Keynes landed on a cobbled street, his spiritual sense remained extended to its limits. The sudden disappearance of humanoid monsters unnerved him. A rift without monsters felt unnatural, ghastly even. Or maybe there was something else that induced such a sensation? Something that was a part of the rift itself?

  He almost pulled Alice in to check the spiritual realm for him but then he remembered what his trait was. He could do this himself, albeit not to the same degree as she did. However, he noticed something when he became aware of his trait; it no longer influenced him.

  It has changed after my ascension to Level 5. Now, when I think about it, the contrast between Level 4 and 5 in regard to the Trait of Shamanism is far more prominent.

  Something in him was countering the trait, most likely it was [Pure Body], though it was a surprising turn of events because the trait had felt like a core part of him and its connection deeper than spells.

  Somehow it was important, but he wasn’t yet sure what to make of it. He’d have to discuss that with Alice once they unite.

  Anyway, he discarded his thoughts and focused on the task at hand. He needed to decide on a good spot to enter the spiritual realm. Staying on the ground would be risky as his awareness in the physical realm, without Alice, would be severely limited. On the other hand, [Flight] might be impossible to maintain during it.

  I don’t have to enter fully. I only have to peek inside. It should be doable to sustain the spell why he did that, right? It would also be a good training of his control over [Flight].

  A few moments later, Keynes returned to the sky and took a sitting position with his legs crossed. Somehow, it felt the right and he didn’t argue with his instincts. Then he let the Trait of Shamanism take over him. His perspective changed, just a notch, his thoughts seemed to focus on different matters, some he previously found unimportant, while disregarding what he’d felt to be vital. The shift in the perspective was disorienting, almost triggering [Pure Body] to act, but Keynes mentally stepped in and stopped it from happening.

  He let himself fully immerse in the trait. He had never given a real thought as to what was shamanism. Of course there were definitions, some based on fictions, others on historical accounts of ascenders with Talents tied to shamanism in one form or another. But generally, shamanism as a concept was never held in much esteem. And it wasn’t surprising, before outbreaks ascenders hadn’t had means to interact with the spiritual realm and spirituality other than their spiritual auras.

  With the Trait of Shamanism in a full swing, Keynes was able to recalibrate his thoughts, he withdrew his spiritual aura and focused, making an use of his technique of focus. Slowly, his thoughts and spiritual aura aligned in a way he would have trouble explaining. It just, these things now came naturally to him, like breathing.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The world shifted. A delicate, quiet shift. Keynes saw reality through different lenses, the spiritual ones.

  The world—or more precisely, the rift—didn’t look much different, though spiritual energy was present all around him. This wasn’t the spiritual realm.

  So this is the first layer of spiritual energy, Keynes realised. He, Kora and Alice had discussed this at length and had made a lot of assumptions as to how spiritual energy functioned, and they came to the conclusion that spiritual energy had layers. And while they seemed tied to Levels and stages, their complexity was far more intricate, and so far elusive.

  Keynes pushed deeper into layers, and as he did so, the world around him changed more profoundly, becoming spiritual in nature rather than physical. Some part of Keynes had an instinctual understanding of the laws of this place, shielding him from consequences of misstepping.

  With each layer, his spiritual aura’s presence diminished as its strength was weaker at lower layers of spiritual energy. His perception was partially to blame as well. He should be able to see through layers, certainly from lower ones to the higher ones. This was how Alice saw the world. Even though she existed at the deeper layers, she could still see what was happening at the higher ones. Though she lost that ability once she was fully in the spiritual realm.

  Keynes pushed forward, losing the physical sensations. He hoped he’d feel if he dropped to the ground. It would be quite awkward to lay in the middle of a street and not know it. At least there would be no one to see him.

  Finally, his mind touched on something solid and his descent halted. He was on the precipice of the spiritual realm. His entrance was different from the one in the Inner Sanctuary but so were the circumstances.

  Here he was alone.

  Alone…

  His mind fell into a whirlwind made out of spiritual power, and was swept like a feather on the wind. His trait kept him from making any rash decisions. All around him was spiritual energy, and he could control spiritual energy. Right. But first, he had to understand what was going on, because this didn’t look like the spiritual realm.

  Where am I? He asked himself. His trait kept him calm, but didn’t provide answers. Was this how the spiritual realm inside a rift looked like? No. That wasn’t the case.

  I’m not in the spiritual realm. This is…

  Keynes spread his spiritual aura but it was rebuffed and shredded. He decided it wasn’t worth the effort and tried to pull himself out to the physical realm but felt… rejected.

  What the fuck is going on? Alice! He pulled at his bond with her but his grip was unable to take a hold. His connection with Thunder Hippogryph was even weaker, almost immaterial.

  No…

  And then in the madness Keynes sensed something familiar. Something welcomed him like a worried parent.

  Chaos.