Air Elementals words reminded him of something.
The difference between two-dimensional objects and three-dimensional objects.
If you drew two squares on a paper, you wouldn’t be able to tell which square was nearer to you and which was farther away.
It was because the concept of ‘depth’ didn’t exist in 2D.
But if you placed two ‘cubes’ in front of you, you could instantly tell which one was closer and which one was farther.
‘Even if you can’t notice the extra dimensions, they still exists.’
‘How about we teach you a method to access them?’
“What will that do?”
‘You will be able to enter them. Think of how useful it can be!’
‘Other people from your species are incapable of seeing things beyond the fourth and a half dimension.’
‘If you can access higher dimensions, to others, it will look like you disapper everytime you move!’
That sounded too good to be true.
Neo kept his skeptisim to himself and signalled the Air Elementals to proceed.
‘For now, let’s call the move {Dimensional Shift}.’
‘Try to analyze our movements.’
The Air Elementals, who had been flitting around like playful fireflies, suddenly stopped—or at least, it seemed that way at first glance.
Neo narrowed his eyes, focusing on the tiny, pale-green motes that seemed frozen in mid-air.
It took time to understand what was happening.
The Air Elementals hadn’t stopped moving.
They were moving, but in a higher-dimensional space.
It was similar to drawing a square on paper.
If that paper moved inward or outward in a direction perpendicular to the plane (inwards or outwards), the change would be invisible to a 2D perspective.
‘Depth’ didn’t exist there.
Same was happening between Neo and Air Elementals.
He strained his Intent Vision to track them.
It was only barely but Neo could see them moving.
Their paths seemed nonsensical, slipping in and out of his perception as if the paths were changing each moment.
‘You finally sensed it!’
‘Now try it!’
The motes resumed their flight, circling Neo like a lively, chaotic whirlwind.
Their movements created tiny ripples in the air.
They sang different praises each, though it was hard to make out individual words.
Neo tuned out the external distractions and focused.
‘While I can’t see the higher dimensions, they exist around me.’
‘Dimensional Shift allows me to move in those higher dimension pathways.’
For someone who had spent their entire life perceiving existence within four-and-a-half dimensions, attempting to step into the fifth and beyond felt like trying to grasp smoke.
Neo tried to mimic the movements of the Air Elementals.
‘Hehehe, it’s not easy to do—’
The words of Air Elementals were cut short as Neo suddenly moved his hand in a way that felt… strange.
His hand hadn’t moved at all from the perspective of a normal person observing him.
But the Air Elementals saw it—his hand had shifted, not within the familiar four-and-a-half dimension space but into the higher-dimensional realm.
It was as if an empty space had emerged.
He slid his hand into the space space that no one else could perceive.
‘You did it!’
‘We never thought you would learn to enter the {Gap} so easily.’
‘It should be impossible, but wow you did it!’
“Gap?”
‘That’s what everyone calls the dimensions which they can’t see.’
‘For your species, anything above four and a half dimensions exists in a {Gap} of their perception.’
‘And now you can enter the Gap!’
‘Try moving your whole body through the Gap.’
Neo hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
For some reason, mimicking the movements of Air Elementals came naturally to him.
One step.
Two steps. Find your next read at My Virtual Library Empire
His foot touched an invisible threshold.
He felt a shift, like an almost imperceptible lurch in reality.
He was inside the Gap—
“Huh?”
A jarring sensation coursed through him.
It felt as if he had ‘slipped’ into the empty space, not walked into it.
The feeling was similar to the ‘shift’ one felt when teleporting, but it lacked the clean fluidity he was used to.
Instead, it felt chaotic.
The world around him turned dark. It wasn’t the darkness of night, but an oppressive, infinite void. His body felt weightless, as though he were phasing through countless layers of existence, each pulling him deeper into the Gap.
‘Hehehehe, you should anchor yourself to a dimension!’
The voices Air Elementals’ of echoed.
Their laughter bounced through the endless expanse.
‘If you keep falling into the Gap, no one knows where you will end!’
Neo’s face froze as the realization dawned.
‘So that’s why they were teaching me so happily! These fuckers!’
His surroundings shifted violently.
One moment, he was submerged in a vast ocean, and a colossal fish with glowing eyes was glaring at him from the deep depths.
The monster’s presence made Neo’s heart pound.
The next moment, he was in a vibrant forest made entirely of colorful glass.
The trees shimmered like prisms, refracting light into a kaleidoscope of hues, and flowers made a crunching noise as they swayed in the wind.
Neo’s body continued to ‘fall’ uncontrollably.
He had no idea where he was or where he was going.
Suddenly, he crashed into something cold and solid.
The impact rattled through his body, leaving him breathless.
The floor beneath him was hard and frigid.
A groan escaped Neo’s lips as he struggled to push himself upright.
Pain flared in his chest.
He glanced down, and noticed the crimson stain spreading across his shirt.
The force of the fall had broken a few ribs, and the taste of copper lingered in his mouth as he spat out blood.
“Where am I?”
His eyes scanned his surroundings.
The sky above was an endless expanse of black.
The ground beneath him was made of cold stone.
A thick white mist swirled around his knees. It wasn’t natural—it seemed to be alive, watching him, hiding something deep within.
And then he saw them.
Statues.
Countless humanoid statues stood frozen in the mist.
“They look similar to Anomaly #79.”
He shook his head, trying to banish the thought.
“Why am I thinking of that monster? These statues are different.”
The statues were all facing a single direction.
Neo raised his head and looked toward the sky.
To be exact, he stared at the point from which he had entered this dimension—a strange crack visible only to him.
He probed it with his senses.
“That thing looks like a one-way path. I guess I need to look for a different exit.”
It was unsettling to see the path he had fallen through.
His own dimension—his world, or whatever it was to be called—was just a step away, literally.
But he couldn’t return as he had no way to move between the dimensions.
“I need to find the right path in the Gap if I want to go home.”
The previous path he took had been a one-way ticket, dropping him into this bizarre dimension.
It couldn’t take him back.
“Hey, I know you can hear me…” Neo called out, addressing the Air Elementals—the bastards responsible for his predicament.
His voice trailed off as he felt a movement around him.
A chill crawled up his spine.
His instincts screamed danger.