☿️
Even though he finds it difficult to accept what he just read, there is something within him that not only knows it; but has also experienced it.
The only missing piece of the puzzle is translating the phrase he needs to say if he finds himself in danger. It looks like an ancient language that hasn't been discovered yet. Nonetheless, he has to do it tonight. There is no time for research.
Everything that has unraveled so far is inexplicable and defied by logic, so his only compass is his faith that it will all work out anyway.
As the clock ticks and the sun goes down, he lies on the bed beside his wife, facing her.
"Please never forget how much I love you" he says as he caresses her face.
"This is so unlike you Jonathan, are you okay?"
"Yes I just love you very much" he says, trying to stay composed.
"Whatever you are going through, know that i will always be by your side" she tells him as he gives him a soft kiss on his lips.
He kisses her back without letting go, thinking this might be their last goodbye before he drifts away into the biggest challenge of his life, not knowing if he will ever return back. He took a deep breath and blew out the candle.
♄
… As he dives deeper and deeper into sleep, his vision comes alive in the dream realm..
The first thing he sees is a forest, lush leaves decorating the branches of the trees. It's pitch black, but the moonshine is washing over the landscape.
A high-pitched ringing, echoes through the forest. Shortly after, he notices the shadow of a horned animal.
He hears its slow, heavy footsteps vibrate as its hooves touch the ground.
Two golden lights start to flicker, contrasting its mysterious shadow. After a few more steps, he can clearly see that the golden glow is emitting from its eyes.
The animal makes its last steps toward him, revealing its identity.
A white-coated, four-horned goat.
It looks directly at him. When he looks at Its rectangle-shaped iris he gets an eerie feeling; but there is also a familiarity in its glare, similar to the raven he met today. The goat's eyes guide him towards the path they have to walk.
Little does he know how difficult the road ahead is. With good company though, anything is doable.
The goat walks up the mountain with ease. Jumping effortlessly from rock to rock, it's almost flaunting its natural abilities that look supernatural to a human. Even though Jonathan struggles to mirror his agility, he is in awe watching the goat jump so graciously.
For a minute, he gets drawn into this beautiful moment. Lost in the gratefulness of it all, reality shifts. An invisible distorting wave of energy passes by everything visible, shaking it up. After that everything pauses, calming down. The bell of the goat breaks the silence. Jonathan's body begins to sync with the bell chimes, following its rhythm and flowing. As he ascends the mountain, he feels weightless.
♇
Arriving at the top, they see a cave. The goat glares at him, signaling the arrival of their destination. It walks towards the cave.
He follows the goat and reluctantly enters its entrance, gaining strength from the bell's guidance. After their first steps, they notice a pool of liquid touching their feet. As they pace deeper into the cave, the water level & flow get higher and stronger. In fear of the goat getting submerged, Jonathan grabs it into his two arms in an effort to protect it.
Suddenly, a black, long snake emerges from the depths of the water. But this is not a common snake. It has a distinct tail; triangulated and edgy, resembling a stinger. Three vertical white dots decorate its head like a crown.
The snake approaches them; its body moves in a hypnotizing manner. Its eyes locked onto Jonathan's. He takes some steps back in fear and stumbles upon a rock. Momentarily he falls back, failing to keep his grasp on the goat.
The snake uses this to its advantage and immediately attacks the goat. With its entire length, it slowly yet tightly wraps its body around the goat, visibly smothering it.
Jonathan feels a sudden pain around his neck, gasping for air. It doesn't take him too much time to realize that the goat's body and pain receptors are directly connected to him.
He writhes in pain as he holds his neck, his face becoming red at an alarming rate. He needs to find a way to save the goat instantly or they will both die.
At the bridge of fainting, he gets one last moment of clarity; remembering what his future self has written to the back of the blueprint. Across his vision, blue glowing letters flash; one by one being engraved on his brain. His behavior completely switches, almost like another soul has entered his body, as he speaks in an unknown language
"For as long as the planets rotate, so will I. Sometimes forth, sometimes back, direct my path, even if I fall back. Past and future, they all unite. Right here, right now, with all my might."
The fabric of reality gets punctured right in front of his very eyes; bright light covers everything, revealing an amalgamation of reflections, a million realities, and almost infinite versions of Self. As he moves, he sees his actions being reflected in each one of them. Connected to all of the versions of himself, he unknowingly channels energy from some of them.
Multiple streaks of blue electrified energy get directed to the mirrored versions of himself, all channeling back to his body.
Jonathan relives intense emotional moments of his life that pass in front of his eyes at the speed of light. Merging with the shared pain coming from the goat's body, he lets out a scream that is deafening.
It lets out a visible echo inside the cave, and the moment it touches the snake, it restrains its body.
The snake is trapped inside the pain of Jonathan.
After some seconds, the restraint breaks and the snake starts shaking uncontrollably, its tail going up and forth like a whip, unknowingly letting go of its grip on the goat.
Finally, it bites its own tail, unable to escape; it is stuck. As the snake is biting its tail, an uncontrollable hunger overcomes it; the snake is devouring its own tail.
The remnants left behind, his head, and part of his body are creating a vortex. The insides of his body are coming undone; shreds of it spiraling upwards, transforming into a stream of blood. Suddenly a red glow appears, and something solid starts to take form from the blood. A Black Tourmaline.
He holds it in his hand, examining its surface while trying to catch his breath.
As he turns it around, his hopes become a reality; it has 3 cracks that start to form at the center of the stone.
