Holy moly.
The light had shaped itself into a human silhouette. And it had just… spoken to me.
First, a dream about my family. Now, a glowing, talking figure.
Chama-Fish was not kidding when he said this stuff was the most toxic of all.
I should have been panicking. But I wasn’t.
Strangely enough… I felt calm.
Like the weight crushing my chest had disappeared. Like all the sadness, all the pain, had just… slipped away.
Gone.
Like a handful of sand, scattered by the wind.
"You've had quite an interesting trip here, haven't you?"
The voice was soft. Warm. Like a blanket I didn’t know I needed.
I let out a shaky breath.
"Yeah… but who are you?"
The figure drifted closer, slow and weightless, like it wasn’t really part of this world.
I could almost make out the shape of a smile.
"Who knows? Maybe I’m part of you, Keegan. Or maybe… something you lost and needed to find."
I rubbed my face with both hands.
"Great. Cryptic messages. My favorite."
The figure’s light shimmered, pulsing softly, almost like it was… pleased.
"What you saw wasn’t just an illusion, Keegan. They were your wishes, made real for a moment."
The light leaned in, just a little closer.
"But do you understand their purpose?"
I paused.
Really let the silence drag for maximum effect.
"Let me guess… to make me suffer. Right? Like everything else in this damn alien wasteland."
The figure actually chuckled.
"Your time on this planet has had its… unfortunate moments. But not everything exists just to make you suffer, Keegan. It’s simple. You mustn’t give up. You are important. More than you know. The system? It doesn’t matter. You can become so much more without it."
I blinked.
Wait… I’m… important?
Heh.
A little validation hits different, doesn’t it?
I rubbed the back of my neck, sighing.
"Okay, but what exactly am I supposed to do? Live out the rest of my life in this barren wasteland? Hope I randomly evolve into a mad scientist and build a homemade portal? One that might, maybe, hopefully send me back home?"
I threw up my hands.
"That’s if I’m even in the same universe, by the way. And let’s not forget the two suns and, oh, wait for it, six moons somehow floating up there without tearing the planet apart. Real solid plan so far, huh?"
The figure let out another quiet chuckle.
"I can’t give you all the answers, you know. That part’s on you. You get to decide whether to move forward… or give up. All I can tell you right now is this… you can see them again."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
My heart stopped for a second.
See them… again?
"I’ve chosen you, Keegan. Do with my gift what you will."
Gift?
I blinked, trying to piece it together.
"Wait… what gift?"
The figure didn’t answer.
It just drifted closer and placed a hand on my shoulder.
Warm. Steady. Real.
I didn’t know why, but it made me want to believe every word.
"The road ahead will be difficult, Keegan. Many things will happen to you. But I trust you will have the strength to overcome them."
The figure’s hand tightened gently on my shoulder.
"After all… the one without a system can do whatever he wants. Right? You are limitless."
Those words echoed in my head.
I… actually believed them.
Was it the green elixir messing with my brain? Was I completely high on cosmic sludge?
Probably, but screw it.
I was limitless.
Heh…
"It’s time for you to wake up, Keegan. We’ll see each other again. Oh… and say hi to Waldo for me. I haven’t seen him in eons."
What.
Wait.
They knew Waldo?
I opened my mouth to ask… but the world around me shook violently, like reality itself had hit the eject button.
And just like that, my eyes snapped open.
Green crystals glowed on the cavern ceiling above me.
Chama-Fish hovered nearby, those giant chameleon eyes practically bulging with worry.
I sat up slowly… and that’s when I noticed it.
Threads.
Everywhere.
Thin, shimmering lines of energy, stretching through the air like cosmic spiderwebs.
Wrapping around the floor.
Crawling up the walls.
Covering Chama-Fish.
Even Waldo was glowing.
"I think I’m pretty high, Chama-Fish," I groaned, clutching my head. "I’m seeing… energy noodles. Like… everywhere. And… ah, fuck, my head…"
I squeezed my eyes shut, but it didn’t help.
The threads were still there.
Glowing. Tangling. Moving.
Chama-Fish leaned in, pulsing his aura softly.
And then, I understood.
I wasn’t hallucinating.
I was seeing the energy flow… of nature itself.
I was deep in sensory overload. Threads of energy everywhere. My head felt like it was about to implode. And the solution?
Chama-Fish, in all his infinite wisdom, enlightened me. And of course, it was stupidly simple.
Cultivate. Train. Repeat.
That was it. No magic fix, no secret technique. Just more grinding.
So, to spare you the agonizing details, here's the short version:
Chama-Fish helped me sit my ass down and train.
Helped me breathe. Helped me focus. Helped me not lose my mind while every rock, gust of wind and speck of dust screamed their energy signatures into my skull.
Turns out, the black elixir had cranked up my senses, and the green elixir had wired me directly into nature's cosmic Wi-Fi network. And the two of them actually empowered each other.
I had to get used to it or I'd go insane.
Honestly, give me a robe, a cane, and a nice windy cliff, and I’d be halfway to becoming the local energy sage. All I was missing was white hair and a long, dramatic beard.
A few days later, I couldn't see those energy noodles anymore.
Well, actually, they just became part of my senses. They were still there, I'd just learned to blend them into the environment.
The great genius Keegan Carter did it again, guys. I teach classes on Thursdays.
Aside from the sensory enhancement and all that stuff about becoming one with the universe, I didn't feel anything else.
One thing that bothered me was what that mysterious figure had told me.
A gift.
What gift? I had no idea. I didn't feel anything different. Maybe it was something metaphorical, abstract. Like those 'motivational quotes' on cheap posters. You know, the ones with mountains and eagles and the word 'Perseverance' in Comic Sans.
I really hoped not. I wanted a gift, damn it.
Anyway, Chama-Fish told me that we'd already spent a lot of time in the cave, and it was time to move on.
We resumed our journey through the alien wasteland, and to my surprise... it was exactly the same as always.
Dry land, sun, rocks, and more rocks. And you know what else? Rocks!
I think I can understand how the robot sent alone to Mars by NASA must have felt. Poor thing. How bored must it have been?
Every now and then, Chama-Fish would stop to hunt.
Tiny creatures, perfectly camouflaged on the ground.
Honestly, it was impressive. Even with my upgraded cosmic noodle-vision, I couldn’t spot them. Seemed like everything on this planet was a ninja.
After catching one, Chama-Fish would cook it right there with his aura and hand me a piece like it was gourmet street food.
Old Keegan? Old Keegan would have puked just from looking at the damn thing.
Imagine this:
Thousands of tiny gelatinous filaments, squirming like they were trying to reassemble themselves into something worse.
The body looked like a cosmic anus, I’m not even kidding.
Around the edges? Dozens of spider legs, coated in greasy black hair.
And just to make it even more nightmare-fuel, the thing oozed some weird scarlet slime every time you poked it.
But the smell…
It smelled like roasted chicken.
And today’s Keegan? Today’s Keegan didn’t give a damn.
I took it like a desperate, malnourished maniac and shoved it right into my mouth.
The journey dragged on. And on. And just when I thought it couldn’t possibly stretch any further…
It did.
But then, on the horizon…
Structures.
Tall. Wide.
Made of stone and mud, yet somehow beautifully complex.
Carved edges. Flowing patterns. Alien, yet… familiar.
We kept walking until the village finally came into full view.
Mini Chama-Fishes darted through the clean stone streets, throwing mud at each other like it was the galaxy’s most important sport.
Older ones stood nearby, watching over them, speaking softly in that weird, bubbly language I still couldn’t make sense of.
It all felt so… normal.
Well, you know, depending on your definition of normal.
Chama-Fish flared his aura slightly, a gesture I’d come to understand.
Welcome.
I closed my eyes.
Took a long, deep breath.
Finally…
We had arrived.