74 Mice in a cage 1 (1/2)

\”You could largely say that our Mother was an existence akin to a miracle. The fact that she was born in the first place…was a miraculous feat. I say this because her existence went against the interests of many truly powerful people.\” Hypnos's voice became heavy.

To Chàng Bo the air on the boat turned much colder and a slight shiver ran down his spine. He felt a chill from the depths of his very being and the hairs on his arms arose. He felt uneasy and unsure, and what made him feel even more uneasy was that he couldn't identify where this uneasiness was stemming from.

Hypnos seemed to be none-the-wiser about the sudden change in Chàng Bo's temperament, or if he did notice he didn't show it. The black cloaked figure didn't stir but his voice still echoed.

\”Our Mother's Father, our Grandfather, was a Gatekeeper named Dawn. Dawn was one of the first Gatekeepers, he was the first made by One. And as a result he was One's favourite, he was privy to secrets that other Gatekeepers would not know, he was special to One. Their relationship was beyond that of the Creator and the creation. Or at least that's what I've heard…\”

Hypnos paused for a while. Chàng Bo felt the sudden silence consuming him.

When Hypnos eventually spoke again his tone had shifted, becoming significantly less sombre and more playful,

\”Ah… That's right… little Bo has been raised in that Star Realm as ignorant as a newborn babe. I doubt you know the first thing about Gatekeepers or even the Realms themselves. The knowledge you have now is superficial or non-existent at best, right?\”

Chàng Bo felt like a fish out of water. His mouth opened and closed again. For some reason words wouldn't come out.

\”Then I shall explain it to you simply. All of this, the Four hundred realms, is just one big experiment. And everyone which lives within it are mice in a cage.\”

Suddenly the boat began to tremor and soon it was travelling quickly down the black river. As it did this the darkness around them twisted. It happened so quickly that Chàng Bo didn't have time to feel surprised.

When space had stopped shifting Hypnos and Chàng Bo were travelling through a scene of war.

The sun was high in a blue sky.

Buildings lay half buried in wastes of sand.

Skeletons lay across this wasteland like dirt and amidst all this the cries of fighting could be heard, blood spilled under the heat. Tears were birthed from grief. Death was in every breath as these people hacked at each other.

All the while Hypnos and Chàng Bo drifted past this scene, the boat effortlessly rolling over the corpses, being ignored by the two opposing armies.

\”When you are young there is always curiosity, hope, ambition etcetera.

War and conflict they seem to be things that only affect more intelligent beings, not to say that the common animal isn't intelligent, but they are less likely to kill for ambition and for reasons beyond survival, but why is this? Do you understand what I mean?\” Hypnos asked as they witnessed a large snout faced soldier holding the body of another soldier. She wept bloody tears as several spears penetrated her body.

\”I...I understand the issues you speak of but I don't understand your meaning?\” Chàng Bo replied slowly his gaze fixed on the snout faced soldier who's beady red eyes faded into a smoky black as death descended upon her.

\”My meaning is that since existence began we have been questioning. Why this and why that. Why do we act this way, why do we love, why do we live this way, why do we feel this way? This idea that there has to be some greater meaning in life some greater answer that we don't know about. There has to be some reason that no matter the species, the race, the circumstances or the place that we as living creatures are basically all the same. That we feel, that we experience, that we learn, and that we adapt. There has to be a reason, right? And to find that reason the 400 realms were created.\”

Chàng Bo's eyes widened, his thoughts formed quickly, and he understood the situation far faster than his heart could accept it. His blue star filled eyes shook and twitched.

As if in tempo with his growing shock the boat quickly moved across the sandy wastes. Space shifted and soon an unfamiliar scene met Chàng Bo's eyes.

The boat sat in a dark space and in front of them were 400 large spheres all chained up together like a pearl necklace. Each sphere was a different size and slightly different colours than the other. They appeared like bubbles and the surface looked fragile and moist, like a mixture of liquid and gas.

\”These are the 400 realms. Within each of these bubbles sit a wide universe with a variety of different species, histories, cultures and lifestyles. Within each of these bubbles are different environments, different people, and different opportunities.\” Hypnos suddenly laughed, \”You can even see your home from here Chàng Bo, look it's the one with the slightly orange tinge.\”

Hypnos's skeletal hand emerged from his cloak and his white bone index finger pointed at a spherical orange bubble.

Chàng Bo was in a slight daze as he looked at his realm, it looked so small from where he was, it looked like he could almost pick it up with his hand.

Usually when someone got a pass to another realm it created an instant doorway to that realm, travelling practitioners never saw the 400 realms like this. Any normal practitioner would have been overwhelmed by such a view yet this sight was somewhat underwhelming for Chàng Bo.

When he was young he made it his goal to become the most powerful practitioner in the 400 realms and in his heart this ambition still burned. Yet for some reason seeing the realms like this made him feel somehow...disappointed. A thought stirred in his heart. 'Isn't this too small'.

He had always desired for power and to become a figure worthy of such power. In his stubbornness and arrogance Chàng Bo was determined to conquer the 400 realms but now a bitter taste of dissatisfaction clung to his tongue.

He desired for more.

Hypnos noticed this burning desire in Chàng Bo's eyes with slight amusement, but he didn't comment on it. Instead he silently watched as Chàng Bo observed the 400 realms before asking again,

\”Do you understand my meaning now?\”

Chàng Bo looked towards Hypnos and there was no hesitation in his gaze as he nodded and said, \”Yes. The 400 Realms are an experiment created by the real realm, the real people. They created the 400 realms to observe life, to observe societies and civilisations and find out why we live the way we do.\”

Hypnos nodded, \”You're on the right track. Beyond the 400 realms, through a doorway far behind us is the real Realm. It is several times bigger than the 400 realms combined, the variety of species and races and people which live there are also many times more immense, and the power they wield there is also much greater.

The leaders, the scientists, the philosophers wanted answers to a variety of different questions. So they developed a secret project named the 400 realms. The leader of this project was One.