Chapter 9. A Conversation with the Keeper Aruna

Vidomir couldn't tear his eyes away from the white-hot stone, which only moments before had been black. Its size was imposing — five fathoms across on every side.

And all around, incredible changes were taking place. Out of the single world of Antiano, countless others were being born, resembling our worlds. These new worlds were drawing apart from one another. Vidomir noticed with astonishment that his hands had become human, and that he himself had turned into a person.

At that moment, the elder Supreme Keeper Aruna appeared by the source.

"I'll have to become the temporary Keeper of these worlds, born from the former world of Antiano," she said.

Buoyed by hope, Vidomir couldn't hold back his excitement. Greeting Aruna, he asked, optimism in his voice:

"And what about my brother, Aria, father, the wizards, our friends? And why have I become a person again?"

"Everyone who was turned to stone will soon come back to life and return home. It isn't only you who has become human — your brother too, your parents, and all your kin from the world of Narspi," Aruna answered.

"Praise the Creator! Thank you, Aruna, for my loved ones being well. But I don't understand — why did I, my brother, our parents, and our kin become people?" Vidomir pressed on.

Aruna began to tell an ancient story:

"It all began in the world of Felvidek. Your ancestors and Aria's ancestors fought against the Chernyaks. Your ancestors, warrior-mages, turned into bears to increase their strength in battle. The vicious Chernyaks could not break their resolve. Your ancestors' magic was very powerful. The warrior-mages, turned into bears, could not be broken by the Chernyaks. So the Chernyaks resorted to cunning — they cast a spell of forgetting upon your ancestors, and they forgot everything. Then the Chernyaks opened the gates between worlds and drove your ancestors through them. That is how your ancestors came to be in the world of Narspi. Now, the Chernyaks' curse has crumbled to dust, returning your people to their human form."

Vidomir was stunned.

"You aren't the only one shaken by this right now," Aruna said with sympathy.

"And what will become of the evil Chernyaks?" Vidomir asked, having recovered himself with difficulty.

"The Chernyaks have lost their dark magical power. Without their dark source, they are harmless. I will give them a choice — to be born in these new worlds as whatever they wish, walking their life's path toward purification. Perhaps some of them will come to know grace and love. Those who are not ready, or do not wish to change, will remain in the lower dimensions," Aruna declared.

Vidomir had always been curious to know where the universe, full of worlds, had come from. He didn't let the chance pass to ask Aruna this question. She answered him:

Long ago, in ancient times, the guardian Keeper Aru — a powerful sorcerer. In pursuit of forbidden knowledge, he dared to create the tyng virus — a sinister entity capable of enslaving the mind. Yet Aru paid a heavy price for his recklessness, for he himself fell victim to the offspring of his own madness.

In his recklessness, he dared to defile the temple of the Creator Himself, stealing a grain of sacred spiritual light from our native universe of Azarala. And then Aru fled to the lower spaces and, with the help of that fragment of spiritual light, created imperfect universes there. And now Aru hides somewhere within one of these universes. This tyng virus spread through every universe he created, in the lower dimensions. Many spirits came here from Azarala, and I came with them. We wanted to find the Keeper Aru and help him — to try to heal him. But some of us fell into a trap in the lower dimensions. The tyngs took up residence within our kin and blocked their memory, so our kin would remember nothing of their past life. The tyngs are not as dangerous as the Chernyaks, but these parasite entities can gradually turn our kin into something resembling new Chernyaks. The world of Antiano was once similar to the universe you live in. The Chernyaks were once kind people. The tyngs gradually turned kind people into evil Chernyaks. Then, with the Chernyaks' help, they made one dimension and one world of Antiano out of many dimensions and many worlds. The tyng virus entity lives in three dimensions at once: the Abhorny, the Magayny, and the Bahorny. The tyngs have only one goal — to seize the minds of spirits and instill negative thoughts. The tyngs feed on the negative emotions of the spirits of people, animals, and nature. They have taken such deep root in our kin's minds that removing them safely is impossible. If our kin did not eat unhealthy food and did not give in to negative emotions, the tyngs would leave them without harm. These entities have no interest in spirits free of destructive experiences. We wait for the day our kin can heal from the tyngs' influence and remember who they are. The tyngs cannot cross into the upper dimensions of the Universe. So, after healing, our kin pass into the upper dimensions. And from the upper Aluysk dimension, our kin can return home to Azarala. The people in the universes created by Aru will one day heal, and we will all be able to return home, to Azarala. Azarala is our home, a world of love and light. It is Azarala that feeds energy into the universe you live in, through the source Ulatar in the Aluysk dimension.

Vidomir was shaken to the depths of his soul by Aruna's revelations. In his heart, feelings mingled: awe, confusion, and sorrow.

"Don't be sad, Vidomir," Aruna's voice, like a warm summer breeze, dispelled his sorrow. "Everyone will return home to Azarala one day, and you will too."

"Can you go there, to Azarala?" Vidomir asked.

"Sometimes I visit there, but we Keepers will be the last to go home for good. Someone must guard the worlds until all our kin remember who they are and return home to Azarala," Aruna said with sadness.

"But how did Vestislav, Aria, and my brother Blagomir manage to reach the Aluysk dimension with the tyngs, when we came to see you, Aruna?" Vidomir kept on.

"The tyngs cannot stay awake in the upper dimensions, they freeze there. But the tyngs' program keeps running in the spirit's mind. It's dangerous for a spirit infected with tyngs to remain long in the upper dimensions. The tyngs begin to self-destruct, and in doing so, they can damage the spirit's mind along with themselves," Aruna explained.

Vidomir grew sorrowful, thinking of the people and spirits of nature who needed help somehow.

"Will we ever see each other again?" Vidomir asked.

"We will definitely see each other again," Aruna smiled. "I haven't told you all this without reason. You have healed completely from the tyngs' influence. The Keeper-vinirs living within you have defeated the tyngs."

"Keeper-vinirs?" Vidomir repeated, puzzled.

"Yes, they're microorganisms, but they live in every dimension at once. Vinirs give energy — that is, they are sources of energy. They existed before the universes were born."

"But how?" Vidomir couldn't believe his ears.

Aruna, wanting to make things clear, added to her answer:

"Your spirit, Vidomir, was never darkened by negative experiences, and your body was nourished by the wholesome gifts of nature, which the tyngs dislike. The Keeper-vinirs grew more and more numerous, and they were able to defeat the tyngs. Tyngs feed on dead food and negative emotions. There was nothing for them to take from you, so they left. You have a kind heart, Vidomir. Soon you will remember who you are. And if you wish, you will be able to return to your true home — Azarala. But for now, you can help me with my troubles. You will help me, won't you?"

"Of course I'll help!" Vidomir exclaimed, with such strong conviction that not a shadow of doubt remained in Aruna.

In Vidomir's mind, all the pieces fell into a single picture. Now he understood why the universe was not so perfect.

Aruna touched the source, and in her hand appeared an amulet in the shape of the Ingl star. She held it out to Vidomir and said:

"This amulet is a symbol of our universe, in two-dimensional form. I've made it a key to the worlds. With its help, you'll be able to travel not only through all the worlds, but through all the dimensions. Your physical body and every subtle body will transform into one spiritual body of a subtle plane, and you'll be able to travel simply and freely. This amulet will also make you invisible to the tyngs. They won't notice you."

Vidomir, with gratitude, took the amulet and put it around his neck.

"And now it's time for you to go home. They're waiting for you. Touch the source — the white-hot stone," Aruna said.

They said their farewells, and Vidomir, touching the stone, awoke in his physical body, in the world of Grozdan.

Epilogue

In the world of Grozdan, Vidomir was surrounded by his loved ones. He stood up, and his brother ran to him, his mother, his father, Aria. Vestislav, Veleslav, and Aria's parents came too. Everyone embraced Vidomir and wept with happiness. Joy overflowed in everyone around him.

To Be Continued

Dear readers, you can help the author speed up the release of the sequel, "Wizards of Distant Worlds: Vidomir's Investigation," by pre-ordering the book.
You can pre-order the book at: arives.ru/predzakaz_knig

Follow the release of the sequel on my official website arives.ru and in the community at vk.com/azveslav