"So that's how it is, huh," Shad Darc muttered, his eyes fixed on the strange night sky. His thoughts were tangled, unknown even to himself.
"Argh… well, if that's how it is, then I'll have to play along with it." He sighed, then looked down at the bear-like creature below. Its glowing red eyes stared back at him, filled with a strange hint of excitement.
"Hm. So tell me, what are you excited for?" he asked aloud, his voice carrying through the eerie silence. The beast did not answer, of course, but its gaze remained locked on him, unblinking, almost expectant.
"Well, it doesn't really matter," Shad muttered. "At least now my chance of surviving has risen to about ten percent."
He couldn't explain it, but the strange new feeling within him seemed to boost his confidence. It was subtle yet undeniable, as though the sensation itself whispered promises of survival.
Shad exhaled slowly and turned inward, speaking to one of the mental personalities he had long carried within himself. He considered his condition a kind of disorder identity and personality fragmentation but to him, these inner voices were real.
"Oh, you will indeed survive if you want to," answered one identity. This one appeared in his mental space as a lonely king, seated upon a plain dark wooden throne floating in endless darkness. He wore no crown, no jewels, no ornate robes only a simple dark blue garment, regal yet unadorned. Despite his simplicity, he carried himself with the quiet authority of a king.
"Yes. If only you truly want to survive, then surely you would," said another identity. This one was an observer, dressed in plain dark-purple martial wear that almost looked black. He sat cross-legged in an empty white void, calm and meditative, his presence serene.
"Well, by my calculations, you should have about a fifty percent survival rate thanks to the new feeling," said the last identity. He stood between the black and white void, wearing plain grey trousers. His upper body was covered in scars like tattoos, his short hair grey instead of black. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his posture contemplative, as though weighing possibilities.
All three looked like Shad, save for the grey-haired one. Each was 5'9, slim yet athletic, their light brown skin marked by scars of training and hardship. They were not illusions, not truly real either, but to Shad they felt like fragments of his true self.
"Is that so?" Shad asked the contemplator.
"Of course. Or do you doubt?"
"No, not really. I just want to be sure."
"Well then, how are you supposed to make sense of this new feeling? It feels alive, doesn't it?"
Silence followed. After all, he was speaking to himself.
"You should sit down and meditate on the new feeling, deeper than before," advised the lonely king. "That way, you'll come out with a proper answer."
The meditating personality smiled faintly. "So you're refusing to accept the possibility that you might not be on Earth anymore. You don't want to accept that this could be something beyond your world. But it doesn't matter. Reflect even more on the new feeling, and you might find an intriguing answer."
The contemplator said nothing, lost in his own thoughts.
"This really sucks," Shad grumbled. "Talking to myself like this."
Still, he decided to follow their advice. He calmed his mind, steadied his breathing, and began to reflect on the new feeling more deeply. Unlike the strange sensation he had first encountered which felt distant this new feeling was closer, more intimate, as though it belonged to him.
But survival was still his priority. The bear-like creature waited below, restless and hungry. He needed a way to escape.
Earlier, he had inferred that the new feeling was a kind of spiritual energy made manifest in the material world. It cleared his mind, strengthened his resolve, and sharpened his senses. Yet he remained skeptical. Is this truly another world? Or is it some elaborate scheme by the organization?
Well, I'll have to survive to know which it is.
As he reflected, he felt himself drawing closer to the new feeling, like approaching a breakthrough. The closer he came, the more doubts gnawed at him. Was he still on Earth? Or had he crossed into something unknown?
Instinctively, he began to interact with the feeling. It was as though the sensation itself guided him, teaching him how to channel it. He directed it toward his mind and heart, embedding it within himself so he could access it at will without needing deep meditation.
By making his mind recognize it and his heart accept it, he harmonized it with his body. His entire being embraced the feeling, as though it had always been part of him something lost and now found.
This was possible because of two things. First, his natural adaptability. Shad had always been able to adjust quickly to stress, environments, and people. His rate of adaptation was far beyond normal humans mentally, physically, and emotionally. Second, his rigorous training as a shadow operative. Years of brutal exercises, mental conditioning, and survival drills had prepared him for the unnatural.
With these conditions, he pushed into the second layer of the new feeling. And upon reaching it, he gave it a name: the Feeling of Flow.
He called it that because it was no longer just a sensation. It was a flow of essence, a current of energy surrounding him. Earlier, he had only inferred its existence. Now, he felt it directly.
"The Feeling of Flow," he whispered.
Within this flow, he distinguished two aspects: the flow of energy and the flow of spirituality.
I see. The flow of spirituality is connected to the strange feeling I first experienced. The flow of energy is tied to the new sensation I later felt.
He frowned. I can't fully understand the flow of spirituality yet. It seems linked to one's inner self, perhaps even the soul. But the flow of energy… that I can study. That I can use.
Slowly, Shad opened his eyes. They gleamed sharper than before, his gaze steadier. He looked down at the bear-like creature once more.
This time, the beast seemed restless, eager, its anticipation palpable. Shad smirked, his voice calm and collected, audible only to himself.
"Oh… so you've become even hungrier. Just wait a little longer."