The Immemorial Owl - Bundi

In Hugo's dreamworld…

"Who are you? …Where do you come from? …Where are you going? …And what is your greatest wish?" Hugo heard the ancient voice whisper once again, only this time, its words were punctuated with a sigh.

"Who's there? …Who are you? …Why do I keep hearing your voice in my head?" Hugo felt uneasy.

The voice sighed in response.

"So much for a genius inventor… I can't believe I got stuck with such a great buffoon!" The voice was now deafening but young Hugo could nonetheless deduce that it unmistakably belonged to a female.

"Who are you and why are you in my mind?" Hugo asked the ancient voice, his trepidation now blossoming into curiosity.

"I've been talking to you for a while now! …The least you could do is reply!" The Voice sounded annoyed.

"I loathe idiots most of all. Sigh! Athena was right. All sentient beings in the cosmos should be fearful of idiots. If all idiots gathered together and formed a civilization, it would spell disaster for this universe." The voice added.

"So Mr. Idiot, can you prove to me that you are no longer an idiot?" The voice inquired playfully.

"If I prove to you that I am not an idiot, will you answer some of my questions?"

"If you do prove to me that you are no longer an idiot, in addition to answering your questions, I may even begin aiding you occasionally. So, don't waste my time."

Nikolai nodded while straightening his thoughts.

"I may be a little ignorant about the essence of the whole world or universe but I am aware of my shortcomings. I have a curious heart, I'm eager to learn, and I usually derive information from my experiences."

"Thus, I have both the essences of knowledge and wisdom," Hugo added, his voice defensive.

"These are the basic prerequisites for not being an idiot."

"From my understanding, the word knowledge refers to my acquaintance with facts, that I could obtain from study or investigation or even simple general learning. It involves the accumulation of facts and data that I have learned about or experienced."

"I have accumulated a lot of knowledge from my past life and I will keep on pursuing more to understand the essence of the world and if possible protect my mother and aunt of this world from all danger."

"Wisdom, on the other hand, refers to my ability to discern and judge which aspects of that knowledge are true, right, lasting, and applicable to my life. In other words, possessing the power of discernment and judging properly what is true or right; possessing discernment, judgment, or discretion." Hugo's voice had turned ambivalent.

"In my past life, I have been faced with a lot of strife which has grown my character. Thus, I believe that I'm currently able to discern and judge which situations are helpful or harmful to me."

"So! I am not an idiot." Hugo concluded, his tone of voice turning assertive.

"Sigh… Was that moment of enlightenment at the end of your last life merely a fluke?" The voice questioned.

"Isn't that the correct answer?" Hugo countered. "I have read some philosophical texts previously… and they all refer to knowledge and wisdom in that regard."

"Sigh… I am now stuck with a soul that is just graduating from its idiocy." The voice seemed to be lamenting its fate.

"Anyways… you have already qualified. So, I can't reverse that. That is at least until you experience the true death of the soul." The voice sighed.

It was at this time that the golden light that had pervaded the whole area started to recede… Slowly, it revealed a gigantic golden pyramid. There was no longer any golden necklace, but a gargantuan golden-pyramid that extended beyond what he could perceive in the grayish world.

The huge pyramid was no longer shimmering with rainbow lights, they had given way to a dazzling array of mysterious symbols.

Hugo saw squares, pentagrams, hexagrams, pi, infinity, yin-yang and other mystical symbols appearing and disappearing with the shimmering light of the golden pyramid.

There might even have been some letters of the 'Latin' and 'Phoenician' alphabets commonly seen in the historical documents of Planet Earth though the vast majority of the symbols were unfamiliar to him.

The visible part of the colossal pyramid was surreal and captivating with mystical beauty.

Hugo strained his eyes to observe some of the symbols, however, after a moment of this, he was overcome by a splitting headache. He began to feel the lethargy set upon him… and couldn't help but want to close his eyes.

However, the familiar golden light bloomed once again washing away his fatigue.

"Do not look directly at the 'Transcosmic-pyramid'. Or the puny, weak soul that you have will easily shatter." The familiar ancient voice sounded scornful.

In front of the pyramid, a huge gigantic golden owl whose size was comparable to some of the small houses in his previous life appeared.

The owl had green forward-facing eyes that gazed aloofly at young Hugo in his dream world. Its possessed cat-like ears, a hawk-like black-beak, a flat face, and a conspicuous concave collection of feathers around its face.

Although Hugo's perception of the owl's size was diminished by its proximity to the pyramid, it still overturned his common sense.

[How could such a huge owl exist? … Oh! …mamma mia… This owl appears to have spoken to me!] Nikolai's thoughts were in chaos.

"Are you the creature that has been talking in my mind?" Hugo asked, his voice shaking while pointing a trembling finger at the golden owl.

"What do you think?" The owl answered with an amused expression.

[Oh my God! …My goodness… This owl has spoken… Am I in a long dream? Definitely… this is a dream. Ahuuu… Ahuuu… That almost scared me to death.] The young Hugo began to relax.

"I hope you're not under the impression that I am just a fictional image in your dream. What a pure idiot." The owl's tone indicated its contempt.

Though Hugo was in his dream world, his physical body nearly jumped in fright.

"Can you read my thoughts? …Or are you a persona I created in my subconscious?"

"Idiot, can't you use your simple brain even once?" The voice was patronizing.

"Then who are you and how are you in my dream?"

"Can't you feel that your thoughts and speech are too lucid in this particular dream?"

"Now that you speak of it… This dream appears clear and detailed almost as if I am in the real world. Is there a world of dreams?" Young, Hugo asked, his voice skeptical.

"You may call it so if you like." The owl answered.

"Then who are you? …And what is with the gigantic pyramid?"

The owl flexed its huge golden wings slightly and pointed its hawk-like beak towards the non-existent sky of Hugo's dreamworld. Its actions were surprisingly similar to those of a politician preparing for an inauguration speech in his previous life.

"You can call me Little Bundi - The immemorial owl." The owl's voice sounded very solemn.

"Little Bundi… Bundi!" Hugo mumbled.

" …Why are the phonetics of your name similar to some languages back on Earth?"

"Leave the other nonsense for later. Thanks to the evil spirit earlier, I can use a little bit of energy at the moment. This wouldn't have happened until you reached six years of age in this life."

"That creature from before was an evil spirit!" Hugo's curiosity was piqued.

"Yes! But that's not important. You need to know a few things before we part. We have very limited time as every second wasted is more energy wasted. First, listen carefully." The Owl -Bundi's voice was solemn and took on the tone of a teacher instructing a student.

"Okay…" Hugo mumbled

"I asked you before to prove that you are not an idiot… But your answer was barely satisfactory. If I was one of those teachers from your previous life, I would only give you 60 out of 100 marks for such a reply."

"The essence of 'not being an idiot' is perceiving, acknowledging, and admitting that you barely know anything."

"Do you remember Plato and Socrates' simple words that tried to expound on the true essence of wisdom and the truths of the Universe?" Immemorial Owl - Bundi asked young Hugo who appeared to be in a trance.

"The genesis of true wakefulness comes only when we realize that we are actually dreaming," Hugo mumbled while still in a daze.

"Then Ludwig Wittgenstein's words… He was also an Austrian like you." Bundi's human-like voice was now mellow.

"We are asleep. Our life is a Dream. But we wake up sometimes, just to know that we are dreaming." Hugo replied experiencing an epiphany.

"Then what is a dream and what is not a dream?" Bundi's owl face was plastered with a smile for the first time since meeting Hugo.

"I don't know!" Hugo was confused at this moment.

[Do we exist in the dream of some kind of powerful entity like a god!? What is real and what is not real?] Hugo wondered.

"I know what you are thinking Nikolai… no. …young Hugo Medici - that is your name now. I am just informing you about this to prepare you for a choice that will come a bit later in your life."

"You should ponder those words. That is if you truly desire to pursue knowledge and wisdom."

"Enough of that. One more thing…" Bundi's voice thundered waking up Hugo from his trance life state.

"You should have realized that there are some creatures that use mysterious powers in this world." The owl continued.

"The people and creatures of this low-level civilization train their bodies, harness and accumulate world-energy or mana, and finally train their souls. This is a sequence of events on the path to being a powerhouse in this world."

"However, training the soul is more advantageous at the start. It will be very helpful to you in the future."

"The soul is the core of your being. It is the command center you use to control the system that is you. A strong soul will also help you in the visualization of spells and mastery of a stronger body in the future."

"At the moment your soul is formless, puny, and weak."

"Since you managed to meet me not long after your rebirth, I will gift you a mystic-soul-art you can use to strengthen and fortify your soul. The soul is what you refer to as your consciousness."

"The name of the mystic soul art is 'Psykhe-Mental-Exercise'."

"Other things can wait. Start by training your soul. Otherwise, a slightly stronger mystic will easily shatter or disperse your soul. And what awaits you then is true death with no chance of reincarnation." The Owl added, her voice solemn.

"There is also some leftover 'soul energy' which may be beneficial to you."

"I will pass the soul training art directly to your mind."

"You must take note to remember who you are, where you come from, and where you are going. That is the only precaution against losing yourself in this mysterious cosmos." The immemorial owl - Bundi's voice once again turned solemn.

"I have to leave now." The Owl's voice was once more detached and emotionless.

"Wait!..."

Hugo desired to inquire about a few more things, however, the golden pyramid and the owl had already disappeared from the formless gray world.

That was how the two mysterious entities ended their meeting.