004

4. The Other Side

"Close your eyes and hold on."

Cliff's voice echoed within Eden’s mind as they drove through the portal. But there was nothing to hold on to, and she couldn’t see anything. Soon, her entire body went numb. It felt like she was flipping around backwards, and then the darkness was cut in two by a new light. The first word that came to her was 'white,' but it was something more than that. She flew forward, somehow, with no sense of direction, time, or space, lost in an indescribable state. She was everything and nothing, creation and destruction, all at once. A million thoughts flooded through her mind, and yet her mind was empty.

"It's a rush, ain't it?" Although Eden couldn't recall physically opening her eyes, there she was, staring at Cliff's grinning face. "Just relax. You'll get used to it."

Eden heaved, eyes wide as saucers, body shivering. Their car was now in a small room made out of some sort of transparent glass, held together by thin metallic bars. Eden looked up to see air, clouds, and a bright sun. Not only could she see through the walls to the next rooms, but the floor below was completely transparent as well. As she slid out and touched her feet to the floor, she realized her leather sandals were inches from pure atmosphere.

Eden screamed.

"Woah, woah, settle down!" Cliff placed scarred arms on her shivering shoulders. "I know it's a shocker, but it’s the same day, same time. Just a different dimension."

She turned around to face him, cheeks wet with tears. "Where the hell are we?!"

"A dimension called Elysiana." Cliff retrieved his shotgun from the car, then began walking toward the exit to the room.

Eden followed warily, eyes glued to the nearly-invisible floor.

"The building’s made out of clear æsotech. Three layers of the stuff, actually." Cliff smiled. "You're not gonna break through it."

She sighed, feeling a little bit more at ease, but far from relaxed. Clouds moved about them as they walked, and the sun was shining. A slotted black vent on the wall allowed a soft breeze to caress her cheek.

Soon they reached a spacious room filled with smaller chambers like the one they’d just come from. Cliff led Eden down to a dark blue force field that guarded the rest of the way.

Cliff approached the gate and glanced up to the silver sphere above it. After a few moments the globe let out a chime, and the force field disappeared.

Eden opened her mouth to speak, but Cliff beat her to the punch. "Brain scan," he said casually, guiding her into the biggest chamber yet.

Shaped like a giant dome, this room offered no view to the outside. Instead, its walls were covered with an array of busy screens. The floor was lined with technicians in blank white masks seated at buttonless square consoles. The masks had no eyeholes, and only small openings for the nose and mouth. Looking comfortable in their reclining chairs, they flicked their fingers to and fro, seemingly busy at work. The serene unification of it all made Eden feel strangely relaxed.

"Cliff!" A voice cut suddenly through the tranquility, and Eden searched for its owner. Soon, she saw a short, bald man wearing a plain white tunic that opened up into a separate cloak at the top.

"Seneschal Fukunaga." Cliff gave the man a quick nod of respect, then turned to his new companion. "Eden, this is the Seneschal, the leader of our Guild: the all-knowing, benevolent Tao Fukunaga."

Tao chuckled and stepped forward. "As you can see, our dear Cliff tends to exaggerate. I wouldn’t really call myself a leader. More like a personal advisor and strategist to the four Knight Captains of the Guild of Dimensional Knights."

"I'm...Eden Gardener." Eden awkwardly mimicked the bow. "Can you tell me what’s going on?"

"Perhaps," Tao answered, with a concerned curl in his lips. "If you’d be so kind as to bring me up to speed."

Cliff stroked his stubble. "Well, I went to Earth to check out that explosion of psynergy...and I found her. She was being chased by a Dark Zodiac."

"A Zodiac?" Tao furrowed his brow. "And what happened to him?"

"Well..." Cliff paused for a moment. "I killed him. I mean, I think it was more of a fluke than anything. I sort of got the jump on him. You know, Earth...kinda hard to track people there."

Tao’s dark eyes widened. "You took out a Zodiac, Cliff? That’s incredible. Wait until the rest of the Knights hear about this! But if they were chasing her..." He turned his eyes back to Eden. "You don't think she's the..."

"Well, that's not exactly why I brought her over, but..." Cliff shook his head. "Who knows."

"What am I?" Eden asked nervously. She had long since lost her patience. "I’m thankful to you for saving my life, Cliff, but I’m tired of being left in the dark. Why do you think that Zodiac guy was chasing me? Why am I going to be safer here?"

"This is the Guild of Dimensional Knights," Tao answered calmly. "Sanctioned by the Church of Holy Truths, we dedicate ourselves to creating unified peace across all dimensions. But right now, all four Knight Captains are out on extended missions. So as to whether this is the safest place, well..."

"Captain Azuka still hasn’t returned yet?" Cliff asked.

"Do not worry." Tao reached up and gently patted Cliff’s arm. "I'm sure your captain is fine, Cliff. I know you weren’t happy about having to stay behind...but if anything, it’s proof of how trusted you are. And plus." Tao gestured to Eden. "If you hadn't been here to heed the call, who knows what might have happened to our new friend."

"Yeah," Cliff nodded. "And as long as I’m here, I promise I’ll keep her safe. "

Despite how confident Cliff sounded, his words didn’t make Eden feel the least bit secure. She could tell he liked her...the warmth in his eyes when he looked at her spoke volumes. But she also believed that he was being truthful with her, and she was happy to take an awkward admirer over a bloodthirsty killer.

Soon, the Seneschal took his leave, and Cliff took Eden to a private room she could use to rest.

"You must be exhausted, so feel free to rest in here. You’ll be safe, I promise," Cliff said carefully. "I can come back and get you in a few hours if you feel like you’ll be hungry."

"Thank you, Cliff," Eden said finally, with a sigh. "Thank you for sticking your neck out for me. Thank you for bringing me here...even though I still don’t really understand what’s going on. I know you’re trying to do the right thing."

Surprised at the positive response, Cliff broke into a goofy grin. "Hey, it’s the least I could do."

"So..." Eden went on. "This is really another world, huh?"

"Yeah. The machine I used to create that portal back on Earth is called a tunneler. We can use them to hop dimensions, as long as there’s some sort of beacon on the other side. Does that make sense?"

Eden shook her head. "Not really."

"Yeah." Cliff smirked. "I guess not. Honestly, I don’t understand it all myself. I mean, how come we all speak the same language? The best way I can explain it is how Captain Azuka explained it to me once. Basically, everyone lives on the same planet. Each dimension is just a different level, like in a big apartment building. Different shades of the same reality. That’s why some stuff is similar, and some stuff is different."

"Okay..." Eden thought for a moment. "But why is it all kept a secret from Earth?"

"Church’s orders." Cliff shrugged. "I don’t really know. All I can say is that it’s really hard to use psynergy there. Feels like there's some huge invisible magnet in the sky sucking it away from me or something, even when I was charging the tunneler. Earth is different from everywhere else...like it’s been quarantined or something."

Suddenly, Eden heard some static, and Cliff put a finger to his ear. She squinted, and managed to spy a small blue clip attached to his lobe.

"Yes?" Cliff answered. "What? They found something in the excavation? Wait, what did they find? A...clock?"

*

They’d been watching him for some time now – a sharp, ashen silhouette of a man, moving through the dark streets with swift, calculated steps. He could have been a businessman coming home from a night on the town, or maybe even one with a dark agenda in the backstreets of downtown Pittsburgh. To the two thugs, however, he only looked like one thing: money.

Their eyes were particularly drawn to his expensive-looking suit and his shiny silver briefcase. That was enough proof that he was a gentleman of cash and capital.

The grey man turned a corner into an alley, and they were on him instantly.

On the other end of the alleyway, a vagrant in rags tottered along. His gin bottle clinked to the ground as his right hand forgot to keep holding it.

"Gotta tell 'em..." he muttered, eyes shifting back and forth as he caroused down the dank alley. "They gotta know...the devil's out tonight!"

The mangy one stared ahead with blurry, spinning eyes. Slowly, something came into view – a true hellscape. Human limbs and organs were strewn across the alleyway, speckled with blood and brains. In the center of it all stood a tall, blond man in a grey suit, looking perfectly calm and composed.

"Oh, it’s you, mister..." The bum grabbed at his heart in anticipation. "You gotta listen to me! They're here! Satan's hordes!"

The man in the grey suit and the long, braided ponytail spotted the drunk and nodded. The light of the moon gleamed across his thin silver spectacles. "Good evening."

"Help!" The old man lunged himself outward, clutching onto the Zexaron employee's arm as spittle dripped out of his mouth and onto the suit. "I saw 'em with my own eyes! The demons! The demons!"

"Demons?" Grayson Lee's ponytail swished as he shoved the man back with ease. "Tell me more."

"Ya gotta believe me!" The vagrant collapsed to the ground, but refused to let it interrupt his tirade. "I saw it in their eyes...they want my soul! They wanna swallow up the light!"

"So much enthusiasm..." Grayson stepped forward and placed one of his black dress shoes on the man's stomach. "From such a weak little worm. I gave you a sliver of my influence, and you seemingly brought me nothing. What happened? What did you see?"

"Wha...ah...uhh..." the man stammered, feeling Grayson’s foot bury itself deeper into his pot belly. "I..."

"Tell me," Grayson demanded. "What went on in these streets tonight?"

"D...demons..." The old man's brain spun wildly on overdrive. Pain, agony, and panic all whirled through his head like bumper cars filled with rocket fuel. "Demons...from...Satan..."

"Satan, huh?" The man in the grey suit moved his hand up to his glasses and pulled them off slowly, revealing a set of entrancing emerald eyes. "How banal."

"Wha..." Suddenly, the man tried to scramble away. "Those eyes...they're glowing...demon eyes!!"

"Now that's an uninspired comparison." The man replaced his eyeglasses, just as the bum let out a hoarse gurgle of agony. "You should realize by now...I'm far more horrible than any demon could ever be."

Next: V