Cultivator of Magic

Chapter 4: Unpreventable Changes

     Aiko awoke with a start, gasping for air. He wasn't sure why, but he felt a wave of anxiety surrounding him.

     That changed however as he opened his eyes and realised he was fully in his right to be anxious.

     Everything was white!

     What the hell...

     He looked down and saw that he wasn't even in the bed he had fallen asleep in inside the inn!!

     He was on the floor!!

     ...Seriously...What the hell...?

     Deciding to get to the bottom of whatever was going on, he got up and began to survey his surroundings.

     He looked around, walking around at a leisurely pace, and soon enough, he saw a figure in red standing out amongst all the white invading his senses.

     Seeing the deep red robes brought immediate relief to his eyes, its shade darker than the blinding brightness of the white.

     He needn't wonder who this person in red was. Who else could it be after all? He was only with one person who was dressed in that shade of red.

     If the sight of the other brought him comfort, he didn't acknowledge it.

     Not wanting to wait any longer and wanting to get some kind of relief for his aching retinas, he stared at the red figure and rapidly approached him.

     As he approached him, he yelled out his name, immediately catching the red-clad boy's attention as he turned around. As soon as his gaze met Aiko's, his eyes softened.

     "Aiko," He said softly as he stood up, "You're here too?"

     This question confused Aiko further, "Yes, I am. I thought I was the only one here for a while. Do you know where we are?"

     Kai looked around before answering, "Mmm. It seems we're in another dimension. Most likely a pocket dimension of sorts."

     "So it seems," Aiko pondered for a moment. He began trying to walk around, placing his hands in the air in front of him and wandering around, trying to see if he would run into anything.

     There wasn't anything in this area with them and it seemed to go on forever.

     "Hm," Aiko turned to face Kai again, "I don't feel any walls nor any objects in here with us. Just...white."

     Usually, the way to escape situations such as this would be to find a wall or a certain object that feels soft or squishy to the touch. That area was the illusion's "weak spot". Every illusion had one, some were just harder to locate than others. It all depended on the castor's strength.

     "It may be hidden deep inside of this illusion then," as Kai spoke, he closed his eyes and seemed to be focused on something. After a few seconds, he began walking, gesturing for Aiko to follow him.

     "Follow me."

     Aiko did as he was told and followed closely behind the boy in front of him. As they walked, Aiko stared ahead at the boy leading him and his thoughts began to helplessly wander.

     When they went to sleep for the night, they were in the inn. Now, they were teleported into a pocket dimension. There was no doubt left in Aiko's mind that this wasn't the demon's doing.

     What was their opponent planning and how did they catch onto them so easily? Was it perhaps their cultivator robes? Nonetheless, it was unusual, that's for sure.