Secrets of the Universe

Chapter 187: Two and One

Jake floated back to the second door. It was the hardest one to close.

'It is the radiation. I can't get closer without affecting myself. Hmmm..,' examined Jake.

There a faint red hue in the space around the door. It constantly spread wide, expanding until it threatened to fill everywhere.

This red hue would somehow travel out of his mindscape and reach every part of his body.

It would soften his bones and weaken his mind beyond what he could comprehend. This would cause him to have dark circles under his eyes and reduce his stamina and healing rate.

It was why he always looked like he just escaped from the underworld.

Focusing the door, Jake analyzed, 'Radiation....This is my mindscape. I should have total control, but I cannot just simply will it away. It requires a normal approach..However, I can cheat a little..'

Following his thoughts, a light purple energy surrounded him. It encased him like an armor.

Without any further thought, Jake went to the gap in the door. As the gust of treacherous 'mysteries' blew on him, it got blocked by the energy armor on him.

Jake put his hand on the door and tried to close it.

He sooner realized that it was one thing to protect himself and it was another thing to close it. One required a suit of armor, while the other required enormous strength!

However, this was not something to worry about. 

In his mindscape, he can be as strong as anyone. Even strong enough to break apart a star.

Summoning this imaginary strength, Jake firmly planted his feet on the rocky ground and pushed the door close.

The suit of armor on him had begun to crack but he had no time to tend to that.

Luckily, before it could fully crack, Jake had already shut the door close!

*Bam!*

Jake watched as the red hue around him gradually brightened to a colorless one that was influenced by other objects.

'One down. One to go,' sighed Jake.

He took a minute to catch his breath. The mental strain from his actions had already gotten to him.

'You did it,' cheered Khaos.

His figure behind Jake grew more defined as it shot a purple bolt at the door. 

The bolt then transformed into a kind of seal that prohibited the door from every opening in the meantime.

After what felt like a minute, the two of them then traveled to the red door's location.

This one seemed tougher to Jake.

He had done a lot of scrutinization and knew that the door required a thick suit of armor this time.

Not thinking any further, Jake encased himself in the familiar energy armor, but this time, it was significantly bigger than its former appearance.

He touched the door and tried to push it close, but it was to no ado.

Even after the increase from his imaginary strength, he could barely push it two feet.

Veins popped on Jake's ethereal body as he summoned an abyssal strength to close the door.

The movements were slow, but after a full minute, Jake eventually closed the large door.

*Bam!*

He fell on the floor in the next moment as his mental mind was drained. His body had already started showing signs of disappearing.

Panting as he rested on the door, Jake sighed to Khaos, who was beside him, "What is it?"

The face-wide smile on Khaos' face, much to Jake's dismay, already told him everything.

"Things aren't over," smiled Khaos.

His devilish face seemed to want to torment Jake forever.

However, Jake still had to ask, "What do you mean?"

Everything red door was already shut close. The two main problems were already taken care of.

Khaos smirked, "Look again."

His words took Jake's sight back to the two red doors.

At first, he didn't see, but on the second try, he saw it...

In truth, it seemed trivial, but in the grand scheme of things, it was as damaging as an asteroid.

The door had opened by the smallest fraction of an inch.

Jake remembered that he had brutally closed it, but now it was back open.

In fact, most p[eople, including warriors and regular mortals, wouldn't notice the difference, but it was there!

Going by a progressive, Jake figured that it would open later in the future!

After accumulating lots of fractions of inches, it would move on to feet and from there it would increase.and increase..and increase.and increase!

"It is not over yet," Jake repeated Khaos' words.

He now understood!

Looking back, everything seemed too simple, didn't it?

Jake laughed softly as he mocked his foolishness.

This was the second time in a while that he was in the unknown.

Khaos proceeded to seat beside him, watching as Jake laughed out his feelings.

The two of them then descended into a comfortable silence, the kind that they were used to.

They watched as the rocks floated around and clashed with one another.

It was only beautiful sceneries like this that could give them peace.

"You wanna know the reason why I'm trapped here," questioned Khaos in a rare soft voice.

Jake looked at him and nodded.

"We are merging," smiled Khaos.

He seemed to be the only one not affected by the bomb he dropped.

After a while, Jake voiced out, "What?"

"We are two parts of the same coin. However, I have lost my purpose, which involved the original [Chaos Core]. The next thing for me to do is to merge. I and you will create a truly perfect being," explained Khaos.

"Didn't you see clues?" teased Khaos.

Jake closed his eyes as he surfed his recent memories. 

Yes, there were clues.

His behavior since he had gotten to this world had been more jovial and wild than he normally did.

His expressions had been more defined than the cold self he was used to.

Jake saw many other clues when he surfed through his memories.

How could he not have realized it before?

Jake was originally a guy with a stick up his a** and now, he was suddenly someone that acted when he saw something 'interesting'.

Once again, Jake sighed, 'What a sad life?'