ULTRAMagic Shadowland - Chapter 27
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Weaver could tell from the visit to Stolon’s mansion that Stolas did not get out much. The way he talked and acted indicated this. While Weaver was happy that Stolas was content with his hobbies, he stressed that the demon needed to get out more. The rest of the day was spent at home, with Gabriella and Weaver relaxing in her room. She wanted to take some time to get Weaver up to speed on how Inferno worked. There was still a lot he was not familiar with, despite how civil and organized things were. Unfortunately Weaver was starting to look a little stir crazy around late afternoon, so Gabriella decided to wrap things up.
“...and there’s a lot more I could tell you, but we’ll be here all night.”
“How do you guys even put up with all that drama surrounding your Earth? Heh, I thought my Earth was bad… and don’t even get me started on Milosh. Hard to believe this is the universe he comes from.”
Gabriella shifted a few papers on her desk. “It’s quite the headache, from what my mom has told me. Many souls get caught in the cycle of reincarnation so many times that they forget their original purpose and devolve into Earth Spirits. There’s a debate in Heaven in regards to if souls should be granted easier access to their spiritual memories, but I have an issue with that notion…”
“What’s that?”
“From what I’ve noticed, the ones asking for this either represent or are the minority of individuals who have it easy you could say. Not in their lives, but in their minds. Furthermore, a good chunk of these souls don’t have a proper past yet, so there’s nothing to remember.”
Weaver had a bewildered look on his face. “Jeez, don’t gut the whole system because John Doe and Suzy Jane can’t get their act together…”
“Exactly! That’s what I’ve been wanting to say for so long…”
“Then why don’t you?”
Gabriella paused. “I don’t know. I don’t want to come off as uncaring. And some of my friends might not agree with my stance.”
“Well if they truly are your friends, they’ll understand where you’re coming from and agree to disagree. They may even change their minds in the future… Hey, they aren’t…”
“No. It’s not Stolas, Zasiel, or Cynassa. They’re actually on my side.” She sighed. “This vocal minority of demons and angels doesn’t understand how the Cosmos works. We’re not supposed to have all the answers. It’s our responsibility to seek them out. If we had all the answers, we’d be perfect and have no reason to exist. Of course, why exist if existence is a conflict?! Why exist if we have the potential to gain that knowledge and be done with it? Why exist if we have to start over again?! And then comes the nihilistic nonsense and ARGH!”
Weaver was startled by this outburst, but put his hand on her shoulder. “Gabriella, it’s alright. Ignore those twats. And if they start causing trouble, put your foot down and say no.”
“Just like that?”
“Yup. You’ll always run into that one guy who loves to go on and on about how the customer’s always right. That’s a load of hogwash. I didn’t spend years of my life studying alchemy and smithing just to have some pompous ignoramus come in and tell me how to do MY job. Don’t let a fool dictate what you know and don’t know.”
Gabriella smiled. “Thank you, Weaver. Humans can be such a mess, but I suppose that’s the nature of the beast, with free will and all… Say Weaver, quick tangent: Do you believe in free will?”
“I don’t see why not. Why?”
“Have you ever run into people who say there’s no free will?”
Weaver groaned. “Yup, annoyingly. If I had a gold piece for every time I did… I’d have enough to buy a pig, but you get the point.”
“Those people drive me up a wall. Something you learn when you’re on my level is that free will is complicated. What looks like a predetermined set of actions is actually randomness. Reality is random and we have next to no control over it. There is something we can do, however; etch stuff into the stone everyone goes on about. They may seem like they’re set in said stone, but that’s because we are the ones who wrote it in the first place. We choose who we want to be at the end of the day. Then this nonsense stone goes on and on until our minds break down because we’re not supposed to understand it this far, a nuance completely lost on everyone!” She ended her rant panting.
“So… don’t look a gift horse in the mouth?”
“YES! Thank you for indulging me. I wanted to fit in my thoughts on followers and leaders, but I had no idea where to put it. It’s an epiphany I had about people in society. Those who cannot lead must follow, and those that refuse to follow must lead. To be fair, I’m still thinking about it.”
Weaver looked a little confused. “Okay, I can see where you’re coming from, but you’ll have to save it for later. My head is a little cooked at the moment.”
Gabriella paused again, then blushed in embarrassment. “Oops, sorry about that. I was getting a bit carried away. I’ve been dying to explain all of that stuff to someone like you for some time now. And the other part of it is the nature of The Unlight. It is truly a unique realm that has my brain firing on all cylinders.”
“I suppose this is in context of the stone metaphor?”
She nodded. “The Unlight breaks the rules due to being an atypical, non-linear realm that was never supposed to exist in the first place. It challenges the very fabric and concept of reality.”
“Oh wow…” Weaver looked mentally exhausted. “Can we move onto something less complicated?”
“Shoot, sorry again. Sure.”
“It’s alright, I just need time to process everything you’ve told me.” Weaver took a breath and rubbed his temples. “I’m fine with all of it, I just want to think it over.”
“I imagine this puts Milosh’s actions into a different light?”
“Haha, yeah, kind of. If anything, this tells me he’s even more of a nutcase than I thought.”
Gabriella chuckled, then looked over to the far wall of her room. “Weaver, would you like to watch a movie after dinner tonight?” She asked as she went over and opened a cabinet.
“Sure. They really don’t show up in Shadowland after all. What do you have?”
“Well first up is a movie about a boy who befriends a giant, metal man. It’s a personal favorite of mine. Another movie I have is about a man living in a fabricated city, trying to figure out his past. Lastly, we could watch this trippy time travel movie, centering around an outbreak and a dozen simians.”
Weaver thought about it as he got up and skimmed through the collection. “Hum, that first movie sounds pretty fun… wait, what’s this one with the long name?”
“Oh that’s just a movie about a general deploying weapons of mass destruction and the scramble to stop them. It’s pretty funny and a short watch. Want to see it afterwards if we have the time?”
“Yeah, sure. I can’t get over how long this title is, ha!”
Valentina was in an Italian mood that night, but elected to make something different. Gabriella had brought up the dinner Claudius had recently made. Since Weaver was part Celtic, Xavier suggested Irish and Scottish dishes. Weaver liked this as he was craving a meal his mother used to make him. The food prepared by both Xavier and Valentina was fantastic. Some of it needed a bit of tweaking, but it still invoked warm nostalgia in Weaver regardless. Being brought back to his old life, he happily went for seconds and thirds.
After dessert, Gabriella took Weaver to a small movie theater within the mansion. He was amazed by what he saw, eagerly taking his seat. Once Gabriella had everything ready, the lights were dimmed and she sat next to him. The first movie was a great time that pulled at Weaver’s heart strings near the end. The second movie made him laugh, but it was bittersweet. It was a black comedy after all. Weaver naturally made a note to himself to start looking into films when he got back to The Unlight. He had been missing out, no two ways about it.
As they were getting ready for bed, Weaver had a thought. “Gabriella, does your Earth really have technology like that? The bomb I mean…”
“Regrettably.”
He shuddered. “That terrifies me. My Earth never had stuff like that, but the idea that they could have created it is unsettling…” He took a breath and calmly exhaled. “To create a weapon that powerful is the most barbaric thing I’ve ever seen. How is your Earth even still around?”
She shook her head. “Honestly it’s a miracle if you ask me. Although credit where credit is due, our humans are tenacious. The weak fall, but the ones with grit keep moving forward. You can push and scream at them all you want; eventually they’ll just walk past you and never look back.”
“Well that explains Claudius and Desislav. Gabriella, how do you guys put up with your humans and their antics?”
Gabriella chuckled. “Well firstly, evil is the seed of its own destruction. It cannot create, only corrupt and destroy. They either rock the boat into retaliation or they fall into their own traps. We rarely need to intervene in such matters. If we do, we work from the shadows, pushing and nudging things in the right direction.”
“And how do you do that without being noticed? I mean, you have a very strong presence, even when you’re not doing much.”
“It’s actually quite easy. Us angels and demons are fourth dimensional at least, so we just hide ourselves above the third dimension. Of course, humanity is always seeking new knowledge and technology, so we further rely on disbelief.” She gave an amused chuckle. “Earth has adopted some foolish mentalities over the years, and the ones we rely on most are stuff like atheism. It’s our key to being undetected. People who refuse to see you won’t see you period. Our greatest trick is making you think that we never existed in the first place. Plus the conflict it creates causes those who truly care about enlightenment to improve themselves to greater and greater heights.”
“So you’re playing them like a gosh darn fiddle?”
She laughed. “You could say that. It’s devious, it’s underhanded, but it gets the job done. I wish there was a better option, but it works and that’s what matters.”
Weaver was not sure how to feel about all of that, but got into bed regardless. “Does that mean you would have done all of that with me if I was born in your universe?”
“Um, well, probably. It doesn’t bother you too much, does it?”
“No, it’s just a little surreal. I’ll get used to it in time. I suppose I should stick to The Unlight then? Given what you’ve just told me…”
“Or Inferno… or any place that isn’t Earth. Honestly, you’re better off sticking with people like us for now on, even if you weren’t told this stuff.”
“Well considering how nice and beautiful you are, that isn’t a problem in the slightest.”
Gabriella blushed and giggled. “Oh, you… Alright, off to bed. Goodnight, Weaver.”
“Goodnight, Gabriella. I’m a back sleeper by the way.”
“Noted” she replied with a yawn before dimming the lights, falling fast asleep soon after.
Sleeping with an entity that had the ability to shape his life was something else for Weaver. Gabriella had so much power and he could do nothing about it. It took a while for him to fall asleep as his mind was racing. As Weaver thought about how odd his girlfriend was, something happened. His thoughts faded as his mind went hazy. It was like he was being lulled to sleep faster than he should.
Gabriella had sensed Weaver’s restlessness and cast a sleep spell on him. She figured that turmoil would happen. To make it up to him, she flew him to the dream realm once they were both dreaming. In the wondrous realm where dreams were born, they frolicked through plains of splendor and bliss. The fact that angels and demons could influence Weaver’s life was troubling, but they were also capable of bringing warmth and happiness. He felt as if his past woes were melting away as he snuggled with Gabriella in a field of beautiful, spring flowers.
Next: Chapter 28
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
Weaver could tell from the visit to Stolon’s mansion that Stolas did not get out much. The way he talked and acted indicated this. While Weaver was happy that Stolas was content with his hobbies, he stressed that the demon needed to get out more. The rest of the day was spent at home, with Gabriella and Weaver relaxing in her room. She wanted to take some time to get Weaver up to speed on how Inferno worked. There was still a lot he was not familiar with, despite how civil and organized things were. Unfortunately Weaver was starting to look a little stir crazy around late afternoon, so Gabriella decided to wrap things up.
“...and there’s a lot more I could tell you, but we’ll be here all night.”
“How do you guys even put up with all that drama surrounding your Earth? Heh, I thought my Earth was bad… and don’t even get me started on Milosh. Hard to believe this is the universe he comes from.”
Gabriella shifted a few papers on her desk. “It’s quite the headache, from what my mom has told me. Many souls get caught in the cycle of reincarnation so many times that they forget their original purpose and devolve into Earth Spirits. There’s a debate in Heaven in regards to if souls should be granted easier access to their spiritual memories, but I have an issue with that notion…”
“What’s that?”
“From what I’ve noticed, the ones asking for this either represent or are the minority of individuals who have it easy you could say. Not in their lives, but in their minds. Furthermore, a good chunk of these souls don’t have a proper past yet, so there’s nothing to remember.”
Weaver had a bewildered look on his face. “Jeez, don’t gut the whole system because John Doe and Suzy Jane can’t get their act together…”
“Exactly! That’s what I’ve been wanting to say for so long…”
“Then why don’t you?”
Gabriella paused. “I don’t know. I don’t want to come off as uncaring. And some of my friends might not agree with my stance.”
“Well if they truly are your friends, they’ll understand where you’re coming from and agree to disagree. They may even change their minds in the future… Hey, they aren’t…”
“No. It’s not Stolas, Zasiel, or Cynassa. They’re actually on my side.” She sighed. “This vocal minority of demons and angels doesn’t understand how the Cosmos works. We’re not supposed to have all the answers. It’s our responsibility to seek them out. If we had all the answers, we’d be perfect and have no reason to exist. Of course, why exist if existence is a conflict?! Why exist if we have the potential to gain that knowledge and be done with it? Why exist if we have to start over again?! And then comes the nihilistic nonsense and ARGH!”
Weaver was startled by this outburst, but put his hand on her shoulder. “Gabriella, it’s alright. Ignore those twats. And if they start causing trouble, put your foot down and say no.”
“Just like that?”
“Yup. You’ll always run into that one guy who loves to go on and on about how the customer’s always right. That’s a load of hogwash. I didn’t spend years of my life studying alchemy and smithing just to have some pompous ignoramus come in and tell me how to do MY job. Don’t let a fool dictate what you know and don’t know.”
Gabriella smiled. “Thank you, Weaver. Humans can be such a mess, but I suppose that’s the nature of the beast, with free will and all… Say Weaver, quick tangent: Do you believe in free will?”
“I don’t see why not. Why?”
“Have you ever run into people who say there’s no free will?”
Weaver groaned. “Yup, annoyingly. If I had a gold piece for every time I did… I’d have enough to buy a pig, but you get the point.”
“Those people drive me up a wall. Something you learn when you’re on my level is that free will is complicated. What looks like a predetermined set of actions is actually randomness. Reality is random and we have next to no control over it. There is something we can do, however; etch stuff into the stone everyone goes on about. They may seem like they’re set in said stone, but that’s because we are the ones who wrote it in the first place. We choose who we want to be at the end of the day. Then this nonsense stone goes on and on until our minds break down because we’re not supposed to understand it this far, a nuance completely lost on everyone!” She ended her rant panting.
“So… don’t look a gift horse in the mouth?”
“YES! Thank you for indulging me. I wanted to fit in my thoughts on followers and leaders, but I had no idea where to put it. It’s an epiphany I had about people in society. Those who cannot lead must follow, and those that refuse to follow must lead. To be fair, I’m still thinking about it.”
Weaver looked a little confused. “Okay, I can see where you’re coming from, but you’ll have to save it for later. My head is a little cooked at the moment.”
Gabriella paused again, then blushed in embarrassment. “Oops, sorry about that. I was getting a bit carried away. I’ve been dying to explain all of that stuff to someone like you for some time now. And the other part of it is the nature of The Unlight. It is truly a unique realm that has my brain firing on all cylinders.”
“I suppose this is in context of the stone metaphor?”
She nodded. “The Unlight breaks the rules due to being an atypical, non-linear realm that was never supposed to exist in the first place. It challenges the very fabric and concept of reality.”
“Oh wow…” Weaver looked mentally exhausted. “Can we move onto something less complicated?”
“Shoot, sorry again. Sure.”
“It’s alright, I just need time to process everything you’ve told me.” Weaver took a breath and rubbed his temples. “I’m fine with all of it, I just want to think it over.”
“I imagine this puts Milosh’s actions into a different light?”
“Haha, yeah, kind of. If anything, this tells me he’s even more of a nutcase than I thought.”
Gabriella chuckled, then looked over to the far wall of her room. “Weaver, would you like to watch a movie after dinner tonight?” She asked as she went over and opened a cabinet.
“Sure. They really don’t show up in Shadowland after all. What do you have?”
“Well first up is a movie about a boy who befriends a giant, metal man. It’s a personal favorite of mine. Another movie I have is about a man living in a fabricated city, trying to figure out his past. Lastly, we could watch this trippy time travel movie, centering around an outbreak and a dozen simians.”
Weaver thought about it as he got up and skimmed through the collection. “Hum, that first movie sounds pretty fun… wait, what’s this one with the long name?”
“Oh that’s just a movie about a general deploying weapons of mass destruction and the scramble to stop them. It’s pretty funny and a short watch. Want to see it afterwards if we have the time?”
“Yeah, sure. I can’t get over how long this title is, ha!”
Valentina was in an Italian mood that night, but elected to make something different. Gabriella had brought up the dinner Claudius had recently made. Since Weaver was part Celtic, Xavier suggested Irish and Scottish dishes. Weaver liked this as he was craving a meal his mother used to make him. The food prepared by both Xavier and Valentina was fantastic. Some of it needed a bit of tweaking, but it still invoked warm nostalgia in Weaver regardless. Being brought back to his old life, he happily went for seconds and thirds.
After dessert, Gabriella took Weaver to a small movie theater within the mansion. He was amazed by what he saw, eagerly taking his seat. Once Gabriella had everything ready, the lights were dimmed and she sat next to him. The first movie was a great time that pulled at Weaver’s heart strings near the end. The second movie made him laugh, but it was bittersweet. It was a black comedy after all. Weaver naturally made a note to himself to start looking into films when he got back to The Unlight. He had been missing out, no two ways about it.
As they were getting ready for bed, Weaver had a thought. “Gabriella, does your Earth really have technology like that? The bomb I mean…”
“Regrettably.”
He shuddered. “That terrifies me. My Earth never had stuff like that, but the idea that they could have created it is unsettling…” He took a breath and calmly exhaled. “To create a weapon that powerful is the most barbaric thing I’ve ever seen. How is your Earth even still around?”
She shook her head. “Honestly it’s a miracle if you ask me. Although credit where credit is due, our humans are tenacious. The weak fall, but the ones with grit keep moving forward. You can push and scream at them all you want; eventually they’ll just walk past you and never look back.”
“Well that explains Claudius and Desislav. Gabriella, how do you guys put up with your humans and their antics?”
Gabriella chuckled. “Well firstly, evil is the seed of its own destruction. It cannot create, only corrupt and destroy. They either rock the boat into retaliation or they fall into their own traps. We rarely need to intervene in such matters. If we do, we work from the shadows, pushing and nudging things in the right direction.”
“And how do you do that without being noticed? I mean, you have a very strong presence, even when you’re not doing much.”
“It’s actually quite easy. Us angels and demons are fourth dimensional at least, so we just hide ourselves above the third dimension. Of course, humanity is always seeking new knowledge and technology, so we further rely on disbelief.” She gave an amused chuckle. “Earth has adopted some foolish mentalities over the years, and the ones we rely on most are stuff like atheism. It’s our key to being undetected. People who refuse to see you won’t see you period. Our greatest trick is making you think that we never existed in the first place. Plus the conflict it creates causes those who truly care about enlightenment to improve themselves to greater and greater heights.”
“So you’re playing them like a gosh darn fiddle?”
She laughed. “You could say that. It’s devious, it’s underhanded, but it gets the job done. I wish there was a better option, but it works and that’s what matters.”
Weaver was not sure how to feel about all of that, but got into bed regardless. “Does that mean you would have done all of that with me if I was born in your universe?”
“Um, well, probably. It doesn’t bother you too much, does it?”
“No, it’s just a little surreal. I’ll get used to it in time. I suppose I should stick to The Unlight then? Given what you’ve just told me…”
“Or Inferno… or any place that isn’t Earth. Honestly, you’re better off sticking with people like us for now on, even if you weren’t told this stuff.”
“Well considering how nice and beautiful you are, that isn’t a problem in the slightest.”
Gabriella blushed and giggled. “Oh, you… Alright, off to bed. Goodnight, Weaver.”
“Goodnight, Gabriella. I’m a back sleeper by the way.”
“Noted” she replied with a yawn before dimming the lights, falling fast asleep soon after.
Sleeping with an entity that had the ability to shape his life was something else for Weaver. Gabriella had so much power and he could do nothing about it. It took a while for him to fall asleep as his mind was racing. As Weaver thought about how odd his girlfriend was, something happened. His thoughts faded as his mind went hazy. It was like he was being lulled to sleep faster than he should.
Gabriella had sensed Weaver’s restlessness and cast a sleep spell on him. She figured that turmoil would happen. To make it up to him, she flew him to the dream realm once they were both dreaming. In the wondrous realm where dreams were born, they frolicked through plains of splendor and bliss. The fact that angels and demons could influence Weaver’s life was troubling, but they were also capable of bringing warmth and happiness. He felt as if his past woes were melting away as he snuggled with Gabriella in a field of beautiful, spring flowers.
Next: Chapter 28
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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