Reforge The Spirit

This place is definitely about a kilometer in diameter... Skylar thought as he stepped into the circular golden platform.

(Chatter "Dearest, come here.") The older gray monkey, one of the trio that has been expecting their arrival beckoned at Karo who is standing steadfastly behind Skylar, but he received no reply as he was left hanging by his dearest who only has eye for Skylar in front who is scrutinizing the diagram inscribed on the platform.

In front of Skylar is a three circle venn diagram inscribed at the very center of the platform and right underneath the familiar presence in the center of the oppositely overlapping black and white spiral. And the tree circles and the center of all their regions of intersection are marked by a black colored character of a mystical origin that interpret what they stand for.

The old white monkey beside the golden monkey aproached Skylar who is trying to discern the mysterious diagram inscribed in black at the center of the golden platform and lectured: (Chatter "The three components of creation. The Body, the Spirit and the Mind. You came through the path of the mind and that's where you are standing. The circle to your right represents the spirit and the pass on your right that leads to it is the path of the spirit...")

"Then the one on my left represents the body and the path that leads to it is the path of the body." Skylar chimed in with a smile.

(Chatter "You are right. That's what that character symbolize.") The old monkey now standing beside Skylar added.

Skylar looked briefly at the old monkey then pointed at a character inside the venn diagram.

(Chatter "That character at the intersection of the body and spirit, represent beings with a body and a spirit only. Something like an heroic spirit, a summoned creature, elementals, trees, some lower species like those outside...")

"What about zombies" Skylar interrupted the old monkey.

(Chatter "You are right. Any dead body or object that gains a spirit like zombies and ghouls are not exceptions...") The old monkey answered and Skylar pointed at another character.

(Chatter "That one represents beings that have mind and spirit only...")

"Like.." Skylar prompted.

(Chatter "Astral spirits, some elemental spirits like their kings and queens, wraiths, ghosts and the likes. Also there are some of this spiritual entities that can easily materialize or capable of possessing a body and become a living being. We call them changelings...") The old monkey answerd and like before Skylar pointed to another character.

(Chatter "You are not interested in the last of the three") The old monkey asked while he brush his long beard with his left palm.

is it not common sense..."Okay what is it?" Resigned. Skylar asked.

Then with a smile the old monkey replied (Chatter "Good, that one represents beings with only a mind and a body. You should know about androids and AIs, you will meet a lot of these in the future.")

Stunned a bit by the old monkey's word, Skylar looked at the old monkey beside him, who is beaming a knowing smile at him. And as a response or counter, he beamed back in the same manner.

To their actions, Karo and the older gray monkey who has been watching the interaction of the two expressed on theur faces their perplexity.

"Okay where is the heart" After their short interlude Skylar asked standing akimbo with a bright smile like he has checkmated the old monkey's baseless theory.

Then in reply, the old monkey also smiled brightly and pointed at the very center of the venn diagram where the three circles intersect, at a particular circle in it, that contains the simplest character.

(Chatter "That intersection at the center represents beings of body, spirit and mind, living beings like us and the circle inside it symbolizes the heart...")

"So the living beings in the circle have a heart and those outside of it but in the intersection are heartless." Skylar chimed in.

Then the old monkey replied with a shake of his head and a smile (Chatter "Yes, exactly")

"Its still not perfect, there are certain things not accounted for..." But who cares... Skylar turned to the old monkey after he concluded. "So..." is it another round of humiliation in the hand of the golden guy... With his look expressing his thought, he pointed at the golden monkey standing quiet far away from them and who has been watching them converse in silence from the beginning.

(Chatter "This time its something entirely different") its almost broken completely, and its time we reforge it... The old monkey with his hands behind him replied and added in his mind, and then he walked away from Skylar and the others towards one of the narrow platform adjoining the circular golden platform. And at the same time the older gray monkey followed behind him closely and reverently after he glanced briefly at Karo.

(Chatter "Shkai there") Karo who took over from his elders pointed at a spot in the spirit circle on the floor which does not intersect with the other circles and then he walked towards a similar spot in the mind circle.

Like an example, the golden monkey already standing in his corresponding spot in the body circle, and along with the gray monkey took their seat in a lotus position and assume a meditative pose with their eyes closed.

So, i do the same, right... He turned to the old monkey far in the distance and expressed his thought with a questioning look. And to this, the old monkey respond with an affirmative nod.

And now after he got his reply, he also proceed to sit in a lotus position in the spirit circle, mimicking the other two. And then he closed his eyes.

I sense that familiar presence again... He thought as he immersed his senses in the whiteness that appear before him. ...That is the sun, right. So Its the sun they are hiding in that place. But how...

And like the chant of a mantra a familiar voice interrupted his thought: "When your Body fails you, and your Mind let you down, let your Spirit guide you. And when your Spirit sinks, let your will, fiercely burning, rise, and set the world ablaze."

(Very loud high pitch ringing sound)

"Fuck!" At this loud annoying ringing sound, Skylar cursed. Then unexpectedly and suddenly his consciousness which slipped and is falling to the depth failed him.

(Sizzle, Hum)

(Chatter "Father, will my daughter be alright") inside the territory now flooded with a white electrical glow like tiny vibrating threads, and also accomodating a piercing sizzling sound and a low hum; a voice released and laced with worry did not survive the onslaught of the mystical phenomenon as it was dominated and dampend.

(Chatter "She definitely will be") And another voice a bit stronger for it lastesd longer reassured.

***

An endless and waveless ocean of a pure and clear water- like a mirror, exists in the eternal darkness of nothingness like a mirage. And from its depth a valiant figure- that of Skylar, emerged noiselessly like he was ejected from it, casting no wave on the water.

Mindless he is, he stood naked on the surface of the water with no end in sight. Mindless still, he looked around him but as expected couldn't find a destination that beckons to him not even a light particle. And upon realizing this mysteriously, and still mindless he concluded mysteriously and started walking in a random direction he also chose mysteriously.

After he has walked a great length no one including the cosmos know how long; in the distance, in front of him, a golden glow shinning brightly appeared.

He walked mindlessly closer with a pace that has never changed since he started, towards the golden glow which has revealed its true self to to him.

The golden glow which turned out to be a giant golden robot of height in couple kilometers, like a wall, stood in front of the Mindless Skykar, blocking his path forward.

Still mindless, Skylar's mysterious figure assessed mysteriously and attempted to go around the immovable obstacle standing before him. But, like the golden robot has expected it, it aimed its square mechanical mouth at Skylar below who showed no reaction to its action, and it fired a noiseless golden beam of concentrated energy at Skylar, which then swallowed him in no time.

Then like nothing ever happened both figure vanished, leaving the undisturbed ocean like it always was.

We return to the very beginning.

An endless and waveless ocean of pure and clear water- like a mirror, exists in the eternal darkness like a mirage. And from its depth a valiant figure- that of Skylar, emerged noiselessly- casting no wave on the water, and like he was ejected from it...

The same like in the first round happened exactly. In the end he was swallowed by the golden light and we return to the very beginning.

But after round nine hundred ninety nine million nine hundred nintey nine thousand and nine hundred and ninety nine, is figure that emerged from the depth of the ocean this time did something different.

He sat in a lotus position on the water; not moving an inch until after an unknown amount of time or no time, when a reflection appeared below him on the water. But this reflection copying is actions looks different. It looks the same as the image of baby grumpy, but with cuts on its infantile body, and seven large and rotten gashes stand out on his back.

Just after this reflection appeared, it suddenly become alight, wrapped entirely in a blazing white flame that seems not to consume it. Then this time Skylar figure above- not burning, open his lifeless eyes and stood up. His mindless actions the burning reflection copied.

Like the other rounds he started walking in a random direction, but his burning reflection- an image of baby grumpy, perfectly mirroring his actions starts to grow up slowly as they both approach the golden robot glowing in the distance ahead.

Soon they reach the golden robot, exactly when the growing up grumpy catch up with his likeness that lies in the VR- pod in Orange town. And unlike the last time before the giant golden robot pass judgement, the white flame blazing on his grown up reflection rose higher from the surface of the ocean below where his reflection is. But this time the ascension of the white flame sends ripples across the timeless and immutable ocean, a ripple which threatens to destabilize the footing of the giant golden robot. And the white flame that rose higher starts to engulf him from below in the same likeness as his reflection which is for some reason dissipating as the flame rose higher onto the surface of the ocean afflicted with ripples seeking its ends.

After his reflection dissipates completely, the white flame engulfed him totally, and the ripples on the ocean disappeared; the shaky giant robot regained his firm footing and like before, opened its mouth and sends a far bigger and far concentrated energy beam at the blazing figure below. But the energy beam like water poured on lava dissipates noiselessly as it was swallowed by nothingness when it touched the brightly burning flame.

Then Skylar still wrapped in white flame after this feat, from nowhere grabbed something like a staff glowing white, and he threw it at the giant golden robot who caught it on his relatively giant palm like it never moved through space, but instantaneously appeared there.

Then the giant golden robot staring at the glowing entity on his palm lowered his head maybe out of reverence or to have a better view at the ant-like figure but with a presence infinitely greater than it can imagine, now passing between his giant legs.

But it did not end here. Just like an edict, the golden robot who has raised its head turned around the exact time the figure that has reached far behind it, approaching the endless, faded into the nothingness. And it witessed on the golden ocean where the figure left:

Land rising to its surface.

Above the land: stars appearing, a sun and a moon taking there place and a sky of clouds initiating the seasons as rain fall on the land.

On the land: hills rises, mountain rises, land splits- water emerge from them, fill the land and bless it.

On the blessed land: plant life of different kinds and types emerge, thriving, and with their help the insects and birds that appear like from a dream persist.

The giant golden robot watched a world come to life. A world which awaits the promise time while it expands infinitely and glorifies its maker.

And next, nothingness remains nothingness.