The spirit shifted back into its human form, but he was someone to be feared nonetheless.
— I only spooked you a little, I hope you aren't offended?
"Oh, I'm offended alright, but I'm not brave enough to say it to your face anymore. Now I have to play along just so you don't kill me—or worse."
— It's nothing, I'm not offended at all, — Konstantin said, feigning awkwardness while scratching the back of his head.
The spirit nodded, and Konstantin pressed on.
— What should I call you?
— I have no name. Even though I am an intelligent spirit, I am still the weakest among them, though stronger than the mindless ones. Usually, they call me "Boulder."
Konstantin continued the conversation:
— Listen, can you help me with something?
Konstantin wanted to keep talking, but Boulder dashed into the kitchen and began devouring food again—this time, fresh rice instead of macaroni.
Boulder ignored him; clearly, he was starving.
— Munch, munch, munch.
After a minute of eating, Boulder finally stopped.
Konstantin looked at him. The entity was no longer munching; it sat in a huddle in the middle of the kitchen.
— Want to see a trick? — it rasped. — I will help you with what you ask. Но first, summon my debtor.
Boulder extended a pale, delicate finger and traced a symbol on the floor.
— It's a Wish-Granting Gnome. I cannot summon him myself, and in the spirit world, he is nearly impossible to find. There is a war raging there now; all mindless and intelligent spirits are at each other's throats. I need to settle a score with him. If you do this, I will forget your insult and help you in return. Deal?
Boulder paused for a second before adding:
— Only a human can summon spirits.
After that, he shifted back into the monster covered in white moss; his voice was no longer human.
— Maintaining a human form is difficult; it wastes my strength. Initially, I only wanted to eat and leave, but I remembered the gnome. I hope you won't be too scared and will get used to my appearance?
Wiping blood from his nose, Konstantin spoke in a slightly trembling voice:
— I think I can get used to it... — taking a short breath, he spoke with more courage. — I'll summon your gnome. Tell me how.
— Boom!
Boulder reached out and gripped Konstantin's wrist tightly.
— Close your eyes, — Boulder growled clearly.
The world plunged into darkness. Startled by the suddenness, Konstantin flinched but obeyed, keeping his eyes shut.
It didn't last long—maybe fifteen seconds—before Boulder allowed him to open them.
Konstantin opened his eyes slowly, as if waking from a dream.
Before him stood his own apartment—the same furniture, the same kitchen—but the world looked... gray?
Boulder was quick to explain.
— This is the astral realm, and you are currently in an astral projection. See that cord coming from your body? It is tied to your physical self.
Shocked, Konstantin jerked his head and noticed himself lying unconscious on the kitchen floor.
Looking closer, he saw a silver thread connecting his physical and spiritual forms.
— Time is slowed here. One minute here equals fifteen minutes in reality. I can distort time, but only to a certain extent.
Boulder continued.
— Now, don't be afraid. This is a natural process of infusing my essence into you. It will allow me to directly transfer the ritual to your mind. I am taking it from a certain book.
— Without this infusion, you would likely descend into madness. By the time you returned to reality, you would have incurable mental illnesses, or your thread would snap, leaving you to wander here forever while your body died. Like those people, for example. — Boulder pointed to strange, hollowed-out entities. Their eyes were lifeless, their skin parched; they looked like a cross between zombies and monsters.
The infusion process ended. Konstantin felt almost nothing, though he noticed a slight surge of irritation.
As the process settled, his emotions became a blur, eventually landing on a cold indifference.
His eyes took on a darker shade, and the world he saw began to shift.
Boulder growled in a cheerful tone.
— Congratulations! You have entered the "flow state." In this state, you can partially use my abilities. Your emotions will be chaotic, but generally, they will mirror the one you borrowed the power from—which means me.
Boulder didn't stop there.
— In this world, humans can also gain power. They are called Spirit Summoners. They can collect and borrow power from spirits. There is another way, but it is nearly impossible. — He dropped his cheerful tone, his voice becoming serious. — The second way is to enter the spirit world yourself, secure the backing of a powerful "Spirit" there, and attend the Spirit Academy where they forcibly infuse you with spirit essence. However, you might just become a spirit yourself in the process.
Boulder's eyes flashed as his cheerful tone returned:
— I suggest the first option, though it's also difficult—you might just get killed during your very first summons. But if you're lucky and collect the power of many spirits, you can combine them to create your own unique power. Then again, I don't believe in you. I hope you die on your first try.
Konstantin's head felt like it would explode from this information dump, but he struggled to memorize it; it would "definitely" be useful later.
Boulder giggled.
— Now we must travel to another planet to find that book. Name any means of transportation you want; I can conjure it.
— I've heard humans love magic. Perhaps you want a flying broomstick?
Konstantin was stunned. He had only heard of people flying on brooms in childhood fairy tales. He couldn't believe this childhood dream was becoming a reality.
Konstantin nodded.
— That's... very intriguing. Fine, give me the broom... Boulder.
An ordinary-looking broom materialized out of thin air.
He gripped it tightly and mounted it.
— Are you absolutely sure this thing flies? You aren't tricking me? — Konstantin whispered in a calm, exhausted voice.
As he spoke, the broom began to glow with a purple light, and in the black sky, stars of every color began to shine, one after another.
Some were violet, others blue, some were the usual yellow, and there were even rainbow ones.
— Whoosh!
The broom soared into the sky at a terrifying speed. Konstantin's hair whipped wildly, his tired eyes flew wide open; he wanted to say something, but the sheer air pressure made it impossible.
It was faster than a plane!
Konstantin couldn't get the hang of the controls in such a short time—he wasn't a genius, after all—so he spun wildly, screaming like a child.
Seeing this, Boulder smiled and flicked his fingers. The broom stopped instantly, turned toward the star-studded sky, and zoomed off.
He flew into space, Boulder following behind him. Boulder, however, was flying in a small UFO, complete with control buttons.
The speed kept increasing until Konstantin had nothing left to compare it to!
A new galaxy appeared before his eyes. It wasn't the Milky Way, but something else entirely. It looked like a writhing worm; the galaxy itself was moving!
Soon, the speed reached such a peak that colors began to flash before his eyes; it felt like the acceleration was infinite.
Konstantin felt them enter the galaxy and immediately scanned his surroundings.
He saw the most diverse planets—and no, they weren't all round. They were of all different shapes; some were even star-shaped.
The wind was no longer buffeting Konstantin's face; evidently, Boulder had done something to negate the air pressure.
Boulder pointed a finger toward a small planet glowing with a yellow light.
— That planet holds the largest library of mystical books. It has so many shelves that even a hundred-story building couldn't compare.
The planet was flat.
— Since you aren't a full-fledged Spirit Summoner yet, you aren't allowed to see what's inside. Only spirits and true Summoners can enter. So, close your eyes. I will lead you in myself. When you open them, look only at the book. Do you understand?
Konstantin gave a soft nod, meaning "Yes."
After a short while, Konstantin's heightened senses told him they were on the surface. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the atmosphere of the place; it was majestic.
"Man... I wish I could see this place... all my senses are screaming that this is the most beautiful place I've ever been."
The broom seemed to be controlled by someone else, and after a minute, they reached a destination.
Boulder said that, after all, he shouldn't open his eyes yet—he mentioned he'd forgotten one rule.
Boulder growled.
— Wait a second, I'm going to upload the ritual information directly into your brain...
"Upload info into my brain? That's a thing? The Sea of Mysticism keeps surprising me..."
Amazed, Konstantin smiled slightly. He had never been this happy or shocked before; he would remember these sharp sensations for the rest of his life.
Soon, Konstantin felt himself falling into a purple spiral.
His eyes flew open on their own; space was distorted, moving at an indistinguishable speed.
He reached the end of the spiral in five seconds, and as he floated in the air, total darkness fell.
He flew for five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes.
Panic began to set in—the weight of loneliness and the unknown. In this bottomless darkness, there was only him and his thoughts.
Then, a voice spoke.
— If a powerful spirit harms you, or if you travel between dimensions too often, you can get stuck between them—in the infinite void. You will go mad and never return home. It is a fate worse than hell! Be glad you're only there briefly.
He recognized the voice instantly—it was Boulder—and the voice continued.
— Keep flying, and the dimension will open to you. Fortunately, your time distortion wasn't too severe. I can see that you've spent fifteen minutes in this void, but for me, only a minute has passed.
He took a short pause and continued.
— But the more dangerous and powerful the dimension, the greater the time dilation. For example, those fifteen minutes could be fifteen years in reality.
Konstantin's heart sank at those words, but then a scene began to take shape: massive, majestic gates opening.
Inside lay a book just as enormous; its pages turned softly until they settled on one.
There was the ritual...
The text was blurry, and Konstantin couldn't read it. Soon, the words began to turn into darkness, trembling, and became covered in green leaves, including a small four-leaf clover.
Then, Konstantin woke up in terror, drenched in sweat.
"Was it all a dream?"
But in an instant, he jerked in fear, noticing a dark, gaunt, tall figure perched atop his wardrobe. Its eyes shimmered with a sinister, bloody red color.
— A-A-H!
He screamed at the top of his lungs. It was a foul sight. He immediately retched, and droplets of vomit hit the floor.
At that moment, another figure emerged from the curtains: snow-white hair, pale skin, a human body—it was smiling strangely, as if trying to mimic a human.
Konstantin's heart wept even harder; he began to gasp for breath.
— Hey, hey, hey, it's me, Boulder! — said the pale, handsome boy.
Boulder began to explain:
— After waking up, your senses can be in chaos. You need to ground yourself, kid...