CHAPTER SIX

Mindscape

I woke up in a dark area; the ground was gray and black, and there was white mist floating above the ground. The sky was pitch black, but the area somehow had ambient lighting that allowed me to barely see where I was going. As I took a few steps, a familiar building materialized into existence in the distance, and I walked towards it.

As soon as I reached it, I realized I was home; the house was exactly like the one I had lived in with mom and Bella back in Phoenix. I walked towards the door and opened it. Hello, I called out into the house, but there was no reply, so I entered. I walked into the living room expecting to see my mom's old furniture, but the room was empty, all except a young boy who couldn't have been more than twelve years old; he had pale skin and was skinny.

I took a closer look and felt my gut tighten as I realized I was looking at my younger self before I was changed. "Hello Dorian," said younger me; his voice sounded deep and majestic, which felt unnatural coming from a child.

"Who are you and what do you want? Where am I? Am I dead?" I asked three questions in rapid succession. Younger me smiled before he began speaking. "No, you are not dead, Dorian; you are currently passed out in Dr. Cullens office; we are in your mindscape, an area in your mind designed to allow us to communicate. As for who I am, I am your guide."

"Guide?" I asked, confused. The guide raised his hand, palm up to chest level, and a translucent display materialized out of nowhere onto his hand; images began to be displayed on it. "When a lifeform bonds with a catalyst, which you know as the goo, they become an Edenian, named after the creator of the catalyst, Edenia, who was a Paragon." I could feel the headache coming on as I tried to understand what the guide was saying.

"Wait, what the hell is a paragon, and what does this have to do with me? Start from the very beginning." The guide patiently smiled and swiped on the screen with his free hand, showing a humanoid figure similar in appearance to a human but much taller with blue-hued skin and pointed ears. "Eons ago, the Paragons, an advanced and powerful race of psychic warriors and conquerors, similar to humans, had reached the apex of their powers; their civilization had become so advanced that lesser civilizations believed them to be gods; the paragons enjoyed a period of prosperity that lasted ten thousand years, but that prosperity did not last long."

"The paragons, not having anyone left in their galaxy that could challenge their might, turned inward to sate their battle lust; their civilization devolved into warring tribes, fighting for territory and power. Of all the paragons, four were considered to be the greatest of their people, as their abilities had far surpassed those of an average paragon; these four were Edenia, Atlanta, Leviathan, and Etrius."

The guide paused as he swiped the screen again, and four paragons—two women and two men—were shown; all four were stunningly beautiful. "Atlanta, Etrius, Edenia, and Talon, four talented scientists and warriors, escaped their home world before it was doomed and left their galaxy and traveled to the Milky Way galaxy, where they arrived on earth. Upon their arrival, they built pyramids that housed their seats of power. The humans saw them as gods who had come down from the sky and worshipped them.

Atlanta, Etrius, and Talon began experimenting on your ancestors, splicing their DNA with that of the creatures from their old home world, and new species were born." "Atlanta created the Kraken, sirens, and merpeople; Talon created vampires and werewolves; and Etrius created demons and shapeshifters."

"Talon, who had taken the mantle of Paragon of the Hunt, used his creations to hunt down your ancestors for sport, believing them to be lesser than his creations." The guide swiped his hand, and an image of a vampire man sucking blood from a helpless, screaming woman was now on the screen. "His creations survived either by eating the flesh of humans or by drinking on their blood. Their bites could turn humans into what they were, and that is how they multiplied."

"Atlanta, who had taken the mantle of Paragon of the Seas, used her creations to secure her underwater territory and built a kingdom underwater for her creations. Whilst in the water, no one dared attack her as she was nearly unstoppable." The guide showed me an image of a Paragon woman on top of a kraken leading an army of merpeople to an unseen battle.

"Etrius, who had taken the mantle of paragon of power and dominance, and the most powerful of the four, wanted dominion over the entire planet and craved power, so sent his minions to harass and kill the humans and forcefully bind them to his will; he built his pyramid under an active volcano." The image the guide conjured was of a handsome man sitting on a throne with two humans, a man and woman on each side of the throne, with chains and spiked collars around their necks, with what looked to be a waterfall in the background, but instead of water, it was lava.

"Edenia, who had taken the mantle of paragon of peace and prosperity, sought to understand humanity and instead used her knowledge and powers to help humanity evolve and grow. The humans in her territory experienced a golden age of culture and innovation. A city as built around her seat of power. She chose one of the humans to be her champion, a warrior who had dedicated his life to ensure the safety of the humans. She was so intrigued by him; he was enamored by her, and soon they fell in love."

The guide pulled up another image, and it showed a beautiful city that looked a lot like the images of Babylon. "After thousands of years, the paragons became paranoid of each other's power and influence and began fighting amongst themselves; many humans lost their lives as they were caught between the armies of the warring Paragons." The image that followed was of vampires, demons, and other creations fighting in an all-out war for their creators.

"Edenia, being a peaceful paragon, had no intention of joining the war but had to interfere to save the humans in her territories. She created the catalysts, a bio-synthetic lifeform that would bond to a host and change their DNA, granting them abilities akin to those of a paragon, just weaker." The guide brought up another image, which showed a catalyst bonding with a human. "Edenia had created the catalysts to give the humans champions that would fight to protect them. There was no way she was going to watch the humans she had begun to love as her own people be slaughtered over pointless squabbles.

The Edenians, led by Edenia's champion, who had become the mightiest hero of humanity, became the protectors of the humans, and they fought back against the other paragon's creations." The guide showed me another image of Talon and Atlanta fighting on an island. Surrounded by their creations, who were also engaged in battle. "The other paragons met on the battlefield and fought each other. Atlanta fell at the hands of Talon, and Talon claimed her territory, but Atlanta's creations refused to bow to the Paragon of the Hunt and were all slaughtered by Talon and his army."

The guide showed more images of Talon beheading Atlanta on land, Talon's army exterminating Atlanta's creations, and Atlanta's pyramid exploding before sinking into the ocean. "Etrius and his demons attacked Talon, and the bloodshed was so bad all of Talon's creations abandoned him, fearing extermination. The werewolves joined Etrius, and the vampires chose to remain neutral and also went into hiding. Talon soon fell afterwards, but not before destroying Etrius' underground pyramid."

The following image made me sick as the battlefield was full of gore and body parts laying everywhere; the creations continued fighting as if the corpses did not exist. "Etrius, the paragon of power and dominance, turned his attention towards Edenia."

The following image showed Etrius leading what remained of his army through the ruins of Edenia's city towards her pyramid. The guide then showed a pyramid-like structure made of an unknown blue metal and pure gold; it looked ancient and advanced at the same time. Etrius was leading an army of werewolves and demons towards Edenia's pyramid. Next to him was a huge werewolf, whom the guide identified as Lykos, the leader of the werewolves."

Etrius attacked Edenia in her pyramid, her place of power. Underestimating the paragon, thinking that her peaceful nature made her weak, Edenia led a group of powerful edenians that had chosen to fight alongside her into battle within her throne room."

The guide then showed a picture of a tall, gorgeous blue woman in advanced battle armor standing with a group of Edenians; the Edenian in front held her hand, and they looked at each other with longing in their eyes. The Edenian was huge with thick muscles, had a painted face with blue war paint, and had a braided beard, he wore heavy, blue and gold battle armor with a large gold pendant with intricate drawings and designs on his chest, he also caried a huge blue tower shield in one hand and a glowing sword with spread gold wings on the hilt. Edenia's Champion.

The guide showed another image of Edenia and her champion fighting Etrius, his minions and his champion, Lykos, a werewolf. "Edenia's Champion fought and killed most of the minions of Etrius, save Lykos, the coward, who fled from battle, fearing the edenian's might. Edenia and her champion fought and defeated Etrius by stealing his life energy and sealing it away before banishing him from the city. Edenia used the only remaining catalyst she had, which was in her champion, to store Etrius's power.

After extracting it and storing Etrius's life force, she sent it to orbit the planet in search of its next host. Edenia perished from the wounds she had suffered at the hands of Etrius soon after." The guide had been scrolling through images showing the events he was describing. "The champion, no longer with a catalyst, gave the pieces of the pendant to five of his most trusted followers for safekeeping before he sealed himself in the pyramid to be with his love forever." Finished the guide. The guide gave me a moment to process before asking if I had questions.

Oh, I definitely had questions, "Etrius, what happened to him? What happened to the champion's pendant? Where is the pyramid? And what happened to the catalyst that belonged to Edenia's champion?" The guide swiped his hand, and an enlarged image of the pendant, divided into five parts, emerged: "The pendant can be used to gain access to the pyramid. The key could be divided into five parts, and chances are those pieces are now scattered throughout the world. The key must be kept out of the hands of Etrius if he is to ever return."

"The catalyst that was launched into space was the same one you bonded to. After eons orbiting earth, the catalyst chose you and crashed near you." The guide was added. "Why did the catalyst choose me? I cannot even hold my own against a demon, "I muttered, memories of the recent ass whooping I had received at the hands of Hansel still fresh in my mind.

"You should take pride in the fight you put up. Edenians are strong but tend to display the feats of strength you have displayed after a century of growth and training; you have stood your ground against an elder demon and survived; the catalyst saw great potential in you." "Your catalyst absorbed most of Etrius's life force. That is why you are stronger than what is expected of you. But this also means Etrius himself has marked you as an obstacle to be eliminated, because for him to return to full power, he must find a means to absorb it from you; plus, his pyramid was destroyed during his fight with Etrius, so he will most likely be going after the keys in order to gain access to Edenia's pyramid and her seat of power."

"What is a seat of power, and can I tap into the energy stored in the catalyst and make myself stronger?" I asked the guide. "The catalyst has been slowly releasing more power into your body; if you train yourself by constantly pushing yourself to your limits, then your body will release the energy in larger quantities. The seat of power serves as a direct connection to a paragon's store of psychic energy; think of it as a battery. The throne grants you access to the stored energy, which is immense." "Why can't Etrius build himself a new pyramid?" I asked the guide. "To build another pyramid would require technology this planet does not possess." "So, we have to find the keys first, "I asked.

"The pendant was not just a key; it was a means for one to boost their attributes, meant to be divided amongst Edenia's most trusted. Edenia's champion was strong, but with all pieces of the pendant on, I'm sure he could have held his own against Atlanta or Talon." Replied the guide. "So, whoever has a fragment of the pendant is going to be much stronger."

I spoke, already knowing the answer. "Yes, and the more fragments you collect, the stronger you will become." "Okay, so find the keys, find the pyramid, keep it away from Etrius, and destroy it if all fails." I said to myself before facing the guide and asking. "Angela, what is she, and how did she find me?" The guide paused for a second before answering, "Edenians procreated with humans, and some of their descendants inherited some of the abilities of their Edenian ancestors, but never all the abilities or, at the level of power, a pure Edenian," the guide replied. "Some have been known to develop new sets of powers; your ancestors mistook these powers as magic; most of these descendants are known throughout history; Merlin is a great example." "So, she's a witch?" I asked the guide. "Yes." He replied.

"As to how she found you, she must have felt the psychic energy spikes and followed you there." I thought on this and nodded my head. I was still confused as to how Angela arrived at my location so quickly; I was out of town; there's no way she could have driven or ran and made it in the time she did; that fight didn't even last two minutes.

"Could the lifeforms created by the paragons gain more strength?" I asked the guide, and he replied, "Almost all the engineered lifeforms gained more strength as they grew older; the Edenians, however, grew stronger the more they trained and could sacrifice some of their energy to increase their ally's strength." "Hmm," I said, deep in contemplation, I could make the Cullens and other allies stronger, and they could help me in my quest. When I was ready to leave, the guide instructed me on how to exit the mindscape, and I did as instructed.

After a few seconds, I opened my eyes and bolted up into a seating position, coming face to face with the Cullens, who were staring at me, fear evident in their eyes. I looked around and spotted Angela, still unconscious, on one of the office couches. A throbbing pain drew my attention to my stump, which had healed shut and a new arm was now growing in its place. I looked at the Cullens and spoke, "We have a huge problem."

Hello people,

Chapter Six is done, Apologies for the late updates, I had some personal things to take care of.

Please feel free to drop reviews or give suggestions as I feel they will help improve the quality of the story.

cheers,

maximuskahn1994