New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

A presence which he had yet to feel on this side of the veil brushed his mind, and he felt a warmth emanate from the pit of his stomach—a familiar feeling.

'Do you need help, papa?' a soft voice asked in his mind.

'Luna? How did you find me?' Alex asked her mentally.

'I felt you far away and followed the tether to your soul. I found this crack in the darkness, and when I pushed through, I was back inside you.'

Alex could imagine that his pulling at the mana leak formed a wide crack in the veil that separated their worlds. It was good news that Luna could follow it there, but it was also not good.

If she could sense him through it, what else could?

But right now, he couldn't waste time thinking about this. Every second he wasted, his body absorbed more of the mana concentrated inside his head, and the rest were fighting against his control to break free once more.

'Yes, I need your help. I can't generate Aether here, and I think the natural mana of the world on this side is too weak to form a mana lobe. Can you do something about this?'

Luna giggled in his mind again.

'I will help you, papa. But this might hurt.'

'Wha—'

Before he could finish asking what she meant, a searing pain entered his head as he detected a single particle of bright white in there, forcing its way toward the center of the mana cluster.

It shone like a miniature sun in his head, burning his mind like a molten metal rod poking at his brain. But he gritted his teeth through the pain, refusing to let out the howl reaching his throat.

Instead, he groaned in pain, his hands slapping the side of his head, gripping his hair.

But he could feel the changes happening already.

The moment the Aether particle reached the cluster's center, and even on its way there, the mana particles that passed right next to it suddenly jerked onto it, like magnets sticking together.

And the more mana stuck to the Aether, the more the attraction force grew. Before long, all the loose mana in his brain had formed one clump.

But the process wasn't over. Alex, whose brain was still in excessive pain, could feel the attraction of the Aether particle redouble.

The surrounding mana started vibrating as the Aether was pulling on it like a vacuum, sucking up something slightly too big for the tube. The suction force grew and grew until the mana started compacting on itself.

With every millimetre, the cluster shrunk; it pulsed out with power, sending a searing pain in Alex's mind. He remembered this pain, although he had hoped it wouldn't be as bad the second time.

He wanted to scream his throat out, let the pain knock him out. But he knew it was not the best thing to do.

If he passed out, who would keep the mana together?

Luna was already holding the Aether particle in place, and he could feel her presence waning by the second.

Simply being on this side of the veil was draining for her. She was too powerful for a world without mana.

Alexander felt like time slowed to a crawl, the mana in his head pulsing rhythmically as it condensed and crystallized.

Ten minutes passed before the mana pulsed one last time, this time spreading warmth instead of searing pain, and Alex passed out.

As he did, he faintly heard Luna's voice in his mind.

'I can't stay here any longer. I will see you in my world, papa.'

A few hours passed, with Alex out cold on his bed, sweat drenching his clothes and the bedsheets. His body was reacting strongly to something inside it that was unnatural to the laws of the world and fighting it off like a virus.

But soon enough, the mana from the mana lobe spread through the body, forcing it to acknowledge its existence, and his body calmed down.

Kary was the first one to rise, as her pod top popped open, her body lifting upright as she stretched with a yawn.

When she saw Alex on the bed, still in his pyjamas, his clothes sticking to his body, and the bedsheets visibly drenched, she wondered what had happened.

She shook Alex awake slowly, wanting answers about this.

"Hey, handsome. Wake up."

Alex groaned as his eyes started fluttering.

"Mmm. What happened? Did I succeed?"

Kary's head tilted in confusion, her left eyebrow cocking up.

"Succeed what? In taking a bath on the bed? It would seem like it. What were you doing while I was in New Eden?"

Alex slowly opened his eyes, looking straight into Kary's, and paused.

In that moment of pause, Kary saw a glint of blue flash in Alex's pupils where there should only be black. But it was gone faster than it had come, leaving her with even more questions.

"Huh? A bath in the bed?" Alex asked, confused.

That's when he noticed he was all sticky, his pyjamas stuck to his boy, and the bed he was lying on was utterly drenched. The acrid smell of sweat suddenly assaulted both their noses as he moved.

"Oh, boy!" Kary exclaimed, pinching her nose.

"What in the name of god did you do while I was in New Eden?! She asked, sounding nasal as she held her nose closed.

"I don't know what happened to the bed, but I do know what I was doing before that. How the bed ended up in this state, I have no idea…" he replied, his face livid.

By the looks of it, he would have to call a specialty cleaner for this or buy a new bed. He could already tell the sweat circle would stain.

"Let's open up the windows and shower first," Kary said, her nose still pinched.

"Good idea…" Alex replied, jumping up from the bed.

He could tell her what he was doing once they didn't smell like they were in a hockey team's changing room.