When I awakened from my sleep, the first thing I saw was Nyx, playing around with the boom stick. She was lifting it around with her mind, making it spin or outright throwing it into the air. What truly captivated me, however, was that she was also expanding and shrinking the boom stick, even causing it to shift into other, similar forms – most of said forms didn’t even appear to be made of wood. Yawning, I walked right up to her, my eyes blinking rapidly as it met the rising of the sun from the west.

The grasslands were mostly quiet. There was a faint, but foul smell in the air that I could not quite recognize – a sort of putrid stench that didn’t belong to any creature that I knew of. Regardless, it was so faint that ignoring its presence was actually rather easy. ‘For a place so close to human settlements, I was expecting more human scents in the air, but… there are none.’

What are you doing? I asked. Nyx stood there and made the boom stick much larger than it originally was, before dropping it. The new… form crashed and sunk into the soil when it landed.

This one’s called a cannon – I think. She said, lifting the big boom stick into the air and spinning it. It’s a lot more dangerous than the little gun, but it’s also a lot heavier and a lot bigger. The humans of this world haven’t… discovered it yet, but the humans in other worlds have weapons that’d make this thing seem very tiny and inconsequential.

What kind of weapons?

There’s a human… empire that had conquered its own Universe. They created things that could actually hurt us. She said, almost dreamily. I could scarcely imagine what sort of weapons she was even talking about. They were so fascinating. But I got bored with them really quickly when they started killing each other, like they always do – that was probably the billionth time.

How… fascinating.

Humans really were interesting creatures; what they lacked in their physique, they made up for in their ingenuity and creativity. Just looking at this weapon… I doubt even the Necrosauros would survive a single, thunderous boom from it.

I walked forward and inspected the… cannon. It was truly big – much longer than either of my forearms and far thicker as well. If the tiny boom sticks were dangerous, I could scarcely imagine just how dangerous this… much larger variant was, in comparison.

Wait, why did I take it with me, again?

Ah, that’s right – I wanted to study how it worked.

Can you make it smaller, again? I asked Nyx. I’d like to carry it on my back, when we’re traveling.

Okay. The cannon shrunk, though it was still far larger than any boom stick. I lifted it up with my mind and placed it firmly upon my back, where it stuck to my fur with a little bit of Nyx’s help. I had no idea what she did exactly, but she obviously did something.

Nyx’s voice echoed across my mind. She seemed rather giddy and excited as she spoke. We should move; I found… something quite interesting. I believe he’ll want to meet you as well, little one.

Was it her brother? It was probably her brother, right? Otherwise, I didn’t think she actually knew anyone else here, aside from me – and maybe that other family member of hers, who was apparently also on this world without permission. Which way do we go?

Nyx raised her tiny little paw and pointed somewhere roughly northwest, towards a massive expanse of pine trees and rolling hills in the distance – a blanket of snow softly obscuring the greenery. There were tall mountains, too, but they were so far away that clouds blanketed most of their forms. I turned to Nyx. Is it your brother?

No, but it’s just as important.

I see. And, just like that, Nyx hopped onto my back and we began our long journey to… somewhere northwest. I was becoming more and more fascinated by the humans and their capabilities; hopefully, we’d encounter a few of them without the need for hostilities – assuming, of course, they could even see me with Unseen Predator being active at all times and I was obviously a predator relative to humans.

Still, their creativity and ingenuity intrigued me and… I wondered if I could somehow pass that very same gift onto my brethren. My fellow bears were… beastly and mildly intelligent at best; they were curious and cunning creatures, but their minds were too warped and too small to ever be free of their animal instincts. A part of me wished to free them from that bond, grant them the same state of mind as the humans.

But… that would be something for later, I suppose; there were still a few things I needed to do, namely: help Nyx find her brother and that other fellow, she mentioned, and also that quest thing that was given to me by the talking bone thing about a Dragon Graveyard…?

Eh, I was sure I’d stumble into that place eventually. The world couldn’t have been too big a place to fully explore, right?

Besides, my kin didn’t immediately need an ascension of the mind; the lot of them were content with what they had in life, foraging and hunting for food, hibernating near the winter and being a general nuisance to deer and elk. One day, however, I vowed to free them from the shackles of their instincts and help them forge a-

Wait a minute… these thoughts were definitely not mine; who the heck-

Ah… I reached inwards and felt a burning in my soul – a desire that was mine and yet not mine, but shared between two beings. That desire was to free the others of my kind, to rid them of the curse of the beast and guide them onto a new path – one that didn’t leave them wandering forever amidst the trees, but one that would have them ascend far beyond what their bestial minds would’ve been capable of imagining.

For a moment, something flashed before my eyes and I saw images of what could be. Bears forging their own cities and kingdoms, coexisting and warring with humans, and eventually building a society that would span the world… a vision, a promise….

Ad Astra…

‘So… this is what that Volos person wants me to do, huh?’ It was… a very strange goal. The first and foremost hurdle towards achieving said goal was the fact that bears were very… dull creatures, who’d need some sort of magical interference to truly awaken their minds – as what’d happened to me. So, I supposed, the first step would be to find a way to make them smarter.

Nyx’s yawning shook me out of my thoughts. You’ve been standing still for the last ten minutes – let’s go.

Ah… okay… sorry, I was just thinking.

About what?

I guess… about the future.

I see….

What are you doing on this planet, Resheph? Nyx asked, leaping down the well and landing on the mass of colors. You’re aware the Great Father has decreed that no one is allowed here, right? Now, I have to deal with you and my little brother.

The swirling mass of colors bounded and waved. In my defense, Nyx, I was already roaming this particular reality before Dad ever gave that order – so HA! Loophole!

Nyx sighed and licked her front paws. What are you doing here, anyway? This… form doesn’t look fun. You should be a cat, too; being a cat is fun.

Eh, we all have our preferences; I just don’t like moving. Resheph answered. Anyway, I was roaming around this reality when I noticed something… quite disturbing.

What do you mean?

The Dreamer of this reality is comatose – he can’t wake up, even when I tried nudging him. So, I investigated the root of the problem, which led me to this planet. The colors answered, whirling and fluctuating. Intrigued, Nyx beckoned him to continue. See, like most of us, the Dreamer of this reality chose the humans to be his avatars. It’s not a bad choice, of course; humans are fun little creatures. But, the Shepherds of this Reality have… rebelled against the course of the Dream.

What did they do? Now, she was intrigued. Such a thing has never happened before. Shepherds were there to ensure that humanity followed along the proper path – universal dominion. When the time was right, they would then awaken their minds and become linked to each other, becoming a single intelligence. The intelligence would then merge with the Dreamer and cause it to awaken from its long sleep. The Shepherds weren’t all that necessary; Nyx’s own dream didn’t include any humans in it, so she had no need for anyone to nudge her avatars to awakening.

They’ve found a way to sever the connection between the Dreamer and his avatars.

How? That… didn’t sound possible. The Shepherds were a part of the dream; it was simply impossible for them to go against the Dreamer, unless the Dreamer gave them too much- oh. The Shepherds of this reality were given free will, weren’t they?

Yes, they were… and so they have altered the avatars to suit their whims.

Nyx nodded. So that’s why the humans of this reality can’t hear me; their link to the Dreamer doesn’t exist anymore. What happened to them?

I… am not sure, but it seems the Shepherds have found a way to separate the energies of their physical forms from the energies of their minds. Resheph explained. Tell me, Nyx, have you heard of Mana and Qi?