Chapter 8: Conversion
It is hard to tell how much time I spent in the dream this night. It does not flow as linearly as it may in real life. The very texture of it is so much more thickened and muddy. It grabs at your legs as you wade through it. With the absence of a regular day/night cycle, on top of it all, I could have spent anything from several days to weeks with this angelic figure. I spend most of my day flying as quickly and extensively as I can, just so I can spend more of my nights in blissful slumber.
I learned much in this time—how to control my mind, mostly, and the techniques to discern the plain signature of my unconscious wiles, pleading for its waking part to amend in cruel misfortune.
All my desperation, all my loneliness, all my desire, and failure to achieve it; these were so proudly displayed by the design of this silent world that I had unconsciously fabricated.
My dream of basking in the glory of Elektra, was exemplified by these stoic poles always gazing at the sky, and never daring to venture beyond their means for fear of collapsing under the weight of that great ambition.
The tremulous hope I carried in my chest, that one day all my hallowed faith would earn the gods' favor, shown through the lovingly crafted acres of ashlar; just as infinite as the skies above, and meticulously shaped with fiery adoration to conform right into one immaculate lattice, seamlessly. These are my days spend in avid devotion to the goddesses who would never hear me.
For all their bluster and finery, it amounts to the little more than a surface to be trod underfoot.
Any visions of heavenly glory became exaggerated by the vast open skies; almost daring me to climb unimpeded into the halls of Olympus. If I could only reach it!
The oppressive knowledge that nothing in my power would upset the natural order and allow a change—even a tiny path to open—to grant me that chance to escape the cycle of worship to a more exalted existence, was spoken through the sprawling expanse of repeating structures.
I know not how long I flew alone, but I could feel then that it would go on forever. Even now, I know that without my friend's guidance that my dreams would extend eternally. The exact same pillars would repeat in a similar order as soon as they left my vision, and I would fly toward a horizon that never grew closer.
I shudder at the thought.
With his guidance, I transitioned from a boundless curve of repetition into an endless plane with no eventual border. Visually, little changed from one idea to the other, but the effect on my senses was staggering! No longer was this an object possible in physical space. The balance shifted tremendously beneath my talons, and then dropped away from me altogether—as rapidly as an apple fumbled from ones perch into the Ionian sea.
I had forgotten to account for gravity! The land halted at my command, no more than a hundred feet beneath me. That would have to hold for now.
As I slowly floated down to meet Thrall, a powerful level of exertion wrenched my features into a grisly mask of sheer focus as I held an infinite mass in my mind. I dropped to the floor, panting under the immense strain, my talons clutching the stones as if preparing to lift the whole world physically, once it dropped again.
"Are you okay?! What ha-?"
"Nope!" I interjected, sweating profusely. "Be silent. I am trying to focus."
"You forgot to put anything under the earth, didn't you?"
"Huh?" I hadn't even considered that. It seemed so obvious!
I imagined the grid of tiles as one solid object, and extended that mass all the way down to the bottom of my understanding. Then, I released my hold. It didn't move.
"Wow, I would have never thought of that! Thank you, I may have lost you forever."
He laughed, "Don't worry, it comes with practice! How did you figure?"
"I just made the stones beneath us go all the way down."
"To infinity?!"
"Uh, yeah? Was that wrong?"
He could only put a hand on his forehead, and sigh. "It'll have to do. This won't be very stable, but I don't intend on staying here for long."
The breath left my lungs. "Excuse me?! Do not say such things even in jest! No, You are not going anywhere! I just got to meet you—How could you intend to abandon me so casually?!"
"Calm down; I never meant to imply that I would be leaving, by my lonesome. I always intended to bring you with me. Why would I leave the most powerful figure in the entire world?"
"Ah... That does make sense." I felt so foolish for jumping to conclusions, but what could I do? I needed his companionship, and he knew that!
The sense of betrayal I felt was so strong, some terrible thoughts appeared in my mind, unbidden. With my powers, I could keep him there against his will. With my powers I could do anything.
"No, We will be leaving together. There is not much left to discover here. You opened your mind so eagerly, and spilled all your unconscious desires plain enough that even a neophyte could understand you... not that it would help much." He sat before my supine form, and softly petted the back of my head. It does not seem natural to enjoy the feeling of his chilling touch as much as I do.
"That is why I will never abandon you. I can see the true value of your character. This place, it is blameless—unclandestinely evident. You love so completely, you don't have space in your heart for anything else. Only someone with no compassion, whatsoever, would dream of such psychopathy."
My cheeks grew stark and bright with ruddiness. It felt scandalous to be so completely exposed. My cheeks burned, all the way down to my clavicle in embarrassment. I turned my head to peek at his guarded features, over my shoulder.
"I- I... am truly undeserving of such lofty praise," I stammered. I tucked my lower lips into my mouth, and troubled over what I should say in response. Oh, how his presence perplexes me so!
How do I express the pounding waves crashing over every aspect of my being? The feeling of helplessness that washes over me when I am enlightened with his touch? All the ways my life has been forever changed just by simply being in his presence? My boundless gratitude for all the things he has taught me, shown me, or helped me realize for myself?
I wanted to tell him how he felt like more than a member of my brood, like an auxiliary of my own being. Does that not sound insane?! My kind do not even have a word for a thing that is closer than their brood.
I wanted to be an extension of his body. His will would be mine, and mine his. It was so very foreign to me. Could this be an artifact from his world, impacting my thoughts, through his effectuation within the structure my mind?
As I sat there, reeling with delirium, and preparing to give form to the unconscionable desires burning within my core, he slowly removed his hand from the rear of my skull.
I willed him to stop; to put it back where it was, and give me just a little more time to find the words to speak the things that have overwhelmed every aspect of my being since we had begun meeting only so recently, now, but what a transcendental experience it has been! Every thing about me has grown to resemble his grandeur in that time.
My thoughts' quality, depth, sharpness, clarity, and ambition are unrivaled within my contemporaries. I am no more like them as the Scopoli's Shearwaters that populate the islands I reside.
I silently begged him to recant, or time itself to rewind until I had prepared the correct terms to express my illimitable gratitude... but he is not of my design. I could not control his actions like the world around me. He glared far, into the distance.
"Now, why don't we find out what lays beyond the horizon?"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone