LIMINALITY
Table of Contents
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 56 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Chapter 66 Chapter 67 Chapter 68 Chapter 69 ENDChapter 31
A sixty-year-old man who goes by the name Menes slept comfortably in his bed. His breathing was soft and gentle, but then the gut feeling disturbed his rest as his eyelids opened wide. His vision was blurry and unclear at first until he adjusted himself to adjust the nearby nightstand lamp.
Menes was a tall, lean man with balding brown hair and a thick beard. His face was wrinkled, but his eyes shone brightly in the light. He wore a loose-fitting gray cotton shirt and a pair of plain gray pants. His hands were gnarled, including his knuckles, which were calloused.
Sitting at the edge of his bed after being awakened in the early morning, he yawned before nonchalantly looking around the room, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. "Probably just my imagination," he whispered to himself.
But the gut feeling still remained, as if there was something wrong with this. He can't pinpoint what it is; however, he probably assumes it's just a bad hangover from the last night's meeting with the Baharna Council. Having a long, boring conversation can drive anyone to the brink of insanity.
It took him a few minutes to get to his feet and another five minutes to find his cane, which had somehow ended up under his desk. With the aid of the cane, he began walking to the door before immediately stopping himself from touching the knob.
He was hesitant at first when the persisting feeling continued to linger but shook his head in denial. "Enough of this nonsense," he grumbled under his breath, finding the situation bothersome to begin when it was nothing more than just feeling after all.
Pushing away these thoughts, he hastily opened the door and expected the fresh, nearly empty hall of their government building. However, what greeted him was a white feline cat sitting outside of the door, as if it were expecting him to open it in the first place.
Surprised by the sudden appearance, he smiled and knelt down at the small creature. "Are you lost, kitten?" Bringing himself to gently stroke it's white fur, "Who might you belong to, little fella?" Just when he touched it, the cat spoke in an irritated tone of voice.
"Get your filthy hands off me."
Horrified at what he saw and heard, Menes almost had a heart attack as he instinctively retreated himself from the talking cat before falling down on his ass and saying, "WHAT THE?!" Shouting fearfully at the absurdity of this moment, he never expected this to happen.
Huffing rudely, he then asked, "You must be Menes, one of the council members in the city," Schrodinger announced as he entered the old man's room uninvited. "Am I wrong?" He jumps over the wooden table, which is placed close to a bright window, sitting himself on it if he owns the whole place.
Adjusting himself from this shock, he grabbed his fallen cane and carefully turned around with the door still opening, looking at him warily. "You...why?" He never heard any of the Ultharans ever decide to go out of their way to have a private conversation with someone, let alone do anything at all of this magnitude.
Narrowing his eyes, Schrodinger continued with his speech, "I know you must be surprised to see an Ultharan out here in the city, and for your information, this isn't my usual preference, but as much as it pains me, I must discuss this matter of urgent importance in private; it would be better if you close the door first," detailing the whole ordeal with such impatience in his voice.
Realizing this could be important, he nodded and complied without any further questions. Taking the time to carefully close the door so no one could overhear what was being discussed inside. Leaving him in the company of a talking cat who is capable of being anywhere and everywhere at the same time.
"So what is this you want from me?"
Menes went straight to the point while risking the chance to ask the obvious question, as he didn't feel like wasting any time with useless words by trying to sugarcoat a simple discussion. Say anything wrong, and he might have to endure a punishment.
There is a reason why the Baharnans either worshiped them as gods or venerated these cats with deep respect. It is the reason alone why his own people have a successful economy for the Ultharans ability to easily get any crucial resources without much effort.
Having said that, they hold them in high regard, although he does find them somewhat self-absorbed. It was, in fact, a very hard fact that the great port of Baharna existed in the first place. And potentially, losing their important trade partner would be catastrophic for their economy.
Gulping in worry, he waited for the answer he would receive and hoped there were no complications with what had happened earlier this morning. He definitely needed his weekly cup of coffee; this was too much for his old brain to handle.
Lowering his gaze, the white cat sighed before facing him with its majestic blue eyes. "I need access to the airship arriving in a couple of hours," he answered rather seriously. "It's important to this conversation, so don't even try to dodge the subject. This is the reason why I'm even bothering to have a discussion with someone such as yourself," clarifying
"What!?" The old man gasped in utter bewilderment, "You do realize that the entire Baharna Council has to agree on this decision together before we—" He couldn't finish his sentence when the cat angrily hissed at him in frustration, immediately shutting him up.
"Then do something about it." Schrodinger was growing impatient by the minute. He then decided to emphasize his point: "Or maybe you prefer to let this city suffer a certain calamity in a few years time that would devastate your precious civilization forever?" Threatening to reveal the prospect of it.
Sweat poured all over the old man's face; his eyes dilated, and he tried to hide it behind the false bravado. "What are you talking about?" Menes knew he had to be careful with his answers, but his mind was racing in panic. "This is crazy! You are willing to risk our business over a ship?!" Not believing what he was hearing, did the cat grow mad?
Schrodinger glared at the elder councilman. "My reasons are my own unless you want them to be known by everyone." He was tired of beating around the bush. "Take it or leave it; I won't bother myself with speaking any longer," he said, gracefully moving his furry tail in a gesture.
This was bad. Really, bad. He didn't like how this was playing out; the cat is holding him hostage over such a ridiculous request, but Menes can't afford to lose his status as an upstanding council member! "You don't understand that if I do this, then they will suspect me of anything, ruining both my reputation and my job!" But his pleas were left unheard, for the cat had none of them.
"Enough of your inane ramblings; your selfishness is quite the nuisance." Schrodinger was more than ready to just tell his fellow cats to stop their business relationship with this dumb city. "Agree with what I told you, or shall I arrange for my people to cease doing dealings with your precious city?" Tired of how much the elder is throwing a temper tantrum?
Menes wanted to die now; bringing every council member in agreement on this simple but complex request would take weeks or months due to how long the process would take as they run in oligarchy-style democracy. There is no way he could do this by himself; that cat has him wrapped in its paws.
Although there was one option he could do, and that was to write an entry form to allow him to enter the ship without much trouble, "I..." Menes doesn't understand why this cat wanted to go to the airship, but it's probably best to not question it. "I'll do it," he said, giving in to the pressure as he lowered his gaze.
Smiling, Schrodinger nodded his head approvingly at the human. "Good, I also wanted to have two extra passengers on the board," he stated. "Don't ask; it's for the sake of security if this all plays out accordingly as I planned; if not, then it's merely a precautionary measure."
Inhaling the air through his nostrils, he then went over to the cabinet facing left of the bed, opening it to see a variety of papers that he went through to look for an entry form, eventually finding it before pulling it out with his hands. "I hope this won't cause me to lose my rank." Being a council member requires strict and absolute attention to rules and regulations.
Breaking any of them will result in permanent termination with no second chances, regardless of how long the person has worked in the field for, or worse. The elder must fill out the paper to the finest detail, including the person's name and country of origin; all other information must be linked to himself only.
Cringing painfully, he took out a pin from his pockets and began to write all the necessary details before handing them over to the cat. "Can I ask why this is so important?" Knowing that it would be better to know what this feline truly needs out of this.
He had a feeling he wouldn't get the answer; however, he never expected an ambiguous response. Schrodinger was in thought, weighing the risks and benefits of answering that question, but decided to do so as he sees no harm in trying.
"Imagine the world being in flames, covered by the desperate screams of fear, a dark void rising in the horizon as all is lost and no matter what happens, time repeats the cycle until a new one takes place," he spoke as though describing a terrible nightmare. "When the lights fade, all is left is darkness, a new era brought by calamity that had destroyed countless lives and hopes alike, and a new is born to replace what is gone for eternity."
Stopping for a moment, the cat then looked directly into the elder's eyes and said, "And then all is restored anew; every living soul is gone from history except for some remaining left-overs and whatever remains behind. That is what the future holds." Schrodinger finally explained his thoughts while ignoring the horrified expression on the human's face: "When the next Kalpa comes, the Dreamlands will be nothing but ashes unless we change that by our own hands, to alter fate. Nothing is final, and everything is temporary."
It took a moment for him to think, trying to figure out what this mad Ultharan is speaking off until eventually it clicked him, "How close is it?" He understood the reason but still couldn't figure out why or how a group of three would be able to stop an inevitable outcome. "What are you planning?"
"The closer to the center, the quicker it is," he responded ominously. "It's best for you to just finish up and make sure everything is fine and dandy. It won't be long now that it arrives; soon we will have a lot of work to do when that happens," was the was the unsatisfied answer, which made the old man frown.
He wanted to say something, but Menes knows it's better to just get it over with. As he continued to finish the last few lines of the entries, "and done!" Declaring himself proud for having finished quickly, the cat could only raise his eyebrows at how fast he finished with ease.
"Now, about the—"
When he turned to where Schrodinger was, the mysterious feline disappeared along with the written entry forms he had finished. Sighing, Menes was half expecting that this would happen, "typical cat," muttering quietly, leaving it at that as he began to put away the papers and close the cupboard cabinet.
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