The Shaman Desires Transcendence

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“Time is simply a concept that humanity uses to perceive change. A rather flat representation, at that.”

People remember time as a straight line.

Looking back at the irreversible past and ahead to the future yet to come, they live on, perceiving time as an irreversible change and concept.

But is that truly the case?

Is it really true that the past cannot be revisited and that change is irreversible?

“For a being of a higher dimension than we are, our lives might merely be stories in a book. Flipping through the pages, you can observe change, but you can just as easily return to a previous page if you wish. The absolute concept of ‘time’ that we feel might be nothing more than that.”

And this is not just a simple delusion.

Isn’t there evidence that supports this hypothesis?

An entity that can freely flip between the back and front pages of a book.

Though it may not be done by choice, there are beings that can nonchalantly traverse pages.

Isn’t there the prophet?

“Just looking at the prophet leads us to understand that time is not as straightforward as we imagine. Delving deeper into this, we can even conclude that the concept of ‘time’ as humans understand it doesn’t exist.”

Prophets live within a twisted sense of time.

The greater their ability, the more pronounced this distortion becomes.

When they open their eyes, they find themselves projected into possible futures, experiencing the future firsthand before returning to the ‘present.’

Didn’t some prophet describe themselves as a ‘lost child of time,’ a ‘refugee from the past’?

Prophets are always beings separated from time.

In futures they reach through their abilities, ignorance and powerlessness turn them into outsiders, while in the present, their abilities hinder them from living fully, further alienating them.

It’s like being excluded from time itself, turned away by the world.

Consequently, many prophets have gone mad from this horrific sense of separation or have lived as eternal outsiders, unable to belong anywhere.

Prophecy is an extraordinary ability, but simultaneously, it’s a curse.

The famous prophet Firman cursed his powers, saying, “This is a force that doesn’t allow a person to be a person. It is a power that turns people into tools.”

Surely, that is a harsh life.

Exiled from the world, suppressed in the present, and becoming a lost child of time, floating like a dandelion seed.

Countless individuals try to use their abilities, but enshrouded in so many desires, it’s hard to find anything truly valuable.

If only they didn’t know the future, they could live in the present as happily as everyone else.

Suffering in the future because they don’t know, suffering in the present because they do.

What a contradictory and painful life this is.

How can one not call it a ‘curse’ when two conflicting existences exist solely to torment the prophet?

Seeing the future at any moment, observing the consequences of their actions.

Thus, they cannot live faithfully in reality… unable to live a fulfilling life, this is undoubtedly not a happy existence.

In that sense, the reckless person that Anastasia met would truly be a happy existence.

Not excelling as a capable person, they are instead able to live a happy life.

Having a clumsy ability, they manage to retain a sound mind without being engulfed by the curse.

It would be a ‘blessing of incompetence’ that many a prophet would envy to the point of vomiting blood.

“The prophet exists simultaneously in two times. Some say, ‘Prophecy is merely the observation of possibilities; it’s neither truly going to the future nor the ability to see it,’ but… I don’t think the prophet’s ability is that simple. The reason is simple. I do not believe beings such as humans can perform such extraordinary feats. Observing the variables of the world and calculating their influence to simulate the future… It sounds easy, but honestly, with the addition of the variable called ‘special ability,’ it’s hard to believe that happens easily. So, if we think reasonably, then yes. Assuming that time doesn’t exist… the prophet’s ability is perhaps a power that allows them to experience the world from a different perspective, like a being of higher dimensions.”

Of course, one cannot make hasty conclusions.

Humanity has tirelessly sought to understand the concept of time and even conceptualized the arrow of time. Among them, some have even devised a method to specific the direction of that arrow, discovering laws of thermodynamics and greatly expanding their horizon of understanding…

“Perhaps an absolute concept of time does exist. But simultaneously, it may also not. The universe flows in a cooling direction, and someday, the entire universe might cool… Or perhaps, for certain entities, it may seem trivial, like steam condensing into water, or water freezing into ice—a change so insignificant. Like the analogy I’ve made about a book, it may not be irreversible change but something that can be reversed and controlled at any moment.”

Can entropy be reversed?

Can we halt the thermodynamic end we will inevitably greet as the universe cools?

Can we avoid the future known as the Big Freeze?

I do not know.

This may be an irreversible change, or perhaps, as she said earlier, ‘for a being of another dimension, it could be as commonplace as steam turning into ice, and ice turning back into steam.’

If scientists were to hear this, they would likely scoff and say, “What nonsensical hypothesis is that?” But… in a world where transcendent beings, or those called transcendent entities, exist, what could possibly seem absurd about this hypothesis?

Can humanity, which knows nothing of transcendent entities, understand from what perspective they view the world, or what they are capable of?

Perhaps, for a transcendent being, this world is like a book or a video.

Perhaps, for beings higher than those transcendent beings, their lives may be experienced in the same way.

In the scope of human perception, such matters remain unknown.

Someday we might know, but for now, no one can provide a definite answer.

“But one thing is for sure. The concept of ‘time’ that humans think they understand does not exist. There are no irreversible changes, and the concepts of past, present, and future are closer to illusions. And the prophet is the very evidence of this.”

A girl gazes at another girl with red eyes.

The girl clothed in black looks at the white girl and speaks.

“And I am that evidence, ‘sister.'”

A smile resembling the moon rises on her face.

A smile reminiscent of a pale crescent moon.

Beautiful yet unbearably cold, a white smile that seems it would freeze upon contact…

“Ella, Ella, Ella. Ella Bluezoisite Winter… Ah, what a futile name it is, like frost that falls in an instant and melts away in the sunlight, a gem that shines brilliantly for a moment only to vanish completely.”

She, who called herself the dregs of Ella, speaks with exaggerated gestures and tone like a theatrical performer.

As if she were the protagonist of a tragedy, she moves across the dark stage.

“Purple and blue, that beautiful radiant glow. Unlike having the beautiful name of the gem Bluezoisite as a middle name, I had no talent and could only be persecuted- unable to truly blossom even the little talent I possessed, becoming mere fodder for my sister. Living a sad and tragic life…”

Ella approaches Anastasia oh-so-naturally.

Then, with her delicate, white fingers that could pinch Anastasia’s cheeks, she caresses her flushed cheek and whispers.

“…the girl who became a sacrifice.”

Heheh—

Ella’s laughter echoes.

A low laugh that carries a chilling atmosphere.

It seems both self-deprecating and mocking towards someone…

Ella’s arms wrap around Anastasia.

The sound of their clothes brushing against each other can be heard.

The arm, wrapped in a dark dress, moves and intertwines, pulling Anastasia into Ella’s embrace…

A scent reminiscent of cold ice and cooled ash.

Clothes that feel as if woven from the softest silk in existence.

A body temperature akin to that of a corpse rising from the dead…

“Sister. I have died as a sacrifice, and your body has taken my place.”

Ella whispers into Anastasia’s ear.

“Perhaps from the past. Perhaps from the future. Perhaps from another world.”

Or from another dimension.

Or from the collective unconscious of humanity.

“…perhaps, from someone’s memory.”

Heheh.

Isn’t that an interesting tale?

Sister.

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