[Inter-dimensional Hub]

[Cecilia’s POV]

As Cecilia entered the heaven’s gate with her Aydron “Lumen” a grand sight entered her vision. In front of her was a large city with skyscrapers that seemed like they stretched far into space taller than anything she has ever seen. Cecilia felt like she was a small ant and these skyscrapers were large gigantic redwood trees which stretched farther than her eyes can see. To her left was what seemed to be a gigantic wall stretching for miles upon miles on end, but as she looked up she noticed that it was just another skyscraper that stretched into the sky and the wall slowly became as thin as Cecilia’s forearm.

They kept expanding into space before they disappeared into a crack in space. A severe crack was stationed in space and bright purple light was coming out of the crevices. It resembles a crack you would see in a rock and numerous cracks were in the sky forming what seemed to be a gigantic spider web of cracks with purple light illuminating out of it. In the distance Cecilia can see multiple skyscrapers as big as the one in front of her stretching all the way into the spiderweb of cracks and long bridges connecting the space touching skyscrapers. It looked like the cracks stretched into the horizon with no end in sight.

As she looked to the ground away from the sky of cracked space she observed and noticed that there were numerous other lifeforms around her as well. Some of them were familiar such as a dragon while others were alien and mysterious to her like a yellow walking octopus family. The bizzare number of creatures that gathered across dimensions and galaxy stunned Cecilia and made her realize how small she once imagined the world to be. As she noticed the great number of unique creatures in this sub-universe she noticed that the feathered body she was using wasn’t as unique as she thought.

Cecilia’s current form is a long red haired lady who looked to be in her mid 20’s who is using a robe made out of navy blue feathers and feet that resembles a hawk. Underneath her arms were a line of bright red feathers that began from her shoulders to her wrists that were currently retracted. When fully exposed she displays her bright red wings which can be sharpened into tools of assassinations or for flight. Cecilia found that this form was the most optimal form to move around and protect herself as well. Her wings can help her travel fast as she hopped around and the sharp feathers can protect her but above all she thought that this form was beautiful.

“Hey Lumen, explain to me what are these wall like skyscrapers”

“They are officially called the Seliopos which means “Bridge or Connector” created by the Ancient Tryphant of Wisdom, Acies. The Seliopos are used as the main connection between separate sub-dimensions and also serve as the anchor between them keeping them stable. Due to their sheer size they are often used as a highway between two dimensions.”

“Lumen, get me pictures inside the Seliopos”

Beep. The runes unraveled from the orb and transformed into particles which reshaped into pictures of a vast city that looked no different from a regular city. A picture of a plain appeared which stretched as far as the horizon with a large mountain range in the background, another picture appeared which depicted a beach with the sea extending out into the horizon with no end in sight. If Cecilia never told Lumen to take pictures inside the Seliopos then she would’ve mistaken this to be random pictures of the world. As she visualized the sheer sizes of these galactic skyscrapers she took in a deep breath and stared at the curved wall in awe and amazements.

Tap. A large hand patted Cecilia’s shoulder activating her survival instincts as she immediately grabbed the mysterious hand and sharpened her winged feathers into steel like knives which were aimed straight for the person’s neck stopping right at the neck of the person. Cecilia immediately found that another hand was holding her wrist that was aiming for the person’s neck. Observing the assaliant once more she noticed that he also had runes running through his neck, the same one that Cecilia has right now.

He was a head taller than Cecilia, attractive and has a well-built frame. He had bold eyebrows, strong jawline, green eyes and a hat that covered his black hair. He was wearing a modified black trench coat with a tall stiff collar with a thin gold chain by his neck. He’s wearing a fitted sleeveless black shirt and a pair of slim fitting jeans. His bold eyes stared down on Cecilia as he loosened his grip.

“Dux should’ve told you that we were coming to get you” His deep masculine voice said in a slow manner

“Are you a Tryphant Agent?” Cecilia asked curiously

“Used to be, I’m now retired. You can call me Vextus” He stretched out his arm offering a handshake. “By the way, I suggest you use a fake name and disguise yourself if you haven’t already”

“I’m Ce- I mean, I’m Cassieopeia. You can just call me Cassie” Cecilia returned the handshake.

“This here is Sumixam” he pointed to a handsome man with short black hair, glasses, a strong jawline and a hoodie that gave him early 20’s vibes behind him.

“You can just call me Sumi” he responded with a business like smile while offering a handshake.

“Nice to meet you Sumi” Cecilia reciprocated the handshake

“And this is Iris” Vextus stepped aside to show the shy girl behind him. She was so short that her head met the chest area of Vextus and held a shy demeanor. She looked like she just jumped out of an avante garde painting and was entirely new to the world with curiosity filling her eyes and a colourful head of hair to compliment it. Her hair was a bluish shade of purple and the texture seemed fluffy and aloof. A pink lotus flower was placed on top of her fluffy hair and large golden pupils filled with curiosity sat right above her small nose in between her blushing cheeks.

Her petite figure made her look like she was in her late teens or early twenties but she had the curiosity of an early teen. Her limbs were smooth, hairless and slender like a newborn. Her smooth skin was decorated with simplistic green tattoos that were in the shade of light forest green running across her body. They ran across her back and wrapped around to the front so that most people can only see the green shades on her shoulders, hands, ankles and neck and the runes that ran through the tatoos. If you kept following the lines of the tattoos you would be met with a long chameleon like tail right above her waist with runes decorating the tail. Iris was cutely hugging her tail as she wore her brown crop top paired with her simple brown skirt.

“H-hello, I’m Iris” a cute squeaking like voice entered Cecilia’s ears.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you” Cecilia said as she offered a handshake

Iris cautiously let go of her tail and shook the outstretched hand. As Cecilia shook the hand she felt as though she was touching the finest silk ever. Her hands were incredibly smooth and small in comparison to Vextus’. Sumi and Iris seemed like they already greeted each other beforehand meaning Cecilia was the last one through the portal.

Vextus fake coughed and cleared the air, “Well let me start by showing you around”

Snap. A crisp snap filled the air and a cloud of runes appeared by his side. The runes untangled and formed an oval the size of Vextus then more runes unraveled from the cloud which formed a pattern within the oval. When the pattern finished the runes looked like they swallowed themsleves and a rainbow mix of blue, white and orange filled the portal. “Come on in, the first order of business is getting you guys a home world”

Vextus stepped inside the portal without any hesitation and Sumi, Iris and Cassie followed through. As they stepped through what greeted them was the majestic sky.

The mix between orange, blue and red as the sun was setting filled their entire horizon as they realized that they were thousands of meters in the air on a floating island. The ground was solid, like earth but they saw that they were in the air all alone. The floating island was around the size of a park and on it was a small mansion that was 3 stories tall and had a large flower garden at the front. Cecilia and her new-found friends were on the pathway to the front door with Vextus leading the way.

Vextus spoke as he walked, “This here is my home world, a personal place where you can keep your storage, items, have friends over and where you would normally log in when you enter the Tryphant Hub. From here you can access the other various channels that are valuable to you.”

Vextus’ cloud of runes began to flash between the colours of red, white and pink as the mansion seemed to come to life. A butler opened the door and bowed, “Welcome home master”

Vextus nodded and kept walking, “Don’t touch anything in here”

Iris stopped by the person and looked towards Vextus before whispering in his ear, “Are these real people?”

Vextus shook his head and snapped his fingers. Crack. The butler’s body began to dissolve into various flying parts before they reassembled, turning into a tiger that was as obedient as a puppet. Iris' eyes sparkled with amazement as she began to observe the tiger without touching it.

Sumi was also fascinated by the tiger butler machine and asked his Aydron,

“Hey Donavan, What exactly is this thing?”

“A model 7 servant from the Relyks civilization”

“Price?”

“700 Selics”

“Lifetime?”

“50 years”

Sumi continued to follow Vextus as if the conversation never happened. Cecilia followed along and made a mental note that this Sumi guy was probably very wealthy in real life and held the capability of making decisions in accordance to their cost and benefits. If Cecilia had to guess then this Sumi guy was probably middle high income or higher, but knowing the type of profiles these Tryphant Agents can have she decided to categorize Sumi as someone who was very wealthy.

They continued to walk before they entered the living room where an entire wall was replaced by a floor to ceiling window with a tv, on one wall and a set of couches shaped in an L formation directly opposite to the tv. In the middle of the L formation was a glass coffee table. Outside the glass window was a small garden with a singular tree in the middle and various other bushes and shrubs surrounding it. The tree had fiery red leaves and a small stone wall surrounded the garden.

Vextus walked towards the window and the glass disappeared letting him through into his garden. He kept walking until he was at the border of his small stone wall. He stood there, chest up and proud.

“When you create your homeworld, you only have one home world. Homeworlds come in many shapes and forms. Some of my colleagues have a homeworld where mountains stretch far into the horizon and others have homeworlds where they rest upon a spaceship cruising through the abyssal space. Before we create your homeworld you must know what it means to have a homeworld and at the core of it, is a place where you can return to. Create it well and cherish it. That is all I have to say.”

Silence filled the lonely island with only the fluttering wind which seemed to come and go. Vextus cherished and enjoyed the sunset within his garden. Cecilia began to notice that within the silence the sound of small animals surrounded her in the garden and she began to see mythical bug creatures flying around. The beatles were silver in colour but when they clicked their wings together small sparks of blue fire sparked out. Plants that looked like a trumpet had fluorescent glass like grasshoppers coming out of their holes while what seemed to be a combination between a mole and an elephant was lazing underneath the solid ground.

Vextus snapped his fingers and his cloud of runes unfurled revealing a display screen.

“Nothing in the interdimensional hub is truly real, everything is a blur between fiction and reality. Your mind is present in the hub, you can control your body but that body isn’t your real body. That goes the same way for our homeworlds. Our homeworlds are a blur between fiction and reality as well. This island is fictional, a construct created to stimulate the sense of a floating island.” Vextus breathed before pointing at the flame coloured tree,

“This Acrylas-Phoenix tree is real, I brought it from my planet into my homeworld, but you may ask the question if this Acrylas-Phoenix tree is not just another construct. Fortunately whenever you bring something or buy something from the market the item is given a secret variable key which can determine the authenticity of your item. The item will be reconstructed inside the interdimensional hub and the one you're holding right now will be kept in storage until you choose to take it out of the interdimensional hub. If you have tried to disguise yourself as a dragon before you will take the form of a basic common dragon, not unique to anyone or anything. Constructing these basic forms have zero value, when you bring something unique that cannot be constructed that is when something begins to become valuable. To design your island, make it your own and a place where you can call home try to furnish it with things which are unique and valuable to you.”

Vextus turned around and threw a necklace at each individual in the group. The necklace looked like it was purely made out of the runes present in their body but they seemed at least 10 levels more complicated that the ones that were flowing through Cecilia’s body. There was more detail between each rune and no rune ever repeated within the chain link yet they seemed so connected to one another. “These are the keys to an empty homeworld as a celebratory gift from the Ancient Tryphants. When you take these keys they will grant you ownership to your personal homeworld where you can gain access to it through you Aydron.”

The chain of runes flew into Cecilia’s hand and she began to feel an empty void of space that she had full control over, then she saw a number of sceneries in front of her from the large grass plains of Revanda to the volcanoes she saw in the alpines of Montsrangos. Some had common animals like the forests of Aclytha which had deers as well or the futuristic concept which didn’t resemble anything Cecilia has ever seen before!

She scrolled through them until she was lost in thought and only woke up by the sound of Vextus speaking once more,

“You can stay at my homeworld for today but create your own by tomorrow”

Snap. He snapped his fingers and a small green maiden appeared right in front of Cecilia’s eyes. They could easily fit in the palm of her hand and were clothed with a light green dress accompanied with a crown of flowers. She giggled and smiled showing her mischievous nature as she flew in circles in front of Cecilias’ face. Looking to her side she saw that there was a small fairy beside each of her new friends.

Snap. Vextus snapped again and three smaller islands rose up from the clouds as if they were suddenly pulled from a fishing line. Each house had the same identical house as grand as the mansion Vextus owned in his main island but without any of the details making it almost seem like it was suddenly 3D printed. These houses seemed emotionless and lifeless and yet so grand at the same time.

Vextus pointed to each mansion, “Pick one for tonight, I’ll show you around more tomorrow” Snap. Bridges of rocks appeared from the clouds beneath them and glued together to form a single rock bridge.

Iris got up from the tiger and looked at Vextus, “How do we go back to our normal body?”

“In your Aydron you can log out and go back to your original body, time will continue in both worlds. Your bodies will be stored within the Aydron which will be stored within your home world. I’ll give you these watches which will tell you the time in the interdimensional hub world.” Vextus threw a black box to each of the individuals. “Once you leave this realm you will find that these are in your hand as well. Inside contains a watch that will tell the universal Interdimensional hub time”

Cecilia nodded and approached one of the floating islands crossing the steady rock bridge. The pixie flew with Cecilia to her island and began to give her a tour about the entire mansion. As they finished the pixie whistled and connected each of the islands to one another before waving goodbye and disappearing.