Page 60 (1/2)
Chapter 59: Waiting
Dorian raised his hands, looking at the endless white rock that stretched off into the distance
According to Ausra, this world here was under his control She didn’t give hi of what that meant
He looked closely at the stone floor in front of him and mentally willed the rock to pull up
Immediately, a small, two meter tall pillar of stone rose into the air, about as wide as an arth It shared the sa else
‘Ooh’ Dorian e y, and that by willing that energy to e the landscape around hirunted aloud as he waved his hands, causing two rinned, and then looked out off to his left at the e the fullest extent of his will
Immediately, a thousand stone pillars shot into the air, spaced evenly apart fro noise echoed in the air
"Kinda cool&8221; Dorian leapt up atop one of the pillars
Despite this just being his consciousness, he still maintained the saular body He ju his movements
Gravity seemed to operate here like it did on the two planets and World Bridge he traveled on, roughly at a level equivalent to Earth He tried willing it to change, but failed It seeuess I can practice running and dodging while I wait&8221; He shrugged and stepped forward again, juht as well be productive with his time
"Hey William!&8221; Dorian wiped a sheen of sweat froround next to the forest of stone pillars He then looked at his hand askance The sweat he’d wiped had vanished
His consciousness could get tired like his physical body, and he would feel all the same aches and the needs to rest If he believed sould appear, it seemed it would actually appear here It was quite odd
"It’s been 6 hours now You’re the only person here withup at the large, lightly glowing red orb up in the sky
"I see I know exactly how long I’ve been here, down to the minute, even if I don’t keep track&8221; He rubbed his chin,
"I don’t know if you can hear me up there, or if you ever will hear this But thanks for saving ht now ht not mean much, but I’ll try to do the same back&8221;
"Hey William! We’re on Day 2 down here I wish I could ask Ausra how the repair process is going It kinda sucks being left all alone down here It must be hard for you up there&8221; Dorian’s voice was confident, full of cheer He was currently standing on a s up at the red orb in the sky
After learning he could manipulate the landscape, Dorian had spent the entire next day practicing on creating stone creations froround He’d so far willed a miles wide forest of stone pillars to exist, as well as three large mountains, also made out of stone pillars
As he looked over the stone pillars to see hoould look as an artistic statement
And it looked atrocious
Well He never claimed to be much of an artist
He’d test out some other shapes later
"Hup!&8221; He juan racing through the to a second pillar
Unfortunately, he slipped as he tried to latch on, his leg sliding He tumbled and fell off the side of several other stone pillars before he forced hier ones
"O&8221; He could still feel pain here, apparently Orthe pain to appear, because of his expectations? It was confusing
"I think I’ll try so on them I’ll check back in later!&8221;
"Hey Williaure Ausrathe repair process onFor me and for you, after all&8221; Dorian s on the smooth floor of the expanse
Off to his side, hundreds of randoeometric shapes could be seen, various experiments of what he could and could not do The white rock all looked uniforns had lived the place up a little
"We’re kinda sied soul, you with your daed body Well, destroyed, non-existent body Okay, not the best h his hair
"I think I’ to take a nap&8221; Every twelve to sixteen hours, Dorian had discovered his consciousness needed to rest and rejuvenate, just as if he was in a regular body
The temperature here was placid, neither warm nor cold, and while the floor looked uncomfortable, it actually felt fine
"Hey William We just hit oneeach month last exactly 30 days in the 30,000 Worlds is a pretty sine how much of a pain it would be if the months ended randomly, like on the 28th, or 31st?&8221; Dorian’s voice was cal down fro exact shapes by using his will The sheer boredo world was starting to get to hi else here, no matter how he tried
In front of hiht to nine ht Dorian looked at them proudly They looked almost life-like, very realistic to the eye
He stepped up to one of the to another His ile, his practice over the last
"I’m sure Ausra will finish the repair process soon I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, lately, and I can’t wait to get back to the outside world Life down here is pretty hed
"I’ll check back in later&8221;
"Hey Willia okay&8221; Dorian’s voice sounded tired
"It’s been three months now&8221;
In front of Dorian, a small forest spread out Not one of stone pillars, but actual, life-like replicas of trees Several hundred of thenored color
A carved river h this s waves, and currents spreading along it
"This is really hard, Willia I didn’t realize howto talk with&8221; He continued speaking, his eyes distant,
"I’ you fixed up soon I’m sure Ausra is almost done&8221;
"Hey Will&8221; His voice was haggard, as he spoke, looking up at the glowing, never changing red orb,
"I stopped counting the days I think it’s bad for ed forest stretched for miles Realistic down to tiny details, the forest tee life Carved depictions of squirrels and deer dotted the woods, alongside other small wildlife
In front of Dorian was a picture of a Forest Boar, a large, 2 and a half meter tall creature that looked like a bull A pair of fir it an inti appearance
It was one of the creatures Dorian had encountered in the past, when he was trying to escape fro didn’t create subsidized sidehis hands
"I can’t actually forget the tihed,
"It’s been six months now Will&8221;
"Sixaround and leaning against the leg of the large, stone ie of the Forest Boar
"I won’t lie to you Will&8221; He said, breathing in heavily,
"I’, I feel like I’ve started to forget what its like to not be here All I see here is unending white rock, in every direction, fading into that fog I tried walking towards the fog, but I can never seem to reach it I justthrough the forest
Past the edge of the stone woods, a large collection of stone pillars could be seen The ones he’d fore Some shaped like h, Will I’ll tough it out It’s hard, it’s really, really hard, but I’m not a quitter&8221; He put on a s up above,
"I’ll check in later!&8221; He gave the orb a thumbs up
"…&8221; Dorian was silent as he gazed up at Willia
"Hi Will&8221; He spoke for the first tie in his ears, echoing oddly
"Today marks a year since Ausra left to repairthe words as they left his mouth He felt disconnected from them
The small forest he’d created had transformed into a massive one Hundreds of creatures could be seen in it, soe From Lesser Throne Demons and Ifrits to Red Salamanders and Brown Treasure Cla Dorian had absorbed
"I’ to lose faith, Will&8221; His voice was a whisper,
"It’s so hard, Will Being here alone I want to give up, Will&8221;
"It’s so hard&8221;
He was silent for a tilea on ive up&8221;
"…&8221;
"But it’s really hard doing this alone&8221;
He took a deep, ragged breath
"But I’ on a se forest stretched for dozens of miles Thousands of intricately carved stone creatures flocked within the forest, so behind stones or near boulders
Next to this forest was a e, filled with dozens of , sloping sides Powerful beasts could be seen, standing frozen a ferocious
Ain front of one of these creatures A powerful looking creature that looked like a dinosaur, with thick, bulging legs and a iant ten on&8221; Dorian stared at the creature as hesoe of the beast
"You were one of the first dangerous creatures Iin fear as the giant dinosaur passed by He really shouldn’t be s over any of his old memories made him smile now
He was confident that the hi his Ifrit fore predator, towards a ed creature with a collection of leaves shaped like a closed bud on its back
"And this is a Bulbasaur&8221; He jumped over towards the Pokemon
"Use Vine Whip!&8221; He yelled out a co at it expectantly
It didn’t move
He smiled ruefully
They never , unless he willed it
His smile faded as he looked away from the ferocious predator and the small Pokemon, both perched on the side of the mountain, and back up towards the ever-present red orb in the sky
He was silent for a few minutes Those minutes then faded to a dozen, and from a dozen to an hour as he stared up at the red orb
"It’s been five years now, Will&8221; Dorian’s voice was quiet He waited several more minutes before he continued,
"I wonder how much time has passed in the real world&8221;
Dorian turned away from the beast, looked up at the distant mountain peak
He hunched down and then exploded upward, his legs sending hi hat should have been an impossible amount of force
His vast practice over the last several years had honed his will, and his control of his will He’d realized that the only thing that liination and willpower If he wanted to be as strong as a god, then he would becos he couldn’t change The gravity, for one For another, he was unable to add color to this world He also couldn’t go too high into the sky, no matter hohat he built After about two an to hit some type of ht, as he sailed high into the sky, landing atop thehis physical forrown quite a bit He didn’t know if it would ever be useful if he
Dorian sat down on the peak, looking over the huge, widespread forest, and the mountains off behind hi, still orb
"I’m still here, Will I’m still here&8221; Dorian wondered, soone insane Perhaps his thened in his new Evolved for hi sane becah, he felt as if his consciousness was growing stronger with each passing day This careful balance
"I don’t kno, but I ao I was a norer I’ll be here&8221;
"I don’t kno er I can take this&8221;
He paused for a ,
"But I will not give up&8221; He closed his eyes A single tear fell down his face, one that quickly vanished
"I will never give up&8221;
After 8 years, 221 days, 13 hours, and 47 minutes in the distorted ti out in Dorian’s head oncethe host from dormancy’