The golden circle

Tepo drifted through darkness. An immense force pulled wildly at his body. He was thrown up and down, left and right.

One might think that Tepmodus would feel dizzy, that his stomach churned, and his head would hurt. But this wasn't the case. Tepmodus simply felt… nothing? No. That wasn't true. Rather he felt secure. At home.

Just as this strange thought appeared in Tepmodus' mind, pain suddenly assaulted him. He felt as if a knife, or rather a sharp metal pole was rammed into his chest and twisted around.

The pain was unbearable even for the battle-hardened veteran. He tried to scream but no voice left his mouth. His eyes darted around.

In a short moment of clarity Tepmodus turned his head down, looking at this chest. Shock and disbelief almost suppressed the pain. At the center of his chest Tepo found a strange pattern. It looked like the one those criminals had worshipped earlier. But his was now a complete golden circle with blurry, archaic symbols swimming within.

But this wasn't the most shocking. Rather, it was that the solid object seemed to liquify on his chest. It burned and stabbed into his flesh. Slowly, it melted completely, sinking into Tepmodus body.

The man felt his chest tightening. His lungs struggled for air. His heart went into overdrive. His body felt as if it would explode.

This inhuman state lasted for merely a moment or millions of years. Tepo couldn't tell anymore. He couldn't form any coherent thought.

Finally, a wave of pleasure spread through his entire being. From his soul to his muscles and flesh. Tepmodus rose from hell to heaven. He felt immensely powerful, invincible, strangely complete.

Something moved in Tepo's brain. A weird sensation he had never felt before. But he instinctively realized what it was. It was a part of him like his arms or legs. It was his soul.

As he marveled at this mysterious mass he had never felt before, something unforeseen happened. An image of his own body was suddenly projected in his mind. Every vein, every muscle, every flaw was perfectly replicated.

Tepmodus had no time to inspect his body, however. He shook in surprise. All his attention was immediately attracted to his chest. There, in the center, the strange golden object nestled peacefully. It turned left and right, giving of a feeling of happiness and contentment. It behaved like a fish in water or a cat on its favorite blanket.

After a few seconds the object stopped its movements. And with it the force surrounding Tepmodus stopped as well.

Suddenly a mysterious pulse was emitted from the golden circle. The strange force permeating the darkness shot at Tepo. All his senses were immediately overwhelmed. A blurry silhouette flashed before his eyes. Was this another him?

The golden circle immediately pulsed again. Tepo's mind had no time to calm down. A strangling pain assaulted his brain. This time he wasn't able to perceive anything anymore. The man felt like dying as the golden circle worked tirelessly. It pulsed again and again. Three times, four… up to seven times.

When the golden circle finally stopped, Tepo couldn't tell if he was still alive. He had no feelings left. His eyes closed but it didn't make any difference. His body continued drifting through the darkness.

***

Suddenly Tepo's eyes shot open. Bright, blinding light threatened to melt his pupils. His breathing was chaotic. Sweat ran down his back.

What happened just now? A nightmare?

Slowly, the man's chaotic thoughts stabilized. He tried to feel his body, not knowing if he was alive or dead. He instinctively closed his eyes. Forcefully calming his breath, Tepmodus took in his surroundings with all his senses.

He felt the breeze caressing his skin, smelled the slightly moist air, enjoyed the sunshine warming his body.

Wait… sunshine?

Shocked, Tepo opened his eyes again. Immediately, blinding sunlight assaulted him. Not used to it he instinctively blinked rapidly.

Why is the sun shining? Have I been in some sort of coma? Has so much time passed?

But where does this breeze come from? Why does everything feel so comfortable?

As Tepmodus searched his brain for any clues, a headache suddenly washed over him. It came and went quickly, but it left the young man with a gaping mouth.

What is this? Another me? I'm sixteen? In the World of Carrying Winds? What happened? Did I travel to another world? What about my old world? Does it still exist?

Tepo felt dizzy as his vision slowly cleared up. An unbelievable sight unfolded before him. The young man stayed in bed, staring out of the window opposite him, dumbfounded.

In disbelief Tepo was fixated at the gentle sun high on the horizon. Like a mother it spread its warmth over the World of Carrying Winds. Tears welled up in Tepo's eyes. Naturally, this happened because the young man stared into the sun for too long. The veteran soldier wouldn't cry just from this gentle, comfortable feeling. Surely not.

After a view seconds Tepo averted his gaze, not able to endure it any longer. His eyes immediately fell on the large sail, which almost blocked his view. He was fascinated.

From his new memories Tepo recognized that those sails held up large clouds. Supported by strong winds this allowed them to stay in the air, supporting multiple houses.

Still struggling to accept reality, Tepo reluctantly stood up form his bed. He would have preferred to keep sleeping, though. Tepmodus had never in his life felt such a cozy bed. He had never imagined that a fabric made from threaded clouds could exist.

But this was still somewhat acceptable to the former investigator. What really defied all logic was that the light brown floors and walls of this room were made from clouds, too.

What sounded outlandish to Tepmodus was completely normal for the inhabitants of the World of Carrying Winds. In their world all kinds of clouds existed with many varying attributes. The cloudwood, which was used to build houses, was just too common among them.

But Tepo couldn't stop marveling at his surroundings. Without his new memories he would never guess that the material beneath his feet was a kind of cloud. It felt more like a soft kind of wood, comfortable like a carpet.

But in this world, they probably had no use for carpets anyways, mused Tepo. After all, it was almost too hot for the young man's taste. With the sun shining down unhindered only the perpetual moving winds provided for bearable temperatures.

Diverting his attention from the floor, Tepmodus' gaze was immediately stopped by a certain object in the corner. It was a mirror.

As Tepo's lost eyes stared at the mirror, his image stared back. None of them could believe what they saw. The man's throat soured as he studied the younger version of himself. With wavy, short brown hair, a healthy tan, an athletic body, and rather small build he almost couldn't recognize himself. Although the him now resembled his former 16-year-old self, some differences were still obvious.

The Tepo of the Carrying Winds World apparently grew up in a sheltered environment. No sign of hardships could be seen on his face. His skin was clear, his blue, bright eyes reflected the older Tepmodus' gloominess.

Right now, he wore a simple white shirt and underwear. His clothes were naturally also made from clouds. They were incredibly comfortable, better than anything Tepo had ever possessed.

The young man sighed. Could it be that he came to a paradise? Everything here looked bright and colorful. They had a functioning society, although it seemed to be divided amongst many different forces. How good would it be if Tepo could bring his old friends into this world?

I wish Shev could see this world. This was what the old man had been fighting for all his life. If our world could one day look this way, all his efforts would have been worth it.

As he thought about his old foster father, Tepo suddenly frowned. He wondered if the World of Endless Depth still existed. He had this thought earlier, but he was too overwhelmed by the situation. Now that his mind had calmed down, he felt that it was very likely.

Although he couldn't find it in his new memories, it was at least common sense that multiple worlds existed. Many strong warriors traveled between them, accomplishing heroic deeds. Naturally, the assumption that the World of Endless Depth was one of the many worlds wasn't too farfetched.

Coming to this point, Tepo felt excitement spreading in his mind. The travelers between worlds were warriors wielding inhuman strengths.

Those powerful humans dove into dungeons, learned formidable spells, and spread their heroic deeds. Every young man dreamed to be one of them, and Tepo was no exception.

Suddenly, however the young man's body shook heavily. Sweat gathered on his forehead. A picture appeared in his mind. Once, when Tepo was young, he had spectated the opening of a dungeon. The only entrances into those mysterious places were… portals!