Shadow Walker – The Otherworldly Thief

Chapter 5: The Wonder of the Worlds and the World Stone (1)

He looked around and found himself standing in what looked like a garden. The blue sky was clear and looked more perfect than the one he was familiar with. There was no sun. There were trees in one direction; it looked like the entrance to a forest. On another side, there was a lake. Resting under the blue sky, the tranquil lake water invited his tired soul to take a break.

Anom turned around. Right in front of him was a stone pathway going straight into the distance. He could only see some mountains in the distance. The peaks of the mountain were especially huge. Anom was sure that even Mount Everest would be dwarfed before them.

There was someone in front of him on the pathway. It was Cassana. But right now she was kneeling on the ground and holding her ears.

Anom wanted to laugh at her, but he couldn't. His attention was on the person standing in front of her.

It was a woman wearing a lilac full-length skirt and a white, full-sleeved, loose top with red flower patterns that was tucked in it. Her feet were covered in small brown boots. Her hands were covered in gloves, maybe gardening gloves, as they were covered in soil. She had a light smile on her face. But that was enough to send Anom into a trance. But there was no need to describe her beauty again, as her face was the same as that of the statue he had seen before.

Thinking of the statue, Anom subconsciously moved his eyes to her chest. He tried not to make it obvious, but he got lost in the moment. Her divine appearance together with her alluring, mature body was too much to ask for.

"Welcome, Anom. I'm Della, and this is my home. I hope Cassana didn't cause you too much trouble." Della's voice broke Anom's reverie. He coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment. Whatever the reason, it was rude to stare at a lady like that. What's more, he was at her place.

"Hello, Della. Uh... you already know my name. I'm, uh, a thief. It's very nice to meet you. It'd be a pleasure if you could explain more of the things that have happened to me." Anom replied. He got a little embarrassed while admitting his occupation. All this time, he had been pretty proud of his skill set. He still admitted it in the end. Maybe he just didn't want to leave a bad impression on her.

"What are you doing? Do you have any idea who you're talking to? Hurry up and kneel down and greet my Mother God. Maybe then she'll grant you some answers."

"Cassie~, we still haven't decided on your punishment yet, and you've already started to bother our guest. Looks like I have to think about your punishment more deeply." Della said with a smile. But that smile scared Cassana so much that she quickly shut up after apologizing. Della then turned towards Anom.

"I know Anom. Cassana told me about it. Let me explain to you what happened."

Della made a gesture with her hand, and with a flash, the stone that Cassana called the 'world stone' was in her hand. Anom had already realized that his hand had been freed from the bind of the stone since he was there.

"To explain it properly, let me first reintroduce myself. I'm Della, the operator of this world. I was born into the world and have been working together with my team of spirits to manage it. You have already met Cassana, the head of the Angel Spirits. Now, you can ask me whatever questions you have." Della explained in her euphonious voice.

Anom thought for a while before speaking, "I don't want to meddle too much. It'll be enough if you can clear up some of my questions. Just tell me what that temple was doing on Earth if it didn't belong there, and what is that stone." He knew that someone who was born into the world and managed it was basically a god. Such a person was sure to be tangled up in various affairs beyond his comprehension. Yet she took her time to explain it to him. Anom was already very flattered. Strangely, he didn't feel oppression or inferiority when facing her. He only felt that he was talking with a friendly elder sister.

Della smiled as she continued, "The universe is made up of energy, or you can say energies. Different energies react with each other or themselves, resulting in various cycles of creation and destruction. Some of the creations gather together to form more complex results. All worlds in the universe are made in such a way. Even the creatures residing in these worlds are products of the collision of various energies. All of creation is another form of existence for various energies, but it is not the final result. What is created will be destroyed. Destruction follows behind creation, then the energies are reassembled as an entirely new creation, and the cycle continues. What you know of your world might be different from how other creatures see it." She paused and asked Anom, "Can you tell me what you know about your world?"

Anom tried to digest the words she said. Her explanation was easy to understand, and as someone from Earth, where science has made quite a lot of progress, it made it easier for him to understand whatever was being said about energy.

Anom arranged his words and spoke, "Well, what I know is that I live on a planet that is quite suitable for living. It revolves around a star, which we call the Sun. Uh… there are many other planets that revolve around the sun. This arrangement as a whole is called the Solar System. And the galaxy it is part of is called the Milky Way. That's about it." After speaking so much, he felt like he was standing in a science class, having a questionnaire session with the teacher.

No! She's too hot to be a teacher. Anom, he thought as he took a quick peek at her inviting curves.

Hmph! Cassana expressed her dissatisfaction with his lecherous behavior. If not for her Mother God, she would have already jumped up to teach him a lesson.

 "Hmm. That's one of the ways to see the physical manifestation of the universe. You see, different creatures see the world differently. Your life was centered on the planet you were born on. Still, you just consider it as part of a bigger cluster. But that's not all there is to it. The planet you consider a normal living habitat is actually the core of a bigger dimension that goes beyond the boundaries of the galaxy. The controlling unit of your world is the Earth. Or as you people call her, Mother Earth. She was born into that world, just like I was into this one. It was not that long ago that she created your planet and chose to reside within." Della paused to let Anom absorb the new information.

Anom stared at her with his mouth agape as his mind considered the things she disclosed. So there was a God on Earth. And it was Mother Earth. She was an entity deified by basically every civilization in history. And maybe all the gods and angels in myths were the spirits she created. Just like Della had Cassana. Wait! What did she mean by "it was not that long ago"? It's been billions of years since the Earth was formed.

As Anom was inferring many things from her words, Della continued, "I have known her for a long time. We're good friends. I met her just before she decided to suppress the mutation and evolution of energies in your world. And that was also when I left the World Stone there. And..." She looked at him. "Ah, please, ask if you have any questions." Della gestured to Anom when she saw he had something to ask.

"What do you mean by suppression of energies? Why did she suppress them? Is it not all about the free flow of energy?" Anom asked.

Della smiled and said, "You are right. But some things happened in the past that resulted in some damage to multiple worlds. Mine was lucky enough to get away scot-free, but yours suffered from some effects. She had no choice but to restrict the development of her world and go into hibernation to recover from the damage. Your world has a rich history of various well-developed species and creatures who played in oceans of energy, treating the world as a garden to stroll in. Even your planet had its peak when all kinds of beings, mainly humans, explored the wonders of energy and created many legends across multiple dimensions. It all changed after the suppression."

"A world stone is created when multiple worlds situated near each other enter an arrangement that results in them being interdependent on each other. This grouping results in a synergic effect that creates a better flow of energy between these worlds and the universe. A world stone is created at the point where all the flows of energies from these worlds gather. As it is condensed from the energy of the worlds, it can help in the development of each world. Another one of its functions is to repair any damage suffered by these worlds. As you may have already guessed, we are part of the same group. It was my turn to guard the world stone when Yerra requested it. By the way, your Mother Earth is known as Yerra in the group. I was there when she entered hibernation. She was sad that she had to halt the development of her world. I left after delivering the stone. That was the last time I saw her." Della showed a reminiscent expression when she talked about Yerra.

Anom took the chance to ask, "So what happened then? Why did that temple emerge after such a long time? And what was she doing there?" Anom pointed at Cassana as he spoke.

Della glanced at Cassana and smiled. Cassana, who was about to charge and break Anom's finger, froze in her place.

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Author's Note: The word "energies" is used when there is a need to specify the existence of more than one type of energy. For example, spiritual or gravitational energy. The whole story will revolve around all kinds of "energies", hence the need.