19 A Storm Of Thoughts

Mind over matter. It's a basic concept, one which involves placing yourself within the mindset of being able to accomplish certain actions, whether they be impossible or probable, comes to one's own motivation.

Holding myself up on one finger while on top of the space needle, I am constantly teleporting from place to place while also manipulating the very molecules around me.

Focusing on pausing the motion around me in addition to slowing it beforehand, I begin to see ice forming before me and speeding motions of various molecules; fire forms behind me as well.

Within five years, I've managed to move things on a molecular level, but sadly, I've not reached the atomic level and I am also slightly fearful of splitting atoms, as I am not able to survive the impact of a nuke. I have actually tested myself against various other arms, such as RPGs, and grenades.

Said results included a very light force attempting to move me for both, but I felt no heat nor any shrapnel as it was caught by my telegenic aura and subsequently torn to shreds. At this point, I could feel the very bacteria and could manipulate my own blood cells.

I have also tested myself against being poisoned, so I subjected myself to being surrounded by teargas, and using my telekinesis I quite literally removed the poisonous elements of the smoke and made it harmless aerosol.

The circling fire and ice begin to increase in speed as I spin it around me while teleporting to various points on the planet and trying to increase my speed. From the top of Mount Everest to the Amazon rainforest, I remain complete and utterly still.

Even after multiple hours of doing this, I feel no mental strain, even as I ensure the fire does not spread to the forest. I am making sure to consistently breathe in and out in the most efficient way possible. With every breath and every beat of my heart, I could feel my control over my power growing.

At this moment, I am completely and utterly at peace, and it does help that I'm using my telekinesis to mute the world around me. At best, I could hear small shuffling and murmurings, but they seemed miles away.

Even the chilling winds and blazing rays of the sun have not been able to reach me. Essentially, I have been able to create a very rudimentary atmosphere within my telekinetic aura, and it helps to keep my body at room temperature when focusing on exercises like these.

"Breathe in left, breathe out right. Inhale, exhale." Every couple of seconds, I make sure to alternate my breathing.

Continuously, I spin the fire and ice behind me while also trying to increase their intensity. On my left, there is a circle of ice; on my right, there is a circle of fire. I am also currently lifting a boulder nearby.

This exercise does seem reminiscent of the avatar state from that cartoon I watched.

The benefit of having an enhanced brain is that I can hold multiple trains of thought at once while also making sure that it does not interrupt my concentration. And now for the problematic part.

My next teleport brings me to the top of a building in Florida, which is currently experiencing a very high-level thunderstorm.

I change my positioning from standing on my finger to sitting in Lotus position on top of the boulder. I feel the energy streaming around me as the various protons and electrons clash.

I could feel the heat emanating from each individual lightning bolt, as well as the dull thudding of the whipping rain and spreading my telekinetic aura to the fire and ice, as well as the boulder that I still have with me. I used this to test whether I could withstand a lightning strike.

The roaring winds and blistering lightning continue to rain down from above, as well as all around me. Then, before I could even mentally prepare, I felt a decent amount of pain and numbness in my right leg, and then before I could realize that, I felt the same pain in my left.

I could feel the electricity beginning to pump through my system, but using my telekinesis, I was able to spread the charge to the boulder that I was sitting on.

There was no lasting damage, but I could still feel the numbness in my legs. But it was less than being disabled and more like being hit with a blunt object in my nerve centers.

The pain while present was bearable, and soon enough, hours began to pass by as I was hit by lightning at least ten more times all across my body, but I begin to adapt and was able to allow the lightning to flow through me while causing damage.

A few more hours passed, and by then, I could physically or mentally, in this case, redirect the lightning to different areas. While I am not able to produce it quite yet, being able to move lightning is a fantastic feat.

Eventually, I teleport back to the Amazon and put the boulder back down, and as I fall to the ground, breathing heavily, a small smile graces my face as I just spent over five hours in a thunderstorm while getting struck by lightning and living.

Maybe it was possibly delirium setting in, but I found myself chuckling in utter and complete satisfaction. And as the day turned tonight, I just lay there in the dirt and waited for my body to be able to move again.

I had sustained some damage, but it was mostly some minor numbness in my legs. I was mostly happy that I wasn't going to have to cosplay Professor Xavier anytime soon.

Before I knew it, I had teleported myself back to my apartment, and after shakily getting back to my feet, I walked into the shower and just allowed myself to relax.

Thanks to my innate body modification. I do not really build up dirt and grime on my body, but it's the small daily rituals that put things in perspective.

Even with my enhanced brain, I have learned to cope with the increased intellect as while it is a theory that the more intelligent you are, the less enjoyment you can derive from simply living life. It primarily relies on other factors.

Take Rick Sanchez. For example, the man is a cosmic nihilist who has become so intelligent that he is able to create nearly anything he wants, but at a cost where he views all life and everything about life as pointless and chaotic.

He believes that there is no point in anything because we were not born with a purpose. We are just tiny atoms that simply exist across a single timeline across infinite timelines, making infinite choices, and thus, in his mind, making such decisions pointless.

While I do admit there is a fraction of truth there and that he does have more experience than I do. I am also not drowning in my vices like alcohol and substance abuse, and it also does not help that he lost the only person he ever truly loved.

It is truly a pitiful existence in a way to be so intelligent, yet he is not able to get the one thing he wants. With my expanding intellect has come with a new awareness in it, becoming too large or too complex to enjoy the simpler things in life.

While I am aware that there are perks that can deal with that, it does seem like a bit of a shortcut. Even if I know, I will eventually take such shortcuts. The nature of the jump chain and the various jump documents is to make yourself the best version of yourself.

It is through combining hundreds of different traits from hundreds of different variations of the same person to create a new whole.

In its own way, the jump chain is just a mainstream way of trying to become perfect or at least a perfect version of yourself. While perfection is a nearly impossible ideal to achieve, perfection may be reachable eventually.

As hundreds of thoughts and other streams of thought coalesced within a single mind, I exited the shower and lay down on my bed, as tomorrow would be the last day in this universe if I did take the five-year drawback.

I had done all that I could, as my warehouse was filled with various things from food to drinks to gold to silver, even some personal touches of buying, such as paintings that I liked, as well as seasonal decorations.

It does put into perspective how I have been neglecting my warehouse, as maybe a small part of me sees it as a bit of a copout to have a personal pocket dimension of my own where I don't need to fear repercussions.

Repercussions which may appear eventually, as due to the exponential nature of the jump chain, I will have to experience tougher and tougher challenges.

Such challenges are why I have filled a decent portion of my warehouse with various entertainment media to make sure I always have a reference on me, even if the timelines may be suddenly different or even change drastically due to my actions or interference.

The butterfly effect could not be shown any better than the fate of this universe protagonist, as Eddie at this point, would've already become a successful senator.

Actually, at this point, I believe he would've already been running for president. Still, to my surprise, a couple of weeks after I deleted all the information on NZT, Eddie Morra was found dead in an alley after being beaten up badly by some drunken thugs.

The man that would have, in a possible future, been beloved by millions died alone in an alley drenched in his own piss. His death, while not directly related to me, was caused by me not allowing him access to NZT.

Knowing that I may have essentially doomed the man to death did bring me some amount of pause. I could make up so many excuses as to why I did it, but I just knew it was my own inherent selfishness.

I do admit that I did wallow in a bit of self-pity, but what's done is done. Actions have consequences, and this was just sadly one of them. Such a thought process seems a bit cold, and it is, but I can't bring someone back to life, at least not yet.

But it is yet another slash on my conscience. At least one that I will have to live with. Even now, a small voice in my head is telling me that I will have to do worse in the future, and I would be remiss not to feel worried.

Putting those thoughts aside, I let my mind rest and awaited the final day.