Congratulations!
The first seal has been broken.
These words glistened on the blue hologram, its presence seeming to completely overshadow the grandeur of the Lunan city outside despite its small size.
Astra was still dressed in a pair of starry purple pajamas while having her hair styled in a bun; two curly golden strands were hanging from the sides of her head.
It was almost as if her clothes had reflected her complete and utter unreadiness.
The hologram was imprinted on her golden eyes as the various lights from beyond the crescent-shaped balcony shifted, illuminating her enchanting but shocked facial features.
Astra took a step back, as if a shockwave had blasted through her balcony and to her apartment.
As the futuristic, otherworldly world around her began to blur, she finally began to think.
"Seal?"
"What?"
"Why is it on a hologram similar to the one when I first came here?"
Before she could've conjured up another sentence, a bright, pale blue sphere of light appeared in her vision.
Astra flinched—instinctually moving away from the light.
"Hallucinating?" She naturally asked herself. However, she immediately processed this piece of information.
"No…it's the Demigoddess, right?"
The instant she said that, the point of light rapidly vibrated as aqueous light spilled out from it.
It expanded like a colorful supernova—quickly submerging Astra like a bucket of water was being poured over her.
"Wha-" Before Astra could even react, she was completely engulfed by the illusory light.
As she blinked, she saw that she was in a space that resembled the cosmos.
Colorful nebulae were painted over the darkness like a painting, while the stars of various sizes and colors dotted the space.
Galaxies were spiraling in the background as all sorts of celestial bodies could've been observed in the distance.
Below her feet were more stars, nebulae and celestial bodies, however it appeared like it was a reflection on a glassy—no, liquid surface.
The entire scene was pristine and serene. It was quiet and strangely peaceful.
"…" Astra was left speechless. She patted and touched her body, making sure that she was still alive.
She looked all around and saw nothing but the depths of the cosmos and the liquid surface that reflected those depths.
Still having a confused expression, she took a step forward as she gazed down.
As she stepped on the 'surface', ripples appeared in the reflection of stars and other celestial bodies; it was as if she was walking on water.
"Huh." For a moment, this was all she could've said.
She allowed herself to sit down as she stared out into outer space.
"Who knew that things would've gotten more incomprehensible. I guess this is what I get for complaining about boredom…" Composing herself, Astra gave a snappy remark as she watched the ripples dissipate on the surface.
She turned her head to stare at the slight motions of stars. Noticing the movements of the celestial bodies, a smile crept up on her face.
"They seem to follow the exact motion described by Stellar Kinematics. Isn't that interesting." She muttered to herself as she recalled something.
"It's moving the same way as I predicted Polaris would move. However, this is much less exaggerated…"
"It's no surprise. Of course the dimension of 'Space-Time and Physics' would incorporate unrealistic, exaggerated, manipulative forms of already existing Physics concepts."
Her eyes glimmered as she absorbed the feeling of staring at the night sky. A sensation swelled up in her chest as she remembered the events she experienced after the ritual.
"Hehe. Despite everything, I still can't seem to get over my love for the heavens. Actually, I don't think I ever will."
Astra tilted her head downwards as she held her hands together.
"But now, I realize I have to understand myself first."
"Hm. I wonder, is this the purpose of me being sent here? It obviously has something to do with the Demigoddess."
Astra lifted her head up as she looked around her again—almost as if she was watching out for something.
"In that case, sitting here isn't going to do me any good. I have to get going and understand this place first," She said as she got herself up, faint ripples forming on the surface once more.
"Though I wonder," She placed her hand on her chin as her eyes narrowed. "Since I was pulled into this space with no one here, does that mean that I'm the owner of this space? Or is it the Demigoddess?"
"Then again, it could be both of us…"
"The only problem is that such an idea rides on the assumption that no one is here, which could very well not be the case."
Astra chuckled.
"Hehe. I'd say that's the only bad part."
Adjusting the top of her pajamas, she walked into a certain direction attempting to understand this mysterious space.
While she walked under the gaze of the countless stars, she placed her hand on her chin as she thought about the message.
"A seal has been broken, a point of light similar to my hallucinations appeared, and I'm brought into a space that resembles the cosmos."
"The breaking of that seal caused me to be transported here. Is my actual body here, or is this merely something created by my subconscious?"
"And then, why is there even a seal anyway? What does it even do?"
As she kept thinking and walking, she looked up at the stars, galaxies and other celestial bodies. As she did, her mind raced back to any relevant past events that dealt with Ethereon and/or the Demigoddess.
The cosmic event that transported everyone from the previous Earth to the current Earth.
The way she was 'saved' from the void that held the woman in incomprehensible pain.
The idea that the hologram saying 'congratulations' were from the First Dimension, given how similar it was to the hologram when she first transported here.
The fact that she was coincidentally transported to a spot near Luna, which kickstarted Kayla's plans that she completely deduced.
The fact that the First Dimension's information is constantly changing, and that the entirety of it is likely unstable.
The fact that the Demigoddess might be weakened—or even worse, someone took Her place.
The fact that there was previously no Ethereal connection with the Demigoddess despite Her trying to contact Astra.
The fact that their Demigoddess could've interrupted the ritual that made her a Celestial.
Like a flashcard, she organized these thoughts.
Closing her eyes, many possibilities went through her head. As she came to one conclusion, she stopped walking as she took a deep breath.
"The Demigoddess is most likely weakened. She has been trying to find some way to gain back Her strength or Her position."
"This explains why almost everything She has done is in such a weird manner. Such as trying to speak to me through hallucinations. As for other sights that I saw that weren't hallucinations, like when I turned pale, it's best to reason that they weren't from the Demigoddess."
"As for why She is trying to speak to me, it is simply because the seals that I have were either placed by Her, or are related to Her or Her power in some way. Either way, they are an ongoing contingency used by Her because she is weakened—most likely against someone also of the First Dimension. This explains why the information from that dimension is constantly changing."
"Then, the ritual. I don't think it's a coincidence that the seal only broke after the ritual. If the seals are contingencies, then the preparations done by Kayla that involved me joining the Dreamlanders is also a part of that contingency. It was a plan to break the first seal. At the same time, it could also be a plan for me to make an ethereal connection through the breaking of the first seal."
"As for the seals themselves, I think as I break them, they will reveal more of the Demigoddess' power—or She might even awaken in me through them…"
As Astra thought this, she paused for a moment, almost struggling to digest the thoughts. She sighed and continued thinking.
"…I guess this explains why I have had superhuman strength. And I guess it also explains my intelligence somewhat. Maybe this also explains my strange yearning for the heavens…"
She cleared her throat strangely—despite her not even talking.
"Ahem. As for how the seals came to be, how many seals there are and how to break them, I have no clue. I still need to understand more about this."
"Now, to go back to the fact that the Demigoddess is weakened, I don't think that She was the one who transported us to this Earth. I don't think She has the power to do so. It could be that someone was masquerading as Her—perhaps the Demigod or Demigoddess she fought against?"
"Is this why the 'do not look at the night sky' message existed? Is this why I almost died while looking out of the window on that night?"
"Wait, am I supposed to be thinking about this? What if I know something that I shouldn't know?" Astra immediately thought back on Kayla's cryptic words about her not being strong enough to know certain things.
She shook her head as she opened her eyes to look around her, but all she saw was the beautiful depths of outer space and the serene reflective surface.
"Nothing is happening to me and nothing is coming. Am I wrong, or is this place a safe haven…"
"I don't see any problems with my reasoning. I think it's safe to assume that this place allows me to have such thoughts, especially since it's directly related to the Demigoddess."
"If it really is a safe haven, then I can't have these thoughts in the outside world or else there's a chance for that existence masquerading as the Demigoddess corrupting me."
Astra sighed as she continued to walk in a certain direction—one that was pointed towards a particularly large galaxy in the sky.
"This makes me believe that the body that I'm currently in is my physical body, while this entire space is the subconscious of either me or the Demigoddess. After all, I'm still in my pajamas here."
Astra's feet began to move faster, causing more ripples as she proceeded to summarize what she knew.
"The Demigoddess is weakened due to unknown reasons caused by another existence. This other existence likely is trying to take Her spot which explains why the First Dimension's information keeps changing…it's like a battle of who controls the information…"
"Because of this, the Demigoddess was able to place seals on me to awaken Her power as a contingency. This means that the power from the seals comes from the First Dimension since they're connected to the Demigoddess. In that case, as I continuously try to break them, I'll get stronger in the dimension and get more connected to Her."
"This space is a manifestation of the subconscious of either of us, of both of us. It is probably used as a safe haven for both of us against that mysterious existence."
Astra stopped walking as she took a deep breath.
"Knowing all of this, it becomes clearer why I failed the ritual. I was much closer to the Demigoddess than I thought, and me not understanding this allowed me to fail. Despite this She was the one who allowed the seal to be broken…"
"But at the same time, the seals are potentially a way for Her to awaken inside of me. Heh, I don't know how to feel about that."
Astra began to chuckle as she introspected on the absurdity of the situation. She narrowed her eyes as she proceeded to say with a soft voice:
"After all this time of searching, proving, and yearning for the absurd—it turns out that I was connected to the absurd all along."
"If I'm right, then I know a lot more about myself than I ever have."
"About the way I act, the way I can't connect with others, the way how I'm so much stranger than others."
Astra gave a faint smile as she continued to walk in the direction of the galaxy, her eyes watching the ripples on the reflective surface.
"In a way, I've got what I wanted, but I still don't feel satisfied. This space is aesthetically perfect, and using the fact that I came here I figured out many things, but I still feel like there is so much more to know about myself and the Demigoddess."
She reaffirmed herself, almost as if she couldn't accept her verdict on the Demigoddess' intentions.
"I could also very well be wrong. For example, maybe there is something with the Third Dimension that I don't know about. It's very possible that the First dimensional powers from the seal conflicted with the Third dimensional powers from the Orb. It's also possible that I'm related to the Demigoddess in some way, and it's not needed for Her to awaken in me in order to protect Herself…"
"This only proves that by entering this space, I've reached the tip of the iceberg. I can see fully why I was brought here after the first seal broke."
"Only when I fully understand myself, this space, and the First Dimension I can try the ritual again. I have to continue exploring this space, and continue exploring it in the real wor-"
Suddenly, Astra was interrupted by an intuitive feeling that could only be described as ethereal.
It was like illusory spikes piercing all over her body, and all of these spikes seemed to come from a certain point.
This direction was right in front of her!
Anxious, she casted her gaze upwards.
The galaxy that was in front of her shifted mechanically. Its arms made out of gas and dust quickly contorted into aqueous symbols that looked very familiar to Astra.
It was words written in English.
BEWARE OF THOSE FROM THE FIRST DIMENSION.
DO NOT LOOK AT THE NIGHT SKY!