The 26th Dimension

By ELLIE J.

There are 26 dimensions in the universe. A girl suddenly fell into one of them, the dream world. She was attacked by many monsters, experienced various dangerous dilemmas, and met a few good friends. Slowly, she recovered her sealed power and memory...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9781300705727

Book preview

Chapter I The Prologue of Dreams

Zoe Robin was a 15-year-old girl going to start her sophomore year in high school. Her skin was white, touched with red. She was 168 cm tall. She had a beautiful figure and neotenous and tomboyish features on her face. Under her eyebrows were a pair of blurred and confused grey eyes. Between her eyes was a tall nose, and underneath that, her pink lips. She had a head of thick, shoulder-length red hair and one dreadlock with three green beads on her right cheek. She liked wearing a red jacket and a white, tight halter top on the inside paired with a pair of black hot pants and a pair of black and white sneakers, which made her look just like a healthy, lively girl next door.

Zoe had been living with her grandmother since she was little. Her parents, unfortunately, passed away in a car accident when she was 5. Zoe’s grandma was a very harsh person and would yell at her very often. Growing up in that kind of environment, Zoe became more and more rebellious and more brutal to discipline, and she had always done things that others wouldn’t understand and caused people to worry about. She wasn’t doing well in school either, constantly failing classes. Not even the teachers bothered to spend time on her. But for Zoe, she was living freely. However, there was a darkness in her heart that only she knew about. She would be lost in confusion when the nights came. And she always felt that a demon was eating her soul a day at a time.

She met him on the first day of high school, Harry Edwards. Harry was upbeat and vigorous. He introduced himself to Zoe as soon as he laid eyes on her. They had instantly connected since then. He was the only male friend Zoe has ever had. They’d always hang out together, talk and talk with each other, and laugh together. They had so many topics to talk about as if they were never running out of them. Every day was a big, bright smile. Even when they were caught chatting in the class and assigned to far apart seats, the distance still couldn’t keep them from having fun with each other!

But as they got more familiar with each other, with more knowledge came more problems. Once Zoe got angry at Harry. He described her as an angel who suddenly morphed into a devil. After that time, they started arguing about little things. Also, Harry was always attracted to different girls. Every time Zoe acted out, Harry would get close to other girls right in front of her. But since Harry was just her friend and classmate, Zoe couldn’t think of a reason to get mad about that. Finally, once Zoe came to school after an argument with her grandma in the morning, she felt down. During a class that she shared with Harry, he came over to bother her, as usual. He naughtily pulled the pen out of her hand and told her to stop working. But this time, Zoe angrily said to Harry in front of the whole class, Leave me alone! Can’t you see that I’m doing my homework? Can you stop bothering me from now on?

Harry put down the pen and quietly walked away.

Since then, Harry had never come over to Zoe. And Zoe always avoided Harry. They didn’t cross paths for a whole year after that. Zoe knew that Harry was annoyed when she got angry. But she had always been that kind of person. Neither of them felt like explaining themselves and accumulated a lot of hidden inner thoughts. They drifted further away and didn’t know how to reconcile.

However, every time they accidentally bumped into each other, even the air felt like it was filled with awkwardness. For instance, once Zoe left a notebook in school. On the way to her running home from school, she saw Harry, holding her notebook in his hand. Then he said to Zoe, I walked by the classroom, and the teacher asked me to bring it to you. Zoe took the notebook from him. And that was that.

Another example. On Harry’s birthday of the year, after they met, Harry suddenly leaned over to Zoe and took an ugly furry pendant from her backpack. Then, Harry walked away, only saying, It’s my birthday. Give me that. Leaving Zoe standing there, not knowing what had happened for a second. The two of them were always in that state. They wanted to talk to each other but didn’t know-how.

Until one day, Zoe heard from other classmates that Harry would transfer to a different school. He would move from New York to California. Zoe instantly felt dizzy and stunned. She finally and gradually understood how she was feeling. She had unwittingly fallen in love with Harry and personally pushed him away because she didn’t know how to get along with him.

Finally, the summer of her sophomore year has arrived. Harry wouldn’t be here once the school started again. Zoe still hadn’t figured out how to get back to how they were with Harry. As the days passed, Harry was going to leave New York the next day. He was moving to California with his entire family. How she wanted to go with him! Zoe felt a deep sadness, but she couldn’t tell anyone. She could only hide this emotion deep down in her heart.

Zoe, I’m leaving this city. Take care. says a blurry figure. Zoe wanted to say something, but she suddenly felt a force restraining her mouth from opening. She realized that the dream was coming to an end again, but she still had a lot to tell him. When the dream started to twist, Zoe grabbed on the boy’s cloth, screaming with tears in her eyes.

I don’t want to wake up. Don’t wake up! Harry! Harry! Harry.

Looking at Harry, who’s looking ahead mindlessly, not able to hear or see her, just like a soulless puppet. Zoe couldn’t help mocking herself about how she had just had another dream she didn’t want to wake up from. She opened her watery eyes and whispered to herself, The next time I see him in a dream, I am not waking up. I will live in the dream.

The room was a mess. Window curtains joined together, blocking the hot sunlight. What a boring summer! Thinking about starting school without Harry in two months, Zoe weakly turned around on her bed and fell asleep again. In the darkness, a hazy figure got bigger and bigger. A familiar figure was walking towards her. It was Harry! Zoe threw herself on him, held him tightly, and told Harry how much she missed him. But Harry’s body backed off from Zoe and eventually vanished. She anxiously tried to run to him and grab him, but she could never reach Harry.

While Zoe was still trying to chase him, she realized that everything around her had started to shake. She felt sudden dizziness. Her location in the dream started changing---A sparse crowd, a dark universe, magnificent buildings, lots of strange creatures, corpses, wars.

Zoe felt the fear spreading inside of her and instantly realized that she was in a dream. But this time, no matter how hard she hit herself to try to wake up, she couldn’t. She dragged her heavy body and stumbled to a place she thought she might be able to hide. She wondered, with fear, what to do or whether she was ever going to wake up. A situation like this had happened several times before. Her body started to become very heavy the second she tried to control her actions. Then her heart became filled with fear, like it was going to be engulfed by something. But usually, it only lasted one minute. It had never been this long. She could hardly breathe. Zoe hid behind a rock, hugged her knees, and sat on the ground to wait for the end of the dream. But what was waiting for her was beyond her imagination.

Zoe heard a strange sound, so she reached out of the rock to have a peek at what was going on when suddenly fear started to spread in her marrow. She became too frightened to move even a finger. Looking at the creature in front of her, she wondered what that was.

There were several dozens of humans with their mindless and soulless heads down. A strand of darkness was surrounding them. They aimlessly walked forward with their hands tied together on a chain. They were followed by five skeletons holding swords and spears in their hands. The skeletons looked a lot like the skeleton monsters she had seen from the horror movies on Earth! The difference was that these skeletons were not nearly as slow as the ones in the movies. They moved naturally and proficiently like monsters with human thoughts. Zoe couldn’t believe what she was looking at because she couldn’t believe that she had to face those horrible creatures when she was conscious in her dream. She started holding her breath so they wouldn’t find her. Then, she slowly and steadily moved back behind the rock. She turned around, but there was a skeleton gawking at her face! When it tried to reach her, Zoe put her arms in front of her face and started screaming. The location in her dream switched again.

Master. Master. You have finally returned! We were so afraid! some strange beings floating around Zoe said. Zoe, still in shock, slightly opened her eyes, raised her head, and perplexedly looked at those strange beings.

Chapter II The Strange Beings

Those voices came from the three beings that look like fire cores, floating in the air. One black, one blue and the last white. The strange beings were just waiting near Zoe until she woke up. After a while, Zoe had finally cleared her mind and calmed down. She looked at the three blobs and said, ‘What are you? Talking fire cores?"

My Master! It is us! Although we look like some sort of fire cores, these are not our original appearances! Please turn us back and finish this CATASTROPHE! said an anxious little being.

What do you mean by ‘Master’? I have never seen anything like you. This is my dream. I’m waiting for my dream to end! Zoe softly replied like she was talking to herself.

The little beings looked at each other in confusion. Suddenly, they all looked shocked and started whispering to each other. Then the white fire core said with an earnest tone, Master, it seems that your memory hasn’t been awakened. You are not going to wake up from this, for this is your world. In fact, you are the ruler of this world, and the three of us were also created by you.

Zoe totally ignored what they said, stood up, patted the dust off the back of her pants, and said with a relaxed voice, huh? I don’t feel the pressure anymore! I feel so light! Apparently, I have learned how to control my dreams without realizing it! Wonderful! I am going to have a lot of fun with this! Since this is my dream, I should be able to create anything I want!

Zoe looked around at the familiar sights and started walking forward. The little beings immediately followed her and said, Master, wait for us. This is a dangerous place!

The environment around Zoe suddenly changed into a long hallway with one classroom at the end. Looking into it from a window on the door, some adorable elementary school students were playing during recess. In a corner, a little girl was sitting there quietly and looking at the other kids. Zoe became so surprised when she saw the girl, Isn’t that girl me?  From elementary school?! Zoe wanted to keep watching, but she heard some footsteps coming from a distant point. The little beings intensively dragged her to the stairs. Everyone be quiet. It’s the dark shadows. the little white being said calmly and thoughtfully.

Zoe silently waited for the creature getting closer and closer while her heartbeat was so fast she felt like her chest was going to explode from the pressure. A colossal shadow noiselessly shuttled from the other end of the hallway to the classroom door. Zoe composed herself and looked at it. It was not a huge shadow but a swamp of small shadows with figures similar to humans. An extraordinary atmosphere shrouded the place. The dark shadows rushed into the classroom and sucked the kids’ souls out before they could even scream. Then, the soulless bodies started to shrink; their bones became more and more apparent. God! They were all mummified! Zoe shockingly opened her mouth wide open, and cold sweat started to come out of the back of her ears. Finally, the elementary school student version of Zoe got killed the same way. The sense of chillness from the back of Zoe made her too scared to speak or even move. Long after the dark shadows had gone, Zoe finally pulled herself together.

This place is so frightening. I want to get out of here. There was a girl inside who was me when I was little. She died. I am so afraid. I want to wake up. Zoe sat on the floor, holding herself tightly, and said with a shaking voice.

Master, calm down. You do not need to be afraid. That scene happened only because your mind was confused and tangled, and, as a matter of fact, it happened hundreds of years ago. You were only awakened by the fear from deep down in your heart. The blue fire core says.

Then were the terrifying skeletons and dark shadows also the fear in my heart? Please tell me how to wake up from these! Zoe asked in suspense.

No, the skeletons and dark shadows were not your imaginations. Human beings from Earth have sick thoughts in their dreams, and what was left in the dreams eventually forms into those evil objects like the skeletons and the dark shadows. But this is the dream world’s responsibility to absorb the evil energy from Earth and let you cleanse them at the end of every year. Because it takes at least a thousand years to form into the skeletons and dark shadows you saw earlier rather than in just a short amount of time. The evil objects will devour humans’ souls and spirits. Some of them can even turn living creatures into monsters. The only way to reverse the transformation was to defeat the monsters. It’s been one thousand and two hundred years since you left, and these evil creatures have badly mutilated the dream world. The white being said with a serious and anxious face.

I can’t believe this is real. What will happen if they stayed the way they are? Zoe asks.

If they don’t get destroyed in time, wait until the dream world gets conquered by them, the sick thoughts from Earth would have no place to break away to. Then, the evil creatures from the dream world would travel to Earth. After that, the apocalypse that no one will survive comes. Not only humans but the entire universe will be ruled by darkness. says the black being.

This is very hard to believe! This can’t be more than a dream. No matter how serious you all sound. How can I think that this is real? Zoe was still suspicious about the story.

Master, you have lost your memory. But it’s a good thing that I kept the Mirror of Spirits you used to use to monitor all the lives in the universe. Hold my body. Let’s leave this place first. Hurry! the white fire core said.

Poof! Zoe and the three beings appeared at the crack between heaven and hell. There was neither the peacefulness of heaven nor the agony of hell. The lonely stream of light shooting down from the sky slightly brightens the pitch-dark space. Looking ahead, the only things were volcanoes and piles of corpses. Lave dust drifts in the air, making it smell like a combination of blood and dust. Some of the volcanoes were dormant, but there was still burning hot lava boiling and waiting to erupt inside every crater. Some stony-faced janitors stumbled while they carried the corpses, then they flew up to the craters and dropped the corpses in them.

Master, this is where the dead goes to be reincarnated. The Third Border! This is also where you traveled to Earth. The white fire core said proudly. The other two little beings said impatiently, Ainsworth, Get the mirror of spirits out! Zoe looked at them baffled while the white fire core cast a strange spell. Then, a giant mirror appeared in front of them.

It had a golden edge with light rays of shining light. If you take a close look, the edge of the mirror had some very detailed engravings, and around the engravings were two beautiful, noble elves with their eyes closed. They had graceful looks and slim and tall figures. One of them had long hair to her waist, and the other had witty short hair, and each had a pair of closed-up wings. What a magnificent mirror!

Wow. This mirror is so beautiful! Zoe said, surprisingly. Then she felt like she saw two shining things in the two elves’ hands. When Zoe tried to take a close look, the little beings disrupted her.

Master, this mirror only recognizes your voice. It can see the past, the future, and the present. So, just say the thing you want to see, and it will show you. The black fire core said immediately.

Wow! Cool! Let me think. Eh, mirror, I want to see my body on Earth! Zoe said with a bit of worry in her voice.

The mirror suddenly got very bright, and an image started gradually showing in the center of it. The image was Zoe’s room! The same old room was still messy! But, who was that on the bed? That was obviously another boy of Zoe’s age!

Who is this?? Zoe said shockingly. Then she looked like she took a hit in the heart when she saw a man and a woman walking into her room. The middle-aged man was thin and tall, and he wore a pair of glasses. Even though there was a little grey in his short brown hair, he still looked like a man full of vitality. The middle-aged woman had her long taupe hair casually twisted on her head. With a slightly plump figure, she looked very gentle and kind. Those were how Zoe’s parents looked like in her childhood memory. Zoe murmured, Daddy, mom.

Zoe’s parents woke that stranger boy up. The boy looked at them impatiently, rubbed his eyes, got up, and stretched. Then they started talking conversantly. With a smile on her face, the mom sat on the bed and grabbed the boy’s changing clothes for him. They looked just like a family. Zoe wordlessly watched her parents and the stranger boy, and then she mocked the three little beings,

Is this mirror broken? Are you trying to fool me with this?

We won’t dare to! The mirror is not broken. Master, you came back to the dream world successfully. That’s why Earth has turned into its original version. In another word, if you had never gone to Earth, your parents would have never died. Since you have come back to the dream world, Earth will wipe out all the evidence of you so no one would know your existence. You were never meant to be there! If you still don’t trust us, I don’t know how to prove to you. The white fire core earnestly responded. Then the three little beings looked at each other helplessly, not knowing what to do,

Just when Zoe wanted to say something, they heard a loud noise. Then, the mirror of spirits broke. The little beings panicked, oh! No!!! The mirror.

They turned around. A giant maroon monster was using his strong wings, creating wild winds which had broken the mirror. The monster, a horrific pterosaur, landed in front of Zoe and her servants. Its body was as hard as if it was covered in plate armor. They could not see its eyes but only a mouthful of long tusks. Its limbs all had long and sharp claws. One of its powerful legs stumped the ground. Its tail violently waved, even knocked out a few volcanoes. And it started making angry roars. Its devil-like wings arrogantly spread out. It looked hungry and waved its claws around. As soon as it caught a janitor, it swallowed it, with the sound of the janitors’ screaming. Zoe was very scared and started to run forward. The black fire core screamed, Master! Don’t run! Stop! Just hold on to Ainsworth, and we can get out of here! But Zoe looked like she had lost her mind. There was nothing she thought about doing but running forward. At this moment, the pterosaur reached out its claw, tried to grab the escaping girl.

Chapter III Awakened

Am I dreaming? Somebody, please tell me this is a dream. I am so afraid. Just when Zoe’s mind started rocking, a stream of bright red blood burst out of her white skin and splashed into the air. The pain from her split skin and broken flesh filled up every single nerve inside of Zoe. She opened her eyes to the max, looked stunned, speechless, and fell to the ground. Fear was spreading inside of her as this was the first time she ever saw blood.

The little fire cores screamed, Master! Run!

Zoe raised her head as soon as she came back to herself and found herself looking at the closer and closer dragon claw.

Ahhhhhhhhh. NO! Zoe screamed with a tearful voice and held her arms. Instantly, the dragon got swallowed by a bright light. Then, a small lizard, the original shape of the dragon, fell to the ground from the sky.

Master, that was awesome. Congratulations for recovering your powers! the little fire cores cheered at Zoe.

Zoe sat motionlessly on the ground with tears in her eyes. She looked like she had lost all her strength, and no matter how the little fire cores called her, they were not getting any responses.

After a long while, Zoe mumbled, I believe this. I believe you now.

Master, what are you saying? the little cores gathered in front of Zoe, looked at her carefully and asked.

I said I believe you guys. When the dragon’s claw cut my arm, I realized that I was never going to wake up because in dreams…it’s impossible to hurt this much…and the touch and the taste of blood... But I just…. Zoe said dully, then looked at the wound on her arm. A strange thing happened again.

Ah, we can still explain it this way! Why didn’t I think of this! the white fire reproached.

I thought of that myself. The black fire core said with pride.

Give me a break. You are so stupid. The blue fire core lectured.

Guys, look at my wound! Zoe surprisingly raised her voice.

The wound, which was still very deep a moment ago, was healing rapidly. Zoe was feeling less and less pain until it was all gone, and so was the wound. Like there was never a wound.

What is going on? Zoe stared at her arms with unbelieving eyes.

That’s right. Master, you haven’t had your memories back yet. We forgot to tell you that you were immortal. Even if your body broke in half, it would still heal in less than half a day. That is because you were separated from God’s body. So, in a way, you are just like her daughter. The white fire core explained.

What? God exists? Then why doesn’t he come out and eliminate all the evils? Zoe asked surprisingly.

"Well, we have been trying to tell you this. But you kept running and ignoring us. God will not, or cannot, come to our worlds. 

Billions of years ago, no life of any sort existed in the universe that we are in. Then one day, for reasons unknown, God and Devil were spontaneously born in a green, 400 thousand lightyears-wide cloud of blobs. They became very close friends. But not long after, they became bored and started plans for creating other life forms to keep them company. Thus, they chose the closet dimension near their space element, the 4th Dimension, to create a new world. At first, they created the sun and the moon together, representing the difference between them, and injected their own energies into the world to start new life forms. Eventually, they created a place to host the new life forms, Earth. During the planning of new life forms, they started having disagreements. God wanted to create a peaceful Utopia with no conflicts, but Devil wanted a dark, chaotic world to amuse him. Since then, the natural character of Devil exploded, and he tried to take over everything in the universe. God and Devil began to fight for territories, and the winner got to have the power to rule all things. They fought for seven days and seven nights straight, and God eventually defeated Devil. He created all the living creatures, planets, and spaces