." Kayla had informed Astra bluntly, with no change in her voice.
"I understand." Astra had no objections. "How will I be able to contact you once you leave? I don't think trying to contact you by phone will work."
As if Kayla expected such a response, she immediately replied, "I have a creature that comes from the Twilight Grove. She acts as a messenger. However, you need to enact a ritual to summon her."
"Here are the things you need to enact the ritual. Make sure to memorize it, or write it down if you have to. Do not miss any step."
"Yeah, you're just dropping a lot of information on me…at least warn me first." Astra wanted to sigh, but she stopped herself from doing so.
"It's fine, I'm able to perfectly memorize it the moment you say it." With a smile, she had reassured Kayla instead of voicing her thoughts.
"Perfect. Here is how you do the ritual." As soon as Kayla said this, the spots of light that were on her suit began to shake, appearing as if they wanted to come out of the suit.
Ting!
With a strange ringing sound, the points of light had burst out of the suit, forming trails as they spelt out words on an invisible sheet.
In Dreamurian, they appeared in front of Astra, saying:
"Using the water that comes from the depths of the planet Atlantis, the material that comes from the comet Helene, and the leaves that are from the mystical Forest of Fairies, create a painting of the Twilight Tree and use Ethereon to implant it into reality."
Astra stared at the points of light that had formed words in the air with an agape mouth, however her eyes had no noticeable change in emotion.
This wasn't because she was trying to memorize it; she had done so instantly.
This was because she was in disbelief!
"Isn't this a little too much? I don't know where any of those things are, or what they are…" Astra sulked inwardly.
"Did you get it?" Kayla asked, curiously.
"Uh, well, yeah." Astra had expectedly stumbled on her words.
"Great. Through my messenger, I'll also tell you important Ethereal knowledge as you get stronger. Of course, the Dreamlanders can also help with that."
"Right…" Astra nodded indifferently.
Inwardly, she lampooned. "She seems to be bent on making me join the Dreamlanders…I'm sure Loken would be happy about that…"
"Hm?" Just as Astra completed that thought, she had noticed something strange.
Behind Kayla, the darkness looked as if it was warping in on itself!
No, it wasn't just behind Kayla. Everything that was dark was warping in a strange motion, as if it wanted to collapse to a single point. Even Kayla's suit began experiencing some distortions.
Then, Astra had felt a piercing feeling in her stomach. She was feeling uneasy!
As for Kayla, she had, of course, long sensed this disturbance. In an instant, her suit had returned to its normal state.
Unamused, she had looked up toward the ceiling and saw that not only was the ceiling gone, but a huge eye that was observing the two ladies appeared in its place.
The eye had looked twisted and distorted, and it had bulged out towards the floor. Black, blue and red liquid poured out from the edges of the eye, forming a semi-crystalline layer that covered the entire house.
This caused the entire space surrounding Astra and Kayla to turn completely dark, with the only form of light being the pupils and the whites and of the giant eye.
Astra had wanted to move, but couldn't. She couldn't even form a thought.
Kayla had completely frozen her.
She continued to stare at the distorted eye, which now had other similar-looking eyeballs bulging out of the whites from the eye.
Calmly, she clutched her black tie. Dressed in a black suit that resembled the cosmos, she politely said the words:
"Lattice."