Astral Journey (Part 1)

Astral Projection?

At that moment, Ronan felt as though he were watching a supernatural movie. Yet before he could judge whether it was any good, a moment's distraction was all it took for the Burning Demon Shadow's red glow to pass through walls and vanish without a trace.

Well, "vanish" was not quite accurate. An indescribable yet distinctly clear sensation still marked the Burning Demon Shadow's location, displaying it deep within his mind.

Ronan knew why.

The drawing beneath his pen was nominally a "Self-Portrait," but in truth, it depicted a considerable range of his physical and mental state. Naturally, that included the Burning Demon Shadow.

There—it was that unnatural distortion on the Prison Building sketch.

At this point, Ronan's contemplation and drawing had merged into one, inseparable from each other. Since it had left a mark on the sketch, how could it possibly pass through his mind without leaving any trace?

No matter where the Burning Demon Shadow fled, at this moment, it remained clearly displayed in Ronan's drawing and within his mind.

Moreover, the Burning Demon Shadow's abrupt escape and the shifting interference it caused stimulated Ronan's inspiration once more.

In this inexplicable Astral Projection state, his physical body had not even stopped drawing. Although the sketch in his notebook could no longer hold any more details, inspiration surged forth, impossible to contain.

With enough force to nearly pierce the paper, his pen drew tangled, intersecting lines in the little blank space around the edge of the sketch.

The conceptual thread he had been continually strengthening finally took shape with a resonant hum beneath the pouring of inspiration.

Like... like...

"Clatter!"

Within the contemplation plane, amid a soul-shaking tremor, a thick Dark Heavy Chain manifested from the center of the Contemplation Graphic like a giant hunting python, lashing out and extending its long body.

The invisible membrane that had just been pierced tore apart again. The Dark Heavy Chain broke through the void and entered reality, tearing through the air in pursuit of the Burning Demon Shadow's escape route.

Ronan had no idea how long the chain was—the front half had already plunged into the void, yet within the sphere, it had still not been pulled taut. Perhaps length itself had no meaning on this plane?

In the blink of an eye, Ronan "heard" a shrill scream. The Dark Heavy Chain, along with his mind, came into contact with the scorching, violent Burning Demon Shadow at that instant.

The chain rang and trembled, accelerating even faster as it forcibly pierced straight through its target! Then countless silver threads burst forth, weaving back and forth, linking ring after ring as they locked the Burning Demon Shadow tightly in place.

Caught it!

But just one thousandth of a second later, before Ronan could savor his victory, an enormous pulling force traveled down the long chain and slammed into him.

Who knew where the Burning Demon Shadow found such strength? Like a crazed wild boar, it charged ahead without a care, dragging the chain along in a mad rush.

Ronan could not control the demon shadow's explosive charge. Even his physical body was shaken by some mysterious force. His entire body suddenly felt weightless, and the overlapping images of reality and contemplation changed violently. The Confinement Room was replaced by rapidly unfolding cabins, corridors, and mechanical structures throughout the ship.

This really was Astral Projection... and he had been forcibly dragged out of his body by the rampaging Burning Demon Shadow, passing through wall after wall!

What was this? The laws of physics on the level of the soul?

At first, Ronan wondered whether anyone might see this "unscientific" scene. But he quickly confirmed that the soldiers, officers, and intelligent machines moving through the warship had no awareness whatsoever of the chase above their heads.

The tightly guarded Transport Ship had become a completely undefended racetrack—at least for now.

It had to be said, this was quite a novel experience. Ronan also tried to observe his current form of existence, and after much effort, reached a preliminary conclusion:

In his soul state, his form was very similar to that of the Burning Demon Shadow, except without that oppressive dark-red firelight. He was more like an insubstantial shadow.

Ronan wanted to examine it more closely, but as the brief period of confusion passed, the chill in his senses intensified sharply. It felt like racing naked through an icy wilderness, the bitter wind cutting into him like blades and swords.

The intangible yet substantial cold wind was impossible to evade. An insubstantial soul could not produce the effect of blood spraying everywhere, but the intense pain was utterly real.

Clearly, the situation was tipping toward danger, and it was obviously closely connected to this hasty, passive Astral Projection.

Ronan's first thought was to return to his body immediately. But now, his mind coexisted with the chain, both bound to the Burning Demon Shadow. How to unbind himself and escape was all a blur.

The more confused he was, the more he needed to do something.

At this life-or-death moment, Ronan did three things:

First, he made a comparison: which hurt more, the cold wind cutting through his soul or the chemical components of psychiatric drugs cutting through his neurons?

Conclusion: There seemed to be no difference.

Second, he confirmed something: was there still a connection between his soul and his physical body?

Conclusion: His physical body still hurt quite a lot...

Third, he raised a question. If there was a connection between soul and body, where was that connection?

Conclusion: He did not know about anything else, but it certainly existed within the contemplation plane and the sketch... though that was rather abstract.

The first conclusion strengthened his conviction, the second clarified his direction, and the third found the method.

At that moment, his strengthened conviction became another wave of chanting. The same four words resounded thunderously within the contemplation plane and inside his soul:

"My Heart is a Prison!"

The contemplation plane remained fused with the sketch he had drawn. Between reality and illusion, the chaotic yet distinctly layered Prison Building seemed to truly rise into being, stacked layer upon layer, covering the limits of Ronan's perception like dark clouds.

His projected soul seemed far from his physical body, but it was actually still within the range of the Prison Building.

The Burning Demon Shadow was the same!

Within that seemingly illusory structure, the Dark Heavy Chains crisscrossed and transformed into beams, pillars, thick walls, cells, instruments of torture...

It was also at this moment that Ronan truly understood the essential nature represented by the Dark Heavy Chains.

No matter what kind of prison it was, it embodied compulsory rules. Coercive force had to come first. When facing disobedient Prisoners, there had to be power to punish them.

The Burning Demon Shadow appeared to have fled far away, but as long as it had not truly thrown off the chains binding it, it would inevitably suffer merciless suppression!

In an instant, the Dark Heavy Chains trembled and rang, carrying out Ronan's will as the power contained deep within them finally came into play!

As the product of accumulated concepts and inspiration, every silver thread divided from the Dark Heavy Chains and every chain link they formed was connected to Ronan's mind.

With that movement, the Burning Demon Shadow pierced and bound by them was drawn inward and twisted from the inside out. It was even subjected to a direct "slice-by-slice" analysis. A flood of information fed back to him, too much to sort through at once.

The Burning Demon Shadow let out a painful howl. There were no sound waves, but tangible soul waves spread into the surrounding area.

Perhaps its pain was too intense. The wall lamps in the warship's corridor suddenly dimmed.

The next moment, an entire row of red warning lights lit up. Audible and inaudible alarms rang throughout the ship's interior:

"Warning! Warning! Aberrant Species intrusion. Repeating: Aberrant Species intrusion."

"Aberration Level Three. Darkside Creature detected."

"All conventional armed personnel, assume combat positions. Tranquilizers on standby. Intelligent machines, enter standby mode."

"Deep Blue Platform activated. Burners entering emergency status!"