Dear Caiden,
Let us start by saying that we love you very much. This wasn’t an easy decision for us to make. Please believe that. The time we spent with you was one of the most amazing, liberating, and eye-opening times of our lives. You treated us like humans, as equals, and you gave us a reason to keep living! But we needed to leave. We have to go home. We don’t want to burden you anymore than we have already.
We can’t thank you enough for everything you have done for us. You’ve given us a second chance! We really do hope to see that beautiful face of yours again, so please, stop living with a death wish! We know you’re special, but if you push too hard you may end up doing more damage than good, and that’s the last thing we want to see.
Please, find your peace and live the rest of your days happily. We love you, Caiden.
Nami and Hitomi Haneda
“I told them I would take them home myself! Why would they be so fucking stupid?” he yelled.
He turned to head to the bedroom, but tripped and fell, knocking some of the barstools down with him. A couple of the Sky Blue pills fell out of his pocket. He reached for one of the pills and swallowed it.
“I’m fucking tired! I’m tired. I’m so fucking tired,” he kept mumbling to himself.
The effects of the drug didn’t take long to manifest. The room began to bend and twist. Images of surf waves, birds, demons, naked women, guns, knives, notebooks, and spaceships began floating around the apartment.
The ceiling turned into a soft pink and orange sunset with cotton candy clouds. As he stared at the clouds, an image of Yvora appeared; she looked peaceful as she smiled at him.
“Caiden, it’s okay. You don’t have to fight anymore, it’s okay. Just do one thing for me,” Her beautiful smile began to contort. “Become the blade of retribution! Destroy all who destroyed everything you loved!”
The pink sky turned black, lightning flashed, and heavy rain began to fall Caiden closed his eyes and shielded his face from the storm.
“Hey, pretty boy!”
“Wake up, handsome. We’re making breakfast. If you don’t get up, I’ll make you get up, if you know what I mean,” the new voices giggled. Caiden’s eyes opened to the bright and vivid colors of what appeared to be a derivative version of his condo.
“Nami!? Hitomi!?” Caiden cried out.
They smiled as they slithered and crawled toward him. They were wearing the same outfits that they wore at The LoveMaars. They both began to undress him. The pleasurable synapses in his brain took a hold of his body. The Nami caressed his torso, specifically over the wound he received from the fight as she kissed him gently.
“How do you feel pretty boy?” Nami asked him.
“I feel good. Actually, I feel kinda hot. What did you do to me?” he asked.
“Don’t you worry about that. Just sit back and relax. Let it all go,” Hitomi said, kissing his forehead.
The twins faded away. It became dark and cold. Caiden could hear faint echoes. They kept getting louder and louder.
“Rez! Rez Fayte! Get yourself together, Rez! You can do this,” another voice called out.
“Rez? Who is Rez? Am I Rez?” Caiden asked the voice.
“You will know soon enough. You can do it. Pull yourself together,” the voice echoed.
“Mom? Mom, wait! Is that you?” he uttered.
Everything faded, getting even darker than it had before. The darkness gradually lifted like a curtain on a stage, and gave way to a strange new space. There was no ground to stand on, at first. Above was a multicolored sky reminiscent of the aurora borealis, pulsing with beautiful chromatic fluidity as if it were a living, breathing entity. This area was vast; endless. In the sky were stars and planetoids moving and shooting like bright comets.
Intangible streams of gaseous light flowed with the fluidity and formlessness of water and air. The sound of windchimes rang out in the ethereal space. Everything about this place centered around tranquility and serenity. Is this heaven? he wondered. Wherever this was, it was unlike anything he’d ever see before. Despite its otherworldliness, he felt as if he belonged.
He felt his feet touch something, but the sensation was hard to describe. He looked down to see that he was standing on a water-gel like substance. Then he realized he wasn’t standing on it, but floating just above it. His entire body felt light and weightless. The ethereal liquid began to stir. The entity that emerged from it was encapsulated in a warm, soothing purple light. As it surfaced, the purple light faded. The entity looked like a humanoid in unique attire. His body flowed like water. The humanoid looked just like Caiden. It’s like looking at my reflection in the water.“What are you?” Caiden asked.
“I am Rez. Rez Fayte,” the entity said. “I am you.”
”“You’re me?”
“Yes. It’s finally time to finally awaken,” Rez said.
“I don’t understand,” Caiden said.
“You and I are one and the same. I represent the highest and purest form of your subconsciousness. I am the purest form of all that you are. I’ve been with you this whole time,” Rez said.
“So, the fragmented memories, the strange dreams, communicating with my nanocells; that was all because of you?” Caiden asked.
“Because of us. Your experiments and, your growing abilities were the catalyst, further establishing a connection between us,” Rez said.
“It all makes sense now! I died, right? How else would I get to this astral plane, of sorts?” Caiden surmised.
“You’re partially correct. Yes, this is like the Astral Plane, but no, you did not die. Right now, I’ve managed
