Ixion Rising (The Mark of Chaos Series-Book Five): The Mark of Chaos Series

By Susan D. Kalior

In a glacier. . . in outer space . . .in Jenséa's future world. That is my path to resurrection. Best laid plans . . . yeah those.

 

As Johnny merges with the Fiend who tried to end the universe, Jenséa and gang breathe a sigh of relief, hoping their woes will soon be over. But trouble brews. The universe is out of peril, or is it? Jenséa has become a full blown goddess, or has she? While all seems well, this is only the beginning of a deep unraveling. Shens, Tazmarks, and humans alike are tasked to undergo their own harrowing metamorphosis in the transformation of a lifetime. True origins are revealed, and final mysteries of the universe solved. Maybe. A lot must coalesce for all to land in a cosmic balance that favors the universe. That or tomorrow never comes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan D. Kalior
• Release date: Feb 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393333715

Susan D. Kalior

        Susan was born in Seattle, WA.. Her first profession was a psychotherapist treating those suffering from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, substance abuse, sexual abuse, family violence, and severe mental illness. She employed therapies such as communication skill building, relaxation training, systematic desensitization, bioenergetics, and psychodrama. She has facilitated stress management, parenting, and self-discovery workshops that have aided in the psycho-spiritual healing of many. She has lectured on metaphysical and psychological topics, and been involved in various social activist pursuits.          Her education includes an M.A. in Ed. in Counseling/Human Relations and Behavior (NAU), a B.S. in Sociology (ASU), and ten months of psycholog-ical and metaphysical training in a Tibetan community.          Susan writes entertaining books steeped in psychology, sociology, and metaphysics in genres such as visionary fiction, dark fantasy, horror, and romance. All her books are designed to facilitate personal growth and transformation.         In her words: I love to sing, meditate, and play in nature. I love fairy tales, going outside the box, and reading between the lines. I strive to see what is often missed, and to not miss what can't be seen. There is such a life out there, and in there—beyond all perception! So I close my eyes, feel my inner rhythm, and jump off the cliff of convention. And when I land, though I might be quaking in my boots, I gather my courage and go exploring.         Through travel, study, and work, I've gained a rich awareness of cultural differences among people and their psychosocial struggles. I have discovered that oppression often results from the unexamined adoption of outside perceptions. The healing always has been in the individual's stamina to expel outside perceptions of self and constructively exert one's unique core being into the world. I am driven to facilitate expanded awareness that people may separate who they are from who they are told to be. Embracing personal power by loving our unique selves in our strengths and weaknesses . . . forever—is a key to joyous living. My motto is: Trust your story. Live the Mystery..

Book preview

Chapter One

johnny

Iwait in the quiet cold, frozen in time, in Jen’s future, in a glacier. They think I do not feel time gnawing on me, that I am in a hibernating state assimilating my rogue self, more aptly known as ‘the Fiend who tried to end the universe’.  I suppose I was in a suspended state . . . for a while. Then something changed. My body remained in stasis, but my mind awoke. Unable to move, my thoughts are on fire, trying to burn away this cold unyielding reality. The Fiend and I are melded together, but not blended. While he cannot be liberated, he is not integrating. The assimilation had been stalled; the reason—unclear.

I am a being that thrives on raging infernos, drumming up action, answering calls for chaos, and granting dark wishes. Yet, here I am, paralyzed in a desolate frozen world. I am what I am, yet not allowed to be. This irony defies the laws of life. Law of Life #1. There is no death for anyone or anything, just a series of beginnings and endings, and changes of form that make it seem so. The movement never stops. That is the dance of life. There is none of that for me anymore, no movement, no dance, just nothingness. Endless . . . nothingness.

I know she loves me, Jenséa-Panacéa, goddess of rain and snow. I know she loves the world, the universe, and that she always tries to do what is right. I call for her, but she does not answer. With our human bond, and her goddess sensitivities, she should be able to hear me. Her love is cruel.

I haunt her with my need. I have no other recourse.

Jenséa . . . free me.

Jenséa

JENSÉA . . . FREE ME.

I opened my eyes in the quiet dark, tangled in bed sheets, unable to sleep with johnny’s whisperings in my head, going on for a while now. Something was wrong. His mind, while in stasis, shouldn’t be active like this. At first, on occasion, I’d hear him whisper my name, but from a deep calm state as if from a memory passing through his unconscious mind that perked my ears. These particular whisperings, however, are anxious calls for help. I left him in my future to assimilate his rogue aspect, Trikolix, known as the Fiend. Had something gone wrong?

Jenséa . . . free me.

I hear him mostly at night, all night, infiltrating my dreams, sending me into fits of tossing and turning. I don’t answer because I fear he will somehow convince me to free him before assimilation is complete. And that would be tragic.

Jenséa . . . free me.

Due to my unsettled nights, I have switched bedrooms with my great grandmother and fellow Shen, Charlotte. She now sleeps in my bed near the cribs that harbor my sweet twins, Yeshe and DJ. Well, not sure how sweet they truly are, being half Tazmark. That their father, johnny, was the most powerful Tazmark on earth, quite likely mitigates that oh so natural adorability prevalent in all things baby. I couldn’t touch them anyway with my goddess glow so bright, lest I burn them. Luckily, at six months old now, they were sleeping through the night.

Free me, Jenséa . . . free me now.

I rolled to my side and curled in a ball. Unable to bear his plea any longer, I mumbled to myself, I can’t, not yet. I had no idea if he could hear me or read my mind with this recent activation, but freeing him was out of the question, and engaging in a telepathic conversation, dangerous, as he was a skilled manipulator.

If I freed him before he absorbed the little demon that would, like the little engine that could, he would-could end the universe, and build another. Trikolix is small in size, but gigantic in power, the darkest part of johnny, a mad scientist, an evil genius—insane.

Blended with johnny, he is a balancer of the universe, bringing tension and conflict, enabling procreation, procreation of anything and everything. Without friction, nothing is born. However, while separated from each other, johnny had substantially grown into his powers as Ixion, leader of the Dragon Worlds. And Trikolix had mushroomed into an almost insurmountable evil. Rejoining them as such has created a measure of uncertainty in we few who knew the plan—the plan to put him on ice for ‘the great assimilation.’

Jenséa. Free me.

I kicked my leg free of a sheet twisted about my calf and rolled to my side. My neck ached, having lost my pillow somewhere in my fitful half sleep.

Jenséa. Free—

I slapped my hand over my ear, even though the whisper came into my head by other means. I had conferred with the Dragon Council on this matter, or rather Tupuro did. Dracovar Prime was just too hot for me, not to mention how uncomfortable my full-blown goddess presence made the Dragons, given a piece of me had been lodged in their world for centuries, impeding their ways.

The Council and Tupuro suspected that johnny-Ixion might be at a critical point in integration, and in resisting, it activated his mind to some degree. Consulting the Golden Disc, a time portal that carried the wisdom and knowledge of every living species in the universe, didn’t reveal anything, as it was a record of what has been, and sometimes a window into what is, but not connected to my future where johnny currently resided. Hence, the Council’s sage advice was, ‘Do nothing and wait him out.’

I conferred with my human angel comrades, the Shens. They thought some part of him, perhaps driven by the Fiend, was trying to trick me into freeing him before assimilation was complete.

I conferred with my best friend Randa and her lover Marla, who also lived with me in our upper east side New York condominium. They thought that maybe he was just too powerful and might break free of his own volition.

I thought they all were right. He was resisting, he was trying to manipulate me, and he might just break free on his own. That his call could reach me might be evidence of that. There was no one else with whom to confer, for no one else knew that johnny-Ixion had been put on ice. To ensure no interference from any other wayward rogue or play for power, the rest of the Dragon and Tazmark community believed he was off on sabbatical giving the universe a thorough inspection. Though I was not sure how long they would keep buying that story, mind readers that they were.

Free me. Jenséa . . . free me.

I wanted to free him more than anything, but I wasn’t even sure I could. My future self told me that his freedom would occur naturally once assimilation was complete. And that completion would occur when that moment in my future became my present. Quantum physical realities quite befuddled me, even though I could zip through time and space in a seeming instant. The mechanics of it all, however, tied my mind in knots.

Free me. Jenséa . . . free me now.

Anxiety chewed on my nerves and gurgled in my stomach, not just from his heart wrenching pleas, but from fear that he’d break free before assimilation, and again put the universe in peril.

I glanced at the glowing digital clock on my bed stand. 2:15 a.m. The lit numbers cast a dim light on my glass of water and saltines half spilled out of the wrapper. My mouth was dry. I sat up and guzzled down the water. As the liquid reached my stomach, nausea set in, so I grabbed a saltine, and munched on it quickly. That helped my stomach, but not my nerves.

Jenséa . . .

I pressed my hands hard over my ears, trembling and exhausted. My sleep deprived brain was a muddled mess, burning in a hell I could not escape. Maybe if I pressed hard enough, I could crush the grey matter and stop my misery. Nervous energy rushed through me like biting ants in my bloodstream. I let out an exasperated gasp, pressing loose fists over my heart. I couldn’t stay in bed any longer. I needed to move, do a thousand jumping jacks, or scream at top of my lungs if only to relieve the tension.

I threw back my covers with a hard sigh, and touched my bare feet down on the carpet, the hem of my white silk gown falling over my ankles. I brushed my messy flaxen hair out of my face and gazed out the window that gave view to Central Park down below. It appeared so quiet and peaceful, and oh how I longed to run along the artificially lit paths right this very moment.

Yet, with my goddess shine so bright, I would have no way of explaining to any who came across me why that was so. But . . . the park looked so empty, and I needed a good run, and decided I would get it. First, I needed to turn down my shine, something I’d recently learned how to do, lest it blared like a bright full moon.

I lifted a hand eye level to monitor my success. My shine dimmed to a bright glow much like the bioluminescent jellyfish, yet still too bright to discreetly roam where people dwelled.

I headed for Charlotte’s dresser and pawed through a drawer now filled with my clothes. Hoping to mitigate the shine, I quickly dressed in black: underwear, long sleeved shirt, jogging pants, socks, and running shoes. Hoping to further dim my shine, I slipped on a matching jersey and drew the hood over my head, glad it was mid-October, when the chill air would explain warmer dress. Lastly, I slipped on black fuzzy gloves to cover my luminous hands.

Now to assess the state of my glow. I gazed into the oval mirror attached to Charlotte’s dresser. My face yet had that jellyfish glow, but it was mostly in the cave of my hood so that must do.

I looked a bit deeper at my face. The freckles I once had around my nose were gone, probably from lack of sun. My eyes had turned deeper blue. I could almost see stars shining in them. I shook my head, still feeling human most of time. Even when in goddess mode, I was still me, still Jenséa. My goddess self felt more like a vehicle I inhabited to jet me around. Or like a costume I wore to play a dramatic role.

All those ages ago when Panacéa split into seven pieces, the heart of her that fell to Earth became the me I am today—Jenséa. Oh, I have had many names in many human lives, but always I was the heart of Panacéa, goddess of rain and snow, and a progenitor of Divine Love. Though Panacéa had been reassembled into one being, it was me driving the bus, crashing into things, relearning how to handle my power.

I grabbed my shoulders in a self-hug, eyes closed, tears dripping, feeling Jenséa slipping away into the goddess. I didn’t really want that to happen. Perhaps, I too was resisting full assimilation. After centuries gone by, I was finally at peace with that sad little human who’d been through so much. I loved her and at long last wanted to be her. Only on occasion did I feel myself as full-blown Panacéa and mostly in ancient memory.

Jenséa, free me. Free me now.

Time to run. I headed for the door. My shine still showed through my clothing, but it was substantially diffused. Running under artificial lighting at night might explain the glow to my fellow insomniacs. If I got into trouble, I could always discreetly slip into the seventh realm where angels dwell, leaving witnesses to doubt their minds, but at least I’d not have to explain.

I left a note for Charlotte, Randa, and Marla by the coffee pot, explaining where I was, and headed out to the park. I jogged over there, and it felt wonderful despite johnny whispering in my head, Free me, Jenséa . . . free me.

I picked up my pace trying to block him with my mind, still unsure if he was just calling out, or if he could read me. If he could read me, it might prove the Shens’ theory that he was trying to trick me into breaking him out of the ice prematurely. I strengthened my mind shield against him. I must mute his pleas just in case his manipulation began to work. I ran and ran and ran, releasing all my pent-up anxiety.

Arms snapped around me, and my feet left the ground. My captured body made a half spin by the sudden halt of my speed. Two darkly clothed males in hoodies were in front of me, their much paler faces clear under the walkway lamps. Teenage eyes glared at me with predatory mischief. Just humans that meant no good. I blared my Divine Light so bright, their eyes bugged out and their jaws dropped. My feet touched ground, and I was released.

Sorry, sorry, a green-eyed kid flashed his palms at me, then dropped to his knees and bowed his head.

The teen next to him just stood there with a shocked pale face. The green-eyed teen reached up and tugged his jersey, signaling him to kneel.

I heard a meek, Forgive me, at my back. I glanced over my shoulder. The teen who’d snatched me was also on his knees, his head bowed in shame.

I stepped back so I could see them all.  

The green-eyed one murmured, You’re an angel, an angel.

I removed my gloves, not that I needed to, but I felt less constricted that way.  I knelt before them, stretching my fingers, to each in turn, streaming Divine Light for they all seem to need it. Perhaps on some level our encounter was meant to be. Those who could actually receive my light experienced ultimate love, peace, and oneness with the life force.

The teens began to weep, their hardness melting in my compassionate shine. Between sniffles, they said things like, I feel different. I see things differently. The world is not so bad; I am not so bad.

Know your worth, I finally said, rising to my feet. Go home and be nice. Your life is what you make it.

They rose and slowly slunk away into the night, elbows up, wiping away tears.

I turned down my shine and began running again, even faster than before. I must admit, I was overjoyed, not only to have proven I could protect myself from human mischief-makers, but also spark a bit of compassion in them. Unlike my Shen shine that worked only on ethical people and the demonic supernatural, my goddess shine seem to work on every human, save psychopaths who were completely disconnected from their hearts, and therefore unreachable—like the Fiend. As long as I didn’t get carried away with pacifying people and throw off the synchronicity of what already was, I suppose from time to time it was alright to do.

I had been lying low, however, not trusting myself to hold back. I could make earth utopia, but then I’d rob everyone of their growth and natural evolution, like flipping to the last page of a book with no story in-between.

Staring at my jogging shoes peddling along in a blur, I began to feel better. Apparently, the distraction helped blot out johnny’s pleas, which was probably why I heard him more at night.

I had taken in six miles, but I wanted more. It made me feel my body. Since I had become a goddess, my body felt less real to me, and I needed to stay grounded if I were to raise my babies, and keep my friends, and not unwittingly destroy the earth by drenching it in peace. It was a hard concept to grasp, but without pain and conflict, the momentum to thrive just isn’t there. So I ran another six miles, and then another, and then . . . .

I shrieked as something was suddenly in front of me. I almost ran into it. It was Tupuro’s human form in his signature attire: black fingerless gloves, skullcap over his wavy light brown hair, and maroon leather vest and pants, accentuating his rather stalwart body. His fiery amber eyes dominated his Russian looking face, glaring down at me.

I stepped back. What are you doing here?

Do you know what you look like?

I am well cloaked I think, hopefully like nothing.

You look like a moving ball of speeding light racing around Central Park in the dark.

Are you sure?

You are running faster than humans are able, and glowing brighter than artificial light. Your chugging bare hands don’t help.

I looked at my hands. Oh, I had on gloves. I just forgot to—

You are going to attract major attention. And with today’s electronic devices, you could easily be recorded even by those looking out their condo windows that overlook the park. Remember what happened when Juan and I fought in Dragon form on your rooftop.

I looked about the lit path to see if anyone near appeared to be watching us. Not seeing anyone, I glowered. You are here to warn me not to run in Central Park?

No. I am here to convey a message from your son.

I scrunched my brows. DJ?

His head shook. No, the other one.

Our serpent offspring? Yinglong?

He nodded.

How is he?

Still palling around with those other two magicis fortuna. And I have begun to teach him as well.

I smiled. I am glad you can be there for him. He hasn’t come to me at all.

You are not the most attainable, having grounded yourself in the condo under self-imposed restriction.

Yeah, I am afraid I will get carried away. My powers scare me.

The goddess who doesn’t want to be a goddess.

More like a goddess afraid to be a goddess. So, I hide.

That is wise for now, but you can’t hide forever.

I just want johnny back first. He is a good counter measure for me.

Tupuro’s face looked momentarily strained. His eyes drifted to his bare feet.

Knowing my love for johnny was a sore subject for him, I asked, So what does our son have to say?

His face lifted. He relays that he’s recently intercepted his uncle’s pleas to you, and he knows the reason behind them.

My eyes widened. What?

Juan’s body is still hibernating, trapped in the ice, but he is one hundred percent conscious.

My jaw fell. Oh my god . . . dess. Fully conscious? Why?

Yinglong senses the Fiend’s stubborn rebellion, refusing to blend with Ixion. This has stopped the process.

So johnny isn’t trying to trick me. The Fiend, he is the culprit making johnny suffer. My brows scrunched. It never occurred to me to seek Yinglong’s council—he’s only three months old!

Only in human time, Tupuro added. He thinks that you and he should go to him and find a way to reinstitute full hibernation so complete homogenization can be had.

You can’t come?

Where you put him is the coldest place in our galaxy in your future—and in a goddess realm, neither of which I can survive.

My brows furrowed. I put him in a goddess realm?

You didn’t know?

I didn’t consciously choose the place. It is just where he wound up with my intention to put him in a suspended state. How did you know it was a goddess realm? Did Yinglong tell you?

Our son innately knows things.

So, there is no way at all that you can come? I think we’d have more luck.

Just as my kind can literally bathe in fire, extreme cold in a realm cloaked in that caliber of Divine Light would be lethal unless you insulated my body somehow. Since your powers are new, I won’t take that chance. Besides, I’m not sure if I can even go to your future.

I nodded. I understand, but I am not sure I can get back there. I don’t even know where ‘there’ is, but I can try.

Yinglong knows where it is, and says he will take you. He apparently has your whole being encoded in him, magicis fortuna that he is.

I scowled. Now that is weird. The son guiding the mother.

Well, he is a god.

My eyes deepened as if to accept that unbelievable fact, then I shrugged my shoulders. Alright, how do we do this?

Tupuro said, I will confer with Yinglong and get back to you. Fly on home now and get some rest. You look exhausted. And in the future, if you want to run, he cracked a smile, I suggest the North Pole.

Pristine snow and sparkling ice popped to mind. That would be lovely.

He raised a brow. I was joking.

I think I would love it there.

He smiled faintly. Yeah, you probably would.

I shook my head as if shaking off the fantasy. Anyway, thank you for telling me what is going on. Is everything going well in the universe?

As humans say, right as rain.

And with the Tazmarks?

Like chickens that have come home to roost.

I said rhetorically, Aren’t you full of sayings today.

I’m alive and kicking, he gave a half grin.

I knew he was covering pain. And you, how are you?

He gave me a potent stare with a spark of yearning. Tortured as ever. Then he vanished.

I felt bad that Tupuro had unrequited affection toward me. I loved him too, but not with the intensity in which I loved johnny. I looked around one more time. Seeing no one, I yearned for my bed, and in a flash—there I was, on my back, looking up at the ceiling. Utterly fatigued from weeks of sleep deprivation, I conked out with my jogging shoes still on.

Tupuro

ON MY WAY TO YINGLONG, my Dragon wings flapped slowly, propelling me through star-studded galaxies, tucking in tight when shooting through the occasional wormhole. All the while, I pondered the greater problem that I’d masked from Jenséa. And it was a big one. Though our cosmos was currently healthy, the nub of the new universe, created by the Fiend, has been impossible to destroy. Worse, it was gaining mass.

Before the Fiend was corralled and subsequently melded back into Ixion, he’d sufficiently stocked the nub with the building blocks to start growing on its own. The effects were so subtle, it was not noticed at first. It wasn’t dangerous yet—but it would be.

As the remaining particles in the vacuum of space on our side of the black hole continue to empty into the nub, it will begin changing the makeup of our universe. Molecules will separate, tearing formations apart, creating a blur. When the vacuous space is empty, the new universe will pinch off, and the vacuum will consume ours in a flash.

We tried using the Golden Disc to render the best solution. But as a new universe had never been mindfully concocted before, the Disc lacked that knowledge. We did, however, learn how to use it as a time portal to get us to the nub whereupon we, in usual Dragon fashion, tried to destroy it by fire and explosion, before making a quick exit. Nothing worked, no matter what we tried. Its makeup seemed to have components in it unlike any other in our known universe which might at least in part, explain our failure.

Orion, the acting Regna, had called for Ixion’s return to help solve the problem. Given he was secretly in stasis, that request was met by an excuse the Dragon Council and I conjured. He’d been informed of the problem, we told him, and would gather what was needed to complete the mission. And in a way, that was all true. The needed thing was the Fiend who was in him but not yet—of him. Once ‘of’ him, he would know how to dismantle the new universe.

As usual, we needed my brother to, as the saying goes, ‘save the day.’ But first, we had to save him.

As I sailed past Ursa Minor, I sensed Yinglong was not far from where I’d last left him, though I’d purposefully taken my time on my journey over, so Jenséa could get some rest.  

There in the distance, I found him with his magicis fortuna pals, side by side in view of new universe’s black vacuum. Sandwiched between Shenlong and Tianlong, Yinglong’s serpentine body was much shorter. At birth, he was two yards long. Now he was triple that. The bluish white of his body reflected his mother. His gold black-flecked head was of me. Shenlong was yellow-orange, and Tianlong was bright green. All together, they made quite a colorful splash in the star-studded cosmos.

As I neared, Yinglong turned my way, his amber eyes zeroing in. He wriggled over to greet me, bringing with him the other two magicis fortunas, rare beings considered beneficent deity.

They stopped before me.

Yinglong’s language automatically translating to dragon speak. Is mother prepared to work on uncle?

She is, I answered.

We have news, he told me. His eyes slid to Shenlong. Tell him, Shenlong.

Shenlong’s yellow-orange body glowed as his purple eyes brightened. We have generated ideas to stall the new universe from further creation.

I raised a scaly brow. Do tell.

Shenlong’s eyes slid to Tianlong. Tell him, Tianlong.

Tianlong pushed her bright green face up to me. Since it is my duty to uphold cosmic order, I have the power to slow the rapidly expanding quantum fluctuations in the new universe. These fluctuations have already stretched and turned into light, radiation, and matter. I cannot stop it, but it should buy us some time before expansion reaches the point of no return.

Even though the expansion is on the other side of the black hole? I asked.

Yes. We magicis fortunas can reach dimensions and realms beyond the scope of most. This should also slow the rate the black hole is sucking in the vacuum’s remaining particles, though most are already gone.

Well, I said, surprised. This is welcome news.

Shenlong blurted, And I can further aid the slowing with my power to control molecular proximity and speed by creating various calibers of ice.

Yinglong added, And with my power to stop floods, I too can lend to the slowing. With we three working together, we may be able to stall the new universe’s progression until uncle is restored—given it does not take too long.

I gave a smoky sigh. I am relieved to hear this can be done. I will update the Dragon Council and Orion. He can prepare the Dragons to aid you should you find a way to use them.

The three serpents simultaneously shimmered. It seems they did that when pleased.

I will signal you, Yinglong said, should that be necessary.

I nodded my spiked head at him. Hurry to your mother. However, do not mention our problem with the new universe just yet. She is bereft with your uncle’s suffering. Once she fixes that problem, he can fix ours.

I understand, Father. Bear in mind, her fixing the problem will likely require moving Uncle to a more suitable location, and she might require your help. So stay tuned for my telepathic update. Be on standby.

I nodded, realizing I was always on standby for that woman. Once I conclude my business on Dracovar Prime, I will be ready to assist.

Yinglong eyes became like moving water. "She is your verus amor, your true love."

I shook my head. I don’t have one of those.

Silly father, Yinglong said, of course you do.

Yinglong turned to the other two serpents. Begin now. I will join you upon my return. The three serpents all pointed their noses to each other in a strange kind of face brushing, which seemed to be like a greeting or goodbye. I was glad they were all so close, so Yinglong would not feel alone in who he was.

Yinglong broke away. I’ll go to Mother now.

He zipped off, disappearing into some other realm for travel.

The other two serpents squiggled back into position, facing the vacuum.

I flew off to the Council with a pressing concern. What if a homogenized Ixion still wanted the new universe to exist? Oh well, as the saying goes, ‘First things first.’ Off to Dracovar Prime I went.

Jenséa

I FINALLY SLEPT WELL, no longer plagued with johnny’s cries to free him. Did he know we were coming? It helped too that Yinglong had taken the lead on resolving our problem. A problem no one was doing anything about. Doing nothing always felt wrong to me.

I dreamed Yinglong came into my bedroom, his bluish white serpentine body, similar to the depiction of Chinese Dragons, wriggling above me in slow motion as if in water. It’s time, Mother. Come. We must go to your future where Uncle is.

How do we get there? I asked.

Climb on my back.

Will my shine burn you? You do, after all, have some of your father’s genetics.

I carried you before, remember, after you birthed me. I am magicis fortuna, immune to the powers of dark and light, though I can exhibit both.

I began to realize then and there how magically wonderful Yinglong was. I hated Boreas for forcing me and Tupuro as Damio to procreate, but now I could see what a rare and beautiful thing it was to have happened. Not only did my labor in birthing him explode Pax, Ixion and Damio’s evil Dragon father who had swallowed me, but I had released a force of balance into the universe—Yinglong. He could not get carried away by dark or light, positive or negative. He was the perfect equilibrium between teeter and totter, growth and destruction.

I climbed upon him, his circumference a bit wide for a leg straddle, so I just sat in a half lotus. When I made that contact, I realized this was not an ordinary dream. In fact, it wasn’t a dream at all. Yinglong had come to me through a thin veil from another dimension. When I touched him, I realized I was in his realm, a realm unknown to me, and it seemed to alter the consistency of my body, similar to what happened when johnny took me into other realities.

Yinglong flew us through the rooftop, higher and higher into the earth’s atmosphere squiggling in an almost snake-like fashion. I had instinct to grab onto him so I wouldn’t fall off, but there was no need. I felt fastened to him, as if in an insulating capsule, like when Pax kidnapped me into the parallel universe. As we moved along, I worried that I’d not had a chance to update my roommates on current events, but hopefully Tupuro would at some point.

As we reached outer space, we went into hyper drive, which to me always felt like going fast and slow at the same time. I could feel us passing through what felt like layers, and strange sudden shifts, one moment blasting through a dark tunnel, the next through pearly colors, the next through a floating billowy atmosphere. How odd Yinglong’s mode of travel was!

Then sheets of snow passed through us, or us through them. Yinglong descended and I could suddenly see the familiar ice world where I’d deposited johnny. My shine practically exploded here, more so than the first time I came. Perhaps I had been evolving even in my seclusion.

Yinglong brought me down before a mighty glacier with a gorgeous blue sheen, not white like when I last left it. The insulated capsule disappeared. Given my goddess status, the atmosphere did not affect me. My attire had changed to a sheer sparkly gown of ice as it did the last time I went to my future, matching what my future self wore. I didn’t understand the dynamics of why my attire changed other than it had to do with us being in close proximity, being the same person, but in my future world. Interesting, I wasn’t cold in the slightest, just barely cool which I enjoyed.

As I climbed off Yinglong, I wondered why the future me initially came here, and how long it would be until I caught up with myself. And why were we dressed in ice gowns? Tresses of my too long white-blonde hair blew gently about my face as I scanned the blue ice, trying to remember just where it was I left johnny a few months back. Sighting him was easier last time when the ice was more clear.

Just a few feet over, my intuition kicked in and I remembered the spot. I moved quickly