55 Completing the Merging Stage (1/2)

NEW YORK, MANHATTAN

\”AHHHHH!!!\”

\”BAM\”

\”POW\”

\”RIPP\”

Samuel could only watch in horror as his friends were being brutally murdered right in front of him, in the middle of the arcade, in broad daylight.

Blood splattered onto his face as his best friend, Tommy, was torn in half.

Samuel couldn't even run or scream, he was so scared that he found himself petrified. Pee dripped down his trousers as he saw the bloody scene in front of him.

All his friends and everyone in the arcade that had interfered were dead. Others had ran out in terror.

But Samuel knew he couldn't escape this murderer. He wouldn't be allowed to easily run out like those other people.

That was because it was Jake Finn. The boy Samuel and his friends had been kicking around in an alleyway only 30 minutes ago.

Slowly Samuel said \”Jake y-y-you've lost your goddamn mind.\”

Jake walked up to him, his body covered in the blood of his victims. He smiled, a cold smile, that sent shivers up Samuel's spine.

\”EEEOOOOEEEEOOOOOEEEEOOO!!!\” The sound of sirens could be heard loudly in the distance coming closer and closer.

Samuel felt a bit relieved and backed further away from Jake.

\”The Police are coming for you! You should stop this now!\” he yelled.

That was the last thing he yelled, as Jake's hand had punched right through his chest. It was like Jake's fist was made of steel and his stomach was made of paper.

It went right through.

Samuel spat out blood.

Jake pulled his fist all the way up his chest, grabbing his heart and ripping it out.

Samuel collapsed in a pool of his own blood. Dead.

Jake stared soullessly at the beating heart in his hands. As he did this his cold and cloudy eyes became clear.

\”Huh, what am I doing here? What's going on? What the fuck?\”

He looked at the dead bodies around him and trembled. What had happened here?

In terror he ran out of the arcade. The moment he exited the building he saw a large amount of police officers surrounding the entrance.

They had guns and riot shields.

\”What is going on!\” he thought. \”The police were probably here to help right?\”

He ran up to the officers in desperation. Unaware that in his hands he was still gripping Samuel's heart.

The officer he was running up to, suddenly had a change in expression. His eyes became cold and a malicious smile wrapped around his face as he shot the boy several times.

Jake didn't understand what was happening. One minute he was being bullied in an alleyway, the next second he'd been in an arcade filled with corpses and now he was being shot.

\”What is going on?\” was the last thing he thought before he dropped to the ground dead.

\”That was fun, and I've grown because of it. Should I make my way to find the Gatekeeper now hehe.\”

_____________________________

CHINA, BEIJING, CHAOYANG, MAO LU'S RESIDENCE

Gates was confused, in all its billions of years of being a companion for the Gatekeeper of Realm 145, it had never been left out of a conversation before. Yet now it had. Did that mean it wasn't trusted anymore?

But that made no sense, for what reason would Mao Lu not trust it. It had been loyal, obedient and had given him all its honest advice.

Unless there was something wrong. Perhaps it needed to ask the other Gates.

\”When I have the chance I'll go to the dimension of Gates and ask the others... Now that I think about it I haven't gone back there in the last 6 billion years. I wonder if it's changed?\” Gates mused.

The Dimension of Gates was a separate space, that existed alongside but hidden, from the rest of the 400 realms. It was where the Gates had been created. And there were many secrets that One had hidden inside that dimension. What secrets these were, Gates didn't know.

When the Gatekeeper Books wished to converse with the other Gatekeeper Books they could go meet there and chat.

\”I'll go there later.\” Gates decided.

…........

Mao Lu was inside his room, his legs crossed as he sat on the wooden floor.

\”It is time for you to complete the merging stage.\” Gates said as it flew around Mao Lu in its keychain form. \”You could have completed it a few days ago but you were exhausted from getting rid of that irregularity, so I allowed you to rest.\”

\”Thank you for the rest. But doesn't that go against the fourth rule. Shouldn't I train everyday?\”

\”You learnt the spells Seal and Expel. And resting your body after learning a new technique is also training. It doesn't go against the rule for just a bit of rest.\” Gates explained, \”There are many times when you've slept for over a week, that rest also counts as training. As long as you are practicing diligently then you are keeping to the fourth rule. Don't worry.\”

Mao Lu nodded.

\”So you have mastered Sensing the Realm, now to complete the Merging stage you must Control the Realm. You must see the Realm as an extension of your body. Now that you can sense it, try to move it.\” Gates instructed.

Mao Lu nodded, listening to Gates obediently.

He closed his eyes and he saw the entire Realm before him.

In his mind's eye it was like the Realm had become a large game board.

He could control everything on this game board.

\”I'm in control.\” He told himself.

The ability to Control the Realm was almost like telekinesis. He began to move small things at first, like rocks.

Then he was moving people.

As a giant wave swept a child under the sea at a beach, he gently pulled the child above the waves and towards the shore.

As a car lost control and was about to crash into a family on a bridge, he swerved that car and it narrowly missed them.

As a bomb exploded in a market, he moved the people out of the way.

This was the first time Mao Lu truly felt powerful. \”So this was controlling the Realm.\”