9 First Practice

Ashura was lost at words, he helped Ansel to stand up, "Practice makes perfect. Do it again, slowly, until you could see the edge of dimensions. We have a hope in you."

Didn't want to disappoint them, Ansel forced himself to concentrate again. Though it's hurt for him, he can't face a situation where he disappointed other people. Knowing that his ability is somehow useful, Ansel recalled the events from the dream that he had first time. Concentrated at his best, the vision still failed. Head lowered, Ansel clenched his hand.

"I'll do it again, but please don't touch me."

Ansel readied his stance; took a deep breath, followed Ashura's tap tap tap. His body from warm now raised its temperature, sweats running fast from his body. Ansel didn't know how to stop his body from doing so; it was autonomous, against his will. Unconsciously, Ansel released the breath slower than Ashura's tap.

The place where his forehead burns still hurt him. Ansel cried he couldn't stand the heat. It was overwhelming. Ansel fell on his knees; he stumbled down to the floor. For some moment he felt the heat released slowly from his body. Ashura didn't help him at all, Ansel wanted to ask a help but he was embarrassed.

His body still burning inside, he felt a swarm of heat running around his torso. He rolled on the cold ground to release the remaining heat. At last, Ansel laid flat on the ground, he face to the sky, with a croaky voice he said, "Give me a rest, please. I'm far from home. I'm tired. I need a rest."

Ashura sighed, he lowered his head, and disappointment could be seen from his face. Ansel didn't want to face him, he was tired yet his other self wanted to sharpen his new ability. Ansel's body temperature lowered to normal, the sweats were gone thanks to the extra absorbent plug-suit.

Wind blew from the place where Lintang trained. Ansel's senses have come to normal.

There was silence between Ashura and Ansel. Ashura didn't help Ansel to stand up, Ansel regained his strength himself.

"I'm sorry—"

"No need," Ashura cut, "you could rest now, be back here at 10 sharp tomorrow."

"Do you have the map of this place?" Ansel asked.

"I'll summon a robot to guide you," Ashura called from a device that was similar to a smartphone, "do you want the real thing to comfort you?"

Ansel shook his head; he didn't want to strip an alien naked again, "I'm not fond of those, just a robot."

Not long, a slim robot without a weapon stood near the door. It tapped the door screen, the robot pass the screen without difficulties, the screen on the robot's chest glowed green with the word "accepted."

The robot stood in front of them, Ashura pointed to the robot, "Just command with your words, if you said map, it will show you map, direction too. It could also make a contact to your friends; I'll make sure that everyone has one robot so that you could contact each other."

"So it has voice recognition or something else?" Ansel asked.

"This robot only has retinal sense to identify who you are, voices are too easy to change, make sure you made an eye contact. Now try, 'home'."

Ansel gulped, hearing the word home has triggered him, repressed his feelings he said to the robot straight to its retina, "home."

The robot responded it showed a direction to where Ansel's room was a short ten minutes trip. Ansel walked first, the robot skipped its feet, walked faster than Ansel.

He saw Lintang that stood still, trained, Lintang puffed his breath several times, and smokes went out from his mouth, like a dragon that puffed its breath. It was a trail of short smokes, but Lintang seemed to handle it well, he was a smoker before.

Ansel awed, but then looking at his friend to train without difficulties made Ansel slightly jealous. He questioned himself, his ability, whether it would be useful for the quest or not. A slight of existential crisis got him.

Lintang slightly looked at Ansel, "see ya tomorrow."

"Yea."

..

"Home," Ansel said it several times.

The robot kept refreshing after he said the word, it thought that Ansel commanded. Ansel kept thinking about his home, far above the sky. He shook his head, tried to be more aware to his surroundings.

The hallways of Cephyx filled with people, they wore lab coats, some has robot companions beside them one to three, depends on the rank. The people were too busy that they didn't make an eye contact one to other. It was bizarre for him to see this view. Back in his place, the people still care for each other, though Ansel has some problem with it before, now he realized that there was a peculiar feeling in his heart.

Ansel didn't see any children running off the hallways or the streets of Cephyx. Only adults roaming this place, it was probably a frontier or a barrack to test weapons, to prepare for a war.

The scene of Cephyx was surreal; there were only doors, no windows, only glass dome roof above that opened for air circulation. Crisp clear air, no pollution, Ansel wondered whether were the vehicles placed, it was null, not even small cars that carries things.

"Cephyx map," Ansel requested.

The robot showed a hologram on his back. A small white dot walking on a structure of building, Cephyx formed like a big bowl, with dome as the lid. Ansel touched the sleek back of the robot, he found that his room was on the third floor, and they were heading to the lift.

..

Ansel laid his body on the bed, and he asked the robot to guard the door, he didn't want anyone to disturb him, even his friend. He just wanted to release all the stress that he had today. His body heat began to coiling down to his heart, Ansel felt unease, he throw away his coat.

The coiling heat no spread evenly to his body, Ansel took a deep breath, and he tried to release the heat. When he closed his eyes, the heat was gone, Ansel's body feel a chill to his bone. He felt something touched his forehead, smooth finger that pressed his forehead slowly. The touch went harder; Ansel couldn't move his body, paralyzed. And then he felt his forehead has been pricked with a needle.

"Stop." Ansel pleaded.

It went deeper; Ansel felt the pain spread through his forehead. He didn't felt any blood trickled down. The sting now reached the middle of his head, stuck in his brain. Ansel could do nothing, not even screamed.

A white spot appeared in his view, the spot grows bigger. Ansel taken into a place that he was familiar with, white room with nine walls, but this time, seven of them has cracked, almost crumble down. Ansel take a look to the walls, it illuminated his feature, and it was him with the clothes that he had in earth, red varsity jacket, black t-shirt, and black jeans. Ansel touched the wall with number IX on top; the smooth white granite was stone cold.

Is this gate will lead me back to earth? Ansel wondered.

He pushed the granite, the heavy granite stood proudly, not moving slightly.

There must be a mechanism to open this!

Ansel walked to the side of the granite, he only found the back of the granite. The back of the granite was contrast, dark sky with speckles of stars on it. Ansel reached his hand closer to the surface.

"Stop there," someone alarmed him.

Ansel looked around, no one. He stepped back from the wall, knowing that it might have something dangerous, a curse maybe. He looked around, searched for the sound, "Who's there?"

"You can't see me yet because of certain circumstances."

Ansel's heart beat faster, he was afraid if the voice was another god. He walked backwards, back to the place where he stood before.

"Are you the guardian of this place?"

"Yes."

"Please take me back to home. I don't want to stuck in this place."

"Indeed, you don't belong here, but someone has taken you a trip to my place. It isn't under your consent is it?"

"Finally, someone who has a sense of mind," Ansel then said desperately," Yes I was taken to this place, by force, I tried to escape from her but I can't!"

"Thabit Melioratus, is it her?"

"Yes. Yes. She uttered some nonsense to me about fate, about the war that the deities had in this realm, about my identity for being the servant of God. I don't understand what is actually happened. I'm too tired to think…" Ansel was on his knees.

"Continue, child," said the voice.

"This something that I never ever wished for, I want a normal life. She said that I have a power, it was nonsense…

Free will?

Dreams?

Is it just ironic when I have those two yet I can't even grant wishes? What's the point of this?

Is going home too much to ask?" Ansel voice echoed several times, each echo sounds desperate.

After Ansel's echo faded, the voice answered, "I understand. Thabit Melioratus was too much, this war is our business only, and no outsider has to be sacrificed for this, especially the ones that is being guarded by the Leader of your realm. I doubt that she learned something from her past experiences."

"Are you Chronos? Or are you one of his apostles?"

There was a silence, and then followed by a sigh, "I am a sole god not an apostle, I used to be one of his old companions, maybe I could take you back with your friends, but you all have to be powerful enough."

"Why?"

"Mana. It requires a lot of it to transport between realms, if you lacked in this there are two probabilities, you will transported to somewhere else, or you will die," the voice warned. "Uncontrollable mana power could lead to death, because mana is the power granted from the gods to the chosen ones only."

"Ah, yes, it mana training was so painful. I can't stand the power; it made my body burns inside."

"When you get used to it, your body won't feel any pain when channeling mana into power, with a condition if you were the chosen ones. Since I don't see any potential from you and your friends to be the extraordinary chosen ones… I didn't suggest strenuous training. Train as you could, you didn't want to die, did you?"

Ansel answered, "no, I want to survive. I'll tell my friends about it too."

"Good."

"When can I see you again?"

"I'll tell you when you are ready. See you." The voice snapped his fingers.

Ansel blinked, suddenly he was transported somewhere else. He stood again, on a white room, this time the white was similar to an interior of a house not pale white like it used to be. Ansel looked around, there were no edges, and he ran to nowhere. He found nothing, not even the walls surrounding a pool.

It was a plain paper, nothing was in here. Ansel frantically run, "Hey! Where am I? Anyone?"

Ansel stomped on his feet, hoping that it would break and take him back to reality. The ground was as hard as concrete. Ansel looked around, the room has no horizon, it seemed that there was no end or edges.

"Dear guardian god of this white room, whatever you called it! Take me back!"