Ascension

It turned out that meeting with another glowing ball of light is merely a lucky encounter. It feels like an eternity passes before I could meet another presence again and merge with it.

I discovered that my size only grew by half on my second merging, only one fourth size increase on my third merging and I guess only one eight size increase on my fourth merging. The size I increase decreases by half each time.

I think my sphere of perception does not follow the same rule though. It just gets bigger and bigger. I think its increase might even be exponential.

I have already encountered and merged with 8 other balls of light. The feeling of exhiliration just keeps on getting better and better. If I had not known any better, I might call myself addicted to it.

Anyways, I feel like I am just goofing around to keep myself from gloomimg over the fact that I no longer have a human body.

Oh, I think about three dozens of days already passed by. I can say so after I barely tracking the day and night cycles.

I still do not know where I am now, but I can move. I can think. I have some freedom of alternating between moving and thinking. I still continue to exist, and that is a relief.

For now, I shall let myself explore, merge with other balls of light, and ultimately seek to find out what happens after repeatedly doing those two things.

!!!

I felt another presence!

I rushed towards it at full speed, upon collision, it immediately assimilated into me. I guess this is an effect of greater power, lesser opposition. The exhiliration followed shortly after. This feeling is somehow similar to the human brain's reward mechanism, but I would rather not go deeper into that.

All of a sudden, an intense light completely filled my sphere of perception. I came to realize that the source of that intense light was actually my body.

The requirements for Ascension are fulfilled. That information suddenly flowed into me while I was shining.

I was beginning to ascend? Is this evolution? This is getting weirder and weirder and going closer and closer into a game.

Will I grow wings?

No, forgot that, that would actually suck.

Imagine a ball of light with wings. It may seem angelic and angels are admirable however me looking like one, is a no-no for me.

Maybe I would just grow in size again?

While I was pondering on the possibilities, I felt a sudden unbearable pain. It feels like an intense headache. It feels like my brain is slowly breaking apart.

It continued for a few seconds but it already felt like hours. Then the pain slowly subsided. The light started to fade out, and my perception started to shrink. Both happened at the same time that I can barely tell which caused which.

Then my perception gone to nothingness and I'm back to darkness.

Did I die again?

No, this can't be.

Maybe I was really on a state of coma and maybe I am about to wake up. Maybe everything was just a dream.

"Yo."

I heard a feminine voice. It sounded so smooth abd delicate. Is this the voice of an angel? Am I in heaven now? Is this what ascension meant?

My eyes fluttered open and I saw a face of girl. She had short black hair and pale skin. Woah, if I had a little sister, I hope she would look the same as this girl.

Wait a minute, did I just... see?

"What does that stupid expression in your face mean? I am pretty sure I adjusted all the parameters to your preferences."

"No..."

"No?"

I felt my hands again and I used them to touch my face. "I'm human again?"

"Yes, thanks to me."

I then realized the awkardness of our positions. I was laying flat on the ground while she is on top of me in all fours. Supposedly, I would blush right now but strangely, I felt nothing.

"Can you get off me?"

I said that before anything else. I felt like continuing a conversation in this position is not entirely appropriate.

"If it inconveniences you..."

The girl pushed herself up and stood a few steps from me. Then revealed before my eyes is a paradise of a million stars. I could gaze upon this view forever, I have something I need to address to though. I picked up my legs and stood straight.

"Okay, who are you?"

No matter how beautiful the skies were, absolutely nothing makes sense now. I thought I was undergoing ascension. As far as my understanding is concerned, ancension meant moving on the a higher level of existence. However here I am, back to being a human. Now that I think about it, maybe I should be grateful that I am now back to being human.

The girl in front of me blinked and had a innocent expression on her face.

"I am you. No, I was you. Now I am not you but we are you."

What? What the heck did she just say? Why do I get a feeling that she herself can not understand what she just said?

I do not know what is happening anymore.

"Allow me to explain so that your poor excuse of a brain would understand. We were supposedly one entity. Formerly, as one entity, we consumed enough aether to be qualified for ascension. We are supposed to be higher beings of existence...yet we are not... due to some interferences."

By aether, I guess she meant the balls of light. I never knew those balls of light could be something great.

"So, even though I can not say we had a noble reason as we consumed those etherial entities, still I can not hold anything against us."

It's not like I only pursued those balls of light purely for the sake of pleasure, you know!

"Yeah, right."

She mumbled nonchalantly, completely not believing my thoughts.

Woah, what just happened? Did she just read my brain?

The girl in front of me sighed and the innocent look in her face is now replaced by a tired one.

"Took two exchanges for you to notice. You see, unlike a degenerate like you, I am capable of knowing someone's thought patterns from brainwaves alone."

I-Is that even possible?

"If you could stutter even mentally, how can this be not possibile. Also, before you can even think of asking it, I have a need to speak words because a degenerate like you do not have the brain that can comprehend higher forms of communication."

She got me there.

"Anyways, going back to the main topic, we seemed to have a peculiar case of developing a consciousness even before maturation. Well you see, we were once a Aether hatchling. The basic form of etherial lifeform, capable of movement but rendered immobile due to being incapable of thought. However we seemed to have imported a consciousness from somewhere."

"This consciousness also became a major hindrance in the process of our ascension. The consciousness needed to be destroyed and rebuilt again to create a higher being's core--er--mind."

The girl looked unsure for a moment, as if it was taking time for her to find the proper words to proceed.

"Pardon me, I am still unused in utilizing your vocabulary. The usage of words seem like an interesting concept, but words are quite limited. Nevertheless I am trying my outmost best to communicate with a degenerate like you."

That was quite a relief. I thought she had some grudge against me since she called me degenerate thrice now. It seems like she just called me degenerate because she judged it was the most fitting word.

Wait, isn't that more disturbing?

"Ah, the consciousness strived to remain existing. Due to this, an error occured during ascension. The consciousness resisted on being destroyed, but that consciousness can only accomodate a lesser being. The qualifications are met, so the ascension must proceed anyway. Nevertheless, for it to occur, another copy of the being which was us, was made. A copy with the mind that has the capacity to fully utilize--"

I raised a hand to interject her ranting.

"Respite."

I think my brain is panting right now. I only understood a small fraction of what she just said, as expected of me.

"Can you please, speak in simplier terms."

The girl gave me a clueless expression.

"That is strange, it seems like your level of understanding is lower than I predicted. Nevertheless, basically, we are one entity. You are my body and I am your mind."

"All the explanation, and it was just that simple!"

"It is indeed relatively simple, for me, at least."

"Wait, if you are me, what should I call you?"

"Is there really a need for me to have something like that?"

"It would be very convenient."

"Well, if you insist in addressing me as a separate entity..."

The girl in front of looked up, and began thinking. Unbeknownst to me, her beautiful mind has processed a thousand possible entries in that single moment as she stares at the stars.

"I will prefer to be referred as Archive."