Chapter 11: So Many Unanswered Questions

I rushed towards the stairs in excitement. I have powers! I exclaimed excitedly in my head. I willed my little legs to race up the stairs and towards the attic. I raced by the latecomers to dinner as they stared at me in confusion. At that moment it didn't hit me why they looked that way as my vision tunnelled towards my goal. I rushed into the attic, slamming the door shut behind and I saw the sphere enclosing the space were the Entity could exist in, marked by the dulled tones of the area and I moved into the area.

The Entity split from me forming into its favoured shape of a black blob. I expected wise words from it and instruction of what I had to do, instead it shouted at me in anger, "BOY! Are you stupid?"

I was taken aback by its angry tone, "What do you mean?"

"Look, why the hell would a child be rushing into the attic at this time?" It retorted.

It hit me like a train, there was nothing at all here except for the bedrooms and the attic. For all its worth, it was all worthless junk up here and me racing here anytime possible would raise unwanted suspicion from everyone. It would mean that Father would take a greater attention to me and might even outright ban me from going up here which was undesirable. This also raised a question, "Would people se..?"

It cut me off, "Only those who you desire. Now begone! Come only when it is safe." And it flowed back into me, urging me to the door.

I returned back to my room and I slumped onto my bed, staring to the bunk above me. If I returned to the dining room below it would only raise unwanted questions so I had to quickly formulate a reason for my quick departure. I sat up quickly and analysed the stuff around me, trying to think of a reasonable excuse, when I spotted the book Father gave so long ago. I picked it up, dusting it off and opened it to a random page. Man, it's been such a long time since I looked in this book, I reminisced. Although my nostalgia turned quickly to confusion when I read the page I opened to.

It was full of more advanced physics than what I remembered. I checked the page, and it was in the middle of the book, I couldn't of missed this. I quickly opened my drawer, grabbing my notebooks that I worked on when going through this book originally. Luckily, I dated all my work, which made it easy to figure what this page corresponded to in my notebooks.

However, as I cross-checked the book with my work, nothing matched. For example, the book had stuff about advanced physics and my notebooks had some intermediate maths scribbled in it. As I checked through the book, Luke came into the room wondering where I was. I beckoned him over to me and prompted him to sit next to me. I remembered Father saying something about Luke using this book before me and I wanted to ask him what he saw.

"Huh, quantum physics, haven't looked over this stuff in ages... Wait, why does this book seem so familiar?" He asked with a confused expression.

I looked at him in puzzlement, "What do you mean...? You used this book didn't you. Father gave it, right?"

Luke stared at the the cover of the book intensely and shrugged, "Father gave me a book once, had all the stuff I needed to know. Never could find it again."

At this point I was seriously confused and I reaffirmed with Luke, "No... THIS is the book."

He shot me a weirded out look, "Nah man, it can't be."

"Why?" I asked

"Nah it can't be..." he trailed off and he started up again, "Anyways, is this why you raced up the stairs? For this book?"

"Yeah..." It was my turn to trail off, Weird I swear Father said he gave this book to Luke. Am I wrong?

"Whatever," he grinned at me, "You do some weird things sometimes. Anyways, I have a bit of homework to do then I'm going to sleep. Good night little man."

I forced a smile of acknowledgement as he left. I stared at the doorframe, seriously wondering how messed up I was. I mean I did die of a drug overdose, I wonder how that screwed with my mind. Frankly, being in the MCU is crazy enough with these weird Entities, with one even being in my head.

I shook off my worries and laid down on my bed, with the book resting on my chest. I hoped that some answers would come but none did. Eventually, I turned my head to the window and stared at the moon outside. I listened intently to sounds around me as the chatter of everyone slowly diminished as people went to their rooms to either sleep or study. My roommates came in, grumbling about something. They tried to talk to me, but I brushed them off. I had more important things to worry about. They soon settled and finally the noises died down, only leaving the sounds of the nights.

I waited for a few minutes, I knew Mother would come around and check the rooms and make sure everyone was accounted for. That event passed eventually and I slipped out of my bed. I looked at it and decided to stuff it in such a way that it would look like someone was sleeping in there. I crept slowly to the door. I've done this before, but tonight it felt even more high risk than usual.

I wanted, no needed to get more information and answers from the Entity. It was of utmost importance to make sure that Mother didn't catch me. It wouldn't just compromise this night but also my future ventures to the attic to learn. I mustn't get caught.

I opened the door slowly, thanking god that the hinges were well-oiled, I opened the door and peeked outside. Making sure the passage was safe, I crept outside. I memorised all the creaky floorboards from my previous times that I crept around the place. Every creak from perhaps the outside or from the house made me stop mid-step. I feared my heartbeat was audible due to the way it was pounding against my ribcage.

The way to the attic seemed longer than the usual walk, possibly due to the amount of times I had to stop to make sure no one was going to ambush me while creeping. Finally arriving at the attic door, I stopped in excitement as well as a bit of anxiety. The Entity might've grown impatient, or maybe I moved in autopilot but whatever it was I finally opened the door and moved inside.

I saw the sphere in front of me, the sphere were the Entity can exist outside of my body. I walked into and a familiar black blob emerged from me. It stayed in its black spherical form and floated...

I looked at in confusion and started excitedly, "So what are we goi..."

"Silence," It said in a demanding voice. It floated for a bit but starting up again, "The multiverse is huge. Far larger than the comics depicted..."

It was my time to interrupt, "How...?"

"Didn't I say before or maybe I didn't... Anyway, I know everything. I know your world depicted the tales of this world in the form of comics. A bit primitive but effective so that people of your world know of this world. I guess you could say your world acts almost like a library. Depicting stories around the multiverse in many different medias."

I questioned it, "What do you mean library? Random stories from peoples head are actually real?"

It responded, "Why do you think some stories are huge successes and others are just thoughts in some people's heads? Simple, the stories that are hugely successful actually have a basis in 'real life'. Because they have 'happened' it is easy for people to attach onto this stories making them financial successes."

I asked another question, "You said our job is to prevent tears between universes?"

"Hmm," It hummed, "That is for another day. The job right now is for you to understand your powers." I brightened up considerably with that news, and in response It groaned out, "Going through this whole day with you constantly referring to learning about your powers in your head was so annoying. It's almost incredible how persistent you are. Remember whatever you think I also know."

I complained, "Hey! That's an invasion of privacy. How come I can't hear your thoughts."

It chuckled simply, "If you were privy to any minor slice of my thoughts, you would be rendered insane with the amount of information you were receiving. Be glad you do not have insight into my mind. However, I do wish I could stop listening to your thoughts. They are often annoying."

I looked around, still amazed at the darkened tint of everything inside this containment sphere for the Entity. However I noticed something missing, "What happened to Lucy?"

I could feel the Entity's eyes staring at me, "So you do not realise. Fair," That left me confused, however It continued, "She... is a bit tired. Especially after finding out that I still exist. She was a great servant for me, for many years. However, she rests for now."

I looked at It a bit suspiciously at the way It spoke, but I moved on. I was more interested in learning about my powers. "So where do we start?" I asked in curiosity.

It merged into a humanoid figure, devoid of any features, with its skin a deep black. It moved towards me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I expected something to occur, maybe a tingly, but all I felt was the cold hand of the Entity. I looked at It expectedly, wondering what was happening. I opened my mouth to ask but it raised its other arm into a shushing motion.

We stood like this for a few moments before it moved a way. It sat down, crossing its legs and 'closed its eyes'... I think.

The amount of silences were driving my insane. I thought it enjoyed rising the tension. It finally spoke breaking the silence and the tension that filled the room, "I feared that this was the case," It started off in a confusing manner, "Your body is still of child, but your mind is of an adult. There is both positive and negatives. I see."

I was getting impatient at this point, "Can you please stop speaking in riddles?"

"Silence child," it chided, "There is much to think of. Much to plan. Shame you are a child there is a lot of physical things that must be taken account of, although... I guess there are some basic exercises you can do to prepare yourself for the future. But for now, your mind must be trained."

He got up and walked in a circle around me. I turned my head around, keeping him in sight, "What are you doing now?"

"A very simple inspection... I will need to also cast a very simple 'spell,'" it explained. A bit excited, forgetting the need to be cautious, I nodded in response. "Excellent, this will feel strange," and then It started to mutter under its breath.

The area around me started to shimmer and the Entity seemed to consume the light around It, making it seem darker. My body started to tingle strangely and it just hit me, That was foolish to agree so quickly.

My vision darkened slightly, and then it brightened up again. I staggered a bit, for some reason I felt more tired, "What did you do?"

It turned towards to me, staring with its blackened appearance, slightly scaring me. It opened its mouth and started, "Nothing much, just a diagnosis. I remember your worry about your previous life possibly having effects on this new body and to be frank I was worried of the same thing, some prior corruptions due to your... untimely death and misguided life."

I turned my eyes downward, embarrassed for how reckless I was previously. Nothing I can do, need to make this life better, give it justice. "Now, what do we do now?"

It replied, "Train the mind and the soul, the body can be later. It is simple for now you meditate."

"Huh," I said dumbly, "Isn't meditation just to clear your mind or something like that?"

"Yes it is but it is more. To peer into your own soul. It is important for the next step of this process," it explained in riddles, "I know this sounds very suspicious, but I can't reveal some information without some risks."

I looked at it quizzically and wondering what I had to do I asked, "Is there anything special I need to do or do I just need to sit down and close my eyes?"

It replied simply, "Yes."

Following this, I sat down, mimicking how It sat down before and closed my eyes. I sat down for a few minutes...

"What the hell am I supposed to do?!" I exclaimed.

"Peace," It started, "Close your mind and let your mind wander for now."

I listened to It's advice and closed my eyes. At first I felt stupid just closing my eyes and just sitting there but I persisted. I wasn't sure what I was meant to accomplish but as I mind wandered around, I couldn't help but think about my old life. Since I arrived in this universe there was no amount of relaxing for me, as I pushed to get more knowledge about the world and the people around me.

My mind reviewed my old memories, exploring my life decisions with a critical eye. It made me even more embarrassed the way I handled my fortunate situation. Caring and rich parents, with the resources to be something great, all to be wasted.

The more I reminisced, I realised what I was doing since I was reborn. I've been avoiding everything from my past. I was afraid to face what I was, using my pursuit for knowledge and making better relationships with people as a way to ignore what I was. This moment of silence, forced me to reflect on myself. What I remembered horrified me and served as a reminder of what not to be.

Although, reflecting made me realise how fortunate I was. Not only was I lucky enough to be able to get a second-chance in life. Despite, not being in such a fortunate situation, devoid of all my material possessions I found myself more satisfied in this situation. I had great friends and relationships and I was doing things that brought me more pleasure than anything before.

However, after this revelation nothing came to me. I felt at peace for once and I remained like this for who knows how long. However, I was shaken by the entity, "Quickly, you need to hide, I hear someone coming up."

I opened my eyes in surprise. My head shot around trying to find a reasonable space for me to hide in. Spotting one I quickly scurried to it and hid myself. Just in time too as the person just arrived.

I stood corrected, people. A boy and a girl from the orphanage. They seemed to be giggling and a bit hurried. I watched them closely as they entered the sphere of the Entity's. I was about to hurry out but the Entity held me back as I was just in It's sphere.

I looked on with worry but they entered with nothing occurring. The Entity chuckled and made a shushing motion and in a lowered tone suggested, "I would recommend you look away. Stuff not fit for a 6 year old is going to occur."

I flushed deeply and turned away promptly. I thought, What is this? I had such a life revelation and now people are going to do the dirty.

The Entity chuckled softly. Now, I couldn't do anything at all except wait. Sometime passed and I must've fallen asleep

A/N: This chapter was the hardest to write. Half a year without writing a proper story and been a while since I wrote anything for this story. I'm still really rusty and must apologise it took so long since I promised I would release a chapter after I graduate. Thing is I started to write this chapter then I realised that it didn't make sense and I shifted that to another chapter. At this point I'm just babbling on.

It's nice to be writing again and hopefully I can write more chapters as well as more consistently. I have so many ideas for this story as well as I'm brewing up a new story for a different fandom. Excited to bring that out as well as really delving into the lore of the new lore I'm adding to the MCU.

Also, I hope more information is released about the Fantastic Four soon. I would really like to add them into this story that falls in line with the MCU (one of my favourite Marvel groups) so hopefully this year. And I think that I'm gonna change a lot about the X-Men because the new movie, The New Mutants, was quite strange and not gonna lie not my personal cup of tea, so maybe probably gonna change a lot about it.

Well, happy new year to all of you and stay safe during these trying times.