Paul woke up the next morning. He checked the his digital clock and saw it was a Saturday morning. He got dressed and saw Mira standing behind his grandpa (who couldn't see her). "Morning, Paul, did you make any new friends at school yet?" His grandfather asked.
"No, it is not easy to make friends when I am barely even noticed." Paul said.
"Well, what are you doing this weekend? Maybe you could invite some of your classmates over." he suggested.
"Nah, most of the games I play are games that are not very popular with the other kids. I chat with people online if that counts.
"Humans are meant to be socializing with each other in person, not only by the internet." His grandpa next asked, "Have you asked a girl out yet?"
"Oh, yeah, in fact; I asked three girls out this week and so far the first girl laughed so hard that the orange juice she was drinking squirted out of her nose. The second one said she wanted to date an athletic guy with pecs; not a couch potato with moobs. The third pretended that I was invisible! I'll keep trying, grandpa, but I can't make any promises." Paul said.
"Well of course, don't give up." he replied. Mira cocked her head. She knew about a lot of kids with romantic issues but Paul looked like he was about to give up. She wanted to help but according to the rules she wasn't allowed to intervene with such matters other than protecting him from hell demons and corpse monsters. He finished his breakfast and walked up to his bedroom.
Mira followed him up. Once he was inside, she asked him, "Is there something you want to talk about?"
"Yeah, I don't know much about you and everything having to do with your reality. I just want to take my mind off of being friendless. I used to have friends but they all went away to different schools. So what is all this about pretas, asuras, and all the rest?"
Mira cleared her throat, "Well, there are basically three different realms and each one houses two parts of states of being. The Hindis call this the 'The Wheel of Samsara' which is divided into six sections. At the top of the wheel is the realm of the devas (or gods) and the realm of the asuras (the heavenly demons). The devas, such as dragons, kitsunes, and jackal people are the ones in charge of the higher realities. They are the ones who discover the philosophical meanings of life and study the highest magic of the cosmos. The asuras are the ones who battle the darker dimensional monstrosities like pretas. At one point the devas and asuras battled it out with each other because of an incident back in prehistoric times. You, see, the asuras were promised by the devas how to create the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone to maintain the dark energy of their realm. However, some of the gods felt that the demons were not qualified enough to have such knowledge so they went back on their promise. Because of that, the gods and demons slugged it out with one another. The gods won but the asuras begged a compromise offering to release them from all charges if they protected mankind from the hellish monsters of the corrupt dimensions. The devas agreed to the terms and it has always been like this since then."
"But that doesn't seem fair!" Paul said. "Why couldn't they keep their promise?"
"I am not sure, I wasn't there when it happened. I have already spent thirty years as an asura." Mira answered. "Anyway, at the middle section of the wheel, you have the realm of the rakshasas and pretas. Pretas (or hungry ghosts) are essentially lost souls who have accumulated so much karmic debt that they are sent to the hellish realities for their crimes until they can pay up their debts. Being a preta, from what I understand is a horrible state of being to go through. They are always starving but can barely eat; they are suffering from extreme thirst but can hardly drink anything. They are in a continuous state of not living but not really dead either."
"That sounds like Capt. Barbosa and the pirates of the 'Black Pearl' from the first 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie". Paul said.
"I guess you can say that." Mira agreed. "Anyway, rakshasas are hell demons. They are people who once lived through many lifetimes of extreme anger and hatred that their karmic debts turn them into rakshasas. The only thing worse than pretas has to be rakshasas."
"I can't believe there are people are willing to live not one buy many lives having nothing but animosity towards the world and everything in it! Isn't there any chance that they are shown a different and better path that can lead them to peace?
"Everyone is given chances to redeem themselves but not everyone is willing to do that. The last two realities are the realm of the humans and the realm of the animals/plants. The point of the realm you live in is to discover ways to get into the higher realms and live your true purpose in life." Mira said.
"Wish I could go there. How did you get there?" Paul asked.
"That is a long story. I will tell you that one in a better time."
"But is that reality better than this one?"
"Y-yes, but you need to be patient and wait for your time." Mira said. Paul began to believe if the above reality was better than the one he was in; a dimension he could partially see but could never touch, maybe he could find better friends there.
"Is there a way for me to go to the realm of asuras and devas during my current lifetime?"
"Not that I know of." Mira said. "But the reality I live in isn't all candy canes and lollipops. Sure, people do act differently there but you should keep trying in your realm. Like your grandpa said--don't give up."
He sighed and said, "May I go out for a walk alone?"
"Alright, but I'll check in on you in an hour." Mira said. Paul thanked her and let his grandfather know he was going on a walk. As he traveled he walked by a couple of bushes. He thought he saw some sort of scrawny misshapen creature with long ears. He decided not to bother it and keep walking. A man in a black suit and silk hat stepped in front of the boy. He was also wearing a black cape, sunglasses, a handlebar mustache, and white gloves. He walked with a cane. The guy stuck out his cane causing Paul to trip on it.
"Oh, I am so sorry young man!" the man said as he helped Paul up. "I should have noticed you were coming."
"Nah, I'm fine" Paul said.
"No, really, allow me to introduce you to myself--my card." said the guy.
Paul read it, "Prof. Heindrich Malthus Carnegie--fortunes, magic, and wishes made real."
"Yes, my shop is not far away from here. You know I believe that fate brought us together for a reason. Is there something that your heart desires?" Prof. Carnegie asked.
"Yeah, have you heard of the Wheel of Samsara?" Paul asked
"Oh, yes, my boy. Do you want to go to a different reality and not have to reincarnate to go there?" Paul nodded. "Then come right this way! There are ways around the rules you know." He took Paul over to a small magic shop and led him inside. Paul saw bizarre magical artifacts such as talsimans, voodoo dolls, crystals and jewelry, idols of gods he never seen or heard about, and a mysterioius wooden cabinet in the middle of the room. It was painted in the color indigo and it had a strange emblem engraved on the left door. "This is an indigo cabinet, one of two of its kind. It serves as a portal to take you to the next realm up. The engraving of the triangle, square, and circle is the emblem of the philosopher's stone and without that these cabinets wouldn't exist. Now here is the deal, I will let you visit that reality for the first time for free; after that I am going to have to have you run errands for me if you want to go visit the place again."
"But how will I get back here?" Paul asked.
Prof. Carnegie handed him a silver bell. "Ring this and you will return to my shop in seconds.
"And if I stay too long I might scare my grandfather sick!"
"That is also no problem. You see, time doesn't even exist there. You could be gone for months while here you have been absent for only fifteen minutes." the man smiled.
Paul thought about it. "Alright, I want to go visit the realm of the devas and asuras."
"Excellent choice, my boy." the professor nodded. He opened the cabinet door and Paul saw what looked like New York City at night. The resident were anthro mammals, avians, and reptiles. "Go on, step inside and have yourself an adventure!" Paul walked right in. The magician smirked to himself. "That little twerp fell for it. I hope Sleight Hands will reward me for my success!"
Too be continued...
"No, it is not easy to make friends when I am barely even noticed." Paul said.
"Well, what are you doing this weekend? Maybe you could invite some of your classmates over." he suggested.
"Nah, most of the games I play are games that are not very popular with the other kids. I chat with people online if that counts.
"Humans are meant to be socializing with each other in person, not only by the internet." His grandpa next asked, "Have you asked a girl out yet?"
"Oh, yeah, in fact; I asked three girls out this week and so far the first girl laughed so hard that the orange juice she was drinking squirted out of her nose. The second one said she wanted to date an athletic guy with pecs; not a couch potato with moobs. The third pretended that I was invisible! I'll keep trying, grandpa, but I can't make any promises." Paul said.
"Well of course, don't give up." he replied. Mira cocked her head. She knew about a lot of kids with romantic issues but Paul looked like he was about to give up. She wanted to help but according to the rules she wasn't allowed to intervene with such matters other than protecting him from hell demons and corpse monsters. He finished his breakfast and walked up to his bedroom.
Mira followed him up. Once he was inside, she asked him, "Is there something you want to talk about?"
"Yeah, I don't know much about you and everything having to do with your reality. I just want to take my mind off of being friendless. I used to have friends but they all went away to different schools. So what is all this about pretas, asuras, and all the rest?"
Mira cleared her throat, "Well, there are basically three different realms and each one houses two parts of states of being. The Hindis call this the 'The Wheel of Samsara' which is divided into six sections. At the top of the wheel is the realm of the devas (or gods) and the realm of the asuras (the heavenly demons). The devas, such as dragons, kitsunes, and jackal people are the ones in charge of the higher realities. They are the ones who discover the philosophical meanings of life and study the highest magic of the cosmos. The asuras are the ones who battle the darker dimensional monstrosities like pretas. At one point the devas and asuras battled it out with each other because of an incident back in prehistoric times. You, see, the asuras were promised by the devas how to create the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone to maintain the dark energy of their realm. However, some of the gods felt that the demons were not qualified enough to have such knowledge so they went back on their promise. Because of that, the gods and demons slugged it out with one another. The gods won but the asuras begged a compromise offering to release them from all charges if they protected mankind from the hellish monsters of the corrupt dimensions. The devas agreed to the terms and it has always been like this since then."
"But that doesn't seem fair!" Paul said. "Why couldn't they keep their promise?"
"I am not sure, I wasn't there when it happened. I have already spent thirty years as an asura." Mira answered. "Anyway, at the middle section of the wheel, you have the realm of the rakshasas and pretas. Pretas (or hungry ghosts) are essentially lost souls who have accumulated so much karmic debt that they are sent to the hellish realities for their crimes until they can pay up their debts. Being a preta, from what I understand is a horrible state of being to go through. They are always starving but can barely eat; they are suffering from extreme thirst but can hardly drink anything. They are in a continuous state of not living but not really dead either."
"That sounds like Capt. Barbosa and the pirates of the 'Black Pearl' from the first 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie". Paul said.
"I guess you can say that." Mira agreed. "Anyway, rakshasas are hell demons. They are people who once lived through many lifetimes of extreme anger and hatred that their karmic debts turn them into rakshasas. The only thing worse than pretas has to be rakshasas."
"I can't believe there are people are willing to live not one buy many lives having nothing but animosity towards the world and everything in it! Isn't there any chance that they are shown a different and better path that can lead them to peace?
"Everyone is given chances to redeem themselves but not everyone is willing to do that. The last two realities are the realm of the humans and the realm of the animals/plants. The point of the realm you live in is to discover ways to get into the higher realms and live your true purpose in life." Mira said.
"Wish I could go there. How did you get there?" Paul asked.
"That is a long story. I will tell you that one in a better time."
"But is that reality better than this one?"
"Y-yes, but you need to be patient and wait for your time." Mira said. Paul began to believe if the above reality was better than the one he was in; a dimension he could partially see but could never touch, maybe he could find better friends there.
"Is there a way for me to go to the realm of asuras and devas during my current lifetime?"
"Not that I know of." Mira said. "But the reality I live in isn't all candy canes and lollipops. Sure, people do act differently there but you should keep trying in your realm. Like your grandpa said--don't give up."
He sighed and said, "May I go out for a walk alone?"
"Alright, but I'll check in on you in an hour." Mira said. Paul thanked her and let his grandfather know he was going on a walk. As he traveled he walked by a couple of bushes. He thought he saw some sort of scrawny misshapen creature with long ears. He decided not to bother it and keep walking. A man in a black suit and silk hat stepped in front of the boy. He was also wearing a black cape, sunglasses, a handlebar mustache, and white gloves. He walked with a cane. The guy stuck out his cane causing Paul to trip on it.
"Oh, I am so sorry young man!" the man said as he helped Paul up. "I should have noticed you were coming."
"Nah, I'm fine" Paul said.
"No, really, allow me to introduce you to myself--my card." said the guy.
Paul read it, "Prof. Heindrich Malthus Carnegie--fortunes, magic, and wishes made real."
"Yes, my shop is not far away from here. You know I believe that fate brought us together for a reason. Is there something that your heart desires?" Prof. Carnegie asked.
"Yeah, have you heard of the Wheel of Samsara?" Paul asked
"Oh, yes, my boy. Do you want to go to a different reality and not have to reincarnate to go there?" Paul nodded. "Then come right this way! There are ways around the rules you know." He took Paul over to a small magic shop and led him inside. Paul saw bizarre magical artifacts such as talsimans, voodoo dolls, crystals and jewelry, idols of gods he never seen or heard about, and a mysterioius wooden cabinet in the middle of the room. It was painted in the color indigo and it had a strange emblem engraved on the left door. "This is an indigo cabinet, one of two of its kind. It serves as a portal to take you to the next realm up. The engraving of the triangle, square, and circle is the emblem of the philosopher's stone and without that these cabinets wouldn't exist. Now here is the deal, I will let you visit that reality for the first time for free; after that I am going to have to have you run errands for me if you want to go visit the place again."
"But how will I get back here?" Paul asked.
Prof. Carnegie handed him a silver bell. "Ring this and you will return to my shop in seconds.
"And if I stay too long I might scare my grandfather sick!"
"That is also no problem. You see, time doesn't even exist there. You could be gone for months while here you have been absent for only fifteen minutes." the man smiled.
Paul thought about it. "Alright, I want to go visit the realm of the devas and asuras."
"Excellent choice, my boy." the professor nodded. He opened the cabinet door and Paul saw what looked like New York City at night. The resident were anthro mammals, avians, and reptiles. "Go on, step inside and have yourself an adventure!" Paul walked right in. The magician smirked to himself. "That little twerp fell for it. I hope Sleight Hands will reward me for my success!"
Too be continued...
Category Story / Fantasy
Species Unspecified / Any
Gender Multiple characters
Size 100 x 100px
Meant for it to be longer but ran out of time. Stay tuned for the next chapter!
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