Devious Wiles of the Hidden Hoot

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

Act 2, Chapter 6 "Devious Wiles of the
Hidden Hoot"

“That’s messed up.”

Within the endless expanse of Michael’s broken mindscape, three figures stood atop a stone platform with crystals imbued with Michael’s memories. One of them was Aslan, the great archmagi of the (now fallen) empire of the Middle East and the grandmaster of the household servants he employed in his life. On the day Loki emerged to wipe out Ru’in out, he and his household lent their strength in sealing the demon away for good, which, consequently, trapped them as well, suspended in a state of endless sleep until they were woken up a year after the fall of the Arch Vorbrundt Order. “Cthulhu’s and Loki’s powers shouldn’t have been used together.” He was describing the event that transpired during Michael’s confrontation with Wild Rose, the dark guildmaster of the Berserk Amazon, who immediately fell and killed from their combined power. “With this awesome amount of power and his unstable emotional state, he’s bound to become a liability for all of us!”

“Like I said, I can’t use my time magic,” Another one of the three figures said as he fixed his glasses in place. The auburn haired figure with emerald eyes, Alexander, stared at the white lion-man, “and neither can you.” He continued, mentioning the fact that none of them can use their magic to hasten the pace in restoring Michael’s memory. “I- I can use magic! It’s just that I won’t exhaust my power on something as trivial as this.” Aslan said, denying the fact that he can’t use magic. This was all because of the seal’s interference as it was constantly feeding off from their ethernanos to keep the seal in place. Without it, Loki and Cthulhu will be released, and Michael will die. “If only a certain someone didn’t mess up the seal!”

“I couldn’t have predicted the outcome, mind you, nor have I ever anticipated such things to occur. I will admit, things have gone awry the moment Loki breached the seal and influenced a weak minded individual to do their bidding.” The masked figure said, clad in an expensive looking plague doctor’s attire. His name was Sepulchre, a wizard from Fiore who had come to prevent a catastrophe that will happen in another land if he doesn’t interfere. “We’ve only been awake for a few weeks and you’re already complaining. I expected highly from you, especially since you’re royalty.” Aslan was quiet at the comment and turned away, failing to come up with a retort.

“I... WE don’t blame you, Sepulchre. You did everything you could to protect Ru’in.” Alexander said. “And it’s nice to see your children grow to become fine gentlemen, even if I only caught glimpses of his memory within these crystals. Especially the one with purple eyes. What was his name?” Aslan was keen on knowing who one of Alexander’s kids was. He saw some potential within him, and the purple eyed twin Aslan was talking about was none other than the megalomaniac twin. “Francis. Or should I say, Francois, as he took the liberty of changing his name.” He responded as he turned to resume in his duties to repair Michael’s memories. “Wait, why do you ask?”

“I’m old. Do you expect me to remember everything?” Aslan responded as he continued in his work, trying not to be suspicious.

While Alexander and Aslan were busy in their usual banter, Sepulchre stood at the edge of the platform with a thoughtful glare at the gates. He didn’t reveal the truth that he was responsible for the breach, that he was awake this whole time while the rest was in a state of sleep. It was all planned, however, just to take down Loki in the future. The fall of the order Michael was in was, in truth, not anticipated and was collateral damage. He knew they couldn't hold him off for long, and it was only a matter of time before the seal broke. Beyond that, he was unsure, for one of Alexander’s sons had become involved and became the host for the seal. This was unintended as he was expecting someone else to become a host. His involvement has only complicated things.

Not for Michael himself. No, but for his loved ones. His family, his friends, and his comrades.

Requiem is the only saving grace Michael has; a chance for him to live a normal life. From what Sepulchre has read, Requiem is attained differently by each individual. In the past, he recalled someone achieving their Requiem through facing their fear. Aslan also achieved Requiem at some point in the past, and he received the power when he became the ruler of an empire. With his pride as an archmage, his Requiem bolstered his magical prowess. This requiem was also passed down to him by the previous ruler of his empire, who was his father. Determining one’s requirements to achieving Requiem status is difficult, but he has at last found an answer.

It involved Michael’s death.

This was a first, but Michael’s requirements to achieve Requiem was listed in a book he read - that a man terribly broken both emotionally and spiritually who had died a horrible death can be reborn with the flames of rebirth. This fit Michael’s description as one who had lost his memories after his experience with the fall of the Arch Vorbrundt Order. It was harrowing for Sepulchre to relive his memories within these crystals. With this in mind, he had planned several plans in the event that everything goes awry.

In the past, Alexander once asked Sepulchre how Michael would achieve Requiem, “So, what about Requiem that will help him overcome the odds?” He said worryingly, and Sepulchre can tell that he is worried for his own son. He didn’t want to tell him that his son should die only  to be reborn. None can say that this path is any guarantee for Michael to achieve Requiem. For all he knows, there’s a chance that it will fail. He’d rather stick to fixing his memories to help Michael than leaving it to chance. “Simple. We just… keep repairing the mindscape.”

However, following Michael’s fight against Wild Rose, his memory fragments broke off, putting their efforts to restore his mindscape in vain. Nevertheless, they kept restoring his fragments of memories, as futile as it is.


- ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ -

Michael awoke with another headache that’s significantly worse than before. It took him awhile to get his bearings and, aside from the predicament he is in that’s easily mended by a common drug, he also saw that everything else was a little duller than before, but not that much. He could tell how dull yesterday was to how dull it was today. How he perceived colors was not alarming to him as he is not an artsy person like his step sibling, Cinna. Still, this could prove an inconvenience to him is this condition isn’t remedied soon enough.

He can rest easy knowing that he’s taking a break from working as a freelance ‘wizard’. He’d need more than a week of rest to recuperate as he stood up and felt everything aching. His experience fighting against Wild Rose was fresh from his mind as he was close to death, but he doesn’t exactly remember how he beat the dark guildmaster. He was unconscious then when he was hit hard by the large woman, and this pain hurt a lot more than he endured in the past, way back when the Arch Vorbrundt order was fallen by the heretics.

Usually he’d be awake to hear Giselle’s knocking on the hotel door of his room. Today was different. She wasn’t looking for him for any job. It’s for the best as Giselle might have been apprised of his current situation. He was hurt badly from the attack last night. Still, “It’s best to look for her.” he thought to himself as he got out of his room.

From the looks of it, the informant was right when the dark guilds retreated when their guild masters were slain. It might have been owed to the annihilation of one of the guilds, the Arctic Thorn, or the guilds collectively decided assaulting Hargeon was not worth losing their life over. That, or the guilds did assault Hargeon but was quickly disposed of by the Rune Knight or another party. As it should be, he thought to himself, and regardless of whether the guilds retreated or not, Hargeon was at peace.

He walked towards Giselle’s hotel room right next to his and knocked on her door. He had not thought what he wanted from her when a voice could be heard inside. “Come in!” the familiar voice said. He entered her room to find Giselle sitting on top of the bed while packing her equipment. “Hey.” He greeted sheepishly. “Hey. How are you feeling? You weren’t exactly looking good last night.” She said, worried in his current condition. She knew that something went terribly wrong with the mission when she snuck into his room to check on him, only to find terribly cleaned blood from his face. “Terrible. Everything hurts.” He said without even attempting to shrug off the pain. It does hurt alot, not unlike any pain he's experienced. “I can’t believe I survived that fight.”

“Me neither. You weren’t exactly trained for close combat against powerful mages. And I didn’t anticipate her to be this strong, either.”

“She saw through the invisibility.”

“Again, not my fault. And neither was it yours. She's just... so powerful.” She, however, did not know how Michael came to win their fight, but she assumed it to be his strong willpower. She finished packing her equipment and stood up, relieved that she’ll be tending to her shop when she gets back to the Neutral Grounds. “Oh, right. We’re going home today.” Michael said, scratching his head and visibly tired even after getting a decent amount of rest. He didn't feel like driving after all the physical trauma he endured. “Yes. And I’m driving. And don’t you dare help me carry these luggages. Your mind needs rest too so no telekinesis.”

“...fine. I’ll go get changed then.” he sighed and left for his room to get changed. It was a good thing most of his clothes have a neutral color with red trims and/or decals because he’d be a laughingstock if he wore a very mismatched outfit. Part of him thought of this but he was unsure why. Perhaps because of a forgotten memory? He doesn’t care at the moment. All he wanted was to get changed. He decided to sport a black hooded jacket with a red trim on top of a black tank top. A black belt with a silver buckle secured his camo paints, and he also wore a pair of black leather military boots to match.

Giselle, on the other hand, decided to go with a white blouse, blue jeans, and a pair of pink heels, pulling it off quite nicely given her penchant for picking the right outfit. These were the clothes Michael bought for her when they were in the Lavanitir Port City.

The two checked out with a bellhop helping them with their luggage. Giselle made Michael rest on the passenger seat of the car as she and the bellhop loaded her baggages into their car. Once all was done, Giselle started the engine and drove off from Hargeon on the way to the Neutral Grounds.

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

Act 2, Chapter 6 "Devious Wiles of the
Hidden Hoot"

As tempted as Alexander was to spy on his son’s personal life, a second wasted increases the likelihood of Michael losing his mental battle against the devil, and has thus spared no rest just to see his son emerge victorious when the time comes. As Michael is right now, he saw nothing but a broken man who survived a massacre. He felt the grief his son experienced, the anguish, and the anger when he peeked at one of his memories within the mindscape. Shame, he failed to protect his son, but he had not known what would have happened while he was sealed somewhere else alongside Loki. Best not to meddle with his memories. After all, he might see things he’s not meant to see, and it was in his best interest to leave him be in his personal life.

After all this time while he was awake, not a single second passed by when he hadn’t thought of his wife who birthed his four sons, and she would have been proud of the men they grew up to be. He was happy that she found someone to care for her at this age, but was sad to see that she passed away when he peeked at one of the memories. Among the four of the twin siblings, the son with azure blue eyes, Olaf, was affected the most. Grief never stopped him from performing his duties when he found out of his wife’s death. There is time to mourn, he thought to himself as he continued to repair the memory fragments.

“Do you miss her?” The white lion asked the time mage. He was both curious and concerned at the emotional well being of his accomplice, believing that his emotions would only impede on their progress. His worries were gone when Alexander told him he’s fine. “I do. If only I had known things would turn out like this. Still, I’m grateful that she had someone else for company.” He said so without stopping in his work to mend the memory crystals. As grateful as he is, deep down, he was regretful and sad of the passing of his wife whom he never had the chance to say goodbye to when he sent them to the far future. Not only that, but he also failed to give her instructions. It all happened too fast when Ru’in was besieged by the demon.

While Alexander was left alone to his work, Aslan accompanied Sepulchre, the man clad in black and plague doctor’s mask and a renowned mage in Fiore. One wouldn’t be able to see past the lenses of his mask, and what secrets held beneath it. A man of mystery, yet trusted by his peers regardless of the secrets that he kept. “It still feels weird to be inside his son-” Sepulchre turned to the lion when he said those words, amused at Aslan’s wording before he could finish his sentence. “Wait, I’m not finished-” “Oh, Aslan, my friend. I get that he looks just like that Francois fellow, but isn’t it indecent to say it out loud when his father’s here?” Sepulchre bantered, adding more to his amusement of poking fun at Aslan’s interest in Francois. Embarrassed by Sepulchre having a twist of his words, he turned to resume his own work and silenced himself before Sepulchre could have the opportunity of twisting his words once more.

Jokes aside, Aslan was particularly curious about what Sepulchre said about Requiem, specifically how Michael should achieve Requiem status like him. Aslan’s methods of achieving Requiem was inheritance, but beyond that, he isn’t too sure. For an archmage, he isn’t versed in the concepts of the Requiem status, or perhaps it is just a state of apotheosis, where one harnesses their full potential as a magician. Michael is in no way a wizard capable of using magic, so he was curious of his method of achieving Requiem status. “About Michael,” he said, “What makes you think he will achieve Requiem status? He’s not even a wizard.”

“It’s not that it is required to be a wizard, actually.” Sepulchre responded, “It’s only required that you have the power to do so. Michael inherited his power, his psionics and telekinesis, from a long line of espers. At least, that’s what I knew of his mother’s lineage. She herself isn’t an esper so genetics might have been the issue; hereditary.” He spoke as if he knew of the twins’ mother personally. In fact, he only knew of this information because he was their mother’s confidant in the past during the time when everything was fine, and the war between Aslan’s kingdom and Halcyon’s clans ended.

“I see.” He said, his curiosity satiated with Sepulchre’s answer. If Michael inherited his mother’s side of being an esper, then the rest must have inherited their father’s capacity for magic, which is true enough for Francois and Ozwald, with the latter not using any type of magic because it didn’t ‘leave an impression to him’. It could be that Ozwald’s disinterest in magic was caused by his curiosity on the technical and mechanical, having been influenced by a book about the Brass Seraphs, an order founded by his father.

There’s no saying what Olaf is capable of, as the boy with sapphire blue eyes isn’t exhibiting any type of power, which must mean that he is totally powerless, Aslan thought to himself. That or a complete disinterest in magic. He can’t exactly know for sure, since Olaf might have exhibited magical proficiency that he didn’t know about. One of these memory crystals, sure, but this query isn’t important at the moment.


- ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ -

Meanwhile, Giselle and Michael have been driving towards the Neutral Grounds for a couple of hours now, with Giselle asking him to stop for a while to take a candid photo of herself in the middle of a nice looking location. A brief detour to a flowery place, a stop in front of a tree, no place seemed to be unworthy of her candid pictures. This frequent detour of theirs isn’t annoying Michael much, who was itching to get to the Neutral Grounds. “You know we can just visit this place whenever, right?” He said while she was taking a selfie with a cute looking deer, “We’re not exactly halfway through our trip.”

“I know, I know, but look at this cute deer! I, like, so want to take pictures with animals. They just look cute!” Giselle was in a giggly mood the moment a deer walked up to her while she was busy taking a picture, and she had saved a dozen or so photos of said deer before it decided to go back into the wilderness. “Ok, let’s go.” The both of them entered the car and drove off when she finished her thing.

Seconds become minutes. They were halfway through the trip back home when Giselle saw dense fog creeping up on them. Suddenly, the area was foggy. Although it slightly impeded his vision, Michael could at least follow the road through the live 3d feed of his radar.

Until his radar became useless.

The two had come across a kilometer marked after a few seconds into the fog. ‘KM 60’ it said. The live map had become visually unstable until only static could be seen in Michael’s point of view, to which he promptly disabled the live feed of his surroundings. Great, he thought. This fog must have messed up his radar. He could still see trees within a close proximity, but beyond at least 20 meters away, he could only see the thick fog. “Something’s wrong.” He isn’t too sure if something was actively trying to get them into an accident or if this was a byproduct of magic gone haywire. His intuition only knows that someone, or something, did this. A fog this dense couldn’t be caused by natural phenomena. “Oh yes, something’s, like, very wrong here. The ethernanos around here aren't very cash money.”

“Should we investigate?” Michael suggested, though he really wanted to go back home and recuperate from his injuries. Whatever the enemy is, he suspected that he would be out of commission if he did encounter any signs of enemy forces from deep within the foggy woods. Giselle pondered for a bit, taking into account Michael’s condition and her own combat knowledge, and concluded to press on forward. “Nah, just drive.” And drive he did, slowing down a little to avoid any accidents that may befall on them. Any driver would have to turn on their headlights to avoid clashing against another vehicle within the fog, which is exactly what he did.

And oddly enough, there were no cars driving down the road, and it’s still early in the afternoon. That isn’t the only strange thing that happened while on their way home. Michael just noticed something fishy just as he passed by another kilometer mark. ‘KM 60’ it said. He decided to brake, sending the car to an abrupt halt as he passed by the same kilometer mark. He had to get out of the car and inspect it. “Hey, what’s wrong?” She asked as he left for the mark. “Kilometer 60. We passed by this kilometer mark already.”

Strange. Very strange.

“What do you mean we passed by this mark already?” She exclaimed in a panicky tone. As she said that, it dawned on her. Not only does this fog bode ill fortune, but she also felt the lack of ethernanos in this area. “Hey… Mike?” “Hm?” “Can you… use your armors to figure out what’s happening? Any armor should do.” Giselle pondered, and it is most likely that the lack of ethernanos is affecting the armors. Afterall, she designed them to take in ethernanos. She wanted to see if it does affect his armor, and if he could, it’d be great for the both of them. At least they have the equipment to fight back.

[ ERROR 307 - Ethernanos not detected. ]
The error pinged as the ui popped out of his vision. Michael tried again.

[ ERROR 307 - Ethernanos not detected. ]
“Great.” He said, “Soldier’s Gambit isn’t working.” He went back into the driver’s seat, pondering on his next move. Giselle was visibly worried of their current circumstances, but it was too early for them to give up. “Should we just continue to drive?” She suggested. He set the gear shift to ‘drive’ and stepped on the gas pedal. He sighed, disgruntled that there’s no way for the both of them to fight back against enemies if there was one. “Yes. What else can we do?”

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

Act 2, Chapter 6 "Devious Wiles of the
Hidden Hoot"

“This is ridiculous.” Giselle exclaimed just as they passed the kilometer mark for the fifteenth time, “We’re not going anywhere with this. How do we leave? *gasp* What if we're dead and we didn’t notice?!” She was panicking at the thought of being trapped in a pocket dimension where magic is null and void. Michael didn’t expect her to be this scared because he only knew her as an intelligent yet sassy woman with a penchant for fashion. At least, from what he could recall from the time he woke up with no memory to the present day. “Calm down, Giselle. We haven’t exactly exhausted our options just yet."

An idea clicked in Michael’s head. What if they went back to where they came from? What if they took a detour somewhere else? He had an itch to try the former idea as he turned the car around, facing the other way. “This should work. I’d say it’s a logical solution.” He stepped on the gas and drove off fast. He anticipated this method to work and escape whatever, or wherever, they were trapped in. He passed by the fourteenth kilometer mark, the eleventh mark, seventh, fifth, and third. He managed to get past the 1st ‘KM 60’ kilometer mark and expected this phenomena to end.

However, his efforts were for naught as they passed by yet another ‘KM 60’ kilometer mark. He stepped on the brakes and put the car in an immediate halt, disgruntled at the vain attempt of escape. Well, there’s the first idea down the drain, as this method couldn’t get them out of this fog. “Oh. Em. Gee. We’re trapped!” Even more panic creeped in Giselle’s mind and paranoia settling in with the thought of dying in this alternate dimension. He only knew her as a chill woman but this shed a whole new light to her character - she can’t stand being cornered, trapped like animals in cages, and the thought of being imprisoned would cause her to lose her cool.

“Calm down. We’re definitely getting out of here.” He said as he got out of the car. He inspected his surroundings and took note of every detail in his vicinity. The trees do look the same, and the same pile of leaves were piled up over yonder. The thick fog is preventing him from seeing beyond, and figured it best to investigate the cause of this fog. “H-how?!” “If something, or someone, is causing this, we should get to the root of the problem.” Battered as Michael is at the moment, he had no choice but to brave the unknown and fend off anything that kept them trapped inside. For the most part, it is entirely doable had his Soldier’s Gambit worked. Due to its absence, he couldn’t summon any of his armors or weapons, including his Standard Dagger.

Though he hadn’t tried using his telekinesis until now. Focusing on the pile of leaves, he tried to move a single leaf from the pile. Fortunately for him, his psionics isn’t restricted. “My telekinesis works, but I’m not sure how to even weaponize it.” Giselle gave him a stern look, as if she was giving him that ‘Really? Is it that hard?’ look. Understandably, he did forget how powerful his telekinesis was, and it's only Giselle and the rest of the Arch Vorbrundt Order who knew how destructive his telekinesis can be. Nowadays, he isn’t using telekinesis much, as if it wasn’t a part of him. “You know you can rip apart things with it, right?” “You know I don’t use it that much.” He argued, “And it’s basically cheating.”

“Are you serious.” Giselle said, “We’re literally in a world filled with wizards who can use magic, and you think your telekinesis is cheating?”

“Is it not?”

“No, it isn’t. I, like, understand you lost your memories and all, but your telekinesis could just save us.” She said as she got out of the car, looking determined to get out of this pocket dimension. It’s not just his telekinesis, but Giselle also knew of Michael’s other powers. From what he interpreted from her sentence, she thought his telekinesis could get them out of here, which to him didn’t make much sense. “I’m sorry, how can I move us out of this dimension through moving us with my mind, exactly?” From the tone of his voice, it felt more like he was irate than curious. He did misinterpret what Giselle said about his telekinesis.

“I meant, like, you can send enemies crashing against the ground. Well, if there was any.” She surveyed her surroundings and only found themselves alone on the foggy highway. Since he reawakened to this psionic powers, she thought it was best if she could ‘train’ him in the ways of an esper, just like the telekinetics of Pergrande. “And not just that, you can, like, pretty much lob objects against your opponents if you try hard enough.”

“Huh. I didn’t know I could weaponize telekinesis like that.”

“And that’s not all. You can do tons of things, but the only thing that can probably help us right now is if you can create portals.”

Michael seemed puzzled by her statement. Firstly, he isn’t a wizard, so he couldn’t just create portals through magic. He lacked the capacity to use magic due to the absence of ethernanos, or magic power, in his body. But this lack of magic was made up for with his psionic abilities, such as Telekinesis. Secondly, even if he really could use magic, the absence of ethernanos would make it impossible to use magic in this dimension. “I don’t think I can. You know I can’t use magic. What makes you think I can create portals?”

“Because you have the ability to connect two places and create a portal through sheer willpower and mind?” She said, recounting the number of times Michael has created portals in his stay as an Arch Vorbrundt soldier. It was very convenient for him, and it was a rare psionic power among the others in his battalion. Connecting two places with the power of mind is an exceptional feat one could have. The only practical use is convenient access to other areas just by thinking of the location, however, the only restriction is that he must have been in that area before. His ability is so powerful that it transcends beyond space, and can create portals between two locations regardless of the dimension he is in. “It’s fortunate that you have this ability, and I’d love to tell you more about what you can do. But, like, we have to get out of here first. I feel like something’s watching us.”

As she said that, Michael was alert at the suspicion of an unknown party observing their every move. He tried to look around his surroundings, but he couldn’t see the enemy. Only fog and trees. Whoever this third party is must be the one responsible for this pocket dimension, he thought. “So, how do I exactly do this?” “... I don’t know.” She replied, having no knowledge of how Michael was able to achieve this feat before. How he was able to connect two places through portals remains a mystery to her, but she does have her theories. “You, like, came up with it before. I’m confident you can do it again.”

“Okay… how about some tips? If you saw me create portals before, surely I explained how I did it before, right?” He asked, hoping for answers that would help him succeed in creating portals like he did before. Even tips would help him in this conundrum of his. Fortunately for him, she did listen to his explanation on how he did it, but never the whole thing. “I wasn’t listening. Like, it was boring stuff with the x’s and y’s and some quantum shit like that. Not exactly the sciency type, you know? But you did have a deep understanding of science. I only heard you say ‘wormholes’ once and that was it.”

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

Act 2, Chapter 6 "Devious Wiles of the
Hidden Hoot"

“Science, huh?” He muttered to himself as he looked down at his hands, trying to remember how he was able to accomplish this feat in the past, as futile as it is. There was a lot that he didn’t know himself, including his relationship with his family, most especially Ozwald who was very keen on helping him get rid of this demon inside him. Grateful as he is of his help, he can’t help but feel  like he’d be a liability for him and his family soon, and it was best that he got away from them out of fear of killing them, without control of his own actions. Learning that he had more psionic abilities was the first step for him to reclaim the man he was before the trauma. “You can do it Michael!” Giselle cheered for him, “You can do it!”

He nodded at her and turned in the opposite direction, facing the fog and away from their car. He didn’t exactly know what he was doing, but maybe if he only thought of the places in his mind, including this pocket dimension, he could conjure a portal out of here. He extended his arms as if he was a wizard casting his spell, without the complex hand gestures or chanting, and tried to think of these two places. He thought hard about them for a while before he let go of what he was doing, the result bearing no fruit to his first attempt. Technically not his first attempt, but an attempt nevertheless.

“This isn’t working. Are you sure you’re not confusing me for another man?” He asked Giselle. He was skeptical, of course, since he doubted he could create portals in the first place, and that he might have been mistaken for someone else within the order. He’s doubtful if such psionic power even existed. He only knew telekinesis, nothing more. “Were you doing your science thingy?” She replied with another question, asking if he did remember what he needed to create portals. He only thought of the two places, not HOW to actually connect these two places. “That, I haven’t tried. I have no idea what science thing you were mentioning.”

“All I know is - wormholes. That's the gist, I believe.” She reiterated what she only knew of how Michael was able to do it before, and was hoping he would get it this time around.

“Wormholes... “ He muttered to himself, in deep thought on what he could do with ‘wormholes’. He knew what wormholes are before, as he always paid close attention to his science classes back while he was learning. He can’t even remember what he learned in preschool after he lost all of his memories, and thus, he would need a refresher on what wormholes were. Fortunately for him, his cyberspace is run by an alternative power source known only to the magic engineers. “Hexystem on. Requesting access to the database.” He said in his mind, mentally ordering the Hexystem to turn on for him to access his Hextatistical Archives.

[ Greetings, private Michael. What are your inquiries? ]
The letters would pop out of his vision as if he was playing a video game. The UI of his HeXystem was accompanied by a female robotic voice. It had a soothing and calm voice on par with notable librarians in the country. These, of course, could only be seen or heard by Michael, and Giselle has no way of knowing. “Define - wormhole. Tag - science.”

[ Wormhole - a tunnel between black holes that connects two distant regions of space-time. ]
Black holes. He knows for sure what they are and what they do, though he thought it impossible to do. And dealing with black holes is basically suicide. However, if he only thought of connecting these two regions, or borrowing the principles of wormholes, he should be able to make it work.

Once more, he extended his hand as if casting a spell. Deep in thought, he pictured the place he is in now and the place they were before they got sucked into the fog, which led them to a pocket dimension. Borrowing the principle of creating a tunnel between these two locations and knowing that they are in another dimension, he tried to create another portal. He closed his eyes in deep focus, trying hard and thought of the places and principle for almost a minute until a black dot appeared, expanding until it was at least 2 feet in diameter. As it expanded, one would be able to see the outside of the fog, and it was still early in the afternoon.

“Yes! That’s it, Michael keep it up!” Giselle cheered and smiled at the success of Michael’s endeavor. He opened his eyes to see himself create a portal that was almost 3 feet in diameter, unable to believe he was able to do that. The portal wasn’t big enough for them to ride across, but if he tried enough, he’d be able to open portals as big as 10 feet wide. It was around 7 feet wide when all of a sudden, a large figure swept up and clawned Michael from behind. The attack was swift, and blood was spilt as the figure attacked. Michael yelled out in pain from the sudden attack from behind. Fortunately for Giselle, she leapt out from danger just as she saw an ominous shadow looming over quickly, but she wasn’t fast enough to warn him.

“Oh. Em. Gee. What was that?!” She exclaimed while Michael fell to his knees, wincing in pain from the attack of the mysterious creature. From deep within the fog, a pair of red ominous orbs appeared from the hostile creature, a silhouette barely forming with all the dense fog. “I don’t know, but we’ve got company.” He said as the mysterious creature rushed towards them once more, this time missing as Michael had already anticipated the enemy’s next move. As the silhouette passed, he was able to take a glimpse of the enemy. Silently gliding, brown of feathers, and a short yellow beak - details depicting an owl. But this one is no ordinary owl, Michael had felt something from it once it glided down to attack them once more.

Why the large owl was hostile against them was beyond him. What he knows is that he needs to take it down somewhat before they get killed first.

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

Act 2, Chapter 6 "Devious Wiles of the
Hidden Hoot"

The unexpected assault of the mysterious and hostile owl has wounded Michael’s back, adding to the various scars that he accumulated during his time as a soldier. A large scar across his torso, several scratch marks on his arms, these were well earned marks of a warrior that has overcome their odds against overwhelming opposition. Having fought many battles before he lost his memories, these scars were proof of his mettle and he was regarded as one of the prospective soldiers the order considered to rank up. Nowadays, these scars meant nothing to him, having no recollection of his previous battles.

The wound wasn’t deep, but it hurt him badly. Michael winced in pain from the giant owl’s attack, different from what he experienced back when he fought a very powerful dark guildmaster. The attack tore through his shirt, blood seeping through the fabrics as it bled. This was definitely a bad day for him to fight as he still needed time to recuperate from his previous battle. He didn’t expect them to be under attack by a fog and some owl, and with the absence of ethernanos within this dimension, he could barely fight back unless he is able to use telekinesis to his advantage.

“Michael!” Giselle yelled out as she dodged the attack of the large and hostile owl, “Use your telekinesis!”

He didn’t need to remember how he used his telekinesis at this point. He had figured out the practical uses of his telekinesis whe Giselle mentioned the practical uses of his powers, allowing him to interact with his surroundings. Judging by the environment they are in, trees surrounded them, and even more trees beyond the fog. Considering the exceptionally large physique of the opponent, he could perhaps ‘crush’ these trees and timing it right so it falls on the owl. There’s always debris he could use to lob them at their assailant by the time the timber crashes down.

This tactic of his could also potentially be a double edged sword as he thought that damaging all these trees would leave them vulnerable to the attack without any sort of cover. He can dodge its attacks just fine but Giselle’s combat skills left something to be desired for him. Unless she is faster, she is in danger. What lies beyond the fog is a mystery, but if this dimension is endless, theoretically, there will be more cover along the way while he uses his telekinesis to bring the trees down on the owl. He can’t say for sure that this will work, but it is something worth trying at this time.

The enormous owl glided down for another attack, targeting Michael with its sharp talons, his blood painted on the black surface from the prior surprise attack. He could barely see the attack coming, but his combat instincts have proven useful as he dodged out of the way as he saw the avian’s silhouette from the fog. Without his radar to back him up to reveal the enemy’s location, he’d be as good as dead. His instincts have come to save him this time, but the same can’t be said for the next attack.

Anticipating where the owl would be, he extended one of his hands and did a hand gesture and used his telekinesis to crush a part of a tree and sent it crashing down on to the owl. Crash! Half of the tree fell from his psionic power. However, the creature wasn’t wailing or screaming in pain from his retaliation. It’s either he missed, or the enemy is very durable and tough that an attack of this caliber is nothing but a needle. He saw the owl’s silhouette appear once more and moving towards him, trying to hit Michael once more with its talons. This time, he extended both of his arms towards the owl, as if casting a spell, tried to use his telekinetic power to send the owl crashing down so he could kill it up close in hopes of returning back to where they were. Red energy coalesced as it tried to wrap itself around the owl, unfortunately, it was too fast.

It was a near miss, but the owl did manage to scratch his shoulders slightly, adding to the numerous scars he had. It wasn’t as big of a wound and not as painful as the first attack he endured.

“He’s too fast!” He yelled out to her, “I don’t think my telekinesis will catch him!” At this point, there was only one option left for the two of them - run deeper into the fog while Michael uses his telekinesis to send the trees crashing down on it while he attempts to create a portal to Fiore. Giselle understood what he said and couldn’t blame him for his inability to use telekinesis like before. She’s definitely training him to use his psionic powers more frequently, and she believed this stagnation has caused his psionic abilities to weaken. “So, like, we’ll just run away from the owl, right?” She said as she took another glance at the attacker’s silhouette, diving down to attack him once more. “We’re definitely running away.”

Without skipping a beat, the two of them ran deeper into the fog while trying to outrun and dodge the enemy’s talons. This was easier said than done, as Giselle would have to do frequent breaks to catch her breath, all while Michael had to use his telekinesis to move the tries around and send them crashing in an attempt to kill their attacker. While Giselle was taking a break, the avian would frequently try and kill her instead, only to miss as Michael used his telekinesis to move her closer to him, dodging the attack. This was an easy task for him.

They’d also frequently hide behind a larger tree. He was right when this area was massive. The forest extended much further and there were no signs of the asphalt road that could be seen. The silent gliding and flying of their opponent makes it hard for them to know where it is. Only its silhouette could tell them where it was. For now, they seem to have escaped the owl’s wrath as they couldn’t see its silhouette from the fog anymore. “I think we lost them.” Michael said quietly in between panting, careful not to be too loud for their opponent to hear. Giselle was visibly sweating from this ordeal as they were running a lot, even though they were taking frequent breaks every now and then. This was a perfect opportunity for him to create a portal. Since they were farther away from the main road, they’d have to abandon the car, which had Giselle’s clothes and equipment on it. “I’ll try and create a portal for you to come through.”

Just as before, he extended his arms as if casting a spell, thinking of this place and Giselle’s home far from the outskirts of the Neutral Grounds being connected by a tunnel. It was probably a good idea to link these two places together, as a portal within the Neutral Grounds powered by psionic energy would spark an outrage. Like before, it started out small and he was able to successfully open up a portal big enough for people to pass through. He decided that Giselle was the first to pass through. “After you.” He said, trying to hold the portal long enough for her to enter. He expended much of his psionic energy to create this portal and was nearing exhaustion. As expected, Giselle was worried about the equipment and the clothes. These were hard to come by and they were her pride and joy. “Wait, what about my equipment?” “I’ll get them. Don’t worry.” Giselle didn’t really want to leave Michael alone, afraid at the thought of him losing against the monster. But clearly none of them has any choice of this matter, and she knew she’d only be a liability to him.

She stepped through the portal and breathed a sigh of relief as she came back home. She turned to the portal with a worried expression just as the portal was closing.. “Like, don’t go dying, ok?” “... I can’t make promises.” before she could even say anything, the portal closes, leaving Michael behind in the alternate dimension.

[ Ethernanos detected. ]
A ping echoed in his head as the words popped out of his vision, informing him of the presence of ethernanos. “Oh. Ethernanos must have leaked to this plane when I opened a portal.” He thought to himself and breathed a sigh of relief as he can now fight the hostile entity that could have possibly kept him in this dimension. Immediately, he mentally commanded his Soldier’s Gambit program to summon his Snipe Strix armor so he’d be armored against the vile owl’s attacks. Red hexagon shaped sigils appeared out of nowhere that led to his cyberspace, and bits and pieces of his armor emerged from them. His exosuit wore itself on him, acting as his second skin, and the armor pieces of his Snipe Strix armor attached itselves to the ports of his exosuit. The helmet was the last piece of armor that he wore along with his cloak, manifesting itself as strands of Photosilk Threads wove themselves into a cloak.

While he does have his armor set up now to protect him, his psionic radar was still nonfunctional. He isn’t using the programs on the armor because it’d spend the ethernanos it had. Activating all of them would just disarm him completely. He also figured that there’s enough ethernanos for him to fire at least 3 shots from the rifle he summoned from his cyberspace before running out of it, and endure one hit before the armor dismantles itself and returns to cyberspace. That, or he immediately runs out of ethernanos. As owls are seen as symbols of wisdom, it was imperative that he fire his shots wisely and with precision in order to avoid running out of resources. It was upon this principle that Giselle was able to integrate an aim assist tool to help him fight against more difficult enemies.

Even with his armor on, it’s still difficult for him to know where the enemy is. As he finished suiting up, he went out from his cover to find the avian and immediately put an end to this phenomena that has kept him trapped here. He scanned his surroundings but he couldn’t find a hint on the enemy’s whereabouts. “It must be hiding again.” He thought to himself. Worst case scenario would be that the owl’s talons are so sharp that it could pierce through his armor.

Michael was very vigilant, making sure he was under cover while moving silently. Without the silencing program, he can’t make any sudden moves that would alert his enemy of his presence. He had the element of surprise. Had, as out of nowhere, his enemy dived down from high above and nearly clawed him. He managed to dodge out of the way, and before the enemy had the chance of hiding in the fog, Michael aimed his rifle at the giant owl and…

Bang.

A beam of light fired from the rifle’s barrel as it sped towards the enemy, only to miss it completely. It was fast, way faster than the bullet, and he had 2 more shots left before he ran out of ethernanos. The enemy glided silently from beyond the fog, readjusting its position before it could swoop down for another attack. Anticipating another attack, Michael aimed the rifle towards the owl’s silhouette and fired another shot.

Bang.

Another beam of light was fired from the rifle’s barrel, however, it nearly misses his enemy. Another miss and he’ll run out of ethernanos. This shot HAS to hit, because otherwise, he’d be owl meat for dinner. Perhaps that was the reason the monster trapped unsuspecting people in its dominion of fog - to become meals for it. This time, if the enemy did have any victims, they picked the wrong person to trap in its domain. Michael decided to be reckless and aimed just as the owl went down for another swoop on him. As time slowed down, his eyes met the owl’s vermillion colored eyes. It could be his adrenaline pumping.

He stood his ground, and the owl decided not to use its talons, but its beak in an attempt to eat him whole. This was a mistake as he aimed at one of the owl’s giant eyes, firing as it was near enough.

Bang.

The beam of light pierced through its eyes, blood splattering and the creature screeching in pain. He moved out of the way as the owl fell down to avoid being crushed by its inhuman size. It was thrice as large as him, the wings spanning as wide as 5 feet on both wings. The owl had black, brown, and white colored feathers, its vermillion eyes standing out the most. Most peculiar about this monster is its horn - it was a literal demon horn.

After that shot, Michael’s armor disintegrated into codes and disappeared into cyberspace just as he ran out of ethernanos to keep his armor connected to his exosuit, which also unraveled itself. Michael was rightfully angry at the monster that attacked him for giving him a hard time and putting up a fight when he was clearly in no way in any condition to fight. This creature, who had the audacity to trap him and Giselle here in his domain, was wailing from the pain, blood tearing down from the eye he hit.

It was time to end this.

Oddly enough, the monster reeked of psionic energy. He doesn’t care where it came from, and only cared that it would disappear to release him from this foggy prison. All of a sudden, a wild idea struck him. Is it possible for him to siphon the owl’s psionic energies? Well, there’s only one way to know for sure if he can. What he was about to do doesn’t involve telekinesis at all, and was more like a ‘Psionic Energy Manipulation’. This is a first for him, and probably his very first time to absorb the monster and make it a part of him; a part of his flow of psionic energy.

Through some hand movements, Michael started to siphon the monster’s psionic energies. This energy manifested itself as a red colored energy, the same color of his eyes. It was easy enough to start the process of assimilating its psionic energies to him, but the monster put up a resistance against his efforts and put up a fight. He struggled a lot as this was his first time trying to do this. It all came to an end in his favour with the monster’s psionic energy all absorbed, and it disintegrated into red dust, coalescing into a vermillion orb.

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

Act 2, Chapter 6 "Devious Wiles of the
Hidden Hoot"

It was finally over. Michael could sense everything returning to normal in a brief moment. The battle against the owl was hard, but the damages he suffered couldn’t compare to the beating he got against Wild Rose, the dark guildmaster of the now defunct Berserk Amazon guild. At least, he can finally rest up after the beatings he got from the two opponents he faced in just two days. The wizards must be so lucky having magic to defend them, he’d think to himself prior to his meeting with his relatives. All he had was his grit and military expertise - a soldier.

The fog coalesced in his position, impeding on his vision momentarily before dispersing into nothingness. He found himself back from where the entrance to the fog was, only this time there was no fog anymore. The car was also there right beside him with its contents undisturbed by supernatural forces. No funny business was done to the car.

After the entire ordeal, Michael was understandably tired from the endeavors they went through. It’s possible he has mentally drained himself ever since he tried to open a portal to Giselle’s home beyond the outskirts of the Neutral Grounds. He observed his surroundings to see if there was anything amiss before attempting to drive to Giselle’s home to drop off her equipment. The car was conveniently parked by the roadside so that it doesn’t impede other drivers from passing through. “Everything’s still a little grey.” He muttered to himself as he squinted his eyes as if there was something wrong with them. The condition of his eyes isn’t going worse, but it also isn’t getting any better. He still perceived everything as muddied.

He decided to get into his car and recuperate from his recent battle before driving off to the Neutral Grounds, but not before changing his shirt into something clean. His back was bloodied from the monster’s surprise attack, and it looked like the blood wasn't going to go anywhere. He decided to throw it away into cyberspace for disposal later. He’d rather burn it than use it as rags, and beside, he already has his cleaner bots back in his apartment to help clean up his mess.

It’s also probably best if he contacts Giselle now. She must be worried sick.

“Michael?” Giselle said as she picked up her phone. Michael was calling with his own phone, though for convenience, he might have to ask Giselle to integrate some phone apps into his pseudo magic later so he can just contact her with his mind. Then again, a ringing inside your head is most annoying. Imagine if there were multiple calls and if someone called you during your sleep.

He put that idea on hold.

He breathed heavily, still tired from the ordeal. “Yes, it is me. I’m out.”

“Yay! So, like, when are you getting here? Can you still do your portal thingy?” Giselle didn’t know how much of a mental strain it was to create those portals, but he understood that she didn’t know it was mentally taxing. Or perhaps she overestimated his capabilities. “No, I’m not making a portal. I’m resting for a bit before driving there.”

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

Act 2, Chapter 6 "Devious Wiles of the
Hidden Hoot"

Michael couldn’t drive back to Hargeon even if he wanted to. He was already halfway through the trip, and it wouldn’t make sense if he just decided to go back to Hargeon. He was most especially looking forward to resting his head on his own bed with his household bots for company. He looked forward to brewing his coffee every morning before working as a mercenary under the guise of a ‘freelance wizard’ or a ‘guildless wizard’. He looked forward to cooking his own meals, though he’s afraid he’s gotten rusty over the course of a few weeks without the joy of a mundane lifestyle.

The drive home was long but the trip was smooth. There were no other incidents regarding dark wizards, lingering nightmares, or psionic beasts that would interrupt his drive. He did take an hour or two to rest up and delay his arrival just so he was in fit condition to drive.

It was night time when the Neutral Grounds was finally within his vicinity. As planned, he drove off towards Giselle’s house first to drop off her stuff. The subtle sound of the engine revving alerted her to his presence, and was ecstatic to see him. “Michael! You’re here!” She said as she ran up to him. He got out of the car and went to the back and unloaded her stuff with his telekinesis. “I am. Here’s your stuff. Where do you want them?” He said as the luggages floated idly with his telekinetic powers. “You can leave them in the living room. I can take care of the rest. You must be tired, huh?” “Obviously. I’m going to be sleeping long when I get home.” He entered her house with her luggage following suit. After setting them down near her couch, he went out back to his car to go home.

“Like, I know you’ve been through alot, but if you there’s something on your mind or you need someone to talk to, I can help!”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He said as he got in the car and revved the engines. “I’ll be seeing you soon, then?” “In a month or so. You need all the rest you can get.”

“Ok. Bye for now.” He said before he drove off to the Neutral Grounds. It’s not that he cared much about what she said, but he is the type of guy who preferred going alone. At least, he thinks he is ever since he woke up with an amnesia. Ever since, he preferred being alone, and being home alone with no one to bother him, he can enjoy a few days of rest.

It would be nice if his vision wasn’t having issues so he could enjoy the scenery of the Neutral Grounds. At this time, the streets were busy, most especially the marketplace. The crowd isn’t making him feel any good as he wanted everyone to stay away from him for the time being. And with the Neutral Ground’s anti magic, it would be suspect of him to use his psionic abilities in public.

Nevermind if the food in his fridge is spoiled now. He has a lot of time to shop for groceries tomorrow… or this week. His body overall was feeling sore from all the beating he took from his enemies. If he was a wizard, he’d be a tougher force to be reckoned with. He was comparatively less durable than a low ranking mage, having only relied on his training to reduce the impact of physical trauma against him. If there was a way he could use his psionic abilities to make him even more durable, he would train it to perfection and make it a part of his routine.

He finally arrived home. He parked his car in an available parking space in the parking lot provided by the landlord of the apartments. He went to his apartment and flicked the light switch and found everything to be exactly as he left them to be. There were no mails, so his rent wasn’t due. It won’t be until next week until he has to pay for his rent anyway. For now, he has the room for himself. “Computer. Start the bath.” He said, a beeping noise echoing from the bathroom near his bedroom. He wanted to bathe in warm water after all the fights he’s been through, and after all the cold showers he took. He deserves this.

It was a good thing his wounds weren’t deep from his fight against the monster. He felt clean after soaking in warm water, nearly falling asleep in the process. He checked the fridge and noted some lack of groceries, which planned to do when he’s rested enough. He decided to order for his dinner, and with all the jewels he received from hunting down the sea monsters, he decided to splurge a bit. He remembered to dispose of the bloody shirt and threw it in his portable incinerator. After having a hearty meal, it was time for him to sleep up. He went to bed early in the evening, way earlier than usual. He was so tired that he fell fast asleep under the comfort of his own home.

He missed this feeling, being surrounded with reliable appliances and artificial intelligence to help you on your chores. He missed the mundane quests, from finding lost pets to pest control, or even being a bodyguard or something. All will soon return to normal.

Unless it won’t.