FSE

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"So, dear hound, you have seen the world beyond your world," said a disembodied voice. "A lesser race like yourself must have a lot of questions about this whole thing. Speak. We will listen."

There was no reply.

"So silence is your reply, then. We know everything is overwhelming to you. It is nothing new. Unlike you, mortals who had seen this world are reduced to husks of their former selves. Oh, I know you are concerned. Fear not. We know the limits of what your race can comprehend and cannot. We will try to restrain ourselves, but we cannot give you full guarantee."

The voice kept continuing its solo speech, as if talking to somebody, specifically a hellhound. There was nothingness around that place. Everything was dark and silent.

"Where do I start? Ah, yes. By now, you must've known who we are already. We don't have a definite name, and we are not, shall we say, matter. Simply put, we don't have any physical construct, much like how you interpret 'damned souls'."

"Souls are psychic manifestation of memories of what was once a living being. Yes, you may ask why these so-called 'souls' retained their memories. But let me ask you a question. These souls may manifest itself into what was once them, but what kept them together? The answer is us, dear hound. We don't have a specific name. We are simply beings from a higher dimension that what you know."

"Hmm, time travel? Oh, silly me, you must have seen one in front of your eyes. It's fascinating, isn't it? If you are interested, we might let you travel in the fourth dimension! Ah, but the experience will overload your brain. Such a shame, really. If only somewhere in this universe, there is a method of mastering fourth dimensional travel. We've seen some races in this vast universe managed to create a vehicle of some sort travel through our realm like it was something normal for them. We appreciate how this race can communicate with us and prefer our way of thinking. But, let's not stray from our discussion."

"Basically, we did what you saw because we had, shall we say, a slight problem. Your race must've known a legend of the unknown. Well, that legend is tearing apart your world by messing with the time stream, and resorted to violence. As a member of our race, we are supposed to take care of this menace ourselves, but alas, it had made itself known to your race, manipulating many simple brains to be its servant. We do not claim ourselves to be benevolent, but we don't appreciate malevolent beings."

"Then why are we contacting you and not your friends? Well, your eyes are the answer. You may have lost your ability to see your world, but you have seen pests from our world leaking through. These so-called 'Soul Particles' are basically...our residual product."

"Oh, we assure you, it's not nasty, like yours." The voice laughed. "Ah, you three dimensional beings are such a source of laughs to us. But it's interesting how you, especially you, can be given this ability to see souls. We've known your family for a while now, and your so-called 'curses' are just from a higher-being. You are different. We can sense a lot of interesting things in your life, past and future."

"Oh, you mean that vision? Forgive us if we are too blunt, but that's some possible futures, not fear, as you thought before. Hmm, why do your friends disapproves of you? We are not sure. The future is a flux; you can choose to accept that possibility, or try to find a different route. It's interesting, isn't it, given how the possibilities are unlimited."

"Well, our sense of humor is different, that's all. But...ah, we have talked to you long enough. We can tell you everything, but we know the limits of your what your brain can handle. Remember, Anubis Caropus, your eyes are the key to end this whole mess. Adieu."

The voice vanished, leaving everything in darkness. Just then, Soul Particles started to surround his vision. He knew he had opened his eyes reflexively after dreaming.

He felt a touch at his hand coming from a smooth fur. He moved his other hand to feel the smooth, kept fur. The smell was also familiar. He sighed in relief.

After coming back to Arbal in a 6 months' journey of gathering friends, he and Mizarka started to keep up with each other, just like what Ifrit and Lilac had been doing for the past week. Yet, he had been plagued by dreamless nights, and suddenly, that voice came to him and talked about things he couldn't understand.

Mizarka grunted as she moved closer to Anubis, and she promptly got up, seeing Anubis staring at a point. She knew that he was blind, but clearly he was touching her arm and stroked it.

"(Ah, Ani...that's so soft...)"

But Anubis did not immediately answer, though he eventually kissed Mizarka, despite of her trying to help him find the maw and the tongue. After that, she said, "(You don't seem good these days. Are you okay?)"

"(Me? I'm fine, really...ah, what the hell, I'm a terrible liar and blind)."

"(You can talk to me about everything, Ani. I'm there for you, always)."

"(Yup...but we need to let the others hear about this, too)." Anubis stood up and tried to find his walking stick, then another thing, but he was not able to find it, concerning him.

"(If you are trying to find your underwear, it's on the chair. Here, let me help you take it to you)."

"(Uh, why is my underwear on the chair?)"

"(Well, you decided to go drunk last night and you fucked me. Remember?)"

Hearing that direct answer made him blush in embarrassment. He was a blind naked Death Jackal by that point, and he did not know if anyone was looking at him aside from Mizarka. He quickly dressed.

Walking down, helped by Mizarka, Anubis could hear that the morning in Arbal was busy, as always. Humans and hellhounds had started to become more and more comfortable with each other's presence that the humans treated the furry race a 'Lycan with horns', which was not entirely accurate given how expansive hellhound race was, especially Death Jackals who were clearly jackals.

With the help of his walking stick and Mizarka's guidance, both reached the partially finished tower where Rhynsa stayed with Ifrit and Lilac. Based on the construction noises Anubis could hear, he could know that the tower's repair was underway, along with the rest of the city's expansions.

He walked through the door to the tower, helped by Mizarka. He could hear Eshdar talking to a person, where the hellhound promptly stopped talking and said, "(Well, you're early. I thought you would sleep in after drinking that much of beer last night)."

"(Someone in the dream woke me up early, that's all)." He did not want to tell Eshdar of what he did to Mizarka last night, but the female hellhound did not seem to mind.

He walked up, to the dining room, where he could see Ifrit started to eat some soup. With a lot of refugees in that town-turned-city, the best thing they could have was a cream soup. Anubis could smell the soup and asked for one, in which he was given one. He could sense Ifrit's soul, but he did not find Lilac's.

"(Where's Lilac?)" asked Anubis to his friend.

"(Hunting. She's a werewolf, remember?)"

Anubis always forgot that unlike hellhounds, a Lycan was still a carnivore. Given the lack of meat supplies due to the influx of refugees (surprisingly, not a lot of them were werewolves). But he had a pressing issue to talk about, so he started to say, "(One of those creatures contacted me in my dream)."

This cause Ifrit to stop eating his soup and looked at Anubis. The movement of the particles around him and in him suggested that Ifrit was intrigued. He then said, "(Are you sure? I mean, you were attacked by one directly)."

"(It claimed otherwise)," said Anubis. "(It claimed that our current problem is because one of them gone rogue and started causing us a lot of problems)."

"(Like what? Time travel? I know that's in the realm of fiction but we can't just say that they had that ability)."

"(The creature is a fourth dimension being that can travel through time and space, at least that's what it explains. It also said that my eyes are the keys of everything, but I can't seem to see the connection)."

"(Maybe it's because of your ability to see Soul Particles that earned their trust?)" said Eshdar's voice. "(You are the only one who can see those creatures while we cannot)."

"(It seems that's the case, but...)"

"(Do you remember that time when we are investigating a disappearing case in a town? You were the first to pull us back and shouted to something we could not see, and suddenly the whole house was sucked into a portal)."

"(I saw one of those creatures walking around the building and I was instantly agitated, didn't want to see the horror of my possible futures. They looked at me for moment before opening that portal, which sucked the whole building)."

"(Then how about the...)"

"(They are already dead)," said Anubis, interrupting Ifrit. "(I can sense humanoid souls passing on)."

"(But then why now? Why not those months we were travelling? We don't even know what happened then. It's so vague)."

"(They said that they will contact me later, saying that my brain has limits)." In the end, he could not explain anything to them, and resorted to leave after eating his soup. On the way, he met with Rhynsa, who had just talked with Mitchel regarding his clinic and Rhynsa's condition. He wheeled himself to the tower, but he also noticed Anubis and Mizarka and said, "(Well, having fun, I suppose?)"

"(Like what?)"

"(Nah, I don't do private stuffs, kid, but I got the idea. See ya later)."

Hearing that made Anubis blushed again. "(Just how drunk I was?)" he thought. But he shook his head, suddenly realizing that Mitchel could know what he had. Ever since meeting with the necromancer, Anubis had had some advice regarding souls, and vice versa. Mitchel sometimes needed Anubis to talk with a stray soul since he could only put that soul to a corpse so he could talk with the soul. The way he talked to them, and not to mention how morbid it was, made him abandon that practice. That was before Anubis came.

As the death Jackal came in, he saw Mitchel's uniquely undead soul sitting at his chair, alongside how everything in that clinic was 'marked' with soul particles, all because of Mitchel's knowledge of souls and demons in general. This made Anubis able to see the outline of objects, making him at least able to see things clearly.

"Ah, what a timing, Ani," said Mitchel to the Death Jackal. "I need you to talk with one of the, uh...stray souls, if you don't mind."

Anubis nodded, and Mitchel did what he always did: made a magic circle on the ground with a chalk. He incanted some spell before the candles he lit became blue and a soul was visible, even to those without Anubis's eyes.

"Hello, can you hear me?" said Anubis to the ghost, who promptly turned towards him. "My name is Anubis. Tell me what ails you so my friend can help you."

"Yes," said the ghost's otherworldly voice, something that only Anubis could hear. Being able to manipulate Soul Particles enabled him to see and hear soul particles that maintain corporeal form, like this ghost.

Both Mitchel and Mizarka were unfazed by the appearance of the ghost, each with their own reasons.

"Your appearance suggested that you are a judge," said the ghost to Anubis.

"I am not a judge. I am a simple hellhound with an ability to hear what you have to say to me. Speak, and I will listen."

But just as the ghost tried to speak, it suddenly winced and made a painful gesture. This surprised everyone in that room, especially Anubis, who could hear what the ghost was saying. He said, "I-I've seen forever..." before he dispersed. Yet only Anubis could see what remained of the ghost, which was an entirely different creature, taking a form of a Death Jackal.

"Strange ability, indeed," said the invisible apparition. "So you communicate with the death with this? Interesting magic."

Hearing the voice made Anubis realized who he was talking to.

"You! You are the one who has been..."

"Ah, yes, you are correct, Anubis Caropus. I guess your eyes are really special, to be able to see me in this world. With this magic, I can finally talk with you out of the realm of dreams." The apparition then said, "Speak, and I will listen." Exactly like the tone of Anubis's delivery.

Anubis was not expecting the sudden turn of event; he was not even expecting the entity to show itself like that. He actually had a lot of question, many of them were mostly about 'who are you?' and 'why interfere?'. Those questions could lead to trivial answers he could not understand in the slightest.

Even then, it did not hurt to ask.

"Why do you interfere with this world's affair? Why is there one of you trying to cause a bigger problem than it really was?"

"Oh, those interrupted questions, huh? Now that your allies are in the same room, you can be my medium. I will talk, and you tell them what I said. The choice of believing your or not is in their hands."

Anubis realized what the entity meant. It was trying to communicate so desperately, but the only one who had that strong spiritual connection (or in this case, interdimensional awareness) was only Anubis. Without looking towards either Mizarka and Mitchel, he said, "It wants me to tell you what it says."

"There is still a ghost in there?!" exclaimed Mizarka.

"Some ghosts chose not to reveal themselves, but the way it talks to Ani is interesting. Come on, then. We will hear what it will say to us."

As the entity spoke to Anubis, the Death Jackal told both Mizarka and Mitchel the way he said, which was similar to what the entity said to Anubis.

"This world is of a lower dimensional space than what it belongs," said Anubis, repeating what the entity said. "Creatures from the fourth dimension are time-aware and they are not bound with the linear nature of time."

"You mean it's a time traveler?" said Mitchel.

"More or less. It says that one of their kind caused the whole incidents of time travel and gruesome deaths. It also influenced many demons to start a blood cult and making relays in the form of pyramids."

"But why pyramids? Is there something to do with Death Jackals?"

"No, but pyramids are known to be symmetrical in all sides. Well, I thought that was the key feature of a pyramid but...the pyramids in the kingdom was not perfectly symmetrical on all sides."

"How can you tell? It's square-based. It must be symmetrical."

Anubis wasn't sure if Mizarka understood what he said, but in his mind, he thought about it, too. The pyramids in the kingdom were clearly equally sized on all sides, unless the entity was referring to something more specific.

Anubis turned towards the entity and said, "The pyramids...what's so special about a perfect pyramid?"

"Well, what's so special about a perfect circle?" replied the entity. "And yet again, what's so special about a perfect sphere?"

"What are you implying?"

"Relay my message to your friends, Anubis Caropus. Do not get side-tracked."

So Anubis returned to relaying that entity's explanation.

"There is no living being in this dimension who can make a perfect three-dimensional object. There must always be imperfection, for if it is perfect...it's a way of communicating between their races."

"I don't get it," said Mizarka. "This is about those fanatics, right? I thought they were trying to rebuilt the whole kingdom again!"

"If one of the group was influenced by something that has traces of their race, it will spread like a disease. So that's the source of the soul form I saw inside that pyramid? Your kind came out of it!"

"Yes, indeed, Anubis Caropus."

"It's not just a simple source," said Anubis. "It was a relay. A gateway of sorts. The rogue fourth dimension creature was trying to find a way to open a gate."

"But to what extend?! And why the time travel and the deaths were necessary?"

Anubis waited for an answer, but it didn't come. He turned around to see if the entity was there. It was there alright, but it was immobile, as if thinking. Just after a while, the jackal form said, "It's...a twisted sense of humor."

Anubis could not believe what the entity said. A twisted sense of humor? What sicko would open the deep hell, cause a civil war, kill the parents of the deposed prince, and caused the Time of the Devil, just for the sake of a joke?

"Are you fucking kidding me?! All of these are just for laughs? I know you feel like you are of a higher race, but you played us like we are some sort of unintelligent creatures? You know how much all of us suffers..."

"You claimed to be intelligent, but your intelligence is nothing compared to us," said the entity. "That rebel thinks that your being is nothing, similar to how you treated your toys. Most of us does not want to interfere, but this rebel did everything since the beginning of time because it was for the sake of a twisted sense of humor. We are clearly not amused, but we cannot interfere."

"Why?!"

"Because we have interfered for a very long time ago, and we vowed never to do that again," said the entity. "For eternity, we had mourned the accident we caused, creating a multitude of ourselves throughout the different reality."

"Different reality? We are trying to talk about your race's stupid sense of humor!"

"I've warned you about how everything we explain here are incomprehensible to you. Some races out there might get the idea, but your race is one of the most primitive, if not outright new, to the whole universe. Anubis Caropus, my explanation here is to give you the general idea of what our race could do to you, even if it was just a stupid prank from a fool. We may not be able to influence reality, but if everything went as the fool planned to be, then your whole continent might had been a big asylum."

This revelation caused Anubis to slumped back, horrified by the truth. He said, "Are you saying that...the whole continent will go mad?"

"Not the whole continent, but imagine the chaos that came with it. Again, I contacted you not because we care, but because one of you caused the whole thing in the first place. One called Ensalder Winsel."

"Eshdar's dad? Yes, we know he is the leader of the rebels, but what is he...oh, right...that fucking bastard!"

"It seems you have the general idea already, Anubis Caropus. One must not seek something they are not supposed to seek. The fool, and all of us, cannot make a major influence to your life, but just one rock thrown to the pond can make such big ripple that can engulf the whole pond. It may stop eventually, but the damage is done. Your task now is not to make enemies among yourselves. You may not know what you are facing right now, but we will help."

"Help? As if your race helped us since the start of the fucking universe!" exclaimed Anubis in a rage that was not his characteristic, even to Mizarka. Anubis was known to be a likeable fellow and liked to make a joke, but when he was serious, he would either looked like he was thinking or he lost his smiles, but he was clearly angry to the entity, spouting swear words everywhere like it is not him.

"Look at me, collective fuck, do you see me smiling? Hmm? Grinning? No? Well, I'm not! This whole thing might be a laugh to you, but I lost my parents, becoming a slave, then a sex slave, then my eyes, and this whole mess, just because of a sick joke? You wanna joke? Fine! Let's see you make something that can make me laugh!"

"It's natural if you are angry with us. For us, your anger does not justify our actions," said the entity, who quickly shut Anubis up. "In any case, we have seen possible futures of your beings, and none of them actually tells us that your anger will give us consequences."

"W-what?" Anubis was dumbfounded by this fact. "Why the fuck are you this fucking cold, huh? Then why are you even making a sick joke in the first place?"

"Some of us prefer to be humorous, some of us prefer to be calculating. Like we said, our explanation will cause you to lose your mind, and a grim example of what Ensalder Winsel had done to himself. Yet again, without our help, you have no chance of fighting this fool. Be angry at us, but always remember. You don't have a choice."

After saying that, the entity vanished, and Anubis punched the ground while yelling 'Fuck!' so many times. Mizarka was concerned on his well-being, and touched him. With the hellhound unable to see anything anymore, Mizarka's soft touch cooled him down, and he exhaled.

Meanwhile Mitchel just stood at the side, dumbfounded. He did not understand what Anubis, or for the matter, the ghost, was trying to explain, but Anubis's justified anger made Mitchel wanted to say something that can lift the normally cheery hellhound back to who he was.

Anubis calmed down, but he knew he had been played by the entity. It may not look like it for them, but by giving Anubis an offer he could not refuse, he had just become one of their chess pieces. No, not just him. Everyone who supported the monarch had become their chess pieces. Just like that rogue entity made Ensalder and his rebels his chess pieces, this whole linear event had just become a big chessboard, and it was a grand chess fight of a dimensional scale.

"(You want to play the game of chess? Then I'll gladly play, you bastards)," murmured Anubis. He stood up and tried to find his walking cane, then started walking out of the clinic when he found it. Mizarka was worried even more that she ran towards him and said, "(Anubis! Whatever that thing said to you, you cannot give in to anger! Please, you have suffered enough!)"

Anubis stopped, and turned towards Mizarka. Mizarka could see that he was trying to make an expression of regret, but his fading pupil and his general blind look could not make a convincing expression. The female hellhound ran towards the Death Jackal, and said, "(Our fights are not their fights, Ani)."

"(We have started this game since we are born to this world, Miza. Right now, we just need to survive. First things first, we need to contact everyone and explain whatever they can understand. But...was I really that outraged back there?)"

Mizarka nodded, and he could see the hellhound's soul particles made a pattern as if they were agitated. He turned around, knowing that Mizarka was scared. Anubis was self-conscious of what he appeared to his friends. He was trying to look like a hound with a big sense of humor and was not trying to make things serious, but seeing how Mizarka was both agitated and scared, he knew he was stepping on the to someone who he tried to avoid. He then hugged Mizarka and stroked her back, calming her soul.

"(Whatever happens...I will be there for you, Miza. Let's...get to work, shall we?)"

Mizarka smiled and guided Anubis towards the tower. Whatever happens next would be the definite change of pace of what the Three Kings had done up until that point.

It would be up to Ifrit and Eshdar to decide what's the best course of action.